ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Milgate Primary School would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land of the Wurundjeri People and we would like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. Staff, students and the school community understand that we thrive, learn and live on Wurundjeri Country and we stand with all cultures united as one.

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back, students and families! As we begin another exciting year at Milgate, we are especially pleased to welcome our new families joining our school community and all our Foundation students as they begin their first week of school. Starting school is a big milestone, and we look forward to supporting our youngest learners as they settle into their new routines and build friendships.

At Milgate, we value the strong partnership between home and school. When families and educators work together, we create a supportive and engaging environment where students can thrive. Whether it’s through open communication, attending school events, or supporting learning at home, your involvement plays a key role in helping students feel confident and excited about their learning journey.

We appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to a fantastic year ahead, filled with learning, growth, and new opportunities. Here’s to a great start to 2025!

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

On Monday, our school came together to celebrate Lunar New Year at our first whole-school assembly. We were treated to a fantastic lion dance performance by the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, which brought great energy and excitement to the event. It was a wonderful way to mark the start of the Year of the Snake and celebrate the cultural diversity within our community.

A big thank you to our Y6 Cultural Leaders for welcoming everyone and introducing the performance, and to Wendy Yu for her work in preparing the students and organising the event. As part of the celebrations, students also took part in creative activities, including making snakes to recognise the significance of the Lunar New Year.

To all our families celebrating, we wish you a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year!

NEW STEM SPECIALIST SUBJECT

This year, our students have been excited to dive into our new STEM specialist subject, exploring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in engaging, hands-on ways. Miss Kim and Mrs. Kostidis have loved guiding students through creative problem-solving challenges. The enthusiasm in the STEM space has been fantastic, with students eager to collaborate, experiment, and bring their ideas to life. It’s been wonderful to see their curiosity and confidence grow as they embrace the exciting world of STEM!

WELLBEING

What a wonderful beginning to the year! It has been fantastic to see how smoothly students have settled into their new classrooms, building connections with their teachers and classmates.

The first two weeks have focused on establishing strong relationships, creating a positive classroom community, and setting clear routines and expectations. Across the school, teachers have been guiding students through learning and behaviour expectations to ensure they feel confident and supported in their environment. Structure and predictability help students thrive, giving them a clear understanding of what to expect each day.

We look forward to a fantastic year of learning and growth!

TIERED RESPONSE MODEL

In 2024, the school community was provided with the opportunity to co-create our Tiered Response Model. This model was created in order to provide a consistent understanding and approach to supporting student behaviour. The three tiers of behaviour are:

Not nice: unawareness/ no intention to hurt
Mean: acting with intention to harm or hurt.
Bullying: repeated and targeted behaviour with the intent to cause harm, which creates a power imbalance

Through the ongoing implementation of the Tiered Response Model, students will develop a clear understanding of expectations and natural consequences, ensuring a consistent and equitable approach to behaviour management.

COMMUNITY PICNIC

THURSDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 4:00-5:30

A reminder to join us for our community picnic on Thursday 13th February at 4pm on Synthetic Soccer pitch outside of the Stadium. Icy Poles will be sold for $1. Please bring a picnic and enjoy some games provided by the teachers. Please note all students need to be supervised by a parent/carer at the picnic. We hope to see you all there.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU - PARENT INFORMATION SHARING SESSIONS FOR YEAR 1 - YEAR 6

Tuesday 18th & Wednesday 19th of February 2:50 to 5:00pm

These sessions are an opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teacher and talk to them about their child - special interests, learning, and anything else that is relevant for the teacher to know. You can choose if you would like to meet online or face to face. Communication will be coming out via Compass Tuesday next week with how to book.

PARKING

To keep our students and whole community safe please take note of the parking signs outside of the school grounds and drive responsibly when near a school zone.

At Milgate, we aim to help the flow of traffic around the school during drop off and pick up times.

Please read the attached notice for an explanation of the signs out the front of the school.

STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE, AMBULANCE COVER ARRANGEMENTS AND PRIVATE PROPERTY BROUGHT TO SCHOOL

The Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.

A reminder that parents/carers of students

who do not have student accident insurance, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs; and
can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

The Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.

2025 PERMISSIONS

This year we will be asking parents to review and consent for various permissions on Compass Events. These events will cover your permission for the whole 2025 school year.

Acceptable Use Agreement | Years 3-6
Photographing, Filming and Recording Students
PG Rated Movies

Next week, we will publish events for all families to complete. Please ensure you read the documents included in the Resources section of the events and answer any questions on the event. If you have any queries about these permission events, please contact the office.

SCHOOL SAVING BONUS - USING SSB IN COMPASS

Now that our events are back for 2025, please see the attachment below for detailed instructions on how to use your School Savings Bonus to pay for excursions, incursions and camps. Please note that this is a 2-step process, and you need to allocate your bonus funds to School Activities on the SSB portal before you can use this in Compass for Milgate Events.

OSHC

Outside of School Hours Care | TeamKids