NEWSLETTER 9/2015
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Dear Parents and Friends
I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend with the curriculum day on Monday. Whilst our students enjoyed the day off school our teaching staff worked on preparing students' June progress reports. Our teaching staff work together closely in their teaching teams to moderate student results and ensure accurate reporting against the AusVELS curriculum standards. Multiple sources of evidence are used to determine your child's progress against standard outcomes. These include: Running Records (Reading), online tests in English and Maths, standardised spelling tests, writing samples, teacher and student developed assessment tools and checklists and anecdotal records from ongoing student work. Together these are analysed and a result of learning progress is calculated against standard progression points. I hope you enjoy reading about your child's progress and meeting with teachers and your child to celebrate their successes.
CAPITAL WORKS PROJECT
I am very excited to be meeting with our architect, Mario, and Department representatives next week to look at the final concept plans for our school and toilet renovations. We have been drafting and revisiting the plans on and off over the past term and hope next week we will have final agreement to allow the work to go to tender.
Exciting renovations in the plans include: New student toilets in the hall building; redevelopment of current toilets to make a large, communal learning space; addition of 2 toilets in the main building in the Prep - Year 2 area (near the Kids' Cafe); refurbished administration area and school entrance for better access; and - of course - major work in the Level 3 classrooms. Hopefully I will be able to share some plans with you shortly.
We will soon start planning the "decanting" of the students in years 3/4, with as much minimal disruption as possible. Information regarding this will be sent home to those families shortly.
NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK
This week is National Reconciliation Week (NRW) which is celebrated across Australia each year between 27 May and 3 June. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey—the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision.
The week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort.
This week in each area, students undertook a discussion or activity to acknowledge this national event.
EDUCATION WEEK
It was a busy week last week at Mentone Park to celebrate Education Week. We had a range of activities, including excursions and incursions, Italian Day, Prep 2016 Open Morning and the Maths Open mornings in each classroom. I hope you were able to get involved in one or more of these activities.
Our Maths Mornings were a success, particularly in the junior grades, and gave us the opportunity to showcase our new maths program and how it challenges students at their own level through open ended investigations. This approach to learning and teaching Maths is informed by the latest research into how students best learn. We have been very fortunate to have our 2 maths specialists working in our school this year and last year to develop this very comprehensive and current approach to teaching.
Well done to Signora Beer for another wonderful Italian Day. Unfortunately this year the theatre group that were booked to perform on the day were unable to do so at the last minute, so children enjoyed a version of Pinocchio - a traditional Italian fairy tale instead.
Special days such as Italian Day are only possible with the support of our wonderful parent community and, particularly, members of our parents and Friends' Association. Led by Cheryl Nancarrow, our parent helpers organised and prepared the pizza and gelato for your childrens' lunch. HUGE thanks to all those that helped on the day and especially to Roman, of Maro's Pizza in Warren Road, who every year supports our school by providing pizza for our students to celebrate Italian Day.
SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION
We are busy preparing our Self-evaluation for our school review in term 3. Teachers have worked in teams to analyse our data in English and Maths and prepare a comprehensive review of our results and programs to inform our new Strategic Plan. We have also worked in teams to look at our Wellbeing, Engagement and Productivity programs and activities. The final report will be ready at the end of term for presentation to School Council. If you haven't yet had your say through one of the forums or the online survey - it's not too late! Complete our survey online now at:
The survey will be open until the end of this week.
During this process we have also held student forums in each level from Year 1-6. We received some wonderful feedback from students which we will also use to guide our future directions. Students were asked what they like about MPPS, what skills they think they will need to learn, what their teachers do to help them learn and any suggestions to make our school even better. Here are some of their responses:
- Out teachers help us learn what we need to learn, they personalise learning to our needs (Year 5/6)
- The teachers are strict when they need to be (Year 5/6)
- Our teachers set us up for success (Year 5/6)
- Teachers give us special activities based on what level we are at in that subject (Year 3/4)
- Teachers challenge us (Year 3/4)
- I would like to be able to do more of the subject you’re interested in (Year 3/4)
- We'd like to have an elite sports program (Year 5/6)
- More netball poles (year 3/4)
- More equipment in the junior playground (Year 1/2)
- Boundary lines on the footy and soccer oval (Year 5/6 and 3/4)
- I like coming to MPPS because of my teacher (Year 1/2)
- I like doing spelling words (Year 1/2)
- I like learning Reading and writing (Year 1/2)
- Have more fun stuff – like going on excursions (Year 1/2)
- More snack time and play time(Year 1/2)
DET SCHOOL APP
Need practical tips about what you can do at home to help support your child’s education?
SchoolMate is an essential App for parents of school-aged children in Victoria.Produced by Victoria’s Department of Education and Training, SchoolMate will provide parents with a roadmap to help aid their child’s learning at home and at school.
KINGSTON NETWORK SERVICES DIRECTORY
There are many services for children, young people and families in our local area, but sometimes they are hard to find. The Child and Youth Directory brings local service-level information together in one place. It aims to help children, young people and families, schools, agencies and services to:
- improve awareness of the child, youth, and family services systems, and
- increase opportunity for people to find the services they need.
The Child and Youth Directory provides a comprehensive list of services and details about who the service is for, and how, when and where the service can be accessed.
Kendra Parker
PRINCIPAL
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
BULLY PREVENTION PROGRAM
DEFINING BULLYING - This week the definition of Bullying is reinforced.
BULLYING IS:
- Hurtful and deliberate
- Something that happens over a period of time
- An imbalance of power
Teachers are also incorporating the ‘Bounce Back’ program which encourages resilience amongst students. The following pieces of information have been taken from the ‘Bounce Back’ resources.
WHY DO SOME STUDENTS BULLY?
There are 11 main reasons why students engage in bullying behaviour towards peers.
· There is a school culture which encourages and supports bullying.
· They are in an immature stage of moral development.
· They do not realise what they are really doing because they have framed it differently and lack awareness.
· They are caught up in peer-group dynamics.
· It enhances the image of the group they belong to.
· They bully a member of their own group to maintain the group’s norms.
· They are ‘policing’ conformity to gender stereotypes.
· They have been bullied themselves and they are now ‘passing it on’.
· They are protecting themselves from being bullied.
· It is a part of the ‘aftershock’ when a friendship breaks up.
· They show signs of an antisocial personality disorder.
WHY SOME STUDENTS DON’T BULLY OTHERS
· They feel that bullying is wrong.
· They have higher levels of empathy.
· They are more socially skilled.
· They feel more connected to school.
· Bullying is inconsistent with their self-image.
· They identify with positive role models.
· They believe that bullying does not pay off.
Please assist us by reinforcing the Bully Prevention message at home so that the safest and most secure environment can be achieved for your child/ren.
More information can be found on the Bullying. No
Way! website.
We are now using a school app - Tiqbiz, for our parent communication and encourage all parents and carers to download the app onto your smartphone / tablet / computer for ready access to school and class information. We will continue to use email and other communication methods to communicate, but our plan is to eventually use Tiqbiz for all school communication.
We live in a digital society and the migration to digital communication is part of how schools are embracing this - not to mention the saving of paper!
We were one of the first schools to take up the use of Qkr for school financial transactions - we even won an award for it! So get on board and download the app for easy access to school information. Don't forget we also have our Facebook page for regular updates on school activities.
Tiqbiz is
up and running! If you have not downloaded it as yet, please follow these
instructions:
1. Go to
the app store and search for "tiqbiz"
2.
Download it (it is free) and type Mentone Park into the search field.
3. Click
on whole school and all the classes/subjects that your child is involved with.
- for
example, if your child is in 1B you would select: whole school, 1B, Art, P.E.,
Performing Arts and Italian.
