Welcome back

We hope that you have enjoyed a well-earned break after the busy Term 1. As always, there is much planned for the term ahead, with Cross Country, Mother’s Day Stall, parent helpers, excursions/incursions. It has been fantastic to see everyone back at school ready for another exciting term ahead.

ANZAC Day

Thank you to the School Captains Ollie and Ella for leading our ANZAC Ceremony on Monday and Elias for his expert flag raising. We were able to hold this outdoors at the Performing Arts deck, where the captains lead the students through the Ode and Last Post. ANZAC day is an important part of our history and it is essential for our students to know about this day and its significance.

School Council 2023

The new School Council for 2023 met during the last week of term 1 following the nomination period earlier term 1. The following positions were filled:

President: Deb Brown (Hamish and Lachlan)

Vice President: Louise Pearson (Charlie)

Treasurer and Finance Sub-Committee Convener: Andrew Merryweather (Jessica and Lucy)

Minute Secretary: Sarah McDonell (staff)

Buildings and Environment Sub-Committee Convener: Thomas Chapman (staff)

Education Sub-Committee Convener: Tim Chapman (staff)

Sustainability Sub-Committee Convener: TBA

Fundraising Sub-Committee Convener: Felicity McGrath (Max)

Marketing Sub-Committee Convener: Hesper Moore (Jack)

Any parents who have skills in these areas or are simply interested in getting involved are encouraged to speak to the school – we would love to hear from you. All our sub-committees need new members. They usually meet twice a term online. You do not need to have any particular skills to be involved, just a willingness to lend a hand. The benefits are in the connections you make with other families – and for the school. Many hands make light work! Please see me at school if you are interested, and I will put you in touch with the relevant Convener.

We are also looking for a convenor for our Sustainability Sub-Committee. If you have an interest in the area and would like to help out, please contact me so we can discuss! We have two Sustainability staff representatives

2022 Annual Report

Our 2022 Annual report was presented to the School Council and is now available for parents and other interested persons on the School Website. This will be presented at an Annual General meeting in June. Date TBC.

Kindness

Last term we had a visitor to the office to visit our Business Manager Sarah McDonell, Kit who is in Year 3. Kit wanted to make a donation from his kindness jar to Solway. Kit and Sarah counted the coins together and discussed how Kit would like his donation to be spent. He decided he would like to purchase a graphic novel series for the library. This was an amazing opportunity to demonstrate our values and wonderful act of kindness. I know this made Sarah’s day and it certainly made mine when I heard about it! Thank you to Kit for his generosity!

Mothers’ Day

A very big thank you to Felicity McGrath, Anna Globan and the team who organised the Mother’s Day lunch for this Friday. We hope you all have a wonderful time.

Another huge thank you to Michaela Hatters and Leslie Dundon, along with the team of helpers who are running the Mother’s Day stall on Friday 12 May. The students will be taken to view and purchase items from the Mother’s Day Stall. Information on how to purchase is in the Fundraising section of the newsletter.

I wish everyone a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday 14 May, whatever you are doing and hope that between the sporting and social events, you find some time to do something you enjoy.

Cross Country

We are eagerly looking forward to the Cross Country tomorrow morning for our Year 3-6 students. This will be held at Markham Reserve. Any parents who can assist on the day please contact Mr Tim Chapman at Timothy.Chapman2@education.vic.gov.au

Prep 2024 Enrolments – Parent Information Sessions

On Thursday 18 May at 7:00pm and Saturday 27 May, we are holding information sessions for prospective Prep 2024 families. Families are asked to register their interest in attending the tour by contacting the Office.

Enrolment processes have been updated and our Solway website reflects the Department of Education changes with an updated enrolment form. We ask our current families to pass this information on to their Kinder contacts, friends and neighbours. Prep enrolments for 2024 are due by Friday 28 July 2023.

Congratulations

I want to pass on my congratulations to Joshua Guy and his wife Genevieve, who are expecting their second baby and Victoria Josephs and her husband Tom who are expecting their third baby.

Lyn Rodda

Principal

Health & Wellbeing