Newsletter #8 23 May 2025
GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY
Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.
Our school has been buzzing with learning and activities this past fortnight.
We proudly showcased our school during Education Week, invited our Grandparents in to see our school in action, and supported our best cross-country runners at district cross country.
We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous support of our parent community over the past few weeks during the many events held at GHPS. The feedback from both parents and students has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s been wonderful to see such enthusiastic involvement across so many activities.
From helping run the Mother’s Day Stall, coordinating and helping out at the Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall, supporting our school cross country Day, and baking and serving at the Grandparents morning tea, your contributions have not gone unnoticed. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed community supporting our school. A big thank you also to all.
2025 Student Voice
We value student voice at TPS as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and we are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of their school.
The Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experiences of school. Students in years 4, 5 and 6 will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.
This year, the AtoSS will be conducted in the next few weeks. If your Child is in Year 4, 5 or 6 there will be more information distributed through Compass in the coming weeks.
Student School Attendance
The need for all children to be at school, on-time, and every-day, is vitally important – school attendance matters for each and every child, of all ages.
On-time attendance at Glen Huntly PS is:
8.50am – first morning bell, soft start. Students in class and getting ready for the day. Teachers take this time to check in with their students.
9.00am bell. The roll is marked, and learning begins for the day.
Every-day Attendance
Every-day attendance is students being at school every day, apart from when they are sick, or have the occasional specialist appointment which can be very challenging to schedule in out-of-school hour times every time. Students who are not at school every day, present with gaps in their learning; they miss out on important lesson sequencing and can struggle to attain their academic and learning potential. They can experience more social disconnection and can struggle with maintaining positive friendships. They are more likely to feel disconnect with teachers and their peers – and this leads to further disengagement.
We understand that there are times when a child may need to miss school, but a reminder to think about keeping family holidays and appointments to outside school time where possible. If your child is worried about something at school, bring them to school and reach out to their class teacher or our wellbeing support so we can help sort out any troubles or worries they may have. Avoiding school can often make a situation feel worse and build further negative feelings. We are only a phone call away.
We know that parenting is challenging, and parents juggle many balls in the air at once – if you are having some troubles, reach out and touch base with us to see how we can work together in supporting your child in their on-time and regular attendance.
ES Appreciation Day
Yesterday our school celebrated Education Support (ES) Appreciation Day—a day that honours and recognises the extraordinary contributions ES staff make to public education.
From the front office to the classrooms, their dedication, care, and hard work make a difference every single day. Our students and their families are incredibly fortunate to have these individuals supporting their learning and wellbeing.
National Sorry Day is held every year on May 26. It’s a special day in Australia when we remember and say sorry for the hurt caused to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, especially the Stolen Generations.
The Stolen Generations were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were taken away from their families by the government many years ago. This caused a lot of sadness and pain for those children and their families.
National Sorry Day helps us:
- Remember what happened in the past.
- Say sorry for the wrong things that were done.
- Learn how to be kind, fair, and respectful to everyone.
- Work together to make sure this never happens again.
Our students will be discussing and learning about this with their teacher on Monday.
Winter is Coming and So is the Flu Season
As we enter the colder months of the year, we need to keep in mind that whilst the restrictive days of COVID are now past, there are precautionary measures we can take to prevent the transmission of illness such as COVID/Flu/Coughs/Colds.
The Important actions to take:
- Children should stay home if unwell.
- Keep vaccinations up to date.
- Wash hands thoroughly after going to the toilet.
- Sneeze into your elbow.
- Sanitize hands regularly.
- Wear a mask, as appropriate.
Curriculum Day Reminder
Don’t forget that Friday 6th June is a curriculum day at GHPS and it is a pupil-free day. This day will have a focus on the well-being curriculum.
Staff Spotlight
Ms de Bruyn and Miss Broxham.
Enjoy your weekend
Nerida Burns Principal Cameron White Assistant Principal
Congratulations to the following students who received a ‘Student of the Week’ award.
Monish 0A – For his determination and focus when writing CVC an CVCC words. Great Work, Monish!
Zara 0A – For her determination and focus during Writing lessons. It is great to see you stretching out the words. Great Work, Zara!
Janesh 0A – For his beautiful handwriting when practising the letters w, x, v an u. Great Work, Janesh!
Ezekiel 0A – For his concentration when writing the letter to match the sound. Keep up the great work, Ezekiel!
Jacob 0B – For an excellent recount about his weekend. Jacob has worked hard on his handwriting and including the important parts of sentence structure, such as starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop. Well done, Jacob — you should feel very proud of yourself!
Cameron 0B – For great participation in all subjects and extra events this term. Cameron has shown a willingness to try new things and gives his best effort! He should be very proud of all he has achieved so far this term. Well done, Cameron!
Elliott 0B – For using his sound knowledge to write CVC words when writing a recount this week, and for including a detailed drawing to match his writing. Well done, Elliott!
Tennyson 0B – For confidently and accurately copying, continuing and creating AB and ABC patterns. Tennyson approached this week’s numeracy activities with enthusiasm! Well done, Tennyson!
Coco 1A – For your wonderful text-to-self connections during our reading lessons this week! You did an amazing job thinking about how the stories relate to your own life.
Samvega 1B – For doing a tremendous job during our reading sessions this week! You confidently sounded out and blended all the /ir/ words like a reading superstar and even used the perfect intonation for exclamation marks! What a fabulous effort – keep it up!
Aayansh 1B – For always being a kind and supportive friend.
Zara 1C – For showing care and kindness when she noticed a classmate was hurt in the playground. She acted quickly and thoughtfully, showing great respect and teamwork. We are so proud of your caring attitude and the way you live our school values each day. Keep it up!
Lucas 1C – This student has demonstrated a strong understanding of information reports through his excellent writing skills, using clear headings and well-organised ideas. He also showed kindness by including others in a game, even when it meant he might not win. He is living our school values of Responsibility and Compassion. You’re a true asset to 1C – well done, Lucas!
Samit 2A – always working hard and doing his best across all subjects. Well done Samit!
Asaha 2A – always presenting her work with beautiful writing. Asaha works hard 100% of the day.
Knox 2B – For writing a creative information report about the Tasmanian Devil. You WOWED us with your impressive writing and used clever conjunctions to explain fascinating facts – like what happens when their ears turn red. Well Done Knox!
Uma 3C – Come and join us in celebrating Uma. She has shown continuous kindness and respect towards everyone in the class and deserves to be recognised. She will be receiving a student of the week award at this week’s assembly.
Ragav 3C – He has shown consistency with his care and detail in his work. I am proud of him.
Adam 4B – For being a dependable presence in the classroom, focused improvement in his handwriting, enthusiasm when asking questions to his visiting grandparents and demonstrating dedication to his shape poem which was dedicated to his grandmother Jackie! Well Done!
Zoya 4B – For wonderful cooperation in cooking when working with others on vegetarian gyoza dumplings, pride in keeping her cooking bench and classroom desk area tidy, confidence with her bookwork and avid reading from the classroom library! Congratulations!
Haru 5B – For showing the GHPS school values of Teamwork, Respect and Pride towards his classmates by continuously supporting them throughout the week when sharing their work and answers with the class.
Nagi 5C – For the amazing effort he has shown during our Writing sessions this week when he was able to highlight the important information from his Indonesia fact file to create subtopics for his Information Report. Superb work!
Lewis 5C – For skilfully identifying key information from a text about Indonesia through highlighting, making notes, and expressing it in your own words. The introduction you’ve written showed great understanding and originality. Well done!
Congratulation Avyaan
A lovely message from Avyaan’s parents:
We just received Avyaan’s ICAS All-star results and wanted to share his performance with you. He has scored in the top 5% for his year level in the state for his year level.
While we couldn’t be more proud of him for this achievement, I have to thank the school for supporting him to improve remarkably in his academics this year.
I remember last year he did not do so well in his ICAS and he did not want to go to the assembly that day to collect his certificate.
We are very grateful for all the effort the school, and especially Alex and Mel have put in to help him get better and more confident in his speed and writing.
Sharbani Dhar
Congratulations Zac
Zac was awarded the U12 Boys Middle Distance Champion for the 23/24 Little Athletics Season at Caulfield Little Athletics.
He also placed 2nd overall in the age group across distance, sprint and field events during the season.
Library News
Book Fair Success!
Last week’s Book Fair, held in the school library, was a wonderful success!
It was fantastic to see so many families come along and share in the excitement of choosing new books. The enthusiasm from students was especially heartening, with many eager to explore new stories and build their home libraries.
Thank you to Ms Connor, our librarian, for organising and setting up the fair and thanks also to staff who helped with sales. All money raised will go towards purchasing more books for our library.
Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a positive event!
Japanese News
What a start to the term it has been for the Japanese Specialist program!
Kodomo no hi, or Children’s Day, is a national holiday in Japan and is celebrated every year on May 5th. It honours children, celebrating their individual strengths and wishing for the health and growth of both boys and girls.
On Thursday 8th May, Glen Huntly Primary celebrated Japan’s Children’s Day with cultural dress-ups, activities, and crafts. Students created Koinobori (carp streamers) to display in classrooms, symbolising the wish for children to grow up brave and resilient, like the spirited koi fish.
Year 5/6 students joined a live online furoshiki workshop with a Japan Foundation Sydney consultant, learning to wrap items like lunch boxes and bottles using traditional cloths. Many left eager to buy their own—a heartwarming sign of learning extending beyond the classroom.
For many Year 3/4 students, the highlight was the Taiko Drumming workshop. Ayako-san and her assistant set up in the morning, quickly winning students over with her humour and lively manner.
Year 2 students proudly wrote their names in Japanese on shrink plastic, creating unique and creative designs. Due to time constraints, they couldn’t watch them bake, so the wonderful Mrs. Zent took them home, baked them, and—with her husband’s help—assembled them into keyrings for each student.
Year 1 students had a blast during the Pokémon Scavenger Hunt, working in groups to find them all. The highlight was when, unable to find the last one, the entire Year 1 cohort teamed up and searched as one—an inspiring moment of teamwork that even world leaders could learn from.
Foundation students did a beautiful job of decorating their Koinobori kites and really impressed us with their dexterity when they all had a go at folding paper to make an origami kabuto helmet.
Thank you to everyone for taking part and making it a wonderful day for our students – from the wonderful GPA for organising the sushi lunch orders, to the teachers and staff who had a go at all the activities with their cohorts! All in all, it was a great day to be had.
Sport News
District Cross Country
On Friday, the fifteenth of May, students who came top ten in the 9/10, 11 and 12/13 age groups got the opportunity to go to district cross country at Caulfield Park.
In total nine schools came to this event to compete. The schools include Lloyd Street Primary, Malvern Primary School, Caufield South, Melbourne Montessori, Malvern Central, Carnegie Primary, Glen Huntly Primary and a few more.
All of us tried our hardest but only Zac in 5/6C made it to the next round by placing 9th in the 12/13 age group.
The 12/13’s and the 11’s age group had to run three kilometres and the 9/10’s age group only ran two kilometres. In the end Malvern Central Primary School came first, and we came 8th.
We also need to thank Mr Macdermid and Miss Pearsall for looking after us and an even bigger thanks to Miss Price for involving GHPS in districts cross country.
Dhruva and Jonah 5/6C
Congratulations to all the students who represented Glen Huntly Primary School at the District Cross Country last week at Caulfield Park. Over 50 of our students competed, each running a challenging 3km course against students from eight neighbouring schools.
To qualify for District Cross Country, students first had to place in the top 10 at our House Cross Country – a fantastic achievement! Many of our participants also took part in the weekly morning Running Club, run by Ms Price, which helped them build their fitness and confidence leading up to the big day.
It was wonderful to see our students showing such determination, resilience, and school spirit on the course. A special congratulations goes to Zac, 6C, who has qualified for the Division level – an outstanding effort!
A big thank you to Ms Price for all her support in coaching, organising the event, and running the morning training sessions.
We are proud of everyone who took part and look forward to cheering Zac on at the next stage!
Auskick Fun on the Oval
This term, our Term 2 Auskick Program has been in full swing on Wednesday afternoons, bringing lots of energy and excitement to the school oval! The program, run by two enthusiastic AFL personnel, is designed to introduce students to the basic skills of Australian Rules Football, including kicking, marking, and handballing.
To cater for different age levels, the students have been split into two groups – younger and older – allowing each group to focus on developmentally appropriate activities and drills. The sessions are action-packed and full of fun, with fantastic participation from students across year levels.
It’s been wonderful to see the students getting active, building new skills, and enjoying themselves each week.
A big thank you to our AFL coaches for making each session engaging and memorable!
World MS Day
World Multiple Sclerosis Day on May 30th creates an opportunity to boost awareness and connect those with MS to resources and improve support systems.
The theme this year is ‘diagnosis’. The time of diagnosis can be emotionally challenging for many. Whether someone has just received a diagnosis of MS or have transitioned to a different type of MS, various concerns and emotions can arise.
As some of you may already know, our amazing art teacher Ms Justine De Bruyn has recently been diagnosed with MS. As a community we would like to come together to support her and all others that have been diagnosed.
The MS Heart is a symbol of solidarity for everyone affected by MS. Show your support for World MS Day by sharing a MS Heart photo. Each class will take a photo showing the heart symbol and together as a community we will create a big heart to show our love for Ms De Bruyn.
TheirCare News
GHPS Facebook
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Calendar 2025
Term 2
May
Mon 26 May – Thu 5 June Swimming Lessons
June
Fri 6 Curriculum Day
Mon 9 King’s Birthday Holiday
Thu 12 Year 5/6 Lightening Premiership
Fri 13 GPA Meeting
Fri 13 Prep Excursion
Wed 18 Year 1 Excursion
July
Fri 4 End of Term 2 Early Finish 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.