Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Last week our year 5 & 6 students travelled to Tea Gardens to the Great Aussie Bush Camp. It was sad to see the burnt ruins of the old “Leyland Brothers Ayres Rock” that was once the landmark for the camp. However this didn’t dampen the spirits of the students, teachers or camp instructors during our camp stay.

Years 5 & 6 participated in many team building and outdoor activities including Lost Island (Mud World commando course), rock climbing, canoeing and archery. As seen from the following photos teacher and students alike gave 100% in effort to all they did over the 3 days.

Thank you to the Stage 3 teaching team Mr Dylan, Mrs Cash, Mrs Humphreys, Mrs Ward and Miss Martin for taking time out of your family life and giving our students such a memorable experience. I thoroughly enjoyed being with the children and seeing them all push themselves out of their comfort zones and achieve the personal goals they set for themselves during the activities.

Thanks also to the wonderful executive team Mrs Speight, Mrs Blackband and Mrs Lucey who ran the school during my absence.

Dancesport Challenge 2018

Last Monday our year 5 students treated the school to a ballroom dancing display on the basketball court. It was great to see how our year 5 students had been able to learn such complex dances including cha cha, jive, salsa and tango during their term of dancing with Brad Humphries. Brad is a national Ballroom Dancing champion who has not only taught our students these dances but also to believe and have confidence in themselves.

Our top 19 couples then travelled to Homebush to compete against 20 other schools in the Dancesport challenge. Congratulations to Matilda Graham and Toby Marsters for being the overall winners of the Salsa dance competition, and bringing home the trophy. They will perform at this Friday’s assembly for any interested parents. Thank you also to Sally Kilbride who assisted with last minute alterations of costumes along with Helen Gay who had to run and purchase another set of trousers, to our Year 5 teachers Ms Martin, Mrs Ward and Mrs Humphreys for organising and attending the event, and to all the parents who assisted with make-up and preparation of our finalist couples.

Kindy Orientation 2019

Last Tuesday we had the first of our 3 orientation sessions. We currently have 80 students enrolled for Kindergarten next year. It is important that children attend every orientation session so as to have a smooth transition into “big school” and also to allow the teachers to assess them for school readiness. The next orientation session is on Wednesday 26 September at 1.45pm. Thank you to Mrs Speight and our Kindy team for their organisation.

NAPLAN online

Manly Vale was one of 420 schools to complete the NAPLAN test online for years 3 & 5. There has been a lot of media coverage on this trial. Next year there will be a further 800 schools added to the current schools to participate in the tests online. Our student reports are due out from 13 September.

What are the advantages?

1. Tailored testing - questions become more difficult or easy for students according to how they are performing. Therefore assessments are more individual and provide a more accurate snapshot of a student’s strengths and weaknesses.
2. A faster turnaround of information
3. More engaging for students.

Please visit the following site for more information:

NAPLAN Online: key messages

• NAPLAN helps parents, carers and educators to see if children are meeting important numeracy and literacy standards. It is used to support school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor their students’ progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.
• NAPLAN provides parents and carers with an individual report, showing their child’s results and a national comparison of their child’s performance against other Australian students in their year level.
• NAPLAN Online will provide better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of information.
• NAPLAN Online will use ‘tailored testing’, which gives students questions better suited to their ability, resulting in better assessment and more precise results.
• The precision and improved timing of the results will help teachers tailor their teaching more specifically to student needs.
• An online national assessment platform has been developed by Education Services Australia with funds from the Australian Government.
• Significant planning, development, research and trialling have been ongoing since 2012 to support the move to NAPLAN Online.

An information meeting about our schools’ performance in NAPLAN is scheduled for Thursday 20 September at 3.15pm in the computer room. Please enrol at the front office if you wish to attend.

The New School

The old hall will not be demolished these school holidays as the new hall isn’t ready for occupation therefore the Manly Vale Public School primaryOSHcare will be fully functional on site during the holiday period. We will hopefully get some access to the new hall before the end of the year but will continue to use the old hall for the time being.

The teachers will have to start packing up their classrooms during term 4 so that the move into the new school will be done over the Christmas holiday period. School memorabilia and artwork will be kept and stored so it can be transferred to the new school.

Elton Consulting have been engaged by the Department of Education to provide some communication for parents and the community around the transition to the new school. They will be attending some Café Owl mornings next term.

Spelling Bee - Castle Cove Primary School

Congratulations to the following students who represented our school at the Spelling Bee last Tuesday. Thank you to Mrs Cash who attended the competition to support our students.

Stage 2 – Ari Goodsir, Laura Andersen
Stage 3 - Joseph Wright, Georgina Diaz De Rivera

Bus Use and Opal cards

Just a reminder that we have two more Parent Information Forums coming up this term. You will need to register at the front office if you would like to attend either session. Each session is capped at 30 participants.

