Dear Families,

It has been a fantastic start to Term Two here at MWPS, and I’d like to acknowledge the efforts and focus we’ve seen from both students and staff. Our classrooms have settled quickly into great learning, and teachers are continuing to provide excellent ‘point of need’ teaching.

Cross Country ~ A special congratulations to our Senior School students who recently participated in the Cross-Country event. Their determination, resilience, and support for one another truly embodied our school values. Thank you to the staff who organised and supervised the day, and to the families who came along to cheer and assist – your involvement helped make the event such a success.

Swimming ~ Our swimming program is also well underway, and while it certainly brings its share of timetable challenges, our students are enjoying a high-quality experience. Thank you to Mr Chris Goldstraw and everyone who has helped make this possible.

Winter is Coming and So is the Flu Season ~ As we enter the colder months of the year, we need to keep in mind that whilst the restrictive days of COVID are now past, there are precautionary measures we can take to prevent the transmission of illness such as COVID/Flu/Coughs/Colds.

The Important actions to take:

• Children should stay home if unwell.
• Keep vaccinations up to date.
• Wash hands thoroughly after going to the toilet.
• Sneeze into your elbow. 
• Sanitize hands regularly.  
• Wear a mask, as appropriate.

Our combined efforts to implement these above-mentioned strategies will go a long way to ensure the overall health of all students, staff, and parents and carers.

Mother’s Day Breakfast and Stall ~ Thank you to the team of staff and parent volunteers who brought our Mother’s Day celebrations to life, especially Ms Natalie Wynd. The Mother's Day Breakfast was a beautiful occasion – a great turnout and a lovely atmosphere. And to those who helped with the Mother's Day Stall, your time made it possible for our students to pick out something special for Mum.

Curriculum Day Reminder ~ Don’t forget that Friday 6^th June is a curriculum day at MWPS and it is a pupil-free day.  Our teaching staff will use this as an assessment and reporting day to moderate their assessments in preparation for reporting.

It’s already shaping up to be another fantastic term – thank you all for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Campbell McKay

Principal
Mount Waverley Primary School

Why We Have Students Co-Create the Success Criteria for Their Lessons

At Mount Waverley Primary School, we believe that student engagement and ownership of learning are key to academic success. One way we foster this is by having students co-create the success criteria for their lessons. This practice helps students understand their learning goals, take responsibility for their progress, and develop essential critical thinking and self-reflection skills.

What is Success Criteria?

Success criteria are the specific, measurable steps that students use to determine whether they have successfully met the learning intention of a lesson. When students are involved in creating these criteria, they gain a clear understanding of what success looks like and what is expected of them.

Why Do We Co-Create Success Criteria?

1. Enhances Student Understanding – When students actively participate in defining success, they develop a deeper understanding of the learning objectives. Instead of simply following teacher instructions, they internalise what they need to do to achieve success.
2. Promotes Student Ownership and Engagement – When students have a say in their learning process, they feel more responsible and motivated to meet their goals. This engagement leads to greater effort, perseverance, and a sense of accomplishment.
3. Develops Critical Thinking Skills – By discussing and identifying what makes quality work, students learn to analyse and evaluate their own learning. This encourages higher-order thinking and self-assessment skills.
4. Supports Differentiation – Every student learns at their own pace. Co-creating success criteria allows for differentiation by making learning expectations clear and accessible to all students, regardless of their ability level.
5. Improves Feedback and Reflection – Success criteria provide a clear framework for self-assessment, peer feedback, and teacher feedback. Students can use these criteria to reflect on their work, celebrate successes, and identify areas for improvement.

How Does This Work in the Classroom?

• Teachers and students discuss the learning intention – What are we learning today, and why is it important?
• Students contribute ideas about what success looks like – What should a great piece of work include?
• A shared list of success criteria is created – This may be displayed on the board, in student notebooks, or on a classroom poster.
• Students use the success criteria throughout the lesson – They refer to it while working, providing a guide for self-checking and peer review.
• Reflection at the end of the lesson – Students evaluate their work against the success criteria, identifying strengths and areas for growth.

How Parents Can Support This at Home

You can reinforce this approach by:

• Encouraging your child to set personal learning goals.
• Asking them to explain what success looks like for a particular task.
• Celebrating their effort and progress based on their own learning criteria.
• Helping them reflect on what they did well and what they could improve.

