WELCOME BACK

I hope you all had a beautiful holiday with your family and friends and managed to recharge. We’ve had a great start to the year, with our children transitioning smoothly into their new classes. This week I’ve been thinking a lot about our school culture. It’s just so lovely to see you all in the school grounds, in the mornings and afternoons. Some of you, like me, are working parents who can’t be here and might feel a little disconnected. We also have our new Prep families, who I’m sure are hopeful they’ll feed a sense of belonging. I want you to know that our Wellbeing and Community Engagement sub-committees of School Council are going to be working on ways to build connection, while our Family and Friends committee are planning some terrific events to bring us all together. Out teachers, too have been doing some professional learning about developing strong relationships with their students, all in an effort to support our kids and build on a positive school culture. I encourage you to reach out to a new family and welcome them. As we know, culture does not make people. People make culture (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF

This year we welcome Shyamasree Bose to our Education Support Team, and Sara Del Rio Garcia and Toni Canto Castello to our LOTE team. We also have Kara Merrin in grade 1, Keanan Van Hees in grade 3/4 and Terena Harrison in Prep. Nadia Lindop joins us fulltime and will be working across a number of classes. Gill Kay will also be here with us on Mondays. Welcome to the SMPPS team!! Look out for some introductions from our new staff, in the next edition.

FAREWELL TO MAESTRA

It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our wonderful Maestra, Anne Mackelvie, who is retiring this week. Anne has done a magnificent job of building our Spanish program from the ground up. She is a beloved member of staff and is cherished by our children. Her passion oozes in her teaching and I know that she’ll put this passion to good use in her Ballroom dancing (she’s amazing!) along with travel and other pursuits, in her retirement. We are going to miss you Maestra and are forever indebted to you for all you’ve done. Anne always signs off with this quote from Spanish poet, Antonio Machado “Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar” … 'Wanderer, there are no roadways, roads you make as you explore...' Farewell and thank you, Maestra!

LOOKING FOR SOME SIMPLE TECH SUPPORT

As you know, we have assembly every 2nd Friday, in the gym. The teachers who support our student leaders set up and pack up the screen, microphones, flags etc., for each assembly. Given that our staff already spend a significant part of their break times supervising play in the grounds, I’m hoping there might be a small group of parents who would be willing to do the set up and pack up. It’s pretty straight forward, and Bruce Huynh is very happy to show you the ropes. Please email the school at south.melbourne.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au with the subject ‘Assembly crew’, if you think you could help out or be added to a roster.

NAPLAN

This year, the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is being held from Wednesday, 15th March until Monday, 20th with a catch-up period following for students who may be absent. These assessments are for students in years 3 and 5 only. Our school has a suite of assessments that inform teaching and learning programs throughout the year. NAPLAN is just one of these and presents a snapshot in time. It does not, however assess your child’s effort, growth-mindset, creativity or talent in a multitude of other areas. We use NAPLAN to look at trend data, triangulate student results and set some Annual Implementation Plan goals.

A NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers is available at https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf. If you have concerns about your child sitting these assessments or believe that they may need adjustments due to a disability, please book a time with your child’s teacher. Some adjustments require pre-approval from the VCAA and must be lodged by the school by March 8th.

Nicole Arnold, Principal

Families and Friends News

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