We hope to see you there!

We are currently trying to get some long-term solutions to the overcrowding of buses in the afternoon. This will only happen if the bus company can see the amount of usage these buses are getting. We are insisting that all students have an opal card and use it everyday. Free bus travel is offered to all K-2 students with years 3-6 students receiving a free Opal card if they live further than 1.6km away or otherwise they are expected to walk or purchase an opal card.

Please use the link below to order an opal card for your child:

School Fees - overdue

We still have outstanding payments for alot of the activities the students have now done. Overdue camp, gym and dance fees need to be paid immediately. Please be aware that if fees aren’t paid your child may miss out on additional opportunities where costs are involved. If you are experiencing financial difficulties please contact me for a confidential interview.

Tina Lee

K-2 Assistant Principal Report

Developing independent, resilient students within a safe and supportive learning environment.

Parent Information Forum Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to say a huge thank you to the kindergarten parents who very generously supplied morning tea for our first 2019 Kindergarten Orientation presentation last Tuesday. It was a HUGE success! I am always so overwhelmed by the generosity of our parent community, so thank you.

Just a reminder that we have two more Parent Information Forums coming up this term. You will need to register at the front office if you would like to attend either session. Each session is capped at 30 participants. We hope to see you there!

Please find below an outline of the remaining Parent Information Forums for Term 3:

Kind Regards,
Carol Speight

Waste Free Wednesday

Dates for Your Diary

Parent Information Session – Session 7

Stage 3 Great Aussie Bush Camp

Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday years 5 & 6 attended the Great Aussie Bush Camp at Tea Gardens. The parents farewelled their children as we boarded our 3 buses at 7.00am on the Wednesday morning. After a brief morning tea stop we arrived at camp excited and eager to start our first activities.

The children were shown to their cabins, met their instructor for the camp, sang a few rowdy camp songs and then off they went. Three groups had Lost Island or more affectionately known as Mud World first off, which was quite fitting with the intermittent rain that kept falling but failing to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.

All the students challenged themselves throughout the camp whether it was conquering their fear of heights on the giant swing or having to focus for extended periods while aiming for a bulls eye at archery, of which we scored quite a few! We had a nice dark night for Commando/Spotlight which favoured the students for rescuing hostages using impressive amounts of stealth.

After an amazing and exhausting 3 days all the staff and students arrived back at school on Friday afternoon. The staff who attended Mrs Ward, Miss Cash, Miss Martin, Mrs Humphreys Mrs Lee and myself would all like to congratulate the students on their wonderful attitude and exemplary behaviour at camp.

Personally I would like to thank Mrs Lee our fearless leader who accompanied us for the first night and led each group through Mud World, being the first one in and the last one out each time. Also a huge thank you to the other staff who accompanied the children. They canoed, climbed, swung and got muddy with all the children as well as looking after medicines, dietary requirements, funny tummies and the odd homesick child. They made the camp the amazing experience it was for the children.

Pat Dylan

Zone and Regional Athletics Carnival Update

Below please find some more photos of our amazingly successful students from the Zone Athletics Carnival in week 6.

We would love to wish our Regional Athletics competitors the best of luck next Monday.

They include Kyan McDougall - discus, Levi Coates-Westerink - Snr High Jump, Hilton Kennedy - Snr 800m and Lucy Scholtens - Snr Long Jump, Snr 200m and Snr 100m.

Jump high and far, throw well, run fast and most importantly have fun. We are extremely proud of your accomplishments and wish you all the best.

Pat Dylan

Dancesport – Year 5

Over the past few months, year 5 students took part in ballroom dancing lessons taught by a professional ballroom dance teacher and dancer, Brad. Students learnt the Cha Cha, Jive, Salsa and Tango. The aim of the program is to improve students overall confidence and wellbeing in a supportive and energetic way. On Monday 10 September, 38 students (19 couples) represented Manly Vale in the Dancesport Confidence Gala Event at Sydney Olympic Park. Some of the couples were selected by Brad to represent Manly Vale as finalists in the choreographed dances.

All students embraced the opportunity and were eager to improve each week. We are so proud of the efforts put in by the students. Well done year 5!

Sarah Humphreys

2018 Premier’s Spelling Bee

On Tuesday 11 September, four of our wonderful spellers represented Manly Vale Public School at the regional finals of the 2018 Premier’s Spelling Challenge at Castle Cove Public School.

The Manly Vale representatives were:

We are so proud of the students’ achievements and the way they embraced the competition with enthusiasm. Congratulations for their wonderful efforts.

Sarah Humphreys - Spelling Bee Coordinator

Library News

Premier's Reading Challenge

Congratulations to the 127 students who completed the Premier's Reading Challenge 2018. Your certificates will be presented in term four.

