Principal's Report 

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to the last newsletter for term 2. I hope you and your family enjoy some quiet time over the break and that the weather is not too cold for you to enjoy some great adventures together. 

Mr Radford Farewell: Mr Radford joined us at the start of term 3 last year, as the Acting Assistant Principal. During his 12 months with us, he has formed positive relationships with students, staff and families as he supported the work of the school. He learnt a lot about the functioning of the school and how decisions are made in the best interest of students and staff in a very complex and challenging environment. He has made the difficult decision not to apply for the substantive position, due to personal reasons and we wish him all the best as he continues his leadership journey within the education sector. Tomorrow will be his last day at Melton West PS.

Semester 1 Student Reports: Students were given their report on Tuesday to take home to their parents and carers. We hoped you received them in good condition. If not, please contact the office and we can print one for you. If your child does not live with you on a fulltime basis, we can arrange to have a copy of the report sent or emailed directly to you. Again, please call the school on 9743 5818 to arrange this.

Parent/Teacher Interviews: Thank you to the parents and carers who came to meet their teacher to discuss your child’s progress. It is an important part of communication between the school and yourselves, with the aim to support children to achieve to their potential. I would also like to thank the staff who put in a lot of preparation and such a long day of work. 

Extend Clean Up: Our Extend After School Care participants were enjoying playing outside last week and they noticed there was a lot of rubbish around our playground and oval! This made them feel very sad so they wanted to help and make sure our school ground stayed clean for all of us to enjoy and to ensure the wildlife in our community of Melton doesn't get sick or become affected from the rubbish that could destroy their habitat. They spent some time collecting the rubbish and placing it in the bin. Thank you, Abigail, Alexis, Noah, Tegan and Ms Alyce, for helping keep our school clean and the environment safe for all the beautiful creatures in the oceans.

Student Climate Change Survey: Earlier this week, an invitation from the Department of Education was sent to all students in Years 4, 5 and 6s families inviting them to participate in a survey about climate change. This is purely an optional survey to understand what these students think and know about climate change, and how they prefer to learn about it. The department hopes to use survey findings to better tailor teaching and learning resources for schools. There are 14 questions in the survey and all responses are anonymous. Students will need consent from a parent or carer to take part. The survey closes at the end of Term 3, at 5 pm on Friday 20th September 2024. To take part in the survey, students should refer to Student Climate Survey by clicking the link attached to the Class Dojo message or the email sent via Sentral. 

Lost School Uniform: This is a friendly reminder to clearly name all your child’s clothing in case it gets lost. Also, please check that your child is wearing their own clothing and not another piece of clothing belonging to another student. Sometimes children may come home with clothing that belongs to other students. Please return any item of clothing that has another child’s name on it so it can be returned to its owner. 

We have many uniform pieces in lost property which are unnamed. If your child has misplaced a piece of uniform and you or they cannot locate it in lost property, please feel free to take anything that is unnamed and fits your child. Please leave the area in an organised way, so that it is welcoming for the next people to come in.

Prep Enrolments 2025 Open: If you or somebody you know has a child turning 5 before 30th April 2025, they are eligible to attend school in 2025. All children have a guaranteed place in their local school, and some schools, like ours, can accept enrolments outside their designated area. If you feel they are ready to start school next year and would like to find out more about what we have to offer, please call the office to join one of our small group tours. These are fortnightly on a Wednesday from 9.30am or monthly in the evening at 6.00pm. To help with organising staff and preparing for an effective transition program, enrolments should be received by 26th July 2024.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal