Newsletter #3 March 10, 2023

Glen Huntly Primary School > Newsletter #3 March 10, 2023

GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY

    Learning Today.                     Leading Tomorrow. 

Harmony Day at GHPS

 

Everyone Belongs! Today we celebrated the day with a special GPA Samosa lunch.

We are grateful to the GPA helpers and to Raju Reddycharla (Teju Year 4) from Quality Grocers for the samosas 🙂

This day precedes Cultural Diversity Week which commences 11 March. It has been wonderful to see students and staff wear orange or special dress on this occasion.

Year 6 Student leaders hosting today’s assembly will acknowledge the day and students will be learning about how all cultures belong in our school.

International Women’s Day

Wednesday 8 March marked International Women’s Day to increase awareness and imagine a gender equal world.

Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity and so strive for a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

In Years 5/6 Reading groups, students researched famous, influential women and learnt about their lives and careers. We encourage everyone at GHPS to embrace the dream for equity.

New drinking taps East Site

Thanks to Mr Cam White for organising the installation of new drinking taps outside the Gymnasium. A great spot for our superstar students to get a drink when outside.

Family Fun Night

Everyone is welcome! Together with GPA and staff, we’re very excited to invite everyone to the 2023 Family Fun Night, which is happening next Friday 17 March on the East Site Oval.

It’s a wonderful way to meet new families and catch up with old friends.

We thank the Specialist teaching team: Ms Kasambalis, Ms de Bruyn, Mrs Oldham and Mr Jenkins for coordinating the COLOUR RUNS for students and parents.

Wear something old and /or white if you’d like to get into the fun of this event!

As well as the colour run, the children can play in the school grounds- please come with parent/s or carer.

For sale there will be Woodstack Pizza, Jude’s delicious homemade Lemonade Icy poles made by Ms de Bruyn and soft drinks! Please bring cash:) You may wish to bring your own refreshments, picnic rug or chairs to sit on. Event concludes at 7.30pm.

Please see the information from GPA in this newsletter.

The first meeting for the School Council was held on Monday 6 March (rescheduled from 28 February) and we appreciate the Vice President, Supriya A providing a report in this newsletter about the work of the Council.

Child Safety Standards

We are a child safe organisation which welcomes all children, young people, and their families.

We are committed to providing environments where our students are safe and feel safe, where their participation is valued, their views respected, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. We have no tolerance for child abuse and take proactive steps to identify and manage any risk of harm to students in our school environments.

Every person involved in our school has an important role in promoting child safety and wellbeing and promptly raising any issues or concerns about a child’s safety.

Thank you to Mr David Jenkins for updating the information for staff and school council and to everyone in our community for your support.

2023 School Council Election

As the community would be aware from the Compass notification on Thursday 9 March, the elections have closed, and the new Council announced. On behalf of the School Council we are so grateful for the interest and enthusiasm shown by all nominees in nominating to work with the Council for the best we can all do in providing the best opportunities for our amazing GHPS students and community.

The School Council is a wonderful group of staff and parents who care a great deal about our school, who volunteer collectively and with passion for our school. We are very happy and proud to inform the community that all six parent and two staff positions have been filled.

Thank you to the outgoing Councillors for their highly valuable contributions to the school over the past two years.

Staff: Ms Kamila Krauze and

Parent: Caitilin Hawkins

In their time, Kamila and Caitilin have been involved in attending a wide variety of events and meetings as members of Buildings and Grounds, GPA or Curriculum and Policy. We hope that the new members find the opportunity to serve on Council highly engaging and rewarding.

Congratulations to the parent nominees:

Sharbani Dhar (Avyaan Year 4)

Noel Duffy (Isla Year 4)

Nicole Healy (Ben Year 5, Charlie Year 3)

Rob Holland (Emma Year 3, Maddie Year 1)

Joseph Yeung (Elizabeth Year 5/6)

and to the staff nominees:

David Jenkins: Leading Teacher, Curriculum Leader, Assessment & Reporting, Music/Japanese, Year 4SJ

Melinda Oldham: Numeracy Learning Specialist, Tutor Learning, Science and PLC Coordinator.

All Councillors will meet on Monday 27 March for the next meeting at 7pm (Building Fund /Finance 6.15pm) and we look forward to continuing to  create  a strong relationship and partnership within our school community. ​We look forward to an amazing year ahead!

Student Council

This week the Student Council has also met for the first time.

It was a joy and a privilege to hear from our students and Asher 5/6 has prepared a report to present at the whole school Assembly today which is also included in this newsletter.

Congratulations to this year’s representatives whose ideas and voice I look forward to engaging with together:

Class Representative Representative
School Captains Zoya Asher
Grade 5/6R Alexa Javin
Grade 5/6K Aliyah Shiva
Grade 5/6J Sanvi Ewan
Grade 4A Ivy Max
Grade 4SJ Radha Hanish
3C Elsie Advik
3RK Yasmin Sriram

Monday 13 March is Labour Day which is a public holiday and Tuesday 14 March is pupil free as teachers have a Professional Practice Day working at school.

Theircare is open so please register/book if your child needs a place.

We will see all students back at school on Wednesday 15 March and hope that you enjoy the long weekend.

Libby Alessi          Principal

School Council Report

Welcome to 2023 at GHPS! Monday, March 6th marked our first school council meeting for 2023.

It’s amazing to see how much has been done and here is a snapshot of the highlights:

  • Highlights
    • Well done to the Pedagogy leadership team and Mr Jenkins for successful completion of documenting Child Safety Standards 8, 9, 10 and 11. Child Safe Standards 1-7 were completed in the last year. As you will appreciate the importance and depth of these items,  significant effort goes into building them. These policies will mean that we are now compliant with what is required by VRQA (Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority: Victoria’s education and training ​regulator) Curriculum Framework Statement.
    • As we now have a new world class gymnasium and sporting facilities, we’ve been approached by a number of community/sporting clubs for hiring/licensing agreements towards the use of our new basketball and stadium facilities. The School Council has ratified a new and currently compliant Community Use of School Facilities – Hiring and Leasing Policy.
    • SCHOOL LOGO – Thanks to Kristen Howard and team for all their efforts in running the tender process for school logo refresh. So far, we’ve had 300 designers respond and we’ve managed a staged shortlisting process over the last few weeks. We’re down to four finalists and there is intense work done by the Steering Committee over the coming weekend to progress to next steps!
    • Maxim Books – After the parent community experienced some hiccups with Maxim Books, GHPS has decided to terminate further contracts with them. Liz, our Business Manager is reviewing alternate options for Preferred Book Suppliers in 2024.
    • Lisa is promoting the “Little Bookworms” at local Kindergartens. This program will be run in the Library for 3-5 year olds. It will commence on Tuesday  28 February from 9-10am.
    • TheirCare bookings are increasing!
  • NAPLAN
    • This year, NAPLAN will be conducted earlier this year for Year 3 & 5 Students. Mr Jenkins and Mr Jacobs are coordinating the test experience and providing staff with key dates and requirements.
    • Fun fact, the Herald Sun this week has reported that in 2022 GHPS has been ranked 35th across Victoria, well above neighboring schools.
    • School Review.
    • GHPS received very positive feedback on our School Review during 2021; this feedback has formed the basis for the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and the 2022 Annual Implementation Plan which has been endorsed by the School Council and Senior Education Improvement Leader Stuart Andrews
    • Increased focus on Numeracy and improve student outcomes in Literacy
      • High priority is to focus on student wellbeing through the 2023 Priorities Goal
  • Glen Huntly Parents’ Association.
    • GPA proudly made a profit of $15K for the last year – this included two election BBQ as well as a number of other events. Thank you to all those involved in organising and a special thanks to the community for your support and buying! These profits will be reinvested in the school’s uplift.
    • GPA is excited to have been able to host Samosa Lunch on Harmony Day, the Hot Cross Bun Drive and our Easter Raffles during the Easter Hat Parade.
    • GPA is looking forward to resuming many much-loved activities such as our Friday lunchtime snacks and weekly cake raffles.
    • Family Fun Night is going ahead – Friday 17 March – see below for more details.
  • Finances.
    • GHPS is in a sound financial position.
    • The proposed budget approved by the School Council in November 2022 was based on an expected number of 268 students. At census date the student numbers were 278. The budget is now under review initially by the staff Consultative Committee and will then be reviewed by the Finance subcommittee and School Council at the subsequent meeting.
  • School Council.
    • Thank you to the outgoing 2022-2023 school council members for their wonderful contribution to GHPS – especially Nicole Verginis (2022 SC President) and Nicole Bishop (2022 SC Treasurer) whose children have moved on to high school this year. Thank you to Caitilin Hawkins and Kamila Krauze for your valuable contributions on Council.
    • We welcome the 2023 School Council members (some in their 2nd year of tenure, some returning and some new nominations to the role which have been announced).
      School Council Staff Members: Libby Alessi, Cameron White, David Jenkins, Melinda Oldham, Liz Howard
      School Council Parent Members: Supriya Arikarevula (Vice President), Kathryn Dench (Secretary), Noel Duffy, Nicole Healy, Kristen Howard, Alexis Weekes, Sharbani Dhar, Rob Holland & Joseph Yeung
  • Enjoy your long weekend and the pupil free day on Tue, 14 March!

Look forward to a wonderful year throughout 2023.

Supriya Arikarevula

Congratulations to the following students who received a ‘Student of the Week’ award.

Nora 0B – For showing the school values of pride and community in our classroom. Nora, you always look for ways to help others in the classroom and actively look at ways to keep our classroom organised and tidy. Your efforts this week have been appreciated.  Keep it up!

