2nd February 2017

Welcome back to school for 2017!!!

There has certainly been an interesting mix of emotions that I’ve observed so far this year – and I’m talking more about parents than students! From pangs of anxiety about how their child will settle as a new Transition or  Preschool student, to that mix of disappointment and relief for parents that see their child charge headlong with confidence into their first days of school [‘they don’t miss me at all!’], to the pure excitement / relief that many of you are feeling now that you can send your children back to school after a long six weeks at home! [I’m thinking of you here, Peter Watts!]

As for the staff and students, the overwhelming feeling around the school has been one of excitement – people are happy to be back, feeling refreshed after the holiday back, and keen to get into the learning for 2017.

At Millner, we have been very lucky for a long time with the quality of the staff that we have. This year is no different and it is wonderful that we are able to add to the high-level skills and expertise of our existing teachers and support staff, through the addition of some new staff members:

– Houdeh Khoie will be working as part of the Front Office Team, as well as in classrooms.

– Katinka Kastner is our new Transition / Year One teacher – she has made a brilliant start in tandem with Mrs Shandell Trainor!

– John Knight re-joins us after he’s year away – we knew he’d see the light!

– Gill Webb is our new Special Education Teacher – Gill is well known to our students and staff after working for us in various guises over the past twelve months.

– Nicole Fransen is our new Assistant Principal, joining us from her previous position as an Assistant  Principal at Driver PS.

– Stuart White is our new Grounds and Maintenance Officer and has impressed all with the start that he has made already!

– Melody Clarke is stepping up to be our Playgroup Educator, having been a regular participant in our Playgroup in recent times.

– Nikita Long will have a varied role, but a main focus will be supporting the running of the Playgroup.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank The Smith Family for their funding of both Melody’s and Nikita’s positions – both of these ladies will play important roles for our school.

We will try to get to know these new staff better through this newsletter as we go along, but – in the meantime – go up and introduce yourselves and welcome them to our school community!

Warwick Peter-Budge, Principal

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