Principal's Report
150 YEARS CELEBRATION
This year we are celebrating 150 years since Preston Primary School opened.
When Tyler Street State School first opened it was known as Preston (North) State School,
No. 1494. The Tyler Street school was built on land purchased for £100 from Samuel Jeffrey, an early settler of Preston, whose farm was on the land where the school is now situated. He originally called the area ‘Irishtown’ but later settlers changed the name to Preston. Jeffrey Street, close to the school, is named after him.
The building of the school began in August 1874 by Robert Burr Parsons but was delayed in October following his accidental death. The school was completed by his foreman John Rennie.
The school opened on 14 January 1875 with room for 160 children. Andrew Hanna was the first headmaster. His wife Mary and son Henry also helped with the teaching of the children. The nearby Wesleyan and Anglican schools closed at the end of 1874 so many of the children enrolling were former students from those schools.
Former Students
Throughout the year we will include information relating to the history of the school. If you were a former student or know of someone who was, could send us an account of your/their time at Preston Primary? We would love to include it in our newsletter.
Celebration
We are currently in the process of organising an Open Day to celebrate our 150 year celebration. If you would like to join the organising group, we would love your input. We are meeting on Tuesday February 11th at 6pm in the Senior School staffroom. If you have any ideas to share but are unable to attend the meeting please email them to the school email address preston.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Welcome to 2025
Welcome to the beginning of the 2025 school year. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of the new families who started at Preston Primary this year. On Monday we welcomed our new Prep students, which was very exciting.
Our Year One to Six students were happy to be back at school last week and were very excited to catch up with their friends. Many of them had lots of stories to share about their holiday adventures.
Welcome to New Staff
This year we have employed a new staff member, Jonathan Batsanis, who is teaching Grade 2.
Jonathan has previously worked at Preston in our OSHC program and as a replacement teacher. We also welcomed back Antonia Donis who was on Family Leave last year.
3 Way Conferences
This term we will be having 3 Way Conferences on Wednesday February 19th. These conferences enable teachers and families to catch up early in the year to share relevant and important information. The conferences will be to:
discuss how your child has settled into their new class this year
for the students to share their goals for Semester 1
- discuss ways parents, children and teachers can work together to maximise the child’s learning potential in 2025.
If you haven’t already booked an appointment, please log on to Compass and do so as soon as possible. If you have more than one child in the school please ensure that you leave sufficient time between interviews to get to the second appointment.
The conferences will be done on site however if you would prefer to do it on WebEx, please contact your child’s teacher and they will send you the link.
We are requesting that children do not attend school on Wednesday February 19th, however all children must participate in the conference as they play a vital role in the process.
If you are unable to keep your child at home on the day we ask that you let their teacher know. We will run an alternate program on the day for any students who attend.
Beginning of the School Day
At the beginning of the school day the children should go straight to their classroom at any time between 8.45am and 9am. We have been doing this for several years now and it makes for a very calm start to the school day.
School Policies
We have recently reviewed and updated all of our policies, including the Child Safe Policies. The policies are available for the community to read on our school website. We invite parents to read through the policies and provide any feedback. You can send you feedback to the school email account preston.ps@education.vic.gov.au
I hope everyone has a great 2025, and remember if at any time you are unsure or have a concern about anything that is happening don’t hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to alleviate parent’s concerns.
Regards
Janet Paterson,
Principal.