3 July 2025

Principal’s Report – Term 2 Week 10

What a wonderful way to finish our term with the K-2, “Dancing round the World” dance concert. It is always a highlight of the year for all parents, teachers and students. Thank you to Ms Vanessa Corea for the choreography and for enabling every student the opportunity to experience in such a professional production. Thank you to Ms Tamone for the organisation behind the scenes, and to Mrs Mauger for assisting with the lighting and video presentations. Next term our year 3 & 4 students will participate in the Hip Hop Dance program with Ms Vanessa.

Art Gallery Visit- Stage 1

This week our year 1 & 2 students attended the NSW Art Gallery for a wonderful excursion. Every student had a wonderful day despite the weather and came back full of creative ideas to put into artworks. Thank you to our wonderful teachers for attending the excursions and providing this creative opportunity for our Stage 1 students, and to all the parent helpers who attended the excursion to assist.

Pyjama Day

Our Student Representative Council (SRC) had a suggestion of a Pyjama Day. It was voted in by all the SRC representatives and put into action today. All money will go towards our SRC charity which is Stewart House. I think the students really loved the opportunity to dress in their flannelette pyjamas, oodies and track suits to fend off the cold weather and support this wonderful local charity.

Reports - Semester 1

Yesterday all parents should have received a school report for their child. The reports were sent out via the School Bytes Parent Portal (under the Resources tab). If you have not received the report, please see instructions below to download the App and access the parent portal for the reports.

Banner Assembly – Tomorrow Friday 4 July 9.00am

Tomorrow will be our final assembly in the school hall. Our intermediate band will open the assembly, followed by the presentation of the final principal awards for the term, and then the banners. All parents are invited to attend this assembly. Congratulations to the following students on receiving their school banner this term.

NAIDOC Week - 6 - 13 July

Next week is NAIDOC week but as a school we will be celebrating this important week in our calendar during the first week back next term.

The theme for NAIDOC week is “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.” All classes will be researching a famous Aboriginal person and displaying the research in a “Walk of Fame” type display in our school library. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the past and present elders of our First Nations people.

Happy Holidays

It has been a very busy term, and I think all students and staff are ready for the winter break. Please be sure to take some time out from routines and enjoy the holidays. Our before and after school care service Sustainable OSHC is available for holiday care if required. Please contact

Teachers will return to school on Monday 21 July, whilst students do not return until Tuesday 22 July. As a school we will go right into the Athletics carnival organisation with our Field Events Day scheduled for Wednesday 23 July. Our actual carnival will be in week 2 Tuesday 29 July.

During the holidays there will be major playground renovation works occurring near the administration block. School Security will be patrolling the school. If you need to report an issue, please call them on 1300 880 021.

Happy holidays everyone!

Tina Lee – Principal

Dates for your Diary

Athletics Carnival

We are excited to kick off Term 3 with our school Athletics Carnival events! Field events for students in years 3–6, as well as any year 2 students turning 8 (or who have already turned 8 this year) with experience in field events, will be held on Wednesday Week 1 - 23 July on the school oval.  Students are encouraged to wear a t-shirt in their house colour along with their usual sports uniform.

The main Athletics Carnival for Years 3–6 (and again, eligible Year 2 students) will take place on Tuesday 29 July (Week 2) at David Thomas Oval. A permission note with full details will be sent home this week. Please return the signed note by the due date to ensure your child can participate in this exciting day!

Cupcake Stall – Athletics Carnival

2S Poetry

2S have been learning about fables this term. They have not only created their own fables based on a moral value but have also researched animals from well-known fables.

To showcase their creative flair, they then wrote a poem about a lion, based on the fable: The Lion and the Mouse. This poem demonstrated their understanding of grammar terms studied this term including adjectives, verbs, adverbs, similes and metaphors.

3-6 Assembly Guest Items

Debating – 25 June

The Manly Vale Debating Teams travelled to Harbord Public School for two debates on Wednesday June 25 as part of NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge.