Jett 0D – For persisting with all of your classroom tasks after fracturing your wrist. You continued to work hard, show kindness towards your classmates and most of all keep a positive attitude towards school. Well done!

Hera 0D – For your amazing news presentation this week about transport. You spoke about your red car with a loud and clear voice and you remembered lots of fun facts. Well done!

Abraham 1B – For showing the school value of Pride this week where you wrote a beautiful sentence about your name tag that unlocks a special memory of your first day of school.

Kafka 1F – For his positive attitude toward all his learning tasks and his infectious smile and kind nature. You are a superstar!

Valika 2M – For explaining the clues that you used in detail to identify the main idea in Harry the Dirty Dog. You are a star!

Robin 2M – For your fantastic engagement in our incursion this week. You showed creativity, leadership skills and respect to others. Well done!

Zoe 2M – For your fantastic sizzling start, where you used dialogue to capture the reader’s attention. I can’t wait to read more sizzling starts in your writing!

Archit 2S – demonstrating excellent teamwork skills during group activities this week. You have really shown what we want to achieve while working with others.

Advik 3C – For your considerable efforts in making effective learning decisions during group tasks and being a fantastic support to your peers in and out of the classroom. Fabulous work, Advik!

Elsie 3C – For your determination to extend yourself in writing tasks and in Mathematics. This week you have seeked feedback, asked questions and reflected upon your learning. Exceptional efforts, Elsie!

Nagi 3C – For the pride and effort you demonstrated when completing your Probability Line in Mathematics. The precision and care for your work was outstanding. Excellent efforts, Nagi!

Mahati 3RK – For your engagement in our literacy sessions this week. You have shown excellent focus and knowledge of persuasive texts!

Wyatt 3RK – Remembering the Library rules.

Dhruva 3RK – Being a wonderful classroom helper and a VERy passionate cricket player, in P.E this week!

Rajvi 3RK – Persisting in numeracy this week, especially during our lesson on chance using coloured spinners. Well done!

Akhilesh 4A – for your amazing effort in our spelling test and achieving 25 out of 25! You are a spelling superstar! Keep up the great work!

Dion 4SJ – For his superb work on correctly calculating the area and perimeter of each letter in his name. I’m impressed with your work Dion!

Max 4A – For consistently engaging in all tasks and contributing your amazing ideas and opinions to our discussions. Keep up the great work!

Tanmayee 4A – For your consistent effort towards all tasks and completing your soundwaves challenge task! Well done Tanmayee!

Alexander 4SJ – For his beautiful and neat collage work in Art, giving it a defined abstract expression.

Yamn 4SJ – For his beautiful and neat collage work in Art, giving it a defined abstract expression.

Daniel 4SJ – For your excellent application and focus on your work this week. Impressive work Daniel!

Jayden 5/6K – For becoming an important member of the class, settling in beautifully, having arrived at GHPS this year, and being helpful to others in the classroom!

Mia 5/6J – For demonstrating fabulous growth in your knowledge of fractions over the past two weeks. What a brilliant effort! Also, your bravery in speaking in front of your class at School Council elections is something to be admired. Congratulations, Mia! A well-deserved SoTW.

Samarth 5/6J – For demonstrating tremendous growth in your understanding of fractions over the past two weeks. Hard work and focus really does pay off! Congratulations, Samarth.

Ruchika 5/6J – for your strong work ethic applied to all areas of the curriculum. Your reading and writing has improved so much and your recent work on Decimals & Percentages has been excellent. We will all miss you so much when you go!

Sahasra 5/6J – for a fabulous effort applied towards your Decimals & Percentage unit this week. Also, it has been great to see you express yourself in your writing. Congratulations.

Shreya 5/6R – for her efforts displayed this week during Literacy groups. Well done for always trying your best and working through challenges!

Prikshit 5/6R – for his sensational participation during Literature circles this week. Well done for completing each task with enthusiasm and care, you’re a star!

On Tuesday the student council had their first meeting of the year. We talked about ourselves and got to know the other student councillors.

We discussed that we were going to change the school logo after over 80 years. We had a look at some designs and had to rank each designer from 1 to 10, 1 being our favourite, 10 being the least favourite. It was hard to choose our favourite as there were a lot of good options. But in the end we chose the best 6 and that six would be reviewed by the school staff and some parents.

We will reveal the logo when a decision has been made.

Asher 5/6J

There are a lot of lunch containers in the lost property tubs on both sites. Please check them if you are missing something.

Anything not collected will be disposed of.

TheirCare News

Calendar

March

Fri 3            District Swimming

Mon 13       Labour Day

Tue 14        Professional Practice Day (student free)

Fri 17          Family Fun Night

Wed 22      Year 5/6 Camp

 

 

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.