1. education
2. school

MEPS NEWSLETTER
MOOROOLBARK EAST PRIMARY SCHOOL
Taylor Road, Mooroolbark 3138
Phone: 9726 9422 FAX: 9726 9833
Website: www.meps.vic.edu.au
Wednesday, 11th February, 2015
mooroolbark.east.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
MEPS CALENDAR
TERM 1
February
February 9th-Wednesday 11th: Grade 4 Camp
February 16th-Friday 20th: Grade 6 Camp
Monday
16th Prep 2015 Information Evening
Friday
20th Prep 2015 Picnic Tea, 5.30pm Lilydale Lake
Tuesday
24th Student Banking Account Opening, 9am
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
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,
Our Preps are now here all day commencing last Friday. It is amazing how tired they get. A couple last week looked as if they
were sleep walking by Friday afternoon! This week Preps are now here from 9am until 3.30pm each day except Wednesdays.
They have settled in very well and are loving school life. The teachers are enjoying it too.
This week Mandarin classes commence for our Prep students. This will happen on Thursday. This is another new step for our
school and I am confident will be a great addition to our programs. We will soon all be fluent in Chinese!
China:
Over the next school holidays 20 staff will be visiting China with the focus being on continuing the strong relationship with our
sister school – Chengbei Primary School in Kunshan. Again, I wish to commend the staff who are giving up their holidays and
paying their own way to China. We are being joined by four staff from Lilydale Heights Secondary College, including the Principal,
who also have a sister school in Kunshan. It is likely that we will have students from Chengbei visiting us this year. You may be
interested in hosting a couple of children from our sister school. I will let you know further details when I receive more concrete
information.
Welcome:
You may have noticed a new face in the office. Elisha Bergin has joined our office staff. Elisha will be here on Wednesdays and
Fridays. She will join Pattie as the first point of contact in the office. Elisha is a great lady and is settling in well. Please say hello
and welcome her.
Learning to Learn:
This program has now finished for the year. We had the Teddy Bear Picnic last Friday. It was cute but a little hot! It was lovely to
see the Preps having lunch with their buddies.
The tone for the year has now been set and work begins in earnest. Thanks to Kate Herzig, Libby Palmer, Cynthia McKenna and
Grattan Stephens for the work they did in designing the program for this year. It was a great success.
SRI:
Last week notices were sent home regarding SRI (Special Religious Instruction). These notices are due in by Thursday. At the
moment we do not have enough interest to conduct the program. If you haven’t filled in the form could you please do so as soon
as possible so that we can make a final decision on this program.
Email Addresses:
Last week you should have received a letter providing you with the email contact details for your child’s classroom teacher.
If you haven’t received that notice could you please check with your child or contact the office for another copy.
School Council Elections:
Just reminding you that there are upcoming School Council elections. Nominations will be called for within the next two
weeks. This pre-warning is to give you time to consider whether or not you are interested in being on School Council.
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. I will include more information regarding the role of School Council in next week’s newsletter. In the meantime, please consider nominating. You
may self nominate and do not need a seconder. 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 is a School Council meeting on Wednesday, February 18 th, at 7.00pm at school if you would like to come along and
observe. All are welcome!
Look out for future information and details.
Grade 4 Camp:
I was to be attending the camp but things change and Sandra Mariniello has attended in my place. I have heard from the
camp and all is going well. The weather is perfect for canoeing and raft making. This camp will return this afternoon. I will
give you a full report in next week’s newsletter.
Grade 6 Camp:
Our Grade 6 students head off to camp next week for the whole week. They will be going to Camp Coonawarra which is near
Bairnsdale. We wish them all the best for the week.
Prep Information Night:
Next Monday evening, February 16th, there will be a Prep Information Evening commencing at 7pm in your child’s classroom.
This session will look at how you can help your child now that they are at school. Areas such as reading, learning the M100W
words, helping in the classroom, etc. will be covered. It would be lovely to see each family represented.
On the 20th of February the Prep Picnic Tea will take place at Lilydale Lake form 5.30pm until 7pm. Please bring your own
picnic tea to this. Games and activities will be organised. Let’s hope the weather holds out.
Parent Teacher Interviews:
A reminder that we always have parent teacher interviews early in the year so that you can pass on any relevant information
to teachers and so they can meet you and clarify any questions. These interviews are for 10 minutes each and are not to
discuss academic progress but to share information and build a rapport between home and school. We love to see all
families represented.
This year the interviews will be held on March 11th. This is a little later than usual as we have Grade 4 camp next week and
Grade 6 camp the following week. Children will be dismissed from school at 12.45pm on that day. Don’t be stressed if you
are not able to collect them at this time. All children who remain at school will be supervised until the normal 3.30pm
dismissal. If your child is being collected at 12.45pm we require a form to be signed and returned to us indicating this. The
forms will be distributed on Friday.
Two weeks prior a notice will be sent home regarding the booking procedures for interview times. We have entered the 21 st
century and our bookings are now done on-line. This is a very simple process. Details of how to make these bookings will
also be distributed two weeks prior to interviews. Don’t worry if you don’t have a computer – options will be provided in the
notice. Please keep an eye out for this.
Enjoy your week!
Debbie Nelsson
PRINCIPAL
SICK BAY LINEN ROSTER
During the year we need assistance with the washing of linen from the sick bay. This task involves changing the
sheets and pillowcases on the beds, collecting any ice pack holders or other linen that needs washing, laundering all
the items and returning them to the sick bay the following week.
If you are able to help on a rostered basis, please complete the form below and return to the General Office as soon
as possible. Thank you!
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
SICK BAY LINEN ROSTER
I can assist with the laundering of sick bay linen on a rostered basis:
NAME: ………………………………………………………………………………………. PHONE NO: ……………………………………………...
CHILD’S NAME: ………………………………………………………………..
GRADE: …………………..
STUDENT BANKING
At MEPS we provide the opportunity for students to bank with the Commonwealth Bank on a regular weekly
basis. However, we do need the assistance of parents to help with the entering of details, etc. This will be
done this year on a Thursday morning.
No experience is needed as on-the-job training is provided (which includes a considerable amount of fun,
laughter and, of course, coffee/tea!).
If you are abled to spare an hour or so on a Thursday morning, even occasionally, could you please return the
slip below to the general office. Thank you.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
STUDENT BANKING
I am able to help with Student Banking on a rostered basis.
NAME: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
PHONE NO: ………………………………………………..
CHILD’S NAME: …………………………………………………………………………
GRADE: …………………………..
STUDENT BANKING WILL START ON 12th FEBRUARY
HELP!!
If you would like to help out with our Fund Raising efforts, but are unable to come to meetings - don’t worry, we can still
use you!! We are often in need of people who can perform tasks at home, e.g. collating raffle books, bagging lollies, etc.
If you would like to assist in this way, please complete the form below and return to the school office. Thank you!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
FUND RAISING HELP
Yes, I can help out with tasks at home:
NAME: ………………………………………………………………………………………
PHONE: ……………………………………………………………..
CHILD’S NAME: …………………………………………………………………………
GRADE: …………...
LIBRARY ASSISTANCE
We would love to have some helpers in the Library to sort books on shelves, cover new books and generally help out. If you are interested in helping out, please complete the details below and return to the office.
Thank you!
Laura Beaton,
Global Ed/Library
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
LIBRARY ASSISTANCE
NAME: ………………………………………………………………………………………
PHONE: ……………………………………………………………..
CHILD’S NAME: …………………………………………………………………………
GRADE: …………...
A BIG thank you to everyone who made donations to the Art Room
in 2014. This year we are looking for the following items:
Dry seed pods, e.g. poppy, thistle, lotus,
honesty plant, native plants like banksia and wattle.
Anything you can find that would inspire drawing and painting.
Jan Liesfield
Art Teacher
FOUND:
ONE OF OUR PARENTS FOUND, IN
TAYLOR ROAD, A “WIGGLES” GUITAR
WITH A MEMORIAL COIN FROM THE
PERTH MINT.
IF YOU OR YOUR CHILD HAS LOST THIS,
PLEASE CALL AT THE OFFICE TO COLLECT
IT.
COMMUNITY NOTICES AND ADVERTISEMENTS
PLEASE NOTE: SUCH PUBLICATIONS DO NOT IMPLY SCHOOL ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
SINGING LESSONS
Affordable singing tuition for school students
Develop solid singing technique.
Focus on learning appropriate repertoire.
Explore numerous styles of music, vocal technique, stage craft
and discover your own true voice.
Increase your self-confidence and vocal range.
Strengthen your voice.
Improve your pitch and tone.
Ms Carli Leishman
Certificate III in Music Skills
Currently studying Bachelor of Music - Monash University
Valid ‘Working with Children's Check’
Mobile: 0467 555 195
Email: carli.leishman@outlook.com