What a great start to the term. Last week our Grade 3/4 students had an amazing time at Camp Manyung, captured in so many photos. Thank you to our volunteer camp parents (Liz, Lisa, Marilyn and Grace) along with our staff (Nicole, Helen, Elizabeth, Bek and Sonia) for ensuring everyone had a great camp. Check out the dedicated page in this newsletter for camp photos.

Encounter Program

This week we welcomed eleven international visitors to our 2023 Encounter Program, in the following classes:

FS	Norah
FL	Ellie
1M	Kathryn
1G	Natalie, Edwin
2R	Emily
3/4B	Chris
3/4Y	Edward
3/4E	Tina
5/6C	Mike
5/6M	Si Woo

Our visitors have settled so well and are working in our classrooms alongside our students. The Program aims to promote inclusivity and acceptance of others and has a dual benefit for our visiting students who are immersed in the English language, further enhancing their skills. In each class we have designated 'Buddies' who are assisting our visitors to settle in and joining in with some extra activities.

Huge tree planting event and a visit from Maroondah Pre-School

Tomorrow morning we will celebrate National Tree Planting Day with one of our feeder kindergartens, Maroondah Pre-School. Maroondah City Council are supporting this event by providing 200 plants indigenous to Ringwood, and even better, they will come and dig the holes for us, making our job a lot easier. Foundation and kindergarten students, together with the Grade 5 Global Ambassadors, our international students and their buddies, will all come together to get this job done. To our great surprise Melbourne Stars, Big Bash (cricket) team are in Ringwood on Friday and want to come along and join in with the dig. It is going to be an action packed event. Maroondah Pre-School will stay on for the day and enjoy time in the art room, performing arts room, Foundation classroom and the playground. Check out our website and Facebook page for photos of this event.

Police visit to Foundation

Did you wonder what all the sirens were about yesterday morning? The Victorian Police came to visit our Foundations students and arrested two likely criminals (aka Narelle and Lauren). Check out the photos in this newsletter or on our Facebook page.

Whole School Athletics Carnival - Tuesday 1 August

Our Athletics Carnival is fast approaching and we want to thank all of those who have signed up to help. We are still looking for a few more volunteers and would love you to sign up and help out on the day. If volunteering is not your thing, then ensure you pop along for even a small part of the day and cheer everyone along.

Policies

Tomorrow on Compass we will be posting our Camps and Excursions Policy that was approved at School Council on Monday night. You are invited to read the policy and offer any thoughts as feedback. Please send through an email to me or catch me at the office to provide feedback.

Road Safety

Keeping our students, your children, safe on the roads is everyone's business. The behaviour we model to our children is the behaviour they will copy. So when we use the supervised crossings even if it means we have to walk up to it; when we park in the designated parking and drop off zones enabling safe access for all; when we drive around the block rather than doing a U-turn in front of other students trying to walk to school, then our children will see the behaviours that will keep them safe. Maroondah City Council do monitor the parking around the crossings and will photograph your car if you are parked in areas that you are not supposed to be in, sending you a fine of $185.

Student supervision

Just a reminder that students are supervised at school from 8:45 - 3:45 each day. We are noticing students arriving earlier and earlier, some as early as 8:15. Please work with your child to ensure they are arriving at school at around the 8:45am. If you need your child to be at school earlier than 8:45 please consider using our Before School Care program which opens at 7:00am.

International Competions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

We are pleased to offer our families the option to access the full suite of online competitions in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS). ICAS assessments that are conducted in Writing, Digital Technologies, English, Science, Spelling and Mathematics. These assessments are purchased online and administered at school in August. If you are interested in your child (Grade 2 or above) completing some, or all, of the assessments please follow the links below to book and pay for the assessment/s by 31 July 2023. The school will provide the supervision and resources necessary for your child to complete the assessments successfully.

How to participate in ICAS : If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please: 

Read about ICAS subjects and prices here:  icasassessments.com/products-icas
Read the terms and conditions here: icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Parents-PPS-TsCs_final.pdf
Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here: shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
Enter our school’s access code – CVG539
Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.

Optional Activities at MPS