Thursday 19 October

Dear Families,

Thanks to the families who supported our BBQ/cake/coffee stall last Saturday for the Voice Referendum vote. It is appreciated that families either volunteered some time and/or provided some yummy treats to enjoy. We managed to make a little profit which will go towards supporting our students and the school.

With the tragic and distressing events unfolding in the Middle East, Australia's independent regulator for online safety, eSafety, has issued guidance to help parents and carers support their children in dealing with distressing online content. The eSafety website has resources for parents and carers about online safety. These include information on extra precautions you can take to protect your children from seeing disturbing content online.

Congratulations

Today we had Eilidh from 34B compete in the Regional Athletics Carnival in the u9/10 girls 1500m event. This is a phenomenal achievement to progress to this stage of competition and we are very proud of her efforts. She has progressed from our House Athletics to EDEC Athletics to Divisional to Regionals - well done Eilidh!

World Teachers' Day

Menzies Creek will join the rest of Australia in acknowledging World Teachers' Day next Friday 27th October, to recognise the outstanding work and dedication of all our teachers.

World Teachers' Day is an opportunity for our community to say 'thank you' to our teachers who continue to provide enriching and engaging learning opportunities that make such a profound difference to our students. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established World Teachers’ Day in 1994 to recognise the role of teachers in society. This year, UNESCO is putting the teacher shortage at the top of the global agenda with the theme ‘The teachers we need for the education we want: the global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage’.

Student free day

On Monday 6 November our students are not required at school as our staff are having our last professional practice day. This is the day before the Melbourne Cup day public holiday.

Theircare will be available if you require assistance with supervision, please contact them for a booking if required.

World Traveller

Scott Kircher has returned from Nepal and successfully made his way to base camp at Mt Everest. He has been sharing this incredible experience with the students and staff and I’ll admit to getting itchy feet!! His photos are wonderful.

Emergency Management

If you remember earlier in the year there was confusion under the new fire classification with Central being classified as extreme, whilst our LGA’s was severe. Therefore, under this system schools did not close.

Please access the fire rating for LGA’s- https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/total-fire-bans-fire-danger-ratings/central-fire-district

Schools and children’s services such as Menzies Creek Primary School are listed on the DET Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR). We are classified as category 3 school on the BARR (Bushfire At-Risk Register) and will only be closed on days where the fire danger rating is Catastrophic in the central fire district. Closure of our school due to a forecast Catastrophic day will be confirmed on the day prior and we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day. Any information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by a news feed notification via Compass and a SMS text message.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast. This is to avoid confusion and help you plan alternative care arrangements for your child.

It is also important to note that:

No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
Out-of-school-hours Theircare will also be cancelled on these days.

What can you do?

Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed.
Ensure we have your current contact details, especially if we need to send a SMS via Compass. We require the most up to date records to ensure we can contact you. If you have changed address, got a new phone number or changed employment could you please let us know.

With fire season fast approaching it is a good time to remind our families to ensure that all your details are up to date at the school.

Local Marrung Campfire Conversation Event

Last night on behalf of our EDEC schools, of which Menzies Creek is one, I attended EDEC’s first Campfire Conversation Event which was hosted at Emerald SC. It was a great turn out with neighbouring schools and families coming along to meet each other and hearing their views on education and what is going well or things to consider for improvement.

MCPS School Fang Run - Halloween (Tuesday 31 October 2:40 – 3:30).

Run like Zombies are chasing you and raise money for our school at the same time. It's a school fundraiser with a Halloween twist, and it’s sure to get your blood pumping! So, why not sink your fangs into the Colour Fun Fang Run! Please check your compass news feed for more information. Good luck with finding some sponsors.

Transition to 2024

This term we will be conducting a number of transition sessions to support all our students prepare for 2024.

Our new Foundation students will come to school this term on the following days:

Wednesday 1st November (9:15am – 11:15am)
Friday 1st December (9:15am – 1:15pm)
Tuesday 12th December (9:30am – 3:00pm)

We will hold our Foundation Information Evening on Monday 20th November (6:30pm – 7:30pm)

Our Year 6 students will have their own taster days at the respective secondary schools this term as well as having a statewide transition day on Tuesday 12th December for all government schools.

Our students who will be moving year levels will also have a chance to taste what next year can be expected to bring as we start the process of our internal transition sessions and 2024 class creation. Always a fun time!

School Uniform and being SunSmart

Students are required to be in full school uniform, unless it is celebrating a birthday.

This includes wearing of school hats. Please encourage your child/ren to do this as we don't want to be continually hounding students about it. Also encourage them to look after their hats and ensure they are labelled clearly!

No hat = no play, students will be directed to say under cover to avoid UV

Assembly

We will have assemblies on the following Fridays at 2:45 this term:

October 27
November 17
December 15

Take care,

Dale

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