News From Mr Smith

Dear School Community Members,

Welcome back to school and the final term of the year! We hope you all had a fantastic holiday and managed some quality time with your family and loved ones. Term 4 is an eleven and a half week term! While we have much to look forward to throughout the term, we are committed to continuing to engage our students in a range of diverse learning experiences and we will continue to set high expectations in regard to their learning and behaviour all the way up to Wednesday, 20th December. Our staff will continue to prioritise the wellbeing of our students and I encourage families to continue regular routines with their children, such as bed times, and a regular Home Reading program so that our students are well placed to manage the complexity and fatigue that can set in during Term 4.

It has been a wonderful start to Term 4, with all students eagerly catching up with friends and beginning new curriculum topics. Term 4 promises to be another fulfilling and rewarding time at Mano. Transition sessions, excursions, Grade 6 Graduation ceremony, swimming programs and Bike Education for our Grade 4 and Grade 5 students will support the formal learning in classrooms.  

Please keep an ‘eye’ on the calendar of events in our newsletter to keep abreast all that is happening.

World Teachers Day: As communicated, Mano is celebrating World Teachers Day today. World Teachers Day is a time when we can express our gratitude to the teachers at our wonderful school. Teachers are among the most important people in the lives of young people. World Teachers Day provides a great opportunity for students and the school community to recognise the highly committed teachers we have. 

Education is complex and constantly changing, and teachers are increasingly called upon to step up and manage issues the community places upon them – fitness, nutrition, drug education, bullying behaviour, road safety, bike safety, water safety, cyber safety, child protection, environmental education, sex education and the list goes on. Simultaneously teachers deliver curriculum involving 8 Learning Areas. I acknowledge most occupations continually have more and more expected of them, and for this reason, teachers are expected to provide our students with the skills, strategies and knowledge for their future. A significant task considering our complex and ever changing world. 

It is important that we express our appreciation to our teachers here at Mano. Therefore, I do hope that our community will use this occasion to show our teachers how much they’re valued. 

With this in mind, I encourage families to consider using SeeSaw as a method to express your gratitude. Alternatively, families can email our school email address to communicate your appreciation:

Email: manifold.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Att: World Teachers Day

Dyslexia Awareness Week: This week is Dyslexia Awareness week. Dyslexia Awareness week promotes a future where all people with Dyslexia are acknowledged through:

• early identification
• understanding and inclusion
• supported with evidence based teaching
• access to assistive technology and reasonable accommodations
• empowered with equal access to the curriculum and opportunity.

At Mano, to raise awareness of Dyslexia, we encourage families to explore the Dyslexia Awareness website and explore the information available. This will help nurture an inclusive culture within our community.

Transition Program: Preparing our students for their transition into their next grade level is a high priority for our school. With this in mind, each student will engage in a comprehensive transition program to set them up for a successful 2024. Our transition program for all students, including our 2024 Prep students, will begin on Wednesday (11th October). 

Key Transition Dates:

Buildings and Grounds: You may have noticed that our school grounds are looking great! Our garden beds have been rejuvenated, the paths free of leaves, playground areas tidied and all weeds removed. Thank you to Tony Stefanovski for his work in completing this over the school holidays. Tony is our Grounds Officer who is employed one day per week to ensure our school continues to look great.

Nude Food: With our promotion of Nude Food by our Positive Behaviour and Wellbeing Ambassadors late last term, I encourage our families to continue to consider this when packing lunches. Nude food is food that is not wrapped in foil, plastic or commercial packaging. Our Positive Behaviour and Wellbeing Ambassadors eloquently articulated the immense benefits of ‘nude food’ and their passion for educating our community on protecting our beautiful environment. I ask all families to consider this message and provide nude food in your children’s lunch box. To our Positive Behaviour and Wellbeing Ambassadors, thank you for your timely reminder.

Class Placements for 2024: Our leadership team have begun planning for 2024. This includes discussing the class structure and reviewing the process utilised to allocate each student to a class for 2024. The process used to develop classes will be comprehensive, detailed and transparent. Our Leadership Team and teachers are best placed to manage the development of class groups. With this in mind, we will not be formally inviting parent written requests for 2024 class placements, as this has previously become impossible to satisfy competing requests. Parents who would like to talk to Narelle Geary or myself about their child’s placement for 2024 can do so by making an appointment through the School Office.

Due to the likely movement of teachers, along with other staff complexities, we will not be accepting families requesting a specific teacher.

Pupil Free Days – Term 4: Please note the Pupil Free days and Public Holiday for Term 4:

• Wednesday 25th October: Geelong Cup Public Holiday (no school)
• Friday 24th November: Curriculum Day: focus on Assessment and Reporting (Pupil Free Day)
• Monday 27th November: Curriculum Day: focus on Curriculum Planning (Pupil Free Day) 
  VillageOSHC will provide care options and should be contacted directly for bookings on Pupil Free Days.

Finally, congratulations to all the Collingwood supporters within the Mano community!

Thank you for supporting our school and have a great week.

Christian Smith

Principal