Murrumbeena P.S. Newsletter

From the Principal

Last week we enjoyed another great start to the term with lots of smiles and holiday tales. 

Term 3 will be another busy one with many things to look forward to including the carnival which is only a short three weeks away. Be sure to read the carnival update provided further in this newsletter.

Other extracurricular activities organised for the term include:

  • Pyjama day (an idea from the SRC)
  • Student-led conferences
  • Book week with the fabulous book parade
  • School production ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’
  • Athletics Carnival

Please refer to the calendar on the school website and the dates listed at the beginning of each newsletter.

 

The Department of Education Parents and Carers Opinion Survey

The 2024 Parent, Caregiver and Guardian Opinion Survey will be available to complete online from Monday 29 July to Friday 30 August 2024.

 

The survey seeks feedback on school climate, community engagement in learning and teaching practices for student engagement and outcomes. 

A newsfeed will be posted on this during the week to provide families with a one-time use PIN and the website to access the survey. 

 

We encourage ALL families to participate in this survey (which will take around 20 minutes). Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. The Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 26 July to Friday 30 August.

 

GENDER INCLUSIVITY: FATHERS DAY/ MOTHERS DAY

For some time now, our school council Social and Fundraising committee have been reflecting on how we make Mothers and Fathers Days inclusive of all parents. This year was no exception as we discussed how best to advertise and celebrate ‘Mothers’ Day’ and the upcoming ‘Fathers’ Day’. 

Our recent Compass post advertising the Fathers’ Day Gathering is LGBTIQA+. 

 

Inclusive celebrations can serve as important learning experiences by providing opportunities to discuss and acknowledge the many kinds of families in our communities and the many caregivers who are in students’ lives. 

These special days can also create teachable moments for students about what makes a family, what important qualities a caregiver provides and what roles each member has within the family unit. We are also conscious of the fact that across society, many grandparents are primary caregivers and some families have lost a parent.  

For some students, it may be especially affirming to see their families acknowledged in the classroom and through community celebrations like Mothers' and Fathers' Days. 

 

A FOCUS FOR OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Through the newsletter, I like to share our educational focus. It’s a way of keeping our school community abreast of what our school is working on and why. In addition to our improvement focus to make the learning visible, personalised and engaging, today’s article also discussed the capabilities we are promoting: self-belief, self-management and student agency. 

Self- Belief in Learning

Being confident in your own abilities is crucial in all areas of life and having the ability to overcome challenges isn’t always easy. We teach students about having a ‘growth mindset’ where setbacks are viewed as opportunities to learn and improve so when we can’t do something (yet) or we miss out on an opportunity they want (now), they can reflect positively and persevere through support and practice to achieve their goals. 

Self-Management

Being organised, looking after and managing resources and becoming efficient with time is another skill developed across our lives. Students identify goals they are working on in their academic areas but it’s just as important to have personal goals. Parents and carers can support personal goal development. For example, looking after belongings: instead of buying another plastic lunchbox, the student must make the effort to look for their container while using a makeshift lunch bag in the meantime. Setting goals for time management is another area that can be developed at home: eg. preparing school items according to a schedule to avoid a morning rush and being late to school. (How can you help your child set priorities and avoid procrastination?). 

 

Student agency

Student agency is about students knowing what they are learning, how they are going and where they need to continue efforts so they can contribute to decisions about how they extend and represent their learning. As students become invested in their own learning, they gain a better understanding of what good learning is and the purpose of it. This enables them to evaluate their own work, and to more purposefully discuss progress and achievement with teachers and parents. 

 

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES (Monday 5 August) (SAVE THE DATE)

 

Student led conferences provide a genuine opportunity for students to share what they have been learning, how they are going and together with teachers and parents, identify learning goals to continue to work toward. 

 

Student led conferences are another way of reporting student progress to parents. Parents and carers will book a conference time (of 15 minutes) through Compass. Further information will be provided next week. Don’t forget to save the date: Monday 5 August (3:45 – 5:45pm). 

 

Chellee Plumb