Principal’s Report

Dear families and carers,

I would like to inform you that the process to re-name Moreland Primary School will commence shortly, following the recent re-naming of Moreland City Council as Merri-bek City Council.

The Education Minister has noted the Department’s proposal to change the school name to align with Merri-bek community expectations. The recommendation is for the name change to be implemented for the start of the 2023 school year.

The department proposes to follow the usual process for re-naming an existing school, which includes a principal-led working group to identify a shortlist of school names. The shortlist will include Merri-bek Primary School, leveraging the local council consultation process, and ensuring that the list includes a name that reflects the school location and local area.

I will keep you informed of the renaming process, as I receive further information.

School Uniform:

I would like to assure our families that I won't be 'policing' school uniform in the New Year. As I informed our new Foundation families, please don't spend money purchasing our current uniform with the Moreland logo. I understand that some families may wish to 'hand down' uniform from older siblings- that's definitely okay!

PSW have been contacted, and they will not continue to produce more of our existing uniform.

I encourage families to purchase the gold polo tops and blue tracksuit pants, shorts, and windcheaters at Best and Less. We also have second hand uniform for sale at our school for $2 per garment.

Transitioning to High School:

Last week we had our 2021 school captains, Kemda and Nameera come and speak to our 5/6 students about their transition to high school. Our children asked them great questions and it’s a great way to alleviate any anxieties they may be feeling.

On 23rd November, 16 of our grade 6 children enrolling at Coburg High in 2023, will be riding their bikes with Costa, Zoe (from Ride and stride) and I, as part of transitioning and ensuring our children feel comfortable in their new surroundings. They will be involved in some bike ed activities at Coburg High, followed by a morning tea. It’s also a great way to encourage our students to ride their bike to school, following the bike education program Costa has been delivering around bike safety for all our students.

Every Day Counts:

At Moreland Primary School, we believe that it is important for students to attend school on a regular basis to ensure that they can achieve their academic potential.

We ask that parents support us with delivering the message at home. If you are having difficulties with your children coming to school due to circumstances at home please come and see us, as we may be able to help.

Research has identified that excessive absenteeism, regardless of its nature, will eventually impede a student’s ability to reach his or her academic potential. It has been calculated that if students miss as little as eight days in a school term, by the end of primary school they will have missed a year of education! Regular school attendance will help your children to succeed in later life.

Attending school every day makes learning easier for a child and helps children to build and maintain friendships with other children. If your child doesn’t learn the basic skills in the early years of school, they may develop learning problems in later years as key foundation knowledge is missed. This is especially critical in Mathematics and English.

Remembrance Day:

Remembrance Day in Australia falls on 11 November every year. Every year at 11am on 11 November—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month—we pause to remember those men and women who have served and those who have died in all wars and peacekeeping operations.

We were privileged to have Coburg RSL come and speak to all our students this morning around the significance of this day and the hardships and obstacles faced by the soldiers during the World War I.

Maria Giordano

Principal

Before-/After-care Provider Feedback

Our school currently contracts with an external provider, EXTEND, to provide an out of school hours care (OSHC) service. Our current licence agreement is coming to a close early next year. As part of the process of establishing a new licence agreement (either with EXTEND, or a new provider), we are seeking feedback from families who currently use the OSHC service (as well as those who have used it within the last calendar year). Please complete a short survey about your family's experience with OSHC by following this link: https://forms.gle/BhaAnxNGu1kQGMi47

The School Council has formed an OSHC sub-committee to help manage the process of appointing a licensee. The next step will be to seek Expressions of Interest from OSHC providers. If you have any additional relevant information to share with the sub-committee, please contact us by sending an email to Maria Giordano (Maria.Giordano@education.vic.gov.au).

Merri-bek Mail

Issue 17 · 11 Nov 2022

In this issue