Newsletter #10 June 25 2020
Principal’s Report
Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.
A short, end of Term 2 report to capture some final but important things:
- Semester One Student Report: Thank you to all the teachers for their amazing work to complete the Semester 1 report and I trust all parents will enjoy reading them when they become live on Compass today. Ms Tinetti has pushed out a notification today. Please be sure to take the opportunity and follow the teacher’s recommendations for how you can help your child at home as I know there has been a great deal of thought put in by each teacher for the comments made here and it will definitely make a difference to your child’s learning. As you may recall in the newsletter of 4 June, there was an update on changes for the Semester 1 student reports at GHPS.The Department of Education and Training has adjusted the expectations of Student Reports for Semester 1 in recognition of the transition to remote and flexible learning during Term 2.While our school has continued to deliver its teaching and learning program and monitor the achievement and progress of each student, there have been some unprecedented changes to our usual program.At GHPS we will provide a written report for the parent/carer of each student enrolled at the school for Semester 1. The reports will include information on student achievement however, there are some changes from our usual Semester 1 reports.Student reports for Semester 1 2020 will include:
- comments regarding student learning achievement and areas for improvement, based on the Victorian Curriculum F-10 for English and Mathematics.
- a comment on how the student had adjusted to the home learning environment.
GHPS will not be including teacher judgements and a five-point scale due to the unprecedented changes to our program due to COVID-19. We will report on progress at the end of the year.
If you have queries regarding your child’s report, please contact your child’s teacher. We invite you to provide us with feedback about your child’s experience during the home learning period. Please email this to your child’s teacher. Thank you for your continued support.
- Sushi Lunch: It was wonderful to have the Sushi Lunch which we have rescheduled from term 1. It was a very late Harmony day acknowledgement this year, but we made it happen! Thank you so much to Fiona Davey, GPA and helpers for delivering all the sushi orders yesterday. It was delicious!
Anu Velamakanni has been successful in being appointed to a new Education Support position as of next term at Toorak P.S. Thank you very much to Anu for supporting students, staff and programs at GHPS since 2017. She has provided us with wonderful skills, and a caring and enthusiastic approach to all who she has worked with and all that she has achieved. Anu has enjoyed working with students across the school and helped to prepare resources for staff and students. We are very sad to farewell Anu and know that she will embrace the new opportunities at her new school very conscientiously.- # feeling grateful: Our fabulous Publicity and Marketing Committee led by Ms Amy Tinetti has created and hung two of the most fabulous banners on our Grange Rd fences. Great work to our parents Ross (Amber 5S) and Andy (Harper 4C)! We hope these attract lots of interest and enrolments for our school in 2021. Prep enrolments are now open for both ours and new families, so send in your child’s Prep enrolment form to Julie and Laura in the office and let any friends know who have a child who is eligible to start school next year. The child needs to have turned 5 by the 30 April, 2021.
- Showcasing GHPS: Our talented parents Nicole (Steph 4J & Alex 6J), members of P & M have been working behind the scenes with Ms Pisconeri, Ms Tinetti and I to plan the making of a new virtual tour video about GHPS which we will upload to the website when it has been completed. Thank you so much to everyone including the students, staff and parents who will be providing commentary and vision. Our commitment is to show prospective parents how we take our students to their optimum level each and every day and how exciting it is to be a member of GHPS. Can’t wait until it gets launched!
- Free dress day: We hope all students support this day for the end of term 2 tomorrow. Please bring a gold coin donation which will go towards purchasing a set of library books that Ms Lucas- Lely knows students will be keen to read: The Freak Street series. In anticipation, thank you for your support.
- Term 2 finishes: Friday 26 June and students will be dismissed early at 2.30pm.
- June School Council Report: Thank you to Ross Donnan for the report which is included in this short final term 2 newsletter.
- Big, big, thank you to each GHPS Staff member for all the work and extra learning they have provided the students and for the support they have shown to each other this term. It has been a term like no other and everyone has stretched themselves to the nth degree! We can all feel a remarkable sense of achievement for all the new encounters and challenges that we have faced. I hope everyone can dedicate some time to doing something for themselves and others that focuses on something they truly enjoy. I hope you can find something to look back on over the term that made you happy, look into the future with hope and enjoy and cherish something about the present.
- Stay safe: Have a great holiday everyone and remember to keep up the great hygiene habits and encourage adults in your family to keep practicing their social distancing.
- We look forward to seeing everyone at the gates on Monday 13 July.
