From the 

Assistant 

Principal

Reconciliation Week and Inclusivity at South Melbourne Park Primary

National Reconciliation Week runs from the 27th of May to the 3rd of June and is an important time for us to reflect on Australia’s journey towards a more just, equitable and reconciled nation. National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

I think it is very important for you to understand what we are doing at our school to promote inclusivity and equality. Firstly I would like to reassure you that this is definitely a focus for the school and something we value as educators. We know how important it is for our students to learn about equality from a young age.

We ran an entire unit on cultural diversity during the start of this year, which was going to culminate in our celebration of Harmony Day which we were all really looking forward to. The Victorian Curriculum, which all Victorian government schools are mandated to deliver, explicitly mentions the importance of teaching cultural diversity and respect, and this is an area our teachers are very passionate about.

Our staff are also booked in for Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST) next term, which is a two night twilight series of professional learning run by Indigenous educators about how to be aware and sensitive to cultural issues, with a strong focus on ensuring that all students feel safe and welcome in our environment. 

We have an incredibly diverse community here at South Melbourne Park Primary School, and I think it is one of the strengths of our school. We have over 60% of our students from a very diverse set of backgrounds, including students from India, Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, UK, the US and New Zealand, and I think this melting pot of cultures brings a real richness to our community. We need to make sure that we are always celebrating the richness of our community and welcoming all members to feel safe and included. 

If you ever have any concerns in this area please reach out to the school, we are always happy to talk them through.

Learnings from Home Learning

We just want to send a small reminder that we are collecting any thoughts or suggestions you may have concerning your experience of home learning. We do not want to let the opportunities that we have explored over this time pass us by. This is a very short and open survey, it is simply the opportunity for your to express your thoughts. We do read all feedback and we do act on it, so anything that is submitted will be looked at by our leadership team and will inform our planning.

Please find the survey here: SMPPS - What do we want to keep?

Morning Drop Off

We just want to remind parents that are parking out the front of the school for Prep drop off that it is really important that we keep this area to a quick drop and go. Parking is always going to be a challenge in this location, so if you are planning to stop and wait at the gate then please consider parking at the Lakeside Carpark and walking across.

Secondhand Uniform Shop

We are currently in the process of putting together a second hand uniform shop that is being run by Families and Friends. This has taken a bit of a back step as a result of the restrictions from COVID, however we hope that we will have it up and running ASAP in Term 3 as soon as we have some of the logistics sorted out and the restrictions have lifted enough for us to have volunteers on site. 

In the meantime if you have any school clothing that you would like to donate please phone the office and leave the uniforms outside the office. 

If you would be interested in volunteering at all in Term 3 please email the school at: south.melbourne.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

Reports and Parent Teacher Interviews

You will be receiving our Semester 1 reports on Thursday of the last week of term via Compass. We need to keep in mind how different school has been over this year, and we acknowledge that this will make it difficult for us to report on some areas. To support this we have decided that we will be having parent teacher interviews in week 10 and 11 to allow for parents to discuss their child’s progress with their teacher. These will be virtual parent teacher interviews using Google Meet. We will have further information coming out over the coming weeks.