Dear Parents and Carers,

We are nearly halfway through term 2 and it is going so fast! I have recently been reflecting on our school vision and values. At Melton West Primary School, our vision is to create an inclusive learning community where students, families and staff collaborate to celebrate diversity, nurture, curiosity and encourage each other to achieve and grow as life-long learners. Our core values are ‘Communication, Honesty, Kindness, Resilience, Respect and Teamwork’. I see these values and our vision reflected in so many interactions at our school every day and want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who contribute to the positivity of our school community each, and every week.

We all have a shared responsibility for ensuring that we uphold our values and vision in our day-to-day interactions with each other, and I am committed to ensuring that everyone in our school community is treated with respect, fairness, and dignity. This is particularly important where there are concerns or sensitive matters to be raised, or where we think that particular issues should be responded to or handled differently.

To reflect the importance of our values and vision, the school has a policy that I wanted to share with you. It is the ‘Respect for School Staff’ policy. This policy outlines the behaviours we expect members of our school community to exhibit towards our school staff and ensures that all members of our community understand the importance of working together with our staff in an appropriate and respectful way.

This policy is available on our website and included in this newsletter and I encourage you to review it, and to make a time to talk to me should you have any queries about it.

As a close knit and committed school community, our strength comes from our relationships with one another, and I am so proud of the way our students, parents and carers contribute to the positivity of our school environment in a supportive and collegiate way. I look forward to continuing to work with you throughout the rest of the year.

Vale Barry Leslie OAM, Past Principal of Melton West P.S: Mr Barry Leslie, the well-respected Principal from 1993 until 1998, passed away on the 3rd of May 2024. I never had the opportunity to meet him, although I hear he did attend the recent 50th Anniversary Celebrations in 2022. Staff who knew him could not speak highly enough of him as a person and the impact he had here at Melton West PS and the wider Melton Community. Our condolences to his family.

Policies for Community Consultation: Policies are an important element for any organisational setting as they set out the processes and rationale as to why decisions are made and what can and cannot occur within the organisation. In government schools, some policies are determined by the Department of Education and apply to all government schools such as the Mobile Phone Policy. Some require community consultation for feedback before going to School Council for final approval. In this newsletter I have included the following DRAFT policies: Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures, Child Safety Code of Conduct Policy, Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy and the Complaints Policy. Please take a look and if you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please put it in an email or make an appointment to discuss it with me and we will incorporate these into the policy that will be presented to School Council at our June meeting. Feedback will need to be received by 31st of May for it to be incorporated in the new draft of these policies.

Safe Arrival of Baby Ali: Please meet baby Ali, son of Mrs Fariha who works in 1/2E as an Education Support Staff member. Congratulations to Fariha and her family on the safe arrival of their little boy recently. Both Ali and Fariha are doing well. 😊

Student Reports: When reports are sent home at the end of Term 2, some children will have a report that is customised for children who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL). These learners are referred to as EAL. Learning English in addition to a home language they may know because it is the main language spoken at home supports and enhances children’s language development. It’s important to remember children learning English as a second language means they already ‘know’ a language – their first language They know how to communicate and how to use language for social purposes. They know about learning a language and, depending on their age and experience, may be able to read and write in their first language. Students can remain on an EAL Report for a up to 7 years, depending on a number of factors. There is no rush to move off an EAL report nor is there any disadvantage to having an EAL Report instead of an English one. If you have any questions or concerns about whether you child should or shouldn’t be on an EAL report, please contact your child’s teacher or speak to them at the upcoming Parent/Teacher Interviews.

Student Personal Property: The Department (which includes our school) does not have accident insurance. Items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school is not the responsibility of Melton West Primary School or the Department. Staff and students are reminded not to bring items of value to school.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal