Principal’s Report
Morning Tea with the Principal
As principal it is important to me that I find as much time as I can to talk with students. I like to walk around the classrooms as often as I can and head outside before and after school. I have also introduced ‘Morning Tea with the Principal’ these last two weeks. This is a special way that I am able to get to know individual students, as well as recognise and congratulate them on their special achievements.
During the week teachers and ES staff can award students for their achievements in the classroom and in the yard – whether this be working hard to achieve a learning goal, displaying one of our school values, helping a fellow student out and being a caring citizen – staff will award students with an entry to go into the draw for a special morning tea with myself. The draw will occur at assembly each Friday afternoon.
Morning tea will be scheduled for a Tuesday most weeks at recess time.
This has been a
lot of fun and I am looking forward to many more morning tea ‘dates’!
These last two weeks I have had the pleasure of the company of:
Baylin 4B; Olivia 3G; Siena 2UO; Harley 5/6R; Charlotte 5/6L; Annika 1B
Baylin 4B; Olivia 3G; Siena 2UO; Harley 5/6R; Charlotte 5/6L; Annika 1B
Stratos 1O; Summer 1O; Talia 3G; Shaedyn 5/6L; Mia 5/6R
Stratos 1O; Summer 1O; Talia 3G; Shaedyn 5/6L; Mia 5/6R
Building Works Update
I must say we are VERY excited that the start of our building works has begun! You may have noticed our builders have popped up fencing which sections off some of the staff carpark to allow for their skip, cars, tools and trucks to come in and out with ease. We have a make-shift staff carpark next to the junior playground to enable staff parking through the building works time. Fencing separates the building works area and the student toilets, also enabling safe work practices for the builders and safe entry and exit for students to the toilet block at this stage. The fencing area has made it a little tricky for entry and exit to Before and After School Care – thank you very much for your patience in the detouring at the moment – it will all be worth it in the long-run! We look forward to sharing building updates and progressive photographs as we move along – watch out for updates on our Facebook Page as well!
3/4 Camp
We hope that all families with campers are
going Ok without your resident 3/4 child at home! Did we hear some sighs of
relief at all??? We have heard they are all having a fantastic time! Won’t be
long and they will all be home happy, tired and with lots of memories to share
with you!
Acacia Avenue Kindergarten
Kingston Council have been in discussion with Acacia Avenue Kindergarten, the Education Department and Mentone Park PS about a proposal to redevelop Acacia Avenue Kindergarten at Mentone Park Primary School. Kingston Council acknowledge the need to upgrade the Acacia Ave kindergarten building due to aging building structures, and also extend the size of the kindergarten to allow for increased numbers of children. All key stakeholders came together recently to discuss the proposal of redeveloping the kindergarten on MPPS site, with these key points coming from the meeting:
That the proposed project would contribute to high educational outcomes for local children and families continue to develop the strong sense of community within the Mentone Park area
That in support of this proposal the Kingston Council would submit a Capital Grant application, and that if successful would enable this project to go ahead on agreeance from all key stakeholders
That the possible location of the proposed kindergarten on Mentone Park PS is still in discussion stages
The opportunities that this proposal would
result for our school and MPPS students is endless and we look forward to what
the future will hold in continuing to build strong relationships with Acacia
Avenue Kindergarten should this venture be successful.
The grant application for Kingston Council
is due mid August. I look forward to sharing more exciting updates of this
proposal as we know further information. Please do not hesitate to contact the
school should you have any questions or queries about this proposal.
NAPLAN
results
We received our
student Grade 3 and 5 individual NAPLAN results late yesterday. NAPLAN is a
National Assessment Program and tests students in key areas in literacy and
numeracy and provide parents, teachers and the school a snapshot of how
students are progressing. Individual student NAPLAN results will be sent home
with students on Wednesday. Accompanying your child’s results will also be an
information card to assist parents in interpreting your child’s results. Please
do not hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher should you have any
questions or concerns you would like to talk about.
It is also
really important to remember when looking at your child’s results that these
are a ‘snapshot’ for your child’s learning and do not take into account any of
the other factors that go into measuring student growth that on-going teaching
and learning takes into account by your child’s teachers.
The other thing
that NAPLAN DOES NOT MEASURE is what makes each student exceptional and unique.
