GREAT TO BE BACK

Dear MPS School Community,

I want to sincerely thank the MPs school community for the overwhelming support and kindness I was shown during my recent personal leave. Your heartfelt messages, gestures and understanding has meant a great deal to me during this difficult time following the passing of my beautiful mother.

I feel very fortunate and grateful for having such a caring and compassionate school community by my side providing me both comfort and strength.

It feels good to be back. I have truly missed everyone and grateful to return to the vibrant and engaging learning environment of MPS. Upon returning I have enjoyed Witnessing the wonderful learning happening in all our learning environments. It's inspiring to see students so engaged and our staff dedicated to creating a positive and supportive classroom experience.

Let's continue making this a fantastic place for our children, families and staff.

STATEWIDE PRINCIPAL CONFERENCE

Last week, MPS Principal Class were fortunate enough to be part of the state wide conference for Principals over two days. The theme of the conference this year was ‘Excellence in every Classroom’.

We heard from Keynote speakers:

Dr Sonja Hood (CEO of Scanlon Foundation and President of North Football Club)

Sonja touched on the importance of why she started up the Community Hubs and how the hub model supports and empowers families. She mentioned Broadmeadows being the first area where Hubs were born. MPS should be very proud with being a leader in this very important work.

Sonja’s quote, “the point of not going well is not your fete, it’s your starting point” sends a powerful message to us all to stay focussed, persistent and resilient.

Professor Joanna Barbousas (La Trobe University).

Joanna was an amazing speaker and the founder of the Nexus program and Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Teacher Education. I am proud to say that at MPS we are participants in the Nexus program and can vouch for the quality teachers coming out of this program. Our very own Mr Thomas Rotunda and Ms Olivia Bottomley are a part of the La Trobe University Graduate School of Education Nexus Program.

Joanna also brought in the innovative changes to the education faculty at LA Trobe, including the work around the Science of Learning and Reading. Once again, I am proud to say that at Meadows Primary School we are currently embedding the evidenced informed science of reading.

Joanna pointed out that “leadership is about staying on the road even when it bends”. A wonderful quote with the message of ‘not giving up, bouncing back from challenges and continuing to strive to reach your goal’.

Dr David Howes – Deputy Secretary of the DE.

Dr Howes quoted, “there is greater wisdom in the whole than the individual”. A message about working in collaboration for the greater good, which how we like to do things at MPS. We are fortunate that at MPS we value the strength and wisdom in teamwork.

Kate Rattigan - Deputy Secretary, People and Executive Services Group

Kate provided us with some informative information regarding better protecting students in schools with clear guidance on Child Safe Standards.

A wonderful two days of learning growth for us. We came back excited to begin work on building our leadership capacity as a team and driving new learnings across our school with a focus on embedding evidenced informed teaching and learning.

ZERO TOLERANCE TO RACISM

There have been changes to Managing Incidents of Racial and Cultural Discrimination in Victorian Schools now with the new updated Racism Policy which applies to all Victorian schools. https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/preventing-addressing-racism-schools/policy

At Meadows Primary School we value the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and faith of all our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at our school.

Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and more innovative. We are committed to making sure that students from all backgrounds feel accepted, supported and able to learn. We teach all students according to our school values and teach the respectful relationships framework. This includes education around diversity and inclusion.

To achieve our values and aims, everyone at Meadows Primary School plays an important role. We continue to remind students of our values of being RESPONSIBLE, RESPECTFUL and RESILIENT and the importance of using these in everything we do.

To help us make Meadows Primary School a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported, we encourage you to also speak to your child about these values, as well as the importance of:

understanding that we celebrate diversity and multicultural inclusion
understanding the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect.

For more information, please see Racism: talking with children and teens, Raising Children Network. We expect families to also display our school values when dealing with other members of our school community.

CHANGES TO SUSPENSION and EXPULSION POWERS

At Meadows Primary School, we are committed to providing inclusive, safe learning environments where everyone is respected. We have a zero tolerance to behaviours where others’ safety is compromised.

Recent changes to the suspension and expulsion powers recently announced state, Victorian principals will now have the power to suspend or expel students who engage in unacceptable behaviours that pose significant impact to the safety and wellbeing of students or staff, outside of school grounds or hours, including online. This policy will come into effect Monday 21st July 2025 (day one of Term 3).

These powers do not apply to behaviours that are unrelated to school or the school community. They only apply when the behaviour of a student outside of school seriously impacts the safety and wellbeing of students or staff at school and a affect their ability to learn or work.

Suspensions and expulsions is always a last resort as we continue to support all of our students by using positive behaviour strategies, trauma informed approaches and social emotional learning, including building our partnership with families to teach students appropriate and expected behaviours in school and the community.

CHILD SAFETY and WELLBEING at MEADOWS PRIMARY SCHOOL SCHOOL: information for families and school community

Meadows Primary School is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.

Our child safety framework includes policies, codes and procedures that explain how we support and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students and protect them from harm. It includes our:

Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures.

These documents are attached to this newsletter and also available on our website: https://meadowsps.vic.edu.au/policies

We are also committed to continuous improvement of our child safety framework. We are currently reviewing our child safety policies and practices to ensure they are up-to-date and effective.

Our students and families are important partners in this process. We welcome your feedback or ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact Mrs Figen Mustafa (Principal) or Stephanie Millan (Assistant Principal) on (03) 9309 2573 or at meadows.ps@education.vic.gov.au

PLANNING WEEK - TERM 3 PREPERATION

Week 10 will be a planning week where teaching teams will each have a full day dedicated to reflecting on the work of this term, analysing student data and forward planning in preparing new learning for term 3. Planning days are always a valuable opportunity to collaborate, align our strategies, and set clear priorities to ensure we are well prepared to meet students at the point of need.

Investing quality time in focused planning will:

Enable us to review and refine our curriculum plans and teaching strategies.
Share resources, best practices, and innovative ideas.

Strengthen our collective understanding and approaches to student success

Stay safe, stay well

Mrs Figen Mustaf

Acting Principal