Principal's Message

Principal's Message

Welcome to our Week 5 iNewsletter. I hope the world is treating you well. I have many exchanges with parents and they are overwhelmingly positive. It is a feature of our community that they are wired for optimism. It makes the world a better place having you in it. Of course, occasionally we have an unhappy customer. This is natural - we have over a thousand of them. What I like is that whenever a problem occurs, it is dealt with in a mature and adult fashion. We can't all be happy all the time, but we can deal with it respectfully. I like that.

As we head into the warmer months, I remind families to protect their children from the sun. We enforce a "No Hat, No Play" policy and encourage families to put sunscreen into children's bags. We have a supply of sunscreen in each class and we do our best to remind children to apply it. But we are not perfect. We don't remind children all day every day as that is too big of an ask. Being a survivor of melanoma myself, I take this issue seriously. The best thing we can do is to train our children to take care of themselves by putting on sunscreen and wearing a hat. A labelled hat is imperative so we can get them back to kids when they invariably lose them. Please check your child's hat for a clear label (name and grade). It must be frustrating at your end having to buy new hats - so help us to help you.

I want to wish families all the best on Tuesday during the Melbourne Cup public holiday. The weather forecast looks lovely and I hope you get to experience time together as a family. These days, too, shall pass - so make the most of them mindfully. Before you know it, your children will be grown up and these moments will no longer be possible. Make the most of the time you have. 

Staff Babies!

Miss Jen had her last day of work on Friday as she prepares for the birth of her second child. Miss Jen has been at SMPS since it opened and is an integral member of our staff. We have watched as her family has grown before our very eyes. We wish Jen and her family (Tom and Addy) all the best as she prepares for the birth. Jen will return in 2025.

Our Student Counsellor, Mr Hugo, will soon be off work for a period taking paternity leave as he prepares to welcome his first child along with his partner, Tilly. Many of you will know Tilly from OSHClub. Again, there is a new family springing up before our eyes! It is incredible. We wish Hugo and Tilly all the best as they prepare for the birth. 

Safe Travel on Scooters and Bikes

I received a very fair message this week (read below) from a concerned parent wanting all of us to be mindful of safe travel to and from school on scooters and bikes. Our children are precious and we need to be very careful with all forms of transport. Our hearts go out to the families affected by the terrible events at Auburn South PS last week. As a side note, our school reached out to offer any practical help it could during their time of tragedy. We spare our heartfelt thoughts to that community...

I have replicated a (slightly modified) message I received from the parent and ask that we all take care: 

I am writing to express some safety concerns regarding students who ride their bicycles and scooters to school. Recently, an incident happened with myself and my daughter where a child from Grade 1 rode his bike so recklessly that it led to a collision with my daughter which led to her fall and a very bad experience while on scooter.

 I’ve also noticed that some of our community cycling to school and not always observing traffic rules, such as stopping at red lights and riding cautiously near pedestrian crossings. As many of our students walk to school along the same routes, this has led to a few close calls that are understandably worrisome for parents and pedestrians alike.

I understand that many children are eager to get to school, and it’s wonderful to see them embracing cycling as a healthy mode of transportation. However, promoting safe cycling practices would greatly benefit everyone and ensure that both pedestrians and cyclists have a safe journey to and from school.

If possible, perhaps the school could remind the community of the importance of following traffic rules while cycling and walking. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I appreciate all that you and the school staff do to ensure our children’s safety, and I am confident that we can work together to make the route to school safer for everyone.

School Security

Last week, we practised our evacuation drill with all students taken to the nearby park so that leaving the school when the alarm sounds becomes 'normalised' and not a panic situation. We also practise our lock down once per term in the unlikely event that an intruder enters the building. The staff and children are well aware of how to handle these situations. Our relationship with nearby emergency services is strong.

In my eight years at principal at SMPS, I can recall three occasions where persons have entered the building who were a little disoriented. None presented any harm and two of the three only came to reception so we could divert them to the help they needed. The third entered during a Family Friday, was harmless, but was nonetheless detected quickly and diverted to leave the building. 

I received a report from a parent, rightly concerned that there had been a male wandering past the building on two occasions (one after school and one during class time). His behaviour was offensive and police have been called. 

We do live in an urban community with "all sorts" coming and going past our building. We have gates and locks and passcodes in operation and active surveillance when the students are outside, with walkie-talkies and game plans for scenarios. I take the view to be alert, but not alarmed. It's no different to you being out with your family and spotting a situation to either avoid or take positive action over. 

I was really pleased to discover that active parents had called the police when they knew of wrongdoing and also informed us at the office. One of our values is Community and this is exactly how community works. Please pass on any suspicious activity to the office if you should ever be concerned and keep taking those positive steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our SMPS community. We appreciate it.

Shutting the Bike Shed

Sticking to the theme of security, sadly, we have had some theft from our bike shed. We have CCTV trained on the area, but this is often used "after the horse has bolted". A better way of keeping our bikes and scooters secure is for all users to actively shut the gate after each use. I think we are victims of "the tragedy of the commons" where, when it is everybody's responsibility, nobody does it. I can understand how this works. When so many people are coming in and out of the bike shed, you don't want to shut the gate on top of the next user. That is not what I am asking. What I would ask is that when the crowd has died down (especially at the start of the day), that users actively shut the gate so we have more chance of it being secured after 9am. Arriving for school before 9am would help this.

When we can, we check the gates are shut. But it only takes one late user to undo that work and we can't monitor it all day, every day. We need your help.

We will investigate having a mechanism on the gate so it shuts by default, but this piece of engineering is proving trickier than we had thought. Please do your bit to help security so that all of our children's property remains safe and secure. It is annoying to have something stolen - and for some kids, their wheeled vehicle is their pride and joy. 

Elevator Use

To ensure fair and safe conditions for all students with injuries or mobility limitations, we have set guidelines for elevator use in our vertical school. It is important for students to have a medical certificate stating that they are unable to use stairs due to their injury, and for what period of time this will be required for.  

Please adhere to the following principles:

• General Use: Students should use the stairs unless they have a physical injury or impairment preventing safe stair use.
• Supervision: Students requiring the lift (e.g., using wheelchairs, crutches, or moon boots) must be supervised by an adult at all times.
• Notification and Documentation: Parents must notify the school as soon as possible if their child needs lift access and provide a medical certificate stating the injury and the required period for lift use.
• Planning and Support: We will adjust staff schedules to supervise lift use and create a Student Health Support Plan for serious or long-term conditions. Minor injuries will be managed in collaboration with families for appropriate support.
• Evacuation: Alternate evacuation plans are in place for students unable to use stairs.

Please inform your child's medical practitioner about our school's layout to help them advise on the appropriate recovery period and support options. The more notice we receive, the better we can ensure your child's safety and arrange necessary accommodations.

Sports Day

Our children had a whale of a time on Friday as they competed for the coveted school sports day trophy. They spent all day running, jumping, climbing and generally having fun in their house teams getting points for doing well and competing with good sportsmanship. Our children try really hard at whatever they do. I am so proud of them. 

Thanks to all parents for supporting the kids by having them wear team colours and for generally cheerleading. 

Happy Diwali

Our lovely community was met by a sea of colour on Friday morning as the staff arrived extra early to draw and decorate at the entrance to the school to welcome those who celebrate Diwali. It as a lovely community effort and the looks on the children's and family's faces showed a deep sense of appreciation. It was beautiful to look into the eyes of parents as they greeted me in the morning. 

Happy Diwali for all those who celebrate the event. And thanks for being so accepting of all of the different cultures present within our great school. The final word goes to one of our students who said to me, "I love it how my school celebrates and recognises so many different cultures and traditions of our families." Our children are so wise - I am glad they will eventually inherit the earth.