Murrumbeena P.S. Newsletter

From the Principal

As you read this newsletter, there will be only a week left of the term. 

The weeks seem to have flown by. 

Here’s a recap of the key events:

  • The prep children commencing school so confidently
  • The Open afternoon (meet the teacher and view the classroom and school)
  • Annual Picnic
  • Prep Parent Welcome Evening
  • Parent – Teacher Interviews 
  • Harmony Week activities
  • Swimming Carnival: School and District where our school came 4th
  • Interschool Summer Sports (senior school)
  • Swimming lessons for years 3-6
  • Annual General Meeting of School Council and formation of new sub committees
  • Students focusing on their own learning intentions and setting personalised learning goals
  • Our student leaders and classes running assemblies 
  • Lunch time clubs 

I am grateful to lead such a wonderful school and to work with our whole school community. Together, we learn, grow and achieve.  

WHAT’S COMING UP- 

The Easter Raffle

One of the highlights of term 1 is the Easter raffle which will be drawn on the last day of the term. Parents are welcome to join us as we conduct the raffle draw on the oval commencing at 1:40pm. 

If you haven’t already done so, there’s still time to donate Easter goodies and sell raffle tickets. 

 

FREE DRESS DAY – GOLD COIN DONATION

Every year, on the last day of the term, students are allowed to wear casual clothes in exchange for bringing a donation to support charity.  

In Term one, we always support the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal and in Term 3 we raise money for State Schools Relief. The other two charities are selected by the Student Representative Council. 

 

VISIBLE LEARNING- student agency

Our school continues to achieve across all academic areas as evidenced through the annual NAPLAN and standardised assessments. Our challenge now is to move closer to students demonstrating real ownership and agency over their learning by ensuring the learning within the classroom is ‘visible’. In other words, we want our students to know: what they are learning (this will relate to the learning intention of the lesson), how they are going (they will be able to review their work against the success criteria and the modelled examples) and know what they need to learn next (teacher-student conferences for

feedback and goal setting). 

 

The Curriculum Day for teachers to learn more about ‘Visible Learning’ gave us a clear indication of where our school is at now and where our next steps toward improvement lie. 

We look forward to applying our new knowledge of ‘visible learning’ into all of our lessons but with a particular focus on improving reading.

 

PARENT PERSPECTIVES- save the date: Tuesday 9th  May (6:00 – 8:00pm)

Next term, we will invite parents to a workshop where we will  share information about our school with the community and invite parent perspectives and feedback. Later in the year, our school will be undergoing an intensive review in readiness for developing our next four-year Strategic Plan. We would like representation from our whole school community in reflecting on our achievements, identifying areas where we can apply greater focus and gain a collective understanding of the school’s mission. We will post more details about the workshop at the commencement of term 2.

 

SCHOOL COUNCIL 2023

Last Monday we held our first school council meeting for the new council members. The meeting provided an overview of the sub committees and members were elected as office bearers in the various roles. 

 

Our school has 5 sub committees: 

  1. Finance- oversee the monthly income and expenditure of the school and adherence to finance policies
  2. Education – update policies on a cyclical basis, review school performance data and communicate / consult with parent community on a needs basis.
  3. Canteen and Uniform – review school uniforms, second hand uniform stall, uniform policy and the running of the canteen including profit and loss statements, menu items and adherence to Council guidelines. 
  4. Social and Fundraising – organise and run a range of fund raising events to supplement the school budget (including the bi-annual carnival) and social events to maintain community connectedness. 
  5. Facilities- review general school maintenance and future development both in the short and long term, organise and run working bees.

We welcome and introduce our 2023 School Council Members:

President: Sandra Maxfield

Treasurer: Luda Unitt 

Secretary: Liz Maplestone

 

Finance: Convenor: Luda Unitt Members: Jenks Guo, Helen Georgitsopoulos

Education: Convenor: Fiona Sewell  Members:  Narendhar Sunkisala, Mitchell Houston

Canteen and Uniform: Convenor: Fiona Boyer  Members: Susan Hunt, Helen Georgitsopoulos

Social and Fundraising: Convenor: Liz Maplestone  Members: David Funston, Elle Avery

Facilities: Convenor: Bianca Baker-Smith Members:  Deborah Nhuch, Anthony van Berkel

 

The School Council President and I look forward to working with all sub committees throughout the year. 

 

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property will be laid out near the oval for students and parents to view and collect items. All of these items have no names. Uncollected items will be thrown out.

LAST DAY OF TERM 

Don’t forget the last day of the term is Thursday 6 April, closing at 2:30pm. 

Thanks to all of our families, students and staff for a wonderful term 1 and we look forward to whatever term 2 may bring, with new learning styles and plenty of action.

Please all look after each other, be kind and I look forward to when we are together again at MPS next term.

 

Chellee Plumb