Dear Families
Welcome back for 2024 and a new school year! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday break and are ready to return to the routines of school.
Staff
This year we have welcomed some returning members of staff who were on leave in 2023.
- Mrs Davey returns two days per week, teaching music to students in Years 3-6 and leading the school choir.
- Ms Burrows returns to teach students in Years 3-6 Phys Ed. She will work two days per week in Term 1, increasing to three days from Term 3. Mrs Kate Scott will teach Phys Ed on Thursdays in Term 1 until Ms Burrows returns to three days in Term 2.
- Mr Dean Hodgson returns to teach Year 6, and Mr Clint Degebrodt returns to teach Year 6 with Ms Lund in Term 1.
- Ms Anna Trovarelli, our Visual Arts Specialist, has extended her leave for one more year and Mrs Joanna Barton has taken on her role for 2024.
Wednesday 31 January – students return
We have planned for the beginning of the first day to be very similar to last year’s first day. The difference will be that the Year 5 and 6 students will go directly to their classrooms, given the forecast of hot weather.
Years 5 and 6
Please be aware that we will have over 100 students accessing their downstairs classes via the corridor. If students are accompanied by an adult, it would be helpful if this was limited to one adult at a time if the stairs and corridor appear busy. It may just mean that a second adult drops off a younger child and returns in order to manage a potentially large number of people. Thanks for your cooperation in this regard.
Years 3 and 4
These classes are in the upper corridor. Given that there will be just over one hundred students, many of whom will have an adult with them carrying arms full of stationery, these classes will meet in the undercover area. There will be a few additional staff members on hand to meet families and to help transport heavy items to classrooms.
Years 1 and 2
Mrs Chipps class is next to the staffroom, Mrs Tusak’s, Mrs Upton’s and Mrs Loleva’s rooms are along the veranda adjacent to the undercover area. Children in Years 1 and 2 will go directly to their class.
Pre-Primary and Year 1
Children go directly to the Pre-Primary classes and to Kindy.
Message to Everyone
Environmental sustainability features in our new Business Plan. If you are able to bring stationery and books in reusable bags rather than the cardboard boxes most items were delivered in, that would be appreciated. One or two flattened boxes in your home recycle bin will save us flattening and carting hundreds of boxes to the bins on Styne Road. Thank you!!
Internet Agreements
Internet Agreements will be sent home this week. Please keep an eye out for them; read, sign and return as soon as possible.
I will send some further information to you in the next few days. In the meantime however I’d particularly like to extend a warm welcome to our new students and their families – you are joining a special school community.
Very best wishes for a happy, settled first day everyone. See you in the morning!
Elizabeth Blackwell
Principal ?