2 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended our Open Night last night. It was great to see you being led around school by your children. The pride in their work was clear as they explained each work sample and learning experience. Many of you commented on the quality of the work and how wonderful the rooms looked. With this in mind, I wish to thank our staff who worked incredibly hard to ensure work was displayed beautifully. The evening was a great success and there was a real positive vibe around the place. I think this was largely due to our students, who were great tour guides. Thank you - your enthusiasm made the evening a very positive experience.

Fremantle Primary School visited a couple of weeks ago as they had heard about our excellent literacy teaching. A group of teachers observed our teachers and students at work and witnessed the high standards of reading and writing. One teacher was impressed by the high level of discussion taking place in our Year 5/6 classrooms. The students were evaluating whether the first Europeans were invaders or settlers and justifying their opinions with historical evidence - high level stuff! It was lovely to see our teachers and students showing other professionals the great work they are doing at Mullaloo Heights. The Fremantle teachers will be implementing a similar approach to teaching at their school and were keen to see how it all works in practice. As a result of the visit, a firm friendship has been forged which will result in future collaboration, undoubtedly benefiting both schools. Thank you to the students and teachers who took part in this rather daunting, but ultimately rewarding experience.

The quality of assemblies this year has been extremely high. What is impressive is the way in which teachers combine skills and content from a number of learning areas to present an item that shows student achievement. Our latest assembly was a wonderful celebration of the Arts, with our students sharing their varied interests and talents via a number of interesting performances. The Talent Assembly is a popular event with many students auditioning. The standard for participation is always high and watching the final, polished performance is a real treat. This year was no exception. Well done to all students who overcame nerves and bravely participated in this wonderful show. Thanks also to Mrs Ameduri for giving our students the opportunity to showcase their considerable talent and creativity.

Multi-Age Classes

We are currently collating the results of our recent Parent Opinion Survey and will present the findings once this is complete.

We have noted a couple of comments requesting that we do not place students in multi age classes, the perception being that these class structures somehow provide an inferior experience. Multi-age classes remain an issue for some families. However, I have worked with them for my entire career, either as a teacher (I taught multi-age classes in both Australia and the U.K. in different year levels for fifteen years) or as a school leader across various schools and, as a result, have directly experienced the benefits of these class structures. The most obvious benefit is that the teaching and learning is differentiated more effectively. Teachers must teach to the individual child’s needs rather than teaching to the middle, with a ‘one size fits all’ program directed at a particular year group. In multi-age classes, teachers ascertain the student’s level of skill and begin teaching at this point, regardless of their age. There are many other benefits and these, as well as our reasons for this type of organisation, are outlined in our Class Placement Policy.

In the meantime, here are some important points I wish to make concerning multi-age classes:

Further, I’d like to add that Mullaloo Heights Primary School teachers are very adept at teaching in composite classes, as has been clearly demonstrated over recent years.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Caroline Booth

Dates to remember

Planning for 2019

Our school is actively planning for the 2019 school year and to determine the staffing arrangements, we need to establish the number of students attending next year. If your children are not attending our school next year, please let us know as soon as possible. Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Merit Certificates

Reading Club

Mathletics Gold

Talent Assembly

Enjoy these photos showing the range of talent at Mullaloo Heights Primary School. We certainly enjoyed watching them all yesterday. Great job everyone!

Mullaloo Heights has got Talent!

Parent Information

Cricket Clinic

On Wednesday 24th October, MHPS students were given the opportunity to attend a free cricket clinic held at our school! The students that attended were lucky enough to meet Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft and participate in fun cricket activities with Cameron and the staff from Cricket WA. There were prizes to be won and a chance to ask Cameron some questions and get his autograph! A great morning had by all!

Sharpening our cricket skills

Chaplain’s News

Dear Parents,

The Year 6 Girls graduated from the Shine program last week and thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent learning about their value, purpose and potential. We ended Shine with a high tea and a panel where the mentors who have helped run the program were able to answer some questions about how they achieved their dreams and discovered purpose in life. Each girl received a rose and certificate and got to bring home their journals which were full of encouraging and inspiring quotes as well as the notes they had written down from each topic we did, which they can always look back on to help them.

The ‘Strength’ program has now begun for the Year 6 Boys. The boys loved their first session and enjoyed eating, meeting the mentors, playing a game of mega jenga and basketball, and really engaged in the topic as they learnt about their value and significance. Each boy has also received a booklet that they can take notes on and add information to as they go through the program.

The Year 3 Boys have just finished Boys Club and enjoyed the Dodgeball competitions they have been doing each week at lunchtime. The Year 3 and 4 Girls are excited that it’s finally their turn! Please see the article below ‘Awkward Thirteen’ by Michael Grose.

‘Thirteen is a pivotal age. It has been described as an age of rebirth where the teen takes over from the child. This age group often needs a lot of support and responds well to confident, firm parenting. Your 13-year-old needs a mix of understanding, guidance, boundaries and nurturing to help them navigate this potentially tricky time in their lives. They need to be able to depend on you to be there for them, just as when they were an infant. Here are 10 things to help with parenting this turbulent age:’

Kind regards,
Jess

Community News