Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are nearing the end of the term and we can feel that Spring weather is not far away with cold mornings, sunny days and cold nights. Spring is such a wonderful time of year, full of hope and promise.

We have some exciting things occurring this term and in Term 4 including –Footy Day, Father’s Day and Special Persons Stalls, wear it purple day, R U Ok day? some new lunchtime clubs, Multicultural Day, the swimming program and graduation.

We have had many new students starting at our school, so to our new families joining us, welcome to our Merri-bek Primary School Community. We look forward to developing a working relationship with you and trust that you and your child feel welcomed and supported in our learning community.

Happy Father’s Day or Special Person

While Fathers’ Day is a celebration of fatherhood, it is a time for us to honour, celebrate and to be thankful for all the men, father figures and male role models in our lives, including our dads, grandads, stepdads, uncles, godfathers, father-figures and even our male teachers. We recognise the very important role you have in the lives of children.

Thank you to all the dads and special people in our school community and we hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day/Special persons day last Sunday.

A big thank you to PnC and all who were also involved in preparing and running our successful Father’s Day stall, and raffle. We raised over $3,500. Thank you to all our families that donated goods, and MP Anthony Cianflone, who donated a hamper. Thank you also to Nell, our PnC President and all the parents who assisted. We are very fortunate to have such an active parent’s group.

Prep Enrolments 2027

It is that time of the year! It certainly has been exciting to see so many prospective parents and their children attend our school tours over the term.

If you have a child (or know of a child) who is due to start school next year, please get your enrolment form into the office as soon as possible. Spaces are limited and are nearly at capacity.

We are already beginning to plan classes and teachers for the new year. The sooner we receive their enrolments, the sooner we can plan our Transition Program, commencing in term 4.

Stay Connected

Please ensure you are checking compass. Compass is our main form of communication, so please check this so you are up to date with everything. If you have misplaced your login details, please contact the office on 9386 2510.

2027 Curriculum Days and Professional Practice Days

Term 1

Wednesday 27 January – School operations and classroom set-up
Thursday 28 January – Love Maths Curriculum Day

Term 2

Tuesday 15 June – Berry Street Education Model

Term 3

Monday 19 July – Love Maths Curriculum Day
Monday 26 July – Berry Street Education Model (additional Curriculum Day)

Term 4

Monday 1 November – Report Writing Day
Tuesday 2 November – Melbourne Cup public holiday
Wednesday 3 November – Professional Practice Day

Please also be mindful that, subject to confirmation of the new agreement by the Fair Work Commission, staff will receive one additional Professional Practice Day per term-a total of four across the year.

The Term 4 date is listed above, with the remaining three dates to be confirmed and communicated once further information is available.

Please add the confirmed dates to your calendars.

Supervision Before and After School

Please note that supervision for students before school commences at 8:45am and after school until 3:45pm. Staff are not on duty beyond these times. Please do not drop off your child before this time or leave them waiting after school beyond this time as they will not be supervised.

Victorian Principal’s Association- Professional Learning for our Leadership Team

Last week the Leadership Team had the privilege of attending the VPA Conference. We heard from several inspiring presenters whose messages connected strongly with our work at Merri-bek Primary School.

Gill Hicks explored the power of adaptation through the lens of interconnectedness. Her three key words- Accept, Adjust and Adopt, particularly resonated with me personally. In a school context, this means accepting the realities and challenges before us, adjusting our thinking and actions as circumstances change, and adopting new approaches that help us move forward together. Her message reminded us that adaptation is not something we do alone; our relationships, connections and willingness to support one another give us the strength to navigate change.

Paul Campbell brought plenty of energy and fun as he explored the foundations of trust. Through practical, engaging and play-based activities, he demonstrated that trust is built through shared experiences, openness, laughter and the willingness to participate. His session reinforced that play is not only important for children, it can also strengthen adult relationships, encourage creativity and create psychologically safe teams. We received a copy of his book and look forward to trying some of these experiences with staff.

Paralympic medallist Jessica Gallagher spoke powerfully about courage, resilience and trust. Living with significant vision impairment, she relies on guides and teammates when competing at an elite level. Her story highlighted that trust requires vulnerability: the courage to communicate what we need, rely on others and work towards a shared goal. It was a powerful reminder that strong teams are not built by individuals doing everything themselves, but by people recognising and drawing upon one another’s strengths.

Across all three presentations, a common message emerged: strong communities are built through connection, trust, adaptability and shared purpose. These ideas reflect what we see every day at MPS- staff supporting one another, responding flexibly to challenges and working collectively to achieve the best outcomes for our students.

We look forward to unpacking these messages further and sharing our learning with staff and School Council as we continue strengthening trust, connection and adaptability across our school community.

Maria Giordano

Principal

Bianca - Assistant Principal’s Report

We’re nearly at the end of term 3 and so far it's been a fun and exciting term. We have recently had our dance curriculum program, and finished it with some great performances. The feedback on the dance program was amazing from students, teachers and families. We also have fun things coming up like the AFL roadshow.

