Dear Parents and Carers,

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish all families a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. This year has presented lots of challenges for both students, families and teachers, forging ahead with the Somerville sprit we have overcome these together. Some normality has come into our student’s day to day activities. Last week it was wonderful listening to our Grade 5 students presenting their Leadership speeches to become our 2022 Captains and Leaders. It was a very Australian feel, with cicadas chirping in the background. All of our Year 5 students spoke exceptionally well and I am sure it will be a very close vote for the 2022 Captains. Our Middle students headed off to camp, which after the last 18 months has been an excellent opportunity for them. Our Grade 6 students have attended their 2022 High School as part of the State Wide Transition day while the rest of the school met their 2022 class and teacher on Thursday last week.

Thank you to our wonderful families and everyone who has contributed to the success of our school in any way. Your support for our school is greatly appreciated. When we have new enrolments, I ask them how they have heard about our school, most families say ‘I have heard great things about your school’ or something along those lines. It is important that we continue to share all the great things about our school with the wider community. We have such a wonderful school community and I am very proud of how we all come together to make our school a great school. Thank you all very much.

In 2022 we will be welcoming Lachlan Smith from Karingal Primary School, he will be taking over PE; Lachlan has taught PE at Karingal. Ben Benton who has been our drum teacher as part of the DSE music tuition program will be joining us as a Grade 4 teacher. Danielle Antoniou will be returning from family leave to teach Indigenous Studies. Kylie Nicholas is also returning to Somerville in a new role supporting students through the Inclusion Program. Jo Dewar is returning and will be in Year 5-6.

It is also that time where we have to say goodbye to staff who are not returning in 2022. Jenny Monteath will be retiring at the end of the year. Jenny is an inspirational teacher who has taught many families throughout her time at Somerville, including some staff and some parents and many of our wonderful students. Julie Reinders will also be retiring; Julie has run an excellent Art program and I am sure many families have thoroughly enjoyed the numerous Art Shows Julie has organised. Heather Pulling will be taking leave for 2022 and we look forward to her return in 2023. Rebecca Mioduszewski will be continuing at Somerville Rise for 2022. Gemma Gooding is taking leave for 2022 as she travels around Australia, we wish her all the best with her travels. Georgia Pulling will be moving to Westernport Secondary College to teach English. Our Chaplain Jared will be moving to Garfield Primary School in 2022, it is sad to see him leave, however we wish him all best.

Our 2022 Team are:

Leadership

David Tapp Acting Principal

Raelene Harvey Assistant Principal

Shane Gagiero Learning Specialist – Inclusion and High Abilities

Foundation Staff

Kristy Lund Foundation Classroom Teacher

Anne Goodman Foundation Classroom Teacher

Sarah McCann Foundation Classroom Teacher

Year 1 Staff

Tiffany Johnston Year 1 Classroom Teacher

Eliza Bedin Year 1 Classroom Teacher

Jamie Bello Year 1 Classroom Teacher

Year 2 Staff

Felicity Elliott/Kate McEvoy Year 2 Classroom Teacher

Sarah Kerr Year 2 Classroom Teacher

Karin Rooke Year 2 Classroom Teacher

Year 3 Staff

Donna Dower Year 3 Classroom Teacher

Ellen-Marie Boundy Year 3 Classroom Teacher

Year 4 Staff

Stephanie Quarrier Year 4 Classroom Teacher

Ben Benton Year 4 Classroom Teacher

Year 5/6 Staff

Jo Dewar Year 5/6 Classroom Teacher

Steph Barth Year 5/6 Classroom Teacher

Sam Lord Year 5/6 Classroom Teacher

Intervention

Jo Ritchie Years 1-3 Intervention and Extension

Specialists

Lachlan Smith Physical Education

Jessica Emery Performing Arts

Katie Bingham Visual Arts

Jemma Dunstan Environmental Science

Ayaka Mori Japanese

Danielle Antoniou Indigenous Studies

Education Support

Heather Fairclough Education Support

Belinda Smith Education Support

Judy Bray Education Support

Julie Davie Education Support

Dana Moore Education Support

Jen Langendorf Education Support

Danielle French Education Support

Kylie Nicholas Student Wellbeing and Inclusion

Jane Buchanan Business Manager

Lisa Cliff Office Manager

Adrian Dunstan Maintenance

Rohan Beckett eLearning Technician

This week we have had the foundations poured for the new portable, which is being installed next week. It is unfortunate as part of the new portable the VSBA have advised the rebound wall will be removed. I know this is disappointing for many families, we have taken photos of the artwork and will keep these on file as part of the fond memory of past students. We have a number of projects that will be finished off over the holidays, including a new seating and stage area around the basketball courts and landscaping works following the storm damage from the end of October.

Student reports are released online on Monday at 4pm. Please be sure to take the time to read over your child’s report with them and to celebrate all the growth your child has made over the last 12 months. Be sure to talk to your child about what they are proud of and what they will work on in 2022. All students have worked extremely hard throughout a second very challenging year. I would like to congratulate all of them for their exceptional effort with their learning. The reports will look different to the mid year reports as the Department of Education guidelines changed based on the Remote Learning period.

Below is a letter regarding reports in the newsletter. This letter will also be sent out on Monday.

Every year many families ask about the Summer Learning Loss. This occurs when students stop reading or completing mental maths. However you can do something about this. What can you do is:

head to the local library to borrow some books, you may have a few books at home, but how exciting is it to go to one of our local libraries and borrow a few books,
take a book to the park or beach to read,
get your child to read in the morning when they are used to learning before they go off and play,
get your child to log on to Mathletics and do a few activities,
log onto Reading Eggs/Eggpress…
do a passion project together on a given topic

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year; have a happy and safe holiday with your family and friends and I look forward to seeing you all in 2022 ready for an awesome year at Somerville Primary School!

Kind Regards,

David Tapp

Acting Principal