DIWALI FESTIVAL AT MCKINNON
I am very often caught saying that one of my absolute favourite things about McKinnon Primary is the international-mindedness and the way we celebrate and embrace diversity. In this spirit I proudly share that on Wednesday 15th November McKinnon PS was alight with the delightful sounds, sights, smells and certainly tastes of Diwali.
What an incredible experience this was. In the gym, we had a huge number of performances (spectacular dancing, singing and musical instruments) from our students, as well as a very well attended henna stall and photo booth to capture memories
We have received so much beautiful feedback from students, families and staff about this event and I am sure that this will become an annual event to look forward to each year. We hope that next year we can commence planning much earlier and involve even more students from our school and support all students who wish to learn a new style of dancing.
A huge thank you to the large parent group who worked tirelessly and very quickly to put this spectacular event together. This amazing group of parents coordinated organising all the students to perform, the presentations and speeches, the Bollywood dance workshop, the countless decorations and rangoli, the stalls, dressing the willing staff, the volunteers and last but not least the delicious mouth-watering food.
A huge thank you also to Emily Bolin who put the call out for volunteers and supported the process and also Steve Cox our facilities manager who supported all the decoration setup and pack up.
YEAR SIX CAMP- CAMP GRANTVILLE
On Monday 13th November many of our Year Six students headed off to their last camp at primary school. It was a very special way for these students to celebrate their primary school years. Students participated in many adventure activities such as canoeing, bike education as well as enjoying a movie night and trivia night.
A big thank you to all the staff who attended the camp and made this such a positive experience for the students. We must also say thank you to the students as all staff commented on the excellent behaviour of the students throughout the whole camp.
STUDENT HAVE THEIR SAY IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN- PHOTOS
On Wednesday 22nd November several Year Three and Year Four students participated in workshops to inform our landscape designers who are preparing for the master plan of our new building works. The designers from Enlocus were duly impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity of our students and feel they gained a lot of insight into what our students really want in their outdoor play and natural spaces.
Students rated a range of stimulus pictures detailing what they liked and didn’t like and also contributed by using clay and other materials to create their own outdoor and natural space designs. A huge thank you to all the students who participated and to Diana Tuyau who supported the students through this process.
FOUNDATION TRANSITION LAST WEEK NEXT WEEK
Foundation transition will conclude next Thursday 30th November. Our 2024 Foundation students have already participated in four sessions to get to know McKinnon and their new peers. While our new faces have been getting to know what going to school is all about, we will have been holding information sessions for the 2024 Foundation parents on a wide range of curriculum and other important areas of school life. This fifth session will be the last session and students will meet their new 2024 classmates and teacher. We will conclude the transition session with a Teddy Bears’ Picnic and a handy Second-Hand Uniform Stall.
We look forward to seeing our 2024 Foundation parents there for the very last session for the year.
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. We look forward to seeing you there to watch the show – All welcome!
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 ensure 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.
2024 ENROLMENTS and DEPARTURES
Our final Foundation transition session is next week. If you still have a child that is yet to be enrolled for 2024 please contact the office immediately, so that you and your child can attend these valuable sessions.
If are planning on leaving Mckinnon Primary in 2024, it would be greatly appreciated if you could notify the school as soon as possible.
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 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!
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 the social, emotional, behavioural and academic needs of each class. Additionally, we always consult with our students on who they would like to be 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.
Suzanne, David and Andrew