September - Issue 14

14


Message from the Principal

Dear MPPS parents and carers,

We faced a week of unusually high winds, and that the safety of our children is our top priority. There were a number of tree branches that fell this week, and to ensure we keep our school safe, you may have noticed the temporary fencing around the gum tree near the junior building. We are working with the Department of Education ‘Make Safe’ team who have arranged an arborist to assess the tree next week.

Father’s Day breakfast

It was so lovely to see the dads and their children at the Father’s Day breakfast early on Monday morning! Thank you to our PFA who organised this special breakfast, we appreciate the effort that went into making it such a wonderful experience for everyone involved and the many eggs and bacon rolls that were made!

Year 4 Students run assembly!

A huge congratulations to Matilda, James, Kavya and Kat from Grade 4 for running the school assembly while the Grade 6 student leaders were on camp last Friday! You were outstanding, and your hard work and dedication throughout the week really showed. You demonstrated great leadership and teamwork, and you should all be very proud of yourselves. Also, well done to Leo, Austin, Elizabeth who were selected to present the ‘Green Gang’ update and announced the winning class at the assembly. It was wonderful to see our grade 4 students take up this opportunity.

Thank you to our staff who attended the Senior School Camp

I would like to thank our wonderful staff who accompanied our Grade 5 and 6 students on camp last week, a shout out to Ms Oates who was the staff camp leader, Mr Wilton, Mrs Unwin, Abbey and Gail . Your time, energy, and commitment ensured that the students had a safe, fun, and memorable experience.

School Saving Bonus

The Victorian Government is making life that little bit easier for families by providing a one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. This support will help cover the cost of school uniforms, textbooks, and school activities like camps, excursions and sports. The School Saving Bonus is in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) and the Affordable School Uniforms Program. The School Saving Bonus will be provided to schools and families in Term 4, 2024. As part of this initiative, it is essential that the parent email contact details we have on file are correct. Please provide an update of your email address if needed to ensure that you don’t miss out on the information required to access your $400 bonus. There will be further information sent home soon.    

Before and After School Supervision

Also, can I please ask for your support that your children are closely supervised when outdoors near the junior playground, before and after school. The staff car park is not to be accessed by students, nor should parents/carers walk through this area. The area is for staff use and deliveries only.

Professional Practice Day

All teaching staff will engage in a Professional Practice Day (PPD) on Monday, 25th November. This will be a student-free day, dedicated to enhancing our teaching practices. For families who need childcare, the OSHC Club will be available throughout the day.

I wish you all a lovely weekend,

Leisa Higgins

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Foundation

In the Spotlight 

Hello Foundation families! 

What crazy weather we're having!  This wind is phenomenal, there are lots of tired children and teachers.

This week we have enjoyed two stomp sessions, lots of great learning in Literacy, learning about directions in Numeracy and looking at Stress Management in our Wellbeing Sessions.  We are also enjoying looking at things from the Past and Present.  It is amazing to find the facts the children really cling onto.  

Last week we were lucky enough to have one of our lovely Parents come and share their expertise in Forensic Science.  We had a great time learning about fingerprints, hair samples and DNA.  Ms Higgins was a great sport and joined the fun, stealing Mrs Moore’s lollies!  The children found this absolutely amazing!  Ms Higgins fielded lots of questions afterwards.  Thank you Monica for coming to share with us.

General Reminders

Daily Reading Helpers

This Term we have made a slight change to reading with parent helpers, due to a timetable change. We now warmly welcome grandparents/parents to come in from 8:50 - 9:05am each day to read with individual students from your child’s class. The importance of reading for children cannot be underestimated. Reading can benefit a child’s education, social and cognitive development, their wellbeing, and their mental health. Some children take to reading and some struggle, for lots of different reasons. A little extra help can make all the difference to a child by helping them to learn to love reading and reach their potential. Please ensure you are signing in at the office and have an up-to-date WWCC that is provided to Jen in the office. 

Arriving At School on Time: 

All children arriving at school after 9am must be signed in by a parent/guardian at the Office according to the following procedure. Sign your child in via the tablet at the office and please take your child to their classroom. Please be mindful that the late arrival of students inhibits the beginning of a productive morning at school for the entire class. This is due to having to take the time to repeat instructions to students that have arrived late, therefore the children that have arrived at school on time, lose valuable lesson time. Please help us to keep the lessons on track, by ensuring your child is not late to school. If you do not enter an attendance note advising us that your child will be late and your child arrives at school after 9:30 am, you will receive an ‘Attendance Notification: Student Unaccounted For’ email asking you to enter an approval note on Compass.

Car Park

We have noticed recently a lot of children before and after school running through the carpark area and slamming gates, some are also standing behind cars who are ready to leave. Please remind children that safety is paramount and not to play in or around the carpark.  Many thanks for your support with this.

Fire Ed Visit

We are so lucky to have some amazing Fire fighters coming to visit Foundation at Mentone Park Primary School.  They will come for 2 visits over the next two Mondays.  Please see compass notification for further details and information.

STOMP  

The children are practising hard for the fast approaching concert.  The concert will be held just before the early finish on Friday 20th September.  We will be doing a dance from Trolls and Paw Patrol.  We will let you know next week of costume requirements (these will be simple!)

wlt

Below are our current focus letters/sounds and words. Your child would greatly benefit from practising these at home!

 

Letters/Sounds: sh,ll,zz, z, w, ff.  We have learnt that two letters that make one sound are called digraphs.

Vocabulary: 

Writing: This fortnight we have been focusing on Procedure and Recount as our writing genres.

Maths: We have been looking at Direction and giving and following directions such as left, right, beside, on top of, behind and in front of.

Thank you for reading our Foundation Newsletter!   Have a great weekend!




Junior School

We are quickly approaching the end of Term 3 and it has come out of nowhere! The students are well into their S.T.O.M.P. sessions and are eagerly committing their dances to memory. There is both a mixture of nerves and excitement around our end-of-term whole-school performance. This will be held on Friday the 20th of September from 1 pm to 2:15 pm on the basketball courts. We can’t wait!

Year 1/2 Costume: Any sporting attire e.g. basketball, football, gymnast, dancer etc. Could we please ask all students to wear their school uniform on the last day of term and bring their costume separately.

General Reminders: Until further notice, 1/2B and 1/2C will be enter and exit through the main door rather than their classroom door. This is due to the severe weather we have been experiencing and student safety.

Literacy: In the past two weeks, we have had our 100th InitiaLit session. This was a big milestone for the students and teachers! We are continuously seeing fantastic growth among the students and are so proud of all of them!

InitiaLit Year 1:

Tricky Words (sight words): kind, find, thought

Digraphs: _y (puppy), _ey (key), oy (boy), oi (coin)

Grammar: Adjectives, Base word and suffix

WOW Words: gorgeous, prove, congratulate

 

InitiaLit Year 2:

Trick Words (sight words): though, don’t, can’t

Digraphs/Trigraphs: Contractions (you are = you’re)

Grammar: Prepositions and Conjunctions

Helpful Words: Feast, Pound, Shatter

 

Writing:

wlt Write a procedural text including the correct structure of the goal, Materials/Ingredients, Steps, and Conclusion.

Students have been hard at work learning the structure and the language of procedural texts. We have discussed how the steps in a procedure need to be specific to the action and begin with a verb. The students got to instruct the teachers on how to make fairy bread with the teachers following their exact instructions. This helped the students understand the importance of specific instructions and they got to enjoy a slice of fairy bread in the process.

The students have used these skills to practice writing their procedures from How to make fairy bread to How to brush their teeth.

Numeracy:

wlt Complete vertical addition sums and learn the connection between addition and subtraction.

The students have been completing addition sums in vertical form as a new strategy to complete the sums. We have been working on regrouping, carrying over numbers and correct place value positions. Additionally, students have been exploring the connection between addition and subtraction this week through the use of fact families where for example:

 

       14

+     24

=    38

7 + 3 = 10       3 + 7 = 10

10 - 7 = 3        10 - 3 = 7

 

Thank you for reading our newsletter and keeping up to date with what’s happening in Year  1/2.

