PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Welcome Back!

It has been wonderful having students back with us and it is just so good to see so many smiling faces. Visiting classes and chatting with students in the yard are highlights of being a principal. We have already hosted a successful Prep BBQ and tomorrow marks the beginning of Interschool Sports activities with other schools. Exciting times to start the 2024 school year.

Enrolment numbers 

We have nearly finalised our enrolment numbers for 2024. We have approximately 710 students across 31 classes, at an average of 23 per class. We welcomed 126 preps and have 93 year 6 students in our graduating cohort for this year. Currently our smallest class is 18 students, whilst our largest has 26 children.   

New Staff for 2024

We have four new staff this year.  Mr. Nick Marchbank in 4-17, Mr. Jake Leslie in 6-7, Mr. Alex Campbell in Numeracy Extension/Disability Inclusion and Ms Ashlee McLeod in the Prep team. All four have settled in well and are positive additions to our experienced team. In fantastic news, we have also recently hired two extra Education Support staff under a government initiative where our students gain extra assistance, but wages are covered by the education department. More information on these two new members will follow soon. 

Holiday additions around the school

We had a busy holiday period, with new carpet installed in six of our classrooms (year 1, 2 and 3), and new furniture being delivered including teacher chairs, classroom storage units and student conferencing tables. Our new library has had some enhancements with new shelving, whilst our staffroom, student first aid room and conference room used for one-on-one support such as speech sessions is now open and operational. Thank you to Mrs Moritis, Mrs Khanna and our head of maintenance Mr Surkitt who all worked tirelessly through January to ensure we were ready for students returning last week.  

Ms Nixon

Our Assistant Principal, Ms. Julie Nixon has been absent from school due to some health issues.  This leave will continue for Term 1. Ms Nixon often catches up with me to keep a close eye on the building project that she has successfully overseen over the past three years. She maintains a keen interest in our students, and we rely on her counsel over decisions around camps and extracurricular programs such as dance and Mr Skinner. Julie’s experience as an inaugural PPPS staff member is invaluable to me when it comes to the running of the school. We wish her well in her recovery.   

Supporting your child

Remember that if you have any questions or concerns at any time during the year, speak with your child’s teacher first, their Team Leader or the Leading teacher in charge of the junior (Megan Long) or senior (Kristy Caruso) school. Alternatively, our welfare coordinator Diana Mitrevski or Assistant Principal Jenny Loorham are here to assist. All these people are here for you to make contact personally, by phone or by email. Rather than worry about things, just contact us and we will help. Should that not suffice, I am happy to meet with families for further support.  

Working towards a great year of teaching and learning,

David Whewell | Principal