BUILDING CONNECTIONS!
The week beginning Monday 23rd of May is Education Week, and the theme this year is ‘Building Connections’. We are so appreciative of the strong community partnerships that already exist here at McKinnon. Activities such as the Mother’s Day Stall to the recent Cross Country at McKinnon Reserve all help foster that sense of community and identity within our school. We are also grateful to local community providers who add to our student experience outside school hours through music, sport and art programmes.
A real highlight this year has been the ability to once again engage with the excursion program and the excitement and rich learning opportunities this has brought to the students. The recent excursions to Sovereign Hill and Scienceworks created such excitement and interest for our students!
STUDENT LED CONFERENCES – TUESDAY 18th MAY
Students and teachers are excited to invite you back into the classrooms as our way of ‘Building Connections’. This is a very special event as students have the opportunity to share and reflect on their learning in their own classrooms. Please don’t forget to book a timeslot and check your Compass Feed for more information on the event.
PARENT EXPERTS
Our community provides a rich layer of knowledge and experience and we are always looking for opportunities to invite parents to share their knowledge. Having a parent share their experiences and understanding to the class is very memorable and helps build understanding in different contexts. Please look in the upcoming ‘Curriculum Newsletters’ sent by Year Levels to see how you may be involved.
RECONCILIATION WEEK
Another upcoming opportunity to build connections is through ‘Reconciliation Week’, beginning on the 27th of May. The Student Council is currently investigating how we might take action, recognise and connect to this significant event and we look forward to sharing more with you.
MOTHER’S DAY STALL
If you were around McKinnon last week you wouldn’t have been the only one wondering if we had turned the library into a real life jungle! On Thursday 6th May an amazing group of parents worked hard to support the 2021 Mothers’ Day Stall with the new sustainable theme of plants. Students were literally jumping up and down when they saw the plants being delivered on Collins Street and quickly ear-marked which ones they were coming back to buy the next day. We would like to extend a big thank you to Robyn Leister and Ashima Mukherjee and to all of the volunteers, who helped prepare for this event. What a success for all involved! Thank you also to our Foundation Mums and special friends for your support and enthusiasm in attending a picnic at the front of our school on Friday afternoon.
Thank you to all the Mums and special people in our lives for all that you do and we hope you had the happiest of days on the Sunday 9th May!
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SCHOOL COUNCIL – Monday 17th May at 6:00-6:30pm via Zoom
Just a reminder that on Monday 17th May at 6:00pm we will be holding our Annual General Meeting of School Council where we will speak about and share the school’s Annual Report for 2020. You are all welcome to join. This meeting will be held via Zoom. We look forward to seeing you there.
https://zoom.us/j/95579606339?pwd=MUVXUlRDYVc4T1VMK2RqRzhSTHlYdz09
NUDE FOOD
– an interview with the organisers: Vicky from 6E and Darcy from 6A
What is Nude Food?
It means no packaging that will end up in the bin, even just a plastic zip bag, which will eventually end up in the bin as well!
What do we want students to do?
Nude Food is optional, you don’t need to participate but we want to raise awareness to the school community and change habits of people. Even just bringing Nude Food occasionally is important and makes a difference. Small changes are better than nothing!
Students can participate in the Nude Food Challenge. They record the days they are bringing Nude Food to school and at the end of the month can receive class rewards if they have the most recorded days.
Why is it important?
Nude food is extremely important because if every student does it just once per week we would reduce the rubbish we produce by 14%!
We would like to reduce the amount of rubbish lying around the school and stopping it flowing into our creeks, rivers and oceans. This causes a big problem for our environment as these plastics never completely break down and end up in our food chain.
SUPPORTING CHILDREN THROUGH ANXIETY – PARENT NIGHT with Heidi Rogers
On Thursday 6th May at 7pm McKinnon PS hosted our first parent evening with Heidi Rogers. Heidi who is a sought-after psychotherapist, has extensive experience in working with children anxiety and trauma. She explored anxiety and shared practical ways that parents and educators can help reduce anxiety in children.
This night was a huge success and we have received incredible feedback in the past week from parents wanting more. As such we are keen to see if Heidi can offer another night soon, aimed at another topic. Heidi speaks on a range of parenting topics, so if you have any suggestions of what you would like to learn more about please let us know via email us on mckinnon.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Heidi is also running a “Parenting Reset Webinar” on Monday 17th at 7:00pm please visit the Registration Page if you wish to attend–> https://heidilinks.com/reset
ENROLMENTS FOR 2022
We cannot believe that we are already thinking about student enrolments for 2022 but the time is creeping up on us! If you have a child who will be starting Foundation in 2022, can we please ask that you drop off your completed enrolment form to the school office as soon as possible.
If you know of a family who is wanting to join the McKinnon community in 2022, can we encourage you to remind them to call the office to organise a school tour. Tours occur every Wednesday however we also have some spaces still left in our Open Night Tours on Tuesday 18th May between 5:00-6:30pm. If you know a family who may be interested in one of these special evening tours please ask them to call the school to book in.
Further information on our enrolment process is published on our website at: https://mckinnon-primary.vic.edu.au/enrolments-2/
NAPLAN
On May 11th, 12th and 13th students in Years Three & Five participated in the annual NAPLAN test. These tests are nationwide and provide an insight into student performance under strict testing conditions on one particular day. Whilst we analyse the results of these tests to help build a picture of students in differing testing scenarios, we are very much aware that student learning evolves in varied ways for all students. These tests are not the only reflection of learning or performance. At McKinnon PS we maintain a focus on holistic learning that represents the progress of the whole child over time. We offer a breadth and depth of curriculum that is not represented in the NAPLAN tests and we are constantly assessing student performance in a range of settings and curriculum areas. If you or your child is experiencing any concerns regarding NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TO SCHOOL SURVEY
David Zuker and Suzanne Khatib have been visiting our Year Four to Six classes to find out what your child thinks of our school, in the interest of improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction. This process is being conducted as an online survey, offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experience of school. Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child’s schooling experience.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Simone, Suzanne and David