Mentone Park Primary School acknowledges the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we learn and play.

We value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures’ and recognise their connection to lands, waters and communities.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

This term, we've had the pleasure of watching many of our students perform at our assembly. From well-rehearsed dance routines to brave first-time performances, it's been heartwarming to see our students step outside their comfort zones and share their talents with our school community. At Mentone Park Primary School, we’re proud to foster courage and confidence in our students, and seeing their beaming smiles after performing has been such a highlight. 

We’ve had a great response to our upcoming parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday and are looking forward to welcoming families onsite. These meetings are a valuable opportunity to strengthen the partnership between home and school. 

Looking ahead to Term 3, our teachers have been busy planning a range of engaging excursions and incursions. These experiences are designed to build on what’s being taught in the classroom, helping students connect their learning to the wider world. Please keep an eye on Compass for updates and alerts early next term. 

A reminder that the last day of Term 2 is next Friday, 4th July, with an early finish at 2:30pm. It will be a special day as we celebrate our Prep students reaching 100 days of school at MPPS ( the best school ever!). We can’t wait to see them dressed up for the occasion and the whole school enjoying a sausage sizzle at lunchtime. We’ll finish the term with a whole-school assembly, where we’re especially excited to see our school choir perform for the very first time. 

A thank you to all our families and our school council for your ongoing support. By working together with our dedicated staff, we’re creating an environment where our students can grow to be successful, resilient, and courageous learners. This shared goal is what brings us together as a school community. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Leisa. 

Dear Parents, Guardians & Caregivers, 

I hope you are all well and surviving the cold and the wet! 

Victorian Schools Parliamentary Program 

On Tuesday 24/6, three of our senior students, Mackenzie Owens, Benjamin Willder, and James Clarke, participated in the Victorian Schools Parliamentary Program (VSPP). This involved them attending Parliament House in the city, along with other student leaders from many other primary schools across the state, to investigate the question: Should voting be compulsory in Australia? Ben delivered our opening speech with confidence and Ben, Mackenzie and James actively participated in all aspects of the program, representing MPPS excellently! A special mention to Matilda Henderson, who was also to attend, but unfortunately was ill on the day. Matilda contributed greatly to the writing of our speech and eagerly participated in the student preparation activities. All four students shared their speech with the MPPS community at assembly on Friday and were presented with certificates acknowledging their attendance and contributions to the program! Well done, Ben, Kenzie, James and Matilda!! 

Semester Reports & Parent Teacher Conferences 

As of this afternoon, Friday 25/6, Semester Reports were published on Compass to provide students and parents with valuable feedback regarding student achievement and growth across the first half of 2025. These Semester Reports also include reflections directly from students themselves regarding their performance, as well as their goals for next semester. Next week, Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday 2/7, to provide parents the opportunity to clarify anything contained within Semester Reports and to gain further feedback regarding their child’s specific areas of growth and opportunities for improvement. Bookings for Parent Teacher conferences are currently open via Compass, however, will close Monday afternoon (30/6) to enable teachers to properly prepare. We look forward to welcoming you into our classrooms! 

New Furniture 

As mentioned at last Friday’s assembly, we have recently purchased two new classroom sets of tables for our Year 3/4 classrooms. These new tables now enable our 3/4 students to better access the explicit teaching and learning opportunities provided in class, by replacing tables that are more suitable for small group work. This purchase has also enabled the tables in the Auslan and STEAM classrooms to be upgraded to now house all the same types of tables, greatly improving the learning environments in these two specialist classrooms for all students across the school to enjoy! We also purchased additional tables for our Year 1/2 classrooms to ensure that all students are now able to face the front of the classroom. This now also affords our 1/2 teachers greater flexibility when altering the classroom for various learning activities. We intend and look forward to continuing to upgrade the learning environments for students into the future! 

Volunteers 

At Mentone Park Primary School we LOVE volunteers! We currently have volunteers supporting our junior reading program, providing support contacting books, attending excursions and camps and even running fortnightly Library sessions for all classes to enjoy - not to mention the amazing contributions that our School Council, PFA and Working Bee volunteers also make on a regular basis! If you are ever able to and interested in volunteering here at MPPS, please don’t hesitate and contact me (nathan.hutchins@education.vic.gov.au) or speak to any member of staff. Please note that all volunteers need a valid Working With Children Check, which is free of charge and a relatively quick and easy process to complete. Here is a link to the application process. Thank you – we greatly appreciate your assistance! 

