Principal's report

Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Students, and Community members of MPWPS

A shorter week for week 8. The term seems to be flying away and soon I will be accompanying twenty-eight (28) students, our Japanese teachers (Diana and Cindy) and seven (7) of our wonderful parents to Japan. What a wonderful experience this is to be.  I am busy trying to learn my welcome speech for the sister school visit.  I am enjoying the challenge that this task is presenting.  To compliment our experience to Japan, two of the teachers from our sister school in Yokohama, will be visiting us in Term 3.  They have been successful in gaining a scholarship to visit our school and system.  I was hoping they would require a homestay opportunity, but this is not part of the trip this time.  I will provide more information closer to their visit.

Three-Way Conference Day July 25th

Next term we are using the planned curriculum day as an opportunity to conduct our Three-Way Conferences.  The times across the day will be allocated to encourage parents to attend and teachers to do some specific learning around their learning needs.  Three-Way Conferences assist students to speak about their learning with their parent and their teachers.  Of course parents and teachers have equal voice in this process as they should.  If you require an additional time to speak individually to the teacher we will be able to facilitate this after our day.  COMPASS will be open for bookings in Week 10 and will stay open over the holidays and until the first week of Term 3 for your convenience. Forgotten your parent COMPASS logon?   We can assist with a re-set.  Simply call the school office.

Opening of the Amenities Block

Last Friday we had a wonderful ceremony to officially open the new Amenities Block (read toilet). We welcomed the Member for Essendon, Mr Danny Pearson, the architect Haskells, (represented by Dylan and Michael) and the builder Mr Alan Turner.  Our student Jack spoke at the ceremony giving a history of his involvement on the planning team and his role in liaising with the JSC.  Well done Jack!  I have included some photos further in the newsletter. Thank-you to the year 5/6 students who returned from sport to join the ceremony.  It was great to have so many students attend.  The next project is the Sensory Garden!

Update the Sensory Garden

We have taken the feedback from the consultation process and combined into an updated design.  The next step is to share these drawings with the Resources and Environment Sub-Committees of School Council as an information sharing process, so we can forward to tendering asap.  The ‘bundling’ of funding requires that all schools in the bundle progress together and so this is our hope. Your feedback has enabled some really high cost structures to form the basis of this area.  Whilst 100k seems a lot of dollars we are keen to get as much of the structure completed as we can, whilst ensuring an aesthetic and lasting result.

Drop Off and Pick Up Zones

Thank-you to the many parents and carers who have spoken to me clarifying the process for these areas.  It is great to have your support and understanding. Together we can ensure the safety of all students, families and community members and no fines!

Parent Forums

This term we have had two successful Parent Forums.  The first was on a Friday morning and the second a Thursday evening.  We had 63 parents at the evening session.  Both of these session were facilitated by Dr David Collins and had the focus of building resilience in our children. Going forward it would seem that a mix of times seems to suit.   On behalf of the school community, I would like to publicly thank Dr Collins for his generosity of knowledge and time to us all.  All Parent Forums appear on the Parent Term Calendar and are also  on the  COMPASS calendar on your Home Page.

School Reviews

Today I am out of the school being a Challenge Partner at a school in another Network. Whilst it is an honour to be asked by a colleague to hold this role, it is also a valuable learning experience for me and a chance to reflect on practice here at MPWPS.  A true win-win!   The School Review process enables time for reflection and re-alignment.  A great opportunity as we found last year.

Parent Reps

We are still looking for Parent Reps.  Please check with your class teacher to see if the position has been filled for your class.  Congratulations to the Foundation-2 team all your spots are filled!  The next Parent Rep meeting will be Wednesday June 19th (note change from Mon June 17th). Please let us know if you can attend. If the day doesn’t suit, the second alternative would be the Friday of the same week.   We will meet in the Staffroom at 9.10 am. 

Well that’s about it from me. Until we meet in person, let’s work together to encourage your child to have an ‘I can’ attitude especially in their learning.

Sincerely

Kerri Simpson

Principal (Acting at MPWPS)