PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Milgate Primary School would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land of the Wurundjeri People and we would like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. Staff, students and the school community understand that we thrive, learn and live on Wurundjeri Country and we stand with all cultures united as one.
END OF TERM 1 | School Finishes at 2:30 on Thursday
Thank you everyone for a wonderful first term. This will be our last newsletter for the term. It has been great to see the students learning so much and taking action. We hope those who celebrate have a very happy Easter and we look forward to seeing everyone back for the first day of Term 2 on Monday 15th April. A reminder that we finish at 2:30 pm next Thursday 28th March.
EASTER FANCY HAT PARADE
THURSDAY 28 MARCH
We can’t wait to see all the amazing fancy/easter hats for our parade on the last day of school. We are hoping that hats will be created from recycled or upcycled materials to reduce our environmental footprint for this event. Hats do not have to be easter themed and there are lots of great prizes to be won. Parents are most welcome to join us on the blue basketball courts on Thursday at 1:30 pm.
MILGATE GARDEN RENOVATION
We had a wonderful time beautifying our gardens around the school this week. Special thank you to our community for donating plants and to the parents who volunteered to help with the planting. We are fortunate to have such a generous community that supported this project. Also, a HUGE thank you to our student leaders and staff who organised the week and who created a video to share with the community.
Special thanks to Ms Calleja, Ms Parsons, Ms Waters, Ms Beh, Mr G, Ms Nguyen, Ms Camiot and Ms Brown for all their organisation.
HARMONY DAY DRESS UP
Yesterday we celebrated Harmony Day by having students come to school dressed in their traditional/cultural clothing or wearing something orange. It was amazing to see so many wonderful traditional outfits and the colour orange. Our Year 6 Cultural Leaders created a presentation that encouraged students to create origami lotus flowers, as they are a symbol of peace. The colour orange is used to celebrate Harmony Day because it signifies social communication and meaningful conversations.
YEAR 5 AND 6 MOUNTAIN BIKING
On Monday and Tuesday, selected Year 5 and 6 students went mountain biking along the Mullum Mullum trail as part of our outdoor electives program. The riders set off from school and had a great day of riding the trails and testing themselves through some smaller single tracks near Westerfolds Park. Special thanks to Mr Will, Ms Collins, Ms Dinakis and the parent volunteers for making the event such as success.
PETER COMBE CONCERT
On Thursday, the Foundation and Year 1 students were treated to a live concert of singing and dancing by Peter Combe, a well-known children’s entertainer who has been entertaining children around Australia for many decades.
Peter sang about the monkeys in his teacup, washing his face with orange juice and even introduced us to his friend, Quirky Berserk!
A lifetime highlight for one of our teachers was Peter singing “Happy Birthday “ to her on her very special birthday!
The students had a great time, and the teachers had an even better one!
SCHOOL PHOTOS
On Wednesday we had our class and individual student photos. The photographers will return on Monday next week to take the Year 6 Leaders, JSC and Environmental Team and sibling photos. We kindly ask that you ensure your children are wearing their full school uniform on the day.
Some Year 4 classes missed their portraits on Wednesday due to our power blackout. These students, and any others absent on Wednesday, will have their portraits taken on Monday.
NEURODIVERSITY
This week is Neurodiversity Week. Approximately 20-25% of the general population is neurodiverse. Neurodiversity accepts and celebrates the different ways people's brains work. It describes the differences in how people interact and experience the world around them and there is no ‘one way’ of thinking, learning or behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.
At Milgate, we provide adjustments in both our learning spaces and outside areas to create environments where all students can thrive.
Each week, we will be celebrating neurodiversity by sharing inspiring stories of neurodiverse individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, showcasing the diversity of talents and abilities within our community.
Chris Varney | Chris is an Autistic law graduate and a pioneer of Autistic-led service provision in Australia.
Chris has a background in children’s rights and youth programs, having been 2009 Australian Youth Representative to the UN and World Vision Australia’s Manager of Youth.
Chris founded I CAN Network in 2013 and as Chief Enabling Officer has grown it into Australia’s largest Autistic-led organisation with over 70 Autistic staff and 2,000+ young people in the program nationally.
Chris was a 2018 Victorian Australian of the Year Finalist and recipient of the 2017 Supreme Court of Victoria’s Best Achievement in Human Rights Award. He also serves as National Patron of the Australian Association for Special Education and is the Chairperson of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council. https://icannetwork.online/, 2024
“Growing up, I benefited from a network of parents, teachers and friends who embraced my Autistic strengths and anxieties and encouraged me to say ‘I CAN’. Founding an organisation in their name was the best way I could express my gratitude” - Chris Varney
“I built I CAN Network to be a demonstration of what Autistic people can achieve. Fifty per cent of my team are Autistic. We deliver group mentoring programs in schools and in online settings. We also share our insights in professional development workshops and consultancy projects. We are driven by a vision to create a world that benefits from embracing Autism – Together our purpose is to prove what Autistics CAN do.” – Chris Varney
TIERED RESPONSE MODEL
As part of our Annual Implementation Plan, we are creating a Tiered Response Model for the school community to have a consistent response when managing behaviour. Staff and students have shared their input as to what behaviours belong in each section of the model. Once we have received input from all parties, it will be collated and shared with all members of the school community for further feedback. The Tiered Response Model will be an active document. Once it has been finalised, the Tiered Response Model will be sent out to all families so that we can work together to ensure our students feel safe and supported.
At this stage of the process, we are asking for input from parents as to what would be considered ‘not nice’, ‘mean’, and ‘bullying’ behaviour. If you would like to provide input, please add to this document. There are 3 tabs down the bottom to add information. Please record any incident you can think of and whether it is an incident you would like to be contacted about if your child was involved. This is a live document for all to add. If you would like to have input into the Tiered Response Model, please add to the document before Thursday March 28.
Click HERE for the Tiered Response Model Document
SCHOOL COUNCIL
The School Council AGM will be held next Tuesday 26th March at 6pm in the conference room. Parents are welcome to attend. Our new office bearers will be elected and will be announced to the community shortly.