The Great Australian Road Trip - We’re Getting Ready!

There is a wonderful buzz around GIPS as we get ready for our upcoming whole-school production, The Great Australian Road Trip! Rehearsals are underway, dances are being practised, costumes are coming together, and we are so excited to see it all take shape.

Our school production is always such a special GIPS event because it brings our whole community together. Every child has the opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves, contributing alongside their classmates and celebrating the creativity, confidence and joy that come from performing together. It is a beautiful reflection of our vision, Growth through belonging, a community where every child thrives.

This year, we’re also introducing some very exciting enhancements to make the production experience even more special for our students and families. We don’t want to give too much away just yet, but there are some fantastic additions happening behind the scenes that we think will bring a little extra magic to the stage!

A huge thank you to our staff for the extraordinary work that goes into bringing a whole-school production to life, and to our families for supporting our students as they prepare. A special thanks to all of our parents in the community who have been sewing away! We think you'll love our costumes this year.

We cannot wait to welcome our GIPS community and hit the road together!

In our classrooms

In Prep

In Prep, we have been learning about sharing equally and making sure everyone gets a fair share! We have been using manipulatives, counters and simple stories to practice sharing collections into equal groups.

For example, we explored: “We have 6 strawberries and 2 friends. Can we share them fairly?” and “What happens if we have 3 friends?”

Try it at home!

Use toys, blocks or everyday objects to practise sharing equally. Ask, “Can you share these fairly?”, “How many does each person get?” and “How do you know it is fair?”

In grade one

Grade One had an exciting visit from the Wild Action Zoo as part of our Term 3 Integrated Studies topic, Australian Animals. The students became wildlife warriors for the day, learning about a wonderful range of Australian animals through hands-on experiences. They discovered fascinating facts about where our animals live, what they eat and how they survive, while getting the opportunity to see some of these amazing creatures up close. It was a fantastic experience that brought our learning about Australian animals to life!

At your home, you might like to ask your child to share their favourite Australian animal and tell you an interesting fact they have learnt about it. You could also encourage them to draw or write about their favourite animal at home.

Grade 2 Mystery Readers

To celebrate Book Week in Grade 2, we have been enjoying visits from our wonderful “Mystery Readers” over the last couple of weeks. Each day, the Grade 2 students have had a special person visit the classroom to share one of their favourite picture books with the class.

Our students have loved the excitement and anticipation of discovering who our Mystery Reader will be each day. It has been a wonderful way to celebrate the joy of reading, share favourite stories and inspire a love of books within our Grade 2 community. A big thank you to all of our Mystery Readers for taking the time to come and share a special story with us!

In grade three

The Grade 3 students have been fully embracing Book Week! We have read wonderful books during library time and participated in a Book Week webinar or had an author visit every day this week. We’ve loved getting to know some new Australian authors and learning about what inspires them. They have passed on some of their knowledge to help us with developing ideas to improve our own writing.

At home, you might like to discuss some of the strategies we’ve learnt this week such as:

• Using real life events but adding made up characters
• Coming up with “What if?” scenarios,
• Modelling characters based on amazing, real life people.

It can be fun to generate ideas with someone else and build on each other’s creativity!

In grade four

Welcome to Book Week! We were so lucky to be spoken to by two experts in the literary world. Our students were captivated by RA Spratt’s story telling and presence, and by Ben Wood’s guide to drawing ‘Real Pigeons’. Some of the Year 4 students explored this further creating their own comic strips, and all classes completed a ‘Symphony of Stories’ Kahoot, where their knowledge was put to the test! As part of Topic and Literacy we have been learning about the 1967 Referendum and the 2008 National Apology. We are very proud of our students for asking insightful questions and writing full answers that show a real understanding of these important events in Australia’s history. We have been getting them to think like journalists in preparation for our Writing next week.

How you can help at home:

Read some interesting newspaper articles together. Inquire in to how the heading or style of writing keeps the reader hooked, what devices they use to tell facts and share more information.

In grade five

In Grade 5, students have been focussing on the explanation text type in writing recently. Explanation texts are important for our grade 5 students because they teach them how to clearly describe processes and ideas, which become essential as they move into research-based essays that require logical, factual writing. Learning this text type also helps students organise information in a cause-and-effect structure, giving them the foundation they need for more complex tasks like research paragraphs and informational essays.

To support the Grade 5s learning at home, you can have your children explain the process of something they know well in-depth. Example questions that support cross-curricula learning: 'How do supply chains work?' (Economics and Business) and 'How does a bushfire become so destructive?' (Natural Disasters)

Note: Explanations are not the same as procedures, as procedures are texts written for someone to be able to perform the same task.

In Performing Arts

The students have been using their bodies, voices and instruments to explore and develop their ideas in music and drama. Following their exploration of beat patterns, the Prep’s are now focusing on high and low pitches through play-based learning (they can tell you all about their trip to the moon). In Grades 1 and 2, the students have been demonstrating their expert singing skills during their investigation of form, dynamics and tempo in music.

While the Preps, 1’s and 2’s are focused on music, our senior students are practicing and refining their drama knowledge and skills. After their exploration of the role of empathy, the students are now focusing explicitly on the expressive skills in drama. By targeting voice, gesture, movement, facial expression and stillness & silence individually, the Grade 5’s and 6’s will be well prepared for our whole-school production.

Year 4 Spanish

Year 4 students put their Spanish learning into action by recalling key ideas from the first three chapters of Octavia y Lucía: Problemas Internacionales. Through comic strips, students creatively brought the story to life while demonstrating their understanding, memory and artistic skills.

In the art room

Students across the school have been having fun shaping, sculpting and moulding clay. In Year 1 the students created, painted and decorated a clay beetle. Year 2 students were inspired by indigenous artworks to shape and decorate a platypus. In Year 4 students designed their own “creature” using the pinch pot technique to shape the body. In Year 3 and Year 5/6 students were introduced to the Australian artists known as the Hermannsburg Potters. This indigenous art collective create unique pots with ornamental lids often using an animal featured in the artwork of the pot. The students’ designs are so creative and beautiful. Well done everyone!

In our staffroom

From Strong Results to Our Next Steps

At our recent staff meeting, teachers spent time unpacking our 2026 Attitudes to School Survey data. We were incredibly proud to see that GIPS was the #1 ranked school compared to similar schools and our network schools in every category; a wonderful reflection of the learning environments our teachers create for students each day.

Importantly, we don’t see strong results as a reason to stand still. Each grade-level team has carefully analysed their students’ feedback and developed an action plan for the term ahead, identifying specific ways they will continue to strengthen and evolve their explicit instruction.

This process ensures that student voice remains an important part of how we reflect on our practice, celebrate what is working and continually refine teaching and learning across GIPS.

Supporting Children Through Friendship Concerns

From time to time, children will come home and share a friendship wobble, a disagreement or something that has happened during their school day. We know how difficult it can be as a parent to hear that your child has been upset, and we encourage families to listen, reassure and support their child.

If you believe your child needs support with something that has occurred at school, please speak directly with your child’s classroom teacher. Teachers are best placed to understand the broader context, check in with the children involved and provide appropriate support.

We also ask that parents and carers do not approach another child directly about an issue, or contact another family to resolve a school-based concern involving their children. While we understand the instinct to help, these conversations can be upsetting for children and can unintentionally escalate situations between families. They can also make it more difficult for staff to establish what has occurred and support everyone involved fairly.

Our strong sense of community and belonging is one of the things we value enormously at GIPS. By bringing concerns to staff and allowing the school to support children through difficulties, we can work together to ensure every child feels safe, supported and able to navigate their relationships positively.

Deborah McDermott, Assistant Principal

Maddie Witter, Principal

In our community

Book Week Comes to Life at GIPS!

What a wonderful week of books, stories and creativity we have enjoyed at GIPS! As part of our Book Week celebrations, we were thrilled to welcome bestselling author R.A. Spratt and much-loved illustrator Ben Wood.R.A. Spratt had our students completely captivated as she shared the stories and inspiration behind her hugely popular books, including the Friday Barnes series, The Peski Kids and Nanny Piggins. There was plenty of laughter as students heard about where her wonderfully quirky characters and ideas come from, along with some fantastic inspiration for our own budding GIPS authors.

We were also delighted to welcome Ben Wood, the talented illustrator behind books including the Real Pigeons series and I Love Me!. Ben gave students a fascinating glimpse into how characters and stories come to life through illustration, sharing his creative process and demonstrating his drawing skills along the way. These visits are such a special part of Book Week, giving our students the opportunity to connect the books they love with the real people who create them. A huge thank you to R.A. Spratt and Ben Wood for bringing so much energy, creativity and joy to GIPS!

Please click through the slideshow below to see our Book Week parade.

GIPS School Production 2026! 🌏🎭 September 11, 2026

Get ready for an exciting adventure as GIPS hits the stage once again for this year’s spectacular whole-school production, The Great Australian Road Trip!

🎟️ Tickets are now available through TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/DPFJQ

Performance Times

Please ensure you book tickets for the correct performance according to your family surname:

• Surnames A–K: Students arrive at 5:30pm for a 6:00pm performance
• Surnames L–Z: Students arrive at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm performance

Performing students do not require a ticket. Concession tickets and child tickets (for children up to 18 years) are also available.

📍 Venue: Besen Centre

87–89 Station Street, Burwood

Important Information

Please see Compass for details about how to order a video of the production.

Concert and arrival times

Early Concert – Surnames A–K

• Student arrival: 5:30 pm sharp
• Concert: 6:00 pm–7:00 pm

Late Concert – Surnames L–Z

• Student arrival: 7:00 pm sharp
• Concert: 7:30 pm–8:30 pm

Student drop-off and collection

Students are to be dropped off at the external side entrance. Signage will be displayed to help families locate the correct entrance.

At the end of each concert, teachers will bring students to the same side entrance, one grade at a time, to be collected by their parent or carer.

Costumes and presentation

Please ensure that your child:

• Arrives wearing their required production costume.
• Has long hair tied back in a low ponytail.
• Does not wear makeup.
• Wears shoes that are easy to remove, preferably slip-on shoes, like crocs. Students do not need to wear socks on the evening.

Students will perform without shoes or socks. These will remain in the change room while they are on stage.

Dinner

Dinner will not be provided. Please ensure your child has eaten before arriving at the venue.

Parking

Free parking is available at the Besen Centre.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to sharing this exciting evening with our GIPS community!

Sponsor a Fun Fair ride

We’re looking for businesses who would love to get behind the Glen Iris Primary School Fun Fair by sponsoring one of our exciting Fun Fair rides! There are five to sponsor. If we can get the five sponsored, we are interested in adding three new opportunities: pony rides, a patting zoo, and camel rides! Can you help us make our dream a reality?

Ride sponsorship is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to support our school, connect with local families and be part of one of our biggest community events of the year.

If you know of a business that may be interested in sponsoring a ride, we’d love to hear from you!

Please email glen.iris.ps@education.vic.gov.au, attention: Fun Fair Committee, for more information about sponsorship opportunities or please call the front office.

Thank you,

Fun Fair Committee

Parent/Carer opinion survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation. Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 17 August to Friday 18 September 2026. All families are invited to participate in the

survey. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. You should have received an email with your unique login details this morning. Please reach out to the front office if you have any questions.

The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents / carers who speak a language other than English at home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school directly for survey guides in your language.

Last year we used the survey results to work toward our goals in our 2025-2029 Strategic Plan. By 2029, our strategic plan goals are to increase the parent

positive endorsement for the Parent Opinion Survey factors in teacher communication (up from 62% positively endorsed in 2024 to 70% by 2029) and student motivation and support (up from 66% positively endorsed in 2024 to 72% in 2029). This year, you may have seen some annual improvement strategies in action targeted to those goals including:

• Improved calendar communication including a paper calendar that went home for the 2026 school year and fortnightly calendar reminders in the newsletter;
• Teachers identifying ways parents can partner with the learning program at home in every fortnightly newsletter;
• Consistent communication at the beginning of each term about curriculum and key learning in the year-level term newsletter;
• Parent support workshops on cyber safety (plus a very exciting parent workshop that we are sharing later this year- stay tuned!); and
• A whole school early identification and coordinated responses for students experiencing disengagement, reduced motivation or barriers to learning which has included teacher check-ins, engagement data reviews by our wellbeing team, clear escalation pathways for teachers to reach out for more support from wellbeing team, earlier parent contact, student goal-setting and targeted intervention.

Each household will have a unique pin for answering the survey which was sent via email earlier today. We thank families in advance for their feedback and support.

Please speak to the front office if you would like more information.

Glen Iris Road Safety

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you may be aware, our students have spent the first part of this year participating in sessions at GIPS focused on road safety and how to stay safe in and around traffic.

Supporting children to make good decisions is an important part of keeping them safe. Equally, it is essential that we, as a school community, model safe and responsible behaviour when driving near the school.

We have observed that a number of parents and carers are performing U-turns on Glen Iris Road during drop-off and pick-up times. While this may be legally permitted, it presents a significant safety risk. Glen Iris Road is a busy area, with many primary and kindergarten-aged children present. Even with the greatest care, children can act unpredictably, and sudden movements near traffic can have serious consequences.

We ask that you avoid performing U-turns on Glen Iris Road and instead allow a little extra time in your morning or afternoon routine to ensure the safety of all members of our community.

Thank you for your cooperation and ongoing support in keeping our students safe.

Kind regards,
Gareth Darlow
On behalf of the School Council

2027 Planning

Dear families,

As part of future planning and our census, the Department of Education is requesting schools to provide information regarding enrolments for 2027. This information helps us make plans for next year and keep our class sizes optimal for learning.

If your circumstance has changed and you know that your child or children will not be attending next year, could you please email or contact the office as soon as possible.

Jelly cups and icy poles

The student voice and agency team have worked hard last semester on our canteen based on student feedback. Starting this Friday for this semester we will be selling the following on Fridays:

• Jelly Cups $2
• Icy Poles $1

The canteen only accepts coins.

Team Kids