Mentone Park Primary School Newsletter: November 2017

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents,

RAINBOW – ATHON AND BBQ LUNCH POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY DEC 11

With the predicted rainfall tomorrow and over the weekend we have decided to postpone the Rainbow-a-thon until Monday December 11. Tomorrow will be a normal day with normal routines, which includes the students bringing their own lunch and wearing school uniform. Whilst it is unfortunate, the predicted change in the weather means we must make decisions based on the safety of all students, staff and parent volunteers.

CURRICULUM DAY – NOVEMBER 28

On Tuesday all staff ventured off in their teams to investigate an area of interest and to ask questions about how we can continually evolve as a school to provide high quality educational programs for your children. Upon return we held a reflection and “where to next” session which resulted in some wonderful ideas that could be implemented here at Mentone Park PS. Here is a summary of where each team went and the area they were investigating. More information will be shared and actioned in the near future.

Specialists - Dingley PS – How do they run their Specialist programs to facilitate high quality programs and outcomes for all students;

Junior School - Bentleigh West PS – How have they changed their curriculum, primarily in the Early Years, and what targeted intervention programs do they use to meet the needs of all students;

Middle School - Wooranna Park PS – How do they maximise the use of Collaborative Learning Spaces to support all students along their educational journey;

Senior School - Aspendale PS – How do they effectively integrate high quality 21^st century learning tools to support all students, as well as investigating the use of a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program in the senior school;

Integration Team – Naranga Special School – How can we provide high quality individualised educational program for all students in our care.

UNIFORM POLICY REVIEW

Thank you to those families who completed the survey regarding footwear and our new uniform policy. The draft will be presented to School Council and then distributed in the coming weeks.

HOUSE SPORTS – FRIDAY DECEMBER 8

Don’t forget the upcoming House Sports on Friday Dec. 8. Students can wear house colours and will have the opportunity to enjoy a fun day of activities.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS – DECEMBER 15

Stay tuned for more information regarding our Christmas Carols on Friday evening. Fingers crossed we get some beautiful early summer weather for what promises to be a great family event.

PAYMENTS

If you have not yet indicated your preference for payment regarding your child’s Essential Learning Contribution and Voluntary Contributions could you please return your Payment summary sheet by Friday December 8 or contact the office as soon as possible. There is no expectation that full payment must be completed this year, this information will however help us with planning.

LAST DAY FINISHING TIME – 1:30pm

Don’t forget that school finishes up on Friday December 22 at 1:30. There will be a small assembly before students and families embark on their well deserved holiday break.

Best wishes

Cameron Agars

Principal

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

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.

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

DIXON HOUSE

CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Every year we collect gifts at Christmas for families and children. We are now collecting new toys for the children and food items for families.

(Dixon House has requested no soft toys and please check food items are in date)

PLEASE place your donations In the Christmas boxes near the office before Monday December 4^th.

Thankyou for your support.

Noela Unwin

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Hello Mentone Park Families,

Thank you for your support of book club over the past year. Alongside the Book Fair these catalogues are a great source of “fundraising” for the school. Many of the books your children have enjoyed throughout the year in their classroom were purchased from the points raised through the catalogue sales. It all adds up and together we have redeemed $1000 worth of books in 2017! Another feature of Scholastic is the Reader Review Crew. This year Mentone Park was represented by Kirby A in Middle W who had a book review published in Catalogue 6! The dates to apply for review crew 2018 are not yet on their website but if you have an avid reader in your family check in regularly and apply for the Crew! If successful you will be sent books and new manuscripts to read and review for your child’s age group and you might be lucky enough to have your photo and review published! Have a look through the last catalogue to see the other reviewers. Catalogue orders are due on Friday December 8th.

Have a lovely Christmas holiday and happy reading!

Jenny O.

THANK YOU MORNING TEA DECEMBER 12

OSHCLUB News

This week's focus is Culture. The students will be learning about other countries in regards to their people, animals, food, symbols and location on the world map. An interesting way we'll explore the topic will be teaching each other words in the languages we speak, making the most of the great multiculturalism we have here at Mentone Park.

Next Week (4^{th Dec}– 8^th
Dec)

Outerspace, is the theme for the following week. We will involve the kids in activities about the Solar System and the planets within, The Milky Way and constellations. It will be a great opportunity to express some creative thought and participate in arts and craft.

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.