Principal's Report

By Frank Catalano

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.

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

Student Achievements

An element of my role that I thoroughly enjoy is observing and being a small part of the children’s success – whether this is academic, social, emotional or in pursuits outside of school. In this fortnight’s newsletter I would like to focus on the achievements of some of our students:

Evelyn and Ashley (Year 2) – the children are dedicated to making a difference. Recently their recognised that something could be done to help ease traffic congestion on Kennedy Street, so they decided to do something about this and wrote to our local council - the City of Monash. Below is a reflection and a copy of the response the children received:

Dear Mr. Catalano,

We wrote a letter to the Monash City Council about how there is lots of traffic going into the turning circle. There is lots of cars using Kennedy and Brent Streets, so we asked them what can they do to fix it. They wrote a letter telling us what they will do. We look forward to some changes happening so it will be safer for everyone.

Veer (Year 3) – has been learning and practicing karate for several years. He is very devoted to his chosen sport and recently he participated in the World International Sports Karate Association (ISKA) championships where he placed 1st, wow Veer, what an amazing achievement. Congratulations, well done and keep up the amazing effort and dedication! Veer has written a reflective piece which is featured in the Kids Corner section of our school newsletter.

School Chess Team Update

Our school chess teams continue to go from strength to strength and over the last few weeks their achievements have been nothing but extraordinary such as:

Girls Chess Team
1st place in the Victorian Chess Championships (State Champions) and have qualified for the national championships which are being held in South Australia on the 2nd and 3rd December and
1st place in the Northern Star Chess Championships (State Champions)

Open (Girls and Boys) Team
- 3rd place in the Primary Open State Final - Northern Star championships. This was a gathering of the top 8% of students who competed in various chess tournaments throughout the year.

Isn’t the above simply amazing! Well done to every single child who has represented our school in the various chess tournaments throughout the year. We look forward to hearing how you go in the National Championships, however regardless of the result ………. We are very, very proud of you!

State Athletics Championships

On Wednesday 1st November Hirun and William (both in Year 6) represented their family, themselves, our school, our local sporting district and the entire Eastern Metropolitan Region in the Victorian State Athletics Championships and we are incredibly proud to report the following:

Hirun participated in the Under 12’s 80m hurdles and placed 5th
William participated in the Under 12’s Long Jump and placed 10th

William and Hirun I hope you are as proud of yourselves as the entire school community is of you! Both of you are to be congratulated for achieving this amazing feat and we look forward to seeing what you achieve in the years to come!

The boys have written a reflection which is featured in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter.

City of Monash Council visit – last week Daiwik, Dinuk, Linh, Naksh and Shayel, the Year 4 Sustainability Junior School Councillors represented our school at the Junior Advisory Group meeting. Below is a recount of what occurred:

On Wednesday the 1st November the Year 4 Sustainability Junior School Council Representatives went to the Monash City Council chamber to attend the Junior Advisory Group Meeting. The Junior Advisory Group is a meeting between local primary school students and two Councillors: Nicky Luo and Rebecca Paterson. This great opportunity provided the learners with the chance to ask questions to the Councillors about the community they live or go to school in, as well as learn more about the role of Monash Council.

Daiwik, Dinuk, Linh, Naksh and Shayel collaborated and prepared three questions to present to the Councillors in relation to; ‘The council’s policy on chopping down trees and replacing them’, ‘Educating the community on using the council bins correctly’ and ‘Clean up programs run by Monash’. Rebecca and Nicky each responded to the questions, and we were able to build a deeper insight into how the council helps to address these concerns.

We were delighted to hear that the Monash Council does have a policy to ensure that each tree that is removed from the community for various reasons will be replaced by a more suitable tree. The more suitable tree will be planted at the same place or at another location if necessary. The Councillors shared that educating the community in relation to bin use is a slow process. Currently, they use a sticker auditing system to notify households if they are using the bins correctly. If you get a sad face sticker on your bin you are using it incorrectly, if you get a smiley face sticker you are using the bins correctly. If you would like more information on what rubbish goes in which bin, please visit Monash City Council website where they have an A-Z list of common household goods and the correlating bin. Lastly, Monash City Council taught us about their ‘Pride Crew’ which is a group of volunteers from the community who donate their time to help clean rubbish from local parks and walkways. As individuals we can partake in this program, or we can do our part to try and clean up rubbish on our walks or within our school. They advised us that there is an Australian run program called Clean up Australia which we should all participate in.

It was an extremely engaging experience, and we are thankful for the opportunity to contribute to our local community in such a meaningful way. We would like to thank the Monash City Council for their time and for their generous gift of a tree that we will plant in honour of our experience. Our mission is to help educate our school community about the importance of keeping our planet and environment safe and healthy.

2024 Parent Payments (School Fees)

Recently a Compass Post was distributed outlining information about the 2024 Parent Payments/school fees, which families were able to settle from Monday 30th October. The children’s stationary packs can be collected from the office from Monday 27th November.

As per all school events, if you require support with settling your school fees, please do not hesitate to contact me on 9802 9938 or at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

2024 Enrolments

I would like to remind families with children who will be beginning school in 2024 that we are taking enrolments now and that they are also closing rapidly as we only have a very small number of positions available. I strongly encourage you to ensure you return your child’s enrolment form to Daniel, Daria or Julie in the main office as soon as possible.

We also ask that members of our school community assist us by informing any of their neighbours of the enrolment procedures and direct them to the office to collect an enrolment form or our school website – www.glenps.vic.edu.au . School tours are available every Tuesday morning commencing at 9:30 and also upon request. Please call the school on 9802 9938 to book a tour.

Winter Uniform

This past Monday, our school staff gathered to discuss an important matter concerning our students' well-being. We have noticed that many children are arriving at school dressed in their winter uniforms with additional layers underneath. While we appreciate the desire to keep our students warm on cold mornings, it has come to our attention that, as the day progresses, they often find themselves feeling uncomfortably warm. By lunchtime, some of our students are seen running around with red faces, wearing track pants, full-sleeve tops, and singlets.

To address this issue, we kindly request students to come dressed in their summer uniform. Additionally, we urge you to ensure that your child has a labelled sun-smart hat for protection. We believe that parents may not be fully aware of the discomfort their children might be experiencing due to overheating. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in creating a comfortable and conducive learning environment for our students.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY:

Yihao for writing a procedural text about how to brush your teeth
Ryan, Sarayu, Iman, Eloise and Vivienne for being wonderful and supportive friends
Agam fo drawing a picture of me that is very life like - well done and thank you Agam!
Jasmine and Eric for creating presentations about how to make a yummy sandwich and how to tell the time

Abisshna for drawing a poster about Halloween, luckily it was not that scary!
Abisshna and Harin for learning how to write the names of animals and their colour in Mandarin

Evelyn and Ashley for taking the time to write to the Monash City Council about a concern they have and for receiving a reply as featured in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter

Nethmi for learning how to write using paragraphs
Ritisha for being a wonderful friend

Bhoomin and Sai for being very creative with a proposed design for their classroom furniture which consists of both individual spaces and collaborative spaces.
Yuvein and Hasiru for being really responsible members of our school community

Rudra for creating the most amazing poster about our school

Take care everyone and wishing you a safe and wonderful fortnight.

Frank Catalano

Principal