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.

Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing 

Our Literacy and Numeracy Learning Leaders, alongside our Leadership Team, continue to build on the strong foundations of teaching and learning at Mentone Park Primary School. In 2026 our school improvement goal is to further enhance literacy and numeracy outcomes for every student, ensuring growth, challenge and success across all year levels. 

Congratulations to Mrs Free (Literacy Leader) and Mrs Drummond (Numeracy Leader), who have been selected to participate in the Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) through the Victorian Academy for Teaching and Leadership. This prestigious, year-long professional learning program supports highly skilled teachers to collaborate with passionate, like-minded colleagues while strengthening their capacity to deliver outstanding outcomes for students at MPPS. 

Mrs Free and Mrs Drummond attended their first TEP session on Tuesday and described it as an invaluable opportunity to engage in deep reflection on their teaching practice and professional growth and build meaningful professional connections with teachers across Victoria. We are proud to have both our leaders representing MPPS in this exceptional program and look forward to the positive impact their learning will have on our students and staff. 





At MPPS, student wellbeing remains a priority. This year, with funding from the Department of Education, we have a dedicated Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, Mrs Guthrie, who leads our Wellbeing Team and meets regularly with the Leadership Team to ensure a proactive, coordinated and supportive approach for all students. 

We are also proud to be in our second year of implementing The Resilience Project across the school. This evidence-informed program supports students to develop gratitude, empathy and mindfulness, strengthening their emotional literacy and resilience. 

Together, these initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment where every student can thrive at MPPS. 
House Swimming Sports Success 

Our House Swimming Sports for students in Years 3–6 was a great success. It was wonderful to see such impressive swimming skills on display, along with outstanding house spirit. The cheering, encouragement and support students showed one another reflected our strong school values at MPPS.  A particular highlight of the day was the exciting Year 6 versus Teachers race! 

Thank you to our parent helpers who assisted on the day, your support makes events like this possible. We wish the very best of luck to the students who will represent Mentone Park Primary School at the District Swimming on Monday 23rd February. Swim well, have fun, we are very proud of you! 

2026 MPPS School Diary 

All students have now received their 2026 MPPS school diary. We encourage families to take time to look through the diary together. It contains helpful strategies and prompts to support conversations about learning and recording reading. 

For our Years 3–6 students, the diary is also an important organisational tool. Adding key dates, homework reminders and upcoming events helps students develop independence and responsibility. Our goal is for the diary to become a positive and consistent part of your child’s school routine. 

Supporting Your Child at Home 

Reading at home remains one of the most powerful ways you can support your child’s learning. We encourage all students to read every night for at least 20 minutes. This may be your child reading independently, reading aloud to you, or sharing a book together. 

Regular reading builds fluency, comprehension and confidence, and most importantly, fosters a lifelong love of learning. 

Parent Involvement & PFA Update 

We greatly value the involvement of our parent helpers and volunteers in supporting our school programs throughout the year. It was wonderful to see new faces at our first PFA meeting this week. 

This year, the PFA will offer meetings at varied times and provide an online option for those unable to attend in person. With school camps, excursions, swimming lessons and many other activities planned, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. 

Kind regards, 

Leisa 

Dear Parents, Guardians & Caregivers, 

As we continue to settle into a positive and productive start to the school year, I would like to share some important information regarding our upcoming Parent/Carer and Teacher Meet and Greet Conferences, as well as details about NAPLAN 2026. 

Parent/Carer and Teacher Meet and Greet Conferences (Years 1–6) 

We warmly invite all parents and carers of students in Years 1–6 to attend our upcoming Meet and Greet Conferences on Tuesday 24th of February from 2:00pm to 6:30pm, which will be held in your child’s classroom. Please note that our Prep parents and carers are already meeting with Mrs Hankins at the end of their child’s Wednesday assessment session. 

