News From Mr Smith

Dear School Community Members,

50 Questions to Ask Kids! 

Recently, a parent and I was discussing some research that highlighted the huge benefits of parents/guardians and their children having regular conversations about learning, play, dreams, friends, happiness, emotions, creativity … and the list goes on. Our discussion focussed on the research that indicated a rapid decline in these discussions and chats families engage in. With this in mind, I have attached a poster of ’50 Questions to Ask Kids’ that would stimulate these ever-important discussions. I encourage families to consider using some of these questions to have a regular conversation with your children – this could be at the dinner table, incorporate in your child’s bedtime routine or even when driving. 

Education Week: 

Like all schools across Victoria, Mano is celebrating Education Week in the week of Monday, 19th May.

This year’s Education Week theme is, ‘Celebration of Cultures’, which highlights the diversity of our communities and the importance of every child feeling safe and welcome at their school. Our activities throughout the week will be aligned to this theme.

Education Week is an opportunity for Mano to showcase our wonderful school and the opportunities and experiences that take place every day.

Events include:

• Education Week launch at Assembly:     Monday, 19th May           9:05am

• School Tours for Prospective Families:  Tuesday, 20th May           9:30am 

                                                                              Wednesday, 21st May    12:00pm

• Open Afternoon for current families:       Wednesday, 21st May     2:30pm

We warmly encourage all families to join us at any of the activities throughout the week. 

Further information will be provided over the coming weeks from our Education Week committee.

Student Learning and Student Voice:

In the coming weeks, we will be conducting a survey to find out what our students think of our school. The ‘Attitudes to School’ survey is an annual survey for students in Years 4, 5 and 6. The survey is conducted by the Department of Education and is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experience of school. Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child’s experience at school. All responses are anonymous. The survey will take approx. 30 minutes to complete and will be conducted during class time. The results will be reported back to the school community at the end of July.

Annual Implementation Plan 2025 - Wellbeing: 

The wellbeing of our students is of the highest priority. Whilst our data reinforces the success of our wellbeing programs and approach at Mano, throughout 2025, we will continue to embed our whole school approach to health and wellbeing. Led by Mrs Forsyth and the Wellbeing School Improvement Team, we will be utilising our Health and Wellbeing model to continue the implementation of Wellbeing Conferences for all students. This concept is very similar to the practice of our students engaging in regular Numeracy, Reading and Writing conferences. Using the information from the PERMAH survey (Wellbeing Survey), teachers will meet with students to conference on their wellbeing and develop goals to maximise their wellbeing. Once again, we look forward to sharing updates of this work throughout the year. A huge shout out to Mrs Forsyth for her leadership, commitment and passion in this space. 

Supervision: 

As a staff, we are committed to our ‘Duty of Care’ and ‘Yard Duty and Supervision’ policies (can be found on our website) to maximise the safety of our students.  A friendly reminder that our grounds are supervised by school staff from 8:50am until 3:40pm. Outside of these hours, supervision cannot be guaranteed and our Duty of Care policy is not applicable. Families of students who are on school grounds outside of these hours need to contact our Outside of Hours School Care provider,  VillageOSHC.

School Pride: 

As the cold weather ‘kicks’ in and students begin to wear winter items of the School Uniform, I remind families of our Student Dress Code policy that is available from the school website. Recently, we have had to remind students of the correct uniform. This includes non-Mano jumpers and hoodies are not to be worn to school and for safety and health reasons, students with shoulder length or longer hair must be tied back. I ask families to support us by reinforcing this with their children.

Curriculum Day (Pupil Free) – Friday, 16th May: 

As communicated, Friday, 16th May is a Pupil Free Day. Led by consultant, Rachael Buck, our staff will engage in a professional learning day focussed on our teaching approaches of reading and writing. Rachael will model to staff reading and writing practices aligned to the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model. VillageOHSC are offering care for this day. Registration for this care is available via the VillageOHSC website.

Sunsmart: 

As per our Sun Protection Policy, students and staff are required to wear their sun protective hat from 15th August until 30th April. With this in mind, students and staff are no longer required to wear their sun protective hat until 15th August. Students and staff may choose to continue wearing their sun protective hat at recess and lunch time.

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

Christian Smith