From the Principal

SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS AND BELONGING

A strong feature of our school is the sense of connectedness and belonging students and parents feel when they become part of the school. 

Here at Murrumbeena Primary, we believe parents are our partners in educating the students both socially and academically.

We have created a range of opportunities for parents to become involved in the school, not just for volunteering, but, importantly, for sharing ideas and strategies to collaborate and strengthen partnerships with a deliberate focus on influencing and improving learning and wellbeing outcomes.

We believe effective parent engagement creates authentic relationships valued by each party. While the mode of engagement will vary with the child’s age, stage of learning, the time of the year and teachers, it also includes parents:

• being supported to understand ways to discuss learning goals and aspirations with their child (we send home an overview of the learning goals at the commencement of each unit of inquiry- see the PYP section of this newsletter)
• being kept up to date with their child’s learning in the classroom and how you can support this at home (we use Class Dojo to show what is happening at school)
• using appropriate games to improve the child’s literacy and numeracy; (we will be running parent workshops in term 2 )
• being assisted to arrange effective learning spaces for the child (remote learning certainly nailed this aspect but we also review the physical learning environment at school)
• being assisted to develop effective strategies and techniques to enhance the child’s wellbeing.

The parent and teacher information nights are designed to give parents an overview of what the year ahead will look like for the students, and our upcoming parent- teacher interviews will provide opportunity to speak specifically about your child’s needs.

Our goal this year is to create short video clips that show parents how we monitor and assess aspects of student literacy and numeracy learning. 

We are interested to identify if there is something specific you would like to know more about in regard to schooling at Murrumbeena, if so, please send an email to the school so we can endeavour to address this.

PARENT - TEACHER DISCUSSIONS

Parent–Teacher discussions will be held on Tuesday 22 and/or Thursday 24 March. 

As most interviews are held after hours, the day/s and times vary for each teacher due to their own family commitments.

The parent teacher discussion offers parents and teachers an opportunity to share information pertinent to the student’s educational and social-emotional progress. Interviews are strictly 10 minutes long, so we encourage parents to think about the

information they would like to share with the teacher beforehand. Parents can book  interview times on Compass, which is now open. 

AUSSIE OF THE MONTH

The Aussie of the Month is awarded to ONE junior and ONE senior student each month. Students receive the award for their displays of kindness, their contributions to the community, and for being respectful and inclusive towards their peers. 

The Aussie of the Month reflects our Australian values of mateship and civic responsibility.

This month, we are celebrating the month of February with two very deserving students receiving the award.

The junior student receiving Aussie of the Month is someone who has shown kindness to their classmates. This student was observed by their teacher going up to a very upset student in their class and inviting them to play with him. He cheered her up and ensured she felt included in the game. Kindness is such an important quality at our school and we are thrilled that this student, who is only in Prep, is being such a wonderful role model of kindness at Murrumbeena.

Congratulations to Ethan H from Prep D!

The senior student receiving Aussie of the Month is a model student who consistently applies the school's values of respect, resilience, relationships and responsibility on a daily basis. He always displays the Learner Profiles in the classroom learning environment, specialist classes and in the playground with his peers. He has an inclusive nature and is always willing to help those around him. He can be relied on to make strong choices and assists those around him to also make good decisions. He is a role model for all students at Murrumbeena Primary School. 

Congratulations to Joon T from 4K!

PARENT REPS

Class representatives now have the contact details of parents who have given consent. Many of the reps are keen to organise social activities and assist teachers with organising parent helpers for class run events. The class representatives were asked to share the parent ‘Code of Conduct’ to set the tone ensuring communication continues to remain positive and inclusive.

Stay tuned for more information from your class representative.

SCHOOL CARNIVAL

The date is set for our school carnival to be held on Saturday 20 August. The Social and Fundraising Subcommittee is now well underway with carnival planning.

What are we raising money for?

All funds raised from the carnival will be going toward the installation of new split system air conditioners for every classroom. 

Sponsorship

 If you know of a business in a position to offer sponsorship dollars, please contact the school so we can get in touch with them. Likewise, if you work for a company which offers grants to the community, we will help with the grant writing process. Every dollar raised through sponsorship reduces the running costs of the carnival and helps us to achieve our fundraising goal.

HARMONY WEEK AND THE NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION (NDA) AGAINST BULLYING

The theme for this year’s National Day of Action Against Bullying is Kindness Culture: a theme very prominent in every day life at Murrumbeena PS. 

Harmony Week is in the same week as NDA and celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

As both events are in the same week, we have decided to combine the theme and activities in recognition that an inclusive school culture that values diversity is an important strategy to prevent bullying.

Our school will celebrate kindness and culture on Friday 18 March, and join the national conversation to help address bullying.

Chellee Plumb