Process and Planning

Planning for our 2020 grades is well underway. Throughout the year, we have had significant interest in families wishing to enrol at our school. This is a testament, to not only the wonderful opportunities we provide for our students, but to the staff members that engage our children through such high quality teaching and learning programs. In 2020, we anticipate that we will be able to run 16 grades based on our enrolment prediction of 375 students, therefore there will be some changes to the class structure in 2020.

The 2020 Grade structure will be as follows:

Foundation classes x 3

Grade 1 classes x 3

Grade 2 classes x 3

Grade 3/4 classes x 4

Grade 5/6 classes x 3

Please note, as it is still early days, this configuration is subject to change.

There are many influences in a school’s decision regarding the class structure. Funding that is allocated to public schools is on a per student basis and calculated by the total number of students taken at a census in February. The size of each year’s cohort can vary considerably depending on enrolments and we still have variation in student numbers throughout the school. It is important for schools to manage student numbers in a particular way that maximises learning opportunities.

Research tells us that there is very little difference either academically or socially between children who are placed in a straight grade or children who are placed in a composite grade. Our school individualises the learning for each of our students, teaching them at their point of need. A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses by Professor John Hattie into the factors that influence student achievement show that a child being in a composite or straight grade makes no difference to the academic outcomes of a student. In fact, the factor that has the largest influence by a very large margin is “teacher quality”. I am so proud that every single teacher at MPS, is an outstanding professional.

CLASS PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS FOR 2020

Our staff members spend an enormous amount of time thinking about and discussing student groupings in their endeavour to create balanced, equitable and harmonious grades.

To maximise learning opportunities at MPS, we take into account such things as:

Gender balance
Behaviour
Academic performance
Special abilities and needs
Social and physical maturity
Special considerations such as siblings and custody situations
Needs of children for whom English is a second language
Information supplied by parents and/or relevant support personnel
Social networks/dynamics
Previous class placements

Today, all students had the opportunity to name 5 friends they would like to be placed with next year. Our students were encouraged to think about choosing people who would support them with their learning and in making good choices. The school will endeavour to place each child with at least one person from their friend list.

As professional educators, we strive to make the best choices by taking into account all of the information we have about all students. Teachers have academic and social information about every child and can make sound judgements to meet the needs of every student. Please trust our staff as they work through this lengthy and rigorous process.

With the above in mind, if you have information that you feel needs to be considered, I am happy to receive these requests and will give them due consideration. Nevertheless, I ask all parents to understand that it may not be possible to satisfy all requests. We will always keep the educational, social and emotional needs of the children at the forefront of any decision.

If you have any specific information, please provide this to me via email by Friday 8th November worsam.janene.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

Only communication provided via this process will be considered.

Requests for specific teachers will not be considered.

Please advise us as soon as possible if you are planning to transfer your child/ren to another school in 2020.

Following the success of last of last year, we will be holding two transition sessions again this year. Students will find out their teacher and class grouping on the day of the first transition session. The dates for these are:

Thursday 5th Dec from 9:30am-1pm and Tuesday 10th Dec from 9:30am-1pm.

Please do not hesitate to make an appointment to see me if you have anything that requires further clarification.

Enjoy the long weekend!

(No children at school on Monday as it is a Curriculum Day. Please note Camp Australia WILL NOT be running a program on this day. )

School Council

School Council met on Tuesday night and once again discussion centered on the amazing progress our school community has made across many areas, including:

Teaching and learning
Student engagement and wellbeing
Our buildings and beautiful grounds
Fundraising
Community engagement

What is more impressive was the desire to continue to improve in all of these areas.

Looking at the NAPLAN data we saw that most of our students are achieving well above the State average, yet teachers are looking at strategies to enable students to continue to grow and improve.

From the Parent, Student and Teacher Attitudes to School Surveys, we saw extremely high levels of satisfaction and engagement with the school, however staff still found areas to focus on for improvement. How lucky are our kids to be part of a learning community with such a collective growth mindset?

As parents and guardians you are also part of this community and your contributions and ideas are valued. Many of the great things about Monty Primary School are due to the voluntary efforts of families. If you would like to be involved, there are a myriad of opportunities available - and volunteers are always needed! Thank you for your continued support as we work together in the MPS learning community.

Kirsty Leahy

School Council President

Hats

A reminder that children must be wearing hats during play times. Please ensure that your child applies sunscreen before they arrive at school. Children are encouraged to reapply using their own sunscreen at break times. If you haven't already done so, please teach your child how to apply their own sunscreen - we find that children have the most success at applying using a roll-on sunscreen. Remember: No Hat, No Play.

Payments

Term 4 Planners - payment reminder. Please finalise payments at the Office to ensure your child is able to participate in the programs on offer.

Monty & Beyond!

This term, Monty Primary is embarking on a new adventure! We are undertaking a whole school Inquiry with the theme being, 'Monty and Beyond'. This unit will explore the Geography curriculum, as well as weave in ethical understandings.

We will learn about how communities are connected to geographic locations and how the ethical use of our land is key to leaving a healthy legacy for future generations.

Each year level is exploring slightly different concepts and have planned some exciting learning experiences.

Our Big Ideas:

Foundation: 'We are all part of a community'

Grade 1/2: 'My School, Your School - Education differs in different places'

Grade 3/4: 'Peoples actions affect the environment around them'

Grade 5/6: 'Conscience and decision making shape our legacy'

Montmorency Primary School Newsletter

Issue 17 · 01 Nov 2019

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