Yours sincerely, 

Nathan Hutchins 

Assistant Principal 

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

We are incredibly proud of the progress our Foundation students have made in their writing this term. It has been wonderful to see them writing more independently, confidently having a go, and using their knowledge of sounds to spell words. Their letter formation continues to improve, and they are taking great care with their handwriting. One of the highlights has been learning about adjectives and using them to write fantastic descriptions of their favourite toys. Well done to all our budding young writers! 

As we wrap up the term, we want to thank you for your continued support and wish all our families a safe and restful holiday break! 

Heads Up!

Nessy, Matific and MultiLit Elibrary    

Another reminder that recently we sent home student logins for our online learning platforms; Nessy, Matific and The MultiLit eLibrary.   

The MultiLit eLibrary is a wonderful resource that can be used alongside the take home readers. We encourage parents to try to use this wonderful platform over the school holiday break, to continue with their reading practice.  

Nessy (Reading and Spelling) and Matific (Maths), are interactive learning platforms designed to be used both at school and at home. We encourage students to work through these programs independently and at their own pace.   

If you are having difficulty logging in to any of these platforms please contact your classroom teacher.

Student Illness:  

In the past few weeks there has been a particular rise with our little ones in the Foundation area, presenting as very unwell to school. Ensuring our students are happy and healthy is our number one priority. We do have a number of students in our Mentone Park Community that have immune systems that are compromised, making them highly susceptible to infection and illness. Therefore, we please ask that if your child is unwell that you, please keep your child at home until they have fully recovered. Even if they don’t have a fever, they still may be infectious and too unwell to complete the tasks that come with school.  

Just a reminder if your child is experiencing diarrhoea and/or vomiting, as per guidelines they should not attend school until 48 hours after they no longer have symptoms. If they are unwell at school, parents will be contacted to come and collect their child from school. 

We have been discussing the importance of personal hygiene and hand washing in class, but we please ask if you could also further discuss this at home, we would greatly appreciate it. 

Literacy:We have been learning the single sounds u,k and l and practicing isolating the middle sound in words, this helps us with our writing. In addition, we have been consolidating our knowledge of adjectives and applying them to creating more interesting sentences.

Numeracy: We have been learning to identify ‘one less’ and ‘one more’ for numbers to 20, with materials. Whilst representing numbers to 20 on a number track.

Inquiry: We have been learning to explore robots and programming through our Mad About Science incursion. We explored colourful programmable robots with intuitive interfaces, whilst developing an understanding about simple sequencing and directional language.

Wellbeing (The Resilience Project): We are learning to understand that emotions come and go. In addition to understanding that there are lots of ways to reset, change or express our emotions.

Recognising TIER Role Models

Emily B - Well done for confidently counting collections using one to one correspondence. You carefully match the numbers to the items.

Frankie L -Well done Frankie you showed wonderful focus and care when writing your sentences about "The cat in the hat". Your spelling and handwriting was absolutely beautiful.

Christopher C - For his well prepared show and tell on somehting beginning with 'C'. Chris spoke so confidently. Well done.

Oliver R - For excellent listening and working hard sounding out his words.

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

Last week, we had a visit from A Bot Robotics as part of our Digital Technology Inquiry Unit. Students explored colourful, programmable robots and learned about sequencing and directional language. It was a fun and engaging introduction to coding and robotics! 

In Maths, we've been focusing on patterns. Students have been working hard to identify, continue, and create a variety of patterns using both shapes and numbers, and are developing a great understanding of how patterns work. 

In Writing, students are loving their information report project. They’ve chosen their own topics, taken notes, and are now creating informative booklets. Their enthusiasm and effort have been outstanding, and we know they are looking forward to sharing their finished work with you very soon! 

We now have new rectangular tables in all our 1/2 classrooms! This update helps create a more focused and organised learning space. With students facing forward, they are better able to concentrate, engage with lessons, and minimise distractions. The right environment makes a big difference to learning, and we’re already seeing positive results! 

Heads Up!

Cyber Safety Project Incursion  

Daily Reading 

• Well done to our students who read daily at home! We can see such great improvements in their reading skills, and we are so proud of them! Home daily reading is essential to improve your child’s reading ability. Please make sure this reading is entered into their Reading Diary each time they read.  

Literacy: We are learning to research, write and publish information reports on a topic of our choice. We have also learning how correctly identify conjunctions in compound sentences.

