Hello Families,

Parent Payments

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the families who have generously contributed $230 as the Voluntary Parent Payment. Your support has significantly enriched our school and expanded the scope of programs we can provide. Historically, these contributions have empowered Macedon Primary School to offer diverse and enriching curriculum experiences to all our students. Additionally, they have facilitated the enhancement of classroom resources, particularly in our reading programs.

Furthermore, we invite and encourage voluntary contributions towards the improvement of our Building and Grounds, as well as for the enrichment of our Library.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to contribute and would like to do so, payments can be conveniently made through XUNO. For further details, please reach out to the office. Your continued support is deeply appreciated.

Regional Tennis Championships

We are delighted to inform our community that Tom Green from grade six, has achieved third place in the regional tennis championships held at Williamstown on Monday. Tom's exceptional dedication and prowess have not only reflected his personal commitment but also brought honour to our community. Please join us in extending our sincere congratulations to Tom for this remarkable accomplishment!

Attitudes to School Survey

The AtoSS is a voluntary annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools and the department to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and will be asking your child about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

Grade Four, Five and Six students will be invited to complete the survey online during class time using a purpose built secure online survey tool. It is important to note that we are not in any way “testing” your child. Please note:

· Student participation in the survey is voluntary and students may withdraw at any time.

· The survey is available in a variety of different versions to enable all students to participate.

· The survey will take around 20-45 minutes to complete.

This year, the survey will be conducted from 6th May until 14th June.

Aggregated state-wide survey data will be used to report on initiatives and may also be used in public discussions of issues relating to student engagement and wellbeing. An example of how survey data has been previously used includes reporting levels of student engagement in the Performance Summary in the Annual Report to the School Community.

The survey results will also be reported back to the school in aggregate form throughout the survey period. Data or results about individual students will not be shared with schools. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified. Where there are low numbers of students, the data will be suppressed so that the school cannot view the results for that group.

Families will receive more information via Xuno.

Attendance

Why going to school is important:

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day.

Attending and participating in school will help your child develop:

important skills and knowledge to help them learn.
social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and teamwork.

Children who attend school every day and complete year 12 have:

better health
better job opportunities
higher income across their lives.

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Each day a student misses puts them behind.

What to do if your child can’t go to school:

Let the school know as soon as possible and explain why your child can’t come to school. You can log your child’s absence on Xuno or call the office. If you do not let the school know, we must contact you on the same day to make sure your child is safe. We may also call your emergency contacts.

Talk to us if your child needs to take an extended period of time off. There might be flexible options to keep your child from falling behind.

Sickness:

If your child is sick they do not need to go to school. It’s important they’re only away on the days they’re genuinely sick.

Medical appointments:

Make medical appointments for before or after school or during the school holidays. If this is not possible, please advise us before the appointment.

Family holidays:

Try and take holidays during school holidays and not during term time. The Department of Education requires us to approve any holidays taken during school time. We might give your child work to do so their learning is not affected.

Warm regards,

Andrew Bloomfield

Principal

Middle Gully Landcare