Stay connected with the latest news around the school from Principal Andrew Searle every two weeks.
Year 4 Camp
The Year 4 students and staff had a wonderful time a few weeks ago during their three days away at Camp Oasis in Mt Evelyn. Despite some inclement weather, they thoroughly enjoyed participating in the range of activities on offer including archery, flying fox, candle making, laser tag, ropes course and rock climbing. The talent show held on the Thursday evening was also a highlight for many, with some very entertaining acts taking to the stage. The camp concluded with a ride on Puffing Billy to Emerald Lake before everyone returning to school on the bus. Thank you to Mrs Thompson-Smith, Mrs Birch, Mr Negus, Mrs Danko, Ms Knell, Susan McMeekin and Sammy Chen for spending three days away to ensure the students had a memorable experience.
Alliance Francaise Competition
This year, 28 students from Year 3-6 participated in the annual Alliance Francaise poetry reciting competition. The students participating receive a poem they must learn off by heart, which they then recite to a panel of adjudicators. To progress through the competition, students are required to score a perfect 20/20, making this a very tough competition. Many students scored 19 or 19.5 out of 20, which was a fantastic achievement by them. Three students scored a perfect 20/20 and now progress to the next level of the competition. Congratulations to Ella P (607), Ben D (607) and Shivaan B (313) for achieving a perfect score and we wish them well in the next level of the competition. Thank you to Madame Joyce for coordinating and organising the students’ participation in the competition, along with the assistance she gave to the students to be so successful.
Kew 2026 School Leaders’ Forum
The annual Kew School Leaders’ Forum, hosted by the Member for Kew, Jess Wilson, was held on Friday, May 22 at Parliament House. This year, Cedric H (607) and Ella Y (511) were chosen to represent Greythorn, with students from all schools in the Kew electorate invited to attend. On arrival, the students were given a tour of Parliament House, including commentary on our political system and the Lower and Upper Houses. After the tour, everyone gathered in the lower House to meet Jess and present their speeches. Each student had prepared a speech on a topic of their choice. Congratulations to Cedric and Ella for presenting their speeches so confidently and being wonderful ambassadors for the school. Cedric’s speech was about Screentime for Children, with Ella’s topic being Cyberbullying. The visit concluded with Jess hosting morning tea in the library. I had the pleasure of attending this event along with Mr Richards, to witness how amazing the students were. Thank you also to their parents for attending on the day.
Working Bee
A working bee has been scheduled for Sunday, June 21, 9am – 12:30pm. Tasks on the day will include planting, mulching and general maintenance and clean-up. All participants will receive 1000 House points for respective Houses. Any assistance on the day will be greatly appreciated.
School Production
Tickets are selling fast for next term’s production of The Greatest Story Never Told. The excitement is building for the students as they continue rehearsals, leading to their time to shine on stage on July 15 and 16. It promises to be a memorable night of fun and entertainment. The production is being held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre (Yarra Valley Grammar).
Team Vic Swimming
Following on from their recent successes at the State Swimming Championships, Keanu T (609) and Jessie C (405) have both been selected in the Team Vic swimming team. A fantastic achievement by both boys. They will therefore be competing in the National Swimming Championships which are being held in Melbourne later in the year at MSAC from November 29 to December 3.
PFA Bake Sale
The Year 4-6 bake sale is being held on Friday, June 19 at 3:30pm. Donations of homemade items can be left in the hall kitchen on the day. The bake sales are always a very popular fundraising effort, and we look forward to this being another successful event.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
This year’s interviews are being held on Monday, June 22. Please be aware that this is a designated curriculum day and therefore, student free. Bookings for the interviews will be open early next week and an alert regarding this will be sent out via Compass.
Semester 1 Reports
The Semester 1 student reports will be published on Compass on Friday, June 19. Please be aware that these reports will continue to provide important details about student learning attainment, but full descriptive comments may not be included as a result of industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union (AEU). You will of course be able to discuss all aspects of your child’s/children’s progress and achievements at the parent/teacher interviews on Monday, June 22.
Division Cross-country Carnival
Our team of 11 students competed at Ruffey Lake Park on Monday in the Division carnival. The course was challenging for all competitors with undulating terrain on varying surfaces. The students all performed very well and represented GPS with pride and distinction. Thank you to Mrs Deckert for her work to coordinate the team and for attending on the day to assist throughout the competition. Thank you also to the many parents who attended to support and encourage all our participants.
FISAF State Championships
Our aerobics team is competing in the FISAF State Championships on Saturday at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC). The students have been preparing for this competition since the start of the year with their rigorous training schedule, which will no doubt lead to outstanding results. Several of the combinations have performed at assembly during the past two weeks and they all look very well prepared with their wonderful, synchronised routines. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing of their achievements.
School Website Update
The school’s website has been recently upgraded and was launched yesterday. Ms Nitsos and Ms Reid have been working closely for many months with a company called Education Web Solutions to revamp our current website. The new platform is far more interactive and inviting to look at and to navigate around. I encourage you to take a few minutes to view the upgrade.
Smart Watches
As is the case with mobile phones, Smart watches are not to be worn or used by students at school during the day. Unfortunately, teachers are dealing with an increasing number of students using Smart watches to send messages or even call home during the day. This type of behaviour is unacceptable and not allowed. If a student wears a Smart watch for safety purposes, then it must be handed to the office on arrival to school and collected from the office at 3:30pm. Additionally, students are not permitted to message or call home from iPads during school hours. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Statewide Government School Conference
Last week, Ms Knell and I attended the annual Government School Conference, attended by almost 2000 principals and assistant principals from across the state. The 2-day conference has several keynote speakers giving presentations to all delegates, along with three workshop sessions of choice for the delegates to attend. Claire was invited to make a presentation at the conference which she did in one of the workshops on the first day. Claire’s presentation was about inclusive education at Greythorn and our SWAN (Students with Additional Needs) program. Claire did an outstanding job with her engaging and informative presentation which resonated with the 120 delegates in the room.
