Welcome Back

Welcome back to the 2021 school year! I hope all families had an enjoyable holiday break with their children.

What an exciting, busy start we saw at Greenvale Primary School last week with our students from Year 1 to Year 6 returning to school last Thursday. They were excited to be back, happy to meet up with their friends and looking forward to another challenging year in 2021. We had 22 new Year 1-6 students beginning with us on this day, coming from a wide range of schools. Each child received a welcome certificate at assembly on Monday.

Next week we have a modified ‘Flying to Foundation’ transition program for our 99 new Foundation students ready to begin their schooling at Greenvale Primary School. The Foundation students start school one week after the other students to allow each student to take part in the mandatory assessment for all Foundation students across Victoria. We welcome these children and their families and know that they will love their schooling at Greenvale.

I look forward to meeting our new families and to continue building the partnership with all of our current families at Greenvale.

Holiday Happenings...............

It was great to come back to the school and see it in such good presentation. Many thanks go to Joe, our maintenance person for overseeing this. The holiday period was busy with some general maintenance of the grounds – the oval is really looking much healthier than when we left last year!

The back of the school has had a high fence installed all around. Also, new split system air conditioners have been installed in Rooms 5-8.

School Council Elections 2021 - Parents in Partnership

All schools are required to conduct annual elections for school council during the February/March period.

There are three different categories of members on School Council – Parents, Department (DET) employees and Community Members.

At our 2021 election we will have 3 Parent vacancies, 1 Community vacancy and 2 DET employee vacancies. The term of office for these vacancies is two years. Parents on School Councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging. You do not need any special experience to be on School Council. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

School Council meets about two times each term i.e. 8 times over the course of the year. School Councillors are also required to be on a sub-committee of School Council – Finance, Buildings and Grounds or Community Links.

Can I encourage parents who would like to be part of School Council to ensure that they are nominated. Parents may be nominated by another parent or they can nominate themselves. Nominations open Thursday 11 February and close on Thursday 18 February. Nomination Forms will be available at the Office.

Please click on the link below or go to our school website under Parents / School Council Message to view the Election Process and Timeline and the School Council Election – Parent Information flyer.

https://greenvaleps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Schedule-4-School-Council-Election-Process-and-Timeline-2021.pdf

Coronavirus Update

As a school we have been diligent in following advice from DHHS and the Education Department in regards to the coronavirus. Our aim is to keep our learning and play space as safe as we possibly can for our students and our staff. The latest advice from the department was sent to schools on the 20th January. Restrictions are still in existence but are not as intense as previously.

Below are three significant points from the School Operations Guide -

Visitors to school grounds must comply with physical distancing and face mask recommendations set out in this Operations Guide, and practise good hand hygiene.
There is no requirement to limit the number or type of visitors to school premises, however, the density limit of 1 person per 2 square metres should be applied to any spaces and activities being attended by parent/carers and other visitors. The density limit applies to all persons in the space, including students.
To support contact tracing, schools must keep a record of all staff, students and visitors who attend on-site for more than 15 minutes. Schools must record the name, contact details, date, and time of attendance at school, as well as the areas of the school that the person attended. Schools can use existing mechanisms such as visitor sign-in procedures, student attendance records and staffing rosters to record this information.

Maintaining Good Health Hygiene at Home and at School

Here are some tips that everyone can follow in regards to avoiding the spread of any infectious disease. Talk to your child/ren about these to make sure they understand the importance of:

washing their hands regularly and properly using soap, after using the toilet, and before eating.
covering their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing with a tissue, or coughing into their elbow.
disposing of their used tissues into a bin and then washing their hands afterwards.

Excursions

Various exciting excursions/incursions are usually organised over the course of the year by the teachers to support the learning that occurs in the classrooms for your child’s particular year level. These excursions/incursions are an integral part of your child’s learning and teaches him/her many other skills outside of the classroom.

Organisation of these excursions is quite complex – buses, notes, booking of the venue, permission forms and payments, agenda for the day, meeting duty of care requirements….just to name a few.

To make this process easier, we will begin putting permission notes for excursions on Compass for parents to fill out. If this is the case, a paper copy of the permission note will not be sent home.

Meet & Greet - Parents in Partnership

This year, families with children in Years 1-6 will again have the opportunity to meet one on one with their child’s teacher at the beginning of the year in a Meet & Greet. This early meeting is intended to strengthen the ties between the classroom teachers and parents, in that both get a chance to meet each other with the student present. Building better links between our school and your homes, encourages positive learning experiences for students. The more you as parents know about our school, the more likely we will be able to support your child’s learning in partnership.

The Meet & Greet is not a typical Parent Teacher Interview where the teacher talks about your child’s academic progress. This will occur mid-year.

This is an opportunity to:

Meet your child’s teacher one on one.
Discuss how your child has settled in.
Share any important information that you think the teacher needs to know about your child.
Update enrolment information for your child.
Discuss protocols for future communication.
Discuss how you as a parent would like to be involved in the school/ what skills you may want to share at the school.

More information will be sent home shortly and posted onto our Compass app.

Sunsmart Term

Just a reminder that Term 1 is a Sunsmart term.

Students are expected to wear their school hat

outside at all times. If your child requires a new

hat they may buy it at the Office for $11.

Please make sure all uniform items are clearly labelled.

Welcome! We are Delighted to Introduce our Newly Appointed Staff

Mr Andreas Jordanidis

My name is Mr J. I am the new Physical Education Teacher for Greenvale. I used to work at Meadow Heights Primary School, where I was also the P.E teacher. My favourite sport is cricket, I play it every weekend for the Lalor Stars Cricket Club. I enjoy all sports and my favourite AFL team is Collingwood. I am excited to see all students this year for P.E and learning about their favourite sports and games!

Ms Sofia Antonopoulos

Hello From Miss. A! I am one of Greenvale Primary’s Foundation teachers for 2021. I have graduated with a Bachelor of Sport Science (Physical Education), and a Masters in Teaching (Primary) at Victoria University. I am a family orientated, nature loving person who enjoys spending my spare time with the ones I love. I am beyond excited to be a part of Greenvale’s amazing staffing team.

Mr Michael Cannizzaro

My name is Michael Cannizzaro and I am very excited about joining the Year 3 team for 2021. I have previously taught a composite of Year 2 and 3 students at Preston South Primary School for two years. I love playing football and follow the Carlton Football Club and my favourite past time is heading to Lygon street for a frozen yoghurt with friends and family. I look forward to meeting everybody in time.

Mrs Michelle Barton

Hi, my name is Michelle Barton. I have moved into the area about 10 years ago and currently live with my beautiful family; husband, 2 primary school aged children and a crazy cat! I enjoy reading, travelling and spending time with my family, especially Friday night milkshakes. I have been fortunate to have been working for the past 3 to 4 years as a relief teacher at Greenvale Primary and I am absolutely thrilled to be working with the Year 2 team this year. I am looking forward to a fun-filled year of learning! 🙂

Mrs Kirsty Gorman

My name is Kirsty Gorman. I have come to Greenvale Primary School from Mackellar Primary School where I taught all year levels from Foundation to Year 5. I am excited to join the Year 2 Team this year and I am really enjoying meeting students and their families. In my free time I like to go camping and try a spot of fishing or head to the beach. I barrack for Essendon and I am hoping that 2021 will be our year!

Ms Katrina Weissenboeck

Hello Greenvale community, I’m Ms W, the new Year 3 teacher. This is my first year teaching at your wonderful school. Thank you for making me feel so welcomed. I love creativity, outdoor adventures, hanging out with my three cats named Indie, Luna and Moose, and spending valuable time with my family and friends. I look forward to a positive and exciting year ahead!

Mr Hudson Moore

Hi Everyone! My name is Hudson Moore and I will be a part of the Year 2 teaching team at Greenvale Primary School in 2HM. Before coming to Greenvale Primary School, I worked as a casual relief teacher for several schools around Melbourne. When not in the classroom I love watching the footy, eating out and keeping fit at the gym. I am looking forward to a great year at Greenvale Primary School in 2021!

Ms Lauren Hartnett

Hello everyone! My name is Miss Hartnett, and I am the newest Year 1 teacher at Greenvale Primary! My favourite thing to do is spend time with my pets and my favourite food is vegan chocolate. I have had so much fun getting to know my class 1LH, and I am so excited to be a part of the wonderful community at GPS. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone, so if you see me around the school, please come and say hello!!

Ms Bianca Strangis

Hi everyone! My name is Miss Strangis and I am a year 6 teacher here at Greenvale Primary. I love to read, go to the footy (Go Dees) and spend time with my family and friends. My favourite food would have to be pizza. I am so excited to be here with you all and look forward to getting to know each of you!

Mr Joshua Anderson

I am teaching grade 5 this year and I am excited for my first year at Greenvale Primary School. I love playing tennis, cricket and basketball. I always have a smile on my face and love to have a laugh with my class and everyone in the school.

Regards

Angelika Ireland

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