Mentone Park Primary School Newsletter: March 2018

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents,

SCHOOL PHOTOS
Monday March 26 is School Photo Day so don’t forget to get those uniforms washed, hair brushed and faces scrubbed all ready for class and individual photos. They do provide a great memory for years to come. In order to get through the day we will not hold an assembly on Monday morning so that the photographers can get started asap.

NEW UNIFORM ITEMS

Very shortly we will be able to display 2 new uniform items that will be available from PSW. Many of you will have one of the round neck jumpers with the large logo in the

middle which is a popular item, especially with our junior students. This item will cease production and be replaced by a fleecy jumper with a quarter zipper that makes removing easier and looks extremely stylish. It is made from the same material as the ever popular vests and will be predominantly red with black trim. We anticipate this will be available for purchase very shortly, just in time for winter.

We will also be adding a new polo to our range with additional black paneling under the arms and on the collar, similar to the one displayed here. They are made from a longer lasting and higher quality material and will look very smart with our existing school uniform.

Whilst the round neck jumper will cease production, the new and existing polos will continue to sell to provide families with choice. The ever popular Bomber Jacket will remain a staple of our uniform.

I have asked PSW for some samples to display in our foyer and I will make sure they are available to view as soon as possible. All current Mentone Park uniform items are able to be worn, including the round neck jumper for at least the next 12 months.

Thank you to all of our families for respecting our uniform policy. We have a very smart uniform with choice of options and as I walk around the school I am definitely seeing our uniform worn with pride. Even our staff are wearing their new black polos regularly and as winter hits the larger waterproof jackets will reappear again.

HARMONY DAY
Thank you to everyone for getting involved with Harmony Day yesterday. Whilst I was disappointed not to be there I have heard positive feedback about the day. No doubt there will be more news to come and photos to share at assembly.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Late last year I applied for and was accepted into a leadership course entitled EVOLVE with The Bastow Institute for Educational Leadership, which is why I was not able to attend Harmony Day yesterday. The course consists of 9 days over 18 months where Principals have access to world leading educational practice.

I have a strong belief that as educators we must always be striving to increase our professional knowledge so as to provide high quality educational programs for your children, and this will continue at Mentone Park PS as we strive to enhance the learning environment for our entire community.

BIKES IN THE YARD

Just a reminder to students to safely walk their bikes and scooters through the yard before and after school. This is for the safety of all students and families, many of whom have little brothers and sisters with them at drop off and pick up.

COLES VOUCHERS

Don’t forget to bring in your Coles Sports Vouchers to help us replenish our sports equipment. School boxes are also present at Coles in Mentone but if family and friends can help you collect and then bring them into school that would be greatly appreciated.

ENROLMENT FOR 2019

Don’t forget that you can pick up an enrolment form from the office if you have a child starting Foundation in 2019. At the beginning of term 2 we will begin to publish transition information and tour opportunities for new families so getting your enrolment forms in early will help us to confirm our enrolment expectations. As I have mentioned previously we already have a number of new families enrolled for 2019, many of whom have heard positive feedback from the community about our wonderful school.

LAST DAY FOR TERM 1 NEXT THURSDAY – 2:30 PM FINISH

This term seems to have only just started and we are already planning for the last week and the lead up to Easter. With Good Friday falling on March 30 school will finish on Thursday March 29 with a 2pm assembly and then a 2:30pm dismissal.

As this is the last newsletter before the end of term. I would like to wish all of our families a joyous and relaxing Easter break. Thank you for working with us to help your children start the year with a positive attitude towards their learning at Mentone Park.

Best wishes

Cameron Agars

Principal

FROM THE OFFICE

Spare clothing
Please ensure that you pack extra underwear and clothing for your child/ren.

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

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

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF)

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS MARCH 26

PFA UPDATE

Wow - its hard to believe that Term 1 has almost finished! In addition to the fun we have already had so far with the Movie Night, there has been lots of planning happening in the background in the lead up to a busy and fun year ahead!

Our final events for Term 1 include:

Easter Raffle will be drawn on the last day of school (don't forget to return your raffle tickets)
Hot Cross Bun / Hot Chocolate Day 27th March Place your orders on QKR by Thursday 22nd March so you don't miss out.
Clothing Bins (in the Kids Cafe) are almost full. If you have a clean out over the Term 1 holidays please bag any clean clothing, textiles and linen and pop it in the bins as in addition to the reduction to landfill through this recycling program, the school also benefits financially!
Icypole Days will continue on warm days in Term 2 so keep an eye out on Flexibuzz for the days we will hold these!

Other important dates to pop in the diary and information helpful to know!

We have locked in the 2018 Bunnings BBQ date - Saturday 16th June. Kellie Mortimer has kindly agreed to be the coordinator - THANK YOU! More info on how you can help will come out closer to the date.
Did you know our school turns 50 this year? We will be having lots of fun events and celebrations so keep an eye out for more info on this soon. If you have any ideas on some fun things we could do, please feel free to submit your ideas to Cameron Agars or Amber Whalan. We already have quite a few fun and exciting ideas but welcome your thoughts on this too!

As a result of all of your support of our schools fundraising events over the last 12 months, we are thrilled to announce that the school are purchasing another computer bank full of laptops (approx $15,000 worth) for our middle school! This would not be possible without your support of our events from the icypole days and Drive In Movie Night to the bigger events like our Trivia Night and Bunnings BBQ (just to name a few). So thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to another successful (and most importantly fun) year ahead!

Amber Whalan & Kate Solomon

PFA

Thank you

Ana & Sarah

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK 2018/2019

CLASSROOM CUISINE

AVAILABLE WEDNESDAYS & FRIDAYS

COLES SPORTS FOR SCHOOLS

OSHCLUB New

This week has been all about encouraging the kids to participate in active play. Active play often takes the form of group games at OSHClub where we vote together on what we should all play. Whether it be working on hand eye coordination in Silent Ball or fitness and reaction time in you must run if, the group always have a fun time.

Next Week (26^{th March}– 29^th ^March)

With the Easter Holidays coming up, this week will be focusing on different Easter inspired activities, including plenty of arts & craft.

Please check out what's on at our school holiday program.

David Quinn

OSHClub Co-ordinator

SCHOOL BANKING - WEDNESDAY

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Dear Mentone Park Families,

Welcome to another year at school and the beginning of a new issue of Scholastic Book Club catalogues!. Orders can be left with the office or please order via the online ordering system called “LOOP” - details are in the catalogue. When ordering there is an option to mark as a gift if you would like your order sent to the office instead of to class for your child to take home.

To families new to our school the Scholastic Book Club generates reward points which we claim back throughout the year as new books and resources for teachers to use in class. Each book club order earns 20% in rewards points – they soon add up! Scholastic often have some great books on special for as little as $2, so look out for their “gold coin books” in the catalogue

If you need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me via the school office or call the Scholastic Customer Service number 1800021233.

Best wishes

Jenny O – Book club coordinator

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Dear Parents,

If you have any preloved MPPS uniforms please drop these off at the office. If you would like to purchase any items for a very reasonable price, please send a text to Megan or Jess to arrange a meeting time.

We have different items coming in all the time so if we didn't have what you were after last time you checked, it might be worth trying us again.
Thank you

Megan: 0404 228 320
Jess: 0411 031 589

OPEN DAYS

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.