I would like to welcome our students, parents and staff back to Carey Donvale for the start of the 2022 school year. After a refreshing break, the staff are all energised and looking forward to an exciting year with face-to-face teaching firmly back in the equation. We are anticipating a full program from the outset, kicking off with House Swimming in a couple of weeks’ time. We very much appreciate the support of our parents who have been very understanding in relation to their limited involvement on campus.
Most importantly, the children have settled in well to the new school year. We have also received very encouraging reports from our 2021 Year 6 graduates, all of whom seem to have made an excellent start to life in Middle School.
Once again, we have a number of new students and families joining Carey Donvale this year and we are thrilled to welcome them into our Donvale community. We were grateful for the opportunity to meet and greet these families on campus day one in a COVID-safe manner.
CDPA Welcome Picnic – postponed to March
The aim of the CDPA Welcome Picnic is to bring together the Carey Donvale community and build connections across the School. Our proactive Carey Donvale parent Association do a wonderful job in this regard. Given the current COVID-19 settings, the CDPA have decided to postpone this much anticipated event until later in March, date to be confirmed. I fully support this decision. We are an inclusive school community and rescheduling this picnic to later in the term will hopefully enable everyone to participate.
Lunar New Year celebrations
Last Friday we celebrated the Lunar New Year with a spectacular Lion Dance courtesy of JGK – Jow Ga Kuen Martial Arts Association. This colourful performance in and around the Adventure Playground was a much-anticipated event. The vibrant energy of the JGK troop has no doubt set the scene for a wonderful 2022 school year.
Staffing news
We warmly welcome Rebecca Yeates (Year 2) back from maternity leave. An experienced educator with a rich Carey Donvale connection, Rebecca is very excited to be back in the fold.
Danni Rowles joins the Learning Development team and she will also be teaching Year 5 on a Wednesday. Danni impressed us last year as a member of the LD team and we are thrilled to see her return to this role on a permanent basis.
Kate Woods comes on board as a member of the ELC team, specifically in the four-year-old program. Kate joins us after a successful start to her career in the Tintern ELC.
We also are looking forward to getting to know Rebecca Gaskell, our new Junior School Chaplain. Rebecca joins us from Ivanhoe Grammar and her warmth and sensitivity are already having an impact.
I am very much looking forward to working with our staff and our parents as we continue to nurture this great school. To this end, I welcome dialogue and feedback. At Carey, we believe that your questions, ideas, concerns and words of praise will help to guide us along the way.
Steve Wilson
Head of Carey Donvale
