From the Principal
The Production- Marvellous Inventions and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr
There’s only one more sleep until our super star students bounce onto the stage and surprise you with their energy and enthusiasm. For those parents who are new to the school, you are in for a treat. It really doesn’t matter whether your child is in prep or year six, they have all done their best to learn their routines and from the sound of their loud and proud voices, I think they’ve nailed it.
The students will all be heading to Robert Blackwood Theatre this Friday for their stage run through in readiness for the big night. While the show will be enjoyable, the pick up and drop off is always crowded. We’ve refined what works better from previous years but it will still take time and patience. Information (via Compass) will be provided to explain how entry and exit will work this year.
Parent/ Carer/ Guardian Survey
Thank you to those who completed the Education Department’s opinion survey. We were pleased to have a 42% response rate as it makes the data more representative of our community.
The School Council Education sub committee will be reviewing the opinion survey data at their next meeting and will prepare a brief report for our school community.
School Savings Bonus
As announced in the 2024/25 Victorian Budget, the School Saving Bonus provides a one-off $400 support for students in Victoria in Term 4, 2024, for use on 2025 school costs.
The School Saving Bonus will be distributed to schools from 18 November 2024.
Once our school receives the savings bonus funds, parents and carers will receive an email directly from the Department of Education with their $400 School Saving Bonus. Families will be able to choose how they spend the $400 using an online system – on school activities, or school uniforms and textbooks, or a mixture of both.
It will be essential to ensure that the school has your correct email address. If your contact details have changed, please let the school know so that information can be updated. The Education department will email you twice: once in October to verify your email and once in November with details about the $400 bonus.
Attached is an information sheet providing further detail about this once off school savings bonus.
R U OK Day – Thursday 12 September
R U OK? Day is an annual National Day of Action that reminds us that every day is the right day to ask, ‘are you okay’?
This year, R U OK? Day is on Thursday 12 September. The theme, ‘Ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day’, highlights the importance of regularly checking in with those around us.
A core part of R U OK? Day is raising awareness of what support is available before a crisis occurs. Here at Murrumbeena Primary School, we have a dedicated ‘Wellbeing Team’ who ensure our mental health programs are conducted weekly in every classroom and follow the scope and sequence for age appropriateness and skill development. In addition, our teachers, along with wellbeing and inclusion leaders (Fi Sewell and Chelsea Quirk), regularly check in with students and families who may be experiencing some difficult times. Our students have access to psychologists, speech therapists and Occupational Therapist services conveniently at school (on a fee-paying basis). If you would like to know more about how to connect to these services, please make an appointment to speak with Mrs Sewell.
Staff News
It seems that somewhere between marking students work at home and planning the next series of lessons, our staff enjoy life. Being ‘balanced’ is part of the reason our wonderful teachers can come to school energised each day.
We’re happy to share congratulatory news about our teachers with the school community.
Congratulations to Miss Chelsea Quirk and her fiancé Ben on their engagement. Their smiles are glorious and so is the beautiful ring Miss Quirk is now wearing.
We’d also like to congratulate Mr Ethan Mountney and his beautiful wife Rachel as they were married last week. We hope they enjoy that feeling of ‘wedded bliss’ for decades.
We also have ‘baby’ news. Congratulations to Mrs Maxine Riley and her husband Jacob who are expecting their first baby in October. We know the students of 5R will miss her but are no doubt looking forward to seeing Mrs Riley’s newborn.
Adding to our community of Murrumbeena babies, we congratulate Mrs Teagan Hutchison (Laskey) and her husband Tom who are also expecting their first baby in February next year. The students of 3L are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief that they get to keep the lovely Mrs Hutchison (Laskey) for the remainder of the year. We’re looking forward to meeting the new Hutchison family member next year.
Chellee Plumb