Principal's Report 

 We, at Miners Rest Primary School, would like to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation.

We pay our respects and thank the Wadawurrung people. May we share your land. We promise to look after it, as well as the animals and people too.

Athletics Day

We are practising skills, learning chants and meeting to discuss the arrangements and expectations for Athletics Day at Llanberris Recreation Reserve this Friday, March 27. The children are very excited, we are praying to the Weather Gods for sunshine and we are looking forward to welcoming all of our families and friends to cheer on our athletes, and enjoy a sense of community throughout the day. Leading up to this eventful day, important information has been provided for both families and students about Athletics Day. Please ensure that you have read and understood arrangements for the day. We thank you for your support in ensuring this ever-popular event runs smoothly for all involved. A huge thank you to Katherine Donnan, and her support team, for their passion in preparing our athletes, their meticulous organisation and for their tireless preparation behind the scenes.

Student Led Conferences

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Student Led Conferences, a unique opportunity for your child to take ownership of their learning and share their academic progress with you. During these conferences, your child will lead the conversation, share the work in their learning portfolio and discuss achievements and areas for improvement.

This format helps students develop valuable skills such as self-reflection, communication, and accountability and ownership of themselves as a learner. Parent participation is vital in this process, as it not only supports your child’s growth but also provides a platform for meaningful conversations about their learning.

We encourage you to actively engage by asking thoughtful questions, sharing observations, and celebrating progress. Your feedback is crucial in helping your child understand their strengths and areas where they can continue to grow, while demonstrating your interest and investment in their learning.

To help guide these discussions, here are some sentence starters you can use when responding to your child's work:

• "I am proud of how you…"
• "Can you tell me more about why you chose to do this?"
• "It seems like you worked really hard on this. What was the most challenging part?"
• "What are you most proud of in this piece of work?"
• "I noticed that you’ve improved…"
• "How did you feel when you completed this?"
• "What goal are you setting for yourself moving forward?"
• "I see that you’re working on improving… What’s your plan for that?"
• "How can I help you with your next steps?"

These open-ended questions and comments are designed to help your child reflect on their progress and set future goals. This is an opportunity to engage in a purposeful conversation with your child and their teacher about their learning journey. 

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday March 31 and Wednesday April 1.

Please remember, if you have any need to speak to your child's classroom teacher further about a matter that would be most appropriate to discuss without your child present, our teachers are more than happy to make a mutually agreeable time to support this.

We look forward to seeing our families at these two very important events on our school calendar.

With kind regards,

Kylie Nissen.