Acting Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been so exciting to welcome back our community to Term 2. Term two is an action-packed, 9-week term to look forward to. It’s hard to believe we’ve already been back for 2 weeks.

Eid Mubarak! Our Eid celebration yesterday was a wonderful event and it was great to have our community involved. The celebration of diversity and multiculturalism is what makes our school so special. We are an inclusive school and l love our diversity- a very important celebration! I was very proud of our students and they were very engaged, showed lots of interest and asked great questions. I felt really proud! Thanks again Zena, Lia, Irfma and Ariel, Tess for the amazing poster graphics, Billy (our MC), PnC and everyone else involved.

Please see some of the notable events below and check out the calendar page on our website.

This week has started with the Lifeskills program, working with our students in Prep, 1 and 2. This is a key aspect of our Annual Implementation program that focuses on student wellbeing and building their resilience.
Our much-loved Mother’s Day stall will take place on Friday May 6th. Thank you to PnC and all our parent helpers or all their work and support.
Bake Sale Fundraiser (raising money for our energy poverty project!) on Monday 9th May.
Casual Clothes Day (GOLD COIN DONATION) -Wednesday May 11th. Run by JSC
The Cross-Country journey begins for our runners in Years 5 and 6 on May 18th.
Year 5/6s begin their Winter Sports program on May 18th.
School Disco (GOLD COIN DONATION) -Thursday May 19th. Run by JSC and Costa is the DJ.
The Moreland Primary School Public Reporting Meeting will take place after our School Council meeting on Monday May 23rd. This is where we will present our 2021 Annual report to the Community. Everyone is welcome. This report is also available to all families on our website and hard copies will be available from the school office.
The Victorian High Ability program programs continues with Literacy as the focus. This will be facilitated on-site at MPS, for selected students in Years 5 and 6 students.
The DET has mandated a common state-wide student free day this term. School Council has endorsed Friday June 3rd. This day will be a Professional Practice Day for all staff, and therefore students will not be required to attend school on this day. Please note that EXTEND service will be available for students on this day. Families who require this service should contact EXTEND directly.
Student Led Conferences and Reporting Day will take place on Tuesday June 22nd. More information will follow in coming weeks. Students will be dismissed as normal, at 3:30pm on this day.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy), is run by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). They provide four tests that are administered by teachers annually to all Australian students in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 on the same day across Australia.

Students are assessed in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy.

The data that is gathered from these tests are collated and posted as an average performance against other schools in the country on the government website, ‘My School’ and is used for schools in developing their School Strategic Plans (SSP) and Annual Implementation Plans (AIP).

NAPLAN is not a test of content. Instead it tests skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time through the school curriculum.' (NAP, 2012)

At Moreland PS, we do not teach to the test or spend excessive time on test preparation. If your child is discussing the up coming NAPLAN testing period, put their mind at ease by telling them not to worry and to do their best. At school our teachers are working on the way our students look at tests by positively preparing them by looking at them as a text type and teaching it as we would any other text type.

This year, NAPLAN testing will be online, except for writing. NAPLAN will commence next Tuesday 10th May.

Public Annual Report

Following our School Council meeting (6pm on the 23 May), we will be holding our Annual Public Report Meeting. This is an opportunity for school council to report on the Annual Report and proceedings of the council since the date of the previous public meeting.

Victorian public schools do not hold AGMs but rather an Annual Public Report meeting. The purpose of this meeting is for information to be reported only. For community members who are wanting to provide input into school council matters, you can do this through speaking to one of our school council members, or by emailing the school directly. If you are interested in coming along to the listen to our Annual Report findings, please let me know by emailing the office at morelandps@education.vic.gov.au for a visitor request form. Our Annual Report can also be found on the school’s website for public viewing.

2023 Foundation Enrolments

Enrolments for 2023 are now open. If you have a child that will be starting in 2023, please contact the office to organise a personalised tour. Prep 2023 enrolment forms are available from the office and on our website.

Supporting our Children

Anxiety disorders are currently taking a heavy toll on Australian children and young people. It’s been estimated that there will be at least four children in every Australian classroom who are experiencing an anxiety disorder at some stage during a year.

Anxiety is not restricted to secondary schools either, with children as young as four now presenting with symptoms of anxiety, manifested in headaches, tantrums and refusal to go to school.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is still a stigma attached to anxiety as people still seem to associate it with weakness and don’t understand the difference between normal feelings of stress and crippling anxiety.

Anxiety is normal

Anxiety is the body’s response to fear, real or perceived. It’s our body’s way of protecting us when we’re in danger.

It’s completely normal to feel anxious from time to time. A child might feel anxious about speaking in front of their class or a teen might feel anxious about an exam. Those anxious feelings can act as a motivator to do more revision or be better prepared. With ‘normal’ anxiety, when the stressful event has passed, the anxious feelings pass too.

We can liken our anxiety response to a smoke alarm. The alarm is designed to alert us to fire, a danger that can threaten our lives. Anxiety becomes a problem when the mind’s alarm system is extremely sensitive and responds when there’s no genuine danger present.

Anxiety needs to be addressed when it starts interfering with daily life. Kids and teens with anxiety experience the symptoms when they’re actually quite safe; the danger is only imagined. And sometimes anxiety shows up for no reason at all.

Parents are well positioned to provide kids with the tools and skills to regulate their anxiousness. Here are four critical skills to teach kids to help them self-manage feelings of anxiousness.

Four critical tools for kids’ anxiety management

1. Breathing to calm down the anxiety

When it comes to calming down anxiety, the brain ‘listens’ to the body. Kids and teens can show their brain they’re safe using deep, slow breathing. This type of breathing helps bring the brain down from high alert and signals the nervous system to begin to return to normal. Encouraging kids to practise deep breathing in between times of high anxiety is essential. By practising, they’re preparing their body to also be able to calm down using breathing when the fight or flight response is in full swing.

2. Mindfulness to bring kids into the present

Generally kids become anxious about future events such as giving a talk, starting secondary school or going into an unfamiliar situations. They can be perfectly safe yet their bodies can respond as if they are in danger because they are thinking about what may happen. Mindfulness is a great tool to bring kids into the present and relieve them of their feelings of anxiousness.

3. Exercise to dissipate anxiety

Exercise plays a huge role in anxiety management, yet children’s lifestyles are increasingly sedentary. Exercise and movement help kids regulate their moods and reduce the symptoms of anxiety. Play and exercise help to ease muscle tension, regulate breathing and induce the release of ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters.

4. Thought-noticing to shift thinking

Thought-noticing is a wonderful skill set that helps kids to better manage their mental health. When kids tune into their thinking, they can immediately distance themselves from it. Rather than being lost in the thoughts that are making them feel anxious, they can mentally step back and see the thought for what it is – a thought which comes and goes, and not a fact.

Breathing, mindfulness, exercise and thought-noticing are best taught and practised when kids are not under stress. They are most effective when they become an entrenched part of children’s lifestyles rather than an activity to be called upon from time to time.

Maria Giordano

Acting Principal

Farewell to John Williams

As the first term draws to a close, we farewell Mr Williams as the previous principal of our school. Some of you would only know his name, no, not the composer of Star Wars music, but our very own John Williams, a pioneer in education with his vision and passion for a 21st Century approach to learning making working at Moreland Primary a very exciting place to be!

Here are a few facts about Mr Williams:

John commenced at MPS in term 2, 2007. He was the successful principal applicant for MPS for many reasons but particularly because of his vision for taking the school into 21st century teaching and learning using technology as the best tool to make this happen.

John spent the first year at Moreland simply taking time to learn about the school, the students and staff and the parent community.

He encouraged teachers to grade share and become the exemplar for the rest of the staff to observe and learn how team-teaching in an open plan environment could work successfully. This was a gradual process with many opportunities for discussions amongst and with staff to guide, listen and encourage the rest of the teachers and ES staff that this could work.

Professional learning was offered to staff to support them in making the transition.

In 2009 – BER (Building Education Revolution) money was made available to MPS. John’s vision was to create open-plan learning environments across the school, and a Performing Arts centre with a focus on developing students’ confidence and creativity. Parents voiced their concerns about having a balance in the curriculum with technology and the arts. Readily welcoming feedback, John created a Performing Arts role and a program was established by the end of term 1 2009.

Rather than accept a government building as many other schools in our area did, John persisted and created a dynamic design for open plan learning and team teaching to succeed.

2009 was a big year for Moreland, as after considerable discussions with staff and the community, John introduced a one to one laptop program for our year 3s to 6s. The use of the laptop became integral to most curriculum areas. Quality and quantity of student learning task improved significantly with the use of technology including but not limited to research, software expertise, coding etc.