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Middle School

Hello Middle School families,

We are already at the end of Week 8, hasn’t this term flown by? The students have been busy in their usual subjects as well as participating in extracurricular activities. In Maths last week, the students learnt about money, where they were able to look through catalogues and plan for a birthday party within a set budget. In Reading, they have been strengthening their understanding of inferencing while reading and watching animated short films, and in Writing we have been practising writing rhyming poems. Finally, in Inquiry we explored the Indigenous connections to Sovereign Hill and how this was impacted during the Gold Rush, and are now focusing on the Stolen Generation.

 

Living Culture Incursion

It was a pleasure to have Hudson from Living Culture visit us. Hudson showed us some different boomerangs including a “come back” and a club boomerang. He also showed us a nulla-nulla, and a digging stick, and told us that all hunting decisions made by indigenous people are based upon being respectful of animals, and putting every part of the animal to use without wasting anything. 

Hudson then highlighted the significance of the local flora and fauna from an indigenous perspective and explained how banksia leaves can be used for a hairbrush, and the wood to make sewing needles!

Finally we were shown a possum fur made from a brushtail possum. We learnt that the hairs of the fur are hollow so trap heat to make the possum fur warm and cosy when people wear it! 

We also learned that the traditional indigenous game of Marngrook was where the game of VFL football originated from, and that the MCG area was originally a gathering place for the Kulin Nations people!

 

STOMP!

Our rehearsals are going incredibly well for the MPPS school dance spectacular! The performance will be held on the final Friday of Term 3 (20th of September) at 1pm. 

Our instructor, Kira, is a passionate dance teacher who has “hyped up" our students by encouraging them to do their best and have fun. We have been watching the children’s confidence grow throughout the program and can see the enjoyment on their faces that dance brings. We can’t wait to see them perform at the spectacular!


Sovereign Hill Camp

Camp week is finally almost here and everyone is so excited! We have been meeting and answering any questions students have to help them prepare for camp. 

The bus will be departing from the front of the school on Broome Ave at 9:00am sharp. We will have a designated area set up for students to come and check in with us and drop their luggage. Please be at school by 8:30am.

A packing list was sent home with the permission forms. It will be cold so pack warm clothes, jackets and a beanie! When packing luggage, please ensure your child is able to carry it themselves and that all items (including shoes, sleeping bags and pillows) are labelled. 

Students will need to have their own snack, lunch and drink bottle packed in a small backpack for the first day only. We will be stopping off in Navan Park, Melton to have a toilet break and snack before arriving at Sovereign Hill before lunch. Please do not pack extra sweets for your child as the camp does not allow food in the rooms and we have already factored in our own extra treats for them!

If your child is bringing medication, please bring the Medication Authority Form with the medication in a named and sealed ziplock bag or container. Mel Gibson will be collecting the medication in the Chill Out Zone on the morning of camp. Please do not pack any medication in your child’s bag. 

Finally, students’ spending money (maximum $20) needs to be handed to Simone Bastin in a ziplock bag on the morning of camp.

 

wlt

Reading - To make inferences using visual clues in animated short films and picture story books.

Writing - Plan and write a rhyming poem based on our class poem The Ant Explorer.

Maths - Read analogue time to the quarter-hour, five minutes, and the minute, and convert between units of time.

Inquiry - To learn about the Stolen Generation.

District Athletics
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Living Culture Incursion
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Senior School

What an eventful fortnight it has been after another epic camp, surrounded by other extracurricular activities. With only 2 weeks left of term to go, there's still plenty of exciting things happening and a lot of incredible events to reflect on.

Recent/Upcoming Events:

  • District Basketball Gala Day - Incredible efforts from our 2 teams who competed at the Gala Day on Monday 26th of August. Our girls did an amazing job, winning 2 out of 3 games and finishing 3rd overall. Our boys showed incredible resilience, unfortunately losing all 3 matches after trying their best against some tough competition.
  • Living Culture - We were so fortunate to have Hudson come and share artefacts and the stories behind them to gain greater insight into indigenous culture. It was impressive to see the level of respect and engagement that our Senior students upheld throughout the entire visit, generating thought provoking questions and discussion!
  • Camp - Despite some spots of dodgy weather, our recent trip to Waratah Beach Camp was a huge success. Our students were incredibly resilient with the changes to the timetable to factor in the weather and made the most of all opportunities presented to them. We had great fun exploring the beautiful beach of Waratah Bay, rotating between challenging teamwork tasks and filling up on delicious food. We also had some great laughs and enjoyed being together in a different educational setting.
  • District Athletics - Congratulations to our 28 Senior students who represented MPPS proudly by competing at the District Athletics earlier this week. The day was a huge success with Hugo receiving 3 x 1st place, Matthew with a 2nd place and Stella with a 2nd & 3rd place in their respective events. We wish them the best of luck as they will go on to compete at Division Athletics in October.
  • Inquiry - In our unit, ‘Take a Walk On This Land We Call Australia,’ we will be looking into the ancestry of the class as a part of our History Curriculum about immigration. The questions were sent out as a part of the homework earlier in the week. We would like these responses back by Monday 9th of September to assist students in completing the rest of the task. The questions can be found Here.
  • STOMP -  Our STOMP End of Term Showcase is approaching and will be held on the basketball courts at 1pm on Friday 20th of September. The Senior Students are performing a 90’s inspired hip hop number and are asked to begin putting together items to wear on the day such as: a mixture of colour baggy clothes, denim on denim, bandana, caps or flannelette around the waist etc. Try and use items you or family members have at home, search Op Shops or borrow from friends. We will provide the students with some visual inspiration to give them some ideas.
  • WANTED - In preparation for our new novel study next term, ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ by Jules Verne, we are seeking some possible assistance. We have PDF copies of the text, however some students prefer to read hardcopies. We were wondering if there were any second hand copies that people may have at home that we could use or if people could please be on the lookout at Op Shops over the school holidays. 

Reminders:

 

  • Health – Ensuring our students are happy and healthy is our number one priority. As you may be aware, we currently have a student and 2 parents in the Senior School who have either recently completed or are still undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Due to treatment, their immune systems are compromised, making them highly susceptible to infection and illness. In the event your child or a close contact of theirs is ill, we encourage you to please consider the following:
  • Keep your child at home until recovered or advised by a health professional
  • Inform the school of any contagious illnesses such as Covid or chickenpox
  • Discuss the importance of personal hygiene and hand washing

Further information regarding infectious diseases and the recommended exclusion times can be found here at: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table#exclusion-periods-table

We appreciate all efforts to help keep everyone here at Mentone Park safe!

wlt

Reading: Making social, cultural and historical comparisons between, ‘Boy Overboard’ & ‘Girl Underground’.

Writing: Creating informative brochures to advertise Waratah Beach Camp.

PhOrMeS: Read, spell and define words with the Greek morpheme, zo, meaning animal

Maths: To gather and organise data to answer questions about our world.

Inquiry: Develop questions about immigration and identify and explain reasons behind people’s

immigration to Australia.

Banqer: Explore how students can earn an income within the classroom and relate this to the real world.

Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships (Wellbeing): Reflect on the challenges of carrying out choices in social situations.

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Living Culture Incursion
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District Athletics
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Weekly Awards

Week 6
 
FoundationEric S
 Cooper B
Grade 1 & 2Billy W
 Hutch G
 Henry W
 Narith V
Grade 3 & 4Ratu N
 Elizabeth B

Grade 5 & 6

Nadeem M
 James B
STEAMWalter A
ArtJuniper G.D
AuslanGiacomo B
        week 6 a 

Week 7
 
FoundationBailey J
 Harmony F
Grade 1 & 2Sofiia C
 Evelyn D
 Madi R
Grade 3 & 4Isla D
 Isobel L

Grade 5 & 6

Congratulations to the 5/6 cohort for embodying our school values and successfully navigating camp—your enthusiasm and teamwork truly stood out!
STEAMElizabeth B
ArtHayley B
week 7 awards         


Important Dates

August/ September

Mon 9th - Wed 11th SeptemberMiddle School Camp
Thur 19th SeptemberFooty Day
Fri 20th SeptemberLast Day of Term 3
Mon 7th OctoberFirst Day of Term 4

Find the yearly Events Calendar HERE


Community News





A huge thanks to our PFA for organsing and fantastic helpers for running the Father’s Day stall and helping out at the Father's Day breakfast.
Thank you also to the dads, grandpas, and special people who joined us for the breakfast on Monday morning. The kids were thrilled to have you there—your presence means more to them than you might realise. We hope you had a fantastic Father’s Day!


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