Merri-bek Mail

Leadership Report

Costa Missailidis -Wellbeing and Engagement Leader

Wellbeing Day

On Thursday 1st May, Merri-bek Primary School held a very special Wellbeing Day where students had the opportunity to focus on their wellbeing through a range of engaging activities.

Students were randomly grouped across different year levels, giving them the chance to build new friendships and connect with peers they may not usually work with. It was wonderful to see so many students forming new connections and supporting one another throughout the day.

Throughout the day, students participated in a variety of activities designed to promote positive wellbeing, including:

  • Making their own stress balls to support emotional regulation
  • Practicing mindfulness through calming exercises
  • Reflecting on gratitude and discussing why it is important in our daily lives
  • Dancing and having fun at a lively and energetic disco

In celebration of Wellbeing Day, students were also able to come to school dressed in their comfiest pyjamas, helping create a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. A gold coin donation was collected, with all funds going towards Mullets for Mental Health. A big thank you to Jack, who bravely turned his long luscious locks into a beautiful mullet for the occasion. In total Merri-bek Primary School raised approximately $170.

It was a fantastic day filled with laughter, learning, and lots of positive energy. Thank you to all students and staff who helped make Wellbeing Day such a success!

Jump Rope for Heart kicks off this term at Merri-bek Primary School!

 

Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun, and raise funds for life-saving research and programs.

 

We currently have 38 students signed up and participating in the Jump Rope for Heart program, with some already raising money and logging plenty of hours. Congratulations to the following students:

  • Defne Uzunsoy in 1/2B has raised over $580
  • Ivy Burmester Kelk in 1/2C has raised over $295
  • Riley Mulvey in 1/2C has raised over $250
  • Aubrey Taylor in 3/4B has raised over $230
  • Lillian Kratzmann in 3/4C has logged 6 hours of skipping time
  • Anya Crawford in 3/4E has logged over 1 hour of skipping time

 

There are so many students that have raised funds for this great cause, with our school total surpassing the $1,000 goal. We have so far raised $2,074 and it’s only Week 2!

 

If you haven't registered your child yet, register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, if you haven’t already, simply follow the link below to get started: https://www.jumprope.org.au/parents

 

Students will be skipping at various times throughout the term, this includes, at home, during PE lessons, at Open Streets and during our skipping lunch time club, during this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.

 

We will hold our school Jump Off Day on Friday 4th July, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.

 

Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!

 Tristan Kelly - Literacy Learning Specialist

Victorian High Abilities Program

The Victorian High Abilities Program (VHAP) is an enrichment program that addresses the needs of high-ability students to engage with challenging material in either English or Mathematics, and also to meet and exchange ideas with other students like themselves. Students participate in the program from school via Webex. 

 

All Victorian government school students in Years 5 – 8 (inclusive) are eligible to be selected by Student Excellence in the Department of Education to participate in the Victorian High-Ability Program. Each VHAP course runs for one school term.

 

We would like to congratulate the following students for being selected to participate in VHAP in Term 2: Sathya Chandra-Pithie, Tino Favero Rodgers, Jackson Hermawan, Oliver James, Harrison Madden, Marcel Wright, Owen Nishimura and Bethany Willson.

Well done to those students! 

 

Literacy Coaching

We are excited to continue working with our Literacy Coach, Narissa Leung (Oz Lit Teacher), this term. Narissa is helping us to implement the Department of Education’s new guidelines for Foundation to Year 2 classes and to support the development of teaching practice in Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening across the school. 

 

In addition to the whole staff Professional Learning session in February, Narissa worked closely with the Foundation team throughout Term 1. This term she will be working with the Year 1/2 team. When working with particular teams, Narissa observes Literacy lessons in the classroom and then provides feedback to teachers. 

 

Narissa spoke glowingly about the excellent work of the Merri-bek Primary Foundation teachers last term. One of the things that the team focused on was the pacing of the lessons to effectively incorporate the different segments within the Literacy Block. The Literacy Block includes phonemic awareness (identifying and manipulating individual speech sounds within words), phonics (knowledge of how letters or groups of letters represent sounds in speech), independent reading of decodable texts, and opportunities for students to listen to and respond orally to a range of books. They also had a particular focus on effective whole group instruction in the phonics section of the lesson where students use mini-whiteboards to apply their learning and teachers provide instant feedback.

 

The Year 1/2 team had their first session with Narissa in week 2 and teachers are looking forward to engaging in the coaching process throughout the term.