From the 

Assistant 

Principal

THIS WEEK I AM GRATEFUL FOR…

Friendships. It may seem that I focus on the small and simple things, but sometimes they are the things that really matter. This week I have been reflecting on how important it has been just to be able to see some of those important people in my life, and how that has been missing over this challenging year. More than that, I am grateful for the extra effort that friends have made to stay connected during this time, and it those connections that we need to cherish and remember to put energy into.

NAIDOC WEEK

 NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920's which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This year the theme of 'Always Was, Always Will Be.' recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. 

You can find more information about NAIDOC week by following the link below. The week between the 8th and the 15th of November is an opportunity for us to reflect on the rich history of this beautiful country that we share, and to think about how we can celebrate the shared history that makes Australia unique.

https://www.naidoc.org.au/get-involved/2020-theme

 2021 FAMILY BUDDIES

We are asking our existing families to ‘be involved’ and to welcome one of the new 2021 families into our South Melbourne Park Community. If you are interested in connecting with one of our new families we ask that you fill in this ‘Create the new 2021 South Melb. Community’ Google Form.

We will provide you with the contact details of one of our new families and all that we ask is that you contact them to welcome them to the SMPPS community, this could be as simple as a welcome email or walking to school together, but it is a nice way for us to 'be connected'

Please complete this form if you are interested in connecting by Monday the 30th of November at 4:00 pm.

If you are one of our new families starting in 2021 and would like to connect with one of our existing families we ask that you fill in this expression of interest form here. 

LETTERS AGAINST ISO

What we have learnt over this year is how important it is to support those who are most vulnerable, particularly during isolation. Some innovative students at Mac. Robertson Girls High School have reached out to us to get our community involved in the Letters against ISO program that they are running. This is an opportunity for our students to write letters to the elderly so that they can feel more connected.

That is why this term we are opening sign ups for writing letters to the elderly 📝

If you would like to be involved in this opportunity, please fill in this quick google form HERE by the Friday 13th of November. All participants will receive the name of an elderly person to write to and then you just need to email your letter to the Mac. Robertson Girls students.

There are no costs involved. Spending just 5 minutes to write a letter can make a huge positive impact on someone else’s life. We have attached some sample letters to show you just how easy it is to write to them, however even just a picture would be appreciated.

This is entirely optional and is just a nice extra activity you might like to do with your child.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT - Literacy Leaders Course 

As you know at South Melbourne Park Primary we always strive to be 'a step ahead', and to this end we ensure that we are constantly learning and developing as teachers. Early in the year you would have heard from me that our staff were undertaking a Literacy Leader Course through the BASTOW Institute of Teaching and Learning. This was a course that ran over the whole year of high quality modules,  assignments, and research for our staff to develop their understanding of best practice. This has been a huge amount of work outside of the school day that our amazing staff have been participating in, and they have just all completed the training. From this training we will be refining our teaching of reading and writing over the coming year and we are incredibly excited about this journey!