About Us

Principal’s Welcome

Welcome to our school. As principal of Highvale Primary School I am privileged and honoured to lead our school community. I have enormous pride in the effort and achievements of our students and staff, together with our parents who make Highvale such a special place to be.  Our Educational Rational reflected in our School Vision statement and Values encapsulate our mission and expectations as we strive to provide the very best contemporary  learning environment possible.

 

Highvale Primary School Vision

Our globally diverse school community works together to nurture engaged, socially responsible and resilient learners.  Students are empowered to experience challenge, develop independence and achieve success.

Our practice:

  • places students at the centre of all decision making.
  • is always informed by evidence and research.
  • includes high expectations of our students, staff and community.
  • creates a safe, inclusive learning environment for everyone.
School Values

Respect – Considering others, their property and the environment

Responsibility – Being reliable, resourceful and owning your actions

Honesty and Integrity – Being fair and trustworthy

Commitment – Persisting, giving your best and bouncing back

For each of our students, growing up in the 21st century ‘global community’ provides exciting opportunities and challenges. Many which we as parents and educators did not experience ourselves as children.  At Highvale we aim to educate our students so that they are prepared to thrive in this community. Fundamental to this is our comprehensive curriculum design, informed by the Victorian Curriculum and whole school evidence based teaching and student wellbeing practices. At the core of our work is the belief that every student must feel safe and secure at school, be supported to do this and experience consistent evidence based teaching practices.

Teaching must be informed by student assessment, planned collaboratively by teams of teachers and differentiated to target the vast learning needs of students. Success maximises curiosity and engagement in learning, enhances social knowledge and skills and achieves the best possible education outcomes for each child. At Highvale, this is what we aspire to each and every day. To really make this work requires persistence, positive, respectful relationships, clear communication, cooperation and a partnership between parents, students and educators. At Highvale we place an emphasis on the importance of a strong home and school partnership to best educate each child. We therefore actively seek to involve and continually enhance parent engagement and involvement in our school.   This assists our teachers to do their best work for your child. If you would like to learn more about our school I invite you to explore our website and consider booking a school tour.

Kind regards,

Steve Richardson

Principal

You can view a virtual tour of our school by clicking below. Our School Captains have led the virtual tour and you can see our classrooms, learning, and a message from our Principal.

Staff

Highvale Primary staff are a dedicated team of professionals who are collectively committed to the students and purpose of our school. Our team is comprised of our principal, assistant principal, teaching; including class, specialists and instrumental and education support staff; administration and student learning.  To ensure the best outcomes for each student, our work is collaboratively supported by clear, transparent roles and responsibilities, structures and processes.

Staff profile includes a range of expertise, experience, genders and backgrounds which ensures each team is able to draw upon a collection of strengths to support the best outcomes for each child.  All staff regularly participate in whole school purposeful professional learning which is informed by the needs of our students.  Staff actively engage with our parent community to ensure a strong partnership between home and school.

Our education support staff, including the office administration team, integration, learning and multicultural aides and maintenance staff, provide exceptional support to students, parents and teachers.

A key reason Highvale Primary School is a great school is due to the effort and expertise of our entire staff team.

The 2023 staff at Highvale Primary School are:

PRINCIPAL – Steve Richardson
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL – Josh Crozier

Classroom Teachers
PREP K – Jessica Kelaart
PREP C – Michelle Cheong
YEAR 1W – Teagan Wood
YEAR 1R Andrea Rodriguez
YEAR 2Q – Stephanie Quarrier
YEAR 2U Mark Usai
YEAR 3S Steven Smith
YEAR 3N Imogen Nightingale
YEAR 4D – Nick Dempsey
YEAR 4H – Emily Hine
YEAR 5/6D – Emily Dvorscek
YEAR 5/6S Tamara Scully
YEAR 5/6G – Eleni Giakoumis
YEAR 5/6L – Ben Latta

Intervention & Enrichment and Specialists

Response To Individual Needs (RTI)

English & Mathematics Intervention, Enrichment, Extension Prep to Y2 – Megan Fegan
English & Mathematics Intervention, Enrichment, Extension Year 3 to Year 6 – Jane Shaw 
English as an Additional Language (EAL) Prep to Year 6 – Pereena Sinclair 
Tutor Learning Initiative – Hannah Browning Briese & Megan Fegan
Prep – Ashton Duke

STEAM Visual Arts & Media Arts – Pereena Sinclair, Natalie Yencken
STEAM Science & Technologies – Caisha Williamson
Performing Arts – Erin Stoddart
Physical Education – Natalie Yencken, Ashton Duke, Brooke Simpson
Languages – Mandarin – Robin Miao & Han Guo
Languages – German – Helena Salles
Instrumental – Doug Lewis, Erin Stoddart

Education Support
School Business Manager – Rebecca Foot
Administration, Enrolments & Reception – Andrea Gill
Program for Students with Disabilities, Classroom Learning Aides & Learning Support – Allison McNamara, Trish Neilson, Dot Tang, Yan Li, Julia Fen Fang Lee
Multicultural Education Aides – Candy Luk, Shu Wong

Classrooms are open from 8:45-8:55 for students to arrive, unpack bags and set their tables up for the day. 

Students line up at 8:57 for morning announcements, before classes begin at 9 A.M.

School Council

Highvale’s School Council sets the policy under which the school operates and plays a leading role in every aspect of the school’s development. The School Council contains elected parent and staff representatives.

Any member of the school community can join the School Council under one of the sub-committees. Sub-committees enable a wide range of people who are interested in particular aspects of the school’s work to be actively involved in that work. Sub-committees are of great value to help School Council conduct its work effectively and efficiently.  Sub-committees are not decision-making bodies.  All their recommendations must be forwarded to school council for consideration and approval. Sub-committees usually meet once per month.  This is the only regular time commitment required.

The school council is supported by several sub-committees: 
  • Education
  • Finance
  • Facilities and Environment
  • Marketing and Community Engagement.
Parents not part of the main School Council are welcome to attend and contribute to sub-committee meetings.
If you are interested in getting involved, check out the school newsletter for sub-commitee meeting dates and times.
The Terms of Reference (role descriptions) of each of the sub committees can be viewed below.

Facilities

Highvale students utilise a broad range of facilities to support engagement in learning, social and physical activities. Our traditional, yet technology rich classrooms create a sense of belonging for students and are complemented by our vast, yet secure and peaceful grounds. Students enjoy access to our large oval, athletics track, basketball and volleyball courts, environmental sanctuary, shaded play grounds, sand pits, amphitheatre and sporting facilities. Our new Year 3/4 Learning Community provides the opportunity for collaborative learning as well as traditional learning spaces. Our large Multipurpose Centre hosts assemblies, performances and whole school community events as well as being a wonderful space for indoor Physical Education lessons. Student learning is also supported through our attractive Junior and Senior Libraries where there is space in each library for quite reading and reflection as well as access to a range of digital resources. Specialist teaching and learning is supported through our dedicated STEAM room (Visual Arts, Media Arts, Design and Digital Technologies) as well as our Performing Arts room, and specialist intervention and enrichment areas. Adjacent to Highvale Secondary College, our school’s location in Ashton Street, Glen Waverley, is well away from major roads which contributes to our quiet, calm, safe learning environment.

Out of School Hours Care

Our Before and After School Care program operates in our Multipurpose Centre.  Services include Before School Care 7.00am – 9.00am After School Care 3.30pm – 6.00pm Government Child Care Benefits (means tested) and the 50% Child Care Tax Rebate (NOT means tested) are available.  Please contact our providers for further information.

For costs and bookings call

0405 323 357

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