Principal's Update

Angelika Ireland

Welcome Back

Welcome back to the 2023 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 with our students from Year 1 to Year 6 returning to school on Monday. They were excited to be back, happy to meet up with their friends and looking forward to another challenging year in 2023. We had 12 new Year 1-6 students beginning with us on this day, coming from a wide range of schools.

The Foundation students start school one week after the other students to allow each student to take part in the mandatory assessment in the first week for all Foundation students across Victoria. We welcome these children and their families and know that they will love their schooling at Greenvale Primary School.

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

Holiday Happenings

It was great to come back to the school and see it in such good presentation. With our maintenance person Joe’s care, the grass on our oval is looking great!! The holiday period was busy with drainage installed at the back of our school oval to try and avoid the flooded pathways during the wet season, new split system air conditioners installed in the administration area of the main building, whole school cleaning, general maintenance, testing & tagging of all our electrical equipment and resurfacing of the Gym floor.  Many thanks go to Joe, our maintenance person for overseeing these works and contractors.

School Council Elections 2023- Parents in Partnership

All schools will conduct annual elections for school council during the February/March period. 

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

At our 2023 election we will have 3 parent vacancies that will be filled by the election process and one Community Member position that will be filled by co-opting a suitable person from our community. The term of office for these vacancies is two years.  There are also two school employee vacancies. Parents on school council 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 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. 

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 9th February and close on Thursday 16th February. Nomination Forms will be available at the Office.

Please refer to our Website https://greenvaleps.vic.edu.au/ for the School Council Elections timeline and a School Council elections fact sheet for parents. Further information will also be sent out via Compass next week.

Meet and Greet - Parents in Partnership

This year, families with children in Years 1-6 will have the opportunity to meet their child’s teacher at the beginning of the year in a Meet & Greet session. This is scheduled for Thursday 16th February from 4:00pm until 6:00pm.  The format of the Meet and Greet is different to what it has been previously. It is not a one-on-one meeting with your child’s class teacher but rather an open classroom and an opportunity for you to speak with the teacher and see your child’s classroom. There will be an information session for each year level outlining details for the year. Students are expected to attend also. If you have more than one child attending our school, you will be able to visit each of your children’s classrooms. 

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. 

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 it can be ordered and paid for on the Qkr! app. They are $14. Please make sure all uniform items are clearly labelled.

Welcome! 

We are delighted to introduce our newly appointed staff.

Miss Adriana Iacono

Hello my name is Adriana Iacono. I am very excited to be teaching Year 6 this year at Greenvale Primary School. I have been teaching in primary schools for 5 years. I have taught many different year levels. I have always had a passion for teaching young children and love seeing them grow academically and socially. In my spare time, I like to exercise and go on holidays with my family and friends.

Mr Fabio Cardona

My name is Fabio Cardona. I am excited to be part of the friendly and welcoming Greenvale community. I have worked in a number of schools in Colombia before moving to Australia to teach in schools in Melbourne. I am passionate about inclusive education and providing meaningful learning experiences to all my students. I have completed studies on TESOL and Inclusive Education. I love languages, music and enjoy playing my guitar and ukulele as part of my lessons. 

Ms Emma Wilson

Hello Greenvale Community. I am Emma Wilson and I am very excited to join the Year 3 Team here at Greenvale Primary School.  I have come from a local school, teaching Foundation last year. I follow the Western Bulldogs in the AFL and I enjoy all outdoor sports, walking, water-skiing on the Murray River and paddle boarding on the weekends with my children. On the school holidays I went to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Port Douglas, where I snorkeled with an array of tropical fish, turtles and sharks and ticked off some of my travel bucket list. Wishing all the best to students of 2023. 

Ms Amanda Dawson

Hi, my name is Amanda Dawson and I’m really passionate about working in education and creating opportunities for students to explore, learn and thrive. I’ve been teaching for 10+ years and yes, my face looks familiar because I taught here in 2019 and am so happy to be back. I enjoy socialising with friends and having fun. I love coffee and travelling and have lived overseas. Some of my favourite places are Ireland, Brazil, Samoa, India and Iceland. I am an art lover and love visiting the NGV and I’m a crazy Bulldogs supporter. I look forward to getting to know the GPS community.

Ms Olivia Di Giorgo

Hi! My name is Olivia Di Giorgio and I am a graduate teacher at Greenvale Primary School. I graduated from RMIT University in April 2022. Teaching has always been my passion. I strive to see students grow in their learning and confidence. In my free time, I love going to the beach, playing board games, spending time with family and friends and enjoy watching AFL. I am so excited to be a part of the GPS community and look forward to what 2023 brings!

Mr Aaron Toos

My name is Aaron-Joshua Toos and I will be teaching 2AT this year. I've had the pleasure of joining the GPS family as a CRT and a year 4 classroom teacher in 2022. I am also a former student of the school, so I'm ecstatic to be able to give back to the GPS community. My passions include photography and travelling. I am excited to meet you all and for the amazing things that await this year!

Ms Laura Doran

Hi I’m Laura Doran and I’m a new member of the Greenvale Primary School community. I’m so excited to be joining the fantastic Foundation team as the teacher of 0LD!  I can’t wait for the amazing year ahead!

Ms Violetta Mladenova

Hi everyone! My name is Violetta Mladenova and I am so excited to be working at Greenvale Primary School this year. I have been a teacher for 4 years and have taught Foundation and Grades 1 and 2. I am eager to meet all of you throughout the school year and cannot wait to see what 2023 has in store!

Ms Andrea Rudnickij

Hello everyone, my name is Andrea Rudnickij and I am new to Greenvale Primary School. Some of you may remember me towards the end of last year, when I was working as a CRT here at Greenvale Primary School. I recently returned to Melbourne after spending three wonderful years in beautiful, warm, sunny Cairns. This year, I am delighted to be teaching Year 4. I am looking forward to meeting everyone within the school community. If you see me out and about, please don’t be a stranger, come and say hello. I am looking forward to a fantastic 2023.

Food for Thought

Angelika Ireland