These conferences provide a valuable opportunity to meet your child’s classroom teacher, share important information that will support your child’s learning, and discuss how your child has begun the school year. They are an important part of building strong home–school partnerships for 2026. 

To help guide these conversations, a Parent Questionnaire was sent home in hardcopy on Wednesday 18th of February. We kindly ask that you please complete and return this prior to your conference booking. 

Conference bookings are currently open via Compass and will close on Sunday 22nd of February. We encourage families to secure their preferred time as soon as possible. 

On the day, students will have Morning Break and a longer Lunch Break, before finishing at the usual time of 3:30pm. Alternative activities and supervision will be organised during the longer Lunch Break and the final session of the day to allow classroom teachers to facilitate conferences. We look forward to welcoming you into our classrooms and working together to ensure a successful year ahead for every student! 

NAPLAN 2026 – Years 3 and 5 

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. NAPLAN measures the literacy and numeracy skills students develop through the school curriculum and provides families with information about their child’s progress against national proficiency standards. 

At Mentone Park PS, our Year 3 and Year 5 students are spending time each week in the lead-up to the assessments becoming familiar with the online NAPLAN format and participating in practice activities. Our goal is to ensure students understand the structure of each assessment, are familiar with the range of question styles, feel confident navigating the online platform, and are comfortable with the testing conditions. 

We approach NAPLAN preparation in a calm and supportive manner, reinforcing that these assessments are just one measure of student progress. 

2026 NAPLAN Schedule - Years 3 & 5: 

• Writing* - Wednesday 11th of March (from 9:00am) 

• Reading - Thursday 12th of March (from 9:00am) 

• Conventions of Language - Monday 16th of March (from 9:00am) 

• Numeracy - Tuesday 17th of March (from 9:00am) 

* Please note: Year 3 students complete the Writing assessment by hand (paper-based). All other assessments are completed online. 

We ask families to be mindful that these assessments may result in minor adjustments to specialist sessions and the daily timetable for other year levels on the scheduled days. 

Thank you for your continued support of our school community. We value the strong partnerships we share with our families and look forward to connecting with you at the upcoming conferences.  

Yours sincerely, 

Nathan Hutchins 

Assistant Principal 

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview

Our Preps have been absolute learning superheroes these past couple of weeks at Mentone Park! Now that they are attending four days at regular hours, they have dived right into our specialist program with lots of excitement. 

We’ve been adding some extra steps to our morning routine: bags and drink bottles put away, diaries handed in, and then some handwriting practice before the bell rings. The Preps have been doing a fantastic job following these steps and starting the day ready to learn! 

It’s been wonderful to see them making friends, showing independence, and settling into school life so brilliantly. Thank you for everything you do behind the scenes; it really makes our days run smoothly and fun for everyone! 

Reminders

Communication / Readers 
Information has been sent home regarding our Take Home Reading Program (please see Compass for more information). 

Student Reading Diaries 
Please send this to school each day inside the Reading Pocket. Reminder: all students require a Reading Pocket, which can be purchased from PSW. 

Specialist Subjects 
Our Specialist timetable is displayed on our classroom window for reference. Please note that occasionally there are alterations to the timetable. 

Sunscreen 
If your child is sensitive to sunscreen or would prefer to use their own, please send it to school labelled, and we will keep it in a tub to remind students to reapply. A large pump pack of sunscreen is always available for student use. 

Labelling 
Please ensure all items (clothing, lunchboxes, water bottles, containers, etc.) are clearly labelled. This ensures that items can quickly be returned. If something is lost, please check in with the teacher or lost property. 

Literacy: 
This fortnight, we have been exploring nouns—the names of people, places, and things! We’ve been learning how to spot them and talk about them, and even how to use words to describe our nouns to make our ideas more interesting. 

We’ve also been practising our handwriting skills, making sure our pencil grip is just right and that we’re sitting properly on our chairs while we write. 

It’s been wonderful to see the Preps experimenting with words and enjoying learning about early writing! 

InitiaLit:
We have been learning all about syllables, the parts of a word, or as we like to say, every word has a beat! We have been clapping, stomping, jumping, and hopping to show the beats in each word!  

We have also been exploring rhyming words, words that have the same end sound, and have enjoyed spotting and saying words that rhyme in our weekly big book. 

Maths:
 In Maths we have been investigating time. We have been learning how to say the days of the week in order, listening to our Days of the Week song, and using words like today, tomorrow, and yesterday. We were very excited to discover that the seven days of the week make a repeating pattern! 

We have also been ordering familiar events using the words first, next, and last to help us describe what happens in our day. 

Wellbeing: 
We have begun introducing our TEIR values. We have been learning that Teamwork means helping people—because teamwork really does make the dream work! 

We have also been exploring Excellence, which means trying our best. It doesn’t mean being perfect, but it means we try hard, take our time, and keep going. 

It has been wonderful to see the Preps practising these values in the classroom and with their friends! 

Recognising TIER Role Models

Week 3:
Hugh F - For showing strong focus through whole body listening and confidently following instructions throughout the day.  

Week 4:
Kobe M - For accurately completing this week’s writing tasks by confidently identifying nouns as a person, place, animal or thing. 

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

Students are loving our Humanities lessons and are using their reading, writing and speaking skills to explore how communication has changed with printing, postal services, the telegraph, telephone and radio. In Wellbeing, we have focused on our four TIER values - Teamwork, Integrity, Excellence and Respect. Next, we will begin lessons on the Zones of Regulation. These lessons will help students understand and manage their emotions, making learning and friendships even stronger. Students are already enjoying using their new TRP Reading Diary to record their reading! At the front of the diaries, Nessy logins are ready for use - a fun, engaging way for students to practise reading and spelling with systematic synthetic phonics! 

Reminders

Parent Helpers  
From next week we warmly welcome parents and grandparents to read one on one with our students in the atrium from Monday to Friday – 8:50-9:05am. Please come on a day that suits you, sign in at the office and check in with your child’s/grandchild’s classroom teacher upon arrival. Please ensure you have a current Working with Children Check and that the office has it on file.  

TRP Reading Diary 
Please ensure that your child’s reading diary is completed each night. This includes recording the title of the book and a parent signature. We hope you are enjoying reading with your child and getting back into the routine of daily reading. Black Communication Pockets and Reading Diaries must come to school each day.  

Jewellery and Toys 
We kindly ask for students to keep their jewellery and toys at home. These items are often a distraction in the classroom and may get lost or damaged. If there are special circumstances, please see your classroom’s teacher.  

Writing:
We have been learning to identify, define and write sentences using nouns and verbs. We have also been exploring new vocabulary and the features of informative writing, supported by our text A Year on Our Farmby Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean.     

InitiaLit:        

• Year 1s: We have been learning the double letter digraphs ll, ss, zz and ff, along with ‘wh’ as in whale and ‘sh’ as in shell. Our tricky words have included put, have and were. Our class storybook has been Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French, which includes the WOW words swayed, sobbed, and leap. 

• Year 2s: We been learning the digraphs ‘igh’ (light), _y (cry), ‘ue’ and ‘ew’ (oo). We have been exploring pronouns and informative texts. Our tricky words have included February, were and friend. Our class storybook has been The Snail & the Whale by Julia Donaldson, which includes the WOW words slithered, shimmering, and towering.  

Numeracy:        

• We have been exploring the concept of place value to 

• Understand that 10 ones is the same as 1 ten 

• Recognise and count collections of 10s with accuracy and efficiency 

• Represent, name and record numbers 20-120 

• Recognise and think about different-sized quantities 

• Recognise and continue counting patterns 

Inquiry (Humanities):   
We are learning to explain how communication changed with the invention of printing, postal services, the telegraph, telephone, and radio. 

Wellbeing: We are learning to understand why respect is important and how we can use it every day at school. 

Recognising TIER Role Models

Eliza R for being a mature and supportive class member, helping others around her and working hard to complete her own work. 

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview

MPPS “Resilience Project” Student Diaries 

This week, students started using their new Mentone Park Primary School Student Diary. It will be kept in a zip pouch, which students will need to bring to school and then home with them each day. The zip pouch will also be used to send any notes, letters, or reminders home to parents. 

The Student Diary will be used by Year 3/4 and 5/6 students as a homework diary. Students will be using the diary at home to record their reading and maths homework, and at school for Resilience Project related tasks.  

We also encourage students to use the diary as an organisational tool, adding important dates and reminders. Pages 6–7 of the diary explain its features and how it works.  

We hope this diary becomes a helpful and positive part of your child’s school routine. 

Reminders

'Teacher Meet and Greet'. 

Your child will have brought home a Parent Questionnaire (sheet of questions) next week to help prepare for the 'Teacher Meet and Greet'. Please complete this questionnaire and bring it along with you when you meet the teacher. 

Year 3/4 Homework 

Reading  

Students read for 20-30 minutes at least three times a week, and record that reading in their Student Diary. 

Maths  

Students will have set tasks in Mathletics that should take 20–30 minutes to complete. Their logins are glued into the inside cover of their Student Diary. If the tasks take longer than 20-30 minutes to complete or students have trouble completing a task, they will let their teacher know. 

Parents/carers: Please advise your child’s teacher if your child won’t be able to complete homework due to family commitments or circumstances. If your child is unable to access Mathletics at home, we can provide a worksheet to complete – please let your child’s teacher know ASAP. 

Literacy:
We are learning to understand and apply new vocabulary from our class novel ‘The Wild Robot’, and we are learning to use connectives to join sentences and show a relationship between ideas. 

In SpellEx, Year 3 are learning when to use the doubling rule when adding a suffix, and Year 4 are learning different graphemes to spell the long vowel sound /ā/. 

Numeracy:
We are learning to understand two- and three- digit addition and subtraction fact families. 

Wellbeing:
We are learning to understand how regular practise of healthy habits helps us feel and do better. 

Inquiry:
We are learning to describe habitats and explain why they are important. 

Recognising TIER Role Models

Congratulations to our most recent TIER Role Models! 

Caspian C – For making a fantastic start in Year 3/4G and bringing his positive spirit to the Best School Ever! Welcome, Caspian! 

Ben J – For settling into 3/4B so quickly and showing a positive attitude toward your learning and classroom routines at ‘The Best School Ever’! 

Asher JVW – For her positive attitude and growth mindset. Asher put great thought and effort into creating and presenting her holiday slide show, well done! 

Sofia K – For her positive attitude towards learning, always giving things a go, and showing respect through active listening and following instructions. Keep it up! 

Important Dates

In the Spotlight / Overview:

Our first interschool sport match was a fantastic success last Friday as we proudly hosted St John Vianney. All students demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork and enthusiasm throughout the afternoon. Cricket had a great win, while volleyball and tennis both had very close matches and narrowly missed out. Regardless of the results, students are already feeling excited and motivated for their second round of games this Friday. In the classroom, students are enjoying our novel study of War Horse and have been diving deep into graphing skills in Maths this term

Reminders

Swimming Districts 
Swimming districts is this Monday 23rd for all students who qualified. Please ensure payment and consent has been completed Compass. 

Senior School Homework Expectations 
A compass post was sent out earlier this week explaining the homework expectations for all our students. Please encourage your child to read at least three times a week and ensure they record this in their student diaries. Students will also have assigned Mathletics tasks to complete throughout the week. Their classroom teacher(s) will review results weekly and adjust activities accordingly. 

Senior School Water Safety 
A compass event for the Senior School Water Safety program has now been posted. This will take place in the final week of this term. Please ensure you submit the necessary important information about your child’s current swimming ability, along with consent and payment details. 

Literacy: 
We are learning to read, spell and analyse words with ‘ch’ or ‘que’ saying /k/, and review the rule for using c/k/c. 

We are learning to read and respond to queries from our class novel War Horse. 

We are learning to write a problem paragraph for a narrative text. 

Write complex sentences beginning with subordinating conjunctions. 

Numeracy: 
We are learning to create and compare side-by-side column graphs. 

We are learning to identify factors and multiples of a number, using divisibility tests for 3, 6 and 9. 

Geography: 
We are learning to describe how people rely on the environment to provide food, water and materials. 

Wellbeing: 
We are learning to celebrate acts of kindness and empathy and view them as ripples that spread positivity into others’ lives. 

Recognising TIER Role Models

Avey D - Excellence – For showing determination and resilience during Interschool Sport, giving 100% and showing great teamwork!   

Jett P – Teamwork – For being a real team player, showing positive encouragement to his teammates and contributing to his team's success! 

Building Resilient Kids Through Gratitude 

This term, our school is continuing to explore the importance of wellbeing, inspired by The Resilience Project. 

At the heart of this program is a simple but powerful idea: gratitude. 

What Is Gratitude? 

Gratitude means noticing and appreciating the good things in our lives — big or small. For children, this might be: 

• A friend including them in a game 

• Learning something new 

• A sunny day at recess 

• A hug from family 

When children regularly focus on the positives, it helps build stronger, healthier minds. 

Why Is Gratitude Important for Children? 

Research shows that practising gratitude can help children: 

• Feel happier and more positive 

• Build stronger friendships 

• Manage big emotions 

• Develop resilience when things don’t go their way 

Gratitude is one of the three key pillars taught through The Resilience Project, alongside empathy (being kind and understanding toward others) and mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment). 

How We Practise Gratitude at School 

In classrooms, students are encouraged to share or write down things they are grateful for and our new student diary has space to write down what we are grateful throughout the day and/or during the week.  

These small daily habits can make a big difference over time. 

How Families Can Support at Home 

You might like to try some simple gratitude activities at home: 

• Share one “good thing” from the day at dinner 

• Keep a small gratitude journal 

• Say thank you and explain why you appreciate someone 

• Talk about positive moments before bedtime 

Gratitude doesn’t take long — just a minute or two each day can help children build lifelong skills in resilience and wellbeing. 

Together, by encouraging gratitude at school and at home, we can support our children to grow into confident, kind and resilient young people. 

Zoe Guthrie 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader 

In the Spotlight / Overview

In the first few weeks in STEM we have been learning the routines and expectations as scientists at MPPS. Students in F-2 listened to the story of ‘Rosie Revere Engineer’ and created some vehicles and buildings from Lego. Students in 3-6 reflected on themselves as scientists, creating a ‘STEM about me’ page in their STEM journals. See below for some photos of our engineering creations. This term in STEM all students are focusing on Physical Sciences with F-2 looking at sounds, 3/4 exploring forces and 5/6 exploring light. 

Reminders

It’s been great to see so many students excited about STEM and science learning for this term. Students in Years 3-6 are starting to work collaboratively in teams when experimenting. Shout out to 3/4G for great teamwork during your strength of magnet testing this week!

Preps: We are learning about sounds at our school. 

1/2: We are learning how sound travels. 

3/4: We are exploring the strength of magnets. 

5/6: We are learning about how light travels. 

Recognising TIER Role Models
   
Week 2
Mckinley L - Integrity, Respect - For including others and helping her peers when exploring forces and magnets.  

Week 3
Dustin B - Excellence - For demonstrating his understanding of magnets by using clear and labelled diagrams. 

In the Spotlight / Overview 

In the first few weeks in Auslan, students have been learning the routines and expectations in Auslan. Foundation students were introduced to the Auslan alphabet and are starting to sign their names. Students in Year 1-6 are reviewing the alphabet, numbers and some everyday signs used in conversations. We are also learning how to communicate by showing or using hands and fingers to act out an object or action. 

