Primary Bulletin

Term two is moving along at a great rate for us here in the Primary school. We have many activities happening and even more coming up as we roll into the Winter months.

If you are not aware, we have just completed a school review, which happens every four years. The process gives us, as a school community, the opportunity to reflect on the work we are doing, celebrate the successes as well as looking at the areas in which we can improve upon to set our directions for the next four years.

The panel have had feedback from students, staff and parents in various forums to get a full picture of Macleod College and all we do with and for our community as a school. The feedback we have received from the review panel has made the leadership team very proud of the work that has been done and what we have been able to achieve.

Part of the direction for the future in the Primary area is to review and refresh our approach to the teaching and learning of Mathematics. Our Numeracy leader, Cathy Liparota is currently working on upskilling the Primary staff and secondary Maths teachers on innovative approaches to add to their teaching toolkit. The Primary team will also be working on updating our curriculum documentation to align with the newly updated version of the Mathematics curriculum, which will be rolled out in schools next year.

Fridays this term has the Prep - 03 students and staff attending the ever-popular gymnastics program at Macleod YMCA. The students participate with continued enthusiasm each week as they throw themselves into all the activities on offer. It has been a great way to end each week on a high as the children expend their endless reserves of energy.

The Year 04 - 06 students have been enjoying their games each week in the interschool sports program. We have had quite a lot more success with our teams this year, with one or two wins each week. This has given the students a real boost to their participation and a source of pride to report about at our Monday morning assemblies. We are so proud of their efforts and even prouder to hear how they display our school values each week as they compete.

This week the Year 04 - 06 students have been asked to participate in the annual Students’ Attitudes to School Survey which is requested by the Department of Education and gives schools the opportunity to collect data from our students’ perspective.

Questions in the survey fall into these categories:

Effective teaching practice for cognitive engagement (teacher performance)
Social engagement (social environment)
Teacher student relationships (connection to school)
Learner characteristics and dispositions (understanding learners)
School safety and experience of bullying
Wellbeing

We review the results and unpack them with groups of students to help us develop programs and strategies that will address any areas that present as areas for improvement for our students and the school.

The Year 04 - 06 students are looking forward to their excursion to the Victorian Parliament and the Immigration Museum on Friday 7 June. They will meet for lunch in the Treasury Gardens. The students and staff will travel to the city by train.

Due to the program arrangements on the day, students in grade P3 and P4 will return to Macleod Station at 3:20pm. Students in P5 will return to Macleod Station at 3:45pm.

Please note that the students will be dismissed once they get back to the Primary School area to ensure everyone is back to school safely.

Thank you to our parents, grandparents and carers for your continued support of our work with your children.