Principal's Report

By Frank Catalano

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, please do not hesitate to contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au

Coronavirus Update

I cannot express how wonderful it is to have the children back at school! Their smiling faces, endless amount of energy and the manner in which they talk to one another whilst simply interacting or learning is priceless and something that we have missed for quite some time.

However, our new ‘covid-normal’ comes with a new set of expectations for all of us such as:

Wearing face masks:
- Mandatory for all adults and Year 3 to 6 children indoors
- Highly recommended for all Year Prep to 2 children indoors
Social distancing
Sanitising
Not attending school if a child or family member feels unwell
Immediately completing a Covid test if we are unwell
Quarantining until the Covid test result is received and
Informing me if a child/family are quarantining and the test results immediately upon receiving them.

I am hopeful that our school will not be impacted by a positive case, however the reality is that this is something that we cannot predict although there is so much, we can do to minimise the risk.

Thank you everyone for the manner in which you are supporting our school as we embark on this next ‘covid-challenge’ and please ensure you follow the advice provided whilst keeping me informed of test results.

Warm Weather

As everyone would be aware, the weather is beginning to warm up hence we strongly encourage all of the students to ensure they bring a drink bottle to school, some sunscreen and naturally their sun smart school hat. A water bottle on the desk will enable the children to have a quick drink and alleviate the need to leave the room and interrupt learning time. If a child does not have a hat at school, they will be required to play under the stage area.

School Chess Team

The children in our school Chess Team are incredibly passionate, proud and committed to improving their ability to play chess and I am extremely thrilled to report that they have had the most amazing year as they have now qualified for the National Championships!

There are 3 main Chess organisations that implement chess tournaments every year.

Chess Victoria tournament organised by Chess Victoria and affiliated to the Australian Chess Federation (State and National Level)
Kids Unlimited Chess tournaments (State and National Level)
Northern Star Chess Tournaments (State only)

Below is a snapshot of what the team has achieved this year at the above tournaments after playing the preliminary rounds throughout the year.

Chess Victoria and Australian Chess Federation

State Champions 2021 in the Primary Open Category and now qualified for the Prestigious Nationals Event on the 4th and 5th of December.
3rd place in the State Primary Girls Category.

2. Kids Unlimited

State Champions 2021 in the Primary Open Category and now qualified for the Nationals at the end of November or early December.
State Champions 2021in the Middle Years Category (Year 5-Year 9) for the first-time beating a number of secondary schools. National championship dates to be advised.
State Champions 2021 in the Primary Girls Category for the first time and qualified for the Nationals at the end of November or early December.

3. Northern Star Chess Tournaments (State only)

12 students have qualified for the State Primary Open Semi-finals to be held on Sunday 14th of November.
4 Girls have qualified for the State Primary Girls Final to be held on Saturday 27th November. Another first for our school.
4 Students have qualified for the State Junior Primary Finals (Prep-Year 3) again another first for the school and will be held on Saturday 4th of December.

It is quite evident that it has been a tremendous year for all of the children involved. We are notably proud of our girls and the students in the early years of Prep and Year 1’s who have made great strides this year in winning and qualifying for State and National events which augurs well for the future.

Well done and congratulations to the following children who are the Glen Waverley PS 2021 Chess Team:

Year Prep: Naveen
Year One: Lesara, Saheli and Amaya
Year Two: Evin and Reyan
Year Three: Thenugi
Year Four: Dhruv, Dev, Vikas and Vidushi
Year Five: Thineru, Omika, Reyansh and Nikhil
Year Six: Okith, Arnav, Sanuk, Rahul and Tejas.

I think it would be incredibly remiss of me not to mention the support the children’s parents have provided. A sincere thank you to all of the mums and dads for all that you do to encourage, support the children to achieve their best as your efforts are also appreciated immensely.

I know that I speak for the entire Glen Waverley PS community, when I say (type), we wish the children all the very best with all of the national events and can’t wait to hear how you go!

Congratulations to Jeff and Lili Chen

For those who may be aware, Jeff Chen taught at our school for the past 4 years before moving to Antonio Park PS at the beginning of this year. I am extremely proud to report that Jeff and Lili are the proud parents of baby Caitlin who was born on the 30th October. Included are photos of Caitlin for everyone’s enjoyment. On behalf of the Glen Waverley PS Community, congratulations Jeff and Lili!

Diwali

Thank you to the members of our school community who have shared photos, videos and gifts associated with the wonderful festival of Diwali. Attached are some photographs for your enjoyment!

Prep Transition Program

It was certainly fabulous to welcome some of our 2022 Prep children to school as they completed their Prep Transition session on Tuesday. We look forward to the rest of the children completing their session on the 23rd of November and our newest learners commencing school next year. A sincere thank you to their parents for making the time to attend our school and the students in 6D for assisting.

Included are some photos of the children’s transition session!

Congratulations to the children in the Out of School Hours Care Program

I am extremely delighted to report that the children who attend the Before and After School Care program were recently notified that their entry in the Rocketeers building challenge competition has placed first and they have won a $500 voucher to spend on resources for our service. Congratulations to everyone involved and I look forward to seeing what is purchased with the voucher – well done everyone!

2022 School Captains

There has certainly been a little more than usual “excitement and trepidation” in the air as the Year 5 children are currently undertaking the process of nominating for the various student leadership positions for the 2022 school year. May I take this opportunity to wish all of the children well and we look forward to announcing the 2022 Student Leaders on Monday 6th December.

2022 Class Requests

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, our school is currently in the process of creating classes for the 2022 school year, if parents have a particular preference for their child which pertains to educational or wellbeing (friendship) issues, please see me at school or send me an email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

Please ensure this is completed by, Friday 19th November.

Please note that we do not keep requests from last year and we do our best to accommodate all wishes, however there may be times in which this is not possible.

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

Prep B

Sandaru, Yuvein and Shreyansh for working so hard to improve their writing skills

Prep D

Thehan and Jamie for writing a procedural text about how to make a parachute
Minadi for learning about capacity and for writing a pro9cedural text about how to make a sandwich
Anuki for being a fantastic friend
Nethuli for making great progress with her learning

Prep E

Sophie for also making great progress with her learning

Kylie, Diyon A, Dion T and Jessica for writing a very detailed procedural text about how to make slime

Tevin also making amazing progress with his writing
Sasen for being a great friend

Yehara, Stuti and Thinuli for drawing very creative Kintsugi bowls that depicts negative and positive aspects about LFH
Thinuli for receiving a medallion and certificate from the Southern Federation of Dance for the completing Classical 2 exam with distinction

Sahana for being a really responsible member of our school community

Neha and Chithuni for creating very descriptive colour poems
Yana for creating 3D object nets which when you pull on a piece of string, it makes the 3D shape

Neervi for creating a very detailed presentation about Roman Numerals and how to read them
Simon for being a wonderful friend and member of our school community

Reyansh for developing his very own machine that extracts water from the air and also purifies the air so it can be breathed in and out again

Jonathan for working so hard to improve his drawing skills

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,

Frank Catalano

Principal