Senior School Term 1 Week 5 2019

  What's happening in the Senior School? 

Term 1 Week 5 2019

We've hit the half way mark and all the learning and fun continues at a high pace! We're sure your children were nice and exhausted after their Water Safety Week (we definitely were) as they did a fantastic job in the pool with all students receiving participation awards and majority achieving their certificate in water safety skills. 
Last week our leadership team were officially honoured at assembly after receiving their badges from our local MP, Tim Richardson. Mr. Agars also acknowledged our other grade 6 students who hold different roles and responsibilities here at Mentone Park. We are incredibly proud of the hard work and commitment they have shown so far and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve together as a team!
It was wonderful catching up with parents at the get to know you interviews this past Wednesday. It gave us greater insight into additional interests the students have and how we can incorporate them into our teaching and learning.
In other news our District Swimming Team has been announced and the team of 24 will represent MPPS at Noble Park Aquatic Center next Wednesday, the 6th of March. We wish them the best of luck!

Leadership 2019

ICT

Gates

Marine Ambassadors/Green Gang

Assembly

Sports Equipment

In Reading we are learning to...identify similarities and differences in a text that we can connect with personally

In Writing we are learning to...use VCOP strategies to edit and improve our narratives

In Maths we are learning to...explain & discuss mental strategies to solve addition and subtraction sums

In Spelling we are learning words...Gr 5 –’ou’ as in young Gr 6-’ev’  as in sleeve

In Inquiry we are learning to...identify the range of emotions one can experience and why it is important to be resilient

Friday 1st March - I/S Sport at MPPS (5/6A to provide apples and oranges)

Wednesday 6th March - District Swimming

Friday 8th March - I/S Sport at MPPS (5/6B to provide apples and oranges)

Monday 11th March - Labour Day (No School)

Friday 15th March - I/S Sport Rotations Away

Friday 15th March - National Day Against Bullying

Monday 18th March - SEA Health & Human Development - Living & Growing Session 1

Wednesday 20th March - Student Leadership Day at Westall

Thursday 21st March - Harmony Day

Friday 22nd March - I/S Sport at MPPS (5/6C to provide apples and oranges)

Thursday 28th March - SEA Health & Human Development - Living & Growing Session 2

Friday 29th March - I/S Sport Gala Day Away

Thursday 4th April - SEA Health & Human Development - Living & Growing Session 3

Friday 5th April - Last Day of Term 1

SEA Living & Growing Sessions

Soon our Senior students will be participating in 3 x 90 minute sessions over three consecutive weeks to support them in making healthy decisions as they grow older. The dates are listed above in 'Important Dates'.

Topics covered will include:

• conception, pregnancy and birth
• names and functions of reproductive parts
• physical, social and emotional changes of puberty
• managing friendships
• respect for self and others
• responsible use of technology and social media
• key messages on ‘body safety’

These topics are all in line with the Victorian Curriculum and further information regarding the provider can be found at: https://sexeducationaustralia.com.au/primary/

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background. Nothing brings people together quite like food! Join us this Harmony Day (Thursday 21^st March) by bringing a plate of food from your cultural background or a country you have recently visited to share with your class. Please be mindful of allergies and include a list of ingredients with the plate.

Students may add a touch of orange to their uniform to show their support! The colour orange signifies communication, meaningful conversations, freedom of ideas and the encouragement of mutual respect.

Notice Board & Communication

Along with the newsletter, Flexibuzz and student diaries, the display board in the center of the Senior School Atrium will also be a point of regularly updated communication. Here you'll find:

- important dates throughout the term

- a weekly outline of our timetable

- learning focus (WALT)

- reminders

- spare copies of notices/handouts etc.

- spotlight on a particular student, grade or event

If you haven't done so already, please update your class box on FlexiBuzz to ensure you are receiving the latest communications.

Code of Cooperation

Together as a level the Senior students established a Code of Cooperation. It will be regularly reviewed to ensure students are upholding the expectations they have set for themselves. 

Uniform

In addition to the above Code of Cooperation, Senior all students are role models and leaders for the lower year levels. As we regularly represent Mentone Park across the school and out in the community, students are expected to have proper and neat uniform. The Senior Sports tops are only to be worn on Friday's. We appreciate all assistance in ensuring we are setting the best example.

Homework

Homework will be a variety of tasks including: maths, reading, SMART spelling, current affairs and wellbeing. All tasks need to be completed as we are encouraging good habits leading into Secondary School. It will be handed out on a Monday and is due the following Friday. The expectation is that students manage their time during the week so that they have their weekends free to relax and spend with family. 

Absences

If your child is absent from school, you must notify the school via flexibuzz of this in the morning. If not, you will now be sent this message from your child's teacher via flexibuzz:

Dear Parents/Guardians.

Your child has been marked as absent from school today. Can you please contact the office to notify us of the reason for this absence.

Kind Regards,

Mentone Park Primary School/Your Child's Teacher

Sports commentary:

Last week we had Water Safety Week. Overall it was fun and I learnt lots of new things. The teachers were kind and helped me when I had trouble. We learnt CPR and how to respond in emergencies, tread water for 5 straight minutes, how to swim together as a team and build rafts. It was fun getting a person to sit on them to test its safety across the water.

-Ava 5/6B

 The first week of cricket was a round robin, which is when a few schools come together to play sport and rotate around. It was fun because some of us didn't understand all the rules of cricket, so the round robin helped us to learn the rules better. We didn't keep scores and we gave each other tips on how to improve. I feel much more confident after that! 

The second week of cricket we played our first proper match against St. John Vianney. I really enjoyed it because everyone got a turn and we all worked together. Every week we are getting better and I'm very excited for next week.

- Jas 5/6A

 The first week of rounders was a round robin against multiple schools, but this week it was a friendly match against one school. SJV and MPPS took turns fielding and batting and because the other school didn't have enough players, 3 people from our team played for them. Everyone did really well!

- Morgan 5/6C

 On the first week of tennis we went to another school for a round robin and the school was HUGE! It was chaos! This week we played a friendly against St John Vianney at home. It was a great morning but might I just say that it was so hot today, it was like an oven! Because of the heat, everyone had faces as red as peppers!

- Carla 5/6A

For the past couple of weeks the volley stars have been doing a great job playing other teams from different schools. We have been working on our skills every Friday, either at another school, or they came to us. We look forward to playing more schools in the future.

-Bodhi 5/6B

Senior School Term 1 Week 3 2019

  What's happening in the Senior School? 

Term 1 Week 3 & 4 2019

Hello and welcome to our first edition of the Senior School Newsletter! We have literally dived straight into a busy, yet exciting first term and have been loving every minute! From day one our Senior students have shown a great level of integrity and leadership, especially at our House Swimming Carnival. The support they gave to one another, the teachers and parents, whether or not they competed in the water, was outstanding! In addition to competitively swimming, we are learning the art of mindfulness through yoga and safety around water during our week long swimming program. Our Grade 6's have excitedly met and been assigned a Prep Buddy for the year, someone they can provide support to and guidance out in the yard. Meanwhile our Grade 5's are learning their new sport in preparation for our first Interschool Sport meet.
On top of all this we are exploring the structure of narratives, using descriptive clues in texts to visualise and identifying the importance of place value up to the billions. We are also regularly discussing the importance of digital safety and how those lessons can be applied both on and offline.

In Reading we are learning to...use descriptive clues in texts to create sensory visual images.

In Writing we are learning to...plan and draft narratives with established characters and settings.

In Maths we are learning to...identify the place value of numbers up to billions and use them to add and subtract.

In Spelling we are learning words...Gr 5 –c as in cat Gr 5 – ea as in beach   Gr 6 – re- prefix Gr 6- ch as in school.

In Play Is The Way we are learning to...pursue our personal best, no matter who we work with.

In Inquiry we are learning to...become aware of the digital footprint we leave and ways in which we can be safe both online and out in the community.

Monday 11th February - Weekly Yoga sessions begin

Friday 15th February - House Swimming Carnival

Monday 18th to Friday 22nd February - Water Safety Lessons

Friday 22nd February - Leadership badge presentation

Monday 25th February - Marine Ambassador Workshop 1

Wednesday 27th February - Get to know you interviews

Friday 1st March - I/S Sport at MPPS (5/6A to provide apples and oranges)

Wednesday 6th March - District Swimming

Friday 8th March - I/S Sport at MPPS (5/6B to provide apples and oranges)

Monday 10th March - Labour Day (No School)

Notice Board & Communication

Along with the newsletter, Flexibuzz and student diaries, the display board in the center of the Senior School Atrium will also be a point of regularly updated communication. Here you'll find:

- important dates throughout the term

- a weekly outline of our timetable

- learning focus (WALT)

- reminders

- spare copies of notices/handouts etc.

- spotlight on a particular student, grade or event

If you haven't done so already, please update your class box on FlexiBuzz to ensure you are receiving the latest communications.

