Parent Opinion Survey - Communication

 Dear Parents, 

An area of work we are doing that we are quite proud of is the way in which we communicate with, and include parents and caregivers, in our community. Over the past few years, this has grown tremendously and continues to go from strength to strength. 

From before our students begin with us in prep, information sessions, transition sessions and parent nights are held to share with prospective families what we offer here at Mackellar. These are important first steps in building the home-school relationship and where we meet many families for the first time. By making families feel connected from the beginning we aim to promote a relationship that lasts many years. 

Ways in which we do this is include giving each student a prep t-shirt, a prep social story and a prep showbag with our school logo and values. 

When families do start, XUNO is our main form of communication. Now that it has a translator function, we can ensure our message gets across to all families. XUNO does a great job of storing important documents such as reports and NAPLAN results, as well as distributing newsletters such as this, short messages, and keeping communication lines open between home and school. 

As each year starts with a new teacher, we have our family meet and greet sessions early in term one where we take time to listen to you about how your child learns best, how we can support them, and what special things we should know about them for the year ahead. 

As the year progresses, our Education Week Expo goes into full swing where parents are invited to come and be apart of their child's learning experiences depending on the theme of the year. Some may recall our science evening last year, or our celebration of cultures theme from this year. 

Later in term 2, student reports are released for semester one, followed early in term three with parent-teacher interviews. Later in the year the end of year report comes out with optional interviews then also. 

For students with specific needs, each term we hold a Student Support Group meeting (SSG) comprising teachers, parents, wellbeing staff from the school and where needed allied health practitioners. These meetings determine student goals for the term, supports that will be put in place, and progress from previous goals. 

Of course communication, relationship building and progress discussions are a two way affair. That is why it is so rewarding to see our community involved in events celebrating their families, cultures, backgrounds and interests. 

Events include Harmony Day where we celebrate the wonderful fabric of cultures that make up our school community. They also include Mother's and Father's Day, and Fathering Project events celebrating the great work of parents. Our school productions, art shows, athletics days and Italian Day are where parents celebrate with us and our special event days where we come together as a community to acknowledge values and traditions important to us, and Australia - ANZAC Day, National Sorry Day, Day for Daniel and Remembrance Day. 

Over recent years, we have also seen our relationship and connection to the wider community improve and become even stronger with community members involved in our events, but also in support of our school. 

Foodbank supplies the ingredients for our Breakfast Club and fruit breaks. Eat-Up provide lunches for students who forget lunch at home. State School Relief provide glasses and school uniforms for families in need whilst Teeth on Wheels make sure our students' teeth are healthy. Variety-The Children's Charity support our most vulnerable students as do the Victoria Police - Proactive Policing Unit, whilst KIVA provides that global perspective on helping others in need just to name a few. 

All of these partners work towards the same goal you and we have for Mackellar students. To provide all the necessary requirements for them to have a successful and thriving time at primary school to become Empowered Global Citizens.  

We hope these examples give you food for thought regarding communication for the upcoming Parent Opinion Survey which will be released later this term. 

Regards, 

Mackellar PS