From the Principal's desk...

Education Week at Moriac PS

Last week we celebrated education week along with many other schools across our state with the theme centred around all things STEM. As a school we are so very fortunate to have a dedicated specialist subject offering of Science and STEM for all our students from P-6 throughout the course of the whole school year. In addition, we are very lucky to have someone lead this program with such enthusiasm and love for exploring and learning through authentic and sometimes chaotic lessons. Mrs T as our students know her, leads this program and does an amazing job.

Students will often comment and say how much they love learning in STEM and Science as these are the 'fun' subjects. Last week, all classroom teachers prepared a STEM lesson and activity to share with families for our open classroom sessions. We were overwhelmed and thrilled with the number of families that attended this event and hope to host some more afternoons like this later in the year. Please enjoy the photos below.

National Simultaneous Story Time 2024

This week we participated in the National Simultaneous Story Time as a school and joined the millions of other participants and schools across Australia who read the book 'Bowerbird Blues' at exactly the same time in all classrooms.

The book is a beautiful picture story book that centres around friendship, wellbeing, persistence and was enjoyed from Prep all the way up to Year 6.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the book but also the knowledge that children across Australia were sharing in the experience at the same time.

What is National Reconciliation Week?

Next week marks an important week for our First Nation's people and also all Australians as we enter into Reconciliation week.

The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.

As a school, we will reflect with our students on the meaning and history of this week and why it is important to ensure that at the very least, all students are aware of this in context and to further improve their understanding. 

 Assessments and Reporting

Teachers are busily working on finishing off collecting many aspects of assessments for their students as we head towards the end of a report writing term. As a school we are always reviewing and revising our practices, including how we pass on and present your child's assessments in the form of their semester reports.

In summary schools are required to do the following as a minimum:

• Schools are required to formally report student achievement and progress to parents/carers at least twice per school year for each student enrolled at the school.
• The report must be a written report (print or digital), be in an accessible form and be easy for parents/carers to understand.
• Schools must report directly against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards.
• Both student achievement and progress must be included in the report. This means that for each curriculum area taught, the report includes:
  • a teacher judgement(s)
  • an indication of progress since the curriculum area was last reported on
  • a five-point scale.
• Opportunities must be provided for parents/carers and students to discuss the school report with teachers and/or school leaders.

At Moriac Primary School, we also understand the importance of providing teacher written comments to all families which we will continue to do so this year for English, Maths and their general learning in class. We are also working with Compass to ensure our common assessment tasks which teachers also rely on to form a bigger picture of how your children are progressing can also be included in the overall report. This year, we are increasing the number of Common Assessment Tasks or CATs as we call them to include our specialist subject areas and will begin with French and Science this term with other subject areas included later in the year.

Previously we utilised 'I Can' statements which could sometimes be confusing for families to understand the difference between them and a progression point and decided that CATs were a much clearer option to demonstrate exactly what students can do and are working towards doing in their learning. 

Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled to occur early in Term 3, on Wednesday 24th May and will run into the evening to cater for working families. More information will come out in following weeks about how to book your time with your child's teacher to chat about their progress. 

Prep tours- 2025 #1

As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, we ran the first of two tours for families wishing to enrol their children in Prep in our school for 2025. Our student leaders toured the families around the school and showed our buildings, grounds, facilities, classrooms and learning spaces to such a high standard and spoke so very well to the people that attended. Overwhelmingly, the feedback we received was that  'Wellbeing' was a high feature and what our students felt truly proud about. The theme that the staff and school care equally about what the student is feeling and going through along with what they are learning was clearly evident. To say they did a great job is an understatement, we were really proud of them and the way they performed this important duty. Thank you Bonnie, Clancy, Lincoln and Evie!!

Zoe's Fight- 2024

An important event in our calendar each year is supporting a cause very close to our hearts with an organisation called Zoe's Fight that many (perhaps all of you) are well aware of. Zoe Stanley would have been in Year 6 this year at our school and tragically is not able to complete her final year at Primary School after losing her battle to brain cancer back in 2017. 

It is tradition here at Moriac that we host a fundraiser to raise important money to go towards research in this field in the hope to perhaps one day have a cure, as no child should have to lose their battle to such a terrible disease. More information is available here on the website- https://www.zoesfight.com.au/

The final day of term will be dedicated to raising money for this cause with students encouraged to come dressed as a superhero or someone they think of as a hero and bring a gold coin/s donation for this cause. 

In addition, please see a flier for a special student at our school in Year 6, Bonnie who is going a step further and shaving her hair for the cause. Well done Bonnie!!!

Fundraiser- Life Changing Candles

School council discussed at the last meeting that the next fundraiser we would take on as a school would be something called Kenshi Candles. This organisation was originally created by a teenage boy who began pouring candles in his home and has quickly become a business that now supports many refugees from the Myanmar region who benefit from the company, as it provides ongoing and reliable employment for them. The website found here- https://kenshicandles.com.au/ outlines the history of the story behind the business, who they support and the social impact. In short, they create beautiful candles and reed diffusers which can be purchased and make lovely gift ideas.

As a school, we have ordered our first stand and this will be placed in the admin office. I will let you all know when it arrives, but ordering is quick and simple, a QR code on the stand will be available, with the items being delivered straight to your door. The school benefits for each sale and this will be an ongoing fundraiser for the year. 

Thank you to all the families that supported the Book Fair last week, both in the volunteering capacity but also with purchasing books to support our school. All the money raised goes back into buying books for our classrooms and library and is much appreciated.

Enjoy the weekend everyone,

Mel