News From Mr Smith
Dear School Community Members,
Welcome to Term 2!
It has been a fantastic start at Mano, with students reconnecting with friends and enthusiastically engaging in new curriculum topics.
Term 2 spans ten weeks, and there is much to look forward to. Highlights include the Year 3–6 Mano House Athletics, Education Week, the Winter Lightning Premiership for our Grade 5 and 6 students, the release of student report cards, and the commencement of rehearsals for our school concert. In addition, a range of excursions and Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled throughout the term.
We encourage families to keep an eye on the calendar of events in our newsletter to stay informed about all upcoming activities.
It’s not Okay to be away!:
We will continue to promote the importance of regular student attendance throughout the year. While our attendance data has shown improvement over the past three years, maintaining consistent attendance remains a key priority for our school. We understand that some families may need support when navigating the “I don’t want to go to school” conversation.
The following resource offers helpful strategies for responding to the various ways children may express a desire to stay home:
As always, we encourage families to contact the school if you would like further support in improving your child’s attendance.
ANZAC Day Commendation Service:
On Monday, some of our senior students will lead our school community through our annual ANZAC Day commemoration service.
All families are warmly welcome.
Date: Monday, 27th April
Time: 9:05am
Venue: Basketball/Netball Court (in front of flag poles)
Unleashing Potential Awards – Term 1:
Congratulations to the following students on receiving the Term 1 Unleashing Potential Award:
Prep Jack Spink
Grade 1 Florence Bethune
Grade 2 Tom Nikolic
Grade 3 Percy Cosgrave
Grade 4 Xander Young
Grade 5 Sienna Lavars
Grade 6 Jaxon Stefanovski
Annual Implementation Plan – 2026:
Our Annual Implementation Plan outlines the key areas we will focus on to maximise student learning and wellbeing outcomes. Ultimately, an Annual Implementation Plan is a school’s improvement plan. Our staff, School Council and our Leadership Team analysed our school data and other information to determine our priorities. Our key improvement strategies for this year are:
- English: Implement Spelling Mastery and embed the agreed Mano English Model to improve literacy outcomes for all students.
- Math: Develop and implement a daily review and number fluency routine to strengthen retention and confidence to improve mathematical outcomes for all students.
- Wellbeing & Inclusion: Sustain a positive school culture by promoting wellbeing, inclusive practices and student agency to improve the wellbeing outcomes for all students.
Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting: Review, develop and implement a curriculum-aligned reporting system that delivers timely feedback to improve outcomes for all students.
As a staff team, we are committed to achieving the targets against our improvement plan and are highly engaged in each of these areas. In the upcoming newsletters, I will provide our families with regular updates on our progress and achievements.
Parent Workshop – Building Resilient Families:
Manifold Heights Primary School is proudly collaborating with Meli to offer a FREE parent workshop for our community in Term 2.
This engaging and practical session, Building Resilient Families, is designed to support parents and carers in understanding how to nurture resilience and emotional wellbeing in children.
Date: Wednesday 6th May (Term 2, Week 3)
Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm (doors open from 5:45pm)
Location: Multipurpose Room, Manifold Heights Primary School
RSVP: We kindly ask that you indicate your attendance for the evening through the following link.
Education Week at Manifold Heights PS:
Our school, along with many other schools, will celebrate education week during the week of Monday, 18th May. This is an opportunity for our community to celebrate the wonderful opportunities, experiences and achievements our students undertake on a daily basis at Mano.
Further details will be available in the coming week.
Thank you for supporting our school and have a great week.
Christian Smith