Newsletter No.34 Final Newsletter Dec 15 2016

From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Monty South Community As this is our last newsletter for 2016, it is time to reflect on our achievements and goals met for the year. As a staff we plan to do this on Tuesday but it is a good time to stop and look at the year that has been. We continued to grow and this always means new staff. This year we introduced Lisa Nelson, Shirley O’Neill, Eliza Crellin, Elise Van Ooi, Emily Kilkenny, Kelly Trenery, Rachael Higgs, Lucy Skipper and Aili Adamson. In terms of student learning, we continued our Literacy coaching with Jane Plunkett and also focussed on the idea of open ended maths tasks and challenging students. And we took the next step in our whole school inquiry learning with the help of Lisa Nelson. In terms of facilities around the school-we had a visit in April from the Education Minister, James Merlino. After this visit, an announcement was made that we had been put on the Master Planning list. We had another portable delivered and more modern classroom furniture was purchased to go in it. We also had to convert the resource room to keep our overall classroom numbers around 20 in each room. The Prep end around the playground was fixed up and beautified.

Our students won awards and competed at District, Regional Zone and State levels in many sports. We held our school production ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’ at Eltham High and wowed the audiences. And students competed in interschool chess competitions, Tournament of the Minds and the Kids Teaching Kids festival.

Of course, our core business did not stop and our staff and students worked hard and gained some excellent results. NAPLAN results were exceptionally good showing us as well above state wide average levels. Then we had the School Review and the amount of work that went into that was amazing. The school along with School Council now can set the direction for the next few years. More on that in 2017. So it was another most successful year at Montmorency South Primary School with the school producing excellent Academic Achievement data, Attitudes to School data, staff survey and Parent Opinion survey data, as well as being able to offer a varied curriculum and many additional extra-curricular activities.

I would like to express my appreciation to all School Councillors for their support and advice throughout the 2016 school year-thank you Ange Dewdney (President), Mel Mc Murtrie (Vice President), Phil Jones (Treasurer), Tania Weddle (Minute Secretary), Leanne Rendell, Violette Saro, Stephen Longmuir, Drew Salisbury, Vanessa Edwards, Merriel Hayes, Amanda McDonald, Mandy Redfern and Tracey Cole.

What’s Coming Up?

2016- TERM 4

Dec Fri 16 Year 6 Graduation Mon 19 Last day for students and final

assembly No lunch orders today KABOOM SPORTS DAY – this

is a free event for the students

Tues 20 2017 Planning Day –Pupil Free

Day

2017 Jan Mon 30 Staff return to school-Pupil

Free Day Tues 31 CURRICULUM DAY –NO

Students

Uniform shop open 10:30am to 12:30am

Feb Wed 1 Year 1-6 students return Thurs 2 Prep/Foundation students

return. Staggered starts Thurs 23 MSPS BUSH DANCE

I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful contributions made by parents and staff at Montmorency South Primary School. It is only with this effort and sense of community that our school continues to be the learning community it is widely acknowledged as being.

Merriel Hayes (Assistant Principal) and the School Improvement (Leadership) Team, Tracey Cole, Dale Weston, Mandy Redfern, Jacqui Rapsey, Laura Duryea, Nerinda Hodgson, Neil Whitehead and Amanda MacDonald have been wonderful in their consistent and unwavering support that they give to myself and the staff this year.

Finally, thank you to the very skilled and enthusiastic office staff at MSPS. Judith Walsh (Business Manager), Pam Watson, Kirstie Lay, Gail Lewis, Ellis Evans and John Lynch (Finance Officer). Their support has been amazing and they worked extremely hard and did a wonderful job.

So thank you to everyone for a great year. We hope you have a joyous festive season with your families and friends. Have a safe and relaxing holiday and we look forward to seeing you all back in 2017!

Treasurer Visit

We had a relatively surprise visit from the State Treasurer, Mr Tim Pallas today. He came along with Vicki Ward, the local member for Eltham to survey the school and the conditions of our buildings and crowded facilities. After a tour by our School Captains, we came back to the staff room for morning tea. It was a lovely visit and Tim Pallas was a very relaxed.

Staff Update We finally have all our staff in place for 2017. We had to wait until the Selection appeals process was complete before we could announce the successful final three positions. Furthermore, today we found out that Kristian Walker has decided not to return to school next year. Thankfully with some help from the Department, we have been able to assign somebody in that position that we had previously interviewed and liked. This was done in hours today, so it was a very busy day

Thus the following staff have been appointed:

1. Kate L’Huillier –Year 1. Kate has been here for Step Up and taken the actual 2017 Year 1 class. She has also been here for the handover process from the Prep teachers to Year 1. Kate has taught at various schools over the years.

2. Andrew Glembin –Year 3. Andrew has previously taught at various schools in the northern suburbs and for the last 8 years has been at Rosanna Primary School. Today he came and met his class and was part of the handover process with the teachers from Year 2 to Year 3.

3. Daniel Anderson –Year 4. Daniel comes to us from Watsonia Primary School and he will replace Kristian Walker. Unfortunately, Daniel cannot come and see his class before the end of the year but he will send each of them a letter introducing himself.

We look forward to working with these three teachers along with our other new staff.

Birthdays

Dec 11- Dec 31

11 Levi Waters Sarah Hulme

12 Sophia Gallagher Jesse Hutchinson

Cooper Rae Lara Rodwell

13 Linus Shaw Felix Kalla Mandengue

14 Lachlan Wilkins

15 Austin Chapman

16 Hayden Lloyd

17 James Rickard

18 Zoe Smith Misha Boesenberg

20 Hunter Sinclair

21 Cassandra Pinto Calleja Amelie Vulich

23 Nick McMurtrie

25 Matthew Walsh Lily Veale

26 Gabriel Tran

28 Stefani Di Pietro

29 Mitchell Green Jasmine Ryder

31 Caitlin Spremic

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

Best Birthday Wishes

FINAL ASSEMBLY As per last year, we are having the final school assembly on Monday 19th December (the last day of our students’ term) in the morning at 9.00am. This will allow a number of farewells to our Year 6 students, announcement of 2017 Captains, and various other presentations. By having it first thing it allows the correct amount of time, so that we are not rushing the day. It also allows people to leave at the end of the day, not highly emotional. Please come and join us if you are able to make it at the earlier time.

FAREWELL

Next Monday afternoon we will say goodbye and good luck to our 2016 Year 6 students who are leaving Montmorency South Primary School, many of whom have been here for 7 years. We will have an opportunity tomorrow night at the Graduation Ceremony to farewell these students and appropriately acknowledge their individual and collective contribution to Montmorency South Primary School over the past seven years. These students have represented our school so well over the time they have been here.

However, it is now time for them to enter the next exciting phase of their lives-secondary school and emerging teenage years. To Josh Allison, Nika Ardaghi, Morgan Baddeley, Amy Baldwin, Josh Barter, Axl Bradley, Rebecca Brancaleone, Laura Brearley, Sarah Bridgeman, Lachlan Brown, Julian Chislett, Pearl Clark, Alex Cole, Mathew Cook, Tom Cooper O’Dwyer, Paige Connolly, Abi Crawford, Harry Curtis, Noah Dewdney, Byron Duff, Sienna Fernandez, Seb Francis-Perkins, Kate Hamilton, Jade Harrison, Jayda Hird, Kane Horner, Sarah Hulme, Colin Jiang, Brianna Johnstone, Courtney Jones, Thomas Kemp, Adam Khan, Brianna Killen, Sam Knight, Marley Kottmann, Luke Leaper, Monique Lewis, Hamish McColl, Alexis McIntosh, Nick Makridis, Andrew Marinucci, Tiah Mercuri, Jamisen Micheel, Anastasia Minuzzo, Amelia Morgan, Indianna Newey, Cailey Noons, Jeremy Pezzin, Mia Phillis, Corey Poynter, Jarryd Rendell, Paris Rochford, Maya Rodwell, Jasmine Ryder, Rody Sakr, Cooper Sikkes, Bella Shi Yinuo, Ella Skerritt, Alex Smith, Cait Spremic, Julian Suares, Jack Tomlin, Matt Tutera, Declan Watson, Josh Weddle, Callum White, Lachlan Wilkins, Jordan Zaga, Marra Zamfirescu and Monique