InitiaLit:  

• Year 1s: base words and suffixes, digraphs including ‘ir’, ‘’ur’ and ‘er’. Tricky words including across, before, after and these. Our storybook has been ‘Under the Southern Cross’ by Frané Lessac, with the WOW words launch, appear and collide. 

• Year 2s: Reviewing the suffix ‘ing’, base words, suffixes and prefixes. We have also been using the comprehension strategy of ‘asking questions’. Our storybook has been ‘The Story of Rosy Dock’ by Jeannie Baker, with the WOW words newcomer, precious and scatter.

Inquiry (Digital Technologies): We are learning to navigate Google Classroom and use Google Slides to digitally publish an autobiography project. These projects will be presented during the last weeks of term.  

Wellbeing (The Resilience Project): We are learning to understand the role of empathy in resolving a conflict. 

Recognising TIER Role Models

Congratulations to this past two weeks’ TIER Role Models! 

Sofia K for for always working hard, staying focused, and being kind and respectful every day. You're a star—keep it up! 

Zoe B for being a positive role model in class. Always willing to try her best and help out! 

Eric S for for being a cheerful presence in the classroom and working hard to apply new strategies in Maths to solve addition and subtraction problems. 

Archie A for always being organised before each lesson and ready to learn! Amazing Archie! 

Nia K for writing an interesting report about koalas, with clear ideas and great use of sentences and sub headings.

Hazel C for writing an interesting information report about koalas, with clear subheadings and well-structured sentences.

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

WOW! Our new rectangular desks have arrived in Year 3/4, and what a difference they have made. Our rooms are now so much lighter, neater and more organised!

Today (Friday 27 June) the Cyber Safety Project is visiting to teach us about how we can stay safe online. Year 3/4 students will participate in “Privacy Protectors: Securing Personal Information”, focusing on how to be safe in the different places they go online to connect, learn and play.

Heads Up!

This is our final newsletter for Term 2!

Parent/teacher conferences are on Wednesday 2nd of July and can be booked via Compass. School will still finish at 3:30pm on this day so parents with conferences between 2-3:30pm will need to enter the school grounds via the office.

The last day of Term 2 is next Friday 4th July. Just a reminder that we will be finishing off with an early assembly at 2pm, and students will be dismissed from their classrooms at 2:30pm.

Literacy: We are revising, editing and publishing our Factual Recount on a topic of our choice. We are learning.

Numeracy: We are learning to solve addition and subtraction problems using strategies such as rounding, compensating, and bar models.

Inquiry: We are learning more about how to research (“Google”) facts accurately and record them as dot points so we can then begin to write facts in our own words.

Wellbeing (The Resilience Project): We are learning about using empathy in social situations, and about practicing gratitude for the past and present.

Recognising TIER Role Models

Congratulations to the past two weeks’ TIER Role Models!

Kallan F – For your enthusiasm and well-researched plan for your historical factual recount ‘The History of Sri Lanka’.

Hutch G – For your excellent effort in understanding how shapes rotate, and their order of symmetry.

Sebastian A – For his kind and caring attitude towards his classmates, consistently demonstrating respect and integrity.

Scarlett M –  For displaying excellence and focus while developing her factual recount about Taylor Swift.

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

What an incredible, jam-packed term it has been! Our students have shown amazing enthusiasm and resilience, from their adventures at camp and impressive efforts in cross country, to competing in inter-school sports and diving into a fun digital technology incursion. On top of all this, they’ve worked hard to complete all their assessments with great dedication. We are so proud of their achievements and hope they enjoy a well-deserved, relaxing holiday break. We look forward to welcoming you back for Term 3!

Heads Up!

No reminders for the remainder of the term.

Literacy:Publish our factual retelling of the Black Cockatoo novel, and now learning about how immigrants have come to Australia throughout the ages, through the picture story book anthology Waves by Donna Rawlins, Heather Potter and Mark Jackson.

Numeracy: Identify 3D shapes, their nets, construct their nets and the cross sections of 3D objects.

Inquiry: Create stop motion videos using Lego and digital programs, as well as digital comics about how to be safe online and the importance of cybersafety.

Wellbeing (The Resilience Project): Understand the importance of everyday objects and the little things in life that bring us joy. Additionally, how we can maintain a positive mindset with a mental negativity bias.

Recognising TIER Role Models

Myla H – For displaying teamwork and excellence each and every week when playing interschool sports.

Misha M – For showing teamwork and excellence when playing in the mixed soccer team during our interschool sports rounds, always displaying excellent sportsmanship.

Aston L – Showing respect in the classroom and a high degree of sportsmanship in our interschool sports matches.

Over the past two weeks, our theme in Art has been ‘Painting’, and students across all year levels have enjoyed exploring different styles and techniques.

Grade 5/6 students created landscape paintings and experimented with marble painting, producing some excellent and creative results.

Grades 3/4 focused on abstract painting, using a variety of tools to apply paint in interesting and imaginative ways.

Grade 1/2 students explored bright colours in their painting projects, creating vibrant and cheerful artworks.

Foundation students loved making a colourful caterpillar with sponges after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They also painted Autumn leaves while learning about seasons and patterns.

It’s been a fun and colourful fortnight in the art room!

In Auslan, Foundation and Grade 1/2 students have been learning to sign the days of the weeks including yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Students have been learning to sign mini weather forecast with signing the day with the weather e.g. “Monday, raining & Tuesday, sunny”

In Grade 3 & 4 students have been working on a presentation on packing for a holiday to present to their peers next week.  As part of their presentation they need to show the weather, the days they’ll be away and the clothes they will need while they are on holidays. 

In Grade 5 & 6, students are designing their own weather forecast including the clothes they will need on that day.  Students need to sign the days of the week and what they weather will be.  Students will present their weather forecast next week.

Wondering how you sign the days of the week and sign today, tomorrow and yesterday, see below to practice at home.

Recognising TIER Role Models

Hutch G for working really hard on his fluency when signing is interview questions with Mrs. Guthrie. Well done!

Oliver D & Ben W for signing with fluency our All About Me Auslan signs in our pair presentation.

In STEAM our Foundation students have been exploring how things move. This week they experimented with different balls and how different materials impact the height of the bounce.  

Our Year 1 and 2 students began building a mini, mini-golf hole using recycled materials. They have been looking at push and pull forces and how these can cause objects to change direction. 

Our Year 3 and 4 students have been discovering how the distance an object travels depends on the strength of the push or pull applied. This week they began creating Lego foosball games. 

Recognising TIER Role Models  
  
Evie W For having a positive, can do attitude, every STEAM lesson. Well done Evie!

Nicole T For always being organised, engaged and helpful in STEAM. 

Dear Mentone Park families,  

We hope you’ve enjoyed practicing Gem Chats with your family at home, with a particular focus on Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. This fortnight our Gem Chat Home Activity has a focus on Emotional Literacy.  

Review from previous newsletter edition:  

At Mentone Park Primary School, we are committed to supporting student wellbeing and resilience through our whole school approach The Resilience Project (TRP). Your child is already engaging with the key principles of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM), Emotional Literacy and Connections in their learning, and now we have an exciting opportunity for parents and carers to deepen their understanding and bring these strategies into the home, through Gem Chats. 

What are Gem Chats? 

GEM Chats help families practice The Resilience Project’s principles of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM), offering a simple wellbeing check-in while building stronger connections through daily conversations. 

• GEM Chats are: 

• Short, regular check-ins or discussions. 

• Designed to be done in classrooms and at home. 

• Focused on helping students reflect on what they’re grateful for, how they can show empathy, and how to be more mindful. 

• A tool to build emotional literacy and resilience in kids. 

Additionally, The Resilience Project has ‘GEM Conversation Cards’ for sale to families to optionally purchase if they wish to. They also have Family Wellbeing Journals and GEM Kids Activity Home Books. These products have been created to support the activities students complete in class with their school journal.  Please follow the link below if you wish to purchase any of these optional products.  

https://theresilienceproject.com.au/shop/product-category/kids-products/ 

How To Use Gem Chats (This Fortnight’s Home Activity) 

We encourage Mentone Park families to make GEM Chats a part of your dinner routine to reflect, check in, and practice empathy with your child. This fortnight’s home GEM chat has an Emotional Literacy focus.  

Consider using the following prompts to encourage meaningful conversation with your child: 

• What emotion do you feel right now and why? 

• What are some emotions you have felt today/this week? How did you identify them? 

• Describe a moment from your day when you felt excited. 

• What emotions have you noticed today in your friends, teachers or family members? How did you recognise these emotions? 

• What could you do today/tomorrow to experience a positive emotion? 

Let’s keep growing gratitude, empathy and mindfulness in the hearts of our children, one small moment at a time 

Warm regards,  

Pamela Kousis  

Student Wellbeing Coordinator  

Green Team News 

Wrapper Free Wednesdays 

Beginning in Term 3 we will be encouraging everyone to have a wrapper free lunchbox on Wednesdays (or every day if you like!). We will be awarding the class with the highest percentage of wrapper free lunchboxes with the Wrapper Free Wednesday Trophy at assembly.  

