9 March 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

I would like to thank Miss Phillips for doing a tremendous job as relieving principal in my absence. The start of the year is always very busy with children trying to settle into new classes and organisation and teachers preparing for a new year. I hope you found the Parent Information evenings very informative and that you are looking forward to an exciting and productive 2017.

Zone Swimming Carnival – Monday 6 March

Congratulations to the 36 Manly Vale students who represented Manly Vale Public School at the Zone Swimming carnival. Mrs Ward and Mrs Banham praised their behaviour, sportsmanship and ability to try their personal best in all their events. A full report of the day follows later in the newsletter.

Leadership Camp /SRC meeting

Our 8 school leaders, Sonny Harper, Sienna Kelly, Ben Crowe, Grace Nairne, Ella McAvoy, Spike Hancock, Julianne Tolentino and Jude Pincus attended a leadership camp last Monday and Tuesday where they worked with other school leaders from local schools developing team building and leadership skills. Congratulations to our school leaders for completing this training in preparation to lead our Student Representative Council (SRC) in 2017. Thank you to Mr Guzman who attended the camp with our leaders. Tomorrow (Friday 10 March) will be the first SRC meeting for the year with classes 1S, 3C and 4D presenting their suggestions. The meeting will start at 11.30am. Thank you to Ms Phillips for her organisation of the SRC this year.

Parent/Teacher Interviews- week 10-11 (27 March- 6 April)

Our parent/teacher interviews will take place in week 10 and 11 of this term. Our next newsletter (week 9-23 March) there will be information on how you will book your 10-minute interview with your child’s class teacher. These interviews are an opportunity to discuss any concerns you have and the goals you would like your child to work towards this year. Please be aware that you are able to book an interview with your child’s teacher at any time but these 2 weeks have been left aside for a more formal interview process.

Class Coordinator’s meeting – Friday 10 March 3.15pm or Tuesday 14 March 8.15am

I would like to meet with the Class Co-coordinators to discuss the role this year. The meeting will be short (1/2 hour) in length and an opportunity to pass on information and discuss any concerns or questions you have about the role. I will also distribute the class contact lists to the coordinators so they can be typed ready for communication distribution. Thank you to Inessa Jackson who has agreed to be the liaison between the coordinators, school, and P & C.

Bus and Library Monitor badge presentation - Friday 10 March

Congratulations to all the year 5 students who have offered to be bus and library monitors this year. Badges will be presented at tomorrow morning’s assembly.

Best Start

Last week the Best Start assessment details were sent home to all Kindergarten students. These assessments were done at the beginning of the term and of course many of the Kindergarten students have made great progress since this testing was completed. The assessment is only a guide as to where your child’s strengths and areas for development were at the beginning of the school year.

ICAS tests

A note will be sent home this week regarding the optional University Of NSW competitions. These competitions are completely optional with a cost involved. They are not necessarily on our current curriculum and are designed to rank students so they can be very difficult. They are not suitable for children who are currently accessing learning and support. We recommend that children sit the English and maths competition as it is excellent examination practice and at times we use these external results to rank students for selective high and opportunity class applications. We have decided as a school to run the English and maths competitions in school hours but the rest of the competitions will be run after school to lessen the disruptions to normal classroom lessons.

Teddy Bears Picnic

Last Monday our Kindergarten students had a lovely picnic at Manly Dam with their teddy bears and Year 5-6 buddies. The rain held off and the Kindergarten children had a fun day of games and bush walks. Thank you to Ms Buckley who organised the excursion. It was a wonderful opportunity for our Kindergarten to engage with our local area and get to know their buddies.

Kindergarten Drop off

We still have some very unsettled Kindergarten students in the morning. Please make the morning drop off a quick goodbye and then leave the grounds. Many parents are staying for a long time in the mornings which seems to be adding to the anxiety of the situation. Friday morning’s assembly is the only morning parents need to attend the morning line up, the rest of the week should be a quick goodbye and departure.

Design, Make Innovate - Stage 3

Our year 5 and 6 students have been working with mentors from Mackellar Girls Campus to design board and arcade games. Next Monday 13 March our Stage 3 students will have a day to work on these projects in preparation for an exhibition day held on Friday 24 March at Balgowlah Boys Campus. All stage 3 projects will be judged with the 8 best to be displayed at this exhibition. All students have enjoyed working with Mackellar Girls Campus students.

Bus Issues

We have made a number of complaints to the bus company regarding drivers not stopping at the right place or being unfamiliar with the route. The bus liaison team has been working with the drivers to ensure they know the route and the various stops. They have been extremely apologetic for the stress this has caused many parents and the school. Hopefully we will be seeing an improvement in this situation.

