Dear School Community Members,

Mandy – Crossing Supervisor:

Mandy Dodds, our Crossing Supervisor on Strachan Ave, has achieved 20 years of service at Mano as the Crossing Supervisor. This is an extraordinary commitment and service to our community. Mandy supports our students and families to cross Strachan Ave before school commences and at the end of the day. Mandy is an outstanding person who is loved by all at Mano. We will acknowledge and thank Mandy for her service to our community at our assembly on Monday.

Thank you, Mandy!

Harmony Week – week of Monday, 17th March:

Harmony Week is a time where we come together to celebrate and recognise the diversity within our community and country. It is all about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Mano will be celebrating Harmony week with a number of activities. This will include:

A launch of Harmony Week at Assembly on Monday
Students are invited to wear a touch of orange on Tuesday, 18th March (this could be a wrist band, socks, hair tie etc…)
We will hold a whole school Picnic (lunch) on Tuesday, 18th March on the oval
A whole school ‘self portrait chalk drawing’ activity on the Middle Terrace
Classroom activities that acknowledge and celebrate the diversity across our community and country

We look forward to sharing further information about Mano’s Harmony Week next week.

Lunch with School Captains:

Yesterday, Mrs Wakeman, Mrs Geary and I had the privilege to have lunch with our school captains at Mano Deli in Shannon Ave. Our school captains shared their aspirations and goals for 2025 as the student leaders of the school. These included installing a Street Library on one of the streets surrounding our school and to build awareness and education on managing ‘bullying’ behaviours. Our 2025 School Captains are and will continue to be wonderful ambassadors for our school.

Every Day Counts:

As many of you will be aware, our student ‘absence’ rates continue to be something that we monitor regularly.

As a result, we have been promoting the importance of student attendance underpinned by the motto of, ‘Every Day Counts’. While we achieved an improvement in our attendance rates in 2023 and 2024, we will continue to invest in maximising attendance for all students.

Regular attendance at school plays a vital role for students to achieve their academic potential, as well as setting up a wonderful foundation for their social and emotional development. We hope the table below highlights the importance of regular attendance to school.

How many days will your child miss this year?

0-6 This is within the normal range. The child can take advantage of the teaching and learning opportunities available to them, as well develop healthy relationships with peers.

7 – 10 This attendance rate is below average. A child with this attendance rate could miss over one year of schooling between Prep and Year 10.

11- 20 This is a poor attendance rate. A child with this attendance rate could miss up to two years of schooling between Prep and Year 10.

To miss two years of school between Prep and Year 10 places significant risk on any student. It goes without saying that regular absenteeism from school won’t do your child any favours. Allowing your child to skip days simply because they “don’t feel like going to school” should not be an option.

Our school provides support and strategies for families to assist regular school attendance. We encourage any family to contact Mrs Geary or myself to discuss their child’s attendance at school.

More information will be provided in the coming weeks on how we plan to support our students with higher than normal absent rates.

Thank you for supporting our school and have a great week.

Christian Smith

Grade 6 News