GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY

Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.

I wanted to take a moment to address a very important issue that has come to our attention recently – racism in our school.

As educators, it is our responsibility to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students, staff, and families regardless of their race or background.

As principal I take the incidents of racism very seriously and do not tolerate racism in any form at GHPS.

Racism is a serious issue that can have a lasting impact on children, both those who experience it and those who witness it. It is crucial that we work together to educate our students about the importance of respect, empathy, and understanding towards people of all races.

We are committed as a staff to addressing and combating racism in our school community.

One of our school values is ‘Respect’ and we actively teach our students about the importance of diversity, tolerance, and acceptance of all. We encourage open dialogue and education on the harmful effects of racism, and we are committed to taking proactive steps to address and prevent any instances of discrimination.

We have implemented various initiatives and programs to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. For example:

All teachers plan through the department Respectful Relationships program to revise and unpack the lessons related to respect and bullying.
Resources (picture story books) have been provided to teachers on how to discuss racism with their students.
Regular circle times will address and unpack racism -what it means and what it can look like. I have been conducting these with the older students.

However, we cannot do this alone. We need your support as parents to reinforce these values at home and encourage open conversations with your children about racism.

If you have any concerns or suggestions on how we can further address this issue, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Together, we can stand united against racism and create a school environment where everyone feels valued and respected.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Arriving on Time at School

In the last newsletter I explained the importance of arriving at school on time. Whilst many families are arriving before the 9 o’clock bell we still have 10% of students coming late. This is very disappointing.

I urge all our students and families to prioritise punctuality and attendance. Our student’s presence matters, and your commitment to supporting them to be present sets the stage for your child’s academic success and personal growth. We understand that there will always be some difficult mornings, but if you are regularly late, can you please endeavour to adjust your routine, so students are at school on time.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting our students’ learning to create a vibrant community at GHPS because every school day matters.

Lunchtime Clubs Flourishing!

We are delighted to report that our lunchtime clubs are thriving this term, providing an exciting array of activities that cater to a wide range of interests. Here’s an overview of how each club is performing and the wonderful opportunities they offer our students.

Games and LEGO Club

The Games and LEGO Club has seen a surge in popularity this term. Every lunchtime, students gather to build intricate LEGO structures, collaborate on complex games, and develop their problem-solving skills. The creativity and teamwork on display are truly inspiring.

Art Club

Our Art Club on Friday continues to be a sanctuary for budding artists. Students enjoy drawing and creating.

Japanese Club

The Japanese Club on Wednesday offers students a fascinating dive into Japanese language, culture, and origami. Ms. Tran’s engaging lessons and cultural activities, such as origami and traditional tea ceremonies, have been a hit. The students are enthusiastic learners, and their progress in speaking and writing Japanese is remarkable.

Chess Club

Chess enthusiasts gather at the Chess Club to challenge their strategic minds. The students have shown incredible improvement in their gameplay, and it’s wonderful to see their analytical skills sharpen.

Library Clubs

Both the Junior and Senior Library Clubs are buzzing with activity. Both Library Clubs are led by Lisa, one of our ES Staff. The Junior Library Club for Prep to Grade 2 students focuses on fostering a love for reading through fun storytelling sessions, colouring in and book swaps. Meanwhile, the Senior Library Club, engages in more advanced literary discussions and book borrowing.

New Dance Club

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new Dance Club which will operate on Mondays in the gym! This new club will be student led and supervised by teachers.

Gym Sessions

The gym is open to students on Wednesdays and Fridays during lunchtime. These sessions provide an excellent opportunity for students to stay active, practice sports, and maintain their fitness. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many students taking advantage of this time to enjoy physical activities.

Music Opportunities

Our musical talents are also well-catered for with lunchtime guitar sessions, the school band, and the choir. Perry’s guitar lessons have been a hit, with students eager to strum new chords and songs. The school band, the Party Hats, led by Ms. Strain, is preparing for another performance, and their rehearsals are sounding better than ever. Ms Strain also runs the school choir on Tuesdays, and they also performed recently at assembly and Open Night.

Gardening Club

For those students that enjoy being outdoors, we have our gardening club. Helen runs our gardening club each Tuesday at lunchtime. They are planted a range of vegetables including carrots and flowers, and are also busy pruning, watering, and weeding. We have recently joined up with Glen Eria Council who are going to donate over 30 trees for our students to plant in the school grounds.

