INFORMATION NIGHT 2019 PREP - Learn Grow Succeed - Mernda Central College

2019 PREP
INFORMATION NIGHT
   Learn Grow Succeed

Introductions
■   College Principal                   Mandy O’Mara
■   Junior School Principal             Tracy Peters
■   Instructional Leader                Jess McCourt
■   Well- Being and Engagement Leader   Liam Ward
■ Admin Staff                           Ashley Stephens
                                        Tiffany Stute
                                        Steve Burns

■ Enrolment officer                     Donna Lockett
■ First Aid                             Michelle Jones

■ Teaching Staff                        Ashleigh Haining
                                        Billie Harding
                                        Julie Bosevski
                                        Aaron Crispe
                                        Stephanie Favrin

About Mernda Central College

■ The college has been constructed under a Public-
  Private Partnership (PPP) agreement as part of the
  State Government's Public-Private Partnerships
  project. The Education Department leases the
  schools from Learning Communities Victoria, who
  will maintain the schools for 25 years. This includes
  buildings, furniture and equipment.

Facilities
— Mernda Central College is an excellent state of the art
  learning facility that brings together the best in contemporary
  educational design and promotes active student-centred
  learning through the creation of flexible, functional spaces.
  The school features shared adaptable learning areas, a
  library, performing arts centre, STEM centre, Food tech
  kitchens and Victorian Netball Championship standard double
  stadium.

College Vision

■ Mernda Central College empowers all members of the college
  community to aim high, show respect, behave safely and value our
  community.

College Mission

It is the mission of Mernda Central College to:
■    provide opportunities for all members of Mernda Central College to work
    collaboratively to access a seamless, personalised and innovative education.
■   build a safe and supportive learning environment wherein all members of Mernda
    Central College are motivated and challenged to pursue interests and pathways to
    achieve their full potential.
■ operate as a hub for the local community to promote the development of connected,
  curious and tolerant global citizens.

Our aim is to:
§ provide high quality Personalised Curriculum programs to
  develop the ‘whole’ child, promote self confidence and provide a
  conduit for student connectedness to school.
§ provide the best possible social, emotional and educational
  outcomes for each and every student.
§ increase the literacy and numeracy levels of each and every
  child.
§ form a strong connection with all students.
§ build strong partnership with the school community.
§ form partnerships with the wider community.
§ develop a high level of student welfare support.
§ encourage positive behaviours from all members of the school
  community

Learning Communities

■ Students will work in learning communities in an adaptable learning
  space.

■ Students will work with a number of staff in the learning space. This
  will allow staff to better cater for the individual needs of each child. It
  also allows children and parents to develop relationships with a
  variety of staff. The teachers within the team will work with the
  students to develop their Literacy, Numeracy, ICT and Inquiry Skills.
  We aim to give all students the best possible start to their school life
  by providing them with the opportunities to work collaboratively.

Personalised learning for all students

“Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can
read, write and count. Childhood is a small window of
time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for
each individual child.”

■ Unknown

At Mernda Central all curriculum will be personalised for the
individual learner.
Not all students come in knowing the same information and learn in
the same way.
Our staff will provide an engaging curriculum based on what your
child already knows and will build on this foundation to ensure
learning occurs everyday.
Staff will set personalised goals for Reading, Writing, Maths and
social skills. Parents will have access to these via our COMPASS
portal so they can support the learning at home.
The children will be involved in a variety of grouping strategies, this
includes needs base clinic groups, mixed ability groups and interest
groups. This allows the teachers to develop the whole child

Curriculum
At Mernda Central your child will be working through the Vic Curriculum. You can access this through the
department of educations webpage.

Your child will be involved in Reading, Writing and Maths activities everyday.

READING
Each Community will:
• have their own classroom library where students will select books to read during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading is designed to build reading stamina.
• have take home books for students to take home every night to read. Please ensure you read at home
with your child each night. The books they will bring home will be easy for them to read. This assists in
the development of their confidence when reading.
Students will:
• bring home a list of words which they will need to learn to read.
• visit the school library each week and will borrow a book to share with you at home. This book may
sometimes be challenging for them, but is a fantastic opportunity to sit and enjoy a book together.
• Students will have access to Reading Eggs/Eggspress at both home and school.

WRITING
Each Community will:
— participate in writing sessions where they will have the opportunity to write about
   what have learnt or created during Discovery Time. This allows for children to use their
   own vocabulary to create a piece of writing relevant to them.
— Children will also develop their understandings of spelling through THRASS. This will
   give them a strong foundation in phonics and phonetic awareness.
— Students will have access to Spellodrome at both home and school.
NUMERACY
■ Numeracy sessions will take place everyday. Students will be involved in tasks which
   will allow them to challenge themselves and work at a level that is appropriate to
   them.
■ Each Community will have their own classroom resources where students will select
   the resources they need to complete the maths task assigned.
■ Students will have access to Mathletics at both home and school.

Students with Special Needs

■ It is important that we are aware of any special needs you child may
  have. This information can help us put the correct support systems in
  place and ensure we your child has the best start to school possible.

