From the Principal 

Team

Our Very Own Moomba Queen Katie 

Katie has been on a challenging journey which she always approaches with a courageous attitude and a bright, shiny smile. I was lucky to have a lunch date with this special young lady this week where she shared with me all the amazing things, she has been doing with her family to raise funds and awareness of NF. 

Katie proudly represented the Children's Cancer Foundation, along with fellow children who have had, or still have cancer. The foundation was celebrating 30 years of funding research into childhood cancers.  

Katie relished her spot at the top of the float waving and smiling like a shining light. 

Katie also shared with me that she was the guest of honour at the Flicker of Hope Thank you Breakfast. The breakfast was for companies that had donated to the Christmas Shine a Light Campaign. Katie had to do a speech about her personal experiences, handing over a big, big cheque to the doctor heading up the research followed by her favourite part, a meeting with Peter Daicos!

We are incredibly proud of you Katie and we look forward to helping you raise more funds as a school to support your Good Friday Appeal. 

Katie’s family and friends run a cake stall on Good Friday which raises money for the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. It’s held at Apex Park, Great Ryrie Street, Heathmont 8:30am - until sold out. 

Leadership Badge Presentation Assembly

It was a privilege to host a morning tea for our 2022 school leaders and their families on Tuesday morning. I proudly dusted off my Blue House Captain badge to show the children that I have kept since my childhood, and Jackson Taylor, State Member for Bayswater, shared with us his experiences about his leadership journey.

Being a student leader goes beyond being a role model at school. The opportunities to have meaningful input into decisions at school or wider settings enhances a students’ sense of belonging and provides students with a sense of connectedness and community. This in turn, contributes to long term health benefits and well-being.

We also talked about how being a leader doesn’t mean you need to be wearing a badge, and that students can be leaders everyday by following the school values, making good choices, and leading by example. The students proudly spoke about their character strengths as part of their leadership speeches and in the video compiled by the captains. 

If you would like to learn more about the VIA Character Strengths, please read below. 

Thank you to the families and Jackson Taylor for attending this special event. 

VIA Character Strengths at GRPS 

'Research shows that people who are highly aware of their strengths are 9 times more likely to be flourishing than those who are not.' (VIA Institute on Character) 

This is why we think it is important for our students to learn about character strengths, and to help them identify their top strengths and utilize them in their daily lives. 

From Foundation, students start learning about the 24 strengths and work up to completing a survey in Year 5&6 which identifies their top 5. This week at our leadership badge ceremony, we heard many of our leaders talk about their top strengths and how they will use them to carry out their leadership responsibilities. 

If you have not completed the free VIA survey, why not click the below image which will take you to the website to complete the free survey. This would be a great way for you to support and reinforce the language we use at school, and promote cultivate wellbeing in your children, as well as yourselves.  

If that isn't for you, try these activities as a family, to exercise your strengths to strengthen your relationships and find greater happiness and well-being. 

Have a wonderful weekend with your family and friends

Karen and Melissa