PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Milgate Primary School would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land of the Wurundjeri People and we would like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. Staff, students and the school community understand that we thrive, learn and live on Wurundjeri Country and we stand with all cultures united as one.

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE

Welcome back, families and students, to Term 2! We're gearing up for an action-packed term ahead with a lot on the agenda. From Education Week, Open Night, and Grandparents Day to Year 2, 3, and 4 Swimming, as well as Student-Led Conferences and numerous excursions, there's no shortage of things to look forward to. Get ready for a busy but rewarding term filled with learning, engagement, and memorable moments!

EDUCATION WEEK

This year’s theme for Education Week is ‘A Spotlight on Stem’. We have a group of teachers that are working hard to plan a variety of STEM related activities for students to explore during Education Week. The spotlight on STEM will mean a chance for MPS to celebrate and share how we bring science, technology, engineering, and maths to life in the classroom. We will also be holding our Book Fair and Open Night on the 8th of May and Grandparents & Special Friends Day on the 9th of May from 9:50 to 11:00. 

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES

TO BECOME CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING

This year, we will be changing our approach to Student Led Conferences in Term 2. With the whole school now engaging in continuous reporting and students regularly sharing their learning with their families, we would like to use this opportunity to hold a Celebrations of Learning afternoon. This celebration will involve students choosing three pieces of work that they are proud of to share with their families. The students will then teach their families a fun Maths game that they have learned in class. 

MILGATE GARDEN RENOVATION

We hope you noticed how fabulous our garden beds around the school are looking! 

A huge thank you to all the students and families who donated plants, prepped the garden beds and helped out with planting. It was a fun opportunity to show how we can be caring towards our school and environment. Thank you to our school leaders for guiding our JSC ‘Milgate Garden Reno’ class representatives through the process. The names of all our fabulous volunteers are below - congratulations everyone for your hard work!

PARENT SESSION | Georgina Manning

Tuesday, April 30 at 7:30pm | ONLINE

On Tuesday, April 30, Georgina Manning from Wellbeing with Kids will be presenting the parent seminar ‘5 Secrets to Developing Confidence and Resilience’. The seminar will be held over Zoom at 7:30 pm. The seminar will cover strategies that build confidence, the importance of creative play, parenting strategies that foster resilience, and mindful listening techniques. 

Georgina Manning is the Director of Wellbeing for Kids, an educator, counsellor and a psychotherapist. Georgina has many years of experience working in schools supporting children and parents, and facilitates regular parent seminars in schools, school professional development days for educators, and is a National speaker for wellbeing events. She has run Professional Development with Milgate staff and several parent seminars in recent years. 

CELEBRATING NEURODIVERSITY

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | ADHD

ADHD begins in early childhood, it used to be called attention deficit disorder (ADD). Around 1 in every 20 Australians has ADHD. While it is more common in boys — it’s underdiagnosed in girls and adults. 

There are three main types of ADHD:

1. Predominantly Inattentive Presentation: Individuals with this type have difficulty sustaining attention, organising tasks, following through on instructions, and may be forgetful in daily activities.
2. Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation: Individuals with this type display hyperactivity and impulsivity but may not have as much trouble with inattention.
3. Combined Presentation: This type involves symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.

If your child has been diagnosed as having ADHD, it is important to work with your child’s teacher to provide a consistent approach. Each classroom has a number of tools to support students and will make adjustments to ensure success in their learning. 

There are many highly successful people who actually attribute their achievements to their ADHD. Sometimes it’s even described as a ‘superpower’. Here are some traits that often help people with ADHD to be successful:

• Hyperfocus
• Highly passionate
• Determination and drive
• Risk-taker
• Optimistic
• Imaginative

Michael Phelps

Approximately 8-10% of elite athletes are believed to have ADHD. Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time, accumulating 23 medals during his career.  

Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 9 years old. While he found school challenging, he thrived in the pool. He said that swimming gave him better energy management and reduced his tendency to fidget. Phelps has said:

 "I felt calmer being able to get in the water. I noticed that the more time I spent in the water, the more at ease I felt. I made the decision to continue because it was thrilling and difficult. I think the biggest thing for me, once I found that it was okay to talk to someone and seek help, I think that’s something that has changed my life forever…now I’m able to live life to its fullest.” 

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE FOR TERM 2

Please find here the schedule of assemblies and who will be presenting each week. Assembly details are also on the Compass Calendar for wach week.

ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM

Hello from the Environmental team! We have 3NY and 4YC as the winners for this week’s Trash free Tuesday with 4 pieces each!  They will receive our environmental mascot Ernie the earth for doing a great job at bringing the least amount of trash this week. Good luck to all classes for the upcoming week.

We are super excited to see each classroom and their classroom plants and how they have continued to grow over the holidays. 

LANGUAGE ARTS 

Our wonderful and creative students have returned to school and are deeply immersed in their new writing units. We are seeing some budding poets and visionary screenwriters emerge. Through our workshop approach, our students have voice and agency as writers. They often have a choice of genre, and through conferences with their teachers, develop reflective practices as writers and learners. Together, let’s empower our students to harness and know the power of the written word to express themselves purposefully and confidently. 

Term 2 Writing Units

STUDENT FOCUS

Whitehorse Council held a cultural festival and had been advertising it many months. The main advertising poster used a photo of one of our students in Foundation, Olivia S. It can be seen online and offline. It's very exciting for Olivia and she would like to share it with all of you.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Start Next Week | WEEK 2

Our Term 2 extracurricular activities will start up again next week and you can view the options and enrolment information here - Extra-Curricular Activities (milgateps.vic.edu.au)

All activities generally run as follows:

Term 1 | Week 3 - Last week of Term

Term 2 | Week 2 - Last week of Term

Term 3 | Week 2 - Last week of Term

Term 4 | Week 2 - Second last week of Term

Please contact the individual providers for more detailed information.