Principal's Report 

Dear Parents, 

Last week was a very difficult week for our community as we learned of the passing of a much loved staff member of Mackellar Primary School in Carole Farrington. Carole had worked at Mackellar Primary School for eighteen years and had taught many hundreds of students during that time.  Carole will be remembered as having a wonderful sense of humour and a cheeky smile. 

She was a very successful and highly regarded  colleague and a caring and supportive teacher to all in her care. Our deepest sympathies go to Carole's family and friends at this most difficult time. In the coming days, many staff will be attending Carole's funeral which will no doubt be a moving tribute to such a fine mother, partner, friend, colleague and teacher. Anyone wishing to leave a message for Carole and her family please click here .

For the duration of the year Judy Tanner will teach grade 6A in Carole's stead four days per week with Rebecca West teaching the fifth. If you have any queries regarding this and your child please discuss this with Judy Tanner, Kylie Kennedy or myself. 

On Tuesday March 7 and Thursday March 9 we will be holding our meet and greet sessions for parents and teachers. It must be stressed that these sessions are not parent-teacher interviews where the teacher discusses student progress with parents.  They are very much centred on parents informing us of your child's learning, social and emotional needs so we can work together in partnership to support them over the course of this year. 

Bookings for our parent meet and greet sessions can be made via XUNO. It would be ideal if all parents could make a time to come together early in the year, and I look forward to seeing you all over the two nights. 

This time of year is also where we seek nominations for parents to join school council.  Rather than discuss this here, our school council president has provided all the information required on his page further into this newsletter.  Please take the time to read over this and consider joining our council. 

A reminder that the Labour Day weekend is fast approaching, and as has been the case for some years now, we will be having a pupil free day on the Friday prior. This will give students a nice four day break in the middle of the term to re-charge their batteries. On this day, the teachers will be deepening their knowledge of inquiry learning using the Future Focused Learning Community. Please be sure to mark these dates in your diary, and as always TheirCare will be available for bookings on the Friday. 

Finally, we have had some staff move, or preparing to move on to to other schools recently. Over the school holiday break, Nicole Baker secured an Education Support position at Sunbury Primary School which she commenced at the start of the year. In addition Anjum Jehan has just recently secured an Education Support position at Sydenham Hillside Primary School with her last day of work here being tomorrow. We thank both of these staff for their hard work and commitment to Mackellar Primary School over many years, and wish them all the very best as they take on new challenges at their new settings.

Kind Regards, 

Simon McGlade

Principal