Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to Term 3!

First, I want to congratulate all the students and teachers for their excellent performance and attitude. After reading the Semester 1 reports I am so proud to see students have been shown remarkable progress, creativity, and collaboration. They have also been demonstrating our school values of respect, safety, and responsibility. Thank you for your partnership and involvement in your child's education.

During the holidays we hosted a 5 day TEACCH training workshop onsite. 4 trainers and I were involved in delivering training to participants from around the country in strengths and interests-based learning included in the TEACCH framework.

4 of our students were involved in the training so participants could trial their learning and adjust after developing activities and assessment. Several of our staff gave up their holidays to be part of this training to further improve their skills in delivering high quality programs to our students. I thank them for this.

Bunji was also involved in the training - the trainers were so impressed with Bunji’s impact on our students - He really does make a difference.

Secondly, I want to inform you of some important dates and events. Last week Friday, we had a curriculum day - the staff were involved in Professional Learning around maths. We are working towards students having hands on activities in class rather than worksheets.

Lastly, I want to encourage you all to utilise our Compass and Seesaw platforms which we use to communicate important information regarding the day-to-day activities and upcoming events at MSS. We will also reach out to you via email and endeavour to circulate a newsletter fortnightly.

You can find the links on our school website. This is a great way to stay informed on what we are doing in school, see photos and videos of our events, and leave comments and feedback. I would love to hear from you please keep in touch!

Disabled Parking Bays

As we enter Term 3, we want to ensure that our school environment caters to the needs of every individual within our school community, both students, parents, and staff. Today, I am reaching out to gather your valuable input regarding the placement of the disabled parking bays at MSS. Due to the increase in our staffing we are considering removing 2 disabled bays to increase the parking capacity for our team and changing the remaining two to 15 – 30-minute short stay. We currently have 2 parks located in carpark 4 and 2 in front of the administration building. We understand that both areas come with their unique advantages and challenges, and we value your opinion in making this decision.

Option 1: Disabled parking bays at the front of the school

Keeping the accessible parking spaces at the front of the school provides easy access and offers convenience and shorter distances to travel from the parking area to the school entrance.

Option 2: Disabled parking bays at the back of the school

Alternatively, retaining the accessible parking bays at the back of the school allows for better traffic flow and parking management during peak times. It helps alleviate congestion and ensures a smoother drop-off and pick-up process for students and parents.

Your thoughts and feedback in this matter are incredibly important to us, as we want to make an informed decision that considers the needs of all our MSS community.

If you would like to share your thoughts, please reach out via the school email melton.ss@education.vic.gov.au

Rest assured that all feedback received will be treated in confidence, we genuinely appreciate your input.

Social Media

I'm sure you're wondering how social media impacts your teens in school. Well, it's not all bad, but it's not all good either. Here are some things you should know and some tips on how to support them.

Social media can help teens connect with their friends, learn new things, and express themselves. But it can also distract them, expose them to cyberbullying, and make them feel insecure or anxious.
Teens need your guidance and supervision when using social media. You can set some rules and boundaries, such as limiting their screen time, checking their privacy settings, and talking to them about online safety and etiquette.
Teens also need your empathy and understanding when they face challenges online. You can listen to their feelings, validate their emotions, and help them cope with stress or negativity. You can also encourage them to seek help from school.
Please do not contact students or families via your child's account.

Social media is part of your teens' lives, but it doesn't have to be their whole life. By being involved and supportive, you can help them balance their online and offline activities and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Scarlet Fever

I would like to flag that we have received confirmation that a nearby school has had an outbreak of Scarlet Fever. While we are currently not directly impacted, we would like you to all be aware we have received this information and to ask that you continue with good hygiene practices such as washing hands and sneezing into a tissue or your elbow.

Post the Covid-19 pandemic we are all well versed at how to reduce and manage the spread of airborne infections.

Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of scarlet fever can be non-specific in early illness and may include sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting.

Within 48 hours, a rash develops, typically first appearing on the chest and stomach, rapidly spreading to other parts of the body, giving the skin a sandpaper-like texture.

On white skin the rash looks pink or red. On brown and black skin it might be harder to see a change in colour, but you can still feel the sandpaper-like texture of the rash and see the raised bumps.

Book Week

Every year since 1945 the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has brought children and books together across Australia through Children's Book Week.

During this time, schools and public libraries spend one week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, school librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and read stories to highlight the importance of reading.

This year Book Week runs from 21 August to 25 August and on 25 Friday 2023 MSS will hold its dress up day. There will be more information coming out over the next few weeks including some resources that can be used during the week.

So, start getting those costumes ready!

I hope you have a fantastic week and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes

Brooke

Melton Specialist School

Be Responsible Be Safe Be Respectful

Edition 9 · 24 Jul 2023

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