Principal's Report

Term 1

Welcome to the 2020 school year! It was great to see the happy faces of children and parents this morning. The day began smoothly with children finding their classes, albeit with some assistance.

We welcome over one hundred new families to Valkstone. 

Our current enrolment is 718 with 89 Preps starting tomorrow

Corona Virus Update

I sent information about the Corona Virus to all families yesterday via Compass outlining DET and Health Department advice.

In the Valkstone Information section of this newsletter, you may find the DET information sheet.

Classes, teachers and programs 2020

Principal - Mrs Marilyn Koolstra                               Assistant Principal - Mrs Angela Dawson

Prep   -  Miss Ali Brewster, Ms Ali Dodd, Miss Ally Goulding & Ms Alyce Milkins.

Year 1 - Mrs Erin Goodman, Ms Kate Housden, Mrs Robyn Howard/Mrs Kate Smith &

                 Mrs Bernadette Shepherd. 

Year 2 -  Mrs Rachel Joyce, Miss Chrissy Lauriola, Miss Katrina Patogiannis & Mrs Glenda Smith.

Year 3 -  Mrs Maria Flaherty, Miss Tash Maskell, Miss Brit Meyerowitz & Mr Luke Rundell-Gordon.

Year 4 - Miss Sandra Ferguson, Mrs Kylie Kidd, Miss Hannah Southin & Mr Matt Ware.

Year 5 - Miss Jo Fiddler, Miss Hannah King, Mr Paul Maczohan & Mr Tom Paturzo.

Year 6 - Mr Marty Berridge, Miss Cara James, Miss Kate Newey & Ms Sarah Paletu'a

English Support P - 2    Mrs Blandy          Maths Support P - 2  Mrs Heidi Amos

Year 3 Support   Miss Mel Kemper             Year 4 Support   Mrs Heather Venn

Years 5 - 6 Support Mrs Julie Kilpatrick   EAL - Mrs Jan Goodwin

Art - Ms Jen Kaucic, Mrs Julie Chester & Miss Meredith Armstrong

Music - Ms Jenn Darling & Miss Steph McDonald

Physical Education and Sport - Mrs Kate Walker & Mrs Kate Savigny

LOTE - Japanese - Chiho Muldeary sensei & Steph McDonald sensei

ICT / Multi Media - Mr Ian Bahn, Mrs Kate Savigny & Mr Zach McMahon

Library Technician - Mrs Janet Moriarty   

IT Support - Luiz Fernando  Bourdot dos Santos  and  John Davis

Office Administration - Mrs Julie Caswell: Business Manager, Mrs Leanne Scott,

                                                  Ms Mary Ann Farren & Mrs Shona Elford (First Aid) 

Education Support Staff - Mrs Sue Green, Mrs Karen Jones, Miss Diane Moncrief, Mrs Irene Griff,

                                                        Mrs Noura Atluri, Mrs Michelle Waudley

Grounds & Maintenance - Mr Peter Caswell

School Council Elections

Schedule 4: Notice of election and call for nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of the School Council of Valkstone Primary School.

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school Office from Thursday 30th January and must be lodged by 4:00 pm on Thursday 13th February 2020. The ballot will close on Thursday 27th February, 2020.

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Membership category -Parent member

Term of office: From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2020 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2022

Number of positions:   3

Casual Vacancy of one year until 2021: 1

Membership category - DET employee member

Term of office: From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2020 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2022

Number of positions:   2

Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. If the nominations received are less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.

Essential Items and Voluntary Contributions 2020

Valkstone School Council has endorsed the following parent payments for 2020:

Essential Items (books, stationery) -    $295 per student

Voluntary Contributions -                        Library $62                    ICT  $82                   Building Fund $102

Families will be invoiced February 2020.

Mobile Phones Policy

The Department of Education has mandated that schools have a policy and secure storage facilities for students who bring mobile phones and devices to school. School Council has ratified the Valkstone Mobile Phones Policy. We are in the process of discussing its implementation at a practical level and procuring secure storage units. The policy will be available on our new website. Students will be informed of the expectations and practices and families will be informed through the website, newsletter and Compass.

From the start of  2020 school year, children who bring mobile phones will be required to store them in a secure storage unit provided in classrooms.

Working Bee Sunday 3rd February

Over the long break, many maintenance tasks were undertaken. One of them was topping up the softfall/mulch on all the playgrounds. This has proven to be a bigger task than expected!

If you are able to assist at a working bee to finish the spreading THIS SUNDAY 3rd FEBRUARY between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, please leave your name at the Office. We have some wheelbarrows, rakes and shovels, but it would be helpful if you are able to bring some equipment.

A trailer would be a great support for the task, too. Please advise if you can provide and drive one around.