Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to term 2. I hope you had a restful and fun break with your family and friends. We look forward to a great term of learning ahead. I received a message from The Honourable Ben Carroll Education MP to pass onto parents and carers, wishing everyone a great term of learning ahead. His message reminds families that we need to work in partnership towards the common goal of happy and healthy students. He reminds us that mobile phones are not allowed at any Victorian Government schools, and that they should be switched off and stored at a secure location. At our school that is in the office. He also speaks about respectful behaviours from the adults, that by modelling respectful behaviour we are teaching our children how to treat others with kindness and respect. Please click on this lick to view his short video message short video message

New Office Staff Member: I would like to introduce Maria Petrevska, who has started with us this term, replacing Rhiannon who is on Family Leave. Please make sure you introduce yourself to her to help her feel welcome to the Melton West PS Community.

Rhiannon’s Baby: As some of you would be aware, Rhiannon in the office was due to have her baby in April. She gave birth to a baby boy on 3rd April. His name is Erik Munro and both baby and mum are doing very well.

Inclusive Education: Inclusive education means that all members of every school community are valued and supported to fully participate, learn, develop and succeed within an inclusive school culture. Victoria has a strong and vibrant education system that celebrates diversity and is committed to supporting the achievement and participation of all students. Inclusive education acknowledges that some children and young people have intersecting identities or additional needs that schools may need to take into consideration. These identities may relate to:

having a disability or additional learning needs
gender identity
sexual orientation
being an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
race
cultural identity
speaking a language other than English
social factors
economic factors
experience of abuse, neglect or family violence.

The department is committed to embedding inclusive education in all school environments for students with disability and additional needs. All Victorians, irrespective of the school they attend, where they live or their social or economic status, should have access to high quality education. An inclusive education system enables all students to be welcomed, accepted and engaged so that they can participate, achieve and thrive in school life. At Melton West PS many students have individual plans to support them in a variety of ways. It may be as simple as giving them access to some fidget toys in their classroom that they can use to help them focus, or more complex as having a modified learning program for some of their learning. You may see children around the school doing things that you think they shouldn’t be, such as being on the playground during learning time, however this may be part of their individual plan, related to an individual learning goal.

Auslan: Last night our teachers attended training about teaching Auslan. Did you know Auslan stands for Au (Australian) S (Sign) Lan (Language) and that there are northern and southern dialects of the language in Australia, which help cater for some of the differences in what we call certain things, for example we call swimming gear bathers and NSW call them swimmers? I also learnt that the grammar for Auslan is very different to English grammar. Auslan does not use little words like ‘to’, ‘the’ and ‘and’ so that the communication is more efficient. Teacher will start teaching program next week, with the students in their class learning sign language. This change from Chinese occurred after consultation with families, students and staff in 2023 and we look forward to learning alongside the children.

Prep Enrolments 2025 Open: If you or somebody you know has a child turning 5 before 30th April 2025 they are eligible to attend school in 2025. All children have a guaranteed place in their local school, and some schools, like ours, can accept enrolments outside their designated area. If you feel they are ready to start school next year and would like to find out more about what we have to offer, please call the office to join one of our small group tour. These are fortnightly on a Wednesday from 9.30am or monthly in the evening at 6.00pm. To help with organising staff and preparing for an effective transition program, enrolments should be received by 26th July 2024.

Smoking and Vaping Ban: Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping. Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping. The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents You can also view this video on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.

Parking Along Rathdowne Circuit: I must apologise for not informing you of the change in pick up arrangements along Rathdowne Circuit. This is because I was not aware there were going to be any change, which is quite unusual because the Council has been very good at communicating any changes over the past few years. However, the changes are in place, and will probably attract fines if you do not abide by the new arrangements.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal