Message from the Principal 

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

The National Reconciliation Week 2023 theme is “Be a Voice for Generations”. The theme encourages us all to be a voice for reconciliation in real and authentic ways in our everyday lives – where we live and where we work.

For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, act today for a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

National Reconciliation Week 27th May to 3rd June is at time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Find out more about National Reconciliation Week  #NRW2023 

The dates (27th May to 3 June) commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. National Sorry Day also falls on May 26th and remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.   

Reconciliation is an important journey for our school community as we all have a role to play when it comes to collectively building relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.

Under the leadership of Janine Hough and our Indigenous Action Team, we continue to work with Emma Bamblett to ensure that our students are involved in Indigenous cultural activities and engage in conversations about reconciliation on the history of this land. One example of this is that all of our classes have developed their own Acknowledgement of Country which is on display in our classrooms.

As part of our journey to develop greater understanding for ourselves and our students, as a school we are committed to participation in significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events such as Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day and embedding Indigenous Perspectives throughout our curriculum.

DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations to all students who represented our school at the District Cross Country last Thursday. For our school the main purpose of a sporting event such as this is the experience and challenge it brings. Just getting to this level is an achievement. It is also a great opportunity and outlet for students to demonstrate their athletic ability whilst also learning about the highs and lows of competition in a healthy and supportive way.

Good luck to those students who achieved results in the top 10, which means they progress into the next level of competition which is Division.

Thank you to Jordan Daley for his passion and commitment to sport at our school and across the District. It is great to have staff like this who are so dedicated to all students, those achieving at very high levels and those that just want to have a go. 

WEDNESDAY 31ST MAY – 9am - Library

As part of our school review, we are holding a parent focus group next Wednesday 31st May at 9am in the library. This is an opportunity for you to be involved directly into our new school strategic plan 2024-2027. The focus group will be run by our external reviewer, Senior Education Improvement Leader and two other local principals who act as “challenge partners” during the review. A strong parent attendance at this session will also mean a strong voice in our future planning. And even though myself or any other staff are not able to be present at the session we still hope to see you there! 

DAY IN MAY - DRESS UP AS A POP STAR

Don’t forget that students can dress up as their favourite pop star next Tuesday 30th May. This is a gold coin fundraising event organised by our Junior School Council with all funds raised going to support families living with cancer. If being a popstar doesn’t suit, the other theme is “yellow” or a splash of yellow.

STAFFING SHORTAGES 

We hear a lot in the news about the staffing shortages and pressures on workforces across the country. Education is right in the middle of all of this. All schools are experiencing higher numbers than normal of staff being absent and this, combined with a shortage of replacement and casual relief teachers being available to cover classes when staff are away, is certainly testing us all.

To date, we have done our very best in working to minimise the impact staff absence has on student learning. We can thank our dedicated regular casual relief teachers and the support of agency staff as well. We know that the next few weeks will continue to be particularly challenging. If staff are unwell, they need to stay home and recover and if they have a family member to care for, they will also be absent. 

This will mean that on some days classes may be split, or a specialist area such as Art or Italian may not run for a day or more. If replacement staff are available, there may be situations where the class has different teachers over the days our Greenhills staff are absent. We will continue to try to ensure as much consistency as possible and we will make the best decisions each day around how to manage the school with the staff we have available.

We ask for your continued support and understanding with this. Through challenge and adversity, positive things can be achieved. Our staff team is certainly demonstrating GRIT during this time and we will work as hard and as smart as we can to continue to deliver a Greenhills quality education and environment each and every day.  

ENROLMENT FOR 2024

There continues to be strong interest in our school for students enrolling in 2024. Each week we run an organised school tour and the feedback we are getting from parents attending these tours about our school and the perception of it in the community is very positive.  If you have a child starting school next year, please ensure that you fill out an enrolment form now. 

James Penson

Principal