Principal’s Report

Dear families and carers,

It’s hard to believe that this is the final newsletter for 2023!

It has been a very productive year with many happenings across all areas of the school. All staff have worked above and beyond to cater for every child’s needs emotionally, socially and academically as well as being very supportive of all. The leadership team commends them on their professionalism, and the effort that every teacher and staff member throughout our school has displayed throughout the year.

Our children have continued to impress us with their ability to persist and value their learning. This is clearly demonstrated in our data, that shows that the teachers are targeting the children’s learning and are making academic growth and progress.

As the year comes to an end, I’d like to farewell three staff members. Firstly, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the departure of Lauretta Mallia, our Literacy Learning specialist who also taught 3/4A and more recently 1/2D. Lauretta and her family will be relocating due to a change in residence. We extend our heartfelt best wishes to Lauretta and her family for this new chapter in their lives. Your contributions to our school have been invaluable, and you will be greatly missed.

Similarly, Kieran Ryan, who has been a dedicated force in the 3/4 area, will be leaving us to work closer to home next year. We express our sincere gratitude to Kieran for all his work and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Lastly, we wish Duaa El-houli, who has been with us for approximately six months all the best moving forward and thank her for all her work in her education support role.

Amidst these farewells, we are thrilled to announce the addition of our new Assistant Principal, Bianca Hudson. Bianca brings a wealth of experience to Merri-bek, having served as an Assistant Principal for the past three years and holding various leadership positions since 2012. Her expertise spans across literacy, mathematics, inquiry, inclusiveness, and student voice and agency. We believe that Bianca's diverse skill set will significantly contribute to the continued success of our school community.

Additionally, we are delighted to welcome back Harriet Dunn, Emily Mah, and Thomas O'Halloran, who will be re-joining us after 12 months of leave. We look forward to their continued contributions to Merri-bek.

To support our students further, we have also welcomed three new educational support staff members: Ruth Chamberlain, Kathy Ingram, and Pia Stathis.

Finally, a warm welcome to our two School Assistants, Jacqui Wischer and Rainer Stefani. We are thrilled to have them on board and look forward to the positive impact they will make within our school community.

As we bid farewell to some and welcome others, let us embrace the spirit of community and support that defines Merri-bek. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our shared educational journey.

Everyone at MPS would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your ongoing support of our wonderful children. Every teacher is looking forward, with eager anticipation to 2024 and what the year has instore for us. Our new Prep students starting their school life at Merri-bek will be so exciting and providing them with new opportunities and activities that will set them up for future learning.

Wishing you all a restful holiday season and a joyous start to the new year.

Our School Community

Thank you to our brilliant school community who continue to provide us with so much support every year. The level of support and assistance is simply amazing and is never taken for granted by our teachers and students. Family involvement had allowed us to hold so many extracurricular school events and give the students new and exciting experience to remember.

Thank you to our School Council members, Parent and Friends Club and our parent helpers for all of your hard work and support this year. It is very much appreciated. To all our students for their fine work, effort and learning this year. Have a great summer break.

Grade 6 Graduation

On Thursday we celebrated the achievements of our Year 6 students. It was a wonderful evening of celebration, dance, speeches and a few parting tears.

Thank you to our Year 6 teachers and all the staff who supported the students throughout the year and ensuring that the night was a successful send off for our students. All the staff both past and present would like to congratulate all the Year 6 students for allowing us to be a very big part of your lives over the last seven years. It has been a real privilege watching you grow and develop into such wonderful senior school leaders and role models.

Congratulations, again, to our 2023 Year 6 students, we are extremely proud of you and what you have all achieved at MPS. Well done and best wishes for your secondary school education and we wish you all the success in your future pathways.

Help support Max and his family as they grapple with MND

A valued member of our school community and father to two grade 1 students, Max has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

MND is a rare, progressive, neurological condition that affects the brain and nerves. There is no cure. The form that Max is suffering is respiratory-onset ALS, which is highly aggressive and carries a very short life expectancy. Max’s lungs and diaphragm are already significantly weakened, as are his vocal chords, and these will continue to decline as the weakness spreads throughout the rest of his body, leaving him unable to swallow, speak or walk. He is reliant on a ventilator to help him breathe soon he will require extensive support and equipment to manage simple daily activities and to be able to continue living at home.

Max and his partner Mary (who is now caring for him full-time) are juggling mounting medical and living costs. Many of you have kindly already offered support, and if anyone would like to contribute, Max’s family has started a crowdfunding page to help with medical expenses, necessary equipment for mobility and communication and daily support. We are working closely with the family to support the children and offer our love and support during this difficult time.

Wishing all our students, families and staff a safe, healthy and happy summer break.

We look forward to seeing our students back at school in 2024!

Maria Giordano

Principal

Graduation Night