PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
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.
2024!
Welcome back, students and parents! As we embark on this new school year, we would like to extend a warm and enthusiastic welcome to each of you. We are thrilled for the adventures and discoveries that await us in the coming months. Together, let's make this year one filled with growth, learning, and unforgettable experiences.
Year 6 Leadership Ceremony
On Monday it was an exciting time for our new student leaders, with the official Leader badge presentation at our assembly. Our school leaders Mathias, Charles, Ashleigh, Evelyn, Lucas and Ella presented their leadership speeches emphasising their passion, dedication and vision for Milgate during their leadership roles for 2023. Incredible role model and 2023 Manningham Young Citizen of the Year, Berry Eain, delivered an inspiring speech about leadership and using your voice, no matter your age, to improve the lives of those around us. She then presented all of our Year 6 leaders with their badges. It was fantastic to see the students celebrate their achievements and come together for a special afternoon tea. Congratulations to all and what an exciting year ahead it will be with your voice and insights to guide us.
Lunar New Year
On Tuesday we celebrated the Lunar New Year with a dragon dance at Assembly. It was wonderful to have our Cultural Leaders welcome everyone to our assembly and introduce our dancers. Thank you to Ms Nixon and Ms Yu for their work in preparing the students and organising the event. It was a wonderful celebration and a great way to start the school year. Happy Lunar New Year to all our families who are celebrating. We wish you success, happiness and prosperity this year.
Community Picnic
Our community picnic on Tuesday afternoon was a delightful gathering filled with laughter and joy. Parents and students mingled under the warm sun, indulging in delicious sausages from the grill, aromatic coffee from the van, and refreshing ice cream treats. Meanwhile, teachers embraced the opportunity to bond with their students outside the classroom, engaging in games and conversations with families. It was a perfect blend of food, fun, and community spirit that left everyone filled with joy and sugar. At Milgate, we cherish these opportunities to build connections with our community and really appreciate the support from families and teachers to create events like these.
Planning Week Next Week
Next week will be Planning Week for classroom teachers. Each year level of teachers will be released for half a day to work together to plan their next unit of inquiry, review assessment data, discuss the student learning needs and cater for all levels of learning.
The Planning Days are as follows:
- Monday | Year 4 and 3
- Tuesday | Years 1 and 6
- Wednesday | Years 2 and 5
- Thursday | Foundation
Parent Information Sharing/ Getting to Know You Sessions for Y1 - Y6
Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st of February 2:30 to 5:00pm
These sessions are an opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teacher and talk to them about their child - special interests, learning, and anything else that is relevant for the teacher to know. You can choose if you would like to meet online or face to face. Communication will be coming out via Compass early next week with how to book.
Meet our Parent & Friends Committee
I would like to introduce our Parent and Friends (P&F) Committee for 2024. This Committee is an important part of school community and a supportive network that welcomes all families. Please click on the next page to read the 2024 welcome from the new committee as well as some exciting events and fundraisers they have planned. A huge thank you to these wonderful parents for the time and effort that put in to creating the best experiences for the students and community at Milgate.
Co-presidents: Pauline & Jill (middle)
Secretary: Liz (left)
Treasurer: Irene (right)
Donations
As part of our Wellbeing program, we will continue to run lunchtime clubs for all students. In order for the clubs to run, we are asking for donations of board games and puzzles. If you have any games that are no longer being used or puzzles suitable for our students, please bring them and put them on the table outside of the art room. Thank you for your generosity!
Parking (attach pdf)
To keep our students and whole community safe please take note of the parking signs outside of the school grounds and drive responsibly when near a school zone. At Milgate, we aim to help the flow of traffic around the school during drop off and pick up times. Please read the notice below for an explanation of the signs out the front of the school.
Environmental team
Congratulations to FLP for being this week’s trash free Tuesday winner and the first winners for 2024! They will receive our environmental mascot Ernie the earth for doing a great job at bringing the least amount of trash this week. Good luck to all classes for the upcoming week!!
-Environmental team
Nut and Latex Free School
As we have a number of students and staff in the school who have life threatening nut allergies, we request that students do not bring any nuts or nut products such as peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, cashews) or any foods that contain nuts to school (Muesli bars, biscuits, Nutella/chocolate spread, etc). We also ask that products with latex are also not brought into school e.g. fidget toys made of latex, balloons etc.
Annual privacy reminder for our school community
Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.
Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy https://www.milgateps.vic.edu.au/page/208/Privacy, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Dari
- Gujarati
- Mandarin
- Somali
- Sudanese
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school
The Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.
A reminder that parents/carers of students
- who do not have student accident insurance, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs; and
- can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.
The Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.
Student Focus
Dallas Y2
Dallas in Year 2 was in Singapore for the EAMO-X, South East Asian Math Olympiad Final. There were 22 countries and over 1000 children who joined the competition. These children were all the finalists from each country. Dallas fell into the top 8% of his age group and was one of the five gold medallists, and the only gold from Australia.
Congratulations to Dallas for his amazing achievement.
Claire Y5
'Over the school holiday, I was enthusiastic about advancing my harp skills. I attended a masterclass, led by Prof. Dennett from the University of Melbourne and also was a great pleasure to meet Hannah Lane a well-known historical harpist, who focused on achieving ease and playing effortlessly. The session provided valuable insights into producing harmonics during performances and establishing effective daily practice routines. The innovative suggestions greatly contributed to enhancing the musicality of my harp pieces. Additionally, I found immense enjoyment in learning and interacting with other harpists of various ages, observing their unique presentations and expressions in music."
Claire Z 5RC