Literacy and Numeracy News

WELCOME TO THE 2024 SCHOOL YEAR!

The start of the school year is always an exciting time, whether it is the first day of Prep or Grade 6, with new teachers, friends, and classmates to meet. As both a student and a teacher, the first day of school always brings a sense of optimism and possibility - What will this year bring? What will we learn? What friends will we make? How will we grow? 

This year, as South Melbourne Park Primary School’s Learning Specialists, we are looking forward to working alongside the school community to help all of us grow in all areas. As a staff, this year we are embedding our understanding of writing that we developed and deepening our understanding of how to best teach reading, using best practices as identified through the science of reading. We will continue to implement our structured phonics approach and the use of sound walls to assist students with reading and spelling. 

LEARNING SPECIALIST PREP TO YEAR 2 - MELANIE DAVIS

This year is my third year at SMPPS and I am excited to support the Junior School in my role as Learning Specialist. I am looking forward to working with both teachers and students as we develop students’ natural joy and curiosity about the world around them. 

As an avid reader, I want to support our students to be both successful and component readers and writers, and to love reading and writing. I also value developing students' ability to notice patterns and make connections with the world around them, especially through our curiosity units and mathematical units. Over the summer, I renovated my bathroom, and a lot of calculations were required at every step of the way! I love travelling and have taught in schools across Melbourne, Sweden and Singapore. I also enjoy swimming and running, and this year I am working on a new personal goal - to run a half marathon! 

LEARNING SPECIALIST YEAR 3 TO YEAR 6 - JOHANNE ABBOTT

I have held the Learning Specialist role here at SMPPS as well as in my previous school; I feel it a privilege to support the students, teachers, leadership and school community.  I love inspiring thinking and building confident learners. My aim is for all students to find their strengths and passions and use those skills to be an agent of change in the future.

I am currently teaching in the year 5 area but have had the opportunity to teach and interact with most cohorts across the school.  

I adore travelling to new places in Australia and abroad, I find it fascinating to learn about new cultures and see new places. I love hiking, photography and spending time with family and friends. If you see me at the gate or around the school, please stop for a chat.