Newsletter #1 January 30th, 2026
GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY
Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.
We extend a warm welcome to everyone returning to Glen Huntly Primary School for the start of the 2026 school year. We hope you enjoyed a relaxing holiday break filled with quality time and special moments with family and friends. While summer brought many beautiful days of sunshine, my time away along the Great Ocean Road included cooler weather and a closed beach at Lorne due to flooding. Despite this, it was still a wonderful opportunity to enjoy walks, share many coffees, and spend precious time together as a family—especially enjoying lots of cuddles with baby Alexander.
A special welcome to the new families and students joining our school community this year. We hope your start at Glen Huntly Primary School is a positive one and that you quickly feel a sense of belonging. Our community is full of friendly and supportive faces, and we encourage you to reach out whenever needed.
We also extend our sincere thanks to both returning and new staff for the dedication and care they have shown in preparing the school for the return of our students. Their work in supporting students to reconnect with peers and settle into new classes has ensured a smooth and welcoming start to the year.
Yesterday marked an important milestone for our newest students—the 2026 Prep cohort. Accompanied by their families, they took their first steps into school life. It was wonderful to see their excitement and courage as they began this new journey. Thank you to our families for helping create such a positive and memorable start to school.
As the new school year begins, there is a genuine sense of excitement across the school. Teachers have been busily preparing classrooms, transforming empty spaces into warm, engaging learning environments. Every display, bookshelf, and desk arrangement is thoughtfully planned to ensure students feel safe, supported, and inspired to learn.
For many students, the start of the year brings a mix of emotions—excitement about seeing friends, curiosity about new teachers, and sometimes a few understandable nerves. From day one, we focus on establishing clear expectations to create a calm, supportive, and structured learning environment for all.
Our school-wide approach supports students to understand what it means to be respectful, show pride, and stay safe in all areas of the school. During the first few weeks, teachers explicitly teach and reinforce these expectations so they become familiar routines. These expectations are more than rules; they are shared values that help build a positive, inclusive school culture.
We are very much looking forward to a fantastic year ahead, filled with learning, growth, discovery, and shared achievements. Thank you for being an active part of our wonderful school community—we look forward to another year of learning and thriving together.
As always, Term 1 brings many highlights, including ‘Getting to Know You’ interviews, Information Nights, House Swimming, a whole-school picnic night, Junior School Council and School Council elections, a Curriculum Day, and much more.
We encourage families to stay informed by regularly reading Compass updates and the school newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact the General Office. We also welcome and value community involvement through working bees, volunteering as a reading parent, supporting and volunteering at GPA events, and many other opportunities throughout the year.
Last Tuesday marked our first Curriculum Day for 2026, and it was a highly productive and valuable session for staff as we continue to strengthen teaching and learning across the school. The focus for staff this year is- Stronger Together through courage, collaboration, and community. We unpacked how this looks at Glen Huntly primary and where we can get even better to be an even better school. Staff also addressed the Child Safe policies and our teaching and learning playbook. It was a very productive day to prepare our staff for the year ahead.
Child safety and wellbeing at Glen Huntly Primary
Information for families and the school community
Glen Huntly primary is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.
Our child safety framework https://www.glenhuntlyps.vic.edu.au/forms-and-policies/ explains how we support and maintain child safety and wellbeing at our school. It includes our:
- Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
- Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedures, and
- Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.
Our students and families are important partners in providing a child safe environment. These regular newsletter reminders are one of the ways we ensure our school community is aware of:
- our commitment to child safety, and
- how to provide feedback or raise child safety concerns.
If you have any concerns about child safety at any time, please contact Nerida Burns, Principal, or, Cameron White, Assistant Principal on 95712931. Any child safety complaints or concerns are treated seriously. For more information about our school’s complaints process, see our Complaints Policy, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SwXR6aDUri_VqThvICy_Gp-cELSsL2JM/edit?tab=t.0
We also welcome your ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing. If you have any suggestions or comments please contact Nerida Burns, Principal. Nerida.burns@education.vic.gov.au.
Our school collects, uses, discloses, and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the GHPS Privacy Policy.
Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website.
For more information about privacy, see Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents.
INSURANCE
The Education Department does not have accident insurance.
Items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school, such as iPads or other valuables, are not the responsibility of Glen Huntly Primary School or the Department.
Staff and students are reminded not to bring items of value to school.
The Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to school and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property.
MEDICAL AUTHORISATIONS
If your child requires medication during school hours you must complete a Medication Authorisation Form. These can be obtained from the front office.
