Principal's Message

Misty the Elephant

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had the joy of looking after Misty the Elephant, FT's class toy, over the long weekend. Misty came along to my  sons soccer game and even cheered from the sidelines! Later, Misty joined the family for a takeaway pizza night, which was thoroughly enjoyed. Misty also lent a trunk while we tackled some of the more boring domestic tasks around the house, like folding laundry, gardening and tidying up.

At the end of the weekend, Misty confided in me (in her own elephant-y way!) that although she appreciated the company, Misty much prefers spending time with the Foundation students, who take her on far more exciting adventures. I think Misty is already looking forward to the next trip away from school!

Government Schools Principals Conference 2025 – Attendance Reflection

I had the privilege of attending the 2025 Government Schools Principals Conference, held on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 June in Melbourne. The conference offered a valuable opportunity for professional growth, with a strong focus on evidence informed learning, inspiring keynote presentations, engaging workshops, and rich networking opportunities.

Participation in this conference enabled deep reflection on current leadership practices and fostered a renewed commitment to continuous improvement and collaborative learning in school leadership.

Important Update: Basketball Court Opening Delayed

Due to unforeseen delays with the installation of line markings, the previously advertised opening of the basketball courts, originally scheduled for June 23rd, has been postponed.

We understand this may come as a disappointment, and we appreciate your patience as we work to ensure the courts are completed to the highest standard.

A new opening date will be announced as soon as possible. In the meantime, please stay tuned for further updates.

Foundation Enrolments Now Open

We are now accepting enrolments for Foundation for the 2026 school year. If you have a child who will be starting school next year, we encourage you to submit your enrolment application as soon as possible.

If you already have a child attending our school and wish to enrol a sibling for Foundation, please ensure you complete the enrolment process.

All enrolments must be submitted by Thursday, 25th July 2025.

Please use  https://students.educationapps.vic.gov.au/s/ or collect a paper enrolment form from the school office.

For any questions or further information, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Kinder enrolments closing soon

Applications to MPRPS Kindergarten can be made through the Whitehorse PreSchool Association. . Applications open once your child turns 2 years old.  Applications must be received by 30th June each year to be considered in the first round of offers for the following year. 

For more information and to lodge an application, visit the Whitehorse PreSchool Association website or contact their office directly.

https://www.wpsa.com.au/enrolments

Teddy Bear Picnic

A big thank you to our Foundation team and two of our wonderful four-year-old kindergarten teachers who organised and ran a fantastic Teddy Bear Picnic and activities for the students on Thursday.

This event is such an important part of helping our kinder children become familiar with the school environment, meet some of the teachers, and begin to feel more comfortable and confident about the transition to school. Creating these positive early connections plays a key role in building a smooth and supportive start to their Foundation year.

ICAS 2025

 If you wish for your child to participate, please register via the ICAS website. Parents will be responsible for their child’s participation, as students will need to go to complete the tests at an external testing centre. Please see Compass post sent last week for more details. 

Curriculum Day

On Friday, 5th June, all teaching staff dedicated the day to finalising student assessments and completing detailed report writing for Semester 1. This important work ensures that families receive a comprehensive and accurate picture of each student’s progress, achievements, and areas for growth. Teachers reviewed a wide range of assessment data, learning tasks, and classroom observations to provide personalised, meaningful feedback in each report. The reporting process reflects the school’s commitment to academic excellence and transparent communication with families.

At the same time, education support staff were engaged in a full day of professional development. These sessions were designed to strengthen their knowledge, refine their practices, and build capacity to better support students in the learning environment.

Changes to How We Report on Maths

As part of the updated Victorian Curriculum (Version 2.0), we’ve made some changes to how we report on your child’s progress in Maths. Previously, reports included three separate progression points for Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. Now, with the new curriculum, there’s just one overall progression point for Mathematics. This doesn’t mean any less content is being taught it’s just a new way of reporting.

Reports will be uploaded to Compass on Wednesday July 2nd. 

Farewell Fatima

Last week, we farewelled Fatima Sewani, who is taking a break from teaching. While we are sad to see her go, we are incredibly grateful for the dedication, passion, and hard work she brought to our school community in the last 2 years.

Fatima has made impact through her commitment to student learning and wellbeing, her collaborative spirit with colleagues, and her positive presence in the classroom and beyond. Her contributions have enriched our school in many ways, and her absence will certainly be felt by both staff and students.

We wish Fatima all the very best.

ICE Semester 2

Even though we are coming to a close for Semester 1 ICE. We are getting ready for next Semester 2.If you are interested in helping out for Semester 2, please fill out the google form(dates are in the google form). There is a list of potential activities you might choose to run, but you can also create your own, here is a short video from previous parents who have participated in our program. This term we are also putting this out to the wider community, asking members from our OHSC team and local aged care homes to see if anyone is interested to help out. We do need to know by the 16th June, as we are aiming for students to be putting preferences in by the end of next week. So we can start organising groups before the end of term. We understand that the ICE dates are a little spread out this semester, but this was the best way to ensure students still receive a full 8 weeks of the program, given the many activities taking place in Terms 3 and 4, including camps, sports days, swimming, and bike education.

Public Reporting Meeting of the School Council 

The Public Reporting Meeting of the School Council will take place on 19th June at 6:30 pm in the school hall. This meeting is open to all members of the community, including parents, and staff. It serves as an opportunity for the school council to provide: 

• the endorsed Annual Report to the meeting
• report the proceedings of the council since the date of the previous public meeting

PDO- Pleasant Day Out News

Look out next week for hardcopy edition of the PDO News. 

We're excited to bring you this newsletter, designed to keep everyone informed.

As part of this launch, we’ve included a dedicated page for updates in each issue of the newsletter. This section will feature the latest news, important announcements, upcoming events, and other key information. It's your go-to spot for staying current and engaged with what's happening across PDO.

Have a wonderful weekend.