Principal's Report
Dear families and friends of MPW,
Last Friday was World Teacher’s Day! I would like to thank all our teachers for their hard work and dedication. We appreciate their commitment, effort and care for all of our students and our community.
MVIMP Combined Concert
This week our MVIMP students begin rehearsals for their combined school concert on Monday November 13th at the Clocktower. We look forward to students performing alongside students from Ascot Vale, Ascot Vale West and Moonee Ponds Primary Schools for their collective families.
Mobile Phones Reminder
Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours, including recess and lunchtime, unless an exception has been granted by the Principal. At Moonee Ponds West Primary School, students are required to store their phones at the General Office upon arrival, where the device will be labelled and stored securely.
When emergencies occur, parents or carers should reach their child by calling the school’s office.
Students are encouraged not to bring a mobile phone to school unless there is compelling reason to do so.
Our full policy regarding Mobile Phones can be found here:
Classes 2024
Class placement arrangements for next year are beginning and any input parents wish to highlight as part of the class placement process needs to be in writing to the Principal using the attached form by Thursday 9th November.
While we cannot accommodate requests for specific teachers for your child, we always strive to make the best possible placement for all students.
There are many considerations when classes are arranged, such as:
- Where possible keep the class group together and/or with the same teacher for a second year. Where this is not possible, we will endeavour to keep the class group together
- Using the teachers’ collective judgment on the academic, social, and physical development of the student
- The academic and social mix of the class group
As part of the process for developing classes, students are asked to nominate “learning buddies” that they hope to be in a class with in 2024. These are peers who they enjoy being with and who bring out the best in them as a learner. The school will then ensure that each student is placed with at least one of their nominated peers.
It is normal to feel apprehensive about moving classes or starting a new year. The following attachment features some useful tips and strategies from Dr Judith Locke (clinical psychologist, former teacher and author of the book ‘The Bonsai Child’) to support students to feel successful in the transition to next year. It is important that children develop confidence in their ability to cope with new experiences and environments.
Remembrance Day
Next Friday, we will be acknowledging Remembrance Day, which falls on Saturday 11th November. Members of JSC will be holding a ceremony at 11am to help keep the legacy of those who served alive by learning about Remembrance Day and hold a minute silence for reflection. JSC will be selling poppies to support the ANZAC appeal to support and raise awareness. Some students will be coming around to classes to promote items in the coming days.
Early arrival at school
There has been an increase in students arriving alone to school as early as 8:20am in recent days. A reminder that students should not be in the school grounds alone prior the opening of the gates at 8:40am unless they are attending Before School Care. The yard is unsupervised until this time and any students in the yard before this time MUST be supervised by their parents.
Pickup Zones and Double Parking at the end of the day
We have had some concerned members of the school community raise that there is again, an increase in double parking at the end of the day for the collection of students. This is obviously a safety concern for our students.
We would like to remind you that students are expected to use the supervised crossings when crossing the road.
Please do not double park in the street. We do have the marked pick-up zones for pick up areas, if these are full you may need to drive around the block until a spot freezes up. We ask that you be patient if spaces are taken.
There has also been concerns around parents parking over the driveways/crossovers to houses or too close to the supervised crossings. We ask that you please ensure you are parking in appropriate designated parking areas.
There are times where the council will come out and monitor around schools and you may be booked if parked in the wrong place.
Dress Code Update and Reminders
A reminder that part of the school’s dress code policy relates to appropriate clothing expectations. Students are required to wear clothing that is both Sunsmart and appropriate for the school yard. An excerpt from both our Dress Code and Sunsmart policy states that clothing should be:
- loose, cool, tightly woven fabric
- shirts with a collar and/or high necklines
- tops with elbow length or long sleeves
- longer style shorts and skirts
- students will be required to wear hats which protect their face, neck, and ears from September to the end of April, when they are outside
There is a growing trend of students wearing shorter length shorts to school, where the length is too short to comply with our policies. Shorts worn by students should be of a length that covers most of the upper legs. If the shorts are shorter than their t-shirt or polo shirt, then they are not long enough to be Sunsmart.
The full Dress Code can be read here: https://www.mooneewestps.vic.edu.au/uploaded_files/media/mpw_dress_code_policy_final_approved_june_2022.pdf
Susan McLean Parent Session
Thank you to the families that attended Susan McLean’s Cybersafety presentation on 19th October. We had 80 people in attendance which was fantastic.
It was an informative evening, full of current information and considerations for us all regarding our students’ use of technology from ages 5 and up.
We had parents from Foundation to year 6 in attendance and lots of positive feedback about the session.
We are hoping to get some ‘testimonials’ from those in attendance for our next newsletter to support some information sharing. If you would like to share some comments about the night, please email them through to the school at moonee.ponds.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Our 3-6 students will be working with Susan on 17th November to learn more about technology use and Cybersafety. We will also have some students share their learning in a future newsletter after their session.
Regards,
Jarrod Sutton
Principal