Merri-bek Mail

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Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Carers, 

 

We would like to welcome the new students and families who have started with us since our last newsletter. Thank you for your continued support of the staff and school. We place great value on building positive relationships with our families and it is very encouraging to see students and families happy, confident and satisfied with our staff and school. 

 

We are very proud of the learning community we have created thus far and look forward to continuing to develop an environment where students will have opportunities to develop their social and academic skills and be provided with optimal learning opportunities.

 

This term at Merri-bek Primary we have continued to focus on the wellbeing and learning needs of our students as our number one priority. All staff have worked hard to establish a culture of community and to re-establish teaching and learning routines. Many students have benefitted from Individual Education Plans, inclusion in our Tutor Learning Tutor Program and other additional supports. This work and valuable support will continue for the remainder of this year and until all students have progressed to the desired level. The leadership team would like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working staff for all that they do, every day for all our students. 

 

Over the next 2 weeks the teachers will be involved in planning programs and undertaking professional development activities in preparation for Term 2. The timetable during planning week each term enables teachers from each level to be released from their teaching duties for a full day to work collegially with their team members. 

 

The specialist program for the week is re-timetabled to allow for this release and this also allows our specialist teaching staff a day to plan together. 

 

Teachers meet as a level, for example, our Year 5/6 teaching team meet together to plan the content of the curriculum and share ideas as to how it may be delivered and assessed. Following this each team may reflect on their practice and consider successes and what activities perhaps didn’t meet the expected outcomes. 

 

Teaching practices are regularly reflected upon and reviewed during weekly team planning meetings. This reflection is used to improve classroom teaching practices and the engagement of children. It is this strong sense of team, detailed and thorough program planning and consistency across the school that ensures high quality teaching and learning is occurring from Foundation to Year 6.  As usual our teachers will be meticulously prepared for Term 3!

 

Merri-bek Primary School signage

In the next few weeks our new signage will be visible around the school.  We are very excited and have been working closely with the department and their suppliers to ensure it reflects the vision of our school. We also have new signage with photos of our students going on the exterior wall of our school, on Moreland road. 

 

Parent-teacher Interviews/ Student-led Conferences

On Wednesday 21st June we look forward to seeing families come and meet with their child’s classroom teacher.  It’s a great opportunity to have conversations around what children are doing well, and also what they can also do to continue to challenge themselves and improve their learning. More information will be provided for families in the next few weeks regarding booking times on Compass. Student reports will be available on Compass on Monday 19th June.

 

Woorabinda and Cave Hill Camp

Our students and staff enjoyed a great time on camp at Woorabinda and Cave Hill Creek.

Sandra, Belinda, Lina, Kerry, Cam, Joe, Sengul and Tori, attended the 5/6 camp and Kieran, Costa, Joe, Elena, Stefanie, Rhyarna and Jibril attended the 3/4 camp. We also had Freddies’ dad, Tim attend the 3/4 camp.  I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all the staff and parent that attended, on behalf of the students, our parent community, myself and staff.

As we know, camps can not go ahead without our staff giving up their valuable time away from their loved ones.

 

Education Support Day

On 16th May, we celebrated our hardworking staff through Education Support staff day.  A special morning tea was held.  Every day our ES staff work hard to keep our school running, support our students to learn and our teachers to teach.

 

Our school is fortunate to have an amazing ES team that support our families through the smooth running of our office and support our students through extra assistance in our classrooms.  On behalf of our Merri-bek staff, students and community, we thank Belinda, Libby, Helen, Lisa, Mary, Sengul, Rhyarna and Jibril for all their wonderful work.

 

Curriculum Day- Wednesday May 31st 

Merri-bek Primary School joined Coburg West PS for a curriculum day around Mathematics. This day assisted teachers with ideas to help facilitate maths lessons that incorporated working as a mathematician and critical thinking capability in the Australian Mathematics Curriculum.

 

The day involved teachers and educational support staff in a variety of rich activities across all levels. The day also highlighted the four proficiencies that are central to the Australian Mathematics Curriculum. Understanding, Reasoning, Fluency and Problem Solving.  Differentiating activities so that all students can have success was an integral part of the day as was the cooperative group work model of practice. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with a school in our network and work collegiately.  A great day with lots of learning and inspiration.

 

Annual General Meeting 

Last week we held our Annual General Meeting, after our School Council meeting. Thank you to the parent who attended!   At the AGM I presented our 2022 Annual Report to the school community. This document is available on the school website.

 

Bunnings BBQ

I wanted to extend a huge thank you to the following people for all their help and volunteering their time- Gary Shaw, Andrew Hudson,  Kirsty Fraser, Maja Brkic, Chloe, Nottle, Lochlan Mc Nally, Jon Corbett, Jessica Christie, Tim Smith, Andrew Fawcett, Wesley Pryor , Clare Oates, Bianca Hall, Becs Ostberg, Mark Evenhuis, David Gannon and Tammie Jones. 

 

It is with the assistance of our families that we can fundraise for our amazing school!A huge thank you Nathan Bennett, owner of Bilbo Snaggins, a local food truck owner, who donated the sausages for our barbeque!  A total of $2374.65 was raised.

 

We are so pleased that you are a part of our school community and we thank you for choosing Merri-bek Primary School as your child’s school. We look forward to working together positively, so that together we can provide the best learning environment and supports for your child.

 

Maria Giordano

Principal

Assistant Principal’s Report

Mental Health and Wellbeing  – Michelle Carland

Tips to help improve your child’s attendance

  • Talk to your child about school and how important it is. You can ask them how they feel about school, what they liked and if there are any problems.
  • Set a good example. Show them how you keep to your own commitments.
  • Encourage your child to take on hobbies that your child enjoys such as sports and clubs. This will help them develop positive relationships outside of the classroom.
  • Have a set time to do homework and go to bed.
  • Leave all technology out of their bedroom.
  • Pack their school bag the night before with everything they need.
  • Have a set time for breakfast.
  • Plan to meet up with a friend so they can travel to school together.

 

 

 

 

Cross Country

On Wednesday 17th May, 37 students form the 3/4 and 5/6 area participated in the District Cross Country Championship. All students did an amazing job with 4 students qualifying for the Division Cross Country Championship to be held on Wednesday 31st May, well done to Bethany Wilson, Veronica Sidiroglou, Andrzej Szczepanik and Tino Favero Rodgers.

 

Cross Country Participants

 

Well done to all students who competed at the District Cross Country. Below is a list of all students who participated. Everyone should be proud of their efforts.

 

Grade 3/4

  • Izaak Szczepanik
  • Luciano Cardonne Toro
  • Marcel Wright
  • Tino Favero Rodgers
  • Hume Horsfall-Tapsell
  • Bethany Wilson
  • Sathya Chandra-Pithie
  • Maiya Slomo
  • Roisin Crawford
  • Dayton Mclean
  • Audrey Trevaskis

 

Grade 5/6

  • Orla Legena
  • Veronica Sidiroglou
  • Declan Shelley
  • Daniel Martin
  • Leonardo Inturrisi
  • Murphy Fidler
  • Otis Lawlor
  • Harry Smith
  • Stefanie Gannon
  • Nadia Abdi
  • Sadie Bailey
  • Sophie Thurgood
  • Isa Brown
  • Nadia Huang
  • Delilah Thurgood
  • Andy Szczepanik
  • Louis Sheridan
  • Hamish Madden
  • Amir Iran
  • Harry Jones
  • Emmett Whitcher
  • Ben Howie
  • Theo Jonah-Holland
  • Emily Nash

With over 100 students in each race, the top 50 results were recorded. Well done to the following students 

 

Under 10 Girls

  • Veronica Sidiroglou 2nd place
  • Bethany Wilson 6th place
  • Sathya Chandra-Pithie 27th place
  • Roisin Crawford 47th place

Under 10 Boys

  • Tino Favero Rogers 10th place
  • Izaak Szczepanik 30th place
  • Marcel Wright 38th place
  • Haruki Strazdins 45th place

Under 11 Girls

  • Nadia Abdi 15th place
  • Sadie Bailey 31st place
  • Nadia Huang 34th place
  • Sophie Thurgood 45th place
  • Delilah Thurgood 48th place

Under 11 Boys

  • Leonardo Inturrisi 28th place
  • Daniel Martin 31st place
  • Declan Shelley 36th place
  • Otis Lawlor 49th place

Under 12 Boys

  • Andrzej Szczepanik 5th place
  • Louis Sheridan 30th place

Well done to everybody, you should be proud of your efforts!

 

Prep bags 2023 survey 

Have your say about this year’s Prep bags in a short survey, closing Sunday 9 July.

 

Each year, the Department of Education gives every Prep student attending a Victorian government school a bag full of goodies to celebrate this milestone in their education journey. The information and educational resources in the bags are designed to help Prep students and their families thrive from the start of Term 1.

 

The department is inviting parents and carers of current Prep students to participate in a short survey about the 2023 Prep bags, by 5 pm on Sunday 9 July 2023.

Your feedback will help the department learn what families liked about the Prep bags and what can be improved in 2024.

 

You can have your say at 2023 Prep Bags – Evaluation Survey.

The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and responses are anonymous. 

For more information on this year’s Prep bags, refer to Prep bags.

 

News from the School council

What does the school council do?

 

School Council has a specific role that is defined by law and includes contributing to the vision and direction of the school, overseeing budgeting and finance and maintaining the school buildings and grounds. The council is always interested in hearing the views and concerns of the community: email us via merri-bek.ps@education.vic.edu.au, subject: Attn School Council, or chat to one of us in person, and help us to make Merri Bek PS the best it can be.

 

School Council has a number of subcommittees including Finance, Education, Building and Grounds, Grants and the Parents and Carers Association. Joining a subcommittee is a great way to contribute to the school and requires only a small regular time commitment, often outside of working hours. Please get in touch if you would like to express interest in joining.

 

Who is currently on the School Council?

 

Lee Cath – President / Parent member

Mark Evenhuis – Vice President / Parent member

Jeff Martin – Treasurer / Parent member

Belinda Slomo – Secretary / DET member

Maria Giordano – Principal

Hannah Dennaoui – Assistant Principal / DET member

Ziaul Haque Sheikh – Parent member

Mickaela Glass – Parent member

Kynan Lawlor – Parent member

 

Elections take place yearly and council terms are for 2 years.

 

Recent Meeting updates:

 

29th March 2023.

 

Council Elected Office bearers: 

 

President: Lee Cath

Vice President: Mark Evenhuis

Treasurer: Jeff Martin

 

Agenda items at this meeting included:

  • Discussion of methods and policies regarding communication to the school community. Council has provided feedback to the School Leadership regarding the communications policy.
  • Formalities and costs associated with the school name change.
  • Council discussed future priorities for grounds works.
  • Maria discussed details of the recent parent opinion survey.

20th May 2023:

 

Agenda items at this meeting included:

  • Feedback from council and staff has been incorporated into the updated communications policy which will be circulated to the community.
  • Maria provided an update on the name change process and official opening ceremony.
  • Council reviewed the updated school uniform and community responses to the uniform survey.
  • Council discussed the yearly self-assessment process and identified areas for further training/information sharing.
  • Council discussed short and long-term buildings and grounds projects and identified priorities that could be supported by fundraising and community contributions.
  • Council endorsed the Annual Report and the 2023 Budget.

Report prepared by Kynan Lawlor, Parent member.

Open Streets 

In 2022, Merri-bek Primary School, along with the Merri-bek City Council, participated in a Ride and Stride Initiative, and introduced the Open Streets Program.

 

Bicycle Network’s Open Streets initiative tackles congestion, poor air quality, and road safety concerns that many school communities experience. Streets and drop-off areas near schools are opened up to people on bikes and foot so that active travel is a more appealing and convenient way of getting to and from school. Drop-off zones for people using cars are resettled in areas that can better handle high numbers of motor vehicles. The initiative is tailored to each specific school, providing a taste of low-stress trips to school, happier and healthier students, and a calmer environment for local residents. 

 

Open Streets are timed road occupations around schools for one hour in morning, and one hour in the afternoon. By restricting car traffic, Open Streets aims to break down the barriers to active travel. It reduces dangers to school children, improves parent/guardian perceptions of safety, and thus promotes increased active travel to school. It also provides the opportunity to foster local community connection by utilising a space often dominated by motor vehicles to come together and enjoy this unique experience. By making it easier for more people to ride and walk instead of driving cars, we can improve the physical and mental health of our communities and facilitate more sustainable ways of travelling.

 

We will again be running Open Streets this year at Merri-bek Primary School with the help of our wonderful parent volunteers, thanks to; Jake, Marian, Sally, Katy, Bianca, Sanaz, Jan, Andrew, Anna, Mariko and Tess who have volunteered their time to undertake a training session and assist the running of the event in the mornings and afternoon. 

 

The first Open Streets will be held on Friday June 16th with part of Blair Street closed off to cars from 8:30 to 9:15am and again in the afternoon from 3:15 to 4:00pm, allowing for safe travel to and from school for those riding bikes, scooters and walking. There will be activities on Blair Street during these times and the PnC will be selling coffee.

 

There will be 2 Open Street Events run each term:

  • Friday July 28th
  • Friday August 25th
  • Friday October 27th
  • Friday November 17th

 

Here is a link to a youtube video showcasing last years successful Open Streets Program: Merri-bek and Bicycle Network's Open Streets Trials 2022

 

Please also read the summary report for more information.