ANZAC Day Dawn Service

We had two wonderful opportunities to come together as a community and pay our respects for ANZAC Day this year.

First, I would like to thank Ms Tara Buckle for her wonderful work in organising and facilitating our school’s ANZAC Day ceremony during assembly on Friday, April 24th. Her efforts ensured our students had a meaningful space to reflect and learn right here at school.

Following this, it was a privilege to represent Mitcham Primary School at the Halliday Park Dawn Service on Saturday, April 25th. Our School Captains, Hannah and Ben, did a fantastic job formally representing MPS by laying a wreath in tribute and reading the poem We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Michael.

It was heartening to see so many of our students and families at the Dawn Service on Saturday, taking the time to honour those who have served and reflecting on the importance of this day.

School Council Meeting

We held our April School Council Meeting this week. During the meeting, we ratified our confirmed 2026 budget and reflected upon the facilities upgrades completed during the school holidays (detailed below). We also reviewed the wonderful activities already completed this year and discussed the exciting plans ahead from our Parents and Friends Fundraising Team. Please be sure to read their full contribution later in this newsletter.

Riversdale Network Principal’s Conference

Bron and I were fortunate to attend the Riversdale Network Principal’s Conference recently, it was a valuable opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from similar school settings. Our program was heavily focused on strengthening our leadership practice and driving school improvement.

A particular highlight was exploring 'Responsive Teaching,' a core implementation priority within the VTLM 2.0. Expert insights from Bron Ryrie-Jones provided practical, evidence-based strategies to enhance instructional quality across our classrooms. We also engaged in productive ‘triad discussions’ regarding building leadership capacity and forecasting the needs of our middle leaders.

The conference featured inspiring sessions from Paul Watkins on building antifragility, Dr. Paige Williams on cultivating thriving organisational cultures, and AFL legend Gavin Wanganeen, who shared powerful reflections on leadership and advocacy for First Nations people. These learnings provide excellent momentum as we continue to refine our strategic direction in this year of school review and support our staff to continue to excel.

Facilities Upgrade

Our Facilities Manager, Adrian, was kept very busy over the school holidays, overseeing and completing several important projects to ensure our environment remains safe and functional:

Full biannual servicing of all split heating/cooling systems across the school.
Continued construction of garden beds around the school.
Successful completion of our toilet refurbishments.
Installation of new flashings on the roof of the main building to resolve ongoing leaks in the media room.
Installation of new concrete in multiple areas where previous cracking and shifting had created trip hazards.

We also continue to appreciate the regular and high-quality work provided by Bliss Maintenance in keeping our gardens looking their best.

Open Day and Prep Information Evening

It is hard to believe we are already welcoming families who will join the Mitcham Primary School community in 2027! We are currently receiving a high volume of requests for school tours and are preparing for the following events:

Prep Information Evening: Tuesday, 5th May.
Open Afternoon: Tuesday, 19th May, 2:30 pm - 4 pm.

For families with children starting Prep in 2027, please note that enrolments are now officially open. We encourage you to submit your applications soon to help us with our future planning.

We also warmly invite all our current families to visit us during the Open Afternoon. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see our classrooms in action and visit your children within their learning environments and specialist programs. We look forward to seeing you there!

Wishing all families a restful weekend.

Warmly,

Erin

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