Principal's report

Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Students and friends of MPWPS

Term 3 begins and we are looking forward to another term of learning and supporting each other as we build our collaborative community.

Recently I had the wonderful experience of travelling to Japan with 28 of our wonderful students, five parents, one grandparent and Diana’s partner Victor, and our two dedicated Japanese teachers. What an experience! Our sister school was so supportive of our partnership, and the families who hosted our children for the three nights of home stay, were very emotional when the children had to leave. It was a special experience that will stay with the children forever. The Japanese learning opportunity for the children of MPWPS is very special and made this way by our teachers Diana and Cindy. I would publicly like to acknowledge and offer my grateful thanks to Cindy and Diana for their contribution to the Japanese Immersion learning strategy, and more particularly to the success of the Japanese Tour. In upcoming newsletters we will share some of the experiences shared. In the meantime these are some of my observations over the two weeks away:

Our children can walk in a single line and this is evidenced by moving through one of the world’s busiest railway stations (Tokyo Station) at peak hour. A line of yellow hats amongst the suits of business people.
Our children displayed behaviours that made everyone proud.
The parent helpers were wonderful companions and support of your children.

We all became experienced travellers on trains.

On most days we did 15,000 plus steps as we explored the various cities of Japan.
Children had language skills to converse with the locals.
Children were respectful of others staying in the hotels where we stayed.
As Principal I got to know the parents on the tour very well as we experienced a Japanese bathhouse.

The Japanese Tour was a very special experience.

Upcoming Three-Way Conferences

July 25th is a student free day, so that we can fulfill our reporting to parents obligations. Please ensure you book a time through COMPASS. Remember to log on as the parent and using the tabs find the booking section. Teachers will be contacting you to ensure all families have the opportunity to participate in this important communication. Students will be involved in the conferences as they talk through their goals with teacher and parent. Please ensure your child is present. Camp Australia will be offering care on this day if there is enough interest.

Early Bird Readers

Last term we started the Early Bird Readers strategy for children to access additional reading practice. The strategy is being led by Lisa Angelo one of our Education Support staff, and staff are volunteering 15 minutes of their day to this opportunity. Already we can see an improvement in reading fluency as a result. If you would like to volunteer to support this strategy please let Lisa know. Early Bird Readers meet in the Library each Tues, Wed and Thurs from 8.30 to 8.45am. Thank-you to all staff and students who are involved.

Enrolments for 2020

If you have a child that is due to start school in 2020 and haven’t enrolled with us yet, please do so as soon as possible. Enrolment forms are available from the Office. We are wanting to offer placements in the next weeks. The Foundation team will be planning and communicating the transition program prior to the end of this term.

Parent Forums this term

The focus of the Parent Forums this term will be on Numeracy learning in particular Problem Based Learning. Please look for these dates on the Parent Calendar which will be circulated this week.

Well that’s about it from me. Until we meet in person

Sincerely

Kerri Simpson

Principal (Acting at MPWPS)