MEPS NEWSLETTER
MOOROOLBARK EAST PRIMARY SCHOOL
Taylor Road, Mooroolbark 3138
Phone: 9726 9422 FAX: 9726 9833
Website: www.meps.vic.edu.au
Wednesday, 25th February, 2015
[email protected]
MEPS CALENDAR
TERM 1
March
Monday
9th Labour Day Public Holiday
Wednesday 11th Parent-Teacher Interviews
Thursday
12th Grade 3/4 Athletics
Gr 6 Leadership Conference
Saturday
14th Family Portrait Sittings
Sunday
15th Family Portrait Sittings
Monday
16th Twilight Sports
Thursday
19th Grade 5/6 Athletics
Monday
23rd Gr 4 Excursion: Old Melbourne Gaol & MCG
Friday
27th Last day of Term 1 / Celebration Day
FUND RAISING DATES FOR 2015
Term 1
Sat & Sun, March14th/15th: Family Portrait Sittings
Friday 27th March:
Easter Raffle
Sunday 5th April:
Bunnings BBQ
Term 2
Wednesday, 6th May:
Mothers Day Stall
?Friday, 29th May:
Disco
Term 3
August
Chocolate Drive
Wednesday, 2nd Sep:
Fathers Day Stall
Monday, 14th Sep:
Walk-a-thon/Free dress
Term 4
PRODUCTION
Principal’s Comment
Hi Everyone,
It is hard to believe that we are half way through first term. It is a very short term but it is still flying by. Summer is almost
over…….not much of a summer though. Children are still expected to wear their hats when outside until the end of the term,
regardless of the weather. We are a Sunsmart school and we support this policy.
Prep Picnic Tea:
Thank you to all our Prep families and staff who attended the Picnic Tea at Lilydale Lake last Friday. The weather was great and
the attendance rate was sensational. It is a lovely way to start the year. Thank you.
Canteen:
Our new system in the canteen ran well last week. Of course there were some teething problems as would be expected.
Attached to this newsletter is another copy of the order form. We will send out two smaller ones with next week’s newsletter.
These forms are also available on our website. You can just write the order on a paper bag if that is easier. We will streamline
this process as we become more accustomed to it. Thanks for your patience with this.
Thank you very much to Sandy Hill, Mum of Spencer in Grade 4F, who has donated a huge parcel of trays and containers to the
canteen. This was very much needed and appreciated. Thank you Sandy. As you are aware we are making lots of our own
lunches from scratch now. Our canteen kitchen is needing quite a few things to make this happen. If you have any extra kitchen
bits and bobs in your cupboard and they are no longer required at home, could you please think about donating them to school.
We are particularly in need of storage containers and electric beaters. Thanks in advance for your support with this.
Facebook:
I hear that Facebook comments about our staff Facebook protocols have been running rampant lately. On the first day of the
school year, when children had not yet started, we had a full day based around staff expectations, protocols and processes. As a
part of this, staff worked individually, in pairs and then in small groups to look at where we could improve as a staff. We identified 14 areas that staff believed needed some protocols developed around. One of these was use of social media. Over the past
few years there have been several incidents involving Facebook. This has proven to be difficult for some staff who are friends
with parents as well as employees. Some conflict has arisen and needed to be sorted out. The other issue that has arisen is many
staff opting not to have Facebook or the equivalent because they don’t want their private lives on line. They then find that they
are tagged in photos on other people’s Facebook accounts. A small group of staff looked at this issue and developed a set of protocols. One line was that staff not befriend parents as it is sometimes difficult to separate work conversations and friend conversations on line with a large group of people following it. This was discussed at a staff meeting to determine whether or not this
protocol was implemented. The group consensus is that staff should be able to befriend parents on Facebook but not students.
School is not to be mentioned on Facebook. This was a group consensus after long discussion and not a straight directive with no
input.
DEECD has no definite guidelines on the use of social media but recommends that teachers use extreme caution with it.
Many schools have advised their staff not to be on Facebook at all.
