Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you are looking forward to the school holidays as much as we are. We have had a terrific term, with lots of learning opportunities for the children. I want to take the time to thank the staff, teachers and Education Support, who work diligently all day, every day, to ensure the children are provided with the best possible learning experience on a daily basis. Their commitment to each and every child’s learning is amazing and a credit to their professionalism.
Staff Changes: Yesterday was Ms Natasha Devine’s last day at Melton West PS. She was the successful applicant for a position advertised for a local educational setting that works with older students who are disengaged with school. She has been with us at the Prep – 2 Science teacher for over 6 years and we wish her all the best in her next career journey.
We have been recruiting extensively, including internationally, over the past 12 months for teachers to replace our Learning Specialists who have been teaching in classrooms, unable to offer the support to their team members. One of them, Mrs Jenny Toews from Montana U.S.A., has received her Visa and will be joining us at the beginning of Term 3 to replace Miss Davies. We look forward to welcoming her to our community and wait eagerly for the other 2 to receive their Visas.
We also look forward to welcoming Mr Simon Radford, as the Acting Assistant Principal, at the start of term 3. He joined us last Friday and met lots of the students.
Classroom Teachers: Below is a list of our Learning Specialists and classroom teachers.
PREP
Learning Specialist Klaudia Jellis
Prep A Caitlyn Cummane
Prep B Jessica McBain
Prep C Sabrina Annia
Prep D Rachel Parr
Grade 1
Learning Specialist Charlene Waldron
1A Olga Adamou
1B Sarah Ralph/ Aira Agarano
1C Rebecca Mills
1D Pancham Saini
Grade 2
Learning Specialist Charlene Waldron
2A Charlene Waldron
2C Charmie Cook
2D Simone Gardner
Grade 3
Learning Specialist Liberty Lockwood
3A Liberty Lockwood
3B Amanda Marshall
3C Jack Moon
3D Kim Webb
Grade 4
Learning Specialist Liberty Lockwood
4A Neil Armstrong
4B Kylie Walters
4C Tina Stamoulis
Grade 5/6
Learning Specialist Jenna Davies
56A Jenny Toews
56B Claire Binek
56C Ashima Chauhan
56D Liza Dearing/ Sera Osborn
56E Soana Sifa
56F Steve Thomas
Student Semester 1 Reports: The semester 1 reports will be sent home with the children on Monday 10th July, the first day of term 3. Please look out for these in your child’s school bag. If you are a non-custodial parent and would like a copy posted or emailed to you, please call the office and we will arrange this for you.
Parent Teacher Interviews: Information about booking a Parent Teacher Interview on Wednesday 12th July was sent out last week. Please see information in this newsletter about how to book a time if you have not already done so. These interviews provide an important opportunity for the parent-teacher partnership to continue so that we can support your child’s learning and growth. If you require an interpreter please let us know and we will arrange for one to be in attendance.
Speaking to Other Children: I would like to remind you of the importance of NOT approaching other children in the yard, or outside of school. This is becoming more frequent and is totally unacceptable behaviour from the adults, as the power imbalance created is enormous. If you have any concerns about another child who you think may have hurt or upset your child, please ensure you speak to your child’s teacher who can follow up and address the situation. It can be very frightening for a child to feel they are getting reprimanded by an adult other than their parent or a teacher. If you have any concerns or feel the situation is not being resolved with the class teacher, please make an appointment to see Mrs Jenny O’Connor or myself and we will follow up. We are committed to working together to resolve all issues brought to our attention.
Supervision After School: As you may be aware, there is a park on the corner of Coburns Road and West Melton Drive, where a number of students wait for their parents afterschool. Please be aware that the school is not able to provide teacher supervision in this area. I therefore suggest that you consider an alternative location at which your child waits to be picked up. Can I also remind you that we have an After School care facility run by Extend that is safe and well supervised and children can attend at a minimal cost? Please contact the school if you would like further information about Extend. Enrolment Packs are available at the office.
Reading at Home: Reading is a fundamental skill that we focus on as a priority at Melton West PS. An interesting fact that has emerged through years of research is about the amount of time children read outside of school and the impact this has on their reading ability. I have included a visual representation that outlines the more children read at home, the more exposure they get to new words, which helps them with their overall learning through having an extensive vocabulary.
High Levels of Learning for All
Michelle Costa
Principal