Reminders

As part of our roll routine, students in Years 1-6 are practising to sign ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’ and the name of the next student. Shout out to 1/2W for being the most respectful class for our roll during week 3. Keep practising your fingerspelling and greetings! 

Preps: We are learning about the Auslan alphabet. 

1/2: We are learning some basic greetings and question signs in Auslan. 

3/4: We are learning some school and class signs in Auslan. 

5/6: We are learning some school and class signs in Auslan. 

Recognising TIER Role Models
   
Week 2
Jordan C - Teamwork - For working with others when practising his everyday signs in Auslan. 

Week 3
Christopher Chen - Excellence - For showing persistence with his fingerspelling and having a go at all activities. 

Allergies

Mentone Park Park School places a high priority on supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of students with life-threatening allergies. To help ensure a safe learning environment, the school has implemented a number of allergy-aware practices.

Mentone Park Park School has an increasing number of students with severe nut allergies. Due to the risk of cross-contamination, families are kindly asked to avoid sending foods to school that contain nuts. This includes, but is not limited to, peanut butter, Nutella, loose nuts and snack bars or products that contain nuts.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping us keep all students safe.

Do You Have a Skill That Could Help Our School?

As a small school, we are fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive community. From time to time, we rely on the skills and generosity of our families to help with projects around the school — whether big or small.

We are currently seeking a carpenter or builder who may be able to assist with hanging an external door. If you have this skill, or know someone who does, we would love to hear from you.

Please see Louise or Jen in the office to express your interest.
Thank you so much for your continued support of our school.

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F–2 Classes Need Your Help!

In Prep to Year 2, children learn to read through our InitiaLit program. A special and essential part of this learning is working with storybooks - books children can see, hold, revisit, and talk about together to support reading comprehension and writing. This year, we’re hoping to build our classroom collections of physical InitiaLit storybooks so that each classroom has the books needed for the program - and we really need your help!

We’ve put together a very specific wish-list for families who may like to contribute one of these specific books to our school’s teaching collection. There is a copy at the front office. We will happily accept new or used (good condition) books! To make sure we don’t over purchase, please see (or call) Louise at the front office before purchasing. If you choose to purchase a book, please donate it directly to Louise who will give you a special MPPS donation sticker to celebrate your generous contribution!

There is absolutely no expectation to contribute - this is simply a way for our community to come together, because we all share the same goal: giving our children the best start in reading and writing. Every book donated will be read, discussed, written about, and very well-loved!

Thank you for being such a generous, supportive, and caring school community!

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Lunch Orders

Lunch orders run Wednesday and Fridays.

Orders are open till 8:30am of that day. Order via the QKR app.

 

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Working with Allied Health

Mentone Park Park School values working in partnership with families and allied health professionals to support student learning and wellbeing. We are pleased to offer allied health visits onsite during school hours.

To support this process, all allied health assessments, questionnaires and onsite visit requests are coordinated through our Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader, Zoe Guthrie. Families and professionals are asked to contact Zoe directly to help minimise disruption to teaching and learning.

Please allow up to 14 days for teachers to complete any required assessments or questionnaires.
Zoe can be contacted at zoe.guthrie@education.vic.gov.au.

Thank you for your continued support.

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Breakfast Club is back!

Starting in Week 3, all students are invited to join us for Breakfast Club — a great way to start the day with a tasty breakfast, good company, and a relaxed morning atmosphere.

• When: Tuesday
• Time: From 8:30am - 8.45am
• Where: P.E. Room (entrance located near the picnic tables, under the shade sail, opposite the staff car park)

Everyone is welcome. We can’t wait to see you there!

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Second-Hand Uniform Sale

The second-hand uniform sale will be held after assembly next Friday 27th February, located in the PE room. This is a great opportunity to upgrade uniforms in time for winter.

EFTPOS will be available.

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