Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to another edition of our school newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school.

As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to see me at school or contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

Chess Team Update

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, our school chess teams continue to make us all incredibly proud as they achieve remarkable results as follows:

The Chess Victoria Open (Boys and Girls) State Championships: I am extremely proud to report that the children placed 1st and have been crowned the State Champions! From this point 6 of the children (unfortunately we are only able to send a team of 6), will now compete in the 2024 Australian Schools Team Championships which will be held in Perth, Western Australia, on the 7th and 8th of December.

Naturally this is an incredible achievement and something that we are incredibly proud of and cannot wait to share what the children achieve at the national championships!

Well done, thank you and congratulations, to the following children who have been crowned as the Victorian State Champions:

Year 3: Naveen, Samuel and Jahnavi
Year 4: Amaya, Aadyah, Jayden and Saheli
Year 5: Sarvang and Yehara
Year 6: Akshobya and Mihin

In terms of representing our school in the National Championships congratulations to:

Year 6: Akshobya
Year 5: Yehara
Year 4: Jaden and Aadyah
Year 3: Samuel and Naveen

Northern Star Open State Finals – this event was held on Monday, and I am thrilled to report that the children placed 1st and have been crowned the Northern Star Victorian Champions for the second year in a row!

The Northern Star is a privately run tournament that is not aligned to Chess Victoria, however most of the children participate in both events.

Congratulations, thank you and well done to:

Year 3: Samuel, Naveen, Jahnavi and Thehan
Year 4: Aadyah, Jaden, Saheli and Amaya
Year 5: Sarvang and Yehara and
Year 6: Aeki

as being crowned as State Champions is an amazing achievement and something to be incredibly proud of!

What’s next for our school chess team?

On Wednesday 27th November, the Northern Star Junior (Year Prep to Three) Primary State Final is being held and as mentioned above, on the weekend of the 7th and 8th December, the Australian Championships are being held in Western Australia. It certainly has been another fabulous year for all the children and their families involved in our school chess team and I look forward to sharing some additional news as soon as possible – well done and congratulations everyone as we are incredibly proud of you!

Prep Transition Program

It has been wonderful to see our newest learners, the 2025 Prep children, in our school as they familiarise themselves with their new surroundings, the staff and one another. On Tuesday we completed the fourth session where the children had the opportunity to learn PE, Mandarin and Music whilst their parents were provided with an overview of the first 2 weeks of school and how technology is used to enhance learning. May I take this opportunity to thank everyone involved and look forward to our fifth and final session on Tuesday 26th November.

Year 3 Camp Experience Day

Congratulations to the Year 3 Team for their very successful camp experience day at Camp Toolangi last Friday. This experience is engineered to ensure the children are provided with the opportunity to learn what a typical day of camp is like in preparation for the Year 4 camp in 2025. Below are some of the children’s reflections:

Senoli:

When we were going to camp, I was super excited! My favourite part was the Possum Glide. It was kind of scary but kind of fun in the end.

I also enjoyed when we were in the bus because you get to see all of the cool places right outside the window – they were so beautiful!
I really enjoyed the camp and can’t wait to do it next year and stay overnight!

Eliana:

On the bus, on the way to camp Toolangi, I felt so excited because I’ve never been on camp and it was my first time. Once we got there, my camp buddy and I were placed in Group 7.

Then we were split into 3 smaller groups and we had a map, with a code – we had to look letters all over the camp site. After the map activity, we went rock climbing and the wall was 14 meters tall!

After lunch, we left. Isha and I kept talking on the way back, until we reached the carpark and then we said, “Goodbye!”

Camp Toolangi was an amazing experience for me, and I look forward to camp next year!

Farhan:

At camp we had 9 activities; they were possum glider, high ropes, flying fox, scavenger hunt, photo trail, rock climbing etc.

We had 10 minutes for free time, and we had lunch, snack and brain food. The drive was more than an hour and 30 minutes and we went to Camp Toolangi.

There was a lake where you can do canoeing, but we didn’t do it. There was also swimming but we didn’t do that on either.

I got to do the possum glider and photo trail; we had lots of fun!

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal’s Award recently:

Prep A

Ashley and Sohana for writing excellent recounts about our school Fun Run and in Maths, how to distinguish the weight of objects

Prep B

Dhev for drawing and writing a beautiful card for my office
Crystabel for being a wonderful friend

Prep C

Anastasia , Jaynmae and Bavi for writing amazing recounts about the story Stick Man who got himself caught by a dog and then Santa had to come to rescue him
Charlotte and Austin for making amazing progress with their writing. They wrote about Halloween and George the Lizard

Mihika and Vivienne for writing amazing narratives about Spike the Dragon and moving to a new house. The children used the ‘story mountain’ strategy to plan their narrative which was very effective

Prayag for writing excellent limericks
Nina for being a wonderful friend
Siddharth and Shlok for making excellent progress with their writing. Siddharth wrote a procedural text explaining how to play Tag and Shlok a recount of his trip to India
Marvika and Zaiden for creating a recording of them sharing all about their own nationality in Mandarin
Theo and Sayon for developing an environmentally friendly couch that considers the 10 design principles
Marvika and Arjun for designing a smart tv that has touchscreen functionality and the ability to use features that function without internet access such as the ‘call feature’ where you can telephone (call) friends)

Elaina also for designing a smart tv that has touchscreen functionality and the ability to use features that function without internet access such as the ‘call feature’ where you can telephone (call) friends. The TV is also environmentally friendly as it is made out of recycled cardboard and paper

Sophie and Ashley for learning about the importance of showing empathy at all times
Gowri also for designing a highly efficient coffee machine

Mick and Nethmi also for developing an environmentally friendly couch that considers the 10 design principles
Chloe for designing a highly efficient coffee machine
Yasiru and Lucas for designing a highly efficient TV that works in 4D just like at Movie World
Hansen for also designing a smart tv that has touchscreen functionality and the ability to use features that function without internet access such as the ‘call feature’ where you can telephone (call) friends)

Thinuli for her amazing passion for the arts which culminated in an amazing art exhibition. A recount and some photos of the exhibition are included in the Kids Corner section of the newsletter – well done and congratulations Thinuli!

Wishing everyone a safe fortnight.

Frank Catalano

Principal