WELCOME

Welcome back to the start of the 2022 school year.

I hope you all took the time to relax over the summer vacation period and were fortunate to avoid COVID in your household. The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time, especially with Preps commencing their educational journey. Our students have settled in well and enjoying being back at school. We have had several cases of students not being able to attend due to COVID, we wish them all a speedy recovery and look forward to them returning to school.

2022 will be a year where we focus on:

Improving Mathematics for all students, particularly students needing extra support or extension
Supporting students’ well being and mental health, especially the most vulnerable

STEM PROGRAM

We appointed a new STEM teacher; her name is Ms Sophie Colesmith. Sophie is an experienced teacher from Westgarth Primary School with a background in science and STEM teaching. Our STEM program commences next week.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NOMINATIONS

School Council nominations are invited for vacancies in both the mandated elected parent and the Department of Education and Training (DET) employee categories. Specifically, our School Council is comprised of seven (7) elected parent representatives, one (1) community member, three (3) elected DET employee representatives, and the school principal (ex-officio). All elected representatives are elected for a two-year period with overlapping tenure, so that not all positions are declared vacant in any one year. For 2022, we have two (2) elected parent positions vacant and two (2) DET positions.

Retiring members are as follows:

Retiring Members

(parent representatives eligible for re-election

Jo Manley, Langford Sue

Retiring Community Members

eligible for re-election

N/A

Retiring Member

DET employee eligible for re-election

Christine Priddle, Paul Dobney

If you are an enthusiastic parent interested in getting more involved in the school by representing the school community or know someone who is, we would love to hear from you. We are looking for people who are committed to improving the educational outcomes for all students.

Effective councils have a broad range of experience, skills, and expertise. Face-to-face and online training is also available to help councillors develop the skills and knowledge for the job. Parents find their involvement satisfying and may find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

For more information on what is involved, see: School Council Information for Parents

In calling for nominations for the vacancies, please note that the appropriate nomination form is available, on request, from the school office or on our school website. Parents can self-nominate using School Council Parent Self-Nomination Form or you can nominate a parent using School Council Parent Nomination Form

If we receive more nominations than vacancies in either category, a ballot will be conducted over a two-week period.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NOMINATION FORM MUST BE LODGED BY 4:00PM THURSDAY 24TH FEBRUARY.

REMAINING 2022 CURRICULUM DAY DATES

Please take note of our remaining curriculum days. I also wish to explain that on Thursday April 7 we will not have access to our school due to the Australian Grand Prix, it is however, a school day with students attending excursions. Each year level will be communicating details of their excursion shortly.

Friday April 8

Monday May 23

Monday August 1

THANK YOU

A big thank you to Michael Routitski (parent of Daniel Y1 C) for donating a portable air conditioner unit. We have placed the unit in the upper level of the Discovery Building. If anyone else has a spare air conditioner unit and has no use for it, we would love to hear from you.

School Council has approached Martin Foley (Member for Albert Park) and the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) raising the school’s excessive heat issues. This has been an ongoing issue for the last three years. In the meantime, we are seeking quotes to install three air conditioners for the Prep classrooms.

INTRODUCING NEW STAFF

It gives me great pleasure in introducing our new staff to South Melbourne Park learning community. They are all outstanding educators, and we welcome them to South Melbourne Park Primary School.

For your information we have published our 2022 staffing list.

Hello to the incredible South Melbourne Park Primary School community. My name is Jacquie Franzoni and I am teaching 3/4C this year. I love teaching and I love getting to know my school community so I can’t wait to meet and get to know you all very soon.

Here are some things that you might like to know about me:

All of my grandparents were born in Italy.
My favourite books to read are Harry Potter.
I love spending time with my friends and family.
I enjoy going for walks and exploring new places.

I hope that you all have a fabulous holiday break and I can’t wait to meet you all 😊

My name is Melanie Davis and I am a new grade 1 teacher. I have been a teacher for more than 10 years and have loved working with many different year levels. I started teaching in Melbourne, before heading to Sweden and then Singapore, working in International Schools, before returning back to Melbourne. I am passionate about inquiry and curiosity and love helping students learn about the world around them as the grow as readers, writers and mathematicians. In my spare time, I like to run, swim, read, cook and travel!

My name is Johanne Abbott and I am very excited to meet you all and teach Grade 5/6 this year. I have been teaching for over 15 years and can’t think of anything else I would rather do. I have a passion for literacy, helping children explore new places and things through reading. Showing them the power, they have as an author, is very rewarding. I believe every child has a superpower and that is speaking, as it allows them to share their feelings, emotions and communicate their needs and wants.

I adore travelling to new places in Australia and aboard. I find it fascinating to learn about new cultures and see new places. I love hiking, photography and spending time with family and friends. I can’t wait to meet you all and have a wonderful 2022 at South Melbourne Park Primary School!

Hello! My name is Bec Rosen and I am so excited to be part of South Melbourne Park Primary School this year. This year I am teaching the wonderful 2A and we have had a fantastic start! I have been teaching for over seven years in a range of year levels. When I am not at school I enjoy dancing, cooking, reading, playing soccer and going for long walks and hikes. Another huge passion of mine is travelling. I was born in the United States so half my family are still living over there! I love exploring different countries and their cultures. My favourite place would have to be Santorini, Greece and their beautiful sunsets and food. I look forward to meeting you all this year and getting to know each and every one of you!

I am Ms Azzopardi and I am teaching 2C in 2022. I have been teaching for seven years. I have taught as a CRT (All year levels and specialist), Year 1/2 and Year 5. My favourite things to teach and learn are Numeracy, Reading and Curiosity. In my classroom I love to see students laughing, sharing stories and excited to learn. My personal passions are traveling, trying new foods, and reading sociology books. This year I look forward to getting to know the families at South Melbourne Park Primary School and being a part of this wonderful community.

Hi, my name is Bec Webb and I'm very excited to be joining the South Melbourne Park team this year as a year one teacher. I will be teaching 1C with Mr Webb - a whacky coincidence!

I'm originally from Bendigo but South Melbourne is now home for my little family. For the past 9 years I have worked at Merri Creek Primary School in North Fitzroy. Before that I taught for 3 years at a Bilingual primary school in Munich, Germany.

I love to travel, read and listen to music. I have two daughters - a two year old and a four year old. We spend a lot of time at the beach building sandcastles, riding scooters and visiting playgrounds.

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