Delacombe Primary School

From The Principal's Desk

Dear Parents and Carers, 

 

It is the second last week of the term and with Easter fast approaching and an end to daylight savings this weekend. We finished last week with our House Athletics for students in Grade 3-6 in challenging weather conditions. It was terrific to see so many parents and carers attend the House Sports day and support their children.  Mr Storey and Mrs O’Brien managed to organise an efficient day with it all running to schedule despite the interruptions.The end result was a win to Moneghetti House (Green House), followed by Red, Yellow and then Blue. Thank you to all those extra supportive parents who in the Parents and Friends food area that raised further funds for the school. 

 

NAPLAN

We have also managed to complete all of the NAPLAN assessments for both Grade 3 and Grade 5 last week and the students did a terrific job in applying their best efforts. I would also like to thank all the teachers and parents for their support of the students during this time.

 

Staffing Update

At the end of Term 1 we say farewell to a number of staff who will be leaving us and welcome new staff who will be joining us.  

Our farewells are:

  • Mrs Ainslee Mc Dougall who joined us this year as our Wellbeing Specialist will be joining Ballarat Clarendon College in their Wellbeing department.  We wish Mrs Mc Dougall all the best and thank her for the support she has given to students and families at DPS. Mr Mark Coastanzo will step into the role of Acting Wellbeing Specialist and work with Mrs Cooper, Mrs Dawson and Laura to continue to support students in need.
  • Mrs Tamara McGuire who has been an Educational Support person at our school for the last 2 years will finish up this term and prioritise on her art and family.  We thank Tamara for her time with us and the support she has given to students in 4B this year.
  • Mr Flynn Loader will also finish up this term and will move into being an insurance broker. Flynn joined us last year in Educational Support and we wish Flynn all the best.

Our welcomes are:

  • We welcome Mrs Kate Austin who will replace Mr Costanzo as the classroom teacher in Grade 5A from Monday to Thursday. Mrs Austin most recently was working at Pleasant St PS and has been working in our school this year.  Mrs Aileen Shearer-Cox will be teaching the classroom on Fridays. Both staff members are staff that we have seen operate in our school and feel confident in their appointments. 
  • We will also be appointing a Garden specialist at the end of this week while Mrs Ruddick is on leave.

 

BSSA Athletics 

Tomorrow we have about 45 students participating in interschool athletics.  The students have been prepared by Mr Storey and Mrs O’Brien during lunchtimes and before school and we will be hoping that they achieve their personal best on the day.

 

Don’t forget that the whole school Cross Country event is on the first week back, on Thursday 27th April.  Details are provided within the newsletter.

 

ANZAC Day 

On Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day. On this day our student leadership group (Junior School Councillors and School Captains) will be representing Delacombe Primary School in the ANZAC Day march along Sturt Street. 

The JSC students will meet at 9:45am out the front of “The Professionals” Real Estate office, 612 Sturt Street, before moving to the official assembly point in Lyons St North. This will be our signing in and out location for the march. The approximate conclusion time is 11:45am.

 

School Crossing

We stress the importance of using the school crossing and that taking the time to use the safest possible path is better than risking a few extra metres or seconds saved.  Our students see what we do as parents and then look to copy what we do.  So for the safety of our students please use the crossing.

School Council

In our March meeting we discussed the following:

  • The current Uniform supplier and the costs that are being applied.  We have investigated LOWES, Beleza and Crockers and presented the pros and cons of each supplier.  We were impressed with some of the alternative suppliers and have requested some garments in our uniform to compare.  We aim to make a decision by the end of this term, all going well.
  • We presented the 2022 Annual Report to the School Council of 2023 and elected our positions for 2023. I am pleased to say that our School Council President is once again Dan Cook and our Vice President Felicity Hickingbotham.  We thank them for accepting the roles and supporting our school.
  • The school report writing day was shifted from Tuesday 13th June to Tuesday 6th June. This day will be a student free day and provide time for teachers to write the reports for Semester 2.  Reports will be available to parents on Monday 19th June.

Advanced Notice

Some key dates and events coming up:

  • Monday 24th April will be a Curriculum Day and is a student free day
  • ANZAC Day march for school captains and JSC members on Tuesday 26th April 9.45am
  • Thursday 27th April will be School Cross Country P-6 on the Doug Dean oval
  • Mother’s Day stall on Friday 5th May 
  • Grandparents Day will be on Friday 12th May from 9.00am -10.45am
  • Division Cross Country on Friday 12th May 
  • Grade 4 Camp 15th – 17th May – Cave Hill Creek
  • School Photos will be on Friday 19th May

On behalf of the school we hope you have an enjoyable Easter break, we have lots to be proud of from our first term of 2023 and look forward to seeing you all after the school holidays. Thanks again for your continued support and working in partnership to ensure our students continue to grow. 

 

Have a great Easter break – Scott, Marnie and Stephanie