TERM 1, WEEK 8, 2026 PRIMARY NEWS (2)

PRIMARY NEWS PRIMARY NEWS

TERM 1, WEEK 8 | 20TH MARCH 2026

A MESSAGE FROM MR JOHN LONGLEY

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we move into the final fortnight of the term, I would like to thank our families for the many ways you have partnered with the College. The small, consistent acts each day, be it through yummy breakfasts and lunch boxes, encouraging your child through challenges, listening to their stories, helping with reading and learning at home, and ensuring they arrive ready for the day; make a profound difference These moments are important in building your child’s confidence, resilience and sense of belonging at school. We are grateful for the trust you place in us and for the shared commitment to your child’s growth. Thank you, College families.

I would also like to acknowledge the dedication and care of our classroom teachers and learning assistants. Each day, they invest thoughtfully in meeting the diverse needs of our students; planning purposeful learning, providing support and extension, nurturing wellbeing, and creating classroom environments where students feel known, valued and encouraged. Their work reflects both professional excellence and a genuine heart for the students in their care. Thank you, Primary staff.

In these final weeks, I encourage our Primary community to pause and reflect with gratitude. There is something deeply meaningful in recognising the genuine affection we show one another through encouragement, partnership and shared purpose. As it says in Romans 12:10, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.” May we continue to build one another up as we finish the last two weeks of term well together.

God bless you and your family,

Mr John Longley Director of Primary

PARENT STUDENT TEACHER CONFERENCES (PSTC)

Parent Student Teacher Conferences will take place from 9:00am – 7:00pm

Please ensure you have made an appointment with your child’s teacher before the booking portal closes at 9:00am on Monday 23rd March 2026.

Students are expected to attend the interview with their parents. Please arrive five minutes prior to your appointment to maximise the time allocated for your meeting.

If you require care for your child/ren on this day, full-day care is available through Camp Australia at Mill Park Primary School. Kiki will be the Service Leader at Mill Park from 11:30am – 6:00pm.

Please see the attached flyers to book a PSTC appointment and/or register your child for fullday care through Camp Australia.

SIBLINGS OF RUNNING CLUB TRAINERS

Primary School-aged siblings who are not participating in Running Club cannot be left at school without parent/carer supervision before 8:15am.

If you are unable to supervise non-participating siblings, they must be enrolled with Camp Australia for before-school care.

VICTORIAN PREMIERS’ READING CHALLENGE

The Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge is now running and will run until Friday 4th September 2026.

All students whose parents/carers have provided consent via Consent2Go have been assigned usernames and passwords These were glued into the back of student diaries.

Instructions for logging in and recording books read have also been sent to families via SEQTA. Please assist your child in logging the books they read between Monday 2nd March and Friday 4th September.

Primary school students who complete the challenge will go into the draw to win one of three $30 QBD book vouchers.

If you have any queries or would like your child to join the challenge, please contact the Library team via SEQTA.

Eco-themed intermediate coding in Minecraft Education for students who are ready to move beyond beginner programs, GreenQuest introduces the next level of coding challenges inside Minecraft Education.

This program invites learners to design and code the smart, sustainable cities of tomorrow building towns that balance people, animals and the environment Through creative quests and large-scale builds, students explore green technology and eco-friendly design while learning more advanced concepts such as loops, conditionals and debugging. With richer projects, trickier challenges and collaborative problem-solving, GreenQuest delivers a game-like learning experience while deepening STEM skills and big-picture thinking.

What Will Kids Learn? (Intermediate Level)

Your child will:

These competitions provide an excellent opportunity for students to extend their computational and mathematical thinking, problem-solving skills and perseverance. Both are designed to challenge students beyond the standard classroom curriculum and are best suited for those who enjoy tackling complex, unfamiliar problems and are currently above the expected standard for mathematics.

Cost: $9 per competition (Students in the INSPiRE program may participate at no cost.)

At this stage, we are seeking expressions of interest only. No payment is required yet, and further details will be shared with registered families.

REGISTER INTEREST HERE

If you have any questions, please contact Anthea Field at afield@ncc.vic.edu.au

We look forward to supporting our enthusiastic mathematicians as they embrace this exciting challenge!

WEEK 9B Monday 23rd - Friday 27th March

Primary Assembly - 8:45am in the Courtyard

Last day of NAPLAN testing for Year 3 and Year 5 students

Mary Poppins Jr Rehearsals – Select Students

Parent Student Teacher Conferences – Student Free Day

International Day for Epilepsy – Purple Day

5/6 District Sport

JOSEPH, PREP: HONOUR

You show honour to your teachers, classmates and friends when you focus so intently on them when they are talking to you

ELISHA, PREP: IDENTITY

You have worked really hard on holding your pencil correctly and forming your letters neatly. Well done for persevering, Elisha.

JULIAN, PREP: IDENTITY

You have stepped outside your comfort zone and worked hard. I am so proud of the way you are contributing to your learning

MICALI, YEAR 1: IDENTITY

For showing perseverance in challenging tasks and trying your best. Well done, Micali!

LILY, YEAR 1: UNITY

For showing care for our classroom and your classmates through serving in tidying our Book Corner and creating a beautiful space for others to enjoy Keep up the great work!

ZOE, YEAR 2: IDENTITY

For returning to school with a positive attitude and confidently offering your ideas during class discussions. It is wonderful to see you growing in confidence as a learner

HARPER, YEAR 2: IDENTITY

For creating an amazing superhero narrative that showed creativity, courage and a strong sense of who you are Your story reflected how we can use our unique gifts to make a difference, reminding us that our true identity is found in using our talents for good Keep shining your light!

AIDEN, YEAR 3: HONOUR

For demonstrating his persistence in improving himself in learning opportunities, honouring himself and his teachers He has taken on feedback and used this to help him achieve his best in a range of learning tasks Amazing work Aiden

DANTE, YEAR 3: UNITY

For showing kindness to others and helping them when they need it. Your compassion makes our classroom a joyful space to learn together!

TIRENI, YEAR 4: IDENTITY

For confidently sharing your ideas during class discussions and demonstrating a positive attitude towards learning It is wonderful to see you growing in confidence as you embrace the gifts God has given you.

LOWSON, YEAR 4: IDENTITY

For working hard and with focus during our inquiry lessons, using your developing research skills to discover facts about the government systems we have here in Australia.

JONAH, YEAR 5: HONOUR

This award recognises your thoughtful and kind heart You consistently treat others in a Godly manner, honouring everyone with love, compassion, and a genuine desire to uplift those around you.

DEMIANA, YEAR 5: UNITY

Demiana, you truly exemplify love, kindness and servant leadership by the way you ensure that your classmates are seen, celebrated, and included. Keep trusting in God to show you all the incredible things you can do to change the world! We are truly blessed to have you in 5M.

MIA, YEAR 6: HONOUR

Mia, your commitment to your work is second to none. You always give full effort, you show honour and respect to your teachers. You show maturity well beyond your years. You are a role model. Keep up the good work!

YANN, YEAR 6: FAITH

For demonstrating a beautiful example of faith and kindness in the way you care for others. Through your gentle words, thoughtful actions, and willingness to help those around you, you reflect God’s love in our classroom each day. Your kindness creates a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone.

Your OSHC by Camp Australia provides enriching experiences for children during term – before school, after school and on pupil free days. At Your OSHC we give children a supportive space to continue their development, build confidence and socialise with their friends. Register for Your OSHC

Once registered, you'll be able to easily make and manage your bookings online via our Parent Portal.

Please feel free to visit the program with your children to meet the team and see what happens in our great program each school day.

New articles are added each week for parents and cover various topics to help families

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Within our school community there are students who shine brightly, displaying exemplary dedication and academic talent. They deserve to be recognised and this year we are giving them the opportunity to showcase and celebrate their talents in the world-renowned ICAS competition

What is ICAS?

ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge theirhigher orderthinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, SpellingBee,and Digital Technologies.

ICAS results are in-depth and meaningful, and ICAS evaluates student performance against other competition entrants across the state and nation. The data reveals student strengths and weaknesses and can help you recognise and support your child's academic journey.

Learn more about ICAS here:(icasassessments.com/products-icas/).

ICAS results and certificate

Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.

Your child’s ICAS certificates will show their results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal (https://orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent).

How to participate in ICAS

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please go to the Parent Portal to register for your chosen subjects.

You can do this in one of two ways:

1. Direct login link – faster!

Use this link to log directly into the shop and start registering: https://shop icasassessments com/pages/parent-payment/XPQ902

2. Log in using the PPS code

Visit our shop and use our PPS code to log in:

Shop link: PPS code:

https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps XPQ902

Registration for all subject areas closes on Monday 27th July at 11:59pm. This year, our students can elect to sit the following assessments:

Please note, we cannot facilitate refunds or make alterations as all money is paid directly to ICAS Assessments.

Read the terms and conditions here: ( conditions/#icas-parents).

https://www.icasassessments.com/icasa-terms-and-

Privacy collection statement

The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure

ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our)

To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:

•

• collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or exam transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of Australia share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving). use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing purposes.

• •

You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/. We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison com or by contacting icasassessments@janison com

We are proud to be offering ICAS to our students this yearand encourage you to consider entering your child Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions

Kind regards,

Anthea Field Talent Development Coordinator

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