In conclusion, our lunchtime clubs are not only thriving but also enriching the school experience for all involved. The dedication of our staff and student leaders in running these clubs is greatly appreciated. We encourage all students to take part in these wonderful activities and make the most of their lunchtime.

Thank you for your continued support.

Stay well this winter

At this time of year, where coughs, colds, Influenza and COVID -19 spread, it is important that students only come to school if they are well enough.

If your child exhibits cold or flu-like symptoms, please seek medical attention. Common flu-like symptoms include a high fever, a cough, a runny nose, loss of appetite, body aches and feeling extremely weak. Performing a Rapid Antigen Test will help to reduce any unwanted illness in our school community from spreading to other classmates.

To help reduce the spread of illness, please take the time to discuss personal hygiene with your child as well. Washing hands with soap and water at key times is the most effective way to prevent the spread of illness, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in community settings.

Symptoms of influenza (flu) can hit very quickly and may last several weeks. Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting the flu.

Free rapid antigen tests (RAT) will no longer be available to schools.

Keeping our school community well

Parents, carers, and students are encouraged to practice prevention measures, including:

washing and sanitising hands regularly
avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
staying home if unwell and consulting a general practitioner (GP) or Nurse-on-call as required
staying up to date with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Flu vaccinations

Flu vaccinations can be booked through GPs and pharmacies, many of which can also provide COVID-19 vaccinations. Flu vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and over.

Some people are more at risk of complications from flu and are eligible for free vaccination as part of the National Immunisation Program.

COVID-19 booster

The 2024 COVID-19 booster dose is available for everyone aged 18 and above.

Getting your booster dose remains the best way to prevent severe illness or hospitalisation, especially in people aged over 65 and those at higher risk of severe illness.

Children aged between 5 and 17 years who are at risk of severe illness can also receive a 2024 booster dose.

You can get your next dose at your local pharmacy or GP. To find one near you, refer to the vaccine clinic finder.

Find out more

For more information about preventing flu, and immunisation, refer to:

Staffing

It was with mixed emotions that I share with you that our dedicated and highly respected grade 6 teacher, Mr. John Jacobs will be taking extended leave from our school starting on June 17 for the rest of the year. He will be moving with his family to Indonesia to take a position at an international school.
Mr Jacobs has been a valued member of our teaching staff for over 10 years as a class teacher and member of the leadership team, and his departure will be missed by the school community.
He has shown passion and dedication in his role, and he has had a positive impact on the many students he has taught. This year Mr Jacobs took on grade 6 band and senior choir with passion and energy.
Please join me in wishing Mr Jacobs all the best in his teaching position in Indonesia.

Education Week

Last week we celebrated Education Week with the school community. There was a real buzz around the school as classes engaged in fun and exciting STEM activities.

On Tuesday Night we held an open night. The junior and senior choir performed as did the school band The Party Hats.

Classrooms and specialists learning spaces were open for everyone to enjoy.

On Wednesday morning we held an open morning where families could see our classes in action.

And the weeks activities culminated in a very well attended community breakfast that was hosted by TheirCare.

Over 200 coffees and hot chocolates, fruit, cereal and bacon and egg rolls were enjoyed on the crisp morning.

Nerida Burns Cameron White

President’s Report

Dear Families

I’d like to start this newsletter with a special note of thanks to the Glen Huntly Parents’ Association.

On behalf of the school council, I’d like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to all the members and non-members of GPA who generously give their time and material contributions towards our school events such as Mother’s Day stalls, icy poles, Friday’s cake raffle, working bee, breakfast club, harmony day, cultural days, etc: Abbi Gilbert (James 6, Lewis 4, Eden 3), Amy Limpyer (Sonny 0), Aparna Alagaraman (Jishnu 3), Arya Mohandas (Sarang 1), Athira Praveen (Pranav 3), Briana Price- Robertson (Sahara 6, Uma 2), Cathy Foden (Lucas 6), Cecylia (Winston 5, Olympia 2, Coco 0), Chris D (Grace 2, Elaine 1), Christine Viegas (Vanshika 5), Claire (Freddie 0), David Blumenstein and Sarah Howell(Rachel 3), Ellie Pietsch (Daphne 0), Fasna Fathima (Fadi 1), Fiona Davey (Daniel 5), Gajalakshmi K Ramalingam (Akhilesh 5), Gayle Davey (Alice 1), Hayley Clift (Harvey 5, Adam 3), Jennifer Tran (Peter 0), Jyothsna Mvr (Tanmayee 4), Kamala Chakapalli (Jaasritha 1), Kanmani Baskaran (Adhiyamaan 1), Karen Gorrie (Christian 0), Kate Fernandez (Louisa 3, Emmy 1), Kavitha (Nabila 1), Lilian Chew (Sofia 2, Abigail 0), Lisa Simpson (Ruby 6, Sophie 3), Lorenz(Freddie 0), Nicole Healy (Ben 6, Charlie 4), Pooja Shroff (Pranika 3), Preeti Roychand (Sara 5), Rebecca Asoulin (Eden 0), Ruth Smyth-Kinyua (Sully 5), Salisa Spiewak (Henry 0), Sara Adams (Ethan 0), Sharbani Dhar (Avyaan 5), Sue Wong (Thalia 0), Susmita Sanyal (Arjav 1).

Firstly, I’d like to take time to reflect on the amazing efforts of the entire school community in supporting and educating our children and families throughout 2023.

GHPS continued to provide high quality education. The leadership team and the wonderful teachers and staff showed dedication and commitment to ensuring the curriculum was covered through the delivery of innovative lessons, as well as providing unwavering support.

Parents & families need to also be congratulated on juggling work and home commitments while supporting their children(s)’ learning and adapting to new ways of working. Our children themselves deserve the utmost praise for their resilience, care for each other and continued learning during the challenges they faced.

It was exciting to have had June 2022 – Oct 2023 Minister for Education Hon. Natalie Hutchins and State Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos personally come and inaugurate our gymnasium. Our school community is very grateful for the $7.1 million grant approved by State Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos – this also helped funding towards uplift of the office spaces, sick bay, staff room. Of course, we named the gymnasium after our dear Mrs Libby Alessi, outgoing Principal, 2023 and we have had a very high utilisation rate for our gym facilities!

Alongside our ex-principal Libby Alessi, we also had a long-standing staff member retire last year, Mr David Jenkins. Both Libby and David went with all the best wishes of our school community and much appreciation for their commitment and hard work that helped shape the school culture over the years.

Thanks to Cameron White’s efforts in applying for funds, we have painted parts of the school, upgraded west side toilets, upgraded playground spaces, and completed maintenance works that were much required.

Breakfast club has been a huge success – thanks to Ruth Smyth-Kinyua and volunteering staff.

NAPLAN results were promising, and GHPS made it to newspaper headlines with outstanding student achievements.

We’re also very grateful to Mrs Melinda Oldham, our Science specialist teacher, and the leading teacher for specialist learning that she personally delivers for the betterment of students!

I’d like to extend a special note of thanks to GPA members – Abby Gilbert, our outgoing Parent Association President, Hayley Clift – GPA Treasurer and to all other members and non-members of GPA who volunteer their personal time to make our school to a better place, a greater community. Thank you for organising the much-loved Friday icy pole drives, hot chocolates, Mother’s Day events, special persons day events, election BBQ and stalls, mango drives, harmony day lunches, and the long list of special occasions for fundraising – and for channelling those funds to the upliftment of the school facilities!

We are excited to have introduced a new cooking program this year with our very own Fiona Davey!

Thank you, Laura, for always manning the front desk with a smile and being an absolute joy to interact with!

GHPS is in a sound financial position with enrolment numbers meeting forecast figures.

Thank you to 2023 school council members for their wonderful contribution to GHPS – especially Katherine Dench (2023 SC Secretary), Joseph Yeung (2022 SC member) whose children have moved on to high school this year.

Welcome to the 2024 School Council members – some continuing or returning councilors and some new to the role.

Staff: Nerida Burns (NB), Cameron White (CW), Melinda Oldham (MO), Becky Broxham (BB)

Parents: Supriya Arikarevula (SA), Noel Duffy (ND), Kristen Howard (KH), Alexis Weekes (AW), Rob Holland (RH) Sharbani Dhar (SD), Nicole Healy (NH), Savankumar Gaas (SG) and DS.

GHPS welcomed Mrs Nerida Burns, our new Principal and Nerida has settled into her role at GHPS extremely well bringing a wealth knowledge and experience and new ideas to improve the quality of education (demonstrated through her classroom visits, morning briefing sessions for staff, 1:1 peer mentoring sessions, whiteboards to showcase what’s on at school ) as well as connecting with the community through the luncheons with Year 6 student groups and morning tea with parents each term.

