Melrose Park Public School Newsletter

On behalf of the school and the parent community I would like to thank the 2019 P&C committee for their support and commitment to all our students and school projects over the course of the 2019 year. The Market Day, golf day, discos, election day and Year 6 farewell were some of the highlights of last year. Thank you, Dolores for your co-ordination over the year.

The committee has now stood down and we seek to fill the positions left vacant after last night’s Annual General Meeting.

Please volunteer and support the school and parent community.

We are seeking

·         A President to coordinate the parent community through the P&C.

·         A Vice president to support the president

·         Event Coordinator to plan our discos and fun activities

Please contact the P&C Secretary, Chantel Latu for more information, secretary@mppspc.com or discuss your interest with me at the office.

P&Cs give parents an opportunity to learn about the school's policies and programs; organising ways in which parents can share in shaping and developing school policies; bring parents together to share information and views; assist the school in building positive relationships with students and their families; and help raise funds to provide extra resources.​

President The President is the meeting Chairperson, the public face of the P&C and can be a link between parents and the school administration.

Vice President The Vice President is the understudy for the President to undertake the Presidents duties if they unable to do so

Event Coordinator Organises a group of like-minded people to bring the school and community together, such as organising bingo night, BBQ, trivia or any other occasion.

The Secretary's and the Treasurer's positions have been filled with Chantel Latu ( Ivy and Jonah’s mum)  taking up the role and Stephanie Williams ( Bailey’s mum) taking on the Treasurer’s role. We thank them for supporting the P&C in 2020.

Tucker Time is held every Thursday fortnight as part of Student Voice. Student leaders sell ice blocks for $1 at afternoon break time at 1.30pm. The money raised is donated to various charities that support children including World Vision and Stewart House. Our last Tucker Time raised $193 and this will be donated to the Bushfire appeal. 

Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Work will commence very shortly on the installation of the OSHC building along the Mary St side of the school. Last Friday afternoon, we took the opportunity to welcome our school supporters to the school, to turn a Sod of Soil, in preparation of the work to be carried out. Several students including Sebastian, Tamara, Gemma and Natasha welcomed our invited guests including’, State MP for Parramatta, Mr Geoff Lee, Mayor of Parramatta, Mr Bob Dwyer and CEO of PAYCE Developments, Mr Dominic Sullivan.  We thank PAYCE Developments for the significant contributions to the project and acknowledge the assistance from MProjects for the project management of the building. Friday was a happy event where our visitors enjoyed an afternoon tea with our OSHC kids and marvelled at the mini cupcakes so eagerly consumed by our children.

There will be some inconvenience during this project. Pedestrian access will be affected for a short period on the Mary St gate. Students will need to use the Wharf Rd or Waratah St gate for access. This inconvenience will allow services such as sewerage, electricity and water to be installed. Thank you for your understanding in the matter.

 It is important that students arrive early to school in the mornings and have time to prepare for the school day prior to the bell. Teachers use the first 5 minutes of the day to set children up for success by preparing them  for routines . Any children arriving after 9 a.m. require an adult to sign in at the office.  Students will then be issued a late pass to take to class.

To help with the Kiss and Ride in the afternoon, would you please ensure that your surname is clearly displayed on the left-hand side windscreen visor to enable us to identify the student being pick up.

Will you also please ensure that after 2 minutes, if your child is not there to be collected, that you drive around the block and re-enter the Kiss and Ride zone? This will make traffic flow a lot easier.

There are a few concerns regarding the Kiss and Ride zone. We have asked the traffic department from Parramatta City Council to come and observe this area. If you have any issue with the Kiss and Ride zone or any other traffic around the school, please email Traffic@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au  with your concern.  The underlying issues are parents’ attitude and behaviour. I urge all parents to observe the rules and let’s work together to provide our children with a safe environment.

·         Remember there is a large carpark available to use at the end of Wharf Rd. This is an easy 2-minute walk from the school.

Thank Mrs Latu for organising the 2020 Year 6 shirts. They look fantastic, both front and back. Our Year 6 students are very pleased and proud to be wearing them.

Last week Student Invoices were sent home via email using the Software Platform School Bytes. This invoice is for Semester 1 (Term 1 and Term 2).

The Annual Resource fee incorporates technology subscriptions, such as Mathletics, Reading Eggs and Typing Tournament, textbooks such as Soundwaves or Handwriting, Student Planners for Yr 3 -6,  new exercise books, reading materials for InitialLit, Minilit and MultiLit and extras that the department does not cover.   We appreciate your support for these programs.

Information regarding planned events or activities that will be taking place this semester was sent home in a package as well.  Excursions (out of school) and Incursions (in school) event need consent to attend.  Please be aware that all permission notes must be returned prior to the event/activity occurring to ensure that your child is able to attend.  If paying per event, please also ensure that payments are made by the due date using the various options indicated on the information.

 If you require financial assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the office on 9874 4669 to discuss.

Buddy classes operate on the alternate Friday when there is no assembly.  The Buddy program at Melrose Park PS pairs older students with younger children from their buddy class. Teachers report that participation in buddy programs enhances children’s cooperative learning behaviours such as taking turns, listening, sharing knowledge, praising another’s effort, helping one another, and completing a task. The older students assume the role of the leader and this motivates them to do their best. They also experience pride in their ability to be helpful. The younger children bond with the older buddy and friendships flourish as the year progresses. Our Buddy Program is designed to help create a friendly and caring school culture by fostering positive relationships between buddies.

Melrose Park Public School is part of the public school system of the NSW government. As such, we follow the advice given by the Department of Education and government agencies such as the Department of Health.  The Department of Education will update information on the school's website. Parents and carers will be able to follow the links and read the the updated information released by the department.  Translation information is also available. 

https://melrosepk-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/news/2020/1/coronavirus-department-of-education-statement.html

We thank all families for their support and understanding of the importance of maintaining health and safety procedures during this time.

It has been a busy few weeks for KP! We are now used to the daily routines of school and have begun formal learning programs. KP were very excited to meet Healthy Harold in Week 4. He taught us ways to keep our bodies safe and healthy. There were hands on opportunities for students when learning about the vital organs in our bodies and how they function.

In the classroom, KP have been enjoying working in small groups for Literacy and Mathematics. This is giving them the opportunity to work cooperatively with others and transitioning quickly to all the activities. We are trying our best at learning to write our names and numbers in NSW Foundation font. We also are learning about different representations of numbers such as numerals, words and on dot patterns.