Code of Cooperation

Together as a level the Senior students established a Code of Cooperation. It will be regularly reviewed to ensure students are upholding the expectations they have set for themselves. 

Uniform

In addition to the above Code of Cooperation, Senior all students are role models and leaders for the lower year levels. As we regularly represent Mentone Park across the school and out in the community, students are expected to have proper and neat uniform. We appreciate all assistance in ensuring we are setting the best example.

Homework

Homework will be a variety of tasks including: maths, reading, SMART spelling, current affairs and wellbeing. It will be handed out on a Monday and is due the following Friday. The expectation is that students manage their time during the week so that they have their weekends free to relax and spend with family. 

Swimming

During week 4 students will participate in Water Safety Lessons (18-22/2). Students are reminded to bring their bathers, towel, recess, lunch and a water bottle each day. 

Our lessons are:

-5/6A 12-12:45pm

-5/6B 12:45-1:30pm

-5/6C 1:30-2:15pm

The final session on Friday requires students to wear clothing in the water over their bathers. Please ensure that a spare pair of clothes is packed for this activity. we recommend old clothing. 

Get to know you interviews

Meet the teacher is now available on Wednesday the 27th of February. You can book an interview online at www.schoolinterviews.com.au using the code: ppywv

These interviews are an excellent opportunity for you to tell us about your child and anything additional that may aide us in supporting their learning.

Absences

If your child is absent from school, you must notify the school via flexibuzz of this in the morning. If not, you will now be sent this message from your child's teacher via flexibuzz:

Dear Parents/Guardians.

Your child has been marked as absent from school today. Can you please contact the office to notify us of the reason for this absence.

Kind Regards,

Mentone Park Primary School/Your Child's Teacher

Some amazing first impressions from our Grade 5 student's:

 

During week 2, the 5/6's were learning about internet safety. Internet safety Day was on Tuesday the 5th of February. The day before, we split up into groups of about 10 people and handed around a ball of string to form a web. When you had the string you had to say something you do on the internet (eg. play games) and something that keeps you safe (eg. don't share private information). We also made digital footprints about the online marks we leave and wrote out pledges in small groups.

- Kirby 5/6C

 

I think the Senior School is fantastic because it is an open space to work and learn in. We do a lot of fun group activities, independent activities and often the whole Senior School joins and works together. We are currently focusing on visualising, place value and the structure of narratives. I especially enjoy reading and writing! Every Friday we have interschool sport or practise. The summer sports are volleystars, cricket, rounders and tennis. The winter sports are netball, volleyball, AFL and soccer.

I really enjoy working in the Senior School and have made many new friends!

-Izzy 5/6C

It's really exciting but nerve racking moving from the Middle School to the Senior School. So far my 3 favourite subjects are writing, reading and weirdly maths. We have been writing narratives using the 7 amazing sizzling steps. We have also interviewed a partner which was really fun because I got to ask the questions like what is a really interesting fact about you and what challenges have you overcome?

- Molly 5/6A

When I walked through the doors of the Senior School I was scared and definitely nervous, but it didn't stop me from being excited for a new year ahead! I knew I had great teachers and that I will learn plenty things and I was right!

-Elly 5/6A

When I was in grade 4 I was so excited to go into grade 5 and now that I have settled in I think it's so fun! I have been in the Senior School for a while now and have made plenty of friends in my class. I'm also making alot of new friends too and there have been 2 new people join us.

So far in the Senior School we have been looking at the digital footprints we leave and how to be safe online as part of our wellbeing. The Senior School is a fun and challenging experience for everyone here at MPPS!

-Sienna M 5/6A

The Senior School is very open and there's lots of space. We have sliding doors in each classroom that we can open to work together or close so we don't disturb each other. There are lots of expectations and you have to be respectful, especially in 5/6 so you set a good example for the younger grades.

-Sienna J 5/6A

Senior Report - Term 4 Weeks 8 - 10

 Senior Report - Term 4, Weeks 8-10

As the end of the year draws near, we find ourselves busier than ever leading and preparing the school for many exciting events. Our Grade 6 students are splitting their time between being leaders of MPPS and celebrating their time here, whilst also attending orientations for their Secondary schooling. Our Grade 5 students are busily preparing themselves for leadership opportunities next year and helping setup for the Carols Night and classroom changes next year. 
In amongst all of this, we are still managing to complete the following:
- Compile our own newspapers
- Budget for weekly groceries 
- Review books through various reading strategies
- Explore the geography of a foreign country and compare it to Australia

Team Building Incursion

On Monday the 26th of November the senior school had an incursion about team building. Mel and Sebina showed us some activities to help us build up our teamwork! There were times that we had arguments but we had time after every activity to talk about our strengths and weaknesses and what worked for us and what didn’t work for us. Some of the activities were very challenging but we had to encourage each other to do our best. Some of the activities were in small or large groups. The best thing is that we all came out of there more confident and more friendly towards each other.  

By Olivia H  

Bike Ed Assessment

On Friday the 30th of November the grade 5 and 6 students had a Bike Ed assessment day to assess our skills learnt on the road. We first went out of the school and down a side street, around a roundabout and turned left onto Southern Road. We then turned down Acacia Avenue and back into the school for two laps. We also did mapping activities and finished off filming our road safety ads. At the end of the day we all got a certificate and some people won prizes for their efforts. It was so fun!

By Morgan

                                                                          

House Sports Day

On Friday the 6th of December the whole school had House Sports Day. At the start of the day we gathered all of the students in our houses and went to our meeting places. When we had settled in our house groups we started practising our chants. After we got everyone excited with our chants we went out and got put into our age groups and started our sports. We didn’t get to do all of it because of the heat. After that there was a sausage sizzle and ice poles. At 2:00 we played some games in our houses and then we went to the hall to find out who one. KINGS WON!!!!! Everyone did a great job!

By Lucy   

Projects

In the senior school we were assigned with two major projects, making a newspaper/magazine and a project about a chosen country! The newspaper involved writing a book review, an opinion piece, an information report, a narrative, a crossword, meal recipes and their costs, a puzzle, a page about our geography project and a quiz about our country! There were also a few additional tasks to do if we had finished early! We were also asked to make a front cover! In my opinion this was a really fun and interesting project to do!

The second project was a project that involved us to use the internet along with books! We were given a page of activities that involved comparing and contrasting our chosen country with Australia and its education and lifestyle. We even had to plan a day of traditional activities for someone to do if they ever went! We also had to make detailed maps and then say what we noticed about the two! I’m pretty sure we all really enjoyed learning and making these amazing projects!

By Anni

Carols

On Tuesday the 11th of December the whole school came back at 5:00pm for the Christmas Carols. The year fives were setting up after lunch for the carols by putting up the tents and paper chains people had made to decorate the trees. We also set up the sound equipment.

When everyone came back  they each did a song and one of the STOMP dances from the production. There were lots of people!  

This years carols was special because it was MENTONE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOLS BIRTHDAY! MPPS turned 50 years old! We finished by singing happy birthday, having a snack and a visit from SANTA! He came and handed lollies out to the kids at school.

By Irene

Important Dates

Tuesday 11th December - Christmas Carols Evening

Thursday 13th December - Year 6 Big Day Out @ Luna Park

Tuesday 18th December - Year 6 Graduation Night

Thursday 20th December - Senior School Party and Kris Kringle

Friday 21st December - Last day of Term 4!

Absences

If your child is absent from school, you must notify the school via flexibuzz of this in the morning. If not, you will now be sent this message from your child's teacher via flexibuzz:

Dear Parents/Guardians.

Your child has been marked as absent from school today. Can you please contact the office to notify us of the reason for this absence.

Kind Regards,

Mentone Park Primary School/Your Child's Teacher

Reading

What has been your Reading highlight this year?

I have lots of highlights in reading, my biggest was focus groups. We read Tashi and shared our thoughts about what had happened. I also liked News for Kids, a program on Google where we watched clips and answered comprehension questions. We also got to take words from our text and make crosswords for our friends.

By Liam

Writing

What has been your Writing highlight this year?

Writing a procedure for my newspaper was my highlight. My procedure was about 'How to make a souvlaki'. I chose to write about this because it is a food of my culture, I could use the knowledge from my family shop and it is also my favourite food!

By Angelo

Maths

What has been your Maths highlight this year?

My highlight of maths was the financial math project. It was a bit stressful, but now I know how much my Mum spends on our family. We had to buy healthy dinners, breakfasts and lunches for a week for our whole family from either Woolworths or Coles. We had a a maximum of $250 to spend and a minimum of $200. It was so fun and I hope we do more things like this project next year!

By Jake M

Inquiry

What has been your Inquiry highlight this year?

Oh inquiry! What education you give and the things that we've done together is unforgettable! From looking at Parliament, to researching Peru. But out of all the loving moments, my favourite of all is my volcanic project. My mind was filled with eruptions, smoke, magma and tectonic plates.

By Carla

Team Building

Bike Ed

 Inquiry projects