28 August 2025

Principal’s Report – Term 3 Week 6

A great start to Book Week this week with our annual Book Week Parade. The theme for this Book week was “Book an Adventure” It was wonderful to see all our students dressed up in their favourite book characters and parade around the oval in front of their parents and friends. Teachers were also well dressed in their Tooth Fairy outfits from the shortlisted book “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About The Tooth Fairy (and Some Things You Didn’t)” by Briony Stewart. A big thank you to Mrs Webster and Mrs Morrison our librarians, and Steph our Library Assistant, for all the organisation of this event. It is the highlight of the year. The Book Week activities this week have been well received by all our students and today’s illustrator talk by Nathaniel Eckstrom was definitely a great way to finish our celebrations.

Dancesport Gala Event- Homebush

Last night our best 40 dance couples in year 5 travelled to Homebush to perform in the Dancesport Gala event against other schools. The year 5 students enjoyed demonstrating their ballroom dancing skills and performing the Cha Cha, Salsa and Tango for the audience of parents, principals, teachers, and dignitaries. Thank you to the teachers Mr Le Jeune, Mrs Banham, Mrs Blackband, Mrs Lee and Mrs Johnston who accompanied the students. It is always a great event and brings out a lot of school pride and competitive spirit amongst our senior students.

Stage 3 Camp to Canberra

Last week our year 5 & 6 students enjoyed 3 days in Canberra as part of their Civic and Citizenship/ Democracy learning unit. The students visited old and new parliament house, learning how to vote and saw preferential voting in action at the Electoral commission, visited the Dinosaur Museum and Questacon, and enjoyed sleeping in a motel with all their friends. The Australian War Memorial was a wonderful way to finish the 3 days.

The weather was perfect Canberra weather with lots of sunshine but still very cold. Thank you to the teachers who accompanied the students including Mr Dylan, Mrs Blackband, Mrs Lee, Mrs Taylor, Mrs Banham, Mrs Johnson, Ms Cash and Mrs Ward.

It was such a valuable excursion, and the students learnt a lot about our nation’s capital and the history of our democracy. Thank you to our parents for supporting these trips for our students. These hands-on learning experiences are so beneficial for our students.

Choir Performance – Wyangan Concert – Friday 22 August

Last Friday our senior choir performed at the Chatswood Concourse as part of the Sydney Northwest Music Festival. The choir performed alongside many schools in the concert hall and were accompanied by many district bands. The performance was outstanding, and it was wonderful to see the smiling faces of all our choir members on the big stage.

We also had two of our students Samuel Brook and Amelia Lutze perform as part of the Sydney Northwest Concert Band and our very own conductor Ben Dickson, perform in the Northern Sydney Big Band. A huge thank you to all the parents who attended last Friday night and special mention to our two dedicated choir teachers Mrs Mauger and Mrs McManus for preparing the choir and staying very late to supervise their performance. It was an experience they will all remember for many years to come. Our talented Mrs Mauger is very involved with the arts Alive programs and ensures our students have the very best opportunities whilst at primary school. We are very grateful for her commitment and passion for the Arts.

Zone Athletics - Thursday 21 August

Last Thursday amidst the rain and storms our talented athletes competed at the Zone Athletics Carnival at Homebush. Mr Dylan, Mrs Birrell and Ms Hepworth accompanied the students and braved the weather to help with supervision and marshalling of our team. Congratulations to all our athletes who competed last Thursday, and special mention to the year 5 & 6 students who had only just arrived back from Canberra the day before, to them get on a bus the following day to compete. A tremendous effort from all our athletes. The long jump and high jump had to be cancelled that day but will be run at our school over the next 2 Mondays.

Assemblies - Friday 29 August

This Friday merit awards, and Principal awards will be presented at the following assembly times. Parents are welcome to attend.

3-6 assembly in hall- 11.15am

K-2 assembly in hall- 2.15pm

This will be the last week of Winter PSSA so the “Runch” timetable will be in operation this week. The next 2 Fridays - 5 & 12 September the grounds will be closed to set up for the summer competition, so no PSSA on those Fridays.

70^th Birthday Photo- Tuesday 2 September

To celebrate the school’s 70^th Birthday we have commissioned our school photography team to take a whole school photo of all the students and staff. We ask that all students wear full school uniform next Tuesday which includes white ankle socks and plain black shoes. Coloured runners are not the school uniform and can only be worn on sport days. Even if it is your child’s sports day next Tuesday please send them in plain black shoes or runners.

Congratulations Bennett Da Silva- 6T

Congratulations to Bennett in 6T who was successful in receiving an offer for Manly Selective High School for Year 7 next year. This is a great academic achievement, and we wish him all the best. A very proud moment for his school and family.

Good Luck Josie Han- National Cross Country- 7 September

At the end of next week Josie Han from year 6 will travel to Queensland to compete in the National Cross Country championships. We wish her all the very best for this tough competition.

Band Championships

On Sunday 24 August, Amelia Lutze and Samuel Brook, members of the Sydney North Public Schools Band (SNPSB) under the baton of Jennifer Power had the incredible opportunity to perform in the State Band Championships at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Theatre in Penrith. Competing with students up to 19 years of age, they achieved joint 4th position with St Pius X College Intermediate Concert Band.

The whole band played very well. It is a great achievement after all rehearsals and hard work. It was amazing experience to perform in a real competition with talented musicians.

The Sydney North Public Schools Band Program managed by the Arts Unit, provides extension opportunities for talented musicians from public schools in Year 4 to Year 12 who are members of their school band program. The program consists of two bands: a Concert and Symphonic.

Junior Band Enrolment for 2026

This week our year 2 & 3 students watched our Junior Band perform in the school hall under their conductor Surrey Hodges. This starts the beginning of the Junior band recruitment process for 2026. Students from years 2 and 3 can now join the band for next year. Commitment to the band program requires parents to drive children to rehearsals and tuition and attend the various performances that occur throughout the year. It is a wonderful program but does require a large financial and time commitment for the year.

If your child in interested in the band program, please complete the Expression of Interest application form following the link provided later in this newsletter. Instrument allocation tests will take place in week 9 of this term. A Band Zoom for parent information will take place on Wednesday 3 September.

Father’s Day Breakfast and Skip-A-Thon- Friday 5 September

Next week we will host our Father’s Day breakfast on Friday 5 September. Our annual Skip-a-Thon will follow on after this breakfast with K-2 students skipping for 1 hour. Our 3-6 students will skip for 1.5 hours later in the day. Please make sure that all sponsorship forms are returned prior to or on the day. We look forward to seeing all our fathers at the breakfast next week.

Debating Team- Well Done!

Congratulations to our year 5 debating team Darcy Richmond, Amber Kelcey, Monica McCormack and Marlowe McInnes who were narrowly defeated by Manly West Public school in the first round of the Premier’s Debating Challenge this week. They have been an exceptional team throughout the year and are to be congratulated on their wonderful achievements. Thank you to Mrs Johnston who trains and supports our debating teams.

Congratulations to our Caring Students

This week the school received an email from the “Kids Giving Back” charity, thanking some of our students who helped prepare meals, snack packs and care packages and wrote heartfelt notes of encouragement to families in need. This remarkable contribution by the following students at Manly Vale was so appreciated by the families and makes our school so proud that students embody the “Caring and Sharing’ motto and support such wonderful causes outside the school environment. Well done to these students.

• Belle Gower
• Charli Gower
• Gemma Middleton
• Elkie Wilson
• Florence Green

SASS Recognition Week 2025

Next week we will celebrate the essential role School Administrative and Support Staff and other non- teaching staff play in NSW Public Education. School Administrative and Support Staff (SASS) include our wonderful Office team, Pam, Annabel, Danni, Maria and Kerry, along with our School Learning and Support Officers (SLSOs) Steph, Justine, Erin, Lizzie and Paddy and Barry our General Assistant. Please take some time next week to send a word of thanks and appreciation to all our SASS team. They do an amazing job, often behind the scenes, but invaluable to the safety of our students, and to support their families and teachers.

We are lucky at Manly Vale Public School to have such a dedicated and supportive SASS team.

Tina Lee – Principal

Dates for your Diary

Winter PSSA Manly Zone Competition

PSSA Training

PSSA Games

Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Outcomes

2026 Selective High School and Opportunity Class outcomes are becoming available to parents in the coming weeks. The Selective Education Team will send parents of applicants a message when your outcome is available in your application dashboard. An email will also be sent to alert you to the message.

Please see the NSW Department of Education for more information.

Catherine Nelson - Assistant Principal

Stage 3 Canberra Camp

During week 5 years 5 & 6 spent 3 days in Canberra learning about Civics and Citizenship. They had an amazing time and visited several interesting locations, such as Parliament House, Old Parliament House, Questacon, The National Dinosaur Museum and the War Memorial. The children were all wonderfully behaved and learnt a lot about our Nation. We would like to acknowledge the Australian Government PACER program which helps subsidise school camps to Canberra, which contributed $30.00 for each student attending the camp.

Year 5 & 6 Teachers

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Join the Junior Band in 2026!

Is your child in year 2 or 3 and loves music? We are looking for enthusiastic young musicians to join our Junior Band in 2026!

Rehearsals will take place Mondays at lunchtime and Tuesdays from 3:00 - 4:30pm. 

Fill out the Google Form to get involved – we would love to hear from you!

A Band Zoom for parent information will take place on Wednesday 3 September at 6.30pm.

Ben Dickson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 858 9636 6889
Passcode: 0i5bDs

Join instructions

Father’s Day Breakfast Friday 5 September 7.30-9.00am

Come along and enjoy a gourmet sausage sizzle with your child at school, while being entertained by the school band and choir. Bring cash to get a photo with Dad at the Photo Booth. Classrooms will be open for parents to tour.

Breakfast orders are available on Flexischools (the cut off to order your breakfast is 4pm Friday 29 August), there will be no over the counter food sales on the day. Cafe Owl will be selling coffees, which you pay them directly on the day. You MUST show your Flexischools order receipt at Cafe Owl on the day for redemption.

Father's Day Raffle

Click on link below to purchase your tickets - don't miss your chance to win an awesome prize for Dad. 

Skipathon - Friday 5 September

All students should have their Skipathon sponsorship forms now. Please show your support for your child and school by collecting sponsors from family and friends. This year we are raising money for exciting new additions to support every student from Kindergarten to year 6! New Wellbeing Wagon equipment for K-2 and 3-6, plus new sports goals for 3-6 and mini goals for K-2 and new play and sport equipment for the playground for all the students.

All sponsorship forms must be filled in and returned by 9.00am Friday 5 September to your teacher with any cash donations, so their contribution can go towards their class tallies and of course be in the running for a class prize!

There are prizes for the top 3 highest money earning classes for K-2 and 3-6.

1st Prize - pizza for the whole class
2nd Prize - cupcakes for the whole class
3rd Prize - Quelch Sticks for the whole class

Thank you for your support

Manly Vale Public School P&C

Sydney NorthWest Music Festival 2025

Last Friday, the Manly Vale Senior Choir travelled to the Chatswood Concourse Theatre to perform as part of the combined choir in the 2025 Sydney NorthWest Music Festival. Ms McManus accompanied the students, and Mrs Mauger was part of the production team that produced the show. They performed 8 songs from memory and represented our school with pride. They have worked incredibly hard this year to learn the music and develop their vocal skills to perform in 2-part harmony. We will begin some new music in the coming weeks. I was very proud to see every one of them have the best time, singing their hearts out. It was also wonderful to see Samuel Brook and Amelia Lutze perform as part of the Sydney North Public Schools Concert Band. They put on an excellent performance. Thank you to all the parents and Mrs Lee for attending the performance. Your support is truly appreciated. 

Father’s Day Breakfast

Next week on Friday, 5 September, Manly Vale Public School is hosting the Father’s Day Breakfast. 

As part of our morning, the choir will be performing two songs for our families. The choir performance will start at 8:15am, and students will need to be outside the school hall by 8:10am in time to perform.