Well Being Team

At Mernda Central College we employ a number of well-being staff

• Student Well Being Co-ordinator- Elisha Humphrey
• Student Welfare officer- Tyla Justice
• Speech Therapist- Roshni Kaur

School Wide Positive Behaviours
Is an evidence based practice for building a positive social culture that
will promote both social and academic success.
How do we do this ?
— Common purpose and approach to discipline
— Clear set of positive expectations
— Procedures for teaching expected behaviour
— Continuum of procedures for encouraging expected behaviour
— Continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate behaviour
— Procedures for ongoing monitoring and evaluation

School Expectations

Specialist classes

■ All children will participate in Performing Arts, Visual Arts, PE and
  Science in Prep
■ As they move through the school they will be able to participate
  in Food Tech and Design classes.
■ LOTE- Japanese

PMP
Throughout the Foundation year; students participate in a Perceptual Motor Program (PMP). This program runs in
addition to our normal physical education program and involves students being broken up into small groups. These
groups are supervised and students rotate around to each station where they complete sequenced activities.
These activities involve;
– seeing
– hearing
– touching
– processing
– making perceptual judgement and reacting
Through PMP students develop many skills such as;
– balance
– spatial awareness
– body image
– control, eye/hand co-ordination
– directionality
– language and problem solving
Through a range of actions and movements PMP allows our students to develop their perceptions and understanding
of themselves and the world through movement and motor experiences.

HOMEWORK
Homework for students in Prep will consist of:
– Home reading. This book will be is easy to read so they can practice the skills they have
   learnt in class. Students will also have access to levelled books online through a APP
   called WUSHKA
– Sight words. Students will be given words that they need to practice. Teachers will check
   these weekly and provide new words once they can read all words successfully
– Once writing students will have 5 personalised spelling words. Spellodrome and using a
   process of LSNCWC
– Online programs Mathletics and Reading Eggs
– Practicing their learning goals which can be found on COMPASS

Homework will not given out on day one as we need to complete assessments first to ensure
that homework is personalised to the needs of each student.

Swimming

■ All students in the Junior School will participate in a swimming
  program run by King Swim one of our community partners
■ The swimming program will be held over 2 weeks. The program is
  an intensive program followed up with a safety swimming lesson
  at the end of the year prior to students heading off on the
  summer break

iPads
■ All children will be expected to bring a fully charged iPad to school everyday
■ iPads are engaging, portable and easy to use.
■ Our technician can push out any new free apps requested by the staff without
  impacting of parents time at home
■ iPads allow for learning to take place anywhere and at any time, but not all
  the time. Children will still be taught how to write, use books and maths
  equipment to solve numeracy problems.
■ It will be used as a tool, just like all the other equipment in the community.
■ An app list will be provided to parents at our transition sessions and all apps
  will need to be loaded onto the iPad before school begins.
■ We will also provide you with specs for the iPad closer to the end of the year.

COMPASS
It is important for families to regularly log on to COMPASS as it is will be the central point to
access all school information.
COMPASS will allow you to access:
§   School Policies
§   Newsletters
§   Notes
§   Student goals and reports
§   Absence data. You will also be able to report an absence through the portal
§   Give permission to camps, excursions and incursions as well as being able to pay online
§   School calendar of events
COMPASS also has a APP which will send push notifications as well.

Uniforms
Uniform is compulsory and must be worn at all times. A copy of our uniform
  policy and appearance policy are available on our website
•    Please ensure all items of the uniform are clearly labeled with your
    child’s name. This allows us to return it to your child as quick as possible.
• The school hat must be worn during all outdoor activities, including
  recess and lunch times.
•    All items that are not part of the school uniform will be asked to be
    removed.
•    Jewelry is not to be worn to school. Studs or sleepers are acceptable for
    those who have pierced ears. This is for safety purposes.

Parental Involvement
■ At Mernda Central, we strongly encourage parental participation.
■ This can be done through helping out in Classroom, Fundraising
  Committee, Special Event days, and excursions.
■ We will offer training to parents who would like to help out in the
  class.
■ All parent helpers must have a “Working With Children’s Check
  before being able to work within the school”

Transition Days
— These days are designed for children to meet other 2018 Prep Children & staff and become
  familiar with the school.
— They will participate in a range of literacy, numeracy and developmental play-based activities
  throughout the sessions.
— Whilst students are participating in activities, parents will have the opportunity to participate in
  further information sessions ie using COMPASS, preparing your child for school.
The sessions will be:
— 7th November
— 13th November
— 22nd November

Times for these sessions are yet to be determined.

It is important to enroll your child before the end of term 3 as this determines how many
communities we will have in 2019.

Out of School Hours Care

■ Our partnership with the YMCA allows us to provide OSHC for all
  families onsite
■ Families will be required to book care directly with the YMCA

MCC Camping program
Our partnership with the YMCA allows us to provide our students with Camping
Program that build upon students personal skills
■ Prep-2- Great Aussie Camp Out. Families camp out on the oval together.
■ 3/4 – Students will alternate between Lake Dewar and Phillip Island.
  Activities include body boarding (2 night, 3 Days)
■ 5/6 – Students will alternate between Lake Dewar and Phillip Island.
  Activities include surfing (2 night, 3 Days)
■ Year 7 Howman’s Gap (4 nights, 5 days).
■ Year 8 Howman’s Gap (4 nights, 5 days) Snow Camp
■ Year 9 Howman’s Gap (Two weeks)

School Charges

■ School charges are set by school council
■ This will be completed later in Term 3
■ 2018 charges were $260 which included all stationary and online subscriptions.
  Swimming is approximately $100 this includes a intensive swimming program in
  term 3 with a follow swimming safety classroom and pool lesson in term 4.

Enrolment Process
■ If Mernda Central College is your closest government school you will need to contact
  the office. They will then email you the enrolment pack to complete. At this time an
  enrolment interview will be organised
■ At the interview, please bring along all completed forms and evidence of your
  address, birth certificate, immunisation history statement from medicare along with
  any other relevant information we may need. Eg speech reports, pediatrician reports,
  court orders, passports/visa.
■ Enrolments will not be processed without the relevant documentation.

2019 ENROLME
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Questions