Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of the land Mickleham Primary School is on, and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging and to any Koorie people joining us today.

We would like to acknowledge the children of the past, present and future who have grown up, learnt and played with friends on this land.

We would like to acknowledge our country and nature, including: trees, grasses, flowers, birds and insects. Our Bluestone building represents our community’s past and we are the future.

Acknowledgement of Diversity

We acknowledge and respect the differences between us. We understand we all come from different cultures, and we have different opinions and needs. We are all equals and cooperate as we play a role in our school community.

The above statements were written by our children and staff through our Koorie Action Group and Diversity Leaders.

Stronger Together:

Many Prep parents came along to help their budding scientists explore the topic they are learning about in class. The experiments around observable aspects of weather generated lots of discussion about what they noticed, why it was happening and how the weather influences our lives. The growth in vocabulary and enthusiasm for the topic was amazing.

Book Week and our annual Book Fair are on again this term. The theme this year is “Symphony of Stories” so start thinking about how you will use this theme to plan your child’s dress-ups for the parade. The children love this event – and judging by the costumes, so do our staff! We generally hold the parade between the two learning buildings and parents are very welcome. You will receive more information next Monday, including details of the author’s visit.

Stronger Together – Anti-Bullying Month:

During August we will have a major focus on building positive relationships between children. Using our SWPBS Matrix, we will discuss ways to resolve disagreements in sensible and calm ways. The week of August 17 – 21 is National Bullying No Way! Week. The theme this year is “Small Acts. Big Impact.” Teachers have planned numerous activities to develop awareness of what bullying is and what it is not. We will culminate with a wear something purple day and the unveiling of our Friendship Seat and tree.

It is very important that we all understand what bullying is and the impact it can have on children – now and into their adult lives. Bullying is ongoing, repeated acts that are intended to cause distress or injury. It has four main forms: Physical – hitting, pushing or other harm; Verbal – name calling or threats; Social – excluding, isolating or rumour spreading; and finally, Cyberbullying – using social media to threaten or intimidate people. Fortunately, the new government rules about social media has reduced the number of children falling victim to cyberbullying. Parents are reminded that children must ONLY access YouTube KIDS, Messenger Kids and appropriately rated games.

No parent or educator wants a child to be bullied. At MPS, we have a zero tolerance of bullying. We will investigate any concerns you may have. Equally, parents do not want their child to be a bully. One of our biggest challenges comes when we need to let parents know that their child has been involved in an incident where they may have made poor choices. We recognise that EVERY child will make mistakes and do or say the wrong thing – every now and again. Your child may bring home a reflection sheet that we hope will start a conversation with your child about what they could do differently next time. If we contact you to discuss our concerns about the choices your child is making, it is critical that we work together to support your child. Many parents become upset at the suggestion that their child is responsible for harming another child. Ultimately, this is not helpful. Please work with us to support your child make better choices. Your child is not a bully if they say something mean once or twice, but if it happens repeatedly we need to understand why they do this.

Charlotte O’Brien was a 12-year-old girl who took her own life in 2024 after experiencing bullying. In a letter to her family she said she needed ‘upstanders’ not ‘bystanders’ around her. This is language we have used for some time at MPS. We need children to see that getting help from an adult if they see or hear something inappropriate, is the right thing to do. We need our whole community to praise this behaviour – it is not ‘dobbing’ or ‘telling tales’ and it may save a child from many hours of distress.

The current movement is for schools to investigate and respond quickly and to have clear consequences for bullying behaviours. We will discuss this as a staff and at School Council and share our thoughts with you later this month. Our children will all be better when we collaborate and are stronger together.

Student Led Conferences:

On Wednesday August 19^th our children will again report to you on their progress towards achieving their goals. Children and teachers are busy collecting work samples to share with you and practicing what they will tell you on the day. Children do not attend school during normal hours on this day – their presentation to you at the conference, is considered their attendance for the day. When you select the time for your conference, please check that you are available on Wednesday August 19^th and Wednesday September 2^nd – in the event of continued strike action by staff – August 19^th is the date of the next strike (if it goes ahead).  

All children will share their goals and the work pieces they have found challenging, learned from and are proud of. We request that you wait and let them speak to you. Then, please ask them questions about the processes they have gone through, changes they would make, ways they could improve and what they have learned. Sometimes teachers may wish to speak directly with parents, they will organise this on the evening.

Basketball Court:

I have met with the builders who will be resurfacing, restoring line markings and generally making our basketball court safe. At this stage, I expect the work to commence on August 31^st and take approximately three weeks. The entire basketball court area will be enclosed in temporary fencing as all work areas will not be accessible to children and staff during school hours. We will continue to use the Multi-purpose Room (MPR), Canteen and bluestone building. The project also includes painting of the covered way with anti-rust treatment and paint.

Before and after school care access will be through the side gate – in Dryland Boulevard for the three weeks of the work.

We are very excited to get a clean, flat and most importantly, safe surface for children to play on.

Uniform Policy:

Parents are reminded that our Uniform Policy/Dress Code states that no make-up or false nails are to be worn at school.

Please ensure your children do not wear make-up to school and don’t have any in their school bag. We have noticed that some children don’t have make-up on their faces when they arrive but do by the time they get to class.

Another critical safety issue that has become very common is the wearing of false fingernails – even amongst junior school children. Please remove all false nails on school days. It is extraordinarily dangerous during PE, Sports and play breaks in the yard – during ball games and on playground equipment. Children will not be able to participate in sporting and play activities if they are wearing false nails.

Parents will be called if children are wearing either make-up or false nails to request support in removing either or both.

Colour Run:

The COLOUR RUN IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Due to the basketball court work, this event will be held on Friday 16^th October – early in Term 4. The children will receive the brochure with this year’s prizes and login information in the next couple of weeks and will have approximately five weeks to raise money. This is our school’s major fundraising event. Children will have the school holidays to work on this. Please be sure to ask family, friends and neighbours to help support our school. Children should not approach people they do not know and only ask people with parent consent. Let’s see if we can beat last year’s total of $20441.25

Athletics Day:

The children have been working on their athletics skills over the past few weeks during PE lessons. Grade 3 – 6 children will travel to Sprint Track in Craigieburn to compete in a wide range of events. Based on the results on this day, Ms. Budin will select the team to compete in the District Athletics on Friday 28^th August. Cross your fingers for fine weather on Friday but stay tuned if it rains as we will need to move the event.

Camping Program:

At MPS, we have a structured program to help build independence in our children. Preps will return to school in their PJs on Thursday September 17^th for their ‘Lullabies’ evening. They will run around with torches looking for pictures to mark off their chart, toast marshmallows and have a drink of hot chocolate. Grade 2 children come back to school on Thursday 10^th September and sleepover in their classrooms for the night. Grade 1s come to school in their PJs on Friday September 11^th and have breakfast with their classmates.

Having just returned from camp with our Grade 5/6s, it seems appropriate to remind parents to help build independence in our children. It was very obvious that many children struggle to dress themselves in the morning or after showering/bathing – which might explain the enormous pile of lost property that grows taller every day.

Traffic:

The Hume City Council and Victoria Police have issued fines over the past couple of weeks in the Lagoon Avenue area after school. It is a tricky space as the ‘Kiss & Go’ encourages people to wait for the quick drop-off and pick-up. If you stop and wait for a parking space, you may get fined as you are blocking cars from moving in Lagoon Avenue and the round-a-bout. I would suggest you go around the block and come back when there are fewer cars waiting.

You are contributing to the problem when you sit and wait for the first couple of spaces or just poke the front of your car into a spot and block the road with the back of your car. EVERY day many parents do this and many of you know how incredibly frustrating this is for all other families. It upsets me to use such blunt language but some of you are making choices that may result in a child (or parent) being hit and injured or killed.

Please read these notes and follow the suggestions:

• Drive slowly and stop at the crossing. A child was almost hit on the Dryland Boulevard crossing recently while he was on the crossing – the car overtook another vehicle waiting at the crossing
• DO NOT CROSS ANYWHERE ELSE – we monitor the Lagoon Avenue crossing. If you cross the road anywhere but the crossing, you have a much greater risk of being hit. You are also teaching your children dangerous behaviours
• DO NOT WAIT FOR THE FIRST SPOT!!! Please move along the road – your children can walk to get to your car
• DO NOT drop off or pick up in the middle of the road. It is both dangerous and selfish. You are holding up all of the cars behind you
• DO NOT do a u-turn at the drop off area – you are illegally close to the crossing and may be fined

Grade Prep

Science Night

Thank you to all the preps and their families who attended Science Night 2026! A group of future scientists made predictions, carried out experiments and spoke about the observations they made. We were very lucky to have one of our school leaders help us set up, work with the students and clean up on the night. Thank you Tom!

We put some shaving cream into the cup and blue water to make it rain. – Cailyn Prep A

I liked dipping the thermometer in the cold and hot water. – Ari Prep A

When we put the thermometer into the water it turned hot and then cold. – Niah Prep B

The rain was dropping down in the rain clouds. – Conner Prep B

We had to test how hot and cold the water was. – Hazel Prep C

It was cool to make the clouds, I saw the water becoming blue. – Ezra Prep C

100 Days of School

On Wednesday we celebrated a Monster of 100 Days in Prep. Students and teachers came dressed as monsters and celebrated together. We shared 100 items, read a book about 100 days of school and wrote about our first 100 days of school. Later in the day we made 100 days of school crowns, used the number 100 in maths and finished off the day with a Monster Bash!

Some of the preps shared their favourite things about their first 100 days of school…

Show and Tell – Sarai Prep A

It was Monster Day today – Arthur  Prep A

Reading groups – Pavraj Prep A

Going on the playground – Niah Prep B

Playing soccer with my friends – Zackaria – Prep B

Playing footy – Conner Prep B

Twilight School – Malik Prep C

Teddy Bear Hospital – Savitaj Prep C

Talking about healthy food – Avani Prep C

Congratulations Inayah

Senior Sport Update – Interschool Sports

Division Cross County Championships

Attendance award

Attendance winners:

Week 1 and 2- Well done to 3/4D (Mr Cilia)

Attendance awards

We are excited to continue celebrating and rewarding students who demonstrate outstanding attendance! 

This term, students with exceptional attendance will once again be invited to enjoy a Hot Chip Lunch during the final week of term. To be eligible, students are encouraged to attend school every day and arrive on time, giving themselves the best opportunity to learn and succeed. 

This week, we also recognised students who achieved exceptional attendance during Term Two, presenting them with their attendance awards. Congratulations to all of our award recipients on this fantastic achievement! 

A special congratulations goes to 3/4D, who proudly claimed the first Attendance Award for Term Three. Well done, 3/4D! We look forward to seeing which class will take home the award next. 

Remember—every day counts, and every day at school is another opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve success! 

The importance of attending school daily 

Being at school, on time, and ready to learn each day is important because it helps students learn consistently and build strong academic skills. It also provides valuable opportunities for students to develop meaningful social connections with other members of their school community. 

Regular attendance allows students to actively participate in lessons, complete learning tasks, and stay up to date with classroom learning, making it easier to understand and build on new concepts. Through consistent attendance, students develop important personal qualities such as responsibility, punctuality, and self-discipline. 

Attending school every day also helps students build and maintain positive relationships with both their peers and teachers. They can form lasting friendships, strengthen their communication skills, and practise important social skills that can be applied in everyday life. 

When students attend school regularly, they are more likely to achieve their academic goals, develop confidence in their abilities, and be better prepared for future education, training, and career opportunities. 

Goal setting for the remainder of 2026

Improving student attendance continues to be a key priority for our school. By the end of 2026, our goal is to reduce the percentage of students who miss 20 or more days of school. 

In 2025, 44% of our students missed 20 or more days of school. This year, we are working towards reducing that figure to 35% or lower. Achieving this goal will require a partnership between our school and families, with everyone working together to support regular attendance. 

At this point in the year, 78 students have already missed between 10 and 19.5 days of school. While we understand that illness, family circumstances, and other unexpected events can affect attendance, every day at school makes a difference. 

By ensuring your child attends school regularly and arrives on time whenever they are well enough to do so, you are giving them the best opportunity to succeed. Regular attendance supports academic progress, builds confidence, strengthens friendships, and helps children feel connected to their school community.

Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to your child’s education. Together, we can help every student reach their highest potential and achieve their best outcomes. 

Token Shop

At Mickleham Primary School, we use tokens to recognise and celebrate students who consistently demonstrate our expected behaviours in both the classroom and the playground. Students who receive tokens can save them and exchange them for rewards at our popular Token Shop.

The Token Shop is stocked with a wide variety of exciting rewards, including Ooshies, books, scented markers, canteen vouchers, small toys, soccer balls, skateboards, Bluetooth speakers, and much more. The rewards available are based on student feedback, with students regularly surveyed about the items they would like to see in the shop. Ms Le Guen works hard to ensure the Token Shop remains well stocked with rewards that are engaging and motivating for all students.

The Token Shop is open every Monday during second break, giving students the opportunity to browse the available rewards and spend the tokens they have earned through consistently demonstrating our school values and expected behaviours.

To make the Token Shop even more exciting, a group of our Grade 6 student leaders have recently introduced Lucky Dips. During eating breaks, they visit classrooms with a trolley full of Lucky Dip prizes, helping to promote the Token Shop and encouraging students to continue making positive behaviour choices to earn tokens.

The Token Shop is a wonderful way to celebrate positive behaviour, build student motivation, and reinforce our commitment to creating a safe, respectful, and positive learning environment for everyone.

Our Positive Behaviour at Mickleham Primary School

We recently asked our teachers about our School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) program. We are proud to share one of our results with you.

97% of our teachers agreed that our school has clear behaviour expectations for all students.

At Mickleham Primary School, we teach our RICH Values every day:

• Be Respectful
• Be Independent
• Be Cooperative
• Be Honest

These values help students know how to behave in the classroom, the playground, and around our school.

By teaching and practising these expectations every day, we help create a safe, positive and supportive school where everyone can learn and succeed.

Thank you for supporting our RICH Values at home. Together, we can help every child thrive.

On Wednesday 19th August we will be conducting our Student Led Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Children do not attend school on this day, but they are expected to attend the conference as they will be speaking to you about their work. ALL CHILDREN ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND A CONFERENCE WITH YOU ON AUGUST 19th. Attendance will be marked by teachers once your child has appeared for their conference.

We want to help you make the upcoming Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences informative. Please consider these questions and add any others you might want the answers to.

Your child has selected work samples they are proud of, have found challenging, show their growth or goal achievement or they simply enjoyed. They have been making notes and preparing to present their reflections to you. Many children may be a little nervous and some may be shy as they have not done this before. Teachers will be ready to step in and help them with that and give them prompts.

We anticipate each conference will look like this:

We look forward to engaging with you through this exciting development in our reporting program.

Questions parents might ask their child:

What did you learn through this task?

How does each selection show that you are doing your best work?

Questions parents might ask teachers:

How do these work samples demonstrate my child’s growth?

What are my child’s next steps?

What can we do at home to support my child’s learning?

*Other questions…

The Mickleham Primary School canteen operates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We would welcome the assistance of any parent who is able to give up an hour or two, especially on Fridays. Please fill in the volunteer request form and we will be in touch with you shortly

Lunch orders must be placed through Compass by 9.30am on the day you’d like your child to receive a canteen order.

HOT FOOD

Burgers, Rolls and Toasties

Noodles

Beverages

Frozen treats

Winter treats

There will also be a limited amount of hot food available for sale over the counter during break times.