We will be performing two songs from our Sydney NorthWest repertoire for you to enjoy! We hope to see you there.

Mrs Rebekah Mauger - Choir Coordinator

Congratulations Josie

Josie recently competed in the Athletics Australia National Championships in Ballarat, running in the 3km Cross Country event against 60–70 of the nation’s best 11-year-olds. Not only did she rise to the challenge—she WON, with an outstanding time of 11:03!

What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that just two days earlier, Josie had already competed in the 1500m and 800m at the Manly PSSA Zone Athletics Carnival. To then travel, back up, and produce such an incredible performance on the national stage is nothing short of superhero effort.

We are so proud of you, Josie! We love celebrating your achievements and know there will be many more to come as you continue into high school.

Stage 3 Science

Climate Change and Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

This term, stage 3 science students have been exploring the topic of climate change. They began by conducting an audit to calculate their carbon footprint. Towards the end of the term, they will use this data to design a prototype of a product or technology aimed at reducing it. The day after returning from their wonderful Canberra camp, some students—despite feeling tired—took ownership of their learning by selecting an aspect of climate change to research in greater depth. They chose how to present their findings, creating posters, books, card games, board games, slideshows, videos and more. Their motivation and engagement were outstanding. Take a look at some of their amazing work!

Sarah Humphreys - Stage 3 Science Teacher

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Library News

We Booked An Adventure and we had an amazing Book Week this week! We hosted a renowned illustrator, we read amazing books, we played games, and we paraded our wonderful book week costumes! Thank you to the Manly Vale community for your enthusiastic participation in this celebration of reading. 

We had a fantastic time listening to our special guest illustrator, Nathaniel Eckstrom. We enjoyed hearing about Nathaniel’s illustration process, and he even guided us through drawing some of our own illustrations. He inspired us so much and we are lucky to have many signed copies of his books available in our library for borrowing.

Congratulations to Olivia-May Foster (1H) and Caoimhe Bulcraig (5J) who were the lucky winners of the Book Week Emoji Challenge. These two students received a very special book from the Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlist. We had hundreds of entries and endless fun trying to decipher the emojis and match them to the shortlisted books.

Our Bookworm Guessing Competition winner/s will be announced tomorrow. All students who borrowed books during Week 5 and 6 were eligible for a guess. The student/s who guesses the correct amount (or closest) will win the jar!

Please enjoy these select photos of a very special week. More photos will be shared over the coming weeks.

Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Winners

During this term we have been studying many of the CBCA shortlisted books for 2025. These books have been selected as the best Australian books published throughout the year, and winners from each category are announced during Book Week. The CBCA shortlist can be used as a guide to select quality texts to read with your children. They can be identified by a bronze, silver or gold CBCA medal sticker on the book.

Book of the Year: Younger Readers          Laughter is the Best Ending by Maryam Master

Book of the Year: Early Childhood             The Wobbly Bike by Darren McCallum, ill. Craig Smith

Picture Book of the Year                                The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel, ill. Danny Snell

Eve Pownall Award Non Fiction                  Always Was, Always Will Be by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson

Award for New Illustrator                             Grow Big, Little Seed by Bec Nanayakkara, ill. Sarah Capon

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Canteen

PSSA Canteen Orders

PSSA students, please order your Friday canteen orders through the RECESS section only. Orders placed through the LUNCH section will not be able to be collected due to students attending sport.

Sign up to help at the canteen

Volunteering at the canteen is a great opportunity to see your children. 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. https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/training/food-handler-basics-training

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

Community Notices

Sydney Youth Orchestra

If you a talented musician, who is looking to broaden their musical world, SYO can offer a mentorship from supportive conductors, touring experiences, intensive camps where friendships flourish, performance opportunities in prestigious venues, and the chance to tackle challenging repertoire alongside industry specialists.

The first step is registering to begin the audition process.

Audition Key Dates for 2026 Applications

Applications Close: Thursday, 4th September, 2025 

Audition Excerpts sent: Thursday, 11 September, 2025 

Video Submissions Open: Thursday, 25 September 2025 

Video Submissions Close: Thursday, 16 October, 2025

School Information