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.

Term 3 Dates

24 August: Curriculum Day (student free day)

2 September: Curriculum Day (student free day)

7 & 8 September: Year 2 Day Camps

11 September: School Disco

18 September: Last Day Term 3 (2:30pm dismissal)

Year 5 and 6 Skiing

On Friday 7th August, selected Year 5 and 6 students had a fantastic day out at Lake Mountain for our Cross Country Skiing excursion.

Students embraced the challenge of learning and developing their cross-country skiing skills while enjoying the beautiful alpine environment. It was wonderful to see students encouraging one another, having a go at something new and demonstrating resilience throughout the day.

A big thank you to James Will and the team from Phillips Coaching for their support, organisation and expertise in making the day such a great experience for our students. We also appreciate the efforts of our staff and students in helping the day run so smoothly.

It was a fantastic day of adventure, learning and fun in the snow!

Year 3 & 4 Camp

Over the past two weeks, our Year 3 & 4 students have enjoyed their camp at Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp. Although the weather has been a little cold and wet, they have still been able to do the activities such as bush cooking, giant swing, flying fox, orienteering, bike riding, wildlife encounter and bushwalking. Many have challenged themselves to try new activities and been risk takers as they have learnt new skills. They have also formed new friendships working with other students and have been able to get to know the teachers in a more informal setting. Thank you to James Will for organising the camp and also to the Year 3 and 4 teachers as well as parents who have assisted with the camp.

Year 1 Excursion to Melbourne Museum

On Thursday last week, the Year 1 students had a fantastic day visiting the Melbourne Museum as part of their inquiry into 'Where we are in place and time'. The students had so much fun exploring fossils and rocks as they wandered through the thrilling Dinosaur Walk, and visited Horridus the Triceratops, one of the most complete Triceratops fossils ever found, unearthed after 67 million years. The students explored the concepts of change and connection as they viewed artefacts and noticed how things have changed over time and made connections to their personal lives. They used their research skills to read and learn information about historical artefacts throughout the museum. They explored and found information on Earth’s history, as well as Indigenous culture, and Melbourne’s history.

Thank you very much to all the parent helpers who offered up their time to assist us on the day, we were greatly appreciative and hope you enjoyed the day too!

Book Week

Book Week officially starts next week, but we have already begun celebrating the joy and importance of reading. Reading opens doors to new ideas, experiences and perspectives, while building children’s imagination, empathy and understanding of the world. We encourage families to share books, talk about favourite stories and help children discover the pleasure that comes from becoming lifelong readers. Some ways that we have and will continue to celebrate Book Week include:

Author Visit for F-3

On Thursday, our Foundation to Year 3 students were lucky enough to welcome visiting author Vikki Conley as we celebrate our upcoming Book Week! Vikki brought her stories to life through engaging storytelling, puppetry, body percussion, drama and creative writing activities. Students had a wonderful time joining in, asking questions and discovering more about the inspiration and ideas behind her books. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the joy of stories and inspire our young readers and writers!

Next week, our Year 4, 5 and 6 students will have the opportunity to participate in an exciting author visit from Nean McKenzie.

Book Week Parade next Friday, 28 August at 9am

Don’t forget to get creative ahead of our Book Week Parade next Friday, 28 August! We can’t wait to see the wonderful characters that inspire our students!

Milgate Picture Book of the Year

Students will read a selection of the 2026 Picture Book of the Year shortlisted titles and vote to decide which will be crowned the Milgate Picture Book of the Year.

During Library sessions in Weeks 6 and 7, our Year 6 School Leaders will share these wonderful picture books with Foundation - Year 2 classes. At the end of each session, students will vote for their favourite. We look forward to seeing which book our students choose!

We would like to also acknowledge the work and innovation of our two English Curriculum Leaders, Kirsty Bone and Caitlin Day for organising all of these amazing initiatives to foster our students’ love of reading

Curriculum Day on Monday

A reminder that Monday is a Curriculum Day. Team Kids will be running their programs for the day if needed.

We will be working with Berry Street to learn about the Relationships domain of the Berry Street Education Model. Staff will be exploring practical strategies to strengthen connections with students and create classrooms where every child feels safe, valued and ready to learn.

The Relationships domain is about more than simply being friendly. When students feel valued and know they belong, they are more willing to ask for help, accept feedback, take learning risks and persevere when learning becomes difficult. By combining strong relationships with clear boundaries and high expectations, we create classrooms where every student can succeed.

We hope to be able to measure our growth in this area through the Teacher Concern, Sense of Connectedness and Advocate at School areas measured through the 2027 Attitudes to School Survey.

Education Support Staff Appreciation Day

With Education Support Staff Appreciation Day taking place next week at Milgate Primary School, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our incredible Education Support staff. We are fortunate to have such dedicated and compassionate individuals who go above and beyond each day to support our students. We thank them for the care, kindness and commitment they bring to our school community. We will recognise their invaluable contribution with a special morning tea on our Curriculum Day and sharing the cards that the students have made them.

Continuing Our Work with Dan Petro

We were pleased to welcome Dan Petro back to Milgate to continue working with our staff to strengthen the ways we support student behaviour and wellbeing.

This professional learning focused on developing effective escalation response plans, recognising and reducing potential triggers for behaviours of concern, and deepening our understanding of why behaviours occur. Staff explored proactive strategies that can prevent escalation, respond safely and consistently when challenges arise, and help students develop the skills they need to regulate and re-engage.

This work continued to build a shared, consistent and supportive approach across our school, helping us create safe and inclusive learning environments in which all students can thrive.

Student Action

First Nations Spotlight

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that the following document contains images, names and information of deceased persons.

Parents & Friends