Principal Report

2025 School Structures

We’re excited to share an update on our 2025 school structures and class organisation. Due to slightly lower-than-expected enrolments, we’ll be running 9 classes next year, rather than 10. This adjustment helps us maintain financial stability and prevents a substantial budget deficit, allowing us to continue providing essential resources for our students.

Our 2025 class structure is as follows:

3 Foundation/Year 1 classes
2 Year 2/3 classes
2 Year 3/4 classes
2 Year 5/6 classes

With this structure, we’ll have three Foundation/Year 1 composite classes, ensuring equity across the cohort while keeping class sizes manageable at 21 students. Our teachers are skilled in targeting their teaching practices to ensure that students in composite classes receive instruction tailored to their abilities rather than their year level. Programs like InitiaLit will continue to be delivered in line with students' curriculum needs, ensuring their learning and progress are not compromised.

In addition to our core classes, we’re excited to offer a range of specialist programs in 2025, including Physical Education, Forest School, STEM, Visual Arts, and LOTE. After continual challenges in securing an Indonesian teacher, we’re recruiting a teacher so LOTE can return in 2025. We are currently finalising the language of choice.

Our goal is to continue fostering a nurturing, inclusive, and engaging environment for every student. We look forward to a successful year ahead!

Introducing SWPBS at Macedon Primary

We are excited to announce that Macedon Primary School has been selected to implement School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) next year! SWPBS is a school improvement framework designed to enhance student behaviour, well-being, and academic outcomes through prevention-focused activities and efficient use of resources. Schools adopt SWPBS to improve student behaviour, foster a positive school climate, and promote practices grounded in evidence. This approach also increases inclusivity, aligns instructional, well-being, and mental health supports, and strengthens relationships among staff, students, and the community. By focusing on prevention, SWPBS helps prevent and address bullying, maximises instructional time, reduces restrictive practices, and ensures resources are used effectively.

SWPBS is aligned with the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0) and is a comprehensive approach to supporting both learning and well-being.

As part of the first step in this journey, we will be auditing our school values to ensure they align with our goals for a positive and supportive environment. We will be working closely with staff, students, and families to review and refine these values, creating a shared foundation that reflects our community’s aspirations for our students. We look forward to this collaborative process and to building an even stronger school culture together!

Premier’s Christmas Card competition

Get your pencils, felt-tip pens and paint brushes ready. The Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Premier of Victoria, is looking for Christmas-inspired artwork to include in the Christmas card she will send to Victorians this year.

Children aged 12 and under can submit a drawing or painting that shows their Christmas experience. There is no criteria, so please get as creative as you like.

Entries are open until Friday 15 November 2024.

How to submit your entry

To submit an entry, you should send your artwork by either: ·

email: jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au

Please also include your name, suburb and contact details.

Good luck!

School Review

As part of our school review, we're exploring the “Why” of Macedon Primary School—what makes MPS unique and what drives our purpose as a school. Understanding our "Why" helps us identify the core beliefs and values that fuel our passion, creating a shared vision that unites our school community and shapes the future of MPS.

To gain insight into the importance of knowing your "Why," you might find this video by Michael Jr. inspiring. If you'd like to contribute your thoughts, please add them to the poster outside the principal’s office or email them to Andrew at Andrew.bloomfield@education.vic.gov.au.

Food Drive

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our Food Drive in support of Gisborne Foodbank! We’re continuing to collect donations for the next three weeks and would love your support in helping those less fortunate in our community. This is a meaningful opportunity for our students to show kindness and make a positive impact. Families are invited to drop off donations in the school foyer. Your generosity will go a long way in providing much-needed items for local families. If you would prefer to donate money, please visit Gisborne Foodbank's donation page.

To ensure we gather a variety of items, we’ve assigned specific products to each year level:

Foundation: Long life milk (lactose-free, almond, soy, condensed milk, coconut milk/cream)
Grade 1: Breakfast cereals, rice, pasta sauces, 2-minute noodles, instant cup soups
Grade 2: Sauces (tomato, BBQ, mayonnaise, curry pastes), Asian sauces, instant meals, stock (liquid and cubes)
Grade 3: Salt, tinned vegetables, tinned spaghetti, tuna, sardines, baked beans, tinned fruit, fruit snack packs, cake/pancake mix, jelly
Grade 4: Cooking oil, kids' snacks, muesli bars, sweet biscuits, crackers, Vegemite, peanut butter, jam, honey, tea, coffee, Milo
Grade 5: Pet food, dishwashing liquid, laundry liquid, cleaning sprays, sponges, wipes
Grade 6: Toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, soap, body wash

Gisborne Foodbank is preparing Christmas Hampers, and each donation makes a real difference. Thank you for helping make this Food Drive a success—we truly appreciate your kindness and support!

Warm regards,

Andrew Bloomfield

Principal

andrew.bloomfield@education.vic.gov.au

Macedon Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Responsibility, Creativity, Integrity, Teamwork

Issue 36 · 12 Nov 2024

In this issue