Greenhills Primary School Newsletter

Message from the Principal 

James Penson

Year 5 & 6 ACTION TEAMS

BAKE SALE

 

Our Year 5 & 6 Action Teams are in full swing. These groups meet each Friday at 12.30pm and focus on students developing their leadership skills via collaborating on various actions or projects. A G.R.E.A.T. example of this in “action” was our Bake Sale which our Community Action Team organised and ran last Friday. What an awesome effort with close to $1,000 raised for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Thank you to all families that supported this initiative by baking a delicious treat to sell or lining up patiently to purchase something. 

Keep your eyes out for more action team action into Term 3.

SAY NO TO RACISM

Racism is not tolerated at Greenhills Primary School, and we are committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment for everyone. Racism harms students’ mental health, learning and sense of belonging. We celebrate the diversity of cultures, ethnicities and faiths of all our students. It is up to all of us at Greenhills Primary School to make our school a place that is free of racism and where everyone feels respected and can learn in a safe and inclusive environment.

What Greenhills Primary School is doing to prevent racism

Greenhills follows the Department of Education’s Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools Policy. We are building a culturally safe school with inclusive learning for everyone by working with staff, students, families, carers and communities. We will: 

  • provide programs that teach about and celebrate diversity, inclusion and the impact of racism to build understanding and empathy
  • use practices such as our School Wide Positive Behaviour System (SWPBS) that support all students to thrive
  • implement anti-racism efforts to prevent and address racism effectively
  • make sure everyone feels safe, with clear and accessible pathways to report racism

What to do if your child experiences or witnesses racism at school

If your child experiences or witnesses racism or religious discrimination at school, please let us know. You can tell your child’s teacher or any member of our principal team: 

james.penson@education.vic.gov.au

janine.hough@education.vic.gov.au

bradley.ryan@education.vic.gov.au

How we will respond to racism

When you report a racist incident, Greenhills PS will:

  • take your report seriously and act quickly 
  • give you ongoing support
  • investigate and respond safely and appropriately 
  • keep you informed, while respecting privacy 
  • review the incident to help avoid it from happening again.

Report Racism hotline

If you don’t feel comfortable reporting racism to school, or you are not happy with the school’s response, you can report racism to:

For more information about how to report racism to the school, and to get information in community languages, visit this website: Report racism or religious discrimination in schools.

If you need an interpreter to call the school, please use the details available at: Guide for Families: How to use an interpreter to contact your school.

PREP INQUIRY EXCURSION

Thank you to our army of parent and carer helpers who assisted with our first prep excursion to the Melbourne Zoo and a big shout out to our Prep staff team for organising everything. These excursions and events are such a special part of school and are designed to promote connection, challenge and curiosity. This excursion was a fun and engaging way for our Preps to launch into their next inquiry topic “Skin, Scales, Feathers & Fur” which is biological science unit based on the feature of animals.

 

SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATE

Our School Council met last week to discuss updating our school uniform policy to include plain black leggings (full or 3/4 length). This was in response to feedback gathered through our recent Term 2 Meet with the Principal team Webex and other families that have spoken with us. I will provide the updated policy in the newsletter next week and promote these changes more broadly to our students as well.

 

The Council meets eight times a year for approximately 90 minutes and focuses on ensuring that our school community has a voice and forum to make suggestions and improvements to our school. We do have casual vacancies this year for positions on our School Council and at the start of each year we also call for nominations to join for either a one- or two-year period. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact me or our School Council president Sam Redman via the school email:

greenhills.ps@education.vic.gov.au

 

James Penson,

 

Principal.