Reminder: Father's Day Stall tomorrow. No Assembly.

It has been a busy fortnight at Mullum Primary School, with Science Week, Book Week and Parliament House visits. Check out some of the pages in this Newsletter to catch a glimpse of what has been happening.

Colour Run

Our Junior School Council (JSC) members are excitedly preparing for a major fundraising activity in early Term 4 - The Colour Run. Next week at assembly the JSC members will speak to the students, followed by information and sponsorship forms that will be sent home that afternoon. Check school bags for more details next Friday.

Festival of Hidden Treasures - Saturday 23 November - 2-7pm

Only 12 weeks to go until our Festival of Hidden Treasures. We hope you have the date in your diary. Each class in the school will be preparing for and setting up a stall at the Festival which will require parent volunteers to support. Classroom teachers will be in touch very soon to let you know what is needed for their stall, see below.

Foundation S - Chocolate Toss

Foundation L - Lucky Jars and Lucky Sticks

Grade 1M - Bubble Station

Grade 1T - Fairy Floss and Popcorn

Grade 2R - Hot Dogs

Grade 2K - Ice-creams and Sundaes

Grade 3/4E - Books and Games

Grade 3/4M - Lolly Shop

Grade 3/4Y - Toy stall and lucky dip

Grade 5/6B - Produce and Cakes

Grade 5/6C - Carnival Games

There will be whole school collections for different parts of the Festival, throughout Term 4. Three (free) Wrist Bands for rides, will be up for grabs at assembly on Week 3, 5 and 7 in recognition of donations brought in by families and students. Ensure you fill out the donation slip at the office or classroom to be in the running. Each week there will be different items to bring in, however, we will take donations for all items throughout the term.

Week 1 - 2nd Hand Clothing & Books - Baby, Children, teenager, adult
Week 2 - Toys, games and puzzles
Week 3 - Chocolate Bars, bags of lollies (Wrist band draw for last three weeks of donations)
Week 4 - Lucky Jars already filled, empty jars or items to fill jars
Week 5 - BBQ - Sauces and napkins (Wrist band draw for last three weeks of donations)
Week 6 - Cans of soft drink
Week 7 - Produce and Cakes, a paper plate to fill, sent home to each family. (Wrist band draw for last three weeks of donations)

Whooping Cough

Throughout the week, I have been notified by Department of Education about an increased number of students in Melbourne's East who are contracting whooping cough. The following information has been provided to schools for cases confirmed by a positive swab, not from any suspicion or rumour. Please continue to be vigilant around ill health and keep your child at home until they are well.

Pertussis Exclusion Guidelines state (legislated for primary schools, recommended for secondary schools but not legislated):

Confirmed cases: Exclude your child for 21 days after the onset of cough or until they have completed 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment (return on day 6).
Confirmed Contacts: Contacts aged less than 7 years in the same classroom as the case, who have not received three effective doses of pertussis vaccine, should be excluded for 14 days after the last exposure to the infectious case, or until they have taken 5 days of a course of effective antibiotic treatment. This also applies to a case's siblings (if in the same household) if under 7.

School Saving Bonus

The Victorian Government is providing all students a one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. This money will help to cover the cost of school uniforms, textbooks and school activities like camps, excursions and sports. The School Saving Bonus is in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF). The Saving Bonus will be provided to schools and families in Term 4, 2024. It is available to all parents and carers of Victorian Government school students from Foundation to Grade 6, with the exception of full-fee international students, home schooled students and those attending kindergarten.

Actions for parents and carers:

Tomorrow we will send out to all families a Compass email, with a link to a form
This form asks for your current email address and phone number to ensure we have accurate details ahead of the government sending out their information. This form needs to be completed by Friday 18 October 2024
For details of the Bonus, please click here