PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Welcome back to the beginning of Term 4! We hope you had a wonderful break and are feeling refreshed and ready for an exciting term ahead. As we embark on this new chapter, we have many enriching experiences, educational opportunities, and memorable moments planned for your children. We can't wait to dive into the upcoming term together and make it a time of growth, learning, and fun. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child's education.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Milgate Primary School would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land of the Wurundjeri People and we would like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. Staff, students and the school community understand that we thrive, learn and live on Wurundjeri Country and we stand with all cultures united as one.
Woi Wurrung Word
Cultural Calendar
SHREK THE MUSICAL
Congratulations to our incredible Year 5 and 6 students for their outstanding performances of "Shrek"! Their dedication, commitment, and hard work truly shone through as they learned intricate choreography, mastered complex dialogue, and delivered harmonious songs. Their willingness to be risk-takers on the stage paid off, and their performances were nothing short of spectacular. They’ve not only entertained us but also inspired us with their talent and determination. Well done on a job exceptionally well done!
I would also like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Year 5 and 6 teachers for their unwavering support and guidance throughout the entire production journey. Their dedication to nurturing these young talents, fostering their creativity, and helping them overcome challenges was invaluable. A special thank you goes to Ms. Strickland for her exceptional leadership and direction, which played a pivotal role in bringing "Shrek" to life. Together, they’ve created a memorable experience for our students that they will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you for your extraordinary contributions!
YEAR 3 SCIENCE INCURSION
The Year 3s participated in two different experiments all about gases that enabled us to learn more about our ‘How The World Works’ Science unit! The first experiment included testing the levels of carbon dioxide when we exhaled into a special formula. In the second experiment we explored the level of oxygen in a solution. When the solution had a lot of oxygen in it, the colour of the solution changed to green and when the oxygen levels became stable, the solution returned to yellow.
YEAR 5 INCURSION
On Friday, the Year 5s had a wonderful opportunity to listen to Peter Wagstaff “Wags”, a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, to discuss what marketing is and the role of marketers. Students submitted their questions prior to his visit to help guide the discussion towards what they were curious about. The students explored the relationship between companies, customers, and society and our ethical responsibility as budding marketers. The Year 5s learned about goods and services, profits and loss and how these impact on society. This was an excellent opportunity to springboard their ‘How we Organise Ourselves’, where they will create their products, market them and sell them at our Maker’s Market. We were very thankful to have this opportunity.
YEAR 2 EXCURSION
On Thursday, the Year 2s had a fantastic day at the Royal Botanic Gardens! In our current Unit of Inquiry, ‘Where we are in Place and Time’, students are learning about places of social, cultural, historical and geographical significance. The Gardens met all of these criteria and they thoroughly enjoyed learning more about them. During guided sessions, students learnt about significant trees that had been there for hundreds of years, tools made by First Nations People from bark, wood and stone, possum skin blankets and native edible plants. They made their own oche paintings and explored areas of the gardens including the main lake, the fern garden, the sensory garden and arid garden. Many enjoyed their visit so much that they spoke of wanting to go again! Thank you to our parent helpers who came along and we were very relieved that we had clear skies for the day!
WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY
World Teachers' Day is a day dedicated to honouring and appreciating the tireless efforts of educators and education support staff worldwide. On this special occasion, we come together to acknowledge and celebrate the pivotal role they play in nurturing the minds of our future generations. The teachers and support staff at Milgate Primary School work tirelessly to provide knowledge, guidance, and care to their students, shaping their futures in profound ways. It is a day to express our gratitude for their dedication and unwavering commitment to the students in their care. Let us take this opportunity to thank all the teachers and education support staff for their invaluable contributions, as they continue to inspire and uplift the students of Milgate Primary School.
2024 Class Considerations/Student Placement Requests
Closing Date | Friday 27 October
The placement of students for the coming year is a complex process where teachers and leadership put great thought and sensitivity into the planning. When developing individual classes each year, teachers and leadership consider a number of factors including academic ability, social competencies, gender, students who do/do not work well together and friendship groupings important to the social and emotional development of the child. While the students are consulted about current friendships, it is only one of the criteria considered because building new relationships is also part of our education process and an essential skill for students to develop. We discuss, reflect and review our decisions thoughtfully over a significant period of time.
As part of this process, parents are invited to offer their insights. If students have any learning or social needs to be considered when placing them in classes for 2024, parents can email David Mander and request the form to complete. Please email david.mander@education.vic.gov.au
Please note, that we do not retain previous years’ requests as students’ needs and friendships change from year to year. If the consideration from a previous year is still important, parents will still need to request the form from David.
Additionally, multiple student friend requests or requests that impact another student’s class placement cannot be considered in the process. Parents are also not able to request specific teachers. The closing date for these considerations is Friday 27th October.
Any requests received after this date are not able to be taken into account.
ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM | Term 4 Week 1
Congratulations to 1MC for being this week’s trash free Tuesday winner and having 0 pieces of trash! They will receive ’Ernie the Earth’ our environmental mascot. Overall as a school we got 109 pieces of trash. Well done to everyone who has contributed to our composting already. Please remember to put your food scraps in the compost bin.
Gabby and Ella, the environmental school captains.
A visit to our sister school in Beijing |Beijing Normal University Kindergarten and Primary School
During the September school holidays I (Kate Mancarella) visited our sister school in Beijing, China. It was wonderful to meet the students, teachers and Principals of both Beijing Normal University Kindergarten and Primary School. We discussed the history of the schools relationship, the different curriculum and pedagogies both school’s use and we reflected on the last time the sister school visited Milgate Primary School and how it was enjoyed by all students and families that were involved.
We are looking forward to connecting online with students from our sister school later in the year and we are excited to start the beginning phase of planning a trip over to Beijing to visit the school in the coming years with any interested families from Milgate Primary School.