On the Manly Vale Foxes Team was:

• 1st speaker: Evie
• 2nd speaker: Josie
• 3rd speaker: Willow

On the Manly Vale Owls Team was:

• 1st speaker: Amber
• 2nd speaker: Marlowe
• 3rd speaker: Darcy
• 4th speaker: Monica

After opening our Round 2 envelopes both teams ranked three topics on Media and Screens. After careful consideration with their teams and a coin toss it was decided that:

• Harbord Public Maroon versus Manly Vale Foxes debated the topic ‘That kids under 12 should have to earn any screentime they get by helping around the house.’’ The Foxes took the negative position and argued that this was not a good idea.

• Harbord Public White versus Manly Vale Owls debated the topic ‘That Years 5 and 6 kids should do all their schoolwork on a screen instead of using textbooks and paper..’ The Owls took the negative position and argued that this was not a good idea.

Both teams prepared and debated exceptionally well, coming up with some excellent arguments. The Manly Vale Owls were declared the winners of their debate.

Monika Johnston - Debating Coordinator

Kindergarten Science

Our kindergarten scientists have been busy exploring the many ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples used native plants for food and medicine to survive, and we created a simple bush tucker meal. With a partner, we used toy Australian animals to make tracks in playdough. We then analysed the tracks and guessed which animal made them, before learning about traditional cultural symbols.

In a follow-up session, students investigated how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples used natural materials to weave baskets and we had a go at weaving our own with paper cups. After watching a short video of a canoe being made from a tree trunk, we created models of canoes to explore the science of floating and sinking.

A big thank you to our P&C for providing the resources that made these fun and engaging sessions possible.

Mrs Sorensen - Early Stage 1 Science 

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Stage 1 Art Gallery Excursion

This week, years 1 & 2 went to the Art Gallery of NSW in search of Fantastical Beings! Every student (and teacher!) had a brilliant day! We followed the clues on a scavenger hunt to find interesting and thought provoking artworks in the Naala Nura building. This was followed by two hands-on art making workshops in the newer Naala Badu building. The first workshop involved working collaboratively to sketch and paint ‘Fantastical Beings’. A big highlight from this session was painting with the metre long paintbrushes! For our next session, we brought our creatures to life by designing and making costumes out of craft materials. Students loved using their imaginations to make their creatures come alive in front of a huge green screen! The Art Gallery educators then used technology to put us into the artworks! Thank you to our parent volunteers who supported us and joined in the art making fun on the days. We really appreciate you coming along. For all our wonderful students, we hope our adventure can spark some creativity for some school holiday art making at home!

Year 1 & 2 Teachers

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Stage 2 Science

Term 2 Stage 2 Science: Where Science Rocks!

The super scientists in Stage 2 this term have been having fun exploring the fascinating forces of nature. We learnt about the layers of the Earth, how volcanoes form and how the tectonic plates make changes to our Earth’s surface including earthquakes and tsunamis. We investigated erosion and weathering by building models and making videos to demonstrate how wind and water shape our land. Ask your child to log into their science Google Classroom to view some of these great videos!

With the help of our guest Geologist Ron James (thanks Ron!) we were also able to examine real life fossils millions of years old and we even made our own fossil replicas. It has been a fun term full of learning, curiosity and discovery.

A huge shout out to Meena and Illy Azimi and their Grandma for the incredible donations from the zoo including ostrich eggs, a saltwater croc skull and a shark rostrum. We will enjoy examining this closely next term.

I encourage you and your children to share your home science discoveries on the Google Classroom over the holidays. Happy investigating!

Tanya Coleman - Stage 2 Science Teacher

Back to School Anxiety – How Parents can Cope with it

The holidays are a wonderful time for rest, relaxation and reconnection, which we all need after a busy term full of fun and learning. Sometimes, the lead up to a return to school can be difficult for different reasons. Below a helpful article from Parentshop and Michael Hawton, author of the book ‘The Anxiety Coach’ which our program The Anxiety Project is based on. We hope you find it helpful in the lead up to next term.

Returning to school after a break can cause feelings of excitement, anticipation, nervousness, stress, or anxiety – for children and for their parents. Even though we often think first of the challenges children face when returning to the classroom, parents have their own back-to-school-worries. There is the stress of getting everyone ready in the morning, the hectic rush hour traffic, the fear of missing out on quality time, and the struggle of balancing the demands of work, the household, and your child's needs. While it might be easy to neglect your own wellbeing in the process, it is now more crucial than ever to remember that you can only take proper care of others if you take proper care of yourself.

Back-to-school stress for parents is not to be underestimated

Many parents look forward to their kids going back to school as it means that they get some of their personal time back. But many parents also fear the return to school as it is most certainly a very stressful time period. While this is even more intense for parents with anxious children, it helps to understand that everyone experiences these emotions to some degree. Knowing that you are not alone in this, can bring great comfort. In addition, here are seven strategies to help parents cope with their back-to-school worries and manage their stress in a healthy way:

1. Focus on the positive:

Your child has found the courage to leave the house, go to school, and do their best to participate in the classroom. These are all major successes that one can be proud of everyday. Others are academic performances, personal growth, character development, and emotional well-being. Practising gratitude and reframing negative thoughts with a positive outlook can help with the back-to-school transition.

2. Communicate openly:

Keep an open dialogue with your child about their feelings and concerns. Encourage them to share their excitement and fears and pay attention to what they say. Sometimes active listening is all that is needed to ease their mind and this positive communication will hopefully soothe your own worries about how your child is doing. 

3. Establish a routine:

Back-to-school routines make the transition for the child easier and bring a sense of control to a hectic life. By implementing a set schedule for work, family time, and self-care you will feel more in charge of the situation and less nervous towards the uncertainty of the next day.

4. Prioritise self-care:

Children will often feel anxious when their parents are stressed. To prevent this from negatively affecting their behaviour, parents should prioritise their emotional and physical well-being. This does not necessarily have to be a complicated or time consuming mission – reading a book, going for a walk, or exercising can work wonders.

5. Build resilience:

Practising mindfulness activities that help you to reframe a problem and see it in a new light. To assist you in building resilience it is important to know your strengths and keeping them in mind in challenging times. By having confidence in your abilities and spending time reflecting on the positive things in life you will help build your resilient thinking skills.

6. Find a support system:

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you feel overwhelmed. You don’t have to go through a hard time alone. Reach out to family, friends, and other people you trust if the stress is getting too much. You can also look to parents in similar situations, help lines, online support groups, or forums as an outlet for your worries.

7. Seek help from a professional:

Seeking social support through talking to friends can be useful for parents to process their emotions and receive advice, but sometimes it is hard to find someone who can relate to the challenges particular to your situation. Professional counselling and training courses, as offered by Parentshop, can provide guidance and tools to cope with emotionally distressing episodes.

Parents can help make the transition smoother for everyone

Going back to school after the holidays is equally exciting and nerve-wracking for everyone. To avoid passing over worries onto their children, parents need to take care of themselves. Through open communication, established routines, and a positive mindset parents will find it possible to deal with stressful moments more easily and be optimistic towards the next school day. However, adjusting to the back-to-school period with a child that struggles from anxiety is not easy. Asking for help, connecting with other parents, and enrolling in training courses held by professionals will help enhance your own resilience as well as your child’s.

Canteen

If you owe money to the canteen, please make a payment as soon as possible. We have a large number of unpaid IOUs this term.

You will have been sent an email from the canteen if your child has required an emergency lunch from the canteen.

Sign up to help at the canteen

Volunteering at the canteen is a great opportunity to see your kids. Please sign up for a shift to help out. 

Please consider completing this short food safety course if you will be making sandwiches and toasties with us. Once you have completed the course don't forget to send us a copy of your certificate. 

Flexischools Ordering

If you are having trouble ordering or need help with your account you can call flexischools on 1300 361 769 or submit a question online https://flexischools..com/hc/en-au/

Got a question? or need to get in touch

Feel free to contact the canteen on email manlyvalepscanteen@gmail.com

Becky McGowan Canteen Manager, Manly Vale Public School

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