ACTING PRINCIPAL MAY-OCTOBER CONGRATULATIONS DAVID ZUKER
I have been every excited to announce earlier this week that David Zuker will be my replacement as Acting Principal for my period of maternity leave from 6th May – 6th October when I am due to return. A big thank you also to our School Council President -Louise Schirmer for her support in this recruitment process.
I am of course thrilled with this appointment as I know how closely David has worked with myself and Andrew Kearl in the past few years and his commitment to continue to drive all the positive changes and initiatives we have running throughout the school – including re-engaging the school community. A big congratulations to David!
I am hoping to see many of you around the school in the next few weeks before my final day on Friday 3rd May.
WORKING BEE
On Sunday 21st April we held our first Working Bee for 2024! What a turn out. We ere so pleased with the amount of children and parents who came along to lend a hand and support. We achieved everything we had set out to do and more.
You will notice the very bright rainbow benches as you come into the front gate and as you travel further along Adventure Island you will see this very happy rainbow theme continue.
Aside from rainbow painting, we also had all the Year Five and Year Four buildings painted in ‘Spirulina Green’, some important demolition work to reduce hazards in the playground, painting of garden boxes, dirt placement to build a garden area for the second STEM space and eight wooden boards primed and painted with blackboard paint to increase areas for children to create art outside at playtime.
The students were particularly happy to have pizzas and soft drink at the end of the day as their reward.
A huge thank you to everyone involved in this day – we just loved the strong community feel which is what this place is all about!
ANZAC DAY
Students across all classes have been learning about the significance of ANZAC ay with a few year levels additionally making ANZAC biscuits in our staffroom. Students in the SRC spoke at our whole school assembly on Wednesday 24th April and have been selling ANZAC day badges throughout this week. Thank you to all students and teachers involved in commemorating this important time.
YEAR FIVE CAMP- SOVEREIGN HILL
On Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th April, 120 Year Five students and thirteen McKinnon staff attended Sovereign Hill Camp. This camp provides a unique experience for students as it moves away from the traditional adventure camp and immerses them in an environment designed to emulate what it was like to live at that time in the Gold Rush. The activities provided students with opportunities to explore and learn more about push and pull factors as part of immigration, historical perspectives and primary and secondary resources and different cultures with a focus on Chinese migration experiences in the goldfields. The activities included candle making, the Aura Light and Sound Show, pantomime theatre night, shopping for old-time wares, a horse and cart ride, an underground mine tour and of course panning for gold at any spare moment the students had.
We sincerely thank all staff that attended for volunteering their time away from home to make this such a memorable experience. A special thank you to the Chinese Language department and the Year Five teaching team and education support staff for their hard work in organising this camp, which made it such a huge success.
FOUNDATION NIGHT 2025 EXPO
On Tuesday 23rd April many of our Year Six captains presented at an “Expo” on a range of curriculum areas to share with our new 2025 Foundation families. They prepared presentations and spoke about: Wellbeing, PYP, Numeracy, Literacy, Library, STEM, Playground Pals, Languages, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Physical Education and International Students. We were extremely impressed with the students’ presentations and how they spoke with parents about their time at McKinnon Primary School. We thank them and all the staff who supported this night.
STUDENT LED CONFERENCE – TUESDAY 14TH MAY
Student Led Conferences (SLC) will be held next month on Tuesday 14th May. Please read the Compass post regarding this with information on their purpose and reserve a conference time with your child.
Remember that Student-Led Conferences are led by the students and are an important time for students to share progress towards their learning goals. They do not replace a parent teacher interview, they are in addition to this. Parent teacher interviews will be held later in June and please remember you can schedule a time to meet with your child’s classroom teacher any time throughout the year, just get in touch through the school diary, phone or email the school.
CRAZY HAIR FUNDRAISER – TUESDAY 30TH APRIL
Next Tuesday 30th April is ‘Crazy Hair Day’. A Student Representative Council (SRC) initiated fundraiser. On the Tuesday students are welcome to dress, colour, sculpt or create a ‘crazy’ hairstyle and have some fun with their classmates. Students can create and wear a crazy hat instead if they choose. We are looking for the most creative designs and will be taking photos for the school newsletter.
We ask that students bring a gold coin ($1 or $2) donation if they choose to participate. The fundraiser is for sport equipment for students to use at recess and lunch.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
Suzanne, David and Andrew