Principals Report

By Mr Frank Catalano - Principal

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our fabulous school.

As per usual, if you have any questions or issues you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au

Novel Coronavirus Update

By now I am hoping the ‘circuit breaker lockdown’ is a distant memory for most of us whilst also praying that we never have to experience something like that, or an extended lockdown, again. However, the logical/mathematical part of my brain is not as confident. Never the less, we are incredibly fortunate to be living in Australia and look forward to a time when C-19 is eradicated.

As mentioned in the Compass Posts, a heartfelt and sincere thank you to all of the GWPS families for the manner in which you supported the children last week and also for the incredibly smooth transition back to school on Thursday. We really are an amazing school community and look forward to another fabulous year.

Council of International Schools Update

As you would be aware, our school is a very proud member of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and this year is a very important CIS year for us as we are undertaking a school review. There are many facets of the review process with one being the school community surveys. A sincere thank you to the parents, students, staff, alumni and school councillors who completed the survey over the last 2 weeks and I look forward to sharing some of the results in forthcoming newsletters.

Alumni

For those who may not be aware, our school has a very proud alumni who partake in school events every year and are led by the Alumni Leadership Team, which consists of past School Captains. The Leadership Team met recently and organised the following dates for our past students to come together:

2020 Graduates - Wednesday 17th March, 5:30 – 7:30 and
All other graduates - Wednesday 1st September, 5:30 – 7:30.

We look forward to sharing photos and additional news in due course.

Facilities Update

I am thrilled to report that the student bathroom renovations (near the Out of School Hours Care and Music room) are now complete! This is very exciting news and something that was very much needed in our school. Below are some of the comments the children in Year 2 would like to share about their new facilities:

Aalam – I like that there are different toilets (referring to basins and urinals)

Shayel – I like the tiled walls

Sandul – the toilets look nice, clean and organised

Vinushi – I like the new fresh colours

Deyana – the new toilets look sparkly, clean and very fresh

Julie – I like the detail like we now have 3 hand dryers and 5 toilets. Before we used paper towels and only had 2 toilets

A sincere thank you to the numerous families who have supported our school by contributing to the Building Fund and Bathroom Levy as your contribution has made this project possible. Thank you everyone!

School Uniform

As a school community we are very proud of our fresh, clean and crisp looking student uniform however it saddens me when I see the ‘Lost Property Box” filled with lost, misplaced and unnamed items. Children (and parents) may I encourage everyone to check their uniform and if it doesn’t have a name on it, please see to it ASAP as we do have staff who are responsible for checking the lost property box and they do return named items to the rightful owner on a very regular basis.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY:

Various P-2 children

For completing “glittering spaceships” as part of an English lesson during the lockdown

Prep A

Deana and Augastya for working extra hard on their maths skills

Anaisha, Jessica, Ahmad, Veer, Saheli, Tianna and Chloe for writing fabulous reflections about learning from home which are featured in the Kids Corner section of the newsletter
Saheli, Dion T, Diyon A and Vivaan P for being Maths Superstars!
Yashen and Jessica also for being Maths superstars!
Aamaya for writing a very detailed description of her very own Nian monster which is also featured in the Kids Corner section of the newsletter
Krish, Helen, Chloe and Vihas for working so hard to improve their English skills

Neraja for creating a fantastic keynote about the importance of making good decisions

Grace also for creating a fantastic keynote about the importance of making good decisions

Adrisha and Emma for writing a lovely letter for my office
Dinara and Aadi for reflecting on what makes great behaviour

Aalam for achieving his circuit breaker lockdown challenge of completing a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle

Guneet for receiving a certificate from the North Shore Coaching College for great reading skills
Savinu and Diyon for being very responsible members of our school community

Emilia for excelling with extra hard maths problems and for writing and thinking deeply about how she will reconnect with her friends after lockdown
Yehara for writing a lovely letter for my office

Mikayla for drawing the most amazing pictures of her classroom and Lunar New Year
Meshavi, Deeya, Akira, Swara and Meenu for being wonderful friends
Akira, Arya and Swara for sharing their amazing learning
Meenu and Sophie for being very supportive friends
Reyan for writing a very detailed recount about his weekend and the fact that he beat his dad in a game of chess
Meenu and Swara for making outstanding progress with their drawing skills
Arya also for being a very responsible member of our school community

Neha for writing a fabulous reflection about how she is going to reconnect with her friends after lockdown

Aanya, Trisha and Raavi for creating a series of tips to be safe around water

Trisha, Raavi and Binuli for creating a 3D diorama about the importance of water safety

Damsara for continuing to work on his drawing skills

Dhruv for being a fabulous friend

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,

Frank Catalano

Principal