ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SCHOOL COUNCIL – MONDAY 20TH MAY AT 6:00 PM AT SCHOOL IN THE STAFFROOM
On Monday 20th May at 6:00 pm, we will be holding our Annual General Meeting of School Council. You are all welcome to join the AGM where we will speak about and share the school’s Annual Report for 2023. To allow for greater access and attendance we will also be providing an option to join the meeting remotely where we will speak about the school’s Annual Report.
EDUCATION WEEK: STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES TUESDAY 14TH MAY FROM 3:45-5:45 PM
On Tuesday 14th of May, we invite you into the school for Education Week. Classrooms and specialist areas will be open during this time for Student Led Conferences (SLC). SLCs are where students are supported to have increased responsibility to share, demonstrate and reflect on their learning. This is one way we encourage and celebrate student agency at McKinnon and the afternoon is always very rewarding for our students. We hope that you or a carer are able to support us in this objective.
Please book your time using the following link https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/ using the booking code: y4uxh.
2024 Student Led Conferences Booking Information
EDUCATION SUPPORT STAFF DAY – THURSDAY 16th MAY
On Thursday 16th May we will thank our Education Support Staff for all the exceptional work that they do in our school community. Educational Support Staff work in a variety of roles around our school from the front office and admin team, the first aid room, in classrooms, grounds and maintenance workers or even in the library. They all work tirelessly to support our students, teachers and parents and make McKinnon PS such a wonderful place to be. The students will be contributing to a special surprise for our fantastic ES staff on the day. If you happen to see any of these people working around the school this week, please let them know what a fantastic job they do and how much we appreciate them.
ENGLISH – READING: SAVE THE DATE
Our English PLT and Learning Specialist Peta MacGregor has been working hard over the last few years to strengthen our approach to reading instruction. We are looking forward to her hosting an information session on the evening of Tuesday 16th July which will cover some of the updates and how parents and carers can best support reading at home. More information will be provided when we are closer to the date.
During 2023 and 2024 McKinnon staff have been working hard to strengthen our approach to reading instruction. Last year, this included updating our take-home reading program, which saw over 2,000 books purchased, catalogued and with the help of many parents, covered to ensure longevity.
At the start of this term, through the fundraising efforts of our McKinnon Community, we have been able to purchase some essential resources to support our in-class teaching and ensure it aligns with our take-home reading program, as well as provide some further variety in our take-home readers. We appreciate all your fundraising efforts which allows us to provide our students with the best learning program we can. A big thank you to the Parents’ Club for their hard work in organising and running these fundraising events.
On Tuesday 16th July, we will be holding a reading Information session. The aim of this session is to provide an overview of reading instruction in the first few years at McKinnon Primary School and provide some advice to help you support your child with their home reading. Further information will be provided closer to the date.
MOTHER’S DAY STALL
Thank you to our Parents’ Club for organising and volunteering at our annual Mother’s Day Stall. This year Parents’ Club have engaged with local businesses and sourced a wonderful range of gifts for our special mums and carers, ranging from $1–$15. Events like this take a huge amount of work both in the lead-up and on the day itself, so thank you again to our Parent’s Club volunteers!
If you would like to be involved in Parents’ Club and some of the special events they organise throughout the year please contact Lauren laurenmbrown@gmail.com. On Friday 17th May there will be a meeting to begin the organisation of the upcoming school disco. Please contact Lauren if you would like to be involved.
SRC FUNDRAISING – ‘CRAZY HAIR DAY’
On Tuesday 30th April we had our SRC ‘Crazy Hair’ fundraiser. A huge thank you for the enthusiasm, organisation and generosity of all our parents, carers and students who participated. It was a lot of fun and many of our staff enjoyed the day as well. In total, we raised close to $750 which will go a long way to support the student goals of more sports equipment and options out in the yard. The first ‘goal’ is portable soccer goals for our junior school to use at recess and lunchtime.
UPCOMING CURRICULUM DAYS
Please be aware of two student-free curriculum days that are coming up this term. On Monday 27th May we have a day focusing on our school priorities in mathematics, working alongside a consultant specialising in problem solving and student engagement. Then on Tuesday 11th June, we are looking forward to working alongside an expert and international education consultant furthering our knowledge of inquiry, conceptual learning and student agency.
Team Kids will have day care programs running on both these days should you need their services.
SAFETY AROUND OUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY
The safety of our students, parents, staff and community members is always paramount. As it gets cooler we understand the increase in congestion around the school during drop-off and pick-up times and ask the community to respect the local traffic laws and signage. Please be patient and consider parking a couple of streets away and walking to school if possible.
We have also noticed increased congestion in the bike shed which is terrific to see many students riding or scooting to school. We remind students to always dismount from their bikes when crossing the road and please make sure they store their bikes correctly and safely in the bike racks to avoid any damage to bikes and other property.
NUDE FOOD – REDUCE OUR WASTE
Our environmental captains and Student Representative Council are keen to remind our community of our goal to reduce waste and rubbish in the yard. At school we are asking students not to bring wrappers and packaging outside into the yard.
Captains and the SRC would like to say a big thank you to all parents and carers for their efforts in reducing the amount of packaging that is going into student lunchboxes.
INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST LGBTQIA+ DISCRIMINATION (IDAHOBIT) DAY: FRIDAY 17TH MAY
On this date in 1990, homosexuality was removed as a disease from the World Health Organisation. IDAHOBIT Day acknowledges this history of discrimination. This day is acknowledged in over 130 countries and aims to minimise the ongoing discrimination that unfortunately still occurs. LGBTQIA+ people in Australia today still experience disproportionate rates of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
VOLUNTEERING AT SCHOOL
As mentioned, we have recently seen great support from the school community for Parents’ Club events. Volunteering supports the school and helps you connect with the community. If you would like to volunteer for any events – run by the school or Parents’ Club, we need to have a copy of your Working With Children Check card on file at the office. The volunteer card is free, and applications are made online https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/