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Gratitude Gets Us Places

""Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.""

Dear Parents,

As we move toward the midway point of Term 1, I look back with gratitude for the start of the 2022 school year we have had here at Minimbah. It was wonderful to welcome all students back to school and to see how quickly the children settled into their new classes. I have been grateful for your support of the COVID rapid antigen testing surveillance program, which has seen relatively few positive cases emerge across the campus.

The Victorian Government recently announced the surveillance program would continue through to the end of Term 1. COVID Safe settings in schools will remain relatively unchanged. This does mean that the current protocols and restrictions will continue, at least until the holidays.

I am so looking forward to the day when we can welcome you back onto campus again in a Parent Support role and in a less restricted fashion. To see you volunteering and supporting our programs and working alongside us here at school will complete the magic of our Minimbah Community Spirit.

IB Verification

Tomorrow, we welcome a verification team from the International Baccalaureate who will spend the next three days with us: visiting classrooms speaking with parents, teachers, and students. Following their visit, they will provide feedback on our process to date as we work towards authorisation as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, effectively delivering the Primary Years Program (PYP).

The IB PYP for children, nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants on a lifelong globally-aware learning journey.

The PYP offers an inquiry-based, transdisciplinary curriculum framework that builds conceptual understanding. In our setting, this student-centred approach to education provides us with a learning framework from ECC to Year 6. It prepares the children for the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) offered at the Senior Campus from Year 7 to 9. It reflects the best educational research, encourages teamwork and leadership, and deeper thinking and learning experiences, as derived from IB World Schools.

The PYP has evolved to become a world leader in future-focused education and is an example of best educational practice globally, responding to young students' challenges and opportunities in our rapidly changing world.

I commend the work of our staff across the last three years under the leadership of Jodie Kirchner. Under highly challenging circumstances across two years of 'pandemic-imposed' teaching and learning environments, our staff have collaborated, planned, and implemented the PYP framework brilliantly. I am incredibly grateful for their dedication and perseverance in reaching this milestone in our PYP journey.

We look forward to welcoming the verification team and responding to their report on our progress and journey toward accreditation.

Assembled Once More

Despite not being able to join us onsite for assemblies, Year 3 kicked us off recently with our first assembly for the year, focusing on the IB's Learner Profile Attributes. The children shared their understanding of being 'principled' and delighted us with a dramatised rendition of the book 'Willow Finds a Way' by Lana Button. Our protagonist, Willow, handled a challenging social situation as a bystander by acting in a principled way, making a wise decision that honourably and ultimately changed the attitudes of her peers and her classroom dynamic.



In Years 5 and 6, the children began the year by 'getting to know' one another through a portrait painting exercise. Partnered up, the children interviewed one another before attempting to represent their classmate in paint on canvas. Minimbah's own' Brush With Fame' culminated with an en masse reveal, which you can view in the video below. The children's discoveries about one another helped build relationships by recognising and identifying shared interests and discovering new interests, similarities, and differences too. The activity was a big empathy builder too!

At other year levels, the common Unit of Inquiry, as we commenced the new School year, has been 'Who We Are'. Each class, however, has focused on a different key concept, including: personal identity and cultural background, roles and responsibilities, change, and belonging.



Let's not forget to practise gratitude together. Who is someone you are grateful for? Tell them today! Choose a kind thing to say to someone at home, work, or school this week! They'll feel great, and so will you.

Take care.

ROD DAVIES
Deputy Principal – Head of Minimbah Campus