Merri-bek Mail

Leadership Report

Michelle Carland - Disability and Inclusion Leader

GRATITUDE 

Some benefits of practising gratitude are:

  • After 21 days, you start to scan the world for positives.
  • After 42 days you become:
    • More optimistic, energised & focused.
    • Less likely to get sick.
  • You will sleep better.
  • Anxiety and depression decreases.

A few quick and simple ways to practise being grateful are:

  • Journaling; each night write down 3 things that went well for you that day or purchase a gratitude journal with gratitude prompts.
  • Write a gratitude letter to someone special, telling them why you are grateful they are in your life.
  • Have a family discussion on the way home from school or around the dinner table about the things that went well that day or made you smile.

You can purchase 21 day, 6 month and family journals from The Resilience Project website, if that is something you’re interested in.

https://theresilienceproject.com.au/shop/

 

EMPATHY

Did you know ….

80% of our happiness is derived from:

  • Friendship.
  • Health.
  • Work fulfillment.
  • Loving relationships.
  • Spirituality.

When you do something kind for someone else your brain releases the love hormone oxytocin. This makes you feel good too. Check out Martin Heppell from The Resilience Project talking about being kind and the benefits of kindness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO-ja3h5INc

 

“Kindness is the greatest wealth of all. Small acts of kindness last longer than a lifetime” - Eddie Jaku (Author of ‘The Happiest Man on Earth’). 

 

Positive Behaviour Compass Entries

 

As we all know, our students show us positive behaviour all the time. We sometimes observe it and can praise the student or pass on these snippets of joy to our colleagues. But why not share these behaviours with our families too? 

 

As part of our Annual Implementation plan, our student's mental health and wellbeing is a priority for Merri-bek Primary School. We thought it would be a great opportunity to document the good things we see and alert you of these positive behaviours via Compass. This could be things like helping others outside, showing random acts of kindness, empathy, using their initiative or showing resilience.  

 

Kind regards,Michelle Carland

Disability Inclusion Leading Teacher

Costa Missailidis - Wellbeing and Engagement Leader

Biketober

 

Thank you to everyone who has signed up and joined Merri-bek Primary School during the month of October for Biketober! So far it has been a successful start to the event with many staff, students and parents joining the challenge and riding, scooting and walking to school.

 

Every Wednesday this month, we will tally how many kids travelled to school by foot, bike, scooter or public transport. We are competing against 11 other primary schools across Merri-bek for the top school prize - an ice-cream bike afternoon for all our students!

 

Congratulations to Abigail who won the prize for Week 1 - ‘back on your bike’, Wednesday was the first time Abigail rode to school after just recently learning how to ride a bike, well done!

 

 

The Week 2 prize for the ‘most creative ride’ will be announced next week.

 

Next week's challenge is ‘best family or friends ride’, so get together with family and friends and create a fun and safe group ride to school on Wednesday 23rd October!

 

Merri-bek Primary School is currently:

  • 1st on the 20-49 staff leaderboard amongst schools
  • 1st on the 20-49 staff leaderboard in Victoria
  • 3rd on the 20-49 staff leaderboard in Australia

Keep up the great work and remember it is not too late to join the challenge and earn points for our school. You can register here:

https://www.lovetoride.net/merribek?ic=e619413c&locale=en-AU

 

Division Athletics

 

During Term 3, 9 students represented Merri-bek PS at the Division Athletics Championships. It was a successful day with a number of students qualifying for the Regional Athletics Championships.

 

A big congratulations to the following students for their outstanding efforts:

  • Hume for coming 4th in U10 Boys Triple Jump
  • Mila for coming 4th in U12 Girls High Jump
  • Arlo, who filled in for Daniel, for coming 4th in U12 Boys Triple Jump
  • Orla for coming 3rd in U11 Girls High Jump

 

Another big congratulations to the following students who qualified for the Regional Athletics Championships:

  • Orla who came 1st in U11 Girls Triple Jump
  • Sathya who came 1st in U10 Girls Discus
  • Arzan who came 1st in U10 Boys Discus
  • Orla, Nadine, Veronica and Dayton who came 1st in the U11 Girls Relay

 

Regional Athletics

 

On Wednesday 16th October, 6 students represented Merri-bek PS at the Regional Athletics Championships. Congratulations to all students on their persistence, resilience and effort they have demonstrated to make it this far.

 

Orla represented Merri-bek PS in 2 events; Triple Jump and the U11 Girls Relay Team.

 

Nadine, Dayton and Veronica, along with Orla also represented Merri-bek PS as part of the U11 Girls Relay Team.

 

Sathya and Arzan both represented Merri-bek PS in Discus.

 

Well done to all students on their final results:

  • Orla came 3rd in Triple Jump
  • Arzan came 4th in Discus
  • Sathya came 5th in Discus
  • Orla, Veronica, Dayton and Nadine came 5th in the Relay

 

All students recorded personal bests and should be proud of their efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Hess - Maths Learning Specialist 

 

We are thrilled to announce the introduction of new math trolleys in every classroom at Merri-bek Primary School. These trolleys are equipped with a variety of hands-on manipulatives designed to enhance our students' learning experiences in Numeracy.The incorporation of these resources aligns with our commitment to providing engaging and effective educational tools that cater to diverse learning styles. Research has consistently shown that hands-on manipulatives play a crucial role in helping students grasp mathematical concepts.The new math trolleys will include items such as counting resources, dominos, measuring tools, and interactive games. These manipulatives will not only support our current math curriculum but will also encourage collaborative learning and problem-solving among students. Teachers at Merri-bek Primary School are excited to integrate these resources into their lessons, fostering an environment where students can explore mathematical concepts through play, games and experimentation.We look forward to seeing the positive impact these new resources will have on our school community!

 

 

Joe Hess

Maths Learning Specialist