From the Principal

Welcome to the start of Term 3!  As I write this article the announcement for a further seven day lockdown has just been made and I have been busy emailing you all about cancellation of activities like our Grade 3 & 4 Camp, School Production and Somers Camp.  As a staff team we acknowledge the difficulties and disappointment that this has caused families and want to let you know that we are equally disappointed.  We are busy trying to make alternative arrangements for all cancelled events and hope to provide information to families as soon as possible.

At the start of each term we take a moment to welcome any new families or staff that have joined the Mullum Primary School community, this term is no exception.  We are very pleased to welcome two Education Support staff, Elise Heeger who is working in 4SH and Anthony Nero who is working in Grade 1.  In addition to new staff, we also have a new students and families to welcome:

Yara (FG), Evie and Phoebe (3R), Noah (4SH), Soren and Maitham (5/6H), Jem and Chiara (5/6CN), Jane (5/6B).

We sincerely hope that our new staff and families settle into our school community over the coming weeks.

Production Rehearsal

Last Tuesday all students rehearsed their parts for the production, here are a few snaps that would have whetted your appetite for next week's production, should it have been going ahead.

Whole School "Olympic" Assembly

On Monday morning we will be having an Olympic Themed Assembly for the whole school via Webex.  A link to the meeting will be sent through to families through Webex and we invite all families to join in the fun.  We would love students to be involved in the assembly in any of the following ways:

• Dress up in a sports uniform
• Dress up in as a representative to the 'Games' from your country of origin
• Bring something that represents the spirit of the Olympic Games

If any of our families has a special connection to a past Olympic Athlete or Olympic Games we would love to showcase this at the assembly.  Please contact me via email if your family have something they would like to share, we will make it happen.

100 Days of School

Next week we celebrate a special milestone for our Foundation students as they tick over to 100 days of being at school.  On Friday next week the children are coming dressed as themselves at the age of 100 and doing a range of 100 related activities.  We can't wait to take some photos and share them with you in our next newsletter.

The Fathering Project

Mullum Primary School is very excited to connect to the Australia wide organisation, "The Fathering Project".  Sam Younes and Mark Penny are heading up our project and are ready to launch on Thursday 12 August at 7PM.  We ask that all father figures in families set aside this date and join the event. There is a whole page in this newsletter dedicated to the Fathering Project, describing what it is and what is happening. I invite you all to check out the link to the portal, social media and information from Sam and Mark over the coming weeks.    

Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected parents/caregivers/guardians (previously known as the Parent Opinion Survey). It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. Approximately 30 per cent of parents have been invited to participate in this year’s survey. . All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 19th July to Sunday 22nd August.

We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

As part of our commitment to support the health and wellbeing of all students Mullum Primary School is again partnering with Teeth on Wheels.  The mobile dentistry van will be onsite for two days in October and provides a valuable, friendly service for our community. Information and consent forms will be sent home when everyone is back on site.  For some eligible families this service can be provided free through Medibank, details of this will be on the consent form.  Keep your eyes open for the forms coming home soon.

Event Cancellations and Refunds

The Grade 3 & 4 Camp fees, some Interschool Sport costs, production ticket costs and Somers Camp fees are all to be refunded to families.  This last week Kelli Heriot and I have sent out information to families with forms to fill in to enable this process to take place.  If you are not sure or want more information, please call the office, or pop in next week when we are open again.  We are here to help sort this out.