Principal's Report 

Dear families and friends of MPW,

 This will be the last edition of the newsletter for the year, and I wanted to begin by acknowledging and thanking the teaching, education support and administration staff who have continued to strive for the best learning and wellbeing outcomes for all students in the school throughout the year.

Thank you to all of our parents who have been able to help the school throughout the year to ensure the best opportunities can be offered for our students, including our Parent Class Representatives, parent volunteers for camps/excursions/school events, classroom helpers, volunteers for fundraising and our School Council members. Without this support, many of these activities wouldn’t be achievable or to the standard that we are able to offer.

Our Parent Helpers afternoon tea is this Thursday 2pm in the Performance Space, this is our way of thanking those who have helped out this year. We have tried to invite parents individually, so if you have contributed to supporting the school either in the classroom, on a camp or excursion, you are invited to attend the afternoon tea.

A reminder that we don’t have assembly on Monday in the last week, our final assembly of the year will be on Friday 19th at 12:30pm.

Koorie Art Show

Congratulations to Birdie in year 5, who had some of her artwork entered in the 13th Koorie Art Show at the Koorie Heritage Trust in Federation Square. This is a great achievement for Birdie and on Saturday, the Art Show launched and I was able to visit to see Birdie and her artwork displayed in the show. Birdie’s artwork is part of the Young Mob exhibition, celebrating the emerging talent of young creatives aged 5 to 16 years and honour the artistic excellence of First Peoples artists of all ages.

The Koorie Art Show will be open from 6th December to 22nd February at the Birrarung Building, Federation Square.

Last Day of School

A reminder that school finishes for the year on Friday 19th December at 1.30pm. There will be a final assembly in the gym at 12:30pm. Parents and carers are welcome to attend. We use this time to acknowledge those families leaving the school, farewell our year 6 students and draw out the Christmas raffle. 

Families leaving MPW 

As the school year ends, we will be saying farewell to families who have had a long association with the school over time.  I would like to thank our departing families for their support, encouragement and contribution over the years.  

Congratulations and best of luck to our year 6 students who move on to the next stage of their education.

 Class Placement for 2026

Today, we had our transition morning. Your child was able to meet their class and teacher for 2026. The morning was full of excitement and was a positive experience. We have placed all students with at least one friend from their list. 

We ask that parents be mindful to support your child to focus on the positive aspects of their placement for next year, as this process is extensive (with a range of information provided from families, staff and students for consideration) and at times students and/or parents may not be happy with their placement initially. 

Teachers have taken significant time over many weeks to consider social and academic mix of the students, and we have considered the important information provided by all to best place students within the structure for next year. The session ran smoothly this morning, and we look forward to the 2026 school year.

Teaching Teams for 2026

Foundation Team:

Daniel English/Jessie Freestone/Anna Sneddon & Toula Fenech

Year 1/2 Team:

Kim Simmons/Hailey Nguyen/Liz Jackson/ Jasmin Fiske

Year 3/4 Team:

Fiona McKenzie/Cassie McIntosh & Adele Perrottet/and staff member TBC

Year 5/6 Team:

Kristy Bedford/ Lachlan Meyer/Lisa McLachlan

Specialist Team:

Bree White (PE)/Sue Phillips and Helen Lockart (Creative Arts)/Cindy Xu (Japanese)

Staffing for 2026

Leading into 2026 we do not have too many changes in staffing. We would like to thank all of our departing staff for their contributions and commitment to MPW and our students. 

I would like to acknowledge staff members who have significant milestones coming up:  

Julie Lanyon has decided to semi-retire from MPW, Julie will continue to support the school as a CRT. Julie has been with MPW for 24 years. I thank Julie for her commitment over this time;

Melanie Beissel who has recently secured a career change to another school. Melanie has been at MPW for 25 years. I thank Melanie for her commitment to the school over this period as well.

We welcome a new staff member in 2026, Jessie Freestone, who is excited to join the MPW community. 

Finally, we are now looking for a staff member for 2026 to fill a new vacancy. I am hoping to have someone in place before the end of the year if possible. Students and families of this class will be informed as soon as we have hired someone into this role.

First day of 2026

The first day back for all year 1 to year 6 students in 2026 is Thursday 29th January at 9am. The Foundation (prep) students will begin on Tuesday 3rd February after they have completed their Foundation assessments. 

Teachers and staff will be back at school on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th January, which are our first two Curriculum Days for the year focused on induction, planning and preparation for the new year. 

Semester 2 Reports 

On Friday the Semester 2 Reports will be published on Compass in the afternoon. This is the final report for the year and will continue to show growth in your child’s learning over the past 12 months.

Fun Run Friday

Lastly, a reminder that Friday is the Fun Run. Bree has been absent recently, so we have been continuing to organise. Thank you to those who have volunteered to help cut fruit, supervise on the street and help with the hydration stations.

We are aiming for a 9:30am start. The 3-6s will run an extended block down to Laura St, while our F-2 students run around the school block.

A reminder that students are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes, dress in the ‘sports’ theme and bring a water bottle and their hat.  It is forecast to be warm on Friday, so hydration and sun protection is essential.

 I hope you have an enjoyable holiday period and look forward to seeing you in 2026.

Regards,

Jarrod

Principal