Melton West Primary School

Principal's Report 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

This newsletter brings us to the mid-way point of the term and although we have had a few classrooms affected by a relatively large number of positive Covid cases this is not the case in all classrooms which is positive news. Thank you to the families who test regularly – twice a week. This has obviously helped identify cases early so parents can watch for symptoms, test and isolate if necessary. The other way to help stop the spread is to be vaccinated. Please see below for details about a mini-vaccination clinic being held at our school on Friday 11th March, our upcoming Curriculum Day.

 

Curriculum Day: On Friday 11th March there is no school for the students as the staff work on a range of professional development task. Part of the day will be refining and reviewing the School Vision and School Values. Staff will look at the results from the Values survey from all 3 stakeholder groups and come up with a recommendation, which will then go to School Council for final approval. Thank-you to the parents who completed the short survey. I have included the results from the Staff, Students and Parents for your perusal. 

 

 

Rapid Antigen Test: The third box has been available for collection since Tuesday. Any uncollected by 2:00 PM TODAY will be sent home with the children.

 

Vaccination Hub: Please see the separate page for detailed information about the Vaccination Hub at Melton West PS next week. Please call the office on 9743 5818 to make an appointment for yourself, your children and other family members if you would like to receive a vaccination. Adults can come for their first, second or booster shot. Children will receive the child dose. This clinic is run by Port Melbourne Medical and will occur on-site at our school in the BER building from 10:00 Am to 2:00 PM.

 

School Council Nominations: Nominations for School Council closed on the 22nd February. We had the correct number of nominations for the number of vacancies for both the parent member category and the school employee category. I would like to introduce Dr Edward Williams, Mrs Ameena Altaf and Ms Julie Hermence in the parent member category and Ms Zeinab Mehrez and Ms Vanessa Moore in the school employee category. Our first meeting will be held on Monday 21st March.

 

Supervision at Park: As you may be aware, there is a park on the corner of Coburns Road and West Melton Drive, where a number of students wait for their parents afterschool. Please be aware that the school is not able to provide teacher supervision in this area. I therefore suggest that you consider an alternative location at which your child waits to be picked up. Can I also remind you that we have an After School care facility run by Extend that is safe and well supervised and children can attend at a minimal cost. Please contact the school if you would like further information about Extend. I would like to remind parents that it is your responsibility to:

  1. ensure that your child arrives to school safely and are in the care of school staff at the beginning of the school day, and 
  2. ensure that your child is collected from the school premises at the end of the school day, or that alternative arrangements have been made for your children 

Speaking to Other Children: At times I know some parents feel the need to talk to a child who may be upsetting their own child, with the intention of helping to ease the situation. This is NOT an acceptable practice at Melton West PS. If you have any concerns about another child, please ensure you speak to your child’s teacher who can follow up and address the situation. It can be very frightening for a child to feel they are getting reprimanded by an adult other than their parent or a teacher. If you have any concerns or feel the situation is not being resolved with the class teacher, please make an appointment to see Mrs O’Connor or myself. We are committed to working together to resolve all issues brought to our attention.

 

Child Safety Standards: At Melton West Primary School, we are committed to acting in the best interests of our students and keeping them safe from harm. The School regards its child protection responsibilities as being of the utmost importance. This means that in practice we are focused on providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection legislation and regulations; and to maintaining a child safe culture.

 

The following principles underpin our commitment to child safety at Melton West Primary School:

  • All students deserve, as a fundamental right, safety and protection from all forms of abuse and neglect.
  • Our school works in partnership with families and the community to ensure that they are engaged in decision-making processes, particularly those that have an impact on child safety and protection.
  • All students have the right to a thorough and systematic education in all aspects of personal safety, in partnership with their parents/guardians/caregivers.
  • All adults in our school, including teaching and non-teaching staff, volunteers and contractors as well as the broader school community have a responsibility to care for children and young people, to positively promote their wellbeing and to protect them from any kind of harm or abuse.
  • The policies, guidelines and codes of conduct for the care, wellbeing and protection of students are based on honest, respectful and trusting relationships between adults and children and young people.
  • Policies and practices demonstrate compliance with legislative requirements and cooperation with governments, the police and human services agencies.
  • All persons involved in situations where harm is suspected or disclosed must be treated with sensitivity, dignity and respect.
  • Staff, volunteers, contractors, parents/guardians and students should feel free to raise concerns about child safety, knowing these will be taken seriously by school leadership.
  • Appropriate confidentiality will be maintained, with information being provided to those who have a right or a need to be informed, either legally or pastorally.

Melton West Primary School is committed to the continuous improvement of our Child Safe Program. The Program is regularly reviewed for overall effectiveness and to ensure compliance with all child protection related laws, regulations and standards. Our Child Safe Policy is available from the office and on our website. Please make an appointment to speak to a member of the Principal Class Team if you have any concerns about a child’s safety. We have included relevant policies in this week’s newsletter for your perusal. These are available on our school’s website as well.

 

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal