Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the very first newsletter for the 2022 school year.

Some important points about our school newsletter:

• It is distributed via our school website: www.glenps.vic.edu.au every second Thursday commencing Week Two of each term
• A Compass post and link will also be distributed in order to inform our school community 
• Our newsletter is able to be translated into numerous languages and
• It is an important means of sharing information, celebrating learning and communication between our school and home.

Welcome Back

Once again, welcome back everyone! As usual, the holiday period has passed by and we have now started another school year. I hope all families have had a very happy Christmas/summer break and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather and time together. It has been wonderful hearing and sharing holiday stories with families and the children. It is also terrific to see the children returned happy, refreshed and ready to reconnect with everyone and continue their learning! 

Novel Coronavirus Update

Thank you everyone for the manner in which you have supported our school as we continue to work through the current Coronavirus issues. Please continue to keep an eye on Compass for updates and most importantly, keep a close eye on the children and yourselves for symptoms. 

Welcome to our new students, their families and also new staff

Our Foundation (Prep) students started last Tuesday and certainly demonstrated a sense of bubbly enthusiasm and feelings of true excitement as they experienced the first few days of their primary school education. In fact, I saw a number of them last week as they came in for their assessment sessions and they were so excited and literally couldn’t wait to start! 

I would also like to welcome all of the other new children and their families and congratulate them on selecting our great school as their very important educational setting. We do have a wonderful school and I am sure the new students will thoroughly enjoy being part of the Glen Waverley Primary School family. 

Also, a sincere welcome to all of our new and returning staff who have either joined us for the first time or are returning after various forms of leave.

Facilities Update

The school holidays are the ideal time for tasks to be completed throughout our school as the contractors can work uninterrupted. These holidays the following tasks were undertaken:

• Replacement of the carpet in 4A and 4D’s classroom
• Continued working on the school oval to ensure the grass is maintained and developed where necessary. 

A sincere thank you to the numerous families who have supported our school by settling their school fees as the above works would not have been possible if it were not for your support. Thank you everyone!

Congratulations to the following children for their amazing efforts outside of school

• Suditi (Year 2) – has certainly been very busy lately as she has participated in not one, but two international competitions: 
  • During the Christmas break, Suditi participated in the International Mathematics Olympiad, and she scored 97% and achieved a Certificate of Excellence (she missed receiving a medal by only a few points) and 
  • The International Science Olympiad 2021 (Worldwide Competition) and scored 93% and was awarded the “Certificate of Genius” for scoring distinction and “Certificate of Appreciation” for qualifying for Worldwide / International Rank cut off.

Well done, congratulations and keep up the great attitude and effort towards your learning Suditi! 

• Ayaan (Year 2) – recently had his story published as part of the Young Explorers Journal. Below are photos of Aayan proudly displaying his published story and I have featured his writing in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter. 

Well done, congratulations and keep up the great attitude and effort towards your learning as well Ayaan! 

• Tevin (Year 2) – had a unique dilemma recently as he had 2 identical bikes with each having a puncture (flat tyre). He wanted to fix both the bikes and use them in 2 different ways. Tevin thought through what he wanted then took ownership of the task and remove the tires and then swapped the good tires to one bike. Then he even created his own YouTube link to share his accomplishments which can be found at: https://youtu.be/lvF9wlTh4y4

Well done Tevin as it is inspirational to see what you have accomplished at such a young age – keep it up!

• Reyan (Year 3) – loves playing tennis and recently he was very fortunate to be selected to participate in the Australian Open - Kids on Court program. Reyan played at the John Cain Arena stadium court which is the second-largest venue and one of the show courts for the Australian Open – wow, how amazing is that! Well done Reyan and perhaps one day your name will be on the big screen and with thousands of people watching you play too; attached are some photos of Reyan for everyone to enjoy.

• Manuthi (Year 4) – recently had a special haircut as she chose to grow her hair quite long in order for it to be cut so her hair could be used to make wigs for children who have cancer. Well done Manuthi as this is a very generous, heartfelt and inspiring thing to do. 

Hirun (Year 5) – is an accomplished athlete who loves to participate in athletics. Recently he competed in the Knox Little Athletics Centre’s Open Day and received a Gold medal for placing first in the Under 11’s 80m Hurdles with a time of 15.05 seconds! At the weekend he also participated in the State Championships and placed 22nd out of 60 children, his next event is the regional finals. Well done and congratulations Hirun we look forward to hearing how you go at the regionals!!

Specialist Carry Bags

This year the Specialist Team have introduced a simple but very effective idea and that is to provide all of the children in Years 4 to 6 with their very own ‘specialist bag’ which they will use to transport all of the items they will need for their classes safely. May I take this opportunity to congratulate the children for agreeing with this idea and for specialist team for being so proactive! 

Thank you to the Pandey Family

We are incredibly proud of our school community as your spirit of generosity is amazing and something that the entire staff appreciate immensely. An example of this is the recent donation of a violin from Ananda (Year 4) and her family. 

Thank you so much to the Pandey family for thinking of our school as the violin will certainly be used as part of our school’s music program.  

School Assemblies

A reminder that our whole school assemblies will take place in the gymnasium every Monday morning from 9:05 to approximately 9:45 am. As indicated in a recent Compass post, parents are most welcome to attend however please ensure you scan in using the Vic Gov QR Code.  

School Crossings, Car Parking and Turning Circle

School Crossings:

Our school is fortunate to have Crossing Supervisors on Springvale Road and High Street Road. It is imperative that we ensure everyone utilises the school crossings correctly particularly adults as we need to set the correct example.  

Car parking around our school:

Parking in and around schools is an issue in every context, however we are very fortunate that the Mountain View Hotel allow us to use their substantive car park both before and after school. I strongly encourage parents to utilise this however refrain from parking near the bottle shop area as this impedes their business.

MOUNTAIN VIEW HOTEL CAR PARKING

Parking in residential streets:

Please be conscious of the signs in all of the “side streets” as bylaws officers frequently visit during pick up and drop off times. Please pay particular attention to the No Standing/No Parking areas.

Turning Circle

Our turning circle is a fabulous means for families to drop off and pick up the children. Please ensure you move to the front of the queue when the children alight or enter the vehicle as it is extremely dangerous if the children were to cross in front or behind other vehicles. 

When queuing in Kennedy, Fairhills and Brent Streets, please DO NOT leave the vehicle as this will be deemed as stopped/parked and you will be fined. Of most importance is NOT to turn your car’s engine off if you are in line as this will be deemed as you have parked your car and you will also be fined. If you are in traffic and are lining up to collect your child(ren), I suggest you leave your engine running.

Also, a reminder that all surrounding streets are 40 km per hour from 8 – 9:30 a.m and also 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.

If you have any queries with any of the above, please do not hesitate to see me. 

Individual Book Supplies and School Accounts

I am extremely pleased to report that the vast majority of families have now settled their fees.   Thank you to everyone for your support and for ensuring that we have had a very smooth start with the children being well resourced and ready to go! As mentioned previously, the family contributions are a vital component of the school’s ability to provide resources for us to implement the best possible education for all of the children. 

Please be aware that if you are yet to settle your school account and need some assistance, do not hesitate to see me. 

Privacy Statement

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website https://www.glenps.vic.edu.au/source/Privacy_Collection_Notice%202022.pdf. 

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

* Amharic

* Arabic

* Dari

* Gujarati

* Mandarin

* Somali

* Sudanese

* Turkish

* Urdu

* Vietnamese

Extra-Curricular Programs 

As everyone would be aware, at our school we have a magnitude of extra-curricular programs and activities in order to provide the children with additional learning opportunities. An overview has been attached and is also live on our school website at https://www.glenps.vic.edu.au/page/76/Extra-Curricular-Programs

If you have any queries regarding any of our extra-curricular programs, please do not hesitate to contact the nominated person, Mr Welsh, Daniel, Kylie or Julie in the office.

Classroom Fruit Program (Brain Food)

A reminder that all of the children are expected to have some ‘Brain Food’ at 10am each day. Essentially a healthy snack consisting of fruit and vegetables which supports growing bodies, learning and wellbeing. 

Before and After School Care

A reminder to all families that our school provides a Before and After School Care Program for those who require such a service. The Before School program operates from 6:45 to 8:45 and after school from 3:30 to 6:30. Prep children will commence when they are released at 1 p.m, however it is imperative that all children are booked in. Our program is run by Camp Australia and all the relevant information is located on our school website at www.glenps.vic.edu.au

Principal Awards

As Principal I ensure that I am involved in the learning process as much as possible and as such strongly encourage all students to share their learning with me. Those who receive a Principal’s Award have their names and the reason why they received an award printed in the school newsletter. This is something I cherish dearly as do the children and their families. 

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

1D:

• Minadi for writing about and discussing her summer holidays 

2A:

• Nuvee and Shruthi for developing a plan in order they continue to be great learners 
• Tahlia for thinking deeply about her strengths to be a better person and a fabulous learner
• Amaya for being an amazing friend

2E:

• Eva and Trisha for being very supportive members of our school community 

3B:

• Emma and Janhavi for making a fabulous poster titled, “Pom-Pom Island” for my office 

4D

• Evni for creating a very realistic looking snake with clay ……………… it even made Mr Catalano jump! 

5E

• Damsara for writing a very detailed project outlining his school holidays 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight, 

Frank Catalano

Principal