Please see below the upcoming important dates and school events for Term 1.

As we begin another exciting school year, we remain committed to fostering an environment where every student feels supported, challenged, and inspired to achieve their best. This year, our three key priorities are Learner Agency, Mathematics, and Wellbeing.

Learner Agency: Taking Ownership of Learning 

We want our students to be active participants in their learning, setting goals, seeking feedback, reflecting on their progress, and understanding their next steps. While we have a whole-school focus on writing, these skills will extend into other aspects of learning. Our goal is for students to confidently articulate their achievements, identify areas for improvement, and develop the independence needed to be lifelong learners.

Mathematics: Developing Positive Mindsets

A strong foundation in Mathematics goes beyond solving equations—it’s about thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. This year, we are focusing on building positive attitudes towards Mathematics, ensuring that students engage with confidence, persistence, and self-belief. Through collaborative strategy games and problem-solving tasks, students will strengthen their thinking skills and develop effective strategies for tackling challenges.

Wellbeing: Supporting Every Student

Student wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. In 2025, we continue to focus on helping students feel safe, connected, and engaged in their learning. We are supporting students in developing the skills to self-regulate their emotions, build resilience, and persevere when faced with challenges, ensuring they are ready to learn and thrive.

We look forward to working together—students, staff, and families—to make 2025 a year of growth, success, and positive learning experiences for all.

At Mitcham Primary School, we believe that strong, respectful communication between home and school is key to student success. We are committed to keeping families informed and engaged through regular updates, clear processes, and open dialogue.

Whether it’s sharing student learning via SeeSaw journals, providing timely responses to parent inquiries, or notifying families about important events through our website, newsletters and SeeSaw messages, we aim to ensure that communication is effective, accessible, and supports student learning.

Working together, we ask that families also play their part in maintaining positive and respectful communication. This includes using appropriate channels to contact staff, such as email for important discussions and the school office for urgent messages. If you have concerns about your child’s progress, please reach out to the teacher via email to discuss the best way to address your queries, as drop-off and pick-up times are often too busy for in-depth conversations. We appreciate your understanding that staff will respond to emails and messages within two working days, during school hours (8:30 am – 4:30 pm), and are encouraged to balance communication with their own wellbeing by not responding outside of these times or on weekends.

By following these shared expectations, we can continue fostering a strong school community where students thrive. Thank you for working with us to create a positive and supportive environment for all. 

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. We wish to advise that the Mitcham Primary School Governing Council has endorsed the following dates for 2025:

Pupil Free Days:

Friday 21st February

Monday 28th April

Monday 21st July

Monday 13th October

School Closure Day:

Friday 5th September

Hello and welcome back everyone! For those who are new to Mitcham, the library is located in the Tutt building and is open to students from 8:45am to 3:15pm, but closed during recess time. The library is a welcoming place where students are able to read, borrow books, play with puzzles, colour or create Lego masterpieces.

Borrowing Books

Teachers have booked a time to bring their classes in for weekly borrowing lessons, students may come in before school or during lunch times to do additional borrowing. Students from Reception to Year 2 are able to borrow up to four books, and students from Year 3 to Year 6 may borrow up to six. Books are borrowed for two weeks, and after that they will fall overdue and need to be returned before any more borrowing can occur.

Overdue Books

We would much rather students be able to continue borrowing than be worrying about a book they can’t find. Parents, please, if you or your child are concerned about any books that are overdue or lost, contact Vasi in the library at vasi.gelasakis474@schoolsa.sa.edu.au. While we expect students to treat our library books with care, we do understand all sorts of things can happen. Overdue notices will be sent directly to the parent email you have nominated for receiving notices. Years 3-6 students have a school email address to which we will also send overdue notices.

Premier's Reading Challenge

Teachers have distributed these forms in the classroom. When completed, reading challenge forms should be handed in in person to Vasi or Sunyoung in the library. The library has spare forms if required. We have an excellent range of the Premier’s Reading Challenge books and we are always happy to help students locate them. The PRC website at https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/ has online lists you can check from home. In the Library these books can be identified by the coloured stickers on the books’ spine. Reception to Year 2 students have red stickers, Year 3-5 have green stickers and Year 6 books have yellow stickers. The Premier’s Reading Challenge concludes on the 5^th of September.

Book Club

Our school is participating in Scholastic Book Club again this year. Once a term, during the school year, I will send home a Club catalogue with a different selection of books offered for all ages. You will find award-winning books and bestsellers, as well as old and new favourites. Each order helps earn free books and teaching materials for our library, however there is never any obligation to order.

It is easy to order. The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Your child’s order is submitted directly to school safe and sound and the books will be delivered to class. You can place your child’s order at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP or using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Only orders requested and paid for online via LOOP will be accepted. We are unable to accept cash, cheque or credit card payments to the school. The first catalogue was sent home last week.

Yours in reading,

Vasi and Sunyoung

Outcome of the Materials & Services Poll

We wish to advise parents/carers of the outcome of the 2025 Materials & Services Poll conducted by the School Governing Council. The scohol community voted in favour of making the prescribed sum of $485 legally recoverable. The votes received were 134 For and 37 Against.