NAPLAN results DO NOT MEASURE or TELL US that some students like to sing, are
good at drawing, or that some students show their learning well through using
hands-on resources. NAPLAN DOES NOT TELL US that some of our students are funny
and make us laugh, that some students have unique inquiry skills or that they
look after their friends. NAPLAN DOES NOT TELL US that some of our students are
amazing helpers for our younger students, or that they are terrific help around
the home for their parents and that they are an amazing big brother or big
sister. NAPLAN DOES NOT TELL US how each student will be remembered by their
teachers when they leave us at the end of Grade 6 or what each student will go
on and flourish in when they are older.
So
whilst we want and know that all of our Year 3 and Year 5 students will and
have tried their very best to excel on their NAPLAN tests, when you are looking
at your child’s results take a moment to remember that these results do not
tell us who each child actually ‘is’!
Pre-school
Mini Concert
On Monday
afternoon we had the pleasure of Acacia Avenue Pre-school and Creative
Beginnings Early Learning and Kindergarten joining us for a pre-prep
mini-concert put on by all of our junior school and hosted by our School
Captains, Daisy and George. It was a lovely way to welcome potential prep
enrolments for next year into our school and to showcase the wonderful singing
talent of our students. I would like to thank Daisy and George for their
wonderful hosting, and I am glad they too are not sure about putting frogs into
microwaves (if you would like more information on this, kindly see Mrs O’Neill
and Mrs Arentz and the grade one children – and ask them to sing you their VERY
interesting song!).
Book Fair
Our Book Fair
begins next week, Monday 22nd – Thursday 25th. We hope
that you are able to take advantage of the times 8 – 9am or 3.30 – 4.30pm on
these days and come along and have a browse and purchase some of the exciting
books selling during these times. There is nothing better than the look and smell
of a new book!
Stranger
Danger
Wednesday
afternoon we placed a Tiqbiz message out alerting parents that a group of
students was approached by an unknown man who started a conversation with them
over the fence. The students were quick to act and followed the correct
procedures, notifying the yard duty teacher. Our staff has all been notified to
be vigilant whilst on yard duty. The school is also in the process of rolling
out its “Feeling Safe Together” program.
Please do not
hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions, through the front
office on 9583 4935.
Trivia
Night
2017 Prep Students
The time of year is soon near us where schools need to begin their next year planning structures around classes and staffing. To be able to do this effectively it is really important as a school that we know our expected 2017 prep enrolment numbers.
Can I please encourage parents who have a pre-prep child at home due to start school here at Mentone Park PS next year to begin to complete the enrolment information and hand this in at the office – this will assist us greatly in the beginning planning stages for next year. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact our office or our prep teaching team. Thank you very much in advance!
Renée Kennedy
Acting Principal
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
SCHOOL
COMMUNICATION
Effective communication is a
vital component of any organisation and a school is no exception! We know that
the relationship between school and home is of significant importance to the
success of our students. To this end, we are continually assessing and
evaluating our communication practices and looking for ways to improve and
engage our school community.
In ‘the good old days’
(okay, in the last few years), schools relied heavily on printed newsletters
and notices to provide information to parents. Progressively, social platforms
such as Facebook have enabled schools to share items of interest almost
instantly. This has proven a popular and effective method of sharing school and
student successes and events with the community of MPPS.
We are proud of the progress
we have made as a school in terms of communication measures to date and have
some new ideas to implement in coming months. Below is a list of the
communication pathways that are important within our school environment, and
the platforms we employ to ensure these lines of communication are clear,
regular and user friendly!
General
information about MPPS – This
includes the school profile, history, school vision and values statements,
enrolment information, school policies and parent handbook (A-Z of information
about MPPS). This information can be found through:
- School Website,
- Billboards/Info Boards (enrolment advertising)
Circulation
of information for community members – This includes general information, upcoming events, curriculum and
wellbeing updates, school improvement strategies, achievements, advertising,
reminders and items of interest. This information can be found through:
- Fortnightly Whole School Newsletter (digital),
- Whole School Tiqbiz Notifications
Year
Level/Subject Specific Information – This
includes Specific Curriculum focus, homework requirements, student
celebrations/achievements, excursion information, reminders, requests for
materials or helpers. This information can be found through:
- Fortnightly Level Newsletters (digital)
- Year level or Grade Tiqbiz Notifications
Parent
/ Teacher Communication – This
includes general information, progress reports, concerns, celebrations, queries.
