SUCCESS AT THE WORKING BEE
We had a very successful working bee at school on Saturday 28th October. Thank you to all of the families from our school community who were able to volunteer their time. There was a fantastic community vibe around the school and it was so nice to see everyone pitching in to lend a hand. You might have noticed the spruce up of some of our benches around the yard, adding a fantastic pop of colour to McKinnon Primary!
VOLUNTEERS POLICY
We rely on volunteers for so many exciting events and support throughout the school day such as parent reading helpers, for which we are very grateful. As part of our very important obligations to ensuring we all follow Child Safe Practices we must ensure that all our volunteers understand and comply with all the steps outlined in our Volunteers’ Policy. We thank you for taking a few moments to read this policy. Please find this attached to this newsletter post.
WORLD TEACHER DAY – COMMUNITY LUNCH
The teachers and education support staff would like to send out a huge thank you to the community for recognising all the outstanding work that they do by providing donations for the enormous lunch on Tuesday 31st October. We would also like to thank the parents who volunteered their time for the set up and clean up of the staffroom.
2024 ENROLMENTS AND DEPARTURES
Have you got a foundation child you still need to enrol? Great news we are ready to accept that enrolment now, please send to the office as soon as possible. Foundation transition has started.
If are planning on leaving Mckinnon Primary in 2024, it would be greatly appreciated if you could notify the school as soon as possible.
FOUNDATION TRANSITION CONTINUING THIS WEEK
Foundation transition continues on Thursday 16th November. Our 2024 Foundation students will participate in several sessions to get to know McKinnon and their new peers over the next month. While our new faces will be getting to know what going to school is all about, we will be holding information sessions for the 2024 Foundation parents on a wide range of curriculum and other important areas of school life. This information session will focus on the area of the International Baccalaureate (IB)- PYP at McKinnon PS.
We look forward to seeing our 2024 Foundation parents there!
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL LANTERNS ISSUE
It has been brought to our attention that the lanterns students used as part of the Mid-Autumn festival in September contain button batteries. The batteries are enclosed inside a small box, however if a student takes the little box apart it is possible that the button battery could come loose. The lanterns were a gift from our sister school, which of course we wanted to share with students. However, we were not aware they contained batteries.
Button batteries pose a swallowing risk to small children – you can find out more by clicking this link:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/child-safety-at-home
We are therefore asking that parents have a look for any of these lanterns around the house and then either return them to the school office, where we will dispose of them, or to dispose of the batteries themselves. Thank you very much for your support in this matter.
SUN SMART KIDS
We need to be especially careful during high UV times as it does not take long in the sun for burning and skin damage to take place. Much better to take protective measures such as covering up, wearing sunscreen and wearing hats so that our students can enjoy the outdoors. A reminder to our community that students without hats in the yard will be sent to a designated sun-protected area. Another important reminder is for students to ensure they neatly store their hats in a secure area such as their bag or on their lockers during class time and make sure it is clearly labelled with their name so that it is returned to them if misplaced. Our SunSmart policy clearly states from 1st September to 1st May our hats are on!
BATTLE OF THE BANDS AND MCKINNON’S GOT TALENT
It’s time for our Years Three-Six students to SHINE! We are excited to be holding our first-ever Battle of the Bands and McKinnon’s Got Talent on the afternoon of Wednesday 29th November with more details to come. Please encourage your child to get involved by contacting Matteo in Year Six (Battle of the Bands) or Jess McCallum (McKinnon’s Got Talent) to perform. Otherwise please keep this date in your calendar as this is an after-school event that is one not to miss. More details to come soon.
DIWALI FESTIVAL AT MCKINNON
We are delighted to be able to host Diwali celebrations at McKinnon Primary this year. The event is planned to take place on the school grounds on 15th November from 4.30-6.30 pm and everyone is encouraged to dress in Indian themed outfits. Please see the attached flyer.
There are a variety of events planned, including an introduction to Diwali and its cultural significance for different states within the Indian sub-continent and its diaspora across the world. We plan to have colourful Diwali themed decorations, henna stalls, photo booths, cultural performances and a Bollywood dance workshop to give everyone the chance to shake a leg or two! Last but not least, there will be mouth-watering Indian food available to be purchased onsite!
Celebrate Diwali At McKinnon PS 
2024 PLANNING
We are well underway for the planning for 2024. This includes our staffing, programming and home group allocations. The composition of our year level structure is also being developed. Preparing home groups is an exhaustive process that our whole staff commit many hours to getting right. There are many considerations in developing classes including social, emotional, behavioural and academic needs of each class. Additionally, we always consult with our students on whom they would like to be with in their class next year. Students provide a list of requested peers, we ensure that at least one of these peers is included. We try to manage the influx of new enrolments to sustain positive class sizes and forward planning is most helpful to this. Thank you for your support and timely communication on this matter.
Hope you all have a great weekend,
Suzanne, David and Andrew