Principal's Message 

Fortnightly reflection

8 weeks down, and only 3 to go...quite unbelievable!

The past fortnight has been another wonderful one with community engagement activities being the highlights.

Huge thanks to our fundraising team for their very successful cake stall at the Ceres Historical Society's Makers Market the other weekend. The cake stall wouldn't have been the success it was without the support of all those who baked beforehand though, so a massive thank you to those of you who did so. 

Another incredible community engagement activity was our Junior School Council's visit to the BUPA Barrabool Aged Care Facility down near the Barwon River. The joy our JSC members put on the faces of the residents while playing games and making Christmas crafts was heartwarming. The patience, manners, and empathy shown by our students made us very proud. Huge thank you to Mr. M and Krystal for organising the morning. 

In other news, our Music teacher, Mrs Kelevitz, has had to relinquish her position at Ceres PS. We have since advertised for a new specialist teacher for 2025 and are seeking expressions of interest for either a teacher of music, performing arts and/or LOTE. 

In exciting staffing news, we have employed Anne Thompson as an additional tutor for 2025, and Cathy Davidson as a new Ed Support. Both have spent time at Ceres in 2024 in these roles and will be wonderful as more permanent additions in 2025. I'm sure you will all make them feel very welcome. 

MARC next year will become a fortnightly session in 2025. For the past four years, Ceres has been the base school and has been entitled to weekly sessions. The time has come though to pass on the administrative duties of MARC with another MARC partner school as part of the rotational agreement in place and therefore we will only have fortnightly sessions from 2025. Mrs Lang will continue running these sessions in 2025.

Also, a few weeks ago, the Department advertised the Ceres acting principal position for an additional 12 months and I am pleased to announce that I was successful and very excited to lead Ceres in its 150th year of operation. 

2025 Class structures, teachers, and class lists

Ahead of our whole school Transition Day on Tues, Dec 10th, we are pleased to announce our class structures, teacher allocation, and class lists for 2025, our 150th year of operation.

In designing our grade structures at Ceres PS, we always prioritise meeting the needs of the student cohorts as a whole, while also addressing individual needs as required. Decisions, such as those surrounding grade configurations, are made holistically to maximise both student and staff engagement. Our class structures are thoughtfully crafted through a collaborative process with all staff, considering multiple factors to ensure they align with student needs.

One notable decision for 2025 is the creation of two 4/5/6 classes. This arrangement creates an opportunity to foster a rich learning environment where Year 6 students will serve as positive role models, as we have done successfully in F/1, and are doing again in 2025.

The students in this 4/5/6 cohort demonstrate strong character and leadership qualities, inspiring their peers with our new values of respect, responsibility, and resilience. This configuration also reflects our commitment to team teaching within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Through PLCs, teachers work together to plan, assess, and support each student’s progress, allowing them to share expertise, target specific needs, and apply evidence based strategies effectively. This collaborative, responsive approach promotes continuous improvement and positively impacts both academic achievement and personal development for all students.

There are also some students moving on to other adventures in 2025, who will not feature on these lists obviously, and we will acknowledge their contributions and wish this group well at our best well wishes at our end of year events.  

We appreciate that there may be some initial anxiety regarding these structures and we ask for your understanding and patience.

Please note that these class lists are now final. Earlier this term, parents were invited to share any considerations regarding their child/ren, and we carefully reviewed this input during the process. Please note that while we value all feedback, specific teacher requests were not considered as mentioned also. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Please see the document below for all details;

Start Date 2025

The 2025 calendar is already starting to fill up.

Please take note of what the first week of the year will look like.

Monday 27th January: 

Australia Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 28th January: 

Pupil Free Day- Teachers officially return to school—beginning of year meeting and professional learning for a new spelling approach and reading assessment.

Wednesday 29th January:    

Pupil Free Day - English professional learning for staff and a wellbeing focus

Thursday 30th January:         

All children return to school. 

Friday 31st January                

Normal school day (No lunch orders). 

Meeting reminders (for those concerned)

School Council  - Tues, Dec 3rd

150th Committee- Wed, Dec 11th

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Reminder: Our student led Assembly is on today at 2:30 pm.

Our assembly is an important part of our school. It is an opportunity to proactively reinforce our school values and expectations through the acknowledgement and celebration of our students and school. 

Have a great fortnight.

Tim Callaghan

Acting Principal