The medication must be brought to the office before school.
ALL MEDICINE MUST BE SUPPLIED IN THE ORIGINAL CONTAINER
If your child requires Panadol etc. during school hours, please complete a Medical Authorisation Form and supply your own Panadol to the front office.
Students are not permitted to carry any medication in their schoolbags or self-administer any medication.
If your child requires Antibiotics and are to be given three times a day you can give to your child in the morning before school, after school and before bed.
Thank you for your support with helping us to manage student medical needs.
Interviews
Starting in Week 4, all families with children in Years 1-6 will have the opportunity to meet with their child’s classroom teacher for a ‘Getting to Know You’ meeting. These meetings provide parents and carers with a chance to share valuable insights about their children, including their wellbeing, academic needs, social-emotional development, aspirations, and family connections. It will be an opportunity to also discuss student goals for the term.
Building a strong home-school partnership is essential in supporting student success. These interviews help establish trusting relationships and foster open communication, ensuring that teachers gain a deeper understanding of each child’s strengths and needs from the very beginning of the year.
The School Interviews portal will open shortly for bookings. Pip will share further details via COMPASS.
Mobile Phones
We understand that many of our students, in particular older students, now have their own mobile phones or smart watch. We also understand the necessity of students who walk/ride to school having the ability to communicate with their parents/carers.
Upon entering the school students are required to silence/switch off their phones, and hand them in at the office for secure storage throughout the day.
Students then return to collect their mobile device at 3.30pm. Please use the school office for all daily communication needs.
Thank you in advance.
School Uniform
It has been wonderful to see our students all in the new school uniform.
A friendly reminder that navy bottoms are required to be worn, not maroon or black. Also, dangling, and large earrings are not to be worn for safety reasons, and coloured hair is discouraged.
If you would like to get involved with the school or have any feedback, please contact us at glenhuntly.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Nerida Burns and Cameron White
Building primary schools’ capacity to enhance children’s mental health
Children’s mental health is fundamental to their development and learning. Good mental health means having a positive sense of wellbeing, coping with challenges and being able to realise individual potential. Unfortunately, not all children experience good mental health. Schools are an ideal platform for promoting children’s mental health.
Developed by paediatricians, educators, psychologists, researchers, and teachers, the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative upskills experienced teachers to become Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders and aims to increase the capacity of Victorian primary school teachers to support the mental health of their students.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader – Mrs Melinda Oldham
The role of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) is to build the capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention), provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs, establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention.
Resource Room
We now have a dedicated resource room (office area) for Parent, Teacher and Student resources. Restorative Conversations between students will also take place in this space.
If you ever need advice, support or would like further information, please contact melindaoldham@education.vic.gov.au or make a time to meet in our resourcing area.
Parent Action Team
We understand that we have many skilled professionals in the area of children’s mental health and those either working in the field of support or simply have in interest in this area.
It is always great to tap into expertise and gather ideas, suggestions as to how we can further support students at GHPS.
Mrs Oldham will be holding parent forums each term to communicate and gather input to the MHiPS initiative.
If you would like to join in this meeting, I will be running the first gathering on Friday 27th February at 9am in the East Site Staffroom. Please feel free to join for the meeting and morning tea.
Melinda Oldham
TheirCare News
GHPS Facebook
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Calendar 2026
Term 1
February
Tue 3 Yr 2, Yr 4, Yr 5/6 information evening
Wed 4 Prep, Yr 1, Yr 3 information evening
Wed 4 Cyber Safety Presentation
Tue 17 Lunar New Year
Wed 18 Meet the Teacher
Fri 20 House Swimming Yr 3-6
Mon 23 District Swimming
Tue 24 School Photos
Wed 25 Welcome Picnic
March
Thu 5 Lightening Premiership Yr 5/6
Mon 9 Labour Day Public Holiday
Tue 10 Curriculum Day (Student free day)
April
Thu 2 Easter Hat Parade
Thu 2 Last Day of term 1 2.30pm early finish
Fri 3 Good Friday Public Holiday
Term 2
April
Mon 20 Term 2 begins
Fri 24 ANZAC Day School Service
Fee payments and Excursion Permissions and Payments.
All Communication notices regarding excursions will be sent through COMPASS.
Permissions are to be given through COMPASS.
Preferred payment method for Fee payments and Excursions is through COMPASS.
This will allow us to always keep all the correct information available to staff whilst on an excursion.
If you have any questions, please contact the office or see Guide below.
CLICK HERE for Parent’s Guide to Compass
Thank you.