Principal's Report
Dear families and friends of MPW,
We had a fantastic day on Monday 22nd August for our Book Week Dress Up Day. It was great to see our students and staff getting involved in the day, there were some amazing custom made costumes. This day is an opportunity to celebrate books, reading and a love of literature.
It was also wonderful seeing teams celebrating Science Week last week. I stumbled in the year 2’s Harry Potter day that were full of potions and lava lamps, the F/1s had a science rotation day that beamed of fun and our senior students have been engaging in some incursions relating to their science inquiry. Hopefully, you had a chance to see some of our social media posts with ideas for conducting some experiments at home last week.
School Review Focus Groups
Thank you to those parents who were able to participate in our School Review Focus Groups over the fortnight. The feedback has been positive from those involved. The student groups, including JSC, were able to share very confidently and articulately their ideas and feedback also. Leslie Tulloch is now collating the feedback for the school to form part of our pre review evaluation.
2023 Planning
It is that time of the year where we begin planning for the 2023 school year, offers to our future foundation families have been distributed and acceptances are coming in.
We do ask that if you are planning on your child(ren) not being at Moonee Ponds West in 2023 that you please complete the form below and return to the office or to moonee.ponds.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au This will help the school to confirm enrolment numbers for next year. If you are not returning, I offer thanks to the student(s) and family for their contributions and partnership with our school. We wish all the best for those moving on to a new setting in their future learning journey.
5/6 Camp update
We had our first group head off to the snow last week, all reports were that everyone had a blast. Snow Day at Mt Buller was a highlight of the week. The second group headed off this morning and are due back Friday afternoon. I would like to thank those who have attended and supported the camping program this year. Camps are a great experience for students to build their independence, have some time away from home and connect with their peers and teachers in a different setting.
Next term, we will finish our camping program with our F/1 Activity night and Year 2 sleepover. More information on these activities will be sent to families once details are finalised and dates secured.
Capital Works Update
We have been allocated an Architect for our capital works funding, BSPN Architects. We move forward into the next phase of the planning and design with architects and the VSBA (Victorian Schools Building Authority). We are hoping to have more information to share as we begin to meet and have workshops with the VSBA, who oversee and manage the project. Stay tuned for some exciting updates over the next couple of months.
Pupil Free Day in Term 4 – Common Teacher Professional Practice Day (TPPD)
School Council has endorsed holding our second common TPPD in Term 4 on Monday 21st November, this will be pupil free day. The purpose of this day, as part of the Victorian School’s Agreement, is to support teacher collaboration and professional development.
We will work with Camp Australia to be available on the day for families requiring their services.
Hats are back for Spring
Finally, as we move out of the colder months of the year and back into hopefully some warmer days, we ask that students begin bringing their hats to school. As part of our SunSmart policy, students are required to wear their hats outside from September. From Monday 5th September we expect that students will have their hats back at school.
Regards,
Jarrod Sutton
Acting Principal