Principal's Message

We are all aware that punctuality is important in many aspects of life; to catch a plane or train, for a specialist appointment, even if they are running late, for work and for school. Here at PPPS we start at 9:00 am, and that means all students should be lined up or at their room at 9:00 am, not being dropped off at that time. Teachers take or invite students inside at 9:00 and anyone arriving after that is late. Little kids do not like being late. For many it is an unsettled start to their day and for those with any degree of anxiety, lateness can really ‘stress them out’ for the whole day. We all know that if little kids are late, it is usually the parent who is responsible. Yes, the traffic has been atrocious but Plenty Road is so much better now.

I understand that Monday was an aberration because a street was blocked off without any warning and cars were diverted onto Plenty Road. If that was the reason for your child being late, we did not record it; we understand that sometimes there are exceptional circumstances.

However, we have as many as 20 to 30 students who are late each day. Dropping your child while the music is playing means they will be late to their room.

When older students are late, sometimes it is the parent’s responsibility, but sometimes the responsibility lies with the child. We are pleased to see older students walk to school, however they still need to be here before 9:00 am so they are at their classroom at 9:00 am.

As a parent it is your responsibility to model so many things in life, and punctuality is one of them. Please show respect for other students, their parents who manage to arrive in time, your child’s teacher and the school processes, and ensure your child/children are here with enough time to be at their classroom at 9:00 am to start their learning. Thank you

Excitement about the concert is building as year levels practise their item for the ‘big night/s’. Remember to purchase your tickets using the information in the newsletter and on Compass.

The closing date for the Online Parent Opinion Survey has been extended by the Department to Sunday 18 August 2019. If you received an invitation to participate you can now submit completed online surveys until 11:59pm Sunday 18 August 2019. As of Wednesday our records indicate that 48 responses have been completed. Thank you to those parents, and to those who will take advantage of the extended timeline to provide us with feedback.  

Congratulations to Kashika (3-19) who participated in the 4th National Abacus Competition Festival on 20th July 2019. She won a Championship Trophy and also performed a multitasking mental maths (with violin play) demonstration for the audience and received the Demo Kid Award.

We look forward to Kashika demonstrating her prowess in mental maths calculations at school.

An important change for parents and carers.

As you know the current methods of payment at Plenty Parklands Primary School are Cash, EFTPOS, Credit Card and the Qkr app.

For financial and internal audit control purposes the PPPS Cash Handling Policy has been amended and approved by School Council at its recent meeting on 30th July.

Please note the amendment to the policy as per below;

There will be no over the counter payments (Cash, EFTPOS or Credit Card) at the school office or to be sent with the student on the last day of each term. The only method of payment accepted on the last day of each term will be via Qkr. This is to ensure that staff can process and reconcile any payments before the end of each term and that there are no, or minimal funds, held in the safe over the term break. 

This is to take effect commencing end of Term 3 2019. This means there will be no over the counter payments accepted on Friday 20th September.

If any student brings an envelope and payment for an event/excursion to school on this day it will be returned to them to take home. You will then be contacted to let you know it is being returned. Thank you for your cooperation as this will ensure our school’s compliance with financial policy.

Thank you for living by the values and for modelling them for your children.

Claire McInerney

Principal