Myrniong - ELC to Yr6

Dates

Thursday 18 February - SSV District Tennis-Hamilton Courts
Friday 26 February - House Athletics Sports at Myrniong
Monday 8 March - Labour Day Public Holiday
Thursday 11 March - Open Morning (Junior and Senior Schools) and HDSA District Athletics at Pedrina Park
Friday 12 March - Division Swimming in Warrnambool

School Hats

It may well be a result of the cooler than usual La Nina summer we are experiencing in the south west, but a generous number of Junior School students are opting not to wear hats to school. This is disappointing and I ask parents to support the Junior School Uniform Policy by ensuring students leave home with school hats on their heads. Hats are a mandatory uniform item and students should be wearing hats to and from school every day in Terms One and Four.

Swimming Intensive and House Swimming Sports

The Swimming Intensive program concluded today. Nine consecutive days of lessons at Hughan Park and H.I.L.A.C have provided our students with invaluable water confidence. Special thanks to Mrs. Louise Patterson and Mrs. Natalie Povey for all the hard work that went into organising and facilitating this important summer program. Tomorrow will be an opportunity for our students to showcase their new swimming skills at the House Swimming Sports at Hughan Park. We would love to see families at the pool to cheer on the students.

House Captains for 2021

Last Friday, Year 6 students presented speeches to their Houses to be considered for House Captaincy. The Junior School Heads of House all agreed that the standard of applicant this year was outstanding. Many used the College values of Compassion, Gratitude, Optimism, Respect and Resilience as cornerstones of their presentations. Selecting two House Captains from very strong fields in all Houses was difficult. For those who missed out, we will endeavour to provide plenty of leadership opportunities via sporting teams, S.R.C, Red Cross/KidsMatter and numerous lunchtime clubs. Year Six students also have the opportunity to display leadership via the Compass Award.

The 2021 House Captains:

Berry House – Samual O’Sullivan and Thomas Templeton

Laidlaw House - Phoebe Alexander and William Satchell

Learmonth House - Millie Mould and Finley Hiscock

Young House - Marianna Novikov and Finlay Hunt

Parent Representatives

An important aspect of our strong learning community at the Junior School is our Class Representatives. These volunteers are a vital conduit between new and existing families, organising class get-togethers, coffee mornings and parent dinners. If you are interested in putting yourself forward as a Class Rep, please contact your class teachers or Mrs. Natalie Povey. The role can be shared, and can lead to invaluable connections and a true sense of community between our families.

Learning Support Offerings - 2021

With Swimming Intensive concluding this week, the Junior School learning support programs will commence in earnest in Week 4. As a school striving for constant improvement, we have expanded our Early Years learning support offering to include targeted MiniLit groups. MiniLit is part of a suite of evidence-based intervention programs which have been implemented at the Junior School for over ten years. It is an explicit and effective early literacy intervention program for teaching reading skills to children who are below the expected range for their age group. MiniLit is a small group program, and can also be used on a one-to-one basis. It will run in partnership with Mrs. Lou Drummond’s successful Reading Recovery program.

Wearing of Masks - Junior School

The Junior School requires all parents and visitors to wear masks when entering the Myrniong Homestead and Junior School classrooms. This includes the hallway of the Handbury Centre where our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 classes are situated. We are also requiring all our Year 6 students to wear masks on Wednesdays and Thursdays when they travel on buses and attend classes at the Senior School.

Stephen Nelson

Head of Junior School