Dear Parents and Carers,

Ms Barnes’ Baby – a message from Ms Barnes: Hello MW community, I am so pleased to share with you all that we welcomed our 2nd daughter into the world on the 11th of May. “Elliana Grace ❤️” We are all doing very well, and Mackenzie is a very proud big sister. We are so excited to bond as a new family of 4. Thank you all for your well wishes and thoughts.

Staffing: Last week we also farewelled another staff member Mrs Dani Bird who will also be welcoming a new member to her family in the very near future.

We also say goodbye to Miss Nichole White and Ms Shae Battye who have been successful in securing new roles. We wish them all the best.

NAPLAN: The last two weeks have been extremely busy with NAPLAN testing. Thank you to Ms Davies and Mrs Bird for all their work in ensuring that this ran as smoothly as possible. Ms Davies has spent the last week assisting children to sit catch up tests. The final day for ‘catch-up’ is Thursday.

Education Week: This week we are celebrating Education Week. The focus for Education Week this year is to celebrate a special milestone for Victoria, as we mark the 150th anniversary of public education in Victoria. I thought you might find some of the school rules from the 1850s amusing, we certainly did.

1850s Rules of Behaviour : Boys and girls walk in separate lines behind their teacher. Girls enter and leave the room before the boys. A polite boy or gentleman always removes his cap when meeting a lady. A lady/girl must never show a bare ankle. Children must sit up straight at all times. Children are not permitted to write with their left hand.

Exciting Events: We have some exciting events coming up. On Wednesday May 25th we have Simultaneous Story time and on Thursday 26th we have Wala Cultural Performance. Also on Thursday we have four of our students competing in the Regional Cross Country, we hope they enjoy the day and wish them all the best. Next week the Mayor is visiting the year 3 and 4 students, the grade one students and parents have a High Frequency Word information morning, ‘Glasses For Kids’ will commence on Wednesday and on Friday the netball and tee ball teams compete in the Lightning Premiership.

Thank - you: Finally, thank you to the entire school community for being so understanding about staff and student absences. COVID 19 and the emerging flu season are certainly causing a number of staff and students to be absent. There is also a shortage of replacement teachers and education support staff. This certainly causes disruptions but with patience and a willingness to work together we can certainly ensure that the day runs as smoothly as possible.

Kind Regards,

Jennifer O’Connor

Assistant Principal

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