Badges Presentation:
Next Monday morning there will be the badge’s presentation for all our Grade 6 School Captains, Vice School Captains,
House Captains and Vice House Captains. If your child is involved I am sure that they would love to see you there.
School Council Elections:
Just reminding you that there are upcoming School Council elections. Nominations are now being called for.
Half of the School Council retires each year to make way for new members. The other half continue on to provide continuity
of knowledge and experience. This year we have four parents whose two year term has expired. These parents are encouraged to renominate, however, we also love to have new School Council members with fresh ideas and thoughts.
The School Council is the governing body of our school and oversees all school operations. Being a member of the council
provides great insight into the day to day workings of a school and the behind the scenes tasks. If you would like to know
more about School Council please make contact with me, or the office, or one of our current School Council members or look
for details on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s website which is www.education.vic.gov.au.
There are five parent vacancies on the Council for this year. I wish to thank Geoff Lovell, Lyn McGrath, Tash Tocknell and
Fiona Atkinson for all their work on School Council over the last two years. They have made an outstanding contribution as
members of the general School Council and in each of the sub-committees in which they are involved. I would encourage
each of them to renominate.
I also wish to thank Renee Ralph whose term has now finished on School Council. Renee has been on the council for several
years but her youngest child was in Grade 6 last year and so Renee is no longer eligible to be a member. Thanks for your
great contribution to our school Renee. You have always been enthusiastic and have made a great difference around our
school. Thank you.
Nomination forms are now available from the office if you wish to nominate for SC. Please consider doing this. It is a great
opportunity and you have a significant impact and input into our school. Nominations close next week. You can self nominate. Please think about doing this.
Grade 6 Camp:
Last week the Grade 6 students went off to camp at Camp Coonawarra. They had a ball! Here is a report.
‘It was exciting. The giant swing was scary but really exciting because when you went up it looked high and when you let go
of the string your whole life flashes! It feels like you left your stomach up in the sky and then you go down. The camp staff
were really good. On the giant swing and the flying fox they let you take the electronic devices up so you could video yourself going down. The flying fox was over the lake and it was long – we were on the biggest one! Canoeing was really fun.
Alana and Jorja fell in as we were playing a game where you had a tennis ball and you had to throw it to each member of the
team. When each member of the team had touched it you had to throw it into the instructor’s canoe and when we were
trying to get the ball we half tipped in and then it went over. It was funny. You should see the photos that Mr. Kennedy
took! Wade, one of the staff, told our group that there were little crocodiles in the water and that the canoes had crocodile
repellent and in raft making there is an advantage in having loose ropes. Charlotte’s team had loose ropes so that when it
finished it was easy to undo them. Some teams had it really hard to get it undone. Charlotte learnt that she is afraid of
heights on the high ropes course – really afraid! Everyone had a harness on so it was okay. Wade had to go up and get
Charlotte. The food was nice except for the mashed potato that tasted a bit raw. Nearly every night for supper we had cake.
There were birthdays on all but one of the nights. There was a magic stick at the camp fire. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Mulcahy’s
teacher, from when they were in Grade 6 had a magic stick that had a face on the end of it. At camp Mr. Mulcahy would go
up to the giant swing shed while Mr. Kennedy took the stick and held it in front of someone’s face for three seconds. Mr.
Mulcahy would come back and Mr. Mulcahy and Mr. Kennedy would hug and then Mr. Mulcahy would get the stick and go
around the circle holding it in front of each person’s face. He would sense a powerful magic around the person who had
originally had the stick in front of their face. Each time he would get it right! At the end Mr. Mulcahy dropped it in the fire.
The talent show was funny too. There were a few funny acts like Francis telling jokes, a cooking demonstration that was a
joke, dancing and the judges were strict and cruel! Shay and Francis won!
All in all the week was amazing and very interesting. We would recommend it for next year’s Grade 6s.’
By Charlotte Johanson and Jorja Pauer Grade 6G.
Parent/Teacher Interviews:
These will be held on March 11th. Bookings are made online. A separate notice will go home tomorrow explaining this
process. The interviews are not for Prep students as they are all having their individual interviews. Please read the notice
and go online to book in your 10 minute timeslot. I look forward to seeing you all here.
Welcome:
Tahlia Ling became a big sister last week with the birth of Rylee Ava. Tahlia is excited and I am sure Rylee’s parents are too.
Congratulations!
Farewell:
Last week we farewelled Mikayla and Lilly Arnold who have moved into a new home in Rosebud. We wish them and their family all
the best in their new home and school. You will be missed.
Enjoy your week!
Debbie Nelsson
PRINCIPAL
FUND RAISING NEWS
FAMILY PORTRAITS
Notices were sent home recently advertising our Family Portrait fundraiser which is taking place in March. You
can have your family photo taken at school on the weekend of 14th/15th March or arrange a time to have an outdoor session at the photographer’s property in Yellingbo. The cost is $15 (which is non-refundable) for the sitting
and you receive a framed 8 x 10 print. Obviously other prints can be ordered from the photographer as well.
Places are filling up quickly for the school sittings, so please send your order in (with the $15 booking fee) asap to
avoid disappointment.
Order form is included at the back of the newsletter or forms are available from the office.
Also, we are looking for some helpful people to be at the school on the 14th/15th March to help check in families.
If you are able to help, please mark that on the order form and return to school.
BUNNINGS BBQ: Easter Sunday, 5th April
This should be a great fund raiser for the school, but is in the middle of the school holidays. If you are not going
away, we would love to have your help to sell sausages!! Please mark this date in your diary. This week we will be
setting up a site for you to log on and select the time you want to come. More info will be coming home shortly.
TWILIGHT SPORTS : March 16th
This year we are not running a barbecue at the sports but have arranged to have a coffee cart which will be selling
slushies, coffee and milkshakes. We are also hoping to get some hot food carts to come as well and will let you
know what will be available on the night.
DISCO
Our Fund Raising Committee is having trouble booking a DJ for a School Disco. Does anyone have a contact for
someone who can help us out with this? If you do, could you please leave details at the office. Thank you.
UNIFORM SHOP
Mondays & Fridays 8:45 - 9:45am
Need uniform but can’t get to the shop at the above
times?
1.
Fill in an order form (available at office)
2.
Pay at the office
3.
Uniform will be given to your child to bring
home.
Hope this helps!
Penny Spencer
Uniform Co-ordinator
MEPS Sport Report:
Thank you to all of those Grade 4 & 5 students who have returned their ‘expression of interest’ form for the Woorabinda Camp
that will be running for the first week of term 2. I have had a lot of questions from students eagerly wanting to know if they will
be selected to go. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to organise this until Woorabinda Camp provide us with the number of
students that we will be able to send. As soon as we receive this number we will conduct our random draw to see which
students will be invited to attend. All families will be notified either way. To provide a bit of an idea to families – we have
received approximately 70 ‘expressions of interest’ and we are generally able to send approximately 20 students.
Well done to all of the families that are now into their second week of being involved in the after school basketball competition
at Lilydale and Kilsyth. I would like to send out a big thank you to all of those parents who have taken on the roles of coaches
and team managers. Without people taking on these roles, the program simply couldn’t run. One thing that some teams may
still need to do (if you haven’t already done so) is get each child to fill in a Kilsyth Basketball membership application form.
These are purple forms that can be found at the front desk of the stadium; or you can get one from the school office, as I
collected some from the stadium this week. Also, don’t forget that Gayle Turner (a very helpful parent) is running free training
sessions for any after school basketballers who are interested each Sunday afternoon from 4.00 – 5.00pm here at school. The
group meets on the bottom basketball court (near the canteen).
In the next few weeks we have a couple of exciting sporting events coming up. On Thursday the 12 th of March, all of our Grade 3
& 4 students will be participating in the 3/4 District Athletics Carnival at Croydon Athletics Track. On the 19th of March our
Grade 5/6’s will then compete in their District Athletics Carnival at Croydon Athletics Track. The permission slips for these
events were due back today. If you haven’t returned them already please return them ASAP. Also, if you are able to help out
and be a parent helper on the day it would be greatly appreciated as we are currently low on numbers. If you’re able to help out
on either of these days and you haven’t already sent the ‘parent helpers form’ back feel free to email me at :
[email protected] and let me know.
Also, just a reminder that we have our whole school Twilight Sports evening here at school on Monday the 16th of March. This is
an evening that we invite all families to enjoy a picnic dinner here at school before a variety of sporting events and activities will
run for all students from 6.00pm – 7.30pm. More details to following in the coming weeks.
Finally, big congratulations must go out to the following students for qualifying to represent our district at the Yarra Division
Swimming Carnival next Thursday the 5th of March at Nunawading: Alyssa Leaver, Grace McGrath, Taleisha Walker, Zac Ellis and
Brandon Briant. We will be sure to keep you posted with how they go next week.
Aaron Palmer
PE Teacher
Donations required for a great cause!!
THE OXFAM TRAILWALK is one of the most inspiring Team Challenges in the world! The challenge is to tackle
100KMs of bush trails within 48 hours, as a team of four. (We start together, stick together and finish together.)
Oxfam Trailwalk is also a life changing fundraising challenge. Every step we take helps raise vital funds to support
people living in poverty. Gilbert Harries’ Mum and Dad, Julian and Caroline, plus two friends, Darryl and Shane are
team ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. We need your help to raise $1400 towards this great cause. Every dollar will help
and be very much appreciated by the Oxfam community. We are approx $500 at the moment and getting there
gradually. We’ll finish and we’ll smash the challenge, with your help. ... Can we ask if any would be kind enough to
donate your loose change? You can leave it at the school office.
Thank you!
The Harries Family
STUDENT OF THE WEEK
GRADE
NAME
REASON
Prep C
Tess Klinger
For always trying her best! Great start.
Prep D
Ryan Rodolico
For always listening beautifully and giving Miss Driscoll a big smile!
Prep O
Katey Lorimer
Fantastic effort for the start of Prep
Prep T
Emma Rowley
For always listening beautifully and making a great start to Prep
Prep CS
Kayla Masefield
For always trying hard : a fantastic start to Prep!
1D
Lily Cubitt
Outstanding classroom behaviour.
1KB
Jordan Roache
For being an enthusiastic and delightful class member.
1/2H
Marley Rutherford
Settling into MEPS beautifully - you are a great worker and friend.
2C
Mikki-Rose Delahunty
For a great start to the year. You are a super star in Grade 2. Well done for all
your hard work and persistence!
2S
Molly Fiedler
Fantastic recount writing
2/3B
Akuot Amot
For a brilliant start to the year
3H
James McDonald
For always coming in with a beautiful smile and having a go at everything
3T
Reyce Gay
For such bravery and also being an amazingly caring student
3W
Michael Flintrop
Always showing manners and respect to others
4F
Ashley Chuah
For beautiful presentation of work
4S
Angus Beattie
Fantastic start to the school year
5H
Zac Ellis
For an excellent start to Grade 5!
5J
Will Ellis
For an exceptional amount of time reading!
5L
Toby Law
For excellence in maths
6MP
Molly Keyhoe
Wonderful work ethic
Art
Sarah Waldron [3W]
Always beautiful work; fantastic helper
PE
Alyssa Cubitt [4F]
For her amazing running and high jumping talents
Global Ed
Sophie Tyzack [1D]
For her wonderful contributions to discussions
Music
RJ Corrigan [4F]
Helping pack away without being asked
Cath
Alier Tong [1/2H]
Very good effort and fluency
Principal
Reyce Gay
Being very brave with a broken arm.
AP (Brant)
Josh Lovell [6K]
For doing his best on camp
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Currently studying Bachelor of Music - Monash University
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Email: [email protected]