We understand that life is busy and that wrapper free lunchboxes are not always possible. But we encourage you to try your best and there is always the next week! 

i sea, i care 

On June 12th we attended our second i sea, i care workshop. This took place at Namatijira Park in Clayton South. First, we watched the wetlands litter traps get emptied, it was stinky, and we were shocked by how much rubbish there was. We learnt the benefits of having wetlands in our community was that they create habitats for local wildlife and helps filter the pollution in our environment.  

We then tested the wetlands water to determine its Water Quality Rating. To do this we used several tests including a pH test, electrical conductivity and turbidity. We learnt about frogs, such as only male frogs croak. Next, we went ponding. This is where we used nets to take samples from the water and see what living creatures we could identify. We found worms, tiny fish and a sea snail.  

At the end of the day the entire group spent just 10 minutes collecting rubbish. The amount we collectively found was quite shocking. The most random piece of rubbish we found was an old, discoloured Invisalign!  

UPCOMING

REMINDERS

2025 School Contributions/Parent Payment Arrangements

The school contributions are important in enabling us to provide the best learning environment for the children at Mentone Park Primary School. The Mentone Park Primary School Council is extremely appreciative of the generosity of parents who are able to support the school through the payment of the voluntary contributions. 

The ongoing financial support of our families ensures the long-term viability of vital programs, facilities, and support for our students. School Council makes every effort to keep the cost of these items to a minimum and affordable for all parents.

We thank the families who have contributed as your support is greatly appreciated. The voluntary financial contributions for 2025 are available on QKR. If you have any questions regarding payment, please contact the office.

School Saving Bonus reminder and allocation to school activities 

The Victorian Government has delivered the School Saving Bonus (SSB) – a one-off support of $400 for eligible government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025.

The SSB can be used for uniforms until Monday 30 June 2025.

Any funds remaining after 30 June 2025, including online voucher amounts that have not been redeemed, will become a credit to use on school activities. However, the credit will not be available on your family account at our school until late July.

To use any remaining SSB funds to cover the cost of school activities in July, please refer to the SSB online system and allocate the funds to school activities before 30 June 2025.

To learn more about the SSB online system, download the step-by-step System guide for parents and carers (DOCX, 945KB) or watch this School Saving Bonus video. System guide translations are also available in 14 languages.

The Department of Education’s SSB contact centre will remain available until 30 June 2025. The contact centre can be reached by:

• completing the School Saving Bonus enquiry form 
• calling 1800 338 663, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays.

After this date, please contact the office for any SSB related questions.

CSEF Funding Applications is closing soon

This is a reminder to families that if you have a current Health Care Card or Pension Card, you may be eligible for the Camps/Sport/Excursions Fund (CSEF) payment. If your child is eligible, $154 will be used towards excursions, camps and sporting activities run through the school. 

If you are eligible, please contact the office before the 27th of June.

Change of contact details

Parents and guardians – please ensure that any changes to your contact details are communicated to the school. This includes change or address, phone numbers, emergency contacts and anything medical related. Please email mentone.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

Absences

If your child is absent we require parents to report this absence on Compass (before 9am). All absences need to be entered on Compass with a reason for the absence.  If you are experiencing any difficulties with Compass please contact the office.

Secondhand Uniforms

As the coolers months are on us please, note secondhand uniforms are available for purchase just outside the foundation class. Prices range from $2-$5.

Lost Property

PLEASE take a moment to check lost property located in the Kids Cafe for any missing clothing. Within the next few weeks items that have not be collected will be added to the second hand unifrom store, as we have quite the collection!

Term 3 Calendar

Will be released next week.

Lunchtime Library Schedule

Poco Music is an external Music Lesson Provider to our school.

Please see below for more details.

Our lunch order Classroom Cuisine has refreshed their menu.

Please see attached for more yummy options.

After-School ART CLASS! 

Do you have a little artist at home? Let their creativity shine!

WHEN: Every Thursday
WHERE: In the Art Room
TIME: 3:40 PM – 5:00 PM
Bring a snack!

First class FREE! 

Come and create with us! 

Look what we have been up to!

Looking for Holiday Fun? 

A holiday program will be operating out of our school during the upcoming school break—packed with fun, engaging activities for the kids!

Check out the attached flyer for all the details.
Government subsidies are available for eligible families.

Don’t miss out on the holiday fun right here at school!