Principal's Message

Blueberries 

Okay, I admit it too many blueberries were consumed over the weekend! A huge thank you to Lisa and James Agnew for driving to their blueberry farm; Otway Blueberries, picking up our school fundraiser blueberries and then delivering them to us all on Friday! Then a huge thank you to our parent helpers and Flip from the P&F for getting the deliveries sorted quickly.

Shut Down

Please see the information in Important Information which follows on from the letter I emailed all families on Friday afternoon. 

Our school is closed except for the children of families who meet the criteria I sent home on Friday and is included in the Important Information section of this newsletter. 

Kinder is fully operational.

Our Plans for this week 15th, 16th & 17th February.

1. Information Evenings will go ahead via Google Meet as Planned. Years 3-6 link meet.google.com/ycn-cpgw-eqv
2. Year 1/2 link https://meet.google.com/uup-fweq-vik
3. Foundation Assessments on Wednesday will go ahead continuing to follow our COVID precautions.
4. Foundation Parent/Teacher Interviews will continue at the booked times via phone.
5. Check Ins - We are required to provide continuity of learning for all students which we will do via our Learn@Home website (please note this is not our full Remote Learning as in 2020) We also need to record attendance - which we do through check ins see below:
   • Foundation -paper packs have been made available for families to pick up from reception on Tuesday 16th.
   • Years 3-6  -Zoom check ins for Tuesday and Wednesday 9.00am. Zoom link will be sent to students.
   • Years 1/2 - Google Meet check ins link sent to families through Sentral.
   • For today Monday 15th if families have not notified via Sentral of an absence for today then students will be marked as present with the understanding that they can be accessing the Learn@Home site and our other online subscriptions such as Mathletics.

New Playgrounds

As discussed last year we will be replacing the two Junior School playgrounds with updated and more inclusive equipment. Building will begin in April and finish in June. During the building program the fenced are will be out of bounds for all. City Living the company managing the project will ensure we have access to as much of the Junior playground area as possible.

Congratulations to Pleasant Snacks Managers

Each year interested Year 5 students submit an application to be selected for managers of our student run shop. It is just another of the many opportunities students have to develop their leadership skills. As always there were many applications and the students who missed out on a manger position will be able to work in the Pleasant Snacks van during the year. Much appreciation is extended to staff who support students to undertake these roles, with Miss Gasowski, Miss Molloy and Mr O'Connor taking on Pleasant Snacks for 2021.

Our SRC Reps

It was my pleasure to present the 2021 Student Representative Council representatives for each of the Senior Classes with their badge. I know that many students impressed their class mates and teachers with their prepared speeches and then had to exercise resilience when the voting results were announced. I was able to visit with many classes and listen into their speeches which is always a delight.

It is such a great opportunity to be developing public speaking skills at such a young age.

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to Mr O'Connor who is setting up the live streaming of Senior Assembly each week. This take quite a bit of organisation and coordination and we are very grateful to his expertise particularly for our badge presentations.

House Swimming Carnival

Always a highlight is our House Sports carnivals and the swimming one is no exception. Read about how well students did in the Leadership and Independence Learning Centre's News. A huge thank you to all of our parents that made sure the carnival ran smoothly and to staff and Mrs Brisbane for all her organisation of the event. Thank you to the below parents:

LIANG, Ms Christine Xiao Yan, LEOU, Ms Jacqueline, CLYDE, Mrs Elizabeth

JAIDEV, Mrs Varsha HARNETT, Miss Emily

STROHHECKER, Miss Chantelle MCIVOR, Ms Monica, FINDLAY, Mr Andrew, SYMONS, Mr Gavin, ZHANG, Mrs Jie, SOURIVONG, Mrs Karry

PHICHAYAKUL, Ms Nawaporn (Fon), BOOTH, Mrs Diana, GANT, Mrs Miriam, BALAZ, Ms Ebony, MCKENZIE, Ms Emily, ZUGIC, Ms Branka and GRIFFITHS, Mrs Marissa

Well done to students who competed and encouraged each other throughout the day. We have a large number of students who have now been selected to compete at the District level, I wish them well.

Lunch Time Clubs (Year 3-6)

This week sees the commencement of lunchtime clubs at MPRPS. The clubs provide valuable opportunities for students to connect with their peers with similar interests and make new friends too. The clubs range from cooperative board games to mindfulness activities to arts and craft. With all things going well this week, clubs will start on Thursday, which includes School Band (3-6).

A games group for Foundation students will start later in the term after they have fully settled into the routine of their school day.

We look forward to all clubs being underway next week! Which one will you do?