From the Principal

GRANDPARENT'S AND SPECIAL FRIEND'S DAY FOR PREP
Don’t we all love seeing our Prep students perform!
Thanks to Mr Bucher and the Prep team for doing such a great job with our Grandparent/Special Friend’s Day. We are also proud of our Grade 6 group as they performed a song with their buddies. They also acted as hosts taking each family around the school so the Preps could show their favourite places in the yard and inside our classrooms. We hope everyone had an enjoyable afternoon and we thank those families who were able to attend.
MOTHER'S DAY STALL NEXT WEEK
Thanks to Amanda Sinclair for her hard work and dedication to MPS. She is not only helping to set up the Mother’s Day Stall next Wednesday but she is also the School Council Vice President and convenor of the Finance sub-committee.
However, she can’t do all this alone. She would love to hear from anyone who can help on the day of the stall. Please read the flyer carefully and let her know if you can help.
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2018 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will be held on Tuesday 8 May, Wednesday 9 May and Thursday 10 May 2018. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy.
The results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals which, along with a range of other assessments, can be used to improve student achievement.
During test week, catch-up tests may be available for individual students who are absent on test days. These students may undertake catch-up tests on the days in the test week after the scheduled test, up to and including Friday 11 May 2018.
Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks.
Exemptions may be granted to students with disabilities and to students who have been learning English for less than one year.
If your child is eligible for support due to disability or an exemption, you should discuss this with his/her teacher prior to the tests. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted.
Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the principal. If, after consultation, you decide to withdraw your child, you must sign a Student Withdrawal form. These forms are available at the school.
Later in the year you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.
I am confident that the information you receive as a result of your child’s participation in the NAPLAN tests will be valuable in helping you to assess your child’s progress in literacy and numeracy.
For more information about the tests, please visit the VCAA website at www.vcaa.vic.edu.au or the NAP website at www.nap.edu.au
POSITIONS VACANT
We would also love to hear from parents who are willing to help with Lost Property and the Second Hand Uniform Stall.
Today our hard working group of mums spent hours setting up and many hours before sorting clothes to help our community but for us to run more stalls we need more help!
Our lost property overflows after one or two days and we would love to see anyone with a spare hour who can be rostered on to help clear the pile!
This will save everyone a lot of money in uniform orders.
We are also looking for more volunteers on our subcommittees for School Council.
School Council and our subcommittees play an important role in maintaining the high standard at Murrumbeena Primary School.
Our finance subcommittee is currently in desperate need of a parent member. The school's Business Manager prepares all financial records. The role of a subcommittee member includes a monthly review of the school financial records and attendance at one meeting a month.
Involvement in subcommittees is a great option for parents who want to help but can't commit to joining School Council. Please contact the office if you are interested in joining the finance or any other subcommittee.
Facilities would love to hear from parents who have a trade who can give the school advice on small projects and are willing to be a contact point for the school. Please email your contact details if you are willing to be on a call list to give advice or help out when needed.
WORKING BEE GRADES 3 AND 4
We have scheduled a Working Bee for Saturday May 26 from 9:00 till 11:30am. Our focus for this working bee is the SAKG, so we would appreciate it if all Grade 3/4 families could keep this date free. Bringing your own tools from home, blowers, shovels, rakes and brooms would be extremely helpful.
A note will be distributed nearer to the date with information about the jobs to be tackled on the day.
FIRST AID
We are fortunate at MPS to have Amanda Daemen as our First Aid Officer. She is also employed as our Library Technician.
To enable her to do her library role successfully she needs time.
The first priority is, and will always be, to help a child who is ill or injured, however, more and more students and parents are asking Amanda to treat injuries that have occurred over the weekend or minor ailments such as mosquito bites, that should have been treated at home before school. Please be mindful of her dual role and encourage your child/children to be resilient
“First aid involves emergency treatment and support to:
- Monitor wellbeing until the person recovers or is transferred into the care of ambulance paramedic, doctor or nurse
- prevent a condition worsening
- promote recovery
The goal of first aid is not to diagnose or treat the condition.” (DET)
We thank you for your support in this but of course we do not want any child who is hurt or injured to not come to First Aid or the office when needed.
Amanda will be on camp for the next 3 days and our First Aid room will be monitored by staff who have the appropriate qualifications.
Lynne Foster