Lunch with the Stars

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of taking eight year 6 students to Lunch with the Stars at the ICMS College, Manly. This is an annual literary event held by the local branch of the Children's Book Council. We were invited to dress up as book characters and decorate our table with the theme “Find Your Treasure”. We were very lucky to welcome local author Felicity Pulman (Ghost Boy, The Janna Chronicles, The Little Penguins of Manly) who engaged the children in discussion about her approach to writing and inspiration. Felicity very kindly shared some of her most successful writing tips!

Here are some of the students comments:

Emily – We met many great authors and we had a fantastic experience that I will never forget.

Bodhi – If there was one thing I really took from today it was definitely the advice that all the amazing authors gave to us. I love to write lots of creative stories so today was definitely beneficial for me, thanks loads.

Georgina – I had a wonderful time! I was so thrilled that I won the drawing competition.

Poppy – I really enjoyed the day, we had a lot of fun and the food was really good.

Luke – Today I will treasure books and authors because treasure can be your wonder!

Lucy – I like today it was really good. The food was yum and the ice cream was delicious.

Isaac – The highlight was definitely meeting John Flanagan.

Tom – At Lunch with the Stars it inspired me to do more art and illustrations. My favourite part was when we had to draw a dragon, Georgina's picture won. It was a great experience!

Mark Greenwood – The History Hunter: Breathing Life into Legends

Year 3-6 had the wonderful opportunity to hear author Mark Greenwood speak about his passion for Australian history and how he approaches his research and writing. The students were enthralled with his stories of bushrangers, explorers and lost treasure! Mark very kindly donated three of his books to our library, which he signed and dedicated especially to Manly Vale. We now have a wonderful collection of Mark Greenwood books ready for borrowing.

Book Sale Thursday 20 September

THERE WILL NO MORE BORROWING THIS TERM. PLEASE HELP YOUR CHILD TO RETURN ALL LIBRARY BOOKS FOR STOCKTAKE.

Happy Reading
Glynis Poole – Teacher Librarian

Learning Support Update

Last Wednesday the Learning Support Team attended the Connect Expo at the Beach School in Allambie. Over 50 local agencies attended this expo, promoting who they are and how they serve the community. Many of these services provide support to families in the areas of education, health and relationships. Please see links below of agencies that may be able to provide support for families in need.

Family Relationship Centre:

Strengthening family relationships. Helping families stay together. Assisting families through separation.

If you are having relationship problems in your family, our Family Relationship Centres can help. We provide information, support and referrals and you can talk about your situation with our highly trained staff who will listen to you in a safe, non-judgemental and confidential environment.

Family & Child Services Community Northern Beaches:

Family and Child Worker regularly partners with local organisations to provide programs and inventions that are designed to cater for specific needs surrounding parenting and issues that children may face growing up.

Northern Beaches Youth & Family Counselling Service:

Free & confidential support for young people and their families living on the northern beaches.

Northern Beaches Family Support Service:

Providing practical and emotional support for families with children aged 0-12 years and expectant mothers in the Northern Beaches Local Government Area.

Parenting Education for Mum, Dads & Carers:

Offering a range of parenting courses, workshops & seminars for mums, dads and carers of children 1-18yrs.

Northern Beaches ADHD Support Group:

Voluntary parent-run group offering support for parents/carers of children/teenagers with ADHD/ASD via monthly meetings.

Kyds Youth Development Service:

Free Counselling and support for Young People and their Families in Northern Sydney. Depression, Anxiety, School Problems, Anger Management, Family Issues.

Cadence Abrahams - on behalf of the LST

Scholastic Book Club

Orders are due back at school no later than Friday 14 September 2018.

Canteen News

Pie & Popper Day:

Thursday 20 September - $5.50 for a large meat pie and choice of juice popper. Order now via Flexischools or over the counter.

Thursday & Friday lunchtimes

Can you spare 1-1 ½ hours to help out with canteen counter service? An extra pair of hands during these busy times would be really appreciated and your children will love seeing you working in the canteen.

Term 4 Roster

Robyn is working on the volunteer roster, if you would like to join our lovely team of volunteers please let us know.

Kerry Smallman - Canteen Supervisor
manlyvalepscanteen@gmail.com

Canteen Volunteers Roster Term 3, 2018

Community Notices

NSW Police Legacy Child Safety Handbook

The “Child Safety Handbook” is a comprehensive resource to assist parents, carers as well as teachers on a range of topics essential to child safety. The handbook is now available in digital format (see link below) and the latest 2018 online edition includes important updated content provided by: NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW RFS, Transport of NSW, Sydney Trains, NSW Department of Family & Community Services, eSafety Commissioner and NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian.