SCHOOL COUNCIL

Next Monday, the Annual General Meeting for School Council will take place and the new Office Bearers for each of the sub committees will be elected.

The role of School Council is to:

assist in the efficient governance of the school
ensure that decisions affecting students of the school are made having regard to the best interests of the students
enhance the educational opportunities for students at the school
ensure the school and the council complies with any requirements of the Act, the Regulations, a Ministerial Order or a direction, guideline or policy issued under the Act.

All School Council members join a sub committee where the main body of the work takes place. Our committees are as follows:

Finance - oversee the monthly income and expenditure of the school and adherence to finance policies.
Education – update policies on a cyclical basis, review school performance data and communicate / consult with parent community on a needs basis.
Canteen and Uniform – review school uniforms, uniform shoes and second hand stall, uniform policy and the running of the canteen including profit and loss statements, menu items and adherence to Council guidelines.
Social and Fundraising – organise and run a range of fundraising events to supplement the school budget (including the bi-ennial carnival) and social events to maintain community connectedness.
Facilities- review general school maintenance and future development both in the short and long term, organise and run working bees.

Working Parties of School Council

On occasion there is a need to enlist the help of further community members to address items raised from school council. For example, a working party has been formed to support the Social and Fundraising committee to organise the biennial carnival.

We’d like to thank the following people who’ve already made significant progress on the carnival working party: Liz Maplestone, Elle Avery, Annie Liddell, Farah Zebian, Celeste Benetti, Adele Lee-Wriede, Georga Hage, Jonothan Doncovio, Benn Hoppe, Laura Ellett, David Funston, Annie McDermott and Megan Hoppe.

Please keep an eye out for the regular posts in the fortnightly newsletter about the carnival and the many ways you can help. The saying ‘many hands make light work’ is particularly relevant when it comes to running a carnival.

THE COMPASS LEARNING CONTINUUM

At Murrumbeena Primary School we provide ongoing information about student progress through the Compass Continuum at the end of each term. Parents are provided with a sequence of learning within each Victorian Curriculum level, outlining the outcomes (knowledge, skills or understandings) students have consolidated and demonstrated on a consistent basis. These outcomes or descriptors have been identified and written in parent-friendly language so teachers can provide a clear indication of what students have achieved and the learning outcomes they are working towards.

The learning continuum was developed because of parent feedback, as most stated that the semester reports were too broad. The continuum is only in its second year and as such we are reviewing its value and impact.

Each student is on their own personal journey. Progress against the continuum is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis in the context of the unit of inquiry.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parent –Teacher Discussions will be held on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 March.

Teachers will be available both during school hours and after school hours as follows:

Monday 25 March

1:30 – 3:45pm – parents of year 3 – 6 students

3:45 – 5:45pm – parents of Foundation (prep) to year 2 students.

Tuesday 26 March

1:30 – 3:45 – parents of Foundation (prep) to year 2 students.

3:45 – 5:45pm – parents of year 3 – 6 students.

The parent-teacher interview provides an opportunity for teachers and parents to share information pertinent to the child’s academic and social-emotional progress.

Teachers will share with you the learning continuum and what they have observed about the child’s achievements and parents will have the opportunity to share further information about the child and to ask questions.

EASTER BASKETS & RAFFLE

The Easter Raffle has been a long standing tradition at MPS and our students look forward to that special assembly on the last day of term when all the raffle tickets are drawn. There are only two more weeks left to bring in Easter donations and sell the raffle tickets. Each class has a basket to collect the donations for the Easter hampers, so students can either bring their Easter goodies to the office or to their classrooms. We’re more than happy to provide another booklet of raffle tickets for those who wish to purchase more.

Please return the sold tickets and money in an envelope (with name and phone numbers clearly printed on the ticket butt) to the office.

2024 ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Following the School Review Process at the end of last year, we have now developed the 2024 – 2027 School Strategic Plan (SSP). In line with the Department of Education priority, we have two main goals, one for learning and one for wellbeing.

Learning: To optimise student learning growth.

Wellbeing: To strengthen student voice and agency in their learning.

The Annual Implementation Plan is written each year and outlines our learning and wellbeing goals, our improvement (measurable) targets and the strategies we will implement to help us achieve them.

When it comes to learning, our aim is to ensure our students know:

What am I learning?

How am I going?

What do I need to work on next?

How is the Learner profile attribute helping me with my learning?

When parents have discussions with their children at home, these are fabulous sentence stems to get the conversation started.

This year, our school received designated ‘mental health funding’ to enhance wellbeing. The Wellbeing Staff Action team have chosen to implement the Resilience Project as a whole school initiative for students, staff and parents. Please read the article about The Resilience Project in this newsletter and stay tuned. See further newsletters to learn more about how we are practicing being grateful, showing empathy, being more mindful and enhancing our emotional literacy.

ANTI ANXIETY WORKSHOP- save the date: Monday 22 April

Following the highly successful staff and parent workshop by Karen Young where we learned more about anxiety, Karen will be returning next term to not only run another workshop for parents and staff, but our students will also be the beneficiaries of her expertise.

Karen Young is the author of several books to help children and teens learn more about anxiety and its effects on the body including: ‘Hey Warrior’ and ‘Calming Your Amygdala.’

Karen will run a workshop for parents on Monday 22 April (6:30 – 8:00pm) and on Tuesday 23rd April, Karen will work with our students.

There was incredibly positive feedback about the workshop on Karen Young’s last visit so ‘save the date’ so you don’t miss out on her next visit.

CURRICULUM DAYS

Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th April, the first two days of term two are designated as curriculum days which are pupil free.

As an accredited International Baccalaureate World School, we are required to stay up to date in the implementation of the Primary Years Program. Teachers will be ‘Creating a Curriculum for Transdisciplinary Learning’. While we already incorporate the subject domains well into our units of inquiry, we would like to have a greater focus on incorporating mathematics.

Theircare will be offering child care services for students on these curriculum days.

Chellee Plumb

SAKG