Principal's Report 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

50th Anniversary Celebration: We are looking forward to celebrating our 50th Anniversary on the 18th November. Please feel free to pass on the information to any past students, families or staff you are still in contact with. It should be a great afternoon. I want to thank the small but efficient Planning Committee who have worked many hours over the past weeks to ensure that they have a fun-filled event planned, which honours the history, celebrates the present and looks forward to the future. The committee is made up of Liza Dearing, who is currently on Family Leave. She is one of the longest standing staff members, with great connection with past students and staff and the broader Melton Community. Another member is Tolley Cacavas who is our Community Engagement Officer and also has many local connections and has been working on the commemorative bricks that will form part of the renovated pergola area taking place over the Christmas Holidays. And the final member is Maria Robinson, a parent, former School Council President and fundraising committee member and currently a staff member. Maria has much experience with organising Sausage Sizzles, and other fundraising activities. Thank you so much for all your ideas and the time you have put into this huge task. 

Communicating with Staff: I occasionally get messages on Class Dojo from parents and carers, who are reaching out to me with a concern or comment. I have started to check this less frequently this year, due to returning closer to normal schooling with no periods of Remote Learning, with limited messages for me on that platform. If you have a concern, please call the office to make an appointment to see me, or ask me to call you, or alternatively send a written message with your child. Your thoughts and concerns are valued and important and I encourage you to continue to reach out in these ways to ensure a more timely response.

Swimming: The Year Preps, Year 1/2s and Year 5/6s have had their notes distributed and we have been receiving them back throughout the week. Please be aware of the date notes need to be returned by if you are wanting your child to attend as we cannot accept any late notes due to the planning involved with groups etc. 

• Final Day for Returning Notes
  • Year Prep – Tuesday 8th November 2022
  • Year 1/2 – Tuesday 15th November 2022
  • Year 3/4 – Tuesday 22nd November 2022
  • Year 5/6 – Tuesday 8th November 2022

Please also note there is a limit on the number of people we can take, so please consider returning the forms as quickly as possible if you do not want to miss out on a place.

Curriculum Day: Just a reminder that Monday 31st October is a Curriculum Day, which means there is no school for the students. Staff will be participating in a myriad of different, important tasks on that day such as a briefings on Child Safe Standards and Anaphylaxis, completing other Occupational health and Safety training, report writing and moderation. Moderation is where teachers work together to support each other assessing student work so that there is common agreement between what achievement looks like. This helps ensure consistency of marking across the year level. 

Prep Enrolments for 2023: If you have a child in preschool, or is turning 5 before 30th April 2022, we are accepting enrolments for Prep 2023. Please call the office for details and to book an appointment with a member of the Principal Class team. If you have family or friends with children who should start school next year, please encourage them to contact the school for a Prep Enrolment Pack and a tour. The 2023 Prep Transition Program will commence in November. If they are enrolled by then they will be invited to be part of this wonderful experience.

2023 Plans: We will be beginning the process of forming new class grouping for 2023 during Term 4. In order to know how many classes, we will need please contact the office to let us know if you know your child will not be returning in 2023 for any reason so we can plan accordingly. If you are unsure of the new school that is okay, we do not need to know that information now. 

Special Requests for 2023 Class: Part of the work we do in term 4 is to form the new classes for the following year. if you have any concerns or requests about other children your child should or shouldn’t be with please put these in writing before Friday 28th October. Any requests received after this date CAN NOT be able to be considered, due to the flow-on effect that any changes to classes already created has across the board. I will need to stick to this timeline quite tightly to ensure the process runs as smoothly and as efficiently as possible. Please note, requests for specific teachers will not be considered. If you have any questions or concerns in regard to this process, please do not hesitate to contact the office to make an appointment to speak with me. 

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal