Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome to the 3rd last week of first term. How fast has this term gone? It is so lovely seeing parents and students on-site this term. I would like to thank all the parents who continue to scan the QR Code on entry at the end of the day. Hopefully we will be able to stop needing this in the near future, but will always follow the advice provided by DET. This includes having parents and families join us at assembly in the very near future.

Tutor Learning Initiative (Intervention): As you may be aware the Victorian Government has given schools $250 million for the Tutor Learning Initiative. This is to support schools to address disruptions to students’ learning as a result of COVID-19. At MWPS our classroom teachers are released for 3 hours per week to run intervention lessons in reading for students who didn’t make the expected level of growth in 2020. We have shared the model we are using, which has created great interest from the Department of Education and Principals from other schools. We are getting filmed next week so that our model can be shared with many other schools. We are very proud of the work of all our staff to ensure this is a successful program benefiting so many students.

Prep Information Session: Last Monday we held an Information Session for all Prep Parents. At this meeting we shared the data about how many letters and sounds the children know. Each parent was given a code so they could identify their child in the graph. We gave resources and ideas on games and activities to do at home to help develop the child’s understanding of letters and sounds and asked them to work with their child for a minimum 3 times per week. In June we are going to have a follow-up meeting where the new data will be shared and we can see the difference parent engagement and involvement in their child’s education helps. Thank you to the parents who attended. If you were not able to make it your child’s class teacher has a ‘showbag’ with the resources in it for you to use with your child. If you would like to find out more, please make an appointment t the office with myself or your child’s teacher and we can go through the presentation. 

School Council: We held our first School Council meeting for the year on Monday, where we shared many of the projects and programs we have operating across the school. 

Year 5/6 Swimming: Swimming has occurred every day this week for our year 5/6 students. We were lucky with the weather and the proximity of the pool, making the cost for families manageable. I am aware that new operators will be taking over from July 1st this year and we will be booking our other year levels in to have their lessons in term 3 or 4. I will let you know as soon as we have confirmed dates.

Kinder Enrolments: I heard this morning that enrolments for 3 year old and 4 year old Kinder placements for 2022 opens on the 24th March. I believe the 3 year kinder program is fully funded meaning it will be much cheaper for families. Please see link for more information. https://www.melton.vic.gov.au/Services/People/Families-and-children/Kindergarten

Buildings and Grounds: I would like to sincerely thank Vicki and Mohammed, parents of Ayzaan in Year 5 and Brett, father of Aubree Year 1 and Bella Year 3, for volunteering their time and expertise to improve our school. You may have noticed that the area outside my office along West Melton Drive, where Mohammed and Vicki tidied up, concreted in the rocks and stump, weeded, planted and added mulch. The Yarning Circle and garden bed look amazing. This is a lovely space for teachers to bring their class and is where Koori Club usually meet each week. We also have a large mural at the end of the main building, near the MPR, that was created by Brett. Although this is not quite finished. We just need to add the handprints of all our students and the word welcome in the many languages our community is made up of, for it to be finished. These families spent 2 full days over the weekend, working with our Community Engagement Officer, Tolley Cacavas.. Both works involved a mammoth effort, with over 15 hours of labour involved in each project. Thank-you once again for your commitment to improving Melton West PS for everyone and to Tolley for supervising, making coffee and helping in lots of ways. 

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Fresh Fruit Friday Helpers: Thanks also need to be extended to the lovely parents who volunteer their time on a Friday morning to prepare fruit platters for each grade. Last week we had many volunteers which meant that the task was completed in a timely manner. If you have any time free from 9.00am on a Friday morning you are more than welcome to join the parents. Please ensure you register with the QR Code at the office or in the staffroom. 

Parents Club Meeting: This Friday will be our first Parent Club Meeting for the year. Parents Club work together to provide opportunities for the students to be involved in things like the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stall, special lunches (Sausage Sizzle), raffles etc. With many people involved, you will not be required to be part of every fundraising event, just the ones that interests you and helps share the workload. We hope to see many new faces at the meeting tomorrow, which will begin at 10.30 am.

Sausage Sizzle: The first fundraising event for this year is a Special Lunch, which is a Sausage Sizzle. This will occur on the last day of Term 1 – Thursday 1st April. To ensure all our students can participate and enjoy a sausage we will be using Halal Certified sausages. These are delicious 100% beef sausages. 

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal

School Captain Report

Hello Melton West Primary School,

We hope you have had a productive week so far. 

We would like to begin this week’s captain’s report by talking about swimming. The Swimming Program is a time which nearly every student loves, and this week the Year 5/6s have begun the week long program at Melton Waves. Most students have enjoyed the pleasure of swimming.

Last Friday we had our school photos taken and everyone was looking lovely. We would like to thank the students for following our rules when getting ready for photos. We would also like to acknowledge the fact that Term 1 is nearly over. We have enjoyed so much learning thus far. 

As this is our first report for the year, we want to let you all know we look forward to being your school captains in 2021 and continuing to take you through the ups and downs we may have. Thank you.

Your school captains: