Principal's Message

Year 5 and Year 6 Leadership Day

It was an absolute privilege to work with the Year 6 students on their Leadership Day. A part from sharing my Leadership journey we spent time discussing what are the three top strengths of our school and how these could help rewrite our School Vision.

School Photos

We have our annual School Photos scheduled for Monday 21st March. Full School Uniform but not Sports Tops should be worn on this day. All students have received an envelope that explains the ordering process an their s further details in the Important Information section.

Twilight Sports

Mrs Butterworth and our Year 6 Sports Leadership Team are working hard to develop a program that will celebrate our community and at the same time give opportunities for our students to compete in running races and novelty events. All students have displayed much enthusiasm and excitement, practising for their races in P.E and are eager to participate in the events. 

We are so excited to have families joining us this year from 5.30pm. Please bring along a picnic, as we will not have our BBQ, and remember we the school policy of no alcohol at events with students and due to privacy and custody concerns no filming of events. Of course if you have consent of friends you may wish to take a photo of your child with their friends.

Students may wear their House Colour t-shirt to school on Thursday and then of course they will all be ready for the evening.

Smoking Ceremony

To begin our Twilight Sports we will be joined by an Elder who will conduct a Welcome to Country. This will be the first time we have had a Welcome to County  at MPRPS&K. This will start at 5.30pm and then we will move into our Sports.

The schedule for the event will be run as follows, with Novelty Events following on from Races - for Foundation to Year 6 students.:

5:30pm - Smoking Ceremony

5:50 - 6:10pm - Kinder & Foundation Races 

6:10 - 6:30pm - Year 1 & 2 Races

6:30 - 6.45pm - House Chants

6:45 - 7.10pm - Year 3 & 4 Races

7:10 - 7:30pm - Year 5 & 6 Races

7:30 -7:45pm -  Year 3/4 Long Distance, Year 5/6 Long Distance, Past Students & Parent Races

7:45pm - Finale - Senior Choir Performance

It will be a fantastic community event, all teachers and students are counting down the days!

SSG Meetings

Student Support Group meetings will be held this week. Parents and carers know the dates for each term and can plan ahead for the meetings for the year. Class teachers have also completed Individual Education Plans for those students who are achieving more than twelve months ahead or more than six months behind the expected standard. You may have already received a plan for your child if they come into this category. Teachers are continually assessing all students and setting tasks and working with them so that they can achieve their individual goals.

School Council 

School Council met on 17 February for the first time this year. A number of school councillors have finished their term of office – Jacqueline Leou (finished late 2021), Sarah Codling, Lena Rogan and Cameron Walker. A big thank you to each of you for the time you have spent serving on Council and in your subcommittees these past two years (and for some of you, much longer than that!) and your thoughtful contributions to school governance.

Nominations have now closed for School Council. As we have received the same number of nominations as there are positions available the nominees are automatically appointed to School Council. We are delighted to welcome Sarah Codling back and welcome Amy Millar as our Kindergarten Representative, Mais Sukkar and Rhianna Findlay to School Council and look forward to working with them. Details of all School Council members (including co-opted positions) for 2022 will be included in the newsletter following the next School Council meeting. School Council office bearer positions (President, Vice President and Treasurer) will also come up for renewal at the Council meeting on 17 March. 

It was lovely to meet or reconnect with parents and guardians at a number of the morning and afternoon teas hosted by Flip McKinnon (the President of Parents and Friends). For many families who have joined MPRPS over the past two years this was their first opportunity to meet members of our school community on site. A huge thanks for Flip for setting up, catering and packing up after each of these events and making everyone feel so welcome. Both School Council and Parents and Friends are looking forward to more face to face events this year as we look to establish a new ‘normal’!

Rebecca Smith - School Council President

Kinder Picnic

The sun was shining and the weather was perfect as Kinder Staff welcomed our Kinder families to our new Junior School playground to enjoy a picnic and a chance to connect with other families. Thank you to everyone who came along and to our amazing Kinder teachers and educators who roamed around chatting and 

Young children with persistent mild symptoms 

• Younger children (pre-school up to Grade 2) may have prolonged post-viral symptoms such as a runny nose or cough and may return to school following a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test even if they are not completely free of symptoms. They will need a medical certificate from their GP to confirm they are otherwise well or have recovered from their acute illness. 
• Any worsening of symptoms will require review and repeat coronavirus (COVID-19) testing, if considered appropriate by the doctor. 

Students with a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test whose symptoms have completely resolved do not need a medical certificate to return to the school.

NAPLAN - Year 3 and 5

To ensure a smooth transition for the upcoming NAPLAN tests in May, students in Years 3 and 5 will undertake a practice test in late March (date TBC). The data from the practice test will not be used for assessment purposes but to familiarise students with the format. Over the next week or two, please ensure all students in Years 3 and 5 have downloaded the NAP Locked Down Browser App or have updated it to its latest update. 

Transition to secondary school

The transition from primary to secondary school is a significant development milestone for students. For parents/carers with children in Grade 5 and 6, we highly recommend taking the time in Term 1 to visit your preferred high school/s to learn more about the school and how they can support your child’s transition, learning and development. This can be done through school tours and information sessions which can usually be booked online. Browsing a school’s website, watching online tours or reading newsletters can also provide a good insight into the school and whether it is a right fit for your child. For Grade 6 students, a Year 6 to 7 Placement Information Pack will be sent out early Term 2 with a timeline which outlines the process. If you have any questions please contact Assistant Principal, Amanda Nelson.