P & C Meeting – Tuesday 14 March – 7.00pm

Our next P & C meeting will be on Tuesday 14 March. We will be discussing fundraising ideas for the year and looking at the school budgets for 2017. All parents are welcome.

School Council 2017

Next week we will have our final School Council meeting before the Annual General Meeting in April. Role descriptions of the various positions and ways to nominate will come out in the next newsletter.

Ticks

We are having the playground sprayed for ticks on Saturday. Please avoid the school grounds on this day.

Bushlink visit - Monday 27 March

The Bushlink team will be here on Monday 27 March to work with our stage 2 students to create a native garden next to our basketball court. Thank you to Mr Dylan for organising this visit.

Congratulations Toby!

Last Friday Toby Marsters competed in the State Nippers carnival at Belmont. Toby came 3rd in NSW in the U9 beach flags and received a silver medal in the beach sprint relay with his Manly Surf club team mates. Well done Toby!

Tina Lee - Principal

Assistant Principal’s Report

Transition to High School Information

Today, several students sat the selective high tests for entry in 2018. There are many open and orientation days being planned at various high schools. Please ensure you are looking at the high schools’ specific websites for more information. Year 6 received their 2018 high school expressions of interest (EOI) forms yesterday. Please read the accompanying letter very carefully and fill in the form according to the instructions given. If you are unsure of your preferences and need help with the form please make an appointment and I will advise you. As the school boundaries are based on your home address please ensure you use the school locator tool at the link below to find your local school. These will differ if you do not live in the Mackellar or Balgowlah Boys High Schools’ catchment areas. Please ensure the EOIs are returned by Wednesday 15 March so they can be checked and submitted on time.

Locator tool link:

Badges

Tomorrow the following year 5 students will be receiving their library monitor badges; Santi Adnyana, Taylor Davies, Kyan McDougall, Luke Scott, Adeeb Hafiz, Lauryn Erskine, Caitlin Isaac, Poppy Pickering, Olivia Gay, Eva Cole, Olivia Weir, Kaeli Chew & Sarah Hills. These students will help and support Mrs Poole, Mrs Murphy-Haste and Mrs Abrahams in the library during semester 1.

The following year 5 students will be receiving their bus monitor badges tomorrow as well. This job is very important as the students provide feedback of bus behaviour and bus issues. Congratulations; Patricia Krasny, Adeeb Hafiz, Santi Adnyana, Matias Miranda, Joel Scriven, Santiago Barrios Rincon, Ollie Donnell, Ophelia Shapter, Luke Scott, Callum Northcott, Caitlin Isaac, Zee Beale, Sarah Powe & Levi Coates-Westerink.

School Photos

Your child will have received a photo envelope in class today. The easiest way to order photos is to order online at the link below. You will need to type in our specific school photo code which is P2B 27Y HEW. Parents who place orders online DO NOT have to return the photo envelope. However, if you wish to pay by cheque, cash or money order you will need to return the envelope to school prior to or on photo day. Sibling photos may be ordered online using the same 9 digit code P2B 27Y HEW or via a sibling envelope available at the front office.

Please note that K-2 & 3/4W portraits and class photos, sibling’s photos and our SRC photo will take place on Friday 31 March. Years 3-6 portraits, class photos, year 6, Leader’s and House Captain’s photos will take place on Monday 3 April.

China Study Tour

Our China Study Tour with Wen Jiang Primary School will be commencing on Sunday 19 March. Thank you to the fabulous families who have offered to host our 24 visiting students for their entire 10 day stay. We had a wonderful information night and are excited to have this cultural experience and opportunity. A full itinerary has been set up so that each class in the school have a learning session with Wen Jiang students observing in their classroom. There will be minimal disruption to our usual Manly Vale day as the students from China are here to experience what we do each day.

SRC

Tomorrow, Friday 10 March is our very first Student Representative Council (SRC) for the year. The SRC representatives from each class will meet in the hall to hear suggestions from classes 1S, 3C and 4D. They will also discuss and vote on the charities they will support throughout the year. Parents are welcome to attend the SRC meeting held in the hall at 11:30am.

Mathletics/Wushka/Reading Eggs

These three online programs – Mathletics, Wushka and Reading Eggs have now been set up and all students should have been given their login details. These programs are an excellent way to supplement homework and should be used for further practice or extension work. The reading programs have hundreds of texts for children to access. If you need support with the programs please ask your class teacher.

Art Workshop in 1KL

On Tuesday 21 February BIG Kids Magazine in conjunction with The Child Artist Response Project and the lead artist collaborating with Manly Art Gallery and Museum ran an art workshop in 1KL. The students were required to participate in art appreciation and discussion and were asked to draw human hearts. Mrs Speight and Mrs Kemp supervised the workshop and were extremely excited about the collaboration and creativity. It was a fabulous opportunity to work with a local artist and participate in a local community initiative. The artworks will be displayed at the Manly Art Gallery and 1KL will be given an official invitation to attend the opening on Friday 7 April, 6.00-8.00pm.

Lisa Phillips - Assistant Principal

Zone Swimming News

On Monday our Zone Swimming Team went to Manly Boy Charlton Swim Centre to compete in the Manly PSSA Zone swimming carnival. All swimmers swam their best. Ireland Kennedy, Ryan Koorey and Tobias Twidale were successful in making 50m Freestyle finals. Ireland also came 3rd in the Junior Girls Individual Medley.

Thank you to all students, spectators and Mrs Banham for their wonderful involvement at the Zone Swimming Carnival. Thanks also to our parent supporters and Ian Kennedy for timekeeping all day.

Melinda Ward

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 2 orders are due by 9.00am Friday 24 March 2017.

Library News

Library Monitors

This Friday, 12 library monitors for semester 1 will be receiving their badges of office at morning assembly. Being a library monitor is a special duty, only available to year five students. Monitors are expected to attend the library on their designated day and carry out various tasks including returning books, shelving, helping younger students at lunchtime and supporting the librarian.

Premier's Reading Challenge

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2017 commences this week. It is a NSW Government initiative reading programme for children in years K-9. The aim is to encourage a love of reading for pleasure through quality literature. Premier's Reading Challenge is not a competition but a CHALLENGE. Students in kindergarten are automatically entered in the challenge so their parents or carers do not need to do anything. The books are all being read and shared during class time and I will enter the information for each child in September when the challenge is complete. For students in years 1-6 however, children who wish to participate (perhaps with parent help) need to log on and enter the titles they have read. Sometime during library class this will be devoted to showing how to do this. Students will have opportunities to log on at lunchtime with the help of library monitors.

For more information visit the NSW PRC website:

log on with your child's school username and password
e.g. john.smith ****

Happy Reading
Glynis Poole – Teacher Librarian

Teddy Bear’s Picnic

On Monday the sun was shining as Kindergarten walked to Manly Dam for their Teddy Bear’s Picnic. The children played lots of fun games with their teddy bears and then were joined by their year 5 and 6 buddies. Together they ate a picnic lunch and talked about their teddy bears. It was a fabulous first excursion for Kindergarten.

Cockatoo Island Excursion

On Monday 13 March Stage 2 will be embarking on an exciting adventure to Cockatoo Island via bus and ferry to compliment the History unit First Contact. As we will be trying to get over 130 students as quickly and safely as possible onto the ferry it is greatly appreciated that any families who have indicated they will be supplying their own Opal card double check before the day to make sure they have enough credit on that card.

Owlets Coordinator position vacant 2017

The P&C are looking for parents interested in coordinating the Manly Vale Owlets playgroup on Monday mornings from 9.00-11.00am. This can be a shared roll between parents if desired. Volunteers are responsible for setting up the school hall for a morning of play and age-appropriate craft and activities. Morning tea is provided for parents. Owlets playgroup is a great way for potential students aged 0-5 years to get to know our fabulous school and parents to meet other families. If you are interested in the position or would like further information please contact Kyrralyn on 0422 404 273.

Dates for Your Diary

PSSA Draws and Venues

PSSA Report

This week is round 3 for our Summer PSSA competition. Unfortunately last week was rained out, however the week before all teams played their first game with mixed success except tee-ball who had a bye. A reminder that training for cricket and all eagle tag teams is at David Thomas oval on Friday morning at 8:10 am and volley ball, newcombe ball, tee-ball and softball are at school at the same time.

In two weeks round 4 will signal the last game in the first part of the summer competition. While Warringah Council closes the ovals so they can take out pitches and put in soccer goals we will be running our winter PSSA trials over the last 3 Fridays of term. Winter sports at this stage will be boys and girls soccer and netball.

Canteen Volunteers Roster Term 1, 2017

Community Notices

High School Open Days 2017

FREE ANZAC Exhibition for Students

Manly Vale Football Club

The Manly Vale Football Club is looking for boys and girls, turning 5 or 6 in 2017 to play in an Under 6 team – the Under 6 Gorillas – on a Saturday morning. Registrations are at the link beow. For more information call Tom Myles on 0488 424 122.

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