This
information can be found through:
- Tiqbiz One2one
- phone calls
- scheduled meetings
- informal chats at convenient times
- parent/teacher interviews
- school reports
- diary/reading log notes
Requests
for information - This
includes start of school year paperwork, medical forms, excursion permission
forms, school fee payments and levies, fundraising. This
information can be found through:
- QkR
- printed notices when required
Current
events - This
includes community events (fundraising or otherwise), celebration days, camps, excursions,
student or school achievements. This information can be
found through:
- Facebook
- Newsletters
Feedback
and Consultation - This
includes surveys, collection of data, decision making, evaluation.
This
can be found through:
- School Council
- Student Voice Council
- PFA
- school committees
- survey monkey
- student attitudes to school survey
- parent opinion survey
- parent forums
- School email
As you can see, we have a
variety of communication measures in place which aim to cater for the personal
preferences of our community members and aims for us to have good connections
between school and home. Where possible, these various methods are linked for
ease of use. For example – from the Tiqbiz app you can quickly access Qkr, the
Website, or school newsletters (through links posted weekly), or you can
contact your child’s teacher through the One2one function!
We are currently looking
into the following future measures to further improve our communication
techniques and engage the community, encourage participation and receive
feedback:
- A school Twitter and Instagram account – which will be linked with Facebook, so parents can use their preferred social media platform.
- A closed Facebook account to enable online discussion and sharing
- Closed facebook pages for the various parent groups within the school (year levels as managed by class reps, PFA etc)
- A suggestions/feedback/comment box to be placed outside the office
If you have any feedback or
suggestions, please do not hesitate to send an email addressed to me, to Mentone.park.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
or drop a note into the new feedback box outside the office!
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS
Term 3, Weeks 4 & 5
CONGRATULATIONS!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Week 4
Week 5
Alison Lough
Assistant Principal
Working BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
SATURDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER
10am – 2pm
Keep the date free! Many hands
make light work!
Come along, bring the kids, it’ll
be fun!
Our theme for this Working Bee is
simple… We will be beautifying our
school grounds while adding to our ever increasing community spirit!
We’ll be concentrating on the
pruning of trees and bushes around the senior playground and along the front of
the school. We’ll also be weeding, planting, tidying, removing debris and
generally giving the garden beds a make-over! We’ll rake the soft fall in the
playgrounds back around the equipment, clean out drink troughs and remove
cobwebs from around windows and doors!
As usual, the hard work you put
in will be rewarded with some morning tea and a sausage sizzle for lunch!
Hope to see you there! Look out
for the notice on tiqbiz next week where you can indicate your attendance.
Alternatively, you can email me at mentone.park.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
to let me know of your intention to be there. Knowing in advance the expected
numbers assists us in catering.
Alison Lough on behalf of the
Buildings and Grounds Committee
FROM THE ADMINISTRATION TEAM
Dear Parents & Guardians,
Please see below some reminders from the Administration Team.
Tiqbiz
Just a reminder that parents must come into the office to SIGN IN your child if they are late and also SIGN OUT your child if they are leaving early.
Please also note you can record your child's absence if you are going on extended holidays. Select the first date of absence and the last date of absence and submit.
Spare clothing
Due to OHS regulations, we are no longer allowed to supply underwear to students. Please include extra underwear and socks in your child's bag to cater for any toileting accidents. This will save phoning you, requesting to bring some spare underwear for your child.
Thank you for your assistance.
Administration Team
Anne, Trish & Jane
PFA UPDATE
Trivia Night a fantastic success
What a fantastic effort everyone made for our recent Trivia Night,
the costumes were amazing on the night, the trivia was fantastic from all
reports and there were lots of great prizes and auction items up for grabs. And
we raised approximately $ on the night for our school which is fantastic -
thank you everyone who came along, dressed up and made the night a huge
success. A massive thank you to Jenny Martin, Dana Pritchard, for their hard
work in pulling such an awesome event together. Many thanks also to our DJ
Craig Dance, Wendy Davis, Anne Leggett, Noela Unwin, Cheryl Nancarrow, Nicky Langhorne,
Anna Borek, Christine Gill, Marnie McGrath, Fiona Longmuir and Anna Buist for
their help with the fundraising activities on the night. A big thank you as
well to all of the parents who donated auction items and who contributed to the
class hampers. Everyone's combined efforts are appreciated and helped to
make the night such a wonderful success. Thank you!
UPCOMING EVENTS.....
Bunnings BBQ THIS Saturday
Our annual Bunnings BBQ fundraiser is happening this Saturday 20
August at Bunnings Mentone from 8am - 4.30pm. Thanks you to everyone who has
offered to help out on the day, our roster is full which is fantastic, but the
support doesn't end there! We encourage all our school families to come down on
the day to grab a sausage and show your support for our fantastic school. We'll
be posting the event on our Mentone Park Primary School Facebook page so please
make sure you like the post and share it among your Facebook networks as well!
Fathers Day Breakfast and Stall - Thursday 1st September
A big thank you to Vicki Limnios who has generously put her hand
up to help coordinate this years Father's day stall. Jodi O'Sullivan and I will
be coordinating the Father's day breakfast, and both of these fantastic events
will be held on Thursday 1st September. If you already know you're free
and can help out with either activity please click below to volunteer for the Father's Day Breakfast and Father's Day Stall.
Father's Day Breakfast and Stall - Thursday 1 September
Please click here to volunteer Please detail your availability include 'Fathers Day Breakfast'
Please click here to volunteer Please detail your availability include 'Fathers Day Breakfast'
Please click here to volunteer Please detail your availability include 'Fathers Day Stall'
Footy Day Lunch Friday 9 September - helpers needed
It's all happening this term folks! :-) Friday 9th September
we will host our annual Footy Day and Footy Day lunch. We will need some
helpers please to prepare the lunches for our hungry footy fans on the day so
if you're free on Friday 9th September and available to help please
Please click here to volunteer Please detail your availability include 'Footy Day Lunch'
Call for 2017 Fete Committee members
Before we know it, next year will be here, so we are very keen to
setup a 2017 Fete Committee to help coordinate this major fundraiser that will
be held on Saturday 25th March 2017. We are looking for volunteers to help
coordinate the Fete. This involves planning the event, decision making and
coordinating a number of volunteer teams. We will also need a number of
volunteers to run the stalls and activities on the day. If you have
availability to work in a collaborative team on this event then we'd love to
hear from you.
Please email stacey.naturedirect@gmail.com or wadavis@bigpond.net.au to register your interest and availability.
If you can assist with coordinating or volunteering for either of these activities please email Stacey.NatureDirect@gmail.com or Wendy Davis on 0417 517 040 or wadavis@bigpond.net.au
Alice's Adventure !
Parent Sewing Working Bee
Today we held our first sewing morning, thank you to Natalie Hampson, Peter Dixon and Marissa Anderson for their assistance with sewing costumes. Also a huge thank you to Vicki Limnios and Katherine Rowe for their help behind the scenes.
Our next sewing morning will be held on Thursday 1st September 11am - 1.00pm. Please bring along your sewing machine or pair of scissors to assist cutting material. If you are unable to attend but are happy to still assist, you can contact me by email
mrscheers@mentonepark.vic.edu.au and I can send some things home for you to work on.
Looking forward to seeing your smiling faces, sewing machines and scissors on Thursday 1st September!
Amy Cheers
Performing Arts
OSHC 18th AUGUST
Due to the building works, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience regarding entry to OSHC.
The best way to access OSHC is to walk through the basketball court & use the black gate to
come through. The holiday program is available now. We ask parents to book in
advance as we need to know for staff ratio.
A polite reminder to parents who are using our services on a
casual basis, please book in your child/children in advance, as we need to know
who is attending on the day.
The weather is warming up and the children are having fun with
more outdoor games.
We are having a good week and hope you are too!
From OSHC TEAM
ANICA & JAMES
YOUTH LEADERSHIP VICTORIA
Dear Parents,
Below is the class roster for the rest of the school year.
Please click here to volunteer for any of the dates below.
Please click here to volunteer for any of the dates below.
Thanks,
Liz & the Kids’ Cafe Team
Term 3
Aug 19th 2O
26th 2UO
Aug 19th 2O
26th 2UO
Sept 2nd 3S
9th closed - Footy Day
9th closed - Footy Day
16th cleaning - all welcome
Term 4
Oct 7th 3G
14th 4H
21st 4W
28th 5/6L
14th 4H
21st 4W
28th 5/6L
Nov 4th 5/6R
11th 5/6S
18th all Preps & Grade 1
25th all grades 2 & 3
11th 5/6S
18th all Preps & Grade 1
25th all grades 2 & 3
Dec 2nd all Grades 4, 5 & 6
9th cleaning - all welcome
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.
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