By involving students in co-creating success criteria, we empower them to become confident, self-directed learners who take pride in their achievements. Thank you for your support in fostering this valuable learning experience at Mount Waverley Primary School.

Tania Hunter

Assistant Principal – Teaching and Learning

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to let you know about the changes to student reporting for mathematics in Victorian government schools.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) recently published its revised mathematics curriculum (Mathematics curriculum 2.0).

All Victorian government schools will start using the Mathematics curriculum 2.0 in 2024 or 2025. At Mount Waverley Primary School, we are using the revised mathematics curriculum for school reporting from Semester 1 2025.

On your child's previous report, the teacher reported against the 3 strands of the achievement standard for mathematics (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability). Under the Mathematics curriculum 2.0, your child’s teacher will report against the achievement standard as a whole, providing a single, aggregated score.

As the achievement standards reported on have changed, the first time you receive a report under the Mathematics 2.0 curriculum, it will only show achievement and not progress. For all reports after this, progress will be shown against the single achievement standard. 

The VCAA made these changes to help teachers plan their teaching and learning programs in mathematics, giving them more flexibility to support students to link ideas within mathematics and also with other curriculum areas.

For further information, refer to the department’s policy on Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

If you have any queries about your child’s report, please contact your classroom teacher.

Tania Hunter

Assistant Principal

Mount Waverley Primary School

2025 TERM DATES

Term 2 : 22nd April - 4th July

May
5th - 14th         Book Fair
19th - 23rd       Year 6 Camp
26th                Teeth-on-Wheels
29th                Teeth-on-Wheels

June
4th                 Teeth-on-Wheels
6th                 Curriculum Day (Pupil-free Day)
9th                 King's Birthday (Public Holiday)
10th - 13th      Year 5 Camp
30th               Parent-Teacher Conferences

July
4th                 Last day of Term. Early school dismissal at 2:30pm


Term 3 : 21st July - 19th September
Term 4 : 6th October - 19th December

Educating our Children on UV Protection

Some important facts about UV radiation:-

• Australia has some of the harshest and most dangerous levels of UV radiation in the world.
• The UV level is affected by several factors including the time of day, time of year, cloud cover, altitude, location and surrounding surfaces.
• UV radiation cannot be seen or felt and is not related to temperature so there can be harmful UV levels on warm sunny days as well as on cool cloudy days.
• UV level is always highest during the middle part of the day between 10am and 2pm or 11am and 3pm during daylight saving time.
• UV can reflect off different surfaces that are especially smooth, shiny or light-coloured, and natural surfaces like sand, water or snow.
• UV levels can be more intense in the snow which means that you can be exposed to almost a double dose of UV – rays directly from the sun and rays bouncing off snow-covered surfaces.
• UV levels can be monitored via technology such as the UV widget and the SunSmart Global UV app.

For more information, please visit Ultraviolet (UV) radiation - SunSmart

 2025 Lamont Book Fair
... re-opening next week from 12th - 14th May

Come visit us at the MWPS Book Lovers’ Paradise…

We have a wide range of books for everyone to select from.  Cash accepted. EFTPOS facilities are also available.

Alternatively, browse and buy from the comfort of your home!  Visit our online Book Fair at https://payments.lamontauthors.com.au to explore the latest titles and authors.  Orders will be delivered to the school for your convenience.
 
Have a quick gallery tour below to explore some fascinating and intriguing genres and activity books that are available to tickle the imagination of our young readers...

        

MWPS Year 6 Representatives at the 2025 Monash Council Junior Advisory Group

Monash Junior Advisory Group ~ Monash City Council

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Our Year 6 cohort will be heading off to camp soon !!  Yay!!

• Be at school by 7:50am.  Buses will depart at 8:15am.
• REMEMBER your child's MEDICATION.
• Pack snack & lunch in a disposable bag for Monday ONLY.
• Please label/name all your child's belongings.
• Items not permitted - money, additional snacks/lollies, electronics.
• Students are expected to arrive back at school on Friday at 3:00pm.  Should there be a delay, parents will be notified via Compass.
• Ensure that you inform the class teacher upon collecting your child.

Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 recipients.  Well done and keep up the great work!