From the Principal

This week, thanks to the easing of some COVID restrictions in schools, I had the pleasure of attending a year level assembly in the Performing Art Centre. This simple, everyday school activity brought much excitement to both staff and students as it heralded a small step towards normality. We look forward to taking many more of these small steps over the coming weeks as we continue to achieve ‘double donut’ days and the consequent easing of government restrictions. In the Assembly, we heard the Year 5 students present their speeches for 2021 student leadership positions. I was very impressed by the confident and articulate manner in which the students presented themselves. Congratulations to every student who spoke and to the Year 5 teachers Mrs Claire Harvie and Miss Laura Dascoli for teaching the students their fine public speaking skills. Based on their speeches and election promises, I believe leadership in Junior School will be in very safe hands in 2021. The Senior School leadership election process is also well underway. I look forward to announcing the appointment of the Senior School Leaders very soon.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Year 10 student Teah Dorman has been awarded the Kwong Lee Dow Scholarship. This award recognises Teah’s academic achievements and community involvement. Teah will become part of the University of Melbourne’s Kwong Lee Dow Scholars Class of 2022. Congratulations Teah.

The Class of 2020 commenced their VCE examinations this week. We are very proud of each and every one of our Year 12 students for the way they managed their extraordinarily difficult year. I have been impressed this week by their calm and confident approach to their examinations. We wish them all the best as they continue their examinations over the coming weeks.

While the school uniform shop on-campus remains closed, I am pleased to see the main uniform shop in Dandenong has finally re-opened. If your child has grown out of their Summer uniform, I encourage you to make a time to visit the uniform shop to restock. As you are aware, students may choose to wear any of their school uniforms for the rest of Term 4. They may choose between Summer uniform, Winter uniform or PE uniform. It is really important that whichever uniform they choose, that they wear their chosen uniform correctly. I implore parents to check their child’s uniform before they leave home each day. Please make sure they;

• have their hair tied back,
• are not wearing make-up or nail polish,
• are not mixing up uniform with non-uniform items of clothing,
• are not wearing jewellery or multiple pairs of earrings
• have a dress which is knee length
• have their summer hat for wearing when outdoors

Please check the attached uniform policy if you are unsure about any of the uniform rules.

Please note that it is expected that all students will have the correct summer uniform to wear from the start of 2021. Students who do not wear their uniform correctly from the start of next year will be sent home until the uniform problems are rectified.

The Year 6 graduation evening on 3 December is going to be an exciting live event for students and their teachers. Unfortunately, COVID restrictions mean parents cannot attend the graduation ceremony, however, it will be available for parents to watch through a live stream. The students and staff are thrilled and very grateful to be able to have a live graduation event.

Despite the gradual easing of restrictions, we are still not in a position to have a Celebration and Awards Evening in both Junior School (Year 3-6 students) and Senior School. We are therefore planning pre-recorded Assemblies. The Year 3-6 Awards Assembly will be shown at school on Monday 30 November. The Senior School assembly will be shown at school on Tuesday 8 December. The video will be made available to parents to watch on the same day as the students.

There have been some concerns expressed recently regarding safe drop-off and pick-up in both the school carpark and the stadium carpark. These concerns stem from the fact that some drivers are not following the rules for each car park. I ask all parents to please follow the rules so we can be sure our children are safe and also to ensure smooth traffic flow. We have recently created a no-parking zone around the gate to the basketball stadium carpark to increase pedestrian safety. Please do not park in this zone at any time. Please see the updated map if you are unsure of the stadium carpark rules.

The warmer weather and spring pollen has caused a rise in Hayfever. If your child suffers from Hayfever, could you please give them some preventative Hayfever medication before school on days of high pollen count. Students who present with a runny nose or eyes, dry cough or other Hayfever symptoms which are similar to COVID symptoms will be sent home. The COVID safe guidelines to keep your child at home if they are unwell are still in place and will be for the rest of this school year.

Stay safe, stay well.

Mrs Fiona Williams

Principal