Principal's Update

Angelika Ireland

ANZAC Day Commemoration Service

We were delighted to again welcome to our ANZAC Day assembly, Ken Bone, who served over 20 years in the Royal Australian Air Force both in Australia and in Malaysia. Ken was accompanied by his lovely wife, Christine. Ken is pictured here with his grandson Tanner who is the last of his grandchildren remaining at Greenvale Primary School. Ken has had four other grandchildren (Indiana, Jackson, Caden and Hunter) graduate from our school who are all now at secondary school. Ken has attended our ANZAC Day ceremony every year it has been held whilst he has had his grandchildren here.

Ken Bone was awarded the following Decorations, Medals and Commendations:

Australia Service Medal with Clasp ‘SE ASIA’

Defence Force Service Medal with First Clasp

Australian Defence Medal

Last Thursday, we held our annual ANZAC Day Commemoration service. Our School Captains read some verses of poetry from ‘The Ode’ and “For the Fallen’. A school wreath was laid at the base of the school flagpole by Dumini and Aadi. Each class made a wreath to lay near our Gallipoli Oak which is planted in the garden bed near at the flagpole.  This tree is a descendant of acorns sent home by a soldier at Gallipoli in 1915 and provided to us by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), supported by the RSL and other sponsors. Our students participated with the respect deserved by the occasion. Thank you to Gwen Hutcheson for organising the commemoration with such passion, and for Brett McGinniskin and Sujata Symons for leading the service.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2021 for Greenvale Primary Years 3 and 5 students will be held on:

            Tuesday 11th May         – Language Conventions and Writing.

            Wednesday 12th May   – Reading.

            Monday 17th May          – Numeracy and Catch Up. 

Our dates may be slightly different to other schools as we have moved the last NAPLAN testing day to accommodate the many students that will be celebrating Eid and that will not be at school on Thursday or Friday.

NAPLAN is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It tests the types of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. The tests cover skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. The National Assessment Program is the measure through which governments, education authorities and schools can determine whether or not young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes. Schools will be given the results of these NAPLAN tests later this year.

Introducing Mimi - Our School Therapy Dog

At the assembly on Monday, Mimi, our School Therapy Dog was officially introduced to the students and teachers by Ms Clegg, her owner and handler. Mimi was wearing her Therapy Dog jacket that she was awarded when she completed her 6 days of training which included two intensive days of assessment. 

A therapy dog is a dog who has been individually trained, evaluated and registered with its handler to provide animal assisted activities, animal assisted therapy and animal assisted interactions within the school. With the presence of a calm and well-trained dog, students may find increased social support and peer interaction. The school dog can work with groups of students or on a one on one basis and will especially help those students who are feeling vulnerable, have suffered trauma or are going through upsetting/difficult times. As a focus or context for learning, the school dog can provide an excellent resource and tangible motivation for children in all subject areas. The presence of a school dog may also be seen as an incentive for personal growth and achievement – with time, caring or playing with the dog seen as a reward.

School Crossings

Please, if you need to walk across Bradford Avenue or Langton Way before and after school, teach your child/children how to use the supervised school crossing even if it means you have further to walk. It never ceases to shock me to see a parent with their child/children in tow weaving between the incredibly busy traffic in the morning or after school on Bradford Avenue or Langton Way. What sort of a role model are they? What are they teaching their child/children about crossing a road safely? What do you think their child/children might do next time when they are on their own and need to cross the road before or after school? 

Food for Thought:

Angelika Ireland

Principal