Newsletter #6 April 24th, 2026
GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY
Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.
Welcome back to Term 2. It has been wonderful to see students and staff return from the break feeling rested, refreshed, and ready for a productive term ahead. There has been a positive and enthusiastic start across the school, with classrooms quickly settling into strong learning routines.
Our Principal, Mrs Burns, is currently on long service leave, enjoying and exploring parts of Europe, including Ireland and England. We look forward to welcoming her back to school on Monday 4 May.
This term promises to be another exciting and busy one, with a range of upcoming events and activities, including:
- House Cross Country – Thursday 30 April
- Mother’s Day Stall and Special Breakfast – Friday 8 May
- Grade 5/6 Camp – commencing Wednesday 13 May
- Open Night (5:00–6:00pm) – Tuesday 19 May
- Open Morning (9:00–10:00am) – Wednesday 20 May
- Curriculum Day – Tuesday 9 June
- Grade 3 Excursion to Melbourne Museum
- Prep Excursion to Chesterville Farm
- Grade 5/6 Excursion to the Immigration Museum
- Prep Milos Birthday Surprise Dress-Up and Celebration
- Grade 4 Excursion to Polly Woodside
- Grade 2 Excursion to Melbourne Zoo
- School Reports Distributed – Friday 19 June
- Japanese Children’s Day – Friday 19 June
- Grade 5/6 Interschool Sport
Over the holiday period, significant work was completed on the junior campus playgrounds.
The existing paint was stripped back and refreshed, and the wooden platforms were replaced with new timber and stained. The spaces look fantastic and are already being enjoyed by our students.
Following student feedback, we have also purchased two additional portable soccer goals for the senior campus.
These goals are fitted with wheels, allowing them to be easily moved around the oval. It has been great to see students making the most of these during break times.
I am also pleased to share that the school’s solar and battery project has now been completed.
This includes the installation of 80 solar panels on the gym roof, along with two large batteries servicing the senior campus. Additional panels and a battery have also been installed on the junior campus. This 50kW system represents a significant step forward in improving the school’s sustainability and energy efficiency.
The project was partially funded through government energy grants and the school’s building fund, which families can choose to contribute to each year.
Forecasting indicates that the school should recover its initial costs within five years, after which ongoing electricity costs will be significantly reduced.
Extracurricular
This week marked our first sessions with The Music Bus.
This external provider visits the school each Monday (Junior Campus) and Wednesday (Senior Campus) to deliver small group music lessons. This is an additional co-curricular opportunity, and there are still a limited number of places available.
A review from Zoe and Ragav 4A
On Wednesday, we had our first lesson for guitar with Lachlan the Music Bus teacher.
We played some songs, learnt the strings, and had fun!
Families interested in learning more are encouraged to contact The Music Bus directly.
Immunisation
This week, we had a nurse on site to provide flu vaccinations for staff. As we move into the colder months and flu season, we encourage all families to consider flu vaccinations for their children as well.
There is now also a nasal spray option available for students who may feel anxious about needles.
Gardening
The school has also applied for a Victorian Schools Gardening Grant.
If successful, this will support plans to landscape the area to the east of the Grade 2 portable, creating an engaging sensory space designed for quieter play, including seating, increased shade, a mural, a pond, and new native plants and trees.
House Cross Country
Looking ahead, our House Cross Country will be held next Thursday at Lyons Reserve, commencing at 9:15am.
This event is open to all students from Prep to Year 6. We encourage students to show their house spirit by wearing their house colours. F
ace paint and hair accessories in house colours are also welcome.
Training
This week, six of our staff undertook Diabetes Level 3 Training conducted by the Monash Children’s Hospital Training Team, further strengthening our capacity to support students with health needs.
ANZAC Day
Today we held our ANZAC Day service. This was a student-led event and a respectful and meaningful occasion for our school community.
A current serving member of the Australian Army spoke to the students about the significance of ANZAC Day, the Last Post was played, and students observed a minute’s silence.
Throughout the week, each class explored the history of ANZAC Day, with some classes sharing their learning and reflections at assembly.
On Saturday, several of our families will attend the local service at the memorial in the park next to Bentleigh RSL, where they will lay a wreath on behalf of the school. All families are warmly welcome to attend the local service, which begins at 10:00am.
Celebrate
The Kitchen Club and Parents’ Association will be running our annual Mother’s and Special Person’s Day Stall and Breakfast on Friday 8th May.
The Kitchen Club will be making scones, and we encourage all mums and special people to attend the breakfast from 8:15am.
We will also be hosting a Mums vs Kids soccer game on the oval, so please bring suitable footwear.
Following breakfast, the Prep students will perform a song they have been practising, and all students can then visit the Mother’s Day stall.
If you are available to assist with the stall, please contact the GPA ghpsgpa@gmail.com.
Cooking Term 2
Cooking with our teacher Fiona begins this term, with classes held on a Wednesday. A Compass notice will be sent out requesting payment.
These sessions rely on parent and grandparent support, so if you are interested in helping, please speak with your child’s teacher.
Cooking Program Schedule:
Date 9:15am – 11:00am 11:45am – 1:40pm
Wed 29 April Grade 2A Grade 4A
Wed 6 May Grade 1A Grade 4B
Wed 13 May Grade 1B Grade 3A
Wed 20 May Grade 1C Grade 3B
Wed 27 May Prep A Prep B
Wed 3 June Prep C 5/6A
Wed 10 June 5/6B 5/6C
Wed 17 June Grade 2B Grade 2C
A reminder that classroom doors open at 8:50am, and we encourage all students to be in class ready to begin learning promptly at 9:00am.
We look forward to another busy and successful term ahead.
Cameron White and Melinda Oldham
Common signs of a learning difficulty
Find out more about learning difficulties and how to spot the common signs.
Learning difficulties is a term used to describe children who have trouble with their learning. There are many reasons why a child may have trouble with learning.
No two learning difficulties are the same, but there are some common signs.
The difference between a learning difficulty and learning disability
Learning difficulties can be due to many things, such as:
- a history of interrupted learning
- health issues
- absence
This can lead to a delay in a child’s progress at school. With extra support and targeted instruction, children with these types of learning difficulties are likely to improve quickly.
Specific learning disabilities like dyslexia are a category of learning difficulty that are caused by neurodiversity. Because of this, children with learning disabilities sometimes find activities like reading or doing simple sums to be challenging. Even with extra support and targeted instruction, these problems are likely to continue throughout their lives, which may not be the case with other types of learning difficulties.
Learning disabilities are lifelong and can affect all types of children, regardless of background, school environment or socioeconomic status.
Signs of a learning difficulty
The clearest signs of a learning difficulty are those that suggest your child is well behind their peers in their learning. Children with learning difficulties may lack key literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills. They may also find it hard to make friends or lack confidence in social situations.
You may see signs in your child’s behaviour and attitude toward school. For example, they:
- speak in a negative way about school and what they don’t enjoy about learning
- show negative emotions (such as sadness or anger) about school and going to school. Examples include having nightmares about school, becoming anxious while getting ready to go to school
- show frustration or reluctance while doing homework tasks
- speak in a negative way about themselves as learners. This behaviour will give you an idea about how your child views themselves and their ability to succeed at school.
What to do if you see signs of a learning difficulty
If you think your child is showing signs of a learning difficulty you should:
- talk with your child’s teacher about the signs you have noticed and when they occur. Visit working with education providers if your child has additional needs for tips about how to talk to your child’s teacher
- track your child’s progress over 2 to 3 weeks to see if your child often shows the same signs and in similar situations
- ask your child to talk about how they feel in a situation where they are frustrated or reluctant with their learning. Use this information to check if their view of the situation matches your interpretation.
Literacy or numeracy learning difficulty – common signs
Some general signs that may show your child may have a learning difficulty in reading, writing or mathematics include:
- no motivation or interest to read, write or do maths
- appearing not to remember what they have been taught, even if this just happened or has happened many times
- taking longer than would be expected to complete school tasks or activities
- trouble following directions or needing to have instructions repeated frequently
- finding it hard to stay focused or being easily distracted
- trouble socialising with peers or making friends
- unable to explain clearly what they know or have learned
- issues with gross or fine motor skills (for example, balance, cutting with scissors).
Children in middle to late primary school and secondary school may show the same difficulties as those typical of younger children.
Signs that indicate a difficulty with reading in the early years
- Trouble pronouncing words and reading words out loud with accuracy.
- Limited vocabulary for their age, their way of speaking is immature or ‘young’ for their age.
- A hard time remembering the names for objects, actions or adjectives, or else seems to have trouble finding the right word.
- Consistently makes mistakes when reading letters; making errors, reversing letters (for example, b = d) or else inverting them (for example, m = w)
- Reading slowly and inaccurately, confusing simple words and their meanings.
- Not appearing to understand what they have read.
*It’s not uncommon for children in early years to make letter reversals when reading and writing, but it can be a problem if it continues past middle to late primary years.
Signs that indicate a difficulty with reading in the middle to late primary years
- Difficulty reading longer words out loud; they mispronounce parts
- Trouble remembering what they have heard, seen or read (for example, instructions in the classroom or at home).
- When reading out loud, reading is slow and appears to take a lot of effort
- Trouble ‘sounding out’ or working out how to say unfamiliar words they have read.
- Reluctant to read either in class or for fun; they appear uninterested or try to avoid this
Our door is always open to talk about your child’s individual learning needs. If your child’s teacher identifies a concern, they will reach out as well.
Please make an appointment with your classroom teacher or admin team if you would like further information.
We’re so excited to launch ActivePaths on Friday 1st May! We have 4 official safe and fun routes that students can walk or ride along to get to school.
These routes were created with valuable input from our students, teachers, and local council in partnership with Bicycle Network, to promote active travel on your daily journey to school.
School staff members and a member of the Bicycle Network team will lead our journey along these routes to school on the 1st of May. At 8:20am, we’ll meet at the start point of your chosen ActivePath route and depart at 8:30 a.m.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Route map.
Example schedule:
8:20am Students and guardians arrive at start point of their route – led by Nina and 3 school staff members.
8:30 All groups depart and follow the decals (stickers on footpath) all the way to school (it is important that all groups stick to the Active Paths route).
8:45am All 4 groups arrive at school.
9:00am School starts
The Book Fair is coming to Glen Huntly Primary School!
The Book Fair will open in the afternoon of Monday 18th of May and be here until the morning of Friday 22nd of May.
Come by the Library between 8:30 am- 9am and 3:30-4 pm each day and support our school whilst getting your hands on the best new children’s books!
TheirCare News
GHPS Facebook
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Calendar 2026
Term 2
April
Mon 20 Term 2 begins
Fri 24 ANZAC Day School Service
Mon 27 School Council
Thu 30 House Cross Country
May
Fri 1 Activepaths Launch
Fri 8 Mother’s Day stall and breakfast
Wed 13 Grade 5/6 camp
Tue 19 Education week open night
Wed 20 Open morning
Fri 22 Year 5/6 Lightening Premiership
June
Mon 8 Kings Birthday Public Holiday
Tue 9 Curriculum Day
Wed 10 First Responders Appreciation Day
Fri 12 Teeth on Wheels Senior
Tue 16 Teeth on Wheels Junior
Fri 19 Jump Rope for Heart
Fri 19 Reports Distributed
Fri 26 End of term 2 Early Dismissal 2.30pm
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.