Principal's Report 

Dear Parents, 

What a frenzy of excursions it has been lately for Mackellar students.  We have our grade 1 students heading off to the Melbourne Museum in the coming weeks, whilst our grade 2 students recently went to Scienceworks. 

Our grade 3 students recently returned from the Melbourne Museum and our grade 4 students went off to CERES. Our grade 5 students will soon head up to Sovereign Hill and our grade 6 students visited parliament house. 

Our preps are not quite ready to head out of the school just yet, so Supreme Incursions  came to the school to excite and educate them about all things teamwork so they didn't miss out. 

All of these excursions link with inquiry themes being taught in classrooms, and are an integral way to make meaning out of what can sometimes be quite abstract themes such as democracy and history. With more excursions planned for next term, please remember that the Camps, Sports and Excursion fund is available for parents if they have a Health Care Card to assist with payments.  For those without CSEF credits, please see the office if you require assistance. 

The Department of Education recently released the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model, or VTLM, version 2.0.  This model was the focus of our recent curriculum day for teachers with us unpacking what this means for our teaching and learning programs over the next few years as this comes into full implementation.  

Whilst not overly exciting for parents, it is a very good opportunity for teachers to stay abreast of current research and methods in teaching our students as part of a system of education. Whilst teachers were undertaking this learning, our Education Support staff were working with a speech pathologist on honing their skills in making and using social stories to best meet the needs of our students.  All in all it was a very productive day all around. 

Kind Regards, 

Simon McGlade

Principal