Staff were encouraged to participate in technology professional learning internally and externally. Techy Brekkies for staff became a regular occurrence in the first few years of the one to one laptop program and staff readily developed their skills to keep up with the children!

John’s achievements and legacy is far reaching as he focused on ensuring Moreland was at the forefront of education reform, inspired by the work and research of Sir Ken Robinson. Our school pillars of Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Curiosity lead to Moreland Primary School becoming a model school as part of the Moreland Network area and welcoming visitors from many other primary schools to observe the use of technology in our learning areas.

Mr Williams had a strong focus on building staff capacity with the introduction of team leaders and then learning specialists. Staff and student wellbeing were always at the

forefront of all the decisions he made. The introduction of Japanese Science was established by Mr Williams, and through this program he worked with Donna and our Japanese Science teacher to develop a sister school partnership with a Japanese school and biannual visits to Japan for the Grade 5/6 students and families, first in 2017 and then in 2019.

Project Based Learning was in John’s words, “the biggest achievement” as its structure and delivery was in essence at the core of what John believed education for our future generation should look, sound and feel like. Big questions that get students excited about global issues, topics that focus on developing skills in research, working together, creating a project for an authentic audience, all underpinning our 4 C’s that grew to 6!

Play based learning in the Foundation area was just as important to John as PBL. He encouraged staff to develop their skills and knowledge about this important mode of learning for our beginning learners and brought in a play therapist to upskill staff in the importance of play for our younger students to get curious and creative with learning as they develop their social skills.

John also worked alongside the broader community, making connections between kindergarten and school – developed relationships with the MPS kinder and the other kinders in the Moreland area to improve enrolments and also to improve the perception of MPS in the community.

When John first started at Moreland, he saw the need to develop a more active parent community to engage families more in their children’s education. He did this through initiating morning coffee chats, establishing the parents and friends committee, supporting two very successful fetes, introducing a welcome BBQ for Prep families as well as being a great supporter of fundraising efforts by the community including – trivia nights, election day BBQs, before school breakfasts, Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls, etc. John could be found behind the BBQ at Bunnings and encouraged parents to become involved in caring for the school grounds, in particular the planting of trees and shrubs to beautify the outside environment.

John’s final project was the development of the courtyard which was completed at the end of 2019. As part of his vision for our school, ensuring students had a safe, engaging and interactive playground was how the courtyard was remodelled and updated. He developed a Buildings and Grounds subcommittee as part of the School Council to ensure that the school was a safe environment for all. He believed and supported our sustainability focus, with chickens being a part of our school community, a garden market where we grew our own veggies and sold eggs and veggies and herbs to our small community and the installation of solar panels on our school building to support greener energy use for our school.

Thank you John, for your hard work, care, kindness and dedication to the education system that you fought so hard to progress and change for the better.

We will miss your sporting banter around cricket and footie, your kindness and care of your staff and students and wish you a very happy, relaxed and wonderful retirement.

Kindest Wishes,

The Staff of Moreland Primary School

Lauretta Mallia (Learning Specialist) on behalf of the Moreland School Community

Breakfast Club

Thank you to everyone who has joined us at Breakfast Club over the past two weeks. It has been wonderful seeing the students start their day in such a communal way.

Please note:

Students are to enter via the Blair Street gates.
Aim to be seated inside at 8.30am as no food will be served after 8.40am.

For the remainder of the month of May, our menu will be as follows:

Tuesday – cereal (including Messy Monkey Bites), toast, mini-milks, Milo, and fruit cups

Wednesday – warm baked beans and spaghetti on toast

Thursday – cereal (including Messy Monkey Bites), toast, mini-milks, Milo, and fruit cups

Sandra, Joe, and Lexie would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the parent volunteers who have been helping us. However, we need more! If you are interested in helping us with the serving of the food and the clean-up afterwards, please contact the office. Thank you!

Ukraine Refugee Donation from Easter Bonnet Parade

Election Day BBQ – join us for some fundraising fun!

On Saturday 21 May our school will be a polling site for election day. We'll be running a Sausage Sizzle and Coffee Shop all day to raise funds for our school.

Can you help?

There are several 2-hour shifts available throughout the day, and we'd love to see you there! This is a great opportunity for parents & carers who can't usually volunteer for MPS events during the week. Flex your barista and BBQ skills and meet other friendly people in the MPS community.

Sign up for a shift here: https://tinyurl.com/2heaz92n

Questions? Contact morelandps.pnc@gmail.com

Merri-bek Mail

Issue 6 · 06 May 2022

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