Mullaloo Heights Primary School eNewsletter

16 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message
Dates to remember
Planning for 2019
Parent Opinion Survey Results
Merit Certificates
Reading Club
Mathletics Gold
Pre Primary Assembly
Music News
French News
Chaplain’s News
Community News

Principal’s Message

I am sure you’ll agree the lead up to the Christmas break is always busy. We’re certainly feeling that way at Mullaloo Heights as we approach the end of the school year. Our students are currently completing assessments and proudly demonstrating how much progress they have made this year. The work produced will be analysed by teachers and used to compile end of year reports. I am sure you are all looking forwarding to receiving your child’s report to see what they have achieved. It has been a great year with real commitment from our students. This has certainly been reflected in our reading and Mathletics homework programs. Students have embraced our incentive schemes with many receiving their 100 club badge for reading and gold badge for Mathletics. Numerous students have told me of the targets they have set themselves with regard to these programs. For some it is the achievement of double gold in Mathletics by the end of the year, while others are aiming to gain 200 books or points for reading. Regardless of the target set or number of books read, what is truly pleasing is the motivation and commitment to learning shown by our students. This enthusiasm for learning is a consistent attribute of our students and the true reward for our teachers’ hard work.

Once again, I would like to thank those of you who took the time to complete our recent parent opinion survey. We have collated the results and a summary is outlined later in the newsletter. We received lots of positive feedback, but there were a few areas that parents felt could be improved. One such area is the organisation of split or multi-age classes in the school. Three respondents added comments to their surveys requesting that we do not structure our classes in this way. As I have stated in previous newsletters, there are many reasons why we choose this class at structure Mullaloo Heights and there are many benefits, as the multi-age classes organised over the past 2 years attest. However, I also appreciate queries parents have regarding how these classes operate; particularly taking into account the demands of the curriculum for each age group. As a result, I will be running an information session regarding multi-age classes on Thursday 22nd November, straight after school - approximately 3:00pm - in Room 9. This will give us an opportunity to demonstrate how these classes operate, while giving parents the chance to ask questions. I urge all parents of children currently in Years 2-5, particularly those with concerns regarding multi-age classes, to attend what I hope will be an open and honest discussion.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Dates to remember

Thursday, 22 November	Multi-Age Class Information Session for parents - 3pm in Room 9
Tuesday, 27 November	Ocean Reef SHS Orientation Day for 2019 Intake
Wednesday, 28 November	2019 Pre Primary Orientation Day
Friday, 30 November	EOY Book Award Assembly 9.00am in the Undercover Area
Thursday, 6 December	Kindy Graduation
Friday, 7 December	Year 6 Graduation commencing at 8.45am in the Undercover Area
Tuesday, 11 December	Family Fun Day
Thursday, 13 December	Last Day of the 2018 School Year

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.

Parent Opinion Survey Results

The results of the survey were very positive with 70% or more of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing with each statement. Average ratings on each response ranged between 3.5 and 4.9., with 1 being the lowest rating available and 5 being highest.

The tables below show the ratings for each statement.

Pastoral Care

	Student	Parent	Teacher
Students are treated fairly by teachers	4.3	3.8	4.7
I / my child feels safe this school	4.5	4.2	4.7
Student behaviour is well-managed	3.8	3.5	4.6
My child/ I like being at school	4.2	4.2	4.7
Teachers care about my child /me	4.3	4.0	4.9
I can talk to my teacher about my concerns	3.9	n/a	4.8
I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns	n/a	4.1	4.6
Staff are well supported at this school	n/a	n/a	4.5

Academic Standards

	Student	Parent	Teacher
Teachers at this school expect me/ my child to do their best	4.6	3.9	4.8
Teachers at this school provide me with useful feedback about my child.	n/a	3.8	4.5
I receive useful feedback about my work	4.1		4.5
Teachers motivate me / my child to learn	4.1	3.9	4.6
I am / my child is making good progress at this school	n/a	4.0
My teachers give me opportunities to do interesting things.	4.2	n/a	n/a
My child’s learning need are being met at this school	n/a	3.8	4.5
The school works with me /parents to support my child’s learning	n/a	3.5	4.4
My / my child’s teachers are good teachers	4.5	4.1	4.7
I am satisfied with the overall standard of education achieved at this school	n/a	3.9	4.7

Leadership and Communication

	Student	Parent	Teacher
The school looks for ways to improve	4.4	3.9	4.7
The school takes students’ / parents’/ staff’ opinions seriously	4.1	3.5	4.3
The school has a strong relationship with the community	n/a	3.7	4.7
The school is well led	n/a	3.9
I would recommend this school to others	n/a	4.1	4.8
The school is well maintained	4.1	4.1	4.2

Additional Comments

Additional comments have been collated and categorised to indicate what made Mullaloo Heights a great school and areas requiring improvement. In consultation with the Board and staff, we will be devising an action plan to address areas of improvement.

What makes Mullaloo Heights a great school?	What needs improvement?
the community spirit an inclusive environment in which all stakeholders are involved (parents, staff & students) Students are cared for and feel safe Good teachers who provide a high level of education Leadership team making prominent inroads to educational change and improvement Good communication Many improvements to the physical environment	bullying needs to be taken seriously some parents would prefer not to have multi-age classes daily fitness to be consistently provided across classes

Merit Certificates

PP	Cienna, Joseph R., Adonai, Max F., Grace	Rm 8	Owen, Mahkynlei
Rm 5	Kayden, Koby, Jaxon, Thomas	Rm 9	Ruben, Xavier
Rm 6	Lachlan, Evie	Rm 10	Khiron, Elijah, Cohen
Rm 7	Jack, Ruby, Rose	Rm 11	Ridham, Ethan T.
French	Anna	Rm 12	Tom, Adam
		Music	Gemma, Levi

Reading Club

100	Sophie, Joel, Yorkabell, Ruben, Sage, Marcus, Ben

Mathletics Gold

Marcus, Eden

Pre Primary Assembly

Our Pre-Primary students performed the final assembly of the year and it was a marvellous finale to a year of outstanding assemblies. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. The assembly was a true showcase of the huge progress they have made whilst in Pre-Primary. They spoke clearly and confidently and the standard of reading was incredible. It is hard to believe they have just completed their first full-time year of schooling. It is a great illustration of the quality teaching and learning offered by our early childhood staff and the support given to their programmes by our parents. The next assembly will be the Book Award Assembly on Friday 30th November 9:00am. Teachers are currently nominating students for awards and will be in touch with parents with regard to this.

Music News

As of 2019, Mullaloo Heights PS will be offering flute and clarinet tuition to years 5 and 6 through the School of Instrumental Music program.

This is great news as our students should achieve better outcomes after 2 years, and this will hold them in good stead for high school music programs, should they wish to pursue music at a secondary level. I will be testing years 4 and 5 later this term to select students. Successful students will bring home an ‘Expression of Interest’ letter and a note with details of the information meetings for parents to attend if they wish to learn more about the program.

The IMSS website has further information. Please feel free to email me at Tina.Ameduri@education.wa.edu.au if you have any questions at this stage.

Tina Ameduri
Music.

French News

Chaplain’s News

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Christmas is almost here and it’s the time of the year where The Salvation Army will support up to 5,000 families across Western Australia by providing Christmas hampers starting from mid-December. Many families in our state aren’t able to have a Christmas meal on Christmas Day because of financial constraints and many other factors. So this year The Salvation Army is looking to Mullaloo Heights Primary School for help in collecting non-perishable food items that can be given to families in need. This is a great opportunity to gift many families with an unforgettable Christmas.

Each classroom will receive their own basket and on Friday the 23rd of November, students are invited to come to school in Christmas-themed free dress, with their tin of food to fill their classroom’s basket. The following week at the Book Awards Assembly on Friday the 30th of November, all the baskets will be displayed and collected by a Salvation Army team member, who will thank the school personally on behalf of all the families who will be receiving a basket this Christmas.

Please see below for food ideas. I am so excited to see all the baskets filled!

Here are some suggested items that students can bring to school on Friday, 24th November: