We have had another busy and exciting week at school, and the children have definitely earned a long weekend. I hope you all take the time to relax and reset ready to embrace the learning for the rest of the term.

At the assembly this week I talked about leadership. The school leaders and I attended the GRIP conference and we came away from that with many gems. One mantra which resonated in particular was 'service not status'. As leaders our job is to serve and to improve wellbeing. Good leadership fosters trust, motivation, and a clear vision, guiding teams toward success. A good leader creates an environment where individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential. Through strong communication and decisive action, they cultivate innovation, collaboration, and long-term growth.  Our entire Year 6 group are school leaders, and we want them to experience the joy of being leaders; standing up for what is right, even if it is not popular. Every child in the school can demonstrate leadership every day, in the classroom and the playground.  I look forward to encouraging all of our students this year to demonstrate leadership. 

We are helping to facilitate opportunities for practising leadership through running a school parliament. Two representatives from each class will attend a meeting each term to discuss issues relevant to them and our school to help make our school even better! 

Congratulations to all the Chinjannup students who attended our School swimming trials on Thursday. Ms Upchurch and Ms Quartermaine were incredibly proud of the perseverance, resilience and determination shown by all of the children who attended. Attending the school swimming trials is a great opportunity to challenge yourself, build confidence, and demonstrate school spirit, regardless of your speed. Participation and effort are what truly stand out, as showing up and trying your best reflects dedication and resilience. Every swimmer contributes to the team environment, learns valuable skills, and has fun, making the experience worthwhile for everyone.

It’s great to see the number of students participating in fitness club on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Fitness starts once our Monitors are there after 8:30 and if you are a parent from the Early childhood learning area please stay with them and return them to class at the conclusion of fitness club.

In Student Services news, we would like to remind you of who we are and what we do!

We work with parents, teachers, EAs & students to provide wrap-around support at school for students with extra needs in the areas of academics, mental health & behaviour, and provide referrals to external agencies and work collaboratively with them. 

This year, we are engaged in another range of professional learning opportunities to support our students as best we can. These include:

What a wonderful way to start the term, celebrating those students going above and beyond working hard and getting ahead. The following students received Honour Certificates at this week’s assembly:

Koby V, William F, Lyla S, Lucy D, Corbi B, Jaxson S, Charlotte M, Nicholas F, Willow A, Iris F, Luna K, Leo G, Maeve C, Amelia B, Mason R, Grace B and Iris F.

Congratulations to each of you who have been putting in that extra effort this term, wonderful job!

Well done to our 2025 Student leaders who ran their first assembly, you all did a fantastic job and spoke so well. It was fantastic to see you all up there and taking on your roles so well.

Chappy welcomed everyone back to School and awarded both Alex and Cecelia with the Aussie of the Month award, for showing incredible kindness to a student that has been requiring crutches and an extra bit of help around school. What lovely girls you are, thank you for your kindness. He ended with a thought provoking saying, “Like a gentle hand lifting a heavy load, a good friend lightens our burdens”.

Yesterday, 26 students participated in the swim trials for the Interschool Swimming Carnival, the largest number of students interested in the school swimming trials in a few years. Well, done to all students for their outstanding effort in the pool! The students did an absolutely wonderful job, showing resilience in every race. They should be very proud of themselves!

Congratulations to the following students for successfully making the Little Grove Primary School Interschool Swimming Team this year:

Year 4 Students: River, Archie, Beau, Riley, Iris, Leila, Macey, Lillian, and Cecelia.

Year 5 Students: Jade, Isla, Libby, Luisa, and Stormy.

Year 6 students: Josie, Skye, Rachael, Lilly-Anne, Cruze, Darcy, Tristan, Jed, and Elliott.

A big thank you to all the parents who came to watch and to those who volunteered to assist. Your help was greatly appreciated, and I can't run events without your support.

Good luck to all students competing in the Interschool B Division Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 1st April, against Flinders Park Primary School, Spencer Park Primary School, and Yakamia Primary School.

Little Grove Primary School has proudly joined Your Move, a free Department of Transport program encouraging active transportation alternatives to driving. The initiative promotes walking, riding, scooting, and public transport use among students and families.

Led by Miss Upchurch and the Faction Captains, with support from the Little Grove P&C, the school will host various activities throughout the year including walk and ride to school days, bike month celebrations featuring fruit, light breakfasts, and prizes. The program also opens opportunities for bike education grants.

Recent travel surveys from February 12th revealed that 35% of students already use active transport to reach school, with 11% cycling, 16% taking the bus, and 8% walking.

Mark your calendars! Our first Your Move event will be National Ride2School Day on Friday, March 21st, 2025. Join us in making active transport a regular part of our school community.

Hello, my name is Bodhi Gregory.
I am a student at Albany Senior High School (ASHS) and am currently doing work experience at Little Grove on Mondays with Miss Upchurch. I moved to Albany about two years ago, but prior to that, I attended Mount Barker Community College for Primary school.
I chose to complete my work experience here at Little Grove because I love working with inspired, enthusiastic kids, and the community has been so welcoming and friendly. Growing up, I was involved in many sports, which has fuelled my passion for helping others and being a role model for youth.
I’m excited to assist Miss Upchurch and the school, and I hope to be guided to become the best I can be in this role.

My interests are Footy, basketball, volleyball, and math.
Sport I am playing footy and basketball.

……………………………………………………………………….

Hello, my name is Hollie Jackman.

I am a year 11 at ASHS (Albany Senior High School) and I am doing work experience here at Little Grove PS on Wednesdays with Miss Upchurch. I have been in Albany my whole life and I am a former student of Mt Lockyer PS.

The reason I chose to do work experience here at Little Grove PS is that I love teaching kids how to play sport, and sport is one of my favourite subjects in school. I am extremely good with kids I coach basketball and netball by myself, I’m going into my 3rd year of coaching netball, and I’m coaching my first basketball team this year. I’m really excited to be here and be assisting Miss Upchurch and the school and I hope they can guide me to be the best I can be in this job role.

My interests are netball, Basketball, football. Anything outdoors.
Sports currently playing: Football and Basketball

Our signs of the week are Yes and No. These signs link closely to the way we shake or nod our head when saying yes or no. In fact, students are encouraged to use those non manual features to support their signs.

Thanks to our families who joined us for last week's welcome BBQ. 

We are hosting an election day BBQ and cake stall on Saturday 8 March at school from 10am to 2pm. We welcome donations for the cake stall to be dropped off on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. We encourage the Little Grove community to come along and join us for a sausage and sweet treat after voting. 

Are you wanting to order a lunch? Please make sure orders are placed by 12pm on a TUESDAY via www.quickcliq.com.au.

If you have a spare hour or two to help collect and distribute the lunches through the canteen, please place your name on our volunteer roster https://volunteersignup.org/EH7XW

If you haven't helped with lunches before, we have a really awesome guide to help you or we can have one of our wonderful P&C parents come and show you the ropes.

Please send us a message or email at [email protected] if you want to know more.

Our AGM is on Tuesday 25 March at 7pm in the staff room and we invite everyone to come along and become a member of the committee for 2025. Our membership form is now online: https://form.jotform.com/250561050965859. or to become a member for 2025 and have the right to vote at the AGM, you could also visit the school office and fill in a membership form along with $1 membership fee. This will allow you to receive the minutes of all meetings and be kept up-to-date for the year. We have vacant positions available. If you have any questions or would like further information about each role, please email us at [email protected]

For further events or detailed information about upcoming events, please view the schools event calendar on Compass.