$200 Materials & Services Rebate

South Australian families with children attending public schools will receive a $200 SA Government rebate per student on their annual materials and services charge. The $200 credit has been automatically applied which reduces your 2025 Materials and Services charge to $285.00.

Financial Statements attached to the front of the M&S invoice show how much is owing. Please only pay this amount.

The rebate does not apply to families approved for school card as they are not required to pay the materials and services charge. See separate School Card heading for more information.

Payment of the Materials & Services invoice is due by the end of Term 1. Any extension on this time can be arranged by setting up a Direct Debit or Payment Plan. Please email dl.0270.finance@schools.sa.edu.au for the authorisation form.

Excursions and activities

Excursions, camps, activities, aquatics, swimming lessons etc will be invoiced individually prior to each event. A letter or online notice will be sent home with details of the excursion and amount payable. Details will also be uploaded on our QKR! App and payment must be made prior to attendance.

Have you downloaded the QKR! app yet? It's our preferred method of payment!  

We encourage parents/caregivers to download the Qkr App which is a convenient way to pay for all school fees, excursions, uniform purchases and canteen lunch orders. Details of your order and payment will be forwarded securely to the school each day. This provides you with the convenience of being able to make payments at any time and will eliminate payments being left in school bags.  Itemised QKR! e-receipts provide you with a record of purchase and are a convenient way to keep track of your payments.

Low-income families with children that attend government schools can get financial help with school fees – materials and services charges – through the School Card scheme.

School card applications are now open for 2025. Information on school card eligibility, income limits and the application process can be found at: www.sa.gov.au/education/schoolcard.

School Card MUST BE APPLIED FOR EACH SCHOOL YEAR and lodged at your earliest opportunity.

If you need help completing your application please contact School Card on 1800 672 758 (free call).

You will be notified by the School Card Section of the outcome of your application, please do not pay any money towards your Materials and Services charge until you know the outcome.

A Big Thank You to Our Wonderful Families!

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the families who continue to support our school canteen. As you know, canteens are becoming increasingly rare, and we're so grateful for your ongoing participation.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the need for volunteers. If you have a bit of time to spare, or if a grandparent is looking to get involved, we would love your help! Please visit the front office or come by the canteen to find out how you can assist. Your child(ren) would be thrilled to see you at school! Please check the timetable for times available for volunteering in the next few weeks.

New Policy for Lunch/Recess Orders After 9am

We’d like to remind you of our new policy regarding lunch and recess orders placed after 9am, including phone orders. In these cases, your child(ren) will receive an "emergency order," which consists of a muffin and water for recess, and a simple cheese, Vegemite, or butter sandwich, muffin, and water for lunch. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Emergency Lunch Order payments

We appreciate your support in paying for outstanding emergency lunch orders as soon as possible via the Qkr! app.

A Special Thanks to Our Volunteers

A huge thank you to all our volunteers! We know your time is precious, and we truly couldn’t do it without your support. Your contribution makes a huge difference, and we’re so grateful for everything you do.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend—stay cool!

Anita, Ann and Kerry - Canteen Staff

G9 is ‘Off to a Great Start’ for Year 3 in 2025! We have had a fabulous couple of weeks getting to know each other and building team skills. We have learnt about friendship and what makes a good friend.

The students created friendship flowers to display in the classroom. G9 students were super excited to be big buddies for the first time. We worked with the Receptions in T5 to make Chinese New Year lanterns. The students were kind and responsible when working with their buddies. They will learn great skills as the older role models.

Students applied for classroom jobs and filled out a job application. Many of our class members gave wonderful speeches after nominating for an SRC position. We listed positive thoughts and affirmations and talked about growth mindset along with our school values (Respect, Responsibility and Resilience). Everyone had the chance to contribute to our class agreements that we need to follow to ensure everyone is able to remain safe and learn to the best of their ability.

I am so lucky to have such a fabulous class, and am looking forward to a year full of learning, growth and fun.

Tara Nicholson and G9

Hello, I’m Danni Aoukar, and I’m the EALD (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) teacher at Mitcham Primary School.

Having worked at Mitcham Primary for 10 years in various teaching roles, I’ve gained a deep understanding of students’ needs across different year levels and particularly enjoy working with small groups to help them set and achieve their goals.

As an EALD teacher, I support students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds who speak additional languages at home. I focus on helping them develop the English language skills necessary for success both academically and socially. My role is more than just teaching English—it's about fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment for each student.

I collaborate closely with classroom teachers to provide tailored support, adapting lessons to meet each student's unique language needs. This role requires creativity, flexibility, and a deep understanding of language acquisition and cultural sensitivity. It’s a privilege to help students improve their English proficiency while also supporting their social integration and overall well-being.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the EALD program, feel free to contact me at Mitcham Primary School on 8271 2227 or via email at dannielle.aoukar675@schools.sa.edu.au.

Mitcham Primary School participates in the Festival of Music each year. Students from our school have been involved in many ways.  Along with our Year 6 choir performing in the Festival of Music concert series, we have also had students in the performance troupe and as hosts. The Festival of Music is now offering interested Year 6 students the opportunity to audition for extra roles such as Hosts, Orchestra and Troupes. Bookings need to be made online. Please see the attached flyer for details.