Staff have been learning about the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model, with network professional learning events for both our team leaders and all teachers. This has been a great opportunity to discuss how we support all students' involvement in their learning and work towards Explicit Teaching Strategies that provide students with an opportunity to respond to learning. Joe has also been leading us through applying learning from our Curriculum Day with students in our Maths Units.

Events:

On Thursday the 27th of September some students grades 3-6 participated in the athletics carnival. This held many events including relay, high jump, long jump, triple jump, 100m, 200m and 800m sprints, discus, and shotput.

A very big congratulations to our following students who earned a first, second or third place ribbon, and congratulations to everyone else who competed.

First, second or third place ribbons:

The Under 11’s Girls Relay Team (Imogen, Ana, Mariam Y, Diliania) came 1st
Elva came 1st in the U12 Girls 100m Sprint
Ana got 1st in U11 Girls Shot put
Tarnja got 1st in U10 Boys Triple Jump
Missy got 1st in U10 Girls Triple Jump
Parisha got 2nd in U10 Girls Discus
Sylvester got 2nd in U12 Boys High Jump
Annalise got 2nd in the U12 Girls Long Jump
Orlando got 2nd in U12 Boys Discus
Larry got 3rd in U10 Boys Long Jump
Ray got 3rd in U11 Boys Triple Jump
Tenijo got 3rd in U10 Boys 100m

On Tuesday September the 15th our school will be having Footy Colours Day a day that encourages students to wear the colours of their favourite footy team and join in on a fun parade. As well as this there will be an AFL Roadshow where you will get to participate in awesome AFL inspired activities outside.

Learning areas:

The preps have enjoyed a lot of things this term. In writing they have been learning how to write in full sentences. In maths they have been learning about sharing things equally between people, and in reading they have been enjoying reading their readers. They’ve also enjoyed learning about Carnivores and omnivores and drawing flap books.

The ½ students have liked doing Reading and Writing about landmarks. In Maths they’ve enjoyed doing multiplication and division, and also enjoyed making brochures in Integrated, and making posters about Parliament.

In 3/4 students have been enjoying doing things like dictation in reading because there are fun sentences, maths is fun because they are doing sums and it’s fun how everyone doesn't have the same answers so we can help each other. They have also enjoyed making a cultural cook book with all different recipes from their cultures in Integrated.

In 5/6 there has been a lot of exciting things happening. In Reading and Writing we have been participating in an author study about Shaun Tan looking at The Rules of Summer, The Red Tree and The Rabbits in particular. We’ve also been making Shaun Tan inspired Zines and collages. In Maths we’ve been looking at Measurement with a focus on Capacity, Volume and Mass. During PBL we have been given a scenario and had to figure out how to cope with it by trading imaginary tokens with other classes, afterwards we looked at how similar scenarios impact the real world.

Sign off:

A lot of fun things have happened this term and we have more exciting things ahead. We’ve got one more week left for term 3, and are looking forward to a great term 4.

By Assistant Principal Bianca, and school and vice captains Rae, Aarav, Mariam and Ollie

Joe - Assistant Principal

Across our classrooms this term, students have been enjoying a range of open and engaging mathematical tasks that allow them to think deeply, explore different strategies and work collaboratively with their peers. Rather than always looking for one correct method or answer, students are encouraged to explain their thinking, listen to the ideas of others and consider different ways of approaching a problem. These experiences are helping students develop their mathematical reasoning while also building their confidence and independence.

A key focus of our Mathematics program is connecting learning to real-life situations. When students can see how mathematical concepts are used in the world around them, learning becomes more relevant and purposeful. We want our students to understand that Mathematics is not simply about completing calculations or remembering procedures; it is about thinking, making connections, solving problems and applying knowledge in meaningful ways.

Our Year 5/6 students are particularly excited about their upcoming World of Maths incursion in Term 4. The program provides students with an opportunity to experience Mathematics through hands-on, interactive activities designed to make learning fun and engaging. World of Maths brings a collection of more than 150 handmade activities into schools, giving students the chance to explore mathematical concepts through practical challenges and real-life examples.

The workshops place a strong emphasis on understanding instructions, applying problem-solving skills and working collaboratively. Students are encouraged to work together as a team, discuss possible strategies and learn from each other's ideas. This collaborative approach supports students to become more confident in explaining their mathematical thinking and encourages them to recognise the value of different perspectives.

The emphasis is on participation, persistence and having a go. This helps create a positive learning environment where students feel comfortable taking risks, trying new strategies and learning from challenges. We want our students to understand that success in Mathematics is not always about getting the answer immediately; it is about the thinking, perseverance and strategies used along the way.

Our students are looking forward to putting their problem-solving skills to the test during the World of Maths incursion. We are excited to see them collaborate, challenge themselves and discover just how much fun Mathematics can be. Through engaging tasks, hands-on experiences and a strong focus on positive mathematical thinking, Merri-bek Primary School is continuing to foster confident, curious and enthusiastic mathematicians who are ready to give it a go.

Community News

School Holiday Hockey Clinics (Ages 6–15)