Principal's Message

Dear Families

Assistant Principal years 2-4, John Pickett

Since the last newsletter we have said goodbye – for now – to John Pickett, one of our Assistant Principals.  John has been successfully appointed to the role of Acting Principal at Forrest Primary School, which is located the other side of Colac, whilst its current principal is redeployed to another local school. This appointment was made relatively quickly and came as a surprise to some people.   I know you join with me in wishing John all the best in this new role, and in thanking him for all that he has done for the children of our school.  We look forward to welcoming John back when this current position finishes.  We are currently seeking applicants from suitably qualified people to fill the vacancy created by John leaving us.  We will advise you when this appointment has been made.  

New school sign

No doubt if you have driven past the front of the school in recent days you will have noticed the new school sign near the entrance to the administration building.  This electronic sign was paid for with monies raised through the fundraising efforts of our fabulous parents and friends group and will serve as an additional method of communication with families.  

Reports

Classroom teachers are currently working on your son and/or daughter’s term two report.  On this occasion these will be released to families via COMPASS in the first week of term three, with parent teacher interviews planned for the second week of that term.  This is a slight shift in our usual dates but works better with our calendar of school events at this time.  

Year four camp

By the time we write the next newsletter the year four cohort will be halfway through their school camp which is being held at Lady Northcote Camp – outside of Bacchus Marsh. A lot of work goes into the planning of these experiences for students and on this occasion we particularly thank Emma James for her efforts in ensuring that this will be a successful experience for this group of students. I also acknowledge the attending staff who willingly give of their time to make this camp happen.  

Shop for Schools

The ‘Shop for Schools’ program is on again and we look forward to you supporting our school in this competition.  Flyers with information about the program came home with children on Friday last week.  The initiative invites families to upload copies of their receipts from goods purchased at the Pacific Werribee shopping centre during the time the promotion runs to the website contained on the flyer.  We were lucky enough to win this event last year – and our school received $15,000 as first prize.  It would be lovely to repeat this again this year, although the second place getters from 2022 have vowed to go one better in 2023.  The challenge is on...... J

Parking

Once again we are asking our families to respect the access required by our neighbours, and ensure that you do not park across their driveway at drop off and pick up times.  Even a small part of your car protruding over a driveway can make it extremely challenging for vehicles to exit and enter this space.  We have seen several copies of photos of people partially obstructing entry to properties, and these have been passed onto authorities by the people who took them as they face this frustration on a regular basis.  A huge thank you to the vast majority of people who do the right thing. 

Division Cross Country

Best wishes to the 18 students who have progressed to this next level of the cross country interschool competition.  This event is being held next Wednesday and we look forward to hearing how you go.  You have done very well to make it this far and we are proud to have you representing our school at this high stage of a local competition.  

Winter Gala Day

On Friday, June 2 our Year six students will be participating in the Winter Sports Gala Day against a number of other local schools.  Consent forms for this were released vis COMPASS earlier this week.  Students have been practising their skill sets in their nominated sport in readiness for this day over a number of weeks now and we wish them all the best.  

Mothers’ Day stall and raffle

Once again we offer our thanks to our parents and friends group for the stall they organised so that children were able to purchase some special treats to present to mum or other significant person on this day.  They also provided a raffle in which every child got free entry – providing an opportunity for these young people to win a hamper for mum as an extra special Mothers’ Day treat.  Congratulations to the raffle winners below: 

Mothers’ Day in Foundation 

Our youngest students got to welcome mum or other important adult to school to share some special time with them on the Friday before the Mothers’ Day weekend.  There was singing, craft and the presentation of gifts as the children got to show off their classroom to their special visitor in the afternoon. We have provided you with some photos of this afternoon later in the newsletter under School News tab.

Leave

I am currently on a short period of long service leave, returning to school next Friday, June 2.  Jodie Gauci is Acting Principal during this time.  Thank you to Jodie for stepping up to take this on. I know that the school is in good hands – and Jodie will be well supported by the rest of the Principal Class and Leadership teams.   Parents please understand that when we are operating with fewer staff than we would usually have it can take a little longer for us to respond to your enquiries.  

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.  

Sue Seneviratne

Principal