From the
Assistant Principal

BE INVOLVED, BE CONNECTED

I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

Our staff, and their continued flexibility and support of one another. They truly ‘play as a team’ to make sure they are supporting your children and providing the best possible learning environment for them.

EDUCATION WEEK

Education Week celebrates the strengths and achievements of the Victorian Governments' Education sector. Education Week is an opportunity for all primary and secondary schools, higher education providers, and early childhood education and care services to commemorate the past, celebrate the present, and imagine the future of education in Victoria. At South Melbourne Park Primary School we will be celebrating Education Week with the following:

Wednesday 25th May: National Simultaneous Storytime - The Family Tree

This year’s story it is a sweet book written by Josh Pyke and beautifully illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. Family Tree is a heartfelt celebration of family, community, and the seasons of life to cherish and to share. This fun event, will take place during the student’s reading lesson.

Thursday 26th May: Math's Afternoon 3:00pm - 3:30pm - (families invited)

We would like to invite families into the school to enjoy a math's lesson with your child/children. If your child has specialist at this time, we would like you to experience STEM, Spanish, Sport, Visual Arts and Performing Arts!

Thursday 26th May - Scholastic Book Fair- come along and explore the all the amazing books on offer. Books will be available to purchase. Sale dates and times will be communicated to you next week via Compass.

Friday 27th May - Celebration Assembly 2:45- 3:30pm (families invited)

We will be celebrating the excellent education that is taking place at SMPPS. Students will be sharing their learning across all subjects. We will be having student performances and presenting our Value Awards.

IDAHOBIT DAY - DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Every year on 17 May, people around the world celebrate International Day Against

Homophobia, Biphobia, discrimination against intersex people and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). IDAHOBIT was established in 2004 to draw attention to the violence and discrimination LGBTIQ+ people face around the world. The 17 May date commemorates the World Health Organisations 1990 decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. IDAHOBIT is celebrated in more than 130 countries around the world and is an important moment for us to reflect on how we are creating an inclusive community.

MEETING WITH STAFF AND STAFF MEETINGS

As you know our staff are very accommodating and will always be happy to have a quick chat whenever you see them. However, if you would like a longer conversation, or have a particular concern, we ask that you reach out and organize a time with your classroom teacher to talk further. Booking in a time is especially important as we have staff meetings at 7:30 on Tuesday mornings and after school until 5:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This will mean that staff will not be available during these times if you are trying to catch them at pick up or drop off.

PLAYGROUND UPDATE

The playground is open and it has been fantastic to see all the students enjoying and engaging with the equipment! For this first week we have been rostering year levels during lunchtime and recess as we all get used to how to play using this equipment.

It is important to know that there is no supervision from school staff on the playground before and after school.

We ask that students go straight to the classroom at 8:45 in the morning for soft start, this is an important time when the students do some quiet activities and tune in to their learning.

After school families are welcome to use the playground, but children need to be supervised by their parents if they are on the playground at all, there will be no staff on duty to supervise the students.

DISABILITY PARKING SPOT

We know we have had some challenges with parking out the front of the school and people not using this space appropriately at times. I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that there are members of our community that do need to make use of this accessible parking, and are using it appropriately. In particular we have a number of students who particularly need this support. It is important to note that the conditions that some of our community experience that necessitate this support are not always visible, and just because you cannot see an obvious reason for why someone is parking there does not mean that there is not a very strong reason for the use of the space.