Also, we are very happy to have our new Business Manager, Pip Lewis, who has been a wonderful addition to GHPS.

I wish every member of the school a positive and rich learning experience and hope you’re able to make the most out of what this beautiful school has to offer each unique individual!

Supriya Arikarevula

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

Abigail 0A – For her determination when creating a symmetrical picture using 2D shapes. Great job!

Olivia 0A – For her persistence during numeracy this week, it was great to see you trying your hardest to write number sentences.

Jack 0B – Drawing a fabulous story map of “Mr McGee Goes to Sea!” Jack listened carefully to the story and wrote a great retell to match.

Saavi 0C – For your continuous effort and persistence when completing independent tasks. You have been approaching all your work with a ‘can do’ attitude and you should be extremely proud of yourself. Amazing effort!

Hazel 0C – For writing your class retell about the story ‘Mr McGee Goes to Sea’. You drew a wonderful story map and then had a go at writing difficult words such as ‘worried’. I was so proud when you crossed out your mistakes and kept going. Keep up the great work!

Albert 1A – For being a respectful and kind class member. You always have such beautiful manners and bring a warm smile into our classroom!

Kai 1A – For being a super star during our excursion to Science works this week. You showed respect by waiting patiently in line for the different activities. Well done, Kai!

Hera 1B – For being a rockstar friend this week! Your dedication to showing respect and support to our new classmates is nothing short of legendary. You’ve been the ultimate buddy, making sure everyone feels like they’ve found their second home here. Kudos to you for being the sunshine in someone else’s day!

Sarang 1B – This week, you’ve been a handwriting wizard, casting spells with your pen and paper! Your dedication and excitement to show off your handwriting skills have been absolutely magical. I’m super-duper impressed with your progress! Keep up the awesome work, superstar! 🌟✨

David 3A – For your fantastic narrative writing piece. You used juicy words, great punctuation, and correct use of paragraphs. Keep up the magnificent work!

Louisa 3A – For always being a sublime helper in the classroom and producing work to the highest standard. You are a superstar!

Tharan 3B – For writing an impressive narrative about space, using correct punctuation when using dialogue and including some juicy words to bump up his writing. Keep up the awesome work!

Iris 3B – For the initiative and confidence she brings to all our maths lessons. She has demonstrated a great understanding of unit fractions beyond fifths, modelling and representing them to show the equal parts. Well done!

Pranav 3C – For your outstanding predictions made during Literacy Circles. You confidently shared your thinking with the group and used supporting evidence to justify your thoughts. Well done, superstar reader!

Elsie 4A – For your fantastic report about the MCG in your homework task. You took care to include lots of detail and even added some photos to enhance your presentation. What a superstar!

Audrey 4A – For your outstanding effort in Numeracy this semester. Your hard work is reflected in your assessment results, as well as your confidence, in the last couple of weeks. You should be very proud of yourself!

Harvey 5B – For his outstanding dedication to supporting and helping others at our school. Your selfless and compassionate nature has not gone unnoticed! Thank you for always going above and beyond!

Emma 4C – For wonderfully fluent and clear reading during our Literature Circle rotations and using many complex descriptive words when writing about Pegasus during our Myths and Legends Unit. Well Done!

Daniel 5C – For outstanding contributions during our cooking session, kindness and support of our new student and writing a detailed description about Cerberus during our Myths and Legends unit.

Winston 5C – For being an incredibly calming influence on other students and modelling outstanding work ethics in the classroom and for creating descriptive, vivid sentences for the Mythological Settings! Well Done!

Ayush 6A – Being a pleasure to teach throughout the year. Your input into our class has been super special and we will definitely miss your sneaky smile. Best of luck for the future.

Vandita 6A – For being a most amazing and valuable member of 6A 2024. Your work habits and effort do not go unrecognised in our special community. We will surely miss you and wish you every success in the future.

Sport News

Well done to all of the students who attended the District Cross Country event on Friday 10th May at Caulfield Park.

It was so special to see so many families coming down to support us.

All students showed our school values on the day and supported their own friends and other schools to do their best on the day! It was awesome to be part of such a positive group of students.

Congratulations to Zac Talor in Year 5 who has been training hard and came in at 6th place which means that he will be representing GHPS in the Division event on Thursday 23rd May.