Please see below the upcoming important dates and school events.

Dear Parents & Carers,

Thank you to those parents who attended the Annual General meeting held recently. I am delighted to announce that the Governing Council Parent Representatives for 2024 are:

·        Lauren Khabbaz       - Chair

·        Cristina Harvey         - Deputy Chair

·        Alyssa Stockwell       - Treasurer

·        Hayley McDonald     - Secretary

·        Leah Watkins

·        Elijah Eilert

·        Candice Fowler

·        Guy Blackabey

·        Brendan Sawtell

·        Jacqui Thomas

·        George Bryant

·        Rachel Strickland

The Governing Council of Mitcham Primary School plays a crucial role in our community by providing guidance, support and governance across a range of important school decisions and functions. Through collaboration and forward-thinking, they work to create an environment where every student can thrive academically and personally.

Governing Council members work collaboratively with the Principal on shared responsibilities to:

· involve the local community

· develop and approve local policies

· set the broad direction and vision of the site

· monitor and review the site improvement plan

· be the employing authority of some services, including canteen.

The Principal works with Governing Council members to:

· give educational leadership

· carry out the site's policies

· carry out the site improvement plan.

Meetings:

The Governing Council meets twice each term on a Monday at 7 pm.

Meeting dates of the Governing Council for 2024 are as follows.

Sub Committees:

Sub-committees assist the governing council in carrying out its functions more efficiently and effectively by handling matters that require considerable discussion, development or planning. They may be established to advise on such responsibilities as finance, buildings and grounds, education policy or community relations. Please note, sub committees may meet at different times to the Governing Council.

Governing Council committees are seen as a valuable way of:

·        assisting the council meet its array of responsibilities by expanding the number and range of people involved in governance and leaving the main body to focus on its broader governing role.

·        broadening opportunities for more parents and caregivers, staff and other community members with particular expertise to be involved.

·        providing other entry levels for the participation of interested parents and caregivers, community members and potential future council members.

·        increasing the involvement of staff and strengthening the link between site staff and the governance of the site.

The sub-committees formed through our constitution include:

·        Finance (chaired by the treasurer)

·        Grounds

·        OSHC Advisory

·        Community Support & Engagement

·        Canteen

·        Fundraising

·        After School Sports

If you are interested in joining one of the Governing Council sub-committees, or wish to know more about the Governing Council, you may contact our Governing Council Chair, Lauren Khabbaz, or other Governing Council members by emailing dl.0270.govcouncil@schools.sa.edu.au

Warm regards, Scott

Congratulations to the 2024 MPS School Captains; Shannon, Inez, Abby and Elijah. Last week, they did a wonderful job of hosting our first whole-school assembly for the year and welcomed all the Year 6 leaders and SRC reps into their new roles. We look forward to seeing them demonstrate their leadership skills and model the school values throughout the year.

Each year, schools are able to schedule four student-free days enabling staff to undertake professional learning, planning, assessment tasks and curriculum meetings, along with one school closure day. At the recent Governing Council meeting, the following dates were endorsed for 2024:

Pupil Free Days:

Tuesday 2^nd April

Monday 29^th April

Monday 22^nd July

Monday 14^th October

School Closure:

Friday 6^th September

Mitcham Primary School will be celebrating Harmony Day on Monday the 25th of March 2024. 

Parent-Teacher interviews will be held in Week 9 & 10 – beginning Monday 25^th March. Once again, we are using the School Interviews online booking system.

Parent-Teacher interviews provide families with an opportunity to meet with class teachers to discuss important aspects of your child/ren’s learning. Teachers will discuss learning goals, class routines and skills students have demonstrated in the classroom.

Notes will be sent home early next week with further information and the online booking code.

We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child/ren’s progress so far this year. 

The Lap-a-thon with a Splash of colour is back again! On Friday 5^th April we will be holding our annual lap-a-thon fitness FUNdraising event with a splash of colour. All students will have 30 minutes to complete as many laps of the oval and obstacle course as they can.

We are delighted to welcome parents to attend our first fundraising event for the year. Family support is key to our fundraising success and we encourage everyone to get involved. Class teachers will be asking for parent volunteers on the day to record laps and help with obstacles. Volunteers will need to sign in at the School Office before making their way to the oval.

Last year we were raising funds to purchase playground equipment and outdoor seating near the school oval and raised almost $50,000 over the year. As playground equipment and landscaping are costly, we plan to add to this in 2024 to create a wonderful new outdoor area for students to enjoy.

Students will need to come along to the event dressed in a white t-shirt, old shorts and sneakers for running in. If students would prefer not to be covered with water or colour, for any reason, they can bypass the water and colour stations and will not be squirted. We recommend children who do not wish to be squirted with colour wear a bright multi-coloured t-shirt (instead of a white one) as a way to still be colourful and bright on the day.

To add some extra fun on the day there will be water obstacles as well as some other exciting challenges around the oval. As with last year’s event, the colour powder used in the lap-a-thon is made of high-quality corn starch and permitted food colours. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, skin-safe and environmentally friendly. Students may wish to bring in a pair of sunglasses or goggles from home to cover their eyes from the sun and the water. If you have specific concerns about your child’s health needs, please talk to your child’s class teacher.

This year prizes will be given to the top 10 individual fundraisers, with a special celebration lunch for the class that raises the greatest total amount. Fruit ice-blocks will be provided to all students at the end of their laps. Student prizes and the class celebration lunch will be given out at the beginning of Term 2.

Please note, all donations need to be finalised on or before May 3rd. Sponsorship forms will be sent home soon for students to start collecting their sponsors.

Thank you in advance for your participation, and we look forward to seeing you at this FUN and COLOURFUL event!

Below is a timetable of when classes are participating:

Happy fundraising!

We are delighted to invite all grandparents and special friends of children in Years R-4 to our Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Tuesday 9th April 2024.

This year morning tea will be available from 9.00am-12.15pm in the Innovation Centre for all our special visitors. See the flyer below for details about class session times. If you are able to offer assistance with serving morning tea and/or providing a plate of store bought treats we would appreciate your support. Please let Sue Blight know if you are able to help on the day by email to Sue.Blight189@schools.sa.edu.au  

We are enjoying playing cricket for the very first time, it is so much fun.

The team has already had their first win. A big thank you to our coach and team manager for making it such an enjoyable experience.

Smith-Dorrien, Haig & Hill Street, Mitcham & Netherby – Civil Construction.

Mitcham Council has made the school aware that road works will be recommencing soon on some of the streets bordering our school.

• Haig Street (Smith-Dorrien St to Fullarton Rd) major civil works are concluding within only minor installation of leaky well and general clean up to be completed within March 2024.
• Major civil construction works will now commence in Smith-Dorrien Street (Kitchener St to Southern end) in March 2024 which is due to conclude in May 2024.

Beltrame Civil will be undertaking the majority of the civil construction works in Smith-Dorrien Street with effective traffic management control provided for safe pedestrian movements with restricted through vehicle movements.

However, on commencement of the road pavement civil works scheduled for 13 – 20 May 2024, Stabilised Pavements of Australia in conjunction with Topcoat Asphalting will be totally closing the road to all pedestrian and vehicle movements during this time.

Whilst Mitcham Council understands that this will be an inconvenience for our community during this period, their decision has been made to ensure public safety at all times when significant heavy construction vehicles will be operating on-site.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns about this work please contact Mitcham Council on 1300 133 466.