Welcome to our first newsletter for Term 3. Time seems to be flying! Please be sure to read all of the notes in this message as we have an extremely busy term planned and we want to be sure your family is fully involved.
Bullying No Way – Next week is ‘Bullying No Way’ Week. It is a timely opportunity to discuss what bullying is and isn’t. Bullying is repeated acts by one person to/against another – physical or verbal. Bullying is NEVER acceptable. Through our SWPBS (School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support) Matrix, we teach our children about what it means to show our school values of Respect, Independence, Co-operation & Honesty. We understand that children will have disagreements and may not like every other child, however, we expect them ALL to be kind and show our RICH values. We believe that bullying is best addressed by a collaborative approach between school and family.
Our Student Leaders will engage the children in discussions and activities across the week to raise awareness of our school’s position. We are very proud of the way the many new children to our school this year have been welcomed and become part of our community so quickly. Parents should also be proud of the way their children have managed these changes so smoothly.
Importantly, if your child tells you that someone is saying or doing things they do not like, please encourage them to tell us immediately. These matters are best dealt with in the moment. I have been very clear with all children, particularly Grade 3 – 6, that they make choices to behave in a particular way. Good people make bad choices every now and again, but we will not accept deliberate choices that are harmful or hurtful to others. If we need to speak with you about a choice your child has made, we would appreciate your support in encouraging positive behaviour moving forward.
Please help us to promote our RICH values.
Parking & traffic – I know this is going to continue to be a frequent topic of discussion… It is exciting to see so many children actually walking to school – for the first time in 160 years this is now possible. However, I must stress the need to be careful when crossing roads. Please use crossings where they are provided and check VERY CAREFULLY before crossing any road. As I stand and watch people pulling into drop-off and pick-up, I seriously marvel at how many near misses happen every day. Please be patient with each other. Many of you have somewhere else to be and are in a hurry to get there but I promise you, it is worth being a couple of minutes late when the alternative is to have an accident or hit a child.
Last Friday, multiple parents loaded their children in their cars in the middle of the road. It is both illegal and DANGEROUS. I also saw a family walk through the round-about to get to their car. Please use the crossing and pull into the pick-up zone. Forever is a long time to regret a poor decision.
It is awesome to see so many people parking in the side streets. Please be respectful of the construction vehicles that need to park in the streets as their drivers build our expanding community. I frequently tell truck drivers off for speeding around our school, however, sadly many of our parents do too.
Bike riding – At our next School Council Meeting, I will be tabling a policy related to the use of bikes to travel to and from school. The policy will be posted on our website, and I will notify you via Compass when it has been ratified. Again, we have never been in a position to have children ride to school and we must ensure that it happens within legal and safety guidelines.
Student Led Conferences – On Wednesday, September 3rd children will not attend school in the normal way. They will come with you to their Student Led Parent-Teacher Conference. We have prepared a document to inform you about this exciting new process that will allow your child to proudly share their work and learning growth with you. Please be sure your child shares this handout with you. (TheirCare will be available all day). Click here for more information.
Curriculum Day – Monday 18th August – The Department of Education has recently released new curriculum and instructional models. We are required to ensure that our teachers are fully up to date on these changes and use them during their planning and when reporting on your child’s progress. On Monday, August 18th, we have several sessions arranged for our staff to become familiar with these new documents as well as learning more about ways to support children who have experienced a range of traumas. (TheirCare will be available all day)
NAPLAN – Grade 3 & 5 parents recently received their child’s NAPLAN report. Whilst we can celebrate the results achieved by our children, we also acknowledge that it is information relating to tests completed on just a few days across a whole year of learning. We are certainly proud of our position ahead of schools that are similar to our own and our neighbouring schools and always seek ways to do better.
Enrolments – Our numbers are slowly increasing as we welcome new members to our MPS community. It is critical for our planning processes that all Prep enrolment forms are submitted as soon as possible please. We need to be sure we have the staff and resources to accommodate the growing numbers.
Book Fair & Book Week – Other events in this busy term are Book Week, Book Fair and Illustrator visit. We will have a Book Week parade and you will notice many doors and windows decorated by our staff. I am hoping to purchase a few copies of books illustrated by Ben Woods so he can autograph them – making them special additions to our Library stock. Parents can use CSEF or Savings Bonus to pay for the illustrator visit. Please consent for this event on Compass by the 28th of August.
Parent Opinion Survey – In the week of August 18th, you will all receive a link to complete the Parent Opinion Survey for this year. We would appreciate it if you would take the time to complete this brief survey to give us feedback and help our School Council clarify our next steps. If you need help or wish to pop into school to do the survey, please let us know.
Saving the best to last!!!
Colour Run – At 2:30pm on Friday September 12th we will hold our very first Colour Run. The children will get very messy, win prizes and have heaps and heaps of fun. We are also hoping they will raise money for our school to buy play equipment for inside and outside use. Please read the handout that has gone home today and the booklet you will receive early next week for all the information you will need to help make this a wonderful event for our school. Click here for more information. Register here.