Principal's Report
Tim Bernau | Principal
Principal's Report
Tim Bernau | Principal
Dear Skye Families,
This term has been filled with massive achievements across academics, wellbeing, and sport. Our students continue to thrive, supported by our incredible community who make Skye Primary the positive, inclusive, and engaging environment we're proud of.
We've shared many special moments together – celebrating Easter and Mother's Day, welcoming families to our Magical Maths World open afternoon, and enjoying our popular Friday morning library and coffee sessions. These connections really strengthen our community and directly contribute to our students' success.
Next week's Parent Teacher Interviews offer a valuable opportunity to discuss your child's growth and achievements. With semester reports now available, I encourage you to review them together with your children before the interview. This helps celebrate their progress and identify meaningful goals for Semester 2. We look forward to seeing you all next week.
Our trauma-informed practice through the Berry Street Education Model continues to evolve. The ready to learn scales on every student's desk (Foundation to Year 6) help students develop emotional awareness and self-regulation throughout their day.
As we reach the midpoint of 2025, classes are starting to refresh these scales and personalised plans to reflect students' current interests and most effective strategies. Congratulations to 6B for their creative and thoughtful approach to personalising their scales!
We value our strong teacher-parent partnerships. While our teachers strive to be available and approachable, please schedule appointments for important discussions to ensure you receive their full attention. Brief morning communications are welcome, but significant matters deserve dedicated time.
In the last fortnight, the Department of Education announced changes to suspension and expulsion powers for school principals.
Please see the update below rom the Department of Education:
Our commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment remains unwavering. From Term 3 (Monday 21 July 2025), Victorian principals will have new powers to address serious out-of-school behaviour that significantly impacts school safety and wellbeing.
These powers apply only to exceptional circumstances where:
• Student behaviour outside school poses significant danger to school community safety
• There's a clear connection between the behaviour and our school
• The behaviour unreasonably impacts students' or staff's ability to learn or work
Important notes:
• Powers don't apply to behaviours unrelated to our school community
• They only apply to behaviour occurring from 21 July 2025 onwards
• Suspension and expulsion remain last resort measures
Our focus continues to be proactive, positive behaviour support and working in partnership with families to guide our students.
If I don't see you before the end of term, have a fantastic holiday break!
Warm regards,
Tim