Brooke's Message

Hello Families,  

The term just seems to be flying by.......It has been exciting to see all of the different community access programs still up and running despite the coolness of the year starting quite quickly!  

This last week MSS staff and students took time to understand and recognise Reconciliation week in a way that makes sense to them, and it looked very different across the school. As a school we are continually working toward a better understanding and education of the culture and incredible practices of the Traditional Owners of this country.  

 SWPBS Award 

Last week Melton Specialist School was formally awarded the GOLD Award at the Principals Forum. This award recognises the efforts in implementing the School-Wide Positive Behaviour System (SWPBS). It is the highest of the four tiers in the implementation of the SWPBS framework.  SWPBS at MSS is centred around GOTCHA tokens which students earn for being Safe, Responsible and Respectful which they spend at the GOTCHA shop. These behaviours are taught in class each week to ensure students are successful.  Our accreditation is an amazing achievement in our SWPBS journey, and I would like to thank all families, students, and staff for jointly engaging with this initiative. In recognition of our work, the school has been asked to present at the National Positive Behaviour for Learning Conference to showcase the incredible work of our team to schools across the country. Wish us luck! 

Sickness at School Reminder 

It is that time of the year where we are seeing a lot of illness. We are seeing an influx of COVID-19 and flu within our community. This is having a huge impact on our students, staff, and I’m sure for you all at home! If your child is showing any signs of being unwell, please keep them at home.  

Staffing difficulties 

As a school we are currently seeing a high number of staffing absences due to illness. I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to our staff for their flexibility and dedication in supporting our young people. I would also like to thank our students and families for embracing change during these challenging times. We will always try to replace classroom staff but if we can’t, we will split classes across other year groups or throughout the school. This does mean that at times, school leaders are not able to take phone calls or respond to emails immediately. If you do need anything, please call the front office - they will be able to support in the first instance.  

Golden ticket winners 

Last newsletter we announced a competition to encourage our students to attend school for 10 days. It was amazing to see how student attendance has improved while students were working toward an end goal. There are more than 60 entries, we will be announcing the winner of the hamper this coming Friday June 14th.  

Roadworks reminder 

Roadworks were due to commence at the intersection of Coburns Rd & High St, Melton however they have been delayed. Please note we may not receive a lot of notice but will do our best to communicate any changes to busses and access to school as soon as we have information. Please also remember not to double park in the slip lane as the council and local police patrol the area and issue parking fines.  

Student Attitude to School Survey 

Each year our students participate in the “Student Attitude to School Survey”, this will be completed during class time over the coming week.  The AtoSS provides data on student opinions about school and is used to support schools with student wellbeing, engagement, school improvement and planning – The data collected plays in important role in the development of our Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan. 

Student phones 

Just a polite reminder that mobile phones and any mobile devices are not to be used at school. We do make exceptions for our older students who are out in the community. If your child does bring a mobile device, they are expected to lock them away in the classroom or their locker. I am asking all parents to check in with their child and ask them to leave phones at home, this reduces the difficulty some students have in locking their phone away.