Welcome back

As we progress through Term 3, we pause to reflect on our 2025 improvement priorities shaped by your feedback in 2024. This input guided our focus across community partnerships, wellbeing, learning, and school operations.

Community Partnerships: In 2024, 64% of parents endorsed our local connections, encouraging us to strengthen these ties. This year, we co-designed and opened our inclusive playground with School Council, parents, and community experts; celebrated together at the Evening on the Green; and continued our valued buddy program with Glen Iris Uniting Church Kindergarten. Uncle Glenn led smoking ceremonies and is now working with our SALT Cultural Connections team on a special project. Our Reconciliation Action Plan continues to grow with strong community involvement. Parents also contributed to our 2025 School Review, shaping key goals in student agency, wellbeing, and learning growth—showing the power of partnership in building an inclusive school.

Student Safety: In 2024, 71% of parents endorsed our approach to managing bullying. In response, we introduced a clear bullying management flowchart, strengthened early intervention, and deepened staff training in relational behaviour support. Students engaged in targeted wellbeing lessons, focusing on empathy and help-seeking. This year, 99% of students reported confidence in our approach to bullying, with just 1% experiencing it in the past term.

Stimulated Learning: With 62% of parents in 2024 affirming their child was adequately challenged, we prioritised greater rigour in teaching. Consistent assessment and moderation, peer observations, and specialist-led professional learning have supported teachers to extend all learners. In 2025, 92% of students agreed teachers stretch their learning—up 17% from the year before.

School Grounds: Parent endorsement of our grounds had declined over five years, so we invested in major upgrades—new oval, playground, renovated bathrooms and classrooms, refreshed front office, and revitalised veggie patch—funded by community contributions and grants. Current works include senior toilets, roof repairs, deck upgrades, and planting along Glen Iris Road, with plans to paint the exterior in 2026.

Your feedback continues to guide our priorities, ensuring GIPS remains a place where every child thrives.

In our classrooms

In Prep

Last Friday, our Prep students celebrated the much-anticipated 100 Days of School! The children marked the milestone by dressing up as 100-year-olds, complete with walking sticks, wrinkles and grey hair. They got a little bit crafty with special activities, took on the challenge of completing 100 exercises, and of course, they counted, counted, counted! It was a fun-filled day and a wonderful way to celebrate all the learning that has taken place over the first 100 days of the school year.

In grade one

Exploring 3D Shapes in Grade 1!

This week, our curious Grade 1 students have been hands-on with geometry, exploring the properties of 3D shapes. Using playdough and matchsticks, students built models of cubes, pyramids, and prisms. This allowed for exploration of faces, edges, and vertices along the way!

In grade two

Grade 2 Divides

This week in Mathematics, Grade 2 has been working on division. We looked at all the different strategies we could use to divide numbers, for example, equal groups, repeated subtraction, using our knowledge of multiplication and drawing arrays. We worked together to solve division problems and as an extension some children worked with remainders and on dividing a three digit number by a single digit.

In grade three

In Grade 3, we increased our knowledge of 3D objects by building our own. We identified the key features of prisms and pyramids and had fun while doing it! Did you know that the faces of 3D objects are made up of 2D shapes? Wow!

In grade four

This week, our Year 4 students have started an exciting research project as part of their topic and writing work. Each student has chosen an Indigenous Australian or Torres Strait Islander person to learn and write a biography about.

Students are practising their research skills, finding reliable information, taking notes, and picking out the most important facts.

It’s been great to see how engaged and curious the students are as they learn about the lives and contributions of these inspiring people.

In five and six

Grade 5/6 have spent the last three weeks participating in sex Ed program run by Sex Ed Australia. After some giggles at the start, students have been engaged in all activities and informed about what's to come as they grow and change.

Student voice and agency

Part of my role involves supporting the SRC. We meet fortnightly in Miss Black’s room, where she facilitates the meetings. At today’s meeting, the students discussed ideas for the Term 3 fundraiser and brainstormed designs for the new GIPS 2026 beanies. It was decided that each SRC member will speak to their class during Morning Circle to gather fundraising suggestions and bring them to the next meeting. The SRC will then vote on the preferred fundraiser, which will then be submitted to the Principal for approval. Thank you to Miss Black for all the work that you in supporting the SRC. - Deborah McDermott, Assistant Principal

In our art room

Throughout semester one, Year 5/6 students explored the visual technique of one-point perspective to create depth in artwork. Looking at the famous bedroom painting of Vincent Van Gogh, students meticulously planned and designed their dream bedroom space. These works were completed with watercolour paint and fineliner pen to highlight the details.

These colourful artworks will be on display in the upcoming “Night at the GIPS Art Exhibition”, on Friday 12^th September.

Alongside student artwork will be class canvases which will be up for auction on the night to raise funds for the school, including the art program. There is a sneak peak of a Year One canvas underway now. We hope to see you there!

In Performing Arts

Grade 3 & 4 students are becoming masters of time as they use time signatures and bars to compose their own music. Amongst this, I am overwhelmed by the respect, honesty and gratitude that all the students are demonstrating.

In our staffroom

Lisa Keskinen Professional Development

Lisa Keskinen returned to GIPS modelling lessons in grades one, three, and five/six. Specifically, Lisa modelled how teachers explicitly and rigorously instruct during explicit instruction and check for understanding and provide feedback during independent practice. Welcome back Lisa!

Exploration of data to extend learners

This week staff joined Maddie for professional learning. We looked at every learner's data, with a specific emphasis on how we can stretch and extend our learners. We analysed our schoolwide common assessment data.

In our community

Aboriginal Cultural Incursion

Last week, Ganga Giri joined our school and taught our students about his music. We enjoyed whole school dancing, storytelling and the didgeridoo.

Kinder Visits

Grade 5s have been regularly visiting the kinder during lunch on Thursdays reading stories and getting to know the kinder children.

Student Art Exhibition

Coming soon! On September 12 from 5-7 pm, all families and friends are warmly welcome to explore "A Night at the GIPS Art Exhibition". Students from Prep to Year 6 have been extremely busy making and creating stunning artworks, with every student having a piece of work displayed. There will be class artworks up for auction and interactive artworks to explore. So mark your calendar and we look forward to seeing you there!

Australian Mathematics Competition

This week, over 100 students from Grades 3-6 participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition. The competition is run across hundreds of Australian schools from Grades 3-12 and is designed to challenge and extend students’ problem-solving skills. It was fantastic to see so many GIPS students embrace this opportunity while doing their very best at finding creative ways to find solutions to problems. We look forward to celebrating our students further when certificates are received later in the year.

Join Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group

At Glen Iris Primary School, we are committed to deepening our understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and contributions. One way we do this is through our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). A RAP is a formal commitment to reconciliation. It outlines practical actions the school can take to build respectful relationships and create meaningful opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We warmly invite interested parents and carers to join our RAP Working Group, which brings together our community to guide and implement this important work. Whether you're new to reconciliation or already passionate about it, your voice and perspective are valued.

Meeting Dates – 2025 Thursdays after school

Term 3: 7 August and 4 September

Term 4: 23 October and 20 November

If you’re interested in joining or would like to learn more, please email glen.iris.ps@education.vic.gov.au attention Peter McClure. We would love to have you involved as we continue this journey together.

Second-hand Uniform Shop

Our GIPS second-hand uniform shop is thriving, but it needs your help!

We urgently need donations of good quality, clean second-hand uniforms – particularly skorts, shorts & track pants in small sizes as well as jackets in all sizes.

Please drop any donations to the office.

Thank you for your continued support

Respecting diversity

At GIPS, we believe that every child deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued — every single day. One of our strengths at GIPS is our diversity.

As educators and carers, it’s our shared responsibility to model kindness, celebrate diversity, and ensure every child feels they belong. Our children learn not only from what we say, but from what we do — and how we treat others.

We ask for your continued partnership in:

• Talking with your child about the importance of respecting others, even (and especially) when they are different from us.
• Encouraging empathy, curiosity, and courage when they see or hear something that’s not okay.
• Reinforcing that racism — in any form — is hurtful, harmful, and never acceptable.

Let’s continue to build a school community where every child, every family, and every staff member feels safe, seen, and supported. Together, we can make sure our school remains a place where everyone is welcome, and every voice matters.

If you ever have concerns, or ideas about how we can continue to foster a more inclusive culture, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re in this together.

Shaye Bradbury, Leading Teacher Wellbeing and Inclusion

Book Week Parade

Our annual Book Week Parade is just after 9 am on the 19th of August. We warmly invite the entire community to our parade. We would love to see parents join us!

Your School Council held our 5th meeting for the year, covering:

🚗 Continued concerns about unsafe parking and driving at drop-off and pick-up. We're working with Boroondara Council to see how they can help and are working on more communications to reach families who haven't got the message. Please make wise choices to keep every kid safe and to share parking fairly; including parking further away and walking the last short distance.

💰Usual budget review with a healthier position than last year thanks to re-bounded parent payments (thank you!) - and with deliberate forward planning about how to spend this on upkeep of classrooms.

💻 A long and thoughtful discussion about moving to a "Bring Your Own Device" approach for iPads in Grades 5 and 6, as per most schools in the area. Our old fleet of iPads really needs to be replaced and the cost is prohibitive. After careful consideration, we think this is a reasonable change to make and are keen to consult with you all, especially families currently in Year 4 and 5, before making the final decision. Look out for opportunities soon to hear more and share your thoughts.

👚Uniform tweaks: we approved the Student Representative Council's requests to add pom-poms to the beanies and have hoodies instead of bomber jackets for the Grade 6s next year.

🤝Posters from the Department of Education reminding us all to interact respectfully with school staff, as they have a right to be safe in their workplace. In some schools the behaviour towards staff is quite awful. At GIPS we've had unreasonable demands (this can include "I need to speak to you right now" when teachers are busy teaching) and even some verbal aggression. Please be the role model your child deserves, engaging kindly in and in partnership with the GIPS team.

🎠In amongst everything else they do, Maddie, Deb and Karen have been working hard to organise a Funfair to celebrate GIPS' 160th birthday!📅Mark your calendars for Saturday 22 November 10am-3pm. ✋Do you have a food business and would like to run a stall? Are you willing to volunteer some time to bring their wonderful ideas to fruition? Please email the office.

Silent Auction Items Needed

Our Term 3 Silent Auction is one of the school’s biggest fundraisers—and we need your help to make it a success!

We’re looking for donations, big or small, to auction off and raise vital funds that directly support our children’s education.

Do you - or someone you know - have something to contribute? We're especially looking for:

• Stays at holiday homes
• Sporting or other memorabilia
• High-value vouchers
• Artwork or photography
• Services, products, or unique experiences

All donations are welcome and truly appreciated. Every item helps us reach our fundraising goal!

To donate or learn more, please speak with Lou O’Donnell or Cass Golten in person, or email us at gipsparentsassoc@gmail.com.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Warm regards,

Cass and Lou

Traffic Safety

Last term, cases of illegal parking and dangerous driving on Glen Iris Road at drop-off and pick-up continued.

All our kids have a right to get to school safely every day, our neighbours need to be able to leave their driveways, and our lollipop crossing supervisors deserve to have a safe workplace. Please respect the rules.

Please watch this short explainer:

https://youtu.be/zh0g_EM5qe0?si=Tc0MFYerSXkhYG2N

and share it with other family or carers doing drop-off and pick-up.

Please remember

• The Kiss and Go car spots are two minutes. Cars cannot be left unattended during Kiss and Go times.
• Obey the no standing signs. Drop offs are not allowed in these areas.
• The staff carpark, directly off the Prep Playground, is not for parent parking. Please do not park in the staff carpark.
• Neighbours on Florence Street repeatedly are sharing complaints that parents are parking in driveways. Please do not do this.
• Do not park in disability parking unless you qualify for this parking. We have disabled children who need these spots for drop off and pick up.

Remember a great option for easier parking that builds healthy habits too: park a few streets away and walk the last bit.

Parking officers will patrol more often and issue fines if necessary. We don’t want you to get fined, and we do want all our kids to be safe!

Bring Your Own Device Focus Groups

In September (date to be confirmed), the school and School Council will host 30-minute online focus groups via Webex to discuss a proposal to transition to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program for Grades 5 and 6 from 2026 onwards. This change is being considered due to the age of the current iPad fleet, the high cost of maintaining a 1:1 device program, and the essential role the iPads play in student learning. The focus groups will help us understand and address potential questions and concerns from families. More details, including the confirmed date and session times, will be shared via Compass.

Hoop Time

Recently, some of our grade 3/4 students competed in the annual Hoop Time competition. Well done to all of our students who gave it their all. In true GIPS spirit, our students even applauded other teams when they got a point! Talk about sportsmanship! Thank you to all our parents who helped out on the event. With your help, these events are possible.