Principal's Report
Dear families and friends,
We had another fantastic dress up day last Monday for Book Week. It was great to see the majority of students joining in and getting into the spirit of the day. There was a great variety of characters and costumes, and some great groups of students who had themed together. Thank you to JSC for running some additional reading activities last week during lunchtimes to further celebrate reading.
Vale June Fleming
On a sad note, I share the news that June Fleming has sadly passed away recently. June was known as the Infant Mistress at MPW and was a well known member of the school for many years up to the early 90s. June was instrumental in the running of the Hall Program in the infant area, with a strong focus on conversational English and oral language development. Vale Ms Fleming.
SunSmart Reminders - Hats
Yesterday at assembly we reminded students that we are heading into Spring today, and as per our SunSmart policy (from September to May) students are required to wear a SunSmart (broadbrimmed) hat when outside for play, PE or class activities.
Students without hats will be asked to play or sit in designated undercover shaded areas. Caps and visors are not suitable alternatives for SunSmart protection. The school supplies students with Sunscreen on hot and high UV days, however children can bring their own should they require a specific type.
Show Day
As we draw to the end of Term 3, we are preparing for the annual MPW Show Day. This year Show Day will be held on Thursday 10th September between 12.15pm-2pm. Show Day is a school community event, and parents and family members are welcome to attend and participate in the fun. The Athol St gates near the soccer pitch will be opened from around 12.00pm as student begin their setup.
Show Day is a student led community event, that provides classes the opportunity to create and run a stall for other students and the community to engage in. Classes are currently working out their activities and stalls in preparation for Show Day. Typical activities include a whack a mole table, hair spray and nail polish, hit the target (teacher) games and a haunted house.
We are also looking into the possible repeat of the ‘Dunk the teacher’ activity to close the afternoon, as it was a lot of fun last year.
We hope you can make it down next Thursday between 12.15pm and 2pm to enjoy Show Day with us.
Father’s Day Open Morning
Our Father’s Day opening morning is coming up this Friday 4th September. This is an opportunity for fathers, grandfathers or a special person to be invited to come along in the first hour of the day to work alongside students. We hope someone important in our students life can attend. I would also like to thank Sandra and the parents supporting the Father’s Day Stall tomorrow.
Swimming Program
This year we have been able to provide the opportunity for our swimming program to run for the year 3-6 students. Schools receive some funding from the department to support students to engage in swimming lessons before they leave year 6 and aim to have as many students able to swim 50 meters as possible.
Last year, we attempted to extend our swimming program to the 1/2 students with the funding, however the expenses were too high to continue offering to our junior student this year. Going forward we are evaluating what the swimming program will look like over the next year or two, and we will likely be only able to offer the intensive program to senior students with the funding provided.
Year 2 Sleepover
On Friday 11th September we have the Year 2 Sleepover. The sleepover is held in the Hall building, and students returned after school for a pizza dinner, a magic show and a night away from home. We are looking forward to this year’s sleepover next week!
Cases of Influenza A and RSV
Over the past weeks or two there have been cases of influenza A (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) circulating. Most children with flu or RSV have a mild fever, runny nose or cough. Some children, particularly babies and children with underlying medical conditions, may have more severe illness.
To help keep our school community well, we encourage you to look out for symptoms of the flu or RSV, and if unwell keep your child at home to reduce the spreading of these illnesses.
At school we continue to:
- encourage students to wash their hands regularly
- continuing to use air purifiers across the school in spaces used by staff and students
- encourage students to cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing into their elbow
- encouraging those unwell to stay at home and consult a general practitioner (GP) or health professional as needed
For more information about influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), refer to:
End of Term Reminders
Planning Week for teacher’s will be held in the last week of term (Monday 14th – Friday 18th September). During this week class will have a change to when their specialist classes operate to support team planning on their allocated planning day. Specialists will run on the following days: Monday 14th – 5/6, Tuesday 15th – Year 1/2, Wednesday 16th - 3/4, Thursday 17th - Foundation.
The last day of Term 3 is Friday 18th September, dismissal time for this day is at 2.30pm. As usual we will be holding our final assembly for the term at 9am in the gym on Friday morning, there is no assembly on Monday in the last week.
Regards,
Jarrod
Principal