Principal's Report 

 Dear Parents, 

What an amazing and busy week last week was.  As you know we started the week with Day for Daniel and had two police officers join us at assembly to discuss child safety with students and parents. This was an ideal way to start the conversation about child safety as we use the tragedy of Daniel's passing as a way to reinforce with our community the importance of seeking support, speaking up and acting safely at all times. This assembly was followed up with lessons in each classroom about such issues in an age appropriate fashion. 

Later in the week of course we had our first art show in many, many years, and what an event it was. The student and community artwork was simply amazing, as were the band from Taylors Lakes Secondary College who entertained us throughout the afternoon and into the evening. A small army of volunteers kept us well fed from the canteen, and lots of artwork was snapped up by eager families. 

It was so heart warming to see so many family and friends attend the function, and so rewarding to see the culmination of such hard work by students over a long time. 

This event, coupled with our production last year, has really lifted our Arts program to new heights. On behalf of our school community, I offer a huge and sincere thank you to Sally Wilson for curating this exhibition, and her small band of volunteers.  It was an event for the ages and something we will remember for some time. And now that it has concluded, bring on next year's production!

And if all that was not enough, on Friday of last week, our IDEAS team attended the Victorian Education Excellence Awards evening at The Regent Plaza Ballroom in Collins Street. The Excellence Awards are the premier awards in Victorian Public Education, and it was an absolute pleasure to attend the evening with the Minister for Education and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, the Secretary of the Department Jenny Atta, and several Deputy Secretaries and Region Directors including our own, Chris Thompson and our Area Executive Director Charles Branciforte. 

We were finalists in the Outstanding School Improvement category, and whilst we were not the eventual winners, we were still very proud to have taken Mackellar Primary School on such a journey of revitalisation and improvement over the past three-four years. Congratulations and thank you to the IDEAS Team for their hard work over a long time to make our school a school of choice in our area, and one that empowers students to become global citizens. 

A reminder that Friday November 1st is a curriculum day with students not required at school. On this day, staff will be working on implementing the updated Mathematics Curriculum as set by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. On Monday November 4th, students are also not required at school as teachers work on other administrative tasks. TheirCare will be available for child supervision on both of these days. With the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday November 5th, this will give students a five-day break from school. Please mark these dates in your diary. 

On November 8th we will be once again holding our Halloween dress up and disco. On this day students are welcome to come to school dressed in their favourite spooky attire for a gold coin donation. In the afternoon/evening we will be holding our disco with details sent out closer to the date. 

Finally, this week I am on long service leave enjoying sunny Bali with my wife. In my absence, Kylie Kennedy will no doubt do an amazing job as acting principal. 

Kind Regards, 

Simon McGlade

Principal