Disco
Last Thursday 27th July, it is fair to say that the gymnasium was alive with the sound of music! Students told us they loved: the fluro decorations, the DJ and music, the pizza choices and drinks, the variety of lolly and chip options, the individualised wristbands with students’ choices and also the chill-out zone.
We thank the Parents Club, parent volunteers and McKinnon staff supervisors for helping bring this exciting event back for the students. A huge amount of time, planning and meticulous organisation went into the three disco sessions which commenced months prior to the event. A huge thank you also to all the parent class reps for promoting this event regularly in their classes to ensure as many people as possible could attend.
As with all Parent Club events we complete a reflection afterwards to consider which aspects worked well to keep and which aspects can be refined for next year.
Year Five Camp- Sovereign Hill
On Monday 31st-Wednesday 2nd August, 119 Year Five students and 12 McKinnon staff eagerly boarded a bus, or should I say time-machine, taking them back to the 1850s in the midst of a major gold rush. This camp was jam-packed with activities helping our children 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.
This was our first camp that combined learning from the classroom, the unit of inquiry relating to migration and second language learning of Chinese Mandarin and it was a real hit with all the students. Favourite activities from students included: confectionary and candle making, the Aura light and sound show, pantomime theatre night, shopping for old-time wares and of course panning for gold at any spare moment the students had.
We sincerely thank all staff for their hard work in preparing for this camp with a special thank you to the Chinese Language department and the Year Five teaching team which made this camp experience for the students such a success!
100 Days of School
On Tuesday 1st August, our Foundation students celebrated the milestone of 100 days attending McKinnon Primary School. You will have noticed that the students and teachers dressed up as 100-year-olds to help in the celebration. Our Foundation teachers decorated the classrooms and the students spent the day doing a range of different activities involving the number 100. They finished off the day with some celebratory dancing in the learning centre.
2024 Foundation Meet, Greet and Play Session
We are very excited to be welcoming our 2024 Foundation students to McKinnon for transition. We are launching this process this term with a Meet, Greet and Play Session on Thursday 24th August. We invite all 2024 Foundation students to join us at 9:15 – 9:45 am in the Rainbow Playground.
This will give students and parents the opportunity to meet each other, some of our teaching staff and some of our student school leaders. Attending this session means your child is just one step more prepared and familiar with our school and allows you to set up playdates before the September school holidays.
Further information about this session will be sent to all families who have enrolled for 2024. If you have not yet enrolled or you know someone who is planning to attend next year and has not put in their enrolment form, please let them know as they need to do this straight away.
You will find all the information about the application process on our school website:
https://mckinnon-primary.vic.edu.au/enrolments-2/
Class Placement- Please email the office by 15th September with “Class Placement” in the subject heading.
In Term Three we ask for any requests for class placements for the following year. The reason we ask so early is that the process for formulating the 2024 classes is a long and complex process involving many factors. If you email us, we will take this into consideration, if you do not email the school we cannot change classes for your child after they are formed.
This information is crucial for us to have while we are forming the classes as last-minute switches are not able to happen. Our teaching and support staff spend a long time considering all the needs of students when forming the classes, however, if you feel there is something you would like taken into consideration (e.g. separations, pairings or complex needs or experiences) then please email the school at mckinnon.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Every year we have a handful of families who are upset with where their child has been placed. Please do not put yourself in this situation and instead email the school this term with your class placement request information. Do not wait until after the classes are formed or into the following year to say that your child needs to be separated from another child as this will not be able to happen.
Book Parade
Book Week is approaching in a few weeks and our Book Parade is on Wednesday 23rd of August!
This year we also ask for your generosity and a gold coin donation during the Book Parade to the Story Dogs Program which relies greatly on volunteers and who will be working with our Year Two cohort. The money raised goes to support and ensure the organisation’s ongoing success.
Please look out for more information in the coming weeks. If you are interested in the Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlist for 2023 please visit https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2023
World Cup
The library has been buzzing over the last couple of weeks while the Women’s World Football World Cup has been on. It has been fantastic to see students come together to celebrate women’s sport.
“All students that come to the library are likely to see a soccer match playing on the projector as we celebrate the women’s world cup 2023. All the kids watch the games cheer and chant for their favourite team one example USA Vs Netherlands.
Australia were at risk of getting knocked out of the world cup after losing to Nigeria 3-2 but beating Canada 4-0 they got launched to the top of the group whilst sending Canada home, in the round of 16 Australia will be playing Denmark while their rivals USA will be playing Sweden and England will be playing Nigeria. Most kids are excited to see Australia in the round of 16.”
By Toby 6E
Hope you all have a great weekend,
Suzanne, David and Andrew