Melton West Primary School

Principal's Report 

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Welcome to the second last newsletter for 2023. I cant believe we’re nearly at the end of the year. The time has certainly flown. We have achieved so much this year, and provided so many enriching experiences for our students. We finish on Wednesday 20th December at 1.30pm with the school gathering at 1.15pm to farewell the year 6 students as they sing their graduation song in front of the whole school. Please join us to bid them an appropriate farewell. We will have a whole school assembly at 9.00 on the last day to say farewell to staff who are leaving. Students in Years 1 to 6 start on Wednesday 31st January 2024, with our new Prep students beginning on Thursday 1st February. We have so much to do and so much planned over the next few weeks including grade 6 graduation and fun day at Adventure Park, Step Up Day, Meet the Teacher and much more. We look forward to ending the year on a positive note. 

 

Staffing: We are at the time of year where staff are choosing whether to stay at Melton West next year or find new opportunities or challenges at other schools for various reasons. We have the following staff leaving at the end of year and wish them all the best in their new endeavours:

  • Ms Aira Agarano
  • Ms Tina Stamoulis
  • Mr Steve Thomas
  • Ms Rebecca Mills
  • Ms Pancham Saini
  • Ms Sabrina Zhu
  • Mr Neil Armstrong
  • Ms Charmie Cook

Mrs Cliffe will be starting maternity leave at the end of December, and we wish her and Mr Cliffe all the best with the arrival of their new baby. I will share news of this at the start of next year.

We have been recruiting hard and have managed to fill most of our vacancies for 2024. Our fourth international teacher Mrs Vassie Govender from South Africa is due to arrive late next week, and we welcome her to our school. Ms Mary Mallorca, an international teacher from The Philippines, started with us last week and has been getting to know the students whilst taking various classes. Next year both Ms Govender and Ms Mallorca will be taking a class.

You may have met or spoken to our newest admin staff member, Mrs Leanne Humphrey. She started with us a few weeks ago and had fitted in beautifully to our Admin Team. She is friendly, approachable and will be able to help you with any queries you have, or if she is still learning, will find out for you and get back to you. Please make her feel welcome when you come across her.

 

Reports: Teachers are currently finalising the reports for students for this semester. These are due to be sent home on Wednesday 13th December. If you have any questions about anything in the report, please contact your teacher – either via Class Dojo or by leaving a message at the office for them to call you.

 

Step Up Day: On Tuesday 12th December most of our year 6 students will be attending the secondary school they will go to next year. We take the opportunity to place the rest of the classes into the groups they will be in next year on this day every year. They will spend most of the day with this group of children. Teachers will take note of the interactions of the group and make changes if necessary. The teacher they have on Step Up Day will not necessarily be their teacher for 2024. They will find out who their teacher is on Tuesday 19th December. 

 

Meet the Teacher: Students returning to Melton West in 2024 will spend time with their 2024 teacher on Tuesday 19th December from 9.00 – 11.00. We will give each child a slip of paper with the name of their 2024 teacher and the classroom number for 2024. Please keep this handy for reference in the new year.

 

Classes for 2024: In 2024 we will combine our Year 1 and Year 2 classes to make 7 Year 1/2 classes and our year 3 and Year 4s to form 6 Year 3/4 classes.  This decision is due to the numbers of students in each year level. If we were to continue with straight classes one year level would have low numbers and the other high. This way, the numbers will be more reasonable for all year levels. In terms of the learning experience and opportunity for the students will not be effective as teachers plan to meet the needs of the individual child. If you have any concerns or questions about this change, please do not hesitate to contact me, via the office by calling 9743 5818.

 

 

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal