Reagional ExcellenceNewsletter ~ Term 2, Week 2, 2025

Principal's Message:

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends of St Mel’s Primary School,

Another fortnight of learning closes this weekend, following the first week of term's 'Neuroscience of Learning' for our staff team and this week's return to classes for our students. Very pleasingly, our teachers have reported children returning quickly to familiar school routines and retaining learning from Term One. As we learned last week in our sessions with Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, regular retrieval review of learning over time supports deep learning to continually lay firm knowledge foundations, interlinked concepts and reducing cognitive load when engaged in new learning. Our teachers have much to share with their students about how they learn best at an age appropriate level. Exciting times ahead.

Sacramental Preparation:

Please keep the children and their families preparing for the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to meet together to learn more about our Catholic faith and how to be Christ-like within our community.

Magnify Sandhurst'

Every Student - Every Teacher - Every School - Every Day!

Neuroscience of Learning

Members of our Staff Team are grateful for the focussed time and opportunity to spend two and a half days devoted to increasing our knowledge around the 'Neuroscience of Learning' last week in support of our implementation of the various elements of 'Magnify Sandhurst'.

Sessions across the days included: The Science of Learning, Foundations of Human Thinking, the Role of Stress and Performance, Principles of Effective Relationships, Learning Principles, Technology / AI & Learning, the Learning Trajectory, Creativity, Foundations of Learning, Building Deep Knowledge and Performance, Creating, Storing and Retrieving Knowledge (Memory and Retrieval).

On the last day, we took some time to reflect on our learnings and consider the impact for our students as we continue to implement Magnify. This was significant learning for our Staff Team, as we joined online with Catholic schools and colleges across the Sandhurst diocese.

Welcome Kate Fogarty, Executive Director of Catholic Education

On Tuesday afternoon we welcomed our Executive Director to St Mel's Primary School, along with Catholic Education Sandhurst's newly appointed Deputy Director, Business Services, Mr. Paul Rohan. Kate and Paul met briefly with school leadership prior to taking a tour of our classrooms to observe our students engaged in our 'low variance - knowledge rich curriculum' Magnify Sandhurst.

In addition to this focus on student learning, development and growth, Kate and Paul were very interested to view the extensive painting, maintenance and grounds improvements undertaken since last year and discuss our plans for the future.

Shepparton's Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence:

On Tuesday afternoon our Staff Team visited this world class facility - a place for First Nations education, sport, recreation, cultural identity and future. Our staff were joined by Michael Chisholm, from the CES Ltd Aboriginal & Torres Islander Education Team for this special tour. Our visit continues our school's commitment towards continual education in Aboriginal perspectives, culture, tradition and identity in support of the education of our students. We look forward to fostering and continuing a close relationship with the Munarra Centre in the future.

Student Medical Information - Please Update NOW on 'SIMON Everywhere(PAM)':

Start of Term Two - Time to update children's Student Medical Information online using the SIMONEverywhere (PAM) app. This information is important for staff to access in the event of a medical issue or emergency at school, on excursion, during sports days (off site) and camps. A reminder to parents to contact your child's Learning Group teacher or the School Administration Office to let us know when major changes are made to the online information across the term.

Communicating With Your Teacher / Your School:

When communicating with your child/ren's teacher/s emails and phone calls to school are preferred modes. These can also be used to set meetings where time can be set aside for conversations.

School Communicating With You!

Our SCHOOL NEWSLETTER is our main source for information and updates across the year.

EMAILS will also be used to provide information, updates and reminders to our community across 2025.

SiMON EVERYWHERE (Parent Access Module) is also used for communicating with our parents and carers across the year.

This app is downloaded via the online appStore and our Administration Office staff can provide access to our school area within the SiMON EVERYWHERE platform.

SiMON EVERYWHERE is also used by parents / carers to provide the school with...

...updated student medical information

...attendance information e.g. Reasonable Excuses for student absences

...book three way interviews with teachers (during our interview periods)

...complete documentation in support of camps and excursions (when released by the school)

SIMON EVERYWHERE is used by our school to...

...provide Student Progress Reports

...push out information, updates and reminders

'St Mel's Primary School Shepparton'[ FACEBOOK PAGE.

Parents using social media platforms are invited to follow our 'St Mel's Primary School Shepparton' FACEBOOK PAGE.

We have been making greater use of this OFFICIAL St Mel's Primary School Shepparton FACEBOOK PAGE this year as another mode to share information with parents, carers and the broader community in relation to school news, events and activities.

This social media platform will be a public way to celebrate our school community.

Parents and carers are asked not to use this platform to communicate with the school.

Face to face contact, telephone and / or email are preferred means of communicating with school staff in regard to specific needs.

Student Arrival at School:

We encourage our students to commence arriving at school from 8:30am each morning.

This provides an opportunity for children to catch up, play with one another and be here well before our first bell at 8:55am. Preferably ALL children will be onside from 8:45am so that once the first bell goes they are ready to enter Learning Suites and ready to engage in their morning learning routine.

2025 & 2026 Enrolment:

We look forward to prospective families and students touring our wonderful school community on Monday and for Enrolment Interviews to follow.

Catholic Education Week:

We celebrate Catholic Education Week from this coming Monday 5th to Friday 9th May.

Catholic Education Week includes our second Open Day and School Tours & Weekly Assembly (Monday), Sandhurst Switches Off (Wednesday) and Mothers' Day Breakfast (Friday). We look forward to celebrating our opportunity to learn, work and be in our wonderful Catholic school community across Catholic Education Week, as schools and colleges across Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd celebrate together!

St Mel's PS Uniform:

Wearing our correct school uniform shows pride in our school and pride in ourselves.

We Do Our Best when we wear our correct school uniform. Reminder - students are not required to wear hats in Term Two and Three.

We Need You! And... you and you and you and you! (CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!) [Repeat]

Our St Mel's Parent & Carer's Social Committee is in need of MORE parents and carers to indicate their support for our various school events, fun-raising and fund-raising activities.

Recently a letter was sent home detailing ways in which parents and carers can support activities such as: Mothers' Day Stall

Ladies' Breakfast

Pie Drive

Fathers' Day Stall

Fathers' Day Breakfast

School Disco

Without support from our parents and carers we may need to change and possibly abandon activities going forward. Please find following a copy of the Volunteer Sign Up form.

Please return the form next week.

Volunteer in Support of our School Community

- St Mel's Parent & Carers Social Committee: [REPEAT]

The St Mel's PS Parents & Carers Social Committee consists of volunteer parents, carers and other members of our community (e.g. grandparents, former parents, staff members, aunties, etc.) whose aims are as follows:

To cater for the general wellbeing of the school community.
To liaise and co-operate with the School Advisory Council and the St Mel's parish community as a whole.
To raise funds to assist with purchase of equipment and resources for the school. This amount helps keep school fees down.
To foster and develop a spirit of community among parents and friends.

In other words... FUNraising, FUNDraising and Social Connection.

All parents, carers and friends are welcome to attend meetings. Details of time and venue of meetings will be available in the school newsletter.

In 2024 our Parents & Carers Social Committee organised our Annual Student Disco, Mother's Day High Tea and Gift Staff, our Father's Day Breakfast & Gift Stall and very popular Colour Fun Run. Funds raised contributed to: new headphones for our students to use with their iPads, new readers for our students and our new Ga Ga Pit (outdoor play equipment) to be installed in our grounds this year.

For more information about the St Mel's PS Parents and Carers Social Committee or to join please contact our Deputy Principal Danae Napier or Social Committee member Leah Hawker on socialclub@smshepparton.catholic.edu..

Student Attendance is UP! [Repeat]

Thank you children, parents and carers. Our overall school attendance percentage has increased, with a number of children improving their regular attendance from previous years.

The importance of high levels of school attendance is important in supporting each child's learning journey. I am pleased our ongoing efforts to encourage more regular attendance and discourage non-attendance is reflected in these positive attendance figures.

Remember: We should be aiming for 95% attendance as "Everyday Counts"!

Missing mornings, afternoons and days of school means children are missing valuable low variance curriculum delivery.

Acceptable absences from school include: illness, accidents, attending or observing religious event or obligation, bereavement or sorry business and/or cultural observarence.

Other than these reasons children should attend school to fully engage with the curriculum.

School Dates:

Please check the Upcoming Dates & Events section of the newsletter regularly.

Best wishes for the new school term ahead.

Thank you for your ongoing support of your child/ren and our Staff Team.

Stephen 'Steve' Hicks

Principal

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