Mentone Park Primary School Newsletter: NEWSLETTER 17/2017

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents,

BUNNINGS BBQ THANK YOU

Thank you to Beck Hitchcock and her team for their amazing organisation on Saturday at Bunnings Mentone. As is typical of a weekend at Bunnings the steady stream of home handy men and women grabbed a sausage and a drink, many coming in AND going out with their hands full. On behalf of the school THANK YOU to every parent who helped either organize, cook or serve throughout the day. Every cent raised on the day will be used to purchase new resources for our students and your children.

ART SHOW SPECTACULAR

Congratulations to Noela for all of her amazing work putting the Art Show together. Compliments were flowing from numerous sources about the skills displayed by the students. Thank you to all staff for their commitment and assistance on the night.

CURRICULUM DAY – NOVEMBER 28

School council on Monday night confirmed that Tuesday November 28 will be a Curriculum Day where teachers will be investigating a number of schools and how they effectively implement ICT into their programs to provide high quality educational outcomes for our students. If you require the services of OSHClub please contact them asap as they will operate if a minimum number of families enroll.

KIDS CAFÉ UPDATE
On Monday night I updated School Council on the progress of our search for a Kids Café provider. We are currently waiting on a submission from a second provider, after which a decision will be made on who will staff our Kids Café for 2018. I will inform our community as soon as a decision is made.

PHOTO REMINDER
Just a reminder that our Grade 6 Graduation and whole school photo will be taken this Friday, Nov 3. All students must wear correct school uniform on the day.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Saturday November 11 is Remembrance Day so as a sign of respect we will hold a student lead ceremony on Friday Nov 10. Parents are welcome to attend the ceremony, which will commence at approximately 10.45.

MENTONE PARK IS IN THE NEWS

Recently 2 articles appeared in local Leader newspapers highlighting our new Middle Years Learning Space. Any chance we get to show off our wonderful school is definitely appreciated and these articles highlight the shift in educational practice from traditional instruction to collaboration and individual learning pathways. This is just one more way we are preparing our students for their exciting futures.

WORLD TEACHERS DAY FRIDAY OCT 27

The role of teachers within our community is truly a significant one. This is magnified in the primary setting as these wonderful professionals help shape both the academic and personal growth in our most formative years. Most adults can’t remember all of their high school teachers but can certainly recall those special Primary School teachers. It goes without saying that we have a truly amazing and dedicated staff of teachers here at Mentone Park and such is their commitment to their craft and the students they work with, I can say with some certainty that all students will have a hard time forgetting them long after they have left us.

Last Friday was World Teachers’ Day and as a sign of appreciation many families recently contributed to a morning tea that was organized by our PFA. This show of thanks was definitely appreciated and on behalf of all our staff I would like to thank our families for this show of support. I would also like to pay homage to the wonderful work that our staff do here at Mentone Park. Students, parents and staff …… we all make a great team.

Best wishes

Cameron Agars

Principal

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

CHILL OUT ZONE

The new Chill Out Zone in the Junior School area (opposite Junior A) has proven a hit with the students. I've even caught a few parents chilling out in there!

This space enables students a place of quiet reflection, access to sensory tools for calming and relieving stress and also has a variety of quiet activities - games, playdough, puzzles, mindfulness colouring etc.

Thanks to the wonderful work of our PFA and some generous donations, we have been able to provide a really wide variety of these resources so there is always something different for the students to use when they are in there.

The Chill Out Zone (COZ) is staffed most lunchtimes and is also utilised by our wonderful integration aides and teachers for individual or small group work during class times.

If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, please do drop in and have a look.

Alison Lough

Assistant Principal

FROM THE OFFICE

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Please note all signed permission forms and any payment must be given directly to your child/ren’s teachers. This allows the teachers to check and mark off each child’s permission form and payment.

Following are our upcoming incursions and excursions

STOMP Performing Arts 5 week program commences November 16, payment of $18 by November 13

Middle School Taskworks Excursion November 27, payment of $26 by November 20

Senior School Taskworks Excursion December 6, payment of $26 by November 29

Please ensure payments are made by the due dates for your child to participate.

Thank you

To check if your payment has gone through successfully follow the steps below to view your receipts.

SPARE CLOTHING

Please ensure that you pack extra underwear and clothing for your child/ren. Due to OHS guidelines, we are no longer allowed to provide underwear.

Please feel free to phone or come into the office if you have any questions.

We are more than happy to assist with showing you how to use Qkr and Flexibuzz.

LOST PROPERTY

We have a large amount of lost property at the moment including lunch containers, drink bottles, jackets and jumpers. Please check the classroom next to Performing Arts for any lost property.

Thank you,

Patti, Jane and Trish

Administration Team

PFA

OSHCLUB News

This week has progressed well at OSHClub, with the introduction of a few new ideas such as, Star of the Week, Milo Mondays and Jelly on a Friday afternoon. The focus of the week has been on the theme of 'Empathy' with special games designed to test how well the group can put themselves in other's shoes such as 'Detective', as well as an emphasis on understanding each other during times of conflict.

Next Week (6^{th Nov} – 10^th
Nov )

Due to the potential for some good weather to roll around next week, we've decided at OSHClub to make the week's goal 'Health and Fitness', utilising the outdoor play areas as much as possible, and learning about healthy food through some creative activities.

David Quinn
OSHClub Co-ordinator

SCHOOL BANKING

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Working With Children Check Reminder

All parents/guardians, visitors & volunteers to the school MUST sign in & out of the school and display their WWCC in a lanyard, which is available at the school office.

The Department of Education requires any person involved in an activity where children may be present to have a current WWCC or have supplied proof that they have applied for a WWCC with the Department of Justice. All schools are required to comply with the Working with Children Act 2005.

Volunteers are expected to carry the WWCC card on their person at all times when working or volunteering at the school or during school related activities.

There is no fee for this check. Apply now by visiting: www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

COMMUNITY SERVICE & ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Department of Education & Early Childhood Development and Mentone Park Primary School do not endorse the products or services of any private advertiser. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information contained in advertisements or claims made by them.