Libby Alessi Principal
School Council Report
Hello all,
What a term! With the students back at school the past few weeks have flown by. With news of possible impending restrictions the holidays have come at a good time in case that does occur. For those juggling work commitments and school holidays where the kids may not be able to have as many playdates, I hope you can find time for some rest and relaxation without home schooling to worry about.
The School Council is still using WebEx video conferencing for our meetings along with the sub-committee meetings. My internet cut out for 10 minutes during the meeting which made it more difficult. I’m really hoping that next meeting we can meet face to face!
Return to school
Parents would have been very excited for their kids to school. Feedback received from surveys and other feedback indicated the community was very happy with the way the return to school transition occurred. A big congratulations to all the parents who followed the rules and guidelines for drop off. Abiding by the rules makes it easier for the teaching staff to manage the complex situation.
Impact of COVID-19
A few notes on the impact of COVID.
- Parent teacher interviews are now scheduled for Week 3, Term 3. The school is aiming for face to face however this may be depending on social distancing requirements closer to the date.
- Enrolments are a little down on predicted so the Publicity and Marketing team have been working on a prep enrolments strategy to improve enrolments. Please share how great our school is with your friends and family. Word of mouth is our most effective marketing tool.
- The school review is now scheduled for Term 4 (previously Term 3). Part of this involves parent feedback and surveys.
- Working bees are currently on hold and we hope to resume these soon.
New home page and virtual tour coming
The Publicity and marketing team have been hard at work filming a virtual tour and developing a new home page to refresh our website. Many parents have been involved giving their suggestions. If you’d like to part of a small test group to give feedback on the new home page, please get in contact with me below.
Capital works and funding news
You may have seen some very exciting news in the last few weeks. The school has received 7.12 million in funding which tops up the original funding commitment back in 2018. The commitment includes a fully size competition gymnasium, with toilets, kitchen, music and before and after school areas. The library will receive a refresh and the admin area in the reception will also be worked out. Very exciting!
Other news
- Curriculum Day was approved for Friday 7 August.
- The banners look fantastic on the Grange Road side and will play a huge part in attracting attention for our school.
- Semester 1 Reports will be live on Compass today.
The next School Council meeting will be on Monday 3 August 2020.
If there is any issue any member of the school community would like to raise with School Council, please email glenhuntly.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au or myself directly ross.donnan@education.vic.gov.au
Ross Donnan School Council President
Year 3 Writing Challenge
Students in year 3 were given a writing challenge task. They were asked to choose a theme and write a story with their parent.
The hard part……. The first word of each sentence had to start with the next letter of the alphabet. (i.e. You start your sentence with the letter ‘A’, your parent must start their sentence with the letter ‘B’ and so on.)
Vhrinda in 3O completed this exercise with her father.
All Aboard the Titanic
A gigantic ship, the biggest of its time, which people claimed was unsinkable, was standing on the shore.
Bands were playing, celebrations were going on, people were queueing up to board the ship.
Captain of the ship was standing proudly on the deck.
Dozens of staff were busy making final preparations.
Engines made loud noises as the ship set to sail.
Far, far away it went into the sea.
Great gushes were formed as the ship entered dangerous waters.
“Hoooot, hoooot”, sounded the emergency alarm in the middle of the night.
“Iceberg, iceberg, right ahead”, signalled the sailor to his captain.
Juggling the direction was futile as the ship was already within close range.
“KABOOOOM !!!” there was a big explosion as the ship crashed into the iceberg.
Large hole was made in the ship’s hull due to collision.
Mystified passengers came running to the deck and were petrified to see large blocks of ice everywhere.
News of the tragedy was announced by the captain which made everyone panic.
Orchestra kept playing to pacify the passengers.
Pandemonium still could not be controlled.
Quarrel started for a place in lifeboats.
“Row faster, row faster”, shouted the people already in the lifeboats.
Ship had already started to sink.
The water level was rising rapidly.
Urgent cries for help were heard everywhere.
Viciously people were pushing and shoving each other for a place in remaining lifeboats.
With every passing moment the ship sank deeper and deeper until it was gone.
Xenial crew of the ship lost their lives to save their guests.
Years later a famous movie was made about the Titanic.
Zealous scientists though, are still trying to find the actual reason why the ship sank.
Calendar
JUNE
Fri 26 Final Day Term 2 – Early Dismissal 2.30pm
JULY
Mon 13 Term 3 Commences
AUG
Fri 7 Curriculum Day
Wed 12 School Photos