4. When a
post is added by school staff, a red circle with a number will appear on the
app, this will tell you how many notifications you have.
5. Student Absences can be recorded using tiqbiz. Select Whole School and 'absence'. In 'Absence Form' complete reason for absence and signature. The school will get an instant notification of your child's absence. You will no longer be required to phone the school or send a note.
5. Student Absences can be recorded using tiqbiz. Select Whole School and 'absence'. In 'Absence Form' complete reason for absence and signature. The school will get an instant notification of your child's absence. You will no longer be required to phone the school or send a note.
6. Once
all school community members have the app and are confident using it, this will
be the main means of communication. Teachers and parents will be able to
communicate 1:1 using the app.
Alison Lough
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
UNIFORM SHOP
As reported in the newsletter last fortnight, School Council have voted to outsource our uniform shop to Primary School Wear (PSW), who have their shop located in Mills Street in Cheltenham (just off Warrigal Rd).
This has many advantages for the school, one of which means that we no longer need to rely on parent volunteers to run the shop at school.
What this means for parents is that we will be closing our uniform shop on Friday 12th June and from the holidays you will be able to purchase directly from PSW, either at the shop or online.More information will come explaining the change over the next few weeks. Please note that we will not be re-stocking our shop from now on. Any orders already placed will, of course, be honoured.
TERM 2 CALENDAR
Here is the calendar of events for this term. It will be updated fortnightly.DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY
Congratulations to those Grade 3-6 students who competed at the District Cross Country at Karkarook Park on Friday 22nd May.It was another successful day with 8 students getting into the next round at Division and others finishing with personal bests.
We came home with 5th overall and 4th in the handicap division.
Thank you to Mr.Wilton, Miss Oates and all the parents who came to support our students, it was a fantastic day with another great result for Mentone Park Primary School!
Well done everyone!!
Miss.L J
MATHS MORNING
The PFA are organising a
Parent Social Event - lock the date now into your calendars:
Parent Social Event - lock the date now into your calendars:
Saturday 8th August
More details to come...
Tomorrow we have 1B and 3/4H on the roster to help out at the Kids' Cafe' and next week it's 1O and 3/4S. Remember you can use the new online roster to register.
Use the link here http://vols.pt/TwbT6X and fill in your details for the time slot/slots that suit.
Please feel free to fill in as many spots as you like if you would like to help out more regularly than your rostered class day. This system will also send you reminders and allows you to swap spots.
If you have any problems accessing volunteer spot please let me know (0413 009 493 or lizpleasants@me.com) and I will try to help you out.
April
|
17th 2O & 5 / 6 S
|
24th 2R & 5D
| |
May
|
1st 1 / 2 U & 6W
|
8th PS & 3/4 G
| |
15th PM & 3 / 4 O
| |
22nd 1O & 3 / 4 S
| |
29th 1B & 3 / 4 H
| |
June
|
5th 2O & 5 / 6 S
|
12th 2R & 5D
| |
19th 1/2 U & 6W
| |
Thurs
|
25th cleaning,
all welcome |
26th closed,
last day of term |
I look forward to seeing you in the Cafe'.
Liz & the Kids’ Café Team
HEAD LICE
We have had several reported cases of Head Lice this term. Please check your child/rens hair regularly. Once treatment has commenced children can return to school. Below are the links for our school Head Lice Policy and Government Health Department information on Head Lice, detection of and treatment of Head Lice.OSHC
This week at OSHC we enjoyed
curriculum day with a small group. We played group games, made some impressive
photo frames and watched a movie! To help us plan better for curriculum days,
please book as early as possible!
As we come closer to the school
holidays it is important that you begin booking your children into vacation
care.
We would also like to let you
know that Anicca and Leah will be away from June 11th- July 20th
to work with disadvantaged girls in the Philippines. During this time a casual
roster will be up and all bookings should be made directly to YLV office rather
than Anicca.
Hope you enjoy the rest of the
week
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS & ADVERTISING
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.
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