8 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Our week opened with a wonderful performance from our junior and senior bands at Warringah Mall. Both bands are now ending up their year with only the Celebration of Learning and Christmas party night performances to go. It has been a wonderful year for both bands and congratulations to both Ben and Gergely and the band students on their performances this week.

Aboriginal Education

This year the staff has had a focus on Aboriginal education and integrating our current units of work with localised knowledge from our Aboriginal Education Officers (AEO) David Lardner and Clarence Brunisma. Our school leaders went out “On Country” with Dave and Clarence and are currently rewriting our “Acknowledgement of Country” for the opening of our new school.

Last Tuesday the staff were treated to an “On Country” learning experience at Gumbooya Reserve with Dave and are eager to integrate local excursions, visits to aboriginal sites and local aboriginal knowledge into our current curriculum. Aboriginal education will continue to be an area of focus for our staff in 2019.

Disco fever - “Crazy and Kooky disco” – tonight

Year 6 and Mr Dylan have organised a night of fun for all students from kindergarten to year 6. With games, music, prizes and dress-up competitions it will be a night to remember for 2018. As Year 6 comes to the end of their primary school years it is tradition that they present the school with a gift. This gift will be purchased from the money raised at this disco and the disco earlier in the year. Tickets have been on sale all week in the front playground but you may still purchase them on arrival tonight. Please note the times for pick up and drop off – K-2 5.30-7.00pm & Yrs 3-6 7.10-8.40pm. Students going home with other parents need to bring a permission note clearly stating who is picking them up.

Remembrance Day Service - Friday 9 November

Tomorrow our years 5 & 6 students will go down to the Manly Dam memorial to commemorate and remember all the soldiers, nurses and civilians lost in war. Our school captain Kyan McDougall will be presenting his speech for the service representing Manly Vale Public School. The service begins at 10.00am.

Our Year 4 students will lead a service back at school around the flagpole. Poppies have been made by all students to wear on the day. We will remember them.

PSSA Code of Conduct

This week some of our sporting teams have been reminded of their commitment to the PSSA Code of Conduct contract. The expectation of the school is that all students representing Manly Vale Public School adhere strictly to the guidelines of fair play, encouragement and inclusion of all students, and modelling and demonstrating the principles surrounding our “Caring and Sharing” motto. Students who do not comply with these guidelines will receive consequences and could be suspended from playing in Friday afternoon games. All team players are to be reminded of their responsibilities when representing the good name of Manly Vale Public School.

P & C Annual General meeting - Tuesday 13 November 7.00pm

Next Tuesday is our AGM for P & C. It would be terrific to see some new faces come to the meeting in preparation for a new and exciting year for Manly Vale Public School as we open our new school in 2019. Parent input into our strategic directions for the school can be done at P & C meetings and it is important that parents have a forum in which to express their concerns, appreciation or just simply ask a question of the school.

Next Tuesday we will elect a new president, vice president, treasurer and secretary for the P & C. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the outgoing committee for their contributions to the school during 2018.

Thank you to our current P & C executive:

President - James Fewtrell
Vice President - Helen Gay
Treasurer - - Tony Sherlock
Secretary - - Karen Murtgatroyd.

All of their positions will be voted on next Tuesday. Only a current member of the P & