Message from the Principal 

ENERGY & EXCITEMENT AROUND OUR TRANSITION PROGRAM

One of my favourite days of the school year is when our students attend the first transition session. There was lots of excitement and energy in the school when this happened today.  In many ways, it was almost the same feeling as the first day of school with students very keen to spend time with their new classes. Overall, the process of class building and then the first transition itself has been very positively received. I believe that this is due to the extensive work that our staff does, the communication we have provided to our parents and students and of course the significant transition strategies that we implement throughout the entire year. Our transition process is not just about these 2 sessions. Our work in this area also includes: 

• our buddy and Targeted groupings e.g. buddy maths where students work with others from across other classes.
• deep knowledge of student learning needs developed through detailed assessment and data tracking and sharing of this across the staff.
• dedicated time allocated for teachers to hand over information about individual students to the next year’s teacher.

INTRODUCING OUR TEAM FOR 2023

*denotes School Improvement Team Leader for each team.

We welcome Abby Drapper, Bec Zappia and Isabelle Hall to our teaching teams. Libby Egan will also move into our Administration team from her current role in our classroom support team.

You will notice that we have three x 1 day teaching positions to fill to complete our team for 2023. 

These positions have only recently been required based on the exciting news that our school has been selected by DET to become a Professional Learning Communities (PLC) Link School next year.

This means that Krysten O’Leary, David Symeonidis and Andrea Williams will be released for one day each week to support the implementation of this program across other DET schools and of course our own school as well which is a great result for our Greenhills.

We currently have a recruitment process in place and we will confirm the names of these staff early next week once this process has been completed.

We also say a big thank you to Rachel Emmerling and Bonnie Jones for their wonderful service to our school and wish them all the very best for the next chapter in their lives. As mentioned in previous newsletter, Rachel is retiring and Bonnie is moving to a new school closer to her home. 

There has been much thought and consideration given to building our team structure for next year as there are many factors that need consideration. Each year schools have staff that take leave or seek opportunities at other schools. We also move staff into different areas to develop their teaching knowledge and practice and try to ensure a balance across teams with teacher’s individual strengths and take into account their preferences. Also considered are teacher time fractions and other requests. In many ways, it is a very similar process to how we place our students into grades.

Please also remember that changes to these staff placements could also occur if any last minute departures happen or if we have significant changes to enrolment numbers.

If you have any questions with regard to our teams for 2023 or our transition processes please see me.

ACTIVE TO SCHOOL PROGRAM & FUEL FREE FRIDAY

We had a very successful Fuel Free Friday & Pop-Up Engagement session run by Banyule City Council.  The Pop Up provided that extra bit of excitement for everyone around our Fuel-Free Friday and we also gained some valuable insights from the activities and conversations with students and parents in the process.

Where Do Greenhills Students Come From?

We had 107 individuals place a dot on the school map to show where they come from and how they had travelled. Here’s a snapshot of your school:

What Motivates Greenhills Students to Walk, Ride or Scoot to School?

In response to our icy pole survey, ‘What do you like best about walking, riding or scooting to school?’, the biggest & best reason was ‘friends’ (36 votes), followed very closely by ‘fresh air’ (28 votes) and ‘fitness’ (18 votes). 

Quick Wins – What Exciting Things Are Already Happening at Greenhills?

• Fuel-Free Friday
• Student-led cycling group
• Students who love walking with family & friends
• Students who want to form walking & riding groups with friends
• ‘Active to School’ program with Banyule Council
• Footpath decals marking the routes to school

What Ideas Did Greenhills Students Suggest to Continue & Grow Their Participation in Active Travel to School?

• Make roads safe for pedestrians and cyclists
• ‘Walk to School’ meeting point(s) for students to walk together
• ‘Ride to School’ meeting point(s) for students to ride together
• Start a Riding Club: message the group to organise to travel to school together or ride together on weekends
• Build a Bike Shed

What Opportunities Can Greenhills Families Get Involved In?

• Senior students, in Years 4 & 5, organise a walk to school group with meeting points to collect younger students along the marked routes to school
• Senior students, in Years 4 & 5, organise a ride to school group with meeting points to collect younger students along the marked routes to school
• Parents to set-up & support a communication network for walking and riding families to communicate with one another (eg: Facebook Group, Messenger Group)
• Mark out your meeting points (‘Meet-Up Hubs’) on a map & share with the school community
• Parent volunteers to lead walking & riding groups

NEXT WEEK

Don’t forget that our final school assembly will be held on Friday 16th December at 2.30pm. 

There is no school for students on Monday 19th December and then the last day of school is Tuesday 20th with a 1pm dismissal. All class parties and other special events will be held prior to Friday 16th December. This will allow time on the final Tuesday for our staff to pack up their classrooms ready for cleaning and start to move into their new classrooms ready for next year. 

START UP 2023 DATES & TIMES

School will begin for all students other than our Preps on Tuesday 31st January at 8.55am. 

Prep students will commence via a staggered start on either Tuesday 7th February or Wednesday 8th February. They will then attend each school day as normal from Thursday 9th February as we have combined all of our allocated prep entry assessment days into the first week of the school year.

James Penson

Principal