From Marie

Welcome back to Term 3 everyone!  We have a jam packed term ahead, kicking off with our Grade 3/4 Camp next week.  We also welcome new families to our community - Millie (3/4B) and Macie (3/4Y), we hope you are settling in well.

Global Ambassador Students

Six of our Grade 5 students have been selected to participate in a 12 month Global Ambassador program where they are learning about the United Nations Sustainable Developent Goals and how they are implemented some of these in our school and local environment. You are going to hear a lot from this dedicated group who are meeting weekly to resolve a problem by taking some action.  They have settled on a project that targets the development goal of:

Life on Land - To protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

The group are looking at the changes to our school and local environment and the impact that this has had on the land and local insects and bugs.  They are kickstarting their work with a presentation at assembly on Friday and will introduce our school community to their plan to 'rewild' an area in the school that will improve outcomes for "Little Things With Wings" (butterflies, bugs, bees and birds).  

School Review

In October and November this year our school will be undergoing a School Review by the Department of Education.  This Review happens every four years and is a chance to reflect on the achievements of the past and paves the way for the future work of the school, particularly in Literacy, Mathematics and Wellbeing.  We are excited for this opportunity to share all of the changes and continuous improvements we have made to the learning and wellbeing programs across the school over the last four years.  Along with building a new school and working our way through two (or more) years of COVID, we have also made significant changes to the teaching of literacy to include the explicit, sequential teaching of phonics, morphology and etymology.  We have undertaken significant work in the Big Ideas in Mathematics and are looking for mastery of skills in the areas of Trusting the Count, Place Value, Multiplicaition and Partitioning.  We have implemented a program of tutoring for students across all grade levels and will work to continue this in 2024.  Along with this we have maintained our important work in wellbeing and are implementing a restorative approach to dealing with student behaviours. We have celebrated success with parents in our Student-led Walkthroughs, run a playgroup for the local community and the Fathering Project and just some of the ways we provide opportunities for parents and our community to connect.  We are very proud of what we have achieved over the last four years, we hope you think so too.

Thank you to the Mullum Mullum Anglican Church

Every fortnight the Mullum Mullum Anglican Church on Warrandyte Road Ringwood, drop around to school with bags of fresh fruit and this week again they delivered packs of snacks for students who may have forgotten to pack their lunch or need a little extra in the day.  We thank you for your generosity and caring for our school community. Check out the goodies this week:

Sick kids

As the winter settles in we want to remind everyone that if your child is sick, they should stay home until they are well.  We have already had to send a number of students home this week with a range of illnesses including sore throats, fever and headaches.  

Student Accident and Ambulance Insurance

With our school grounds wet and slippery at the moment it is a good time to think about accident and ambulance insurance. The Department of Education, and therefore our school, does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance or ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.  The Department of Education cannot provide advice to parents/carers on the purchase of individual student accident policy or ambulance cover.  

Encounter Program

When I next write we will have our International visitors here from overseas.  We have ten students coming to Mullum Primary School for four weeks to spend time in our school community, experiencing Australian schools and joining in all of our activities.  As part of this program we are looking for 'Buddies' within the classes who will act as a friend and guide over the time our visitors are at school.  There is also an opportunity for the Buddies to be involved in extra little activities like tree planting, a trip to Healesville Sanctuary, plus more.   Thank you to the families that have already responded to my previous call out.  If your child has an interest in developing and supporting a new friend in their class, please send me an email and let me know.

Lunchtime Clubs in Term 3

Free clubs and activities are available each lunchtime when the bell rings at the middle of lunch time.  These activities are very popular when the weather is cold and wet!

Monday - Coding Club, Lego Club, Library

Tuesday - Kitchen Garden, Lego Club, Library

Wednesday - Ukulele Club, Lego Club, Library

Thursday - Grade 3/4 Soccer skills club, Lego Club, Library

Friday - Active Games, Lego Club, Library

In addition to these clubs we have Chess Club on Fridays and Tennis on Wednesdays. Check out their flyers in the 'Community Announcements' section of this newsletter.