Principal

Where has this year gone?

The year started with such a positive outlook, excited to be leaving 2020 behind us. Despite the many challenges of 2021, the Solway community has once again had many achievements to be proud of. It has been a year of challenge and change for everyone.  As we look back over the year, it seems to have passed in a flash, and here we are in the last week of Term 4.

There are so many ‘thank yous’ to make, and it would be impossible to mention all who have contributed to make the 2021 school year a success. Suffice to say, we are blessed to have such a connected, supportive and involved school community, and wish to acknowledge everyone who has assisted in any way, to make Solway such a great place to learn and teach. 

On behalf of the entire staff team, we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday, enjoying the festive season with family and friends, and taking just a few moments to consider what we have to be grateful for. 

Whatever you are doing these holidays, enjoy the many opportunities to relax, recharge and revitalise. We will look forward to hearing all of your stories in the new year.

Year 6 Graduation

Thank you to the staff who have come together to plan and prepare the Year 6 Graduation, scheduled for today. Their commitment to this event has ensured that the students will have a memorable day (despite the restrictions). As always, this promises to be a celebration to remember! 

2021 Yearbooks

The Solway 2021 Yearbooks will be handed out to all students on the last day of term. The Yearbook is a spectacular record of the year as it has unfolded at Solway, and chronicles all the fun and achievements. We must thank the Yearbook team lead by Mel Johnson and Amanda Seefeld, capably assisted by Vanessa Bowen and a team of helpers who ensured we captured the uniqueness of 2021 year with flair and creativity. I am sure families will appreciate the work and creative thinking that has once again gone into this year’s edition, another challenging year with events cancelled! 

Further Staffing News

Congratulations to Julie Moulds who will be working at Pakenham Consolidated Primary School in 2022. We wish Julie all the best.

Congratulations to Paula Witkowski who has accepted a position at St Kevin’s Junior School in 2022. We wish Paula all the best in her new role.

Linda Kay, a long-standing Solway staff member has decided to retire at the conclusion of her long service leave. Linda began her leave in July and moved to Queensland with her family.  It is with much sadness we say goodbye to Linda and thank her for all the wonderful work she has done over the years here at Solway. Linda has worked as both a classroom teacher and as a member of the leadership team, assisting with students in a variety of ways, for many years. We will miss Linda’s knowledge and guidance and wish her all the best in this new phase of her life.

Families leaving

As I mentioned last week, 2021 brings with it a number of good-byes as many of our families have made the decision to move out of the area. Some families made the difficult decision to move interstate for work, to be closer to family or simply for a change, while others are moving to the independent system. We wish everyone a wonderful transition to their new residence and schools and hope you keep in touch, we love to hear how our families are traveling. 

A very big thank you to Melinda Johnston for all her amazing work over the past 13 years on the yearbook. Melinda has been the designer and critical contributor to the Yearbook over the past 13 years. Her talent in graphic design has been a great resource to our school, and I want to thank Melinda for all the hours of time and dedication to this role. This hard work has ensured every student has a beautiful memory of the year at school. Melinda finishes up as a parent member of Solway after 14 years. I want to acknowledge and thank her for the role she has played. The Yearbook has developed and evolved to become a wonderful souvenir for the students.  You have certainly left very big shoes to fill!

Another big thank you to Amanda McPherson for all her amazing work over the past few years running the Solway Uniform Shop. Amanda took over and faced two very challenging years, running the shop from a distance, helping to fill orders when parents were unable to be onsite and keep track of the stock. Your time, endless hours and contribution is greatly appreciated.

Welcome Back Working Bee – Friday 28th January (4:00-6:00 pm)

To make sure the school grounds are neat and tidy for the students’ return and the welcoming of families back for the 2021 school year, we are again holding a Welcome Back Working Bee. If you can spare some time and come along it would be much appreciated. Please bring gloves and small tools to help us weed and tidy up. 

Swimming Sports

A big thank you to Tim Chapman for all his organisation of the swimming sports yesterday. Thank you also to all the teachers and staff who attended. The Year 3-6 students had a wonderful time and it was great to be able to hold this event. Well done to all the students who took part and went outside their comfort zone. Congratulations to the students who made it through to the district event in early 2022.

Tutoring

A very big thank you to Nina Dordevic, Trudy Robert and Linda Kay for all their work this year in the tutoring role. This role was a new initiative for 2021 and gave us an opportunity to help students 'catch up' after remote learning in 2020. We look forward to implementing the tutoring program again in 2022.  Thank you also to Robyn Davis for overseeing the program.

Final Assembly

Our final Assembly for 2021 will commence at 1:05 pm on Friday 17 December and will conclude when we farewell our Year 6 students at 1:30 pm. At the Assembly, we will announce the winning House in the weekly House Competition as well as our 2022 School Captains and Vice Captains. Parents are welcome to join us for the final Assembly – it will be standing room only, and parents are reminded that adults must social distance.  Every visitor attending must check in, showing evidence of vaccination status and please wear masks if you are unable to social distance. We will hold this Assembly on the stage in front of the Performing Arts room. 

Congratulations

A big congratulations to Tim Chapman and Penny Lanyon who are getting married in mid-January. We wish you both all the best for a wonderful day and look forward to seeing photos. 

Congratulations to Oliver R in 6G. Oliver has been growing his hair for 18 months and on the weekend had a haircut to donate the hair to Wigs for Kids at the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation. We are proud of Oliver, being selfless is a wonderful quality. Well done. 

Final reminders

• School resumes for all students on Monday 31st January 2022 – Prep students half day
• The School Office will be open for payment of 2022 parent payments on Thursday 27th 9:00am-3:00pm and Friday 28th January, 12:00-3:00pm.
• The Uniform Shop will be open on Thursday 27th January, 10:00am-12:00pm and Friday 28th January 2:00-4:00pm.
• The Welcome Back Working Bee is scheduled for Friday 28th January at 4:00-6:00pm to give the school a quick tidy up before students commence. Please come along for a short time if you can.
• School families are welcome to use the school grounds during the holidays as we know you will look after them. If you see anything/anyone suspicious at the school in the holidays, or see any vandalism, please report it to the Police. 

Have a well-deserved safe break over the summer holidays; we look forward to seeing you all again in 2022 ready for an exciting year!

Lyn Rodda

Principal