I would like to say thank you for your contribution to Montmorency South Primary School over the years - you have helped to make it a special place. Good luck as you move onto secondary school and beyond. Make sure you come back and visit us as you will always be welcomed. A large number of families will conclude their association with Montmorency South Primary School as their child graduates this year. Our best wishes and thanks go to these families for their contribution, support and assistance over the years.

Thank you to the Ardaghi, Baddeley, Barter, Bradley, Brancaleone, Brown, Clark, Connolly, Cooper O’Dwyer, Dewdney, Duff, Francis-Perkins, family of Monique, Hamilton, Harrison, Horner, Hulme, Jiang, Jones, Kemp, Leaper, Lewis, Marinucci, Mercuri, Micheel, Minuzzo, Poynter, Rendell, Ryder, Shi, Sikkes, Spremic, Tomlin and Weddle families.

We have some students leaving our school before Year 6 and I want to wish them well at their new schools. I hope you and your families will all look upon your time at Montmorency South with fabulous memories.

Goodbye and good luck to Ella Dai, Ella Morter, Brendan Poynter and Lachlan Macintosh

Thank you for Carols

Thank you to Jude Barry and Emily Kilkenny, Danni Rowles and Kelly Trenery for their exceptional efforts in planning and coordinating our Carols’ Evening last Wednesday. It was a fantastic night and wonderful to see so many families come along and enjoy the night. The children sang beautifully and the Ensemble Band under the tutelage of Tim Veldman was very entertaining. Thank you everyone for your support.

Final Curriculum Day –Planning 2017 On the last day of the school year, the staff will be planning for the start of the 2017 school year and our unit for Semester 1, 2017. We are planning to start off with the theme “Does It Matter if you are Black or White?” which can lead to a myriad of investigations and studies. A report of this day will be tabled at 2017 Education and School Council meetings.

MSPS Achievers-

Our final champions: Thumbs up to Zac Alberti who achieved his yellow belt for Shukokai Karate (his second belt). Zac has only

been learning this year. Great effort. Josh Allison who swam a Personal Best Time of 29 seconds for the 50 m freestyle at the State Swimming Titles. That is sizzlingly fast. Well done to Ashwin Siva who is exhibiting his art work at the Monsalvat Art Exhibition on the 22 December. He will be exhibiting his Cubist Peacock. Some of his classmates are also exhibiting pieces such as Charlie. Good luck with it Ashwin.

Congratulations to Amy Baldwin who was awarded a trophy in recognition of her 10 years of dancing. She also received her Year 4 grade certificate for Cecchetti Ballet.

Congratulations to Jake Pepyat who was won a gold medal at the Diamond Valley Little Athletics Championships. Obviously, Jake is a very fast runner.

Finally, congratulations to Alice De Luca who performed at her recent gym and dance competitions and was very proud to tell us about them. And she did an amazing job too-so very articulate and confident. Congratulations to all the year 3 students who raised approximately $500.00 for the Smith Family through their Arcade Games Day. It was not only a wonderful learning experience for the year 3’s but for all of the students in the school who had the opportunity to play the games. Well done!

Just a reminder that school resumes for students from Year 1 to-6 on Wednesday 1st February. The Prep students will follow the next day on Thursday 2nd February. Our first school assembly will be on the following Wednesday being the 8th February at 3.00pm. Thank you to all members of the Montmorency South Primary School Community for your support throughout the 2016 and for your many good wishes and words of appreciation. Have a peaceful, safe and Merry Christmas and a relaxing holiday period. Best Wishes to all for a prosperous 2017.

Leanne Sheean

Principal

There will be no lunch orders on Monday 19th Dec.

Our final raffle ticket winners for 2016

Harry and Sienna collect the sport’s award for Tyto Our lovely Preps from PH, PM, PR and PS collected their Premier’s Reading Challenge Certificates.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

Tom Rohweder PD For learning to tie his own shoelaces! Well done! Kaitlin Taylor PD For learning to tie her own shoe laces! Well done! Cooper Ulehla PD For working hard to sound out words in his book. Hudson Young 5T For teaching himself how to calculate the inter-quartile range of a data set. Eryn Seabridge 2T For contributing her ideas and working well with her hut building group at Sunnystones. Will Bird 2T For working cooperatively with his hut building group at Sunnystones. Oscar Henningsen 2T For working well with his canoe partner to steer the canoe at Sunnystones. Natalie Toohey PR For always giving 110% to all class tasks. Isla Chessell PR For being a bright and bubbly member of Prep R. Abby Gruneklee 4C For showing great resilience during the open water swimming excursion, and giving everything a go! TIlly O'Neill 4C For always being willing to help and to do jobs around the classroom. Billy Cooper 4D For his flawless homework record this year! Eliza Crawford 4D For her flawless homework record this year!

YEAR 1 Classroom Clippings For My Perfect Papa by Phoebe Hogan 1G Hello, hello dear Papa I love you if you’re near or far, I love you here, I love you there I really truly love you everywhere Merry Christmas, I will say, So come on, come on, There is really not time to play.

YEAR 2 Classroom Clippings

What a great year we have had in Year 2. We have absolutely loved working with the students and being part of their learning journey. Here are some photos from our fun Year 2 camp. Have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic start to the new year. Year 2 teachers.

At Monty South we remain committed to the growth of your child's social and emotional wellbeing. As we reflect back on 2016 we are filled with a sense of pride at what has been achieved.

Some highlights have included:

Implementing the Smiling Minds program at all year levels. Smiling Minds aims to build happier, healthier and more compassionate children. This mindfulness meditation program is designed to assist children in dealing with the pressure, stress and challenges of daily life. It helps guide them to find a calmer and more relaxed sense of self.

Setting aside time to discuss values words. Through discussions the students are regularly immersed in thinking about particular values, how to show such a value and the importance of doing so. We know the more students are exposed to real life examples of a value, the more likely they are to apply what they have learnt.

TRIBES related activities within Inquiry Learning. Inquiry Learning allows the students to take ownership of their learning and the direction learning will travel. These group activities ensure students are given real life examples to develop lifelong skills in communication, team work, flexibility, compromise and perseverance.

Gratitude Journals. These journals allow the students to express gratitude for a range of thoughts. A sense of gratitude can benefit children in a variety of ways. It can decrease stress, increases a feeling of belonging and helps children step into someone else’s shoes. Expressing gratitude increases a sense of self-worth and also helps create a more positive outlook towards life.

Staff PD to ensure our staff are equipped with the latest strategies to help the students on their educational journey.

The Wellbeing Team hope your summer is one filled with happiness and good times and that the year ahead brings good health and wonderful experiences. Enjoy the additional time with your child/children over January. The Wellbeing Team

