What a crazy and unpredicted end to the week we have had! Thanks again to all our families who are working so hard to support their children at home.
100 Days of School for our Foundation Students
We had a fantastic celebration last week with our Foundation students celebrating their first 100 days of school! There was dancing and lots of fun to be found across all the classes.
Enrolments and Departures
If you have a child who will be starting school next year, please contact the office ASAP as staffing for 2022 is underway. Thank you to the parents who have already submitted their enrolment forms. Additionally, if your family is leaving McKinnon PS in 2022 please notify the office as soon as possible so they are not included in the classroom placement process.
Parent WhatsApp Groups
We have a number of year levels that have organised a year level WhatsApp group based on the contact details shared by Parent Reps. This is a terrific way to keep connected during this challenging time, however, please be aware this contact list has many parents on it who feel very uncomfortable by the negative posts made by a small number of parents. Connection is so important during this time and so is sharing information and being positive. We do understand that parents may have concerns about school decisions, and we ask these concerns are directed to myself or the Assistant Principals so they can be addressed. This is to ensure the WhatsApp is used to connect and not complain. Thank you for your support in maintaining a positive place for parents to connect online.
Farewell Mr Lusted and Welcome Mr Calderone
It is with sadness we say farewell to Mr Andrew Lusted. Andrew has gained an opportunity to work in the special education field. Andrew’s last day is today. Andrew has made an extensive contribution to McKinnon Primary and we will miss him very much. We welcome Mr Joe Calderone who has been appointed as the class teacher.
Congratulations Ms Duggan and Welcome Mr Azer
We wish Ms Sally Duggan and her husband Mark all the best as they await the arrival of their second child. I would also like to welcome Cameron Azer to the McKinnon Team. Cameron has been appointed as a Learning Specialist and is part of the McKinnon Leadership Team and 3A’s class teacher.
Welcome Annie Mao
Welcome also to Ms Annie Mao, who is replacing Ms Power whilst she is on long term leave.
Ms Khatib
Ms Khatib is currently on leave to complete a placement at a special needs school as part of her Masters of Learning Intervention. During this time Andrew Kearl has been working in the AP role this week.
Maths Update
Last term the maths Professional Learning Team collaborated over a series of sessions with a focus on gaining a more in-depth understanding of the progression of learning of the core numeracy skills within the primary years and beyond. As a team, they have begun the work of developing a school wide conceptual framework that will support the high quality learning experiences that our teaching teams design and implement in the classrooms. Term 3 has seen our work as a key part of the MAV Collective, a group of schools that collaborate with the experts at Maths Association of Victoria, continue. We have a dedicated team of teachers working within this space conducting an Action Research project into the use of ‘Number Talks’ in the classroom. This exciting project has seen some fantastic success in a small number of classes so far and we are keen to see how we can best adapt this tool to fit the wider context of McKinnon. This work will continue into next year with a view to positively impact the mental computation and reasoning of all our students.
Appointments in School Time
To support your child’s learning we ask that parents make appointments (such as dentist and doctor) outside of school time. If the appointment is urgent please liaise with the class teacher and the office to ensure your child is aware of the pickup time and is waiting at the office for you at the agreed time. Thank you in advance for your support with this.
Simone, David and Andrew