MSPS P&F UPDATE Merry Christmas from P&F!! On behalf of the P&F Committee I want to wish the MSPS community a very merry Christmas!! Thanks to everyone for your support this year - from the local businesses who support our larger events to the Grade 6 students who willingly assist when we need a hand...each and every little bit of help we receive is always appreciated. Your fundraising committee has worked very hard this year and I would like to thank them for their contribution to making MSPS even better for our children. Their input and ideas at meetings, advice, assistance, hard work and support has been something that has made my job as President easier and has meant that our events during the year have been a success. Thanks also to Leanne, Merriel and the staff of MSPS who support us in all that we do - thank you. Thanks to the Office Staff - Judith, Pam, Gail, Kirsty and Alice who always help us with collecting payments for our events and answering questions from the school community on top of their everyday tasks. Our Grade 6 students - the captains in particular, have been very helpful throughout the year and have assisted with various jobs which has been invaluable. Your help has been much appreciated - good luck with your future endeavours as you say farewell to Monty South! In 2017, all of the P&F Committee roles will be up for re-election. I have found being part of the P&F Committee fun and rewarding. I have cemented old friendships and made new ones, shared a lot of laughter (and occasional frustration!) along the way and, most importantly, have really enjoyed organizing events for the students at MSPS. Please consider joining us in 2017 - every little bit of assistance is invaluable and we cannot do the things we do without the help and support of the school community. We are very lucky to be a part of MSPS - its our strong sense of community that makes our school unique. Thanks to everyone for their support in 2016. Enjoy the holidays and have a safe and happy new year. Nicci Green President - 2016 P&F Committee

MSPS Welcome Bush Dance Looking towards next year, our first major event for 2017 will be the Inaugural MSPS Welcome Bush Dance which will take place at the school on Thursday 23rd February starting at 6pm. This promises to be a fantastic evening for our school community and a great chance for everyone to welcome new families in an informal social setting, catch up and enjoy a fun night of bush dancing and great music by The Shenanigans. Food vans will be available on the night from 5pm or families can bring their own picnics. All students will be taking part in bush dance workshops on Monday 20th February during school hours so the kids should be able to teach the parents a few steps by the time we all come together on the Thursday evening! Dressing up in Aussie bush-themed costume is optional but for those who are so inclined there will be prizes for best-dressed! More details to follow early in the new year but please make sure the date is on your calendar!

Give Generously this Christmas Member for Eltham Vicki Ward MP is opening her door to become a drop off point for an important cause which relies upon the generosity of local community donations. The Eltham electorate office is currently collecting on behalf of Hayden’s Helping Hands, an important charity established a couple of years ago by very special local boy Hayden Rujak. On a family holiday to New York a few years ago at age 8 Hayden was struck by the number of homeless people he saw sleeping in Central Park and has worked hard ever since to improve the lot of Melbourne’s own rough sleepers at Enterprise Park. For nearly two years now this extraordinary boy and his amazing family have collected donated goods and personally distributed care packages to our homeless. Donations of non-perishable foodstuffs, nappies, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, first aid supplies, and pet food are all items which will be gratefully received at Vicki’s office, and passed along to the Rujak family to be packaged up and distributed. Electorate Office of Vicki Ward MP at 718 Main Road, Eltham

The School Banking team of volunteers this year are:

Natasha Harris (Noah and Jem Pearsall)

Anthony Brilliant (Xavier and Amy) Violette Saro (Isabella Sadowsky)

Melissa Baddeley (Morgan)

Rong Sun (Annabelle Lowe)

KIDS’ SHED Those in attendance: Jarryd Team Leader, Ben, James, Andrew, Ella, Axl, Kane, Raff, Donated post were sawn to size fit holes dug last week.

Rebuilding Tiny Town Construction has commenced – the students dug the foundations so that the wood post buildings will stay firm. Jarryd led his team using the post hole digger. As Jarryd's team moved on Ariel's team cleared the dirt out. Then, with help from Ben on the crowbar, more soil was dug until each hole was at least 200 cm deep. Hard helmets, high visibility vests were compulsory for all of the students who were using tools. Glenn talked about safety while they were working and kept all safe by putting the danger tape around the work site. Team Leader: Jarryd Assistant Team Leader: Ariel Regular Team: Kane, Andrew, Ben Helpers: Isaac, Alistair, Axel, Ella, Bobby and Raph Work Supervisor: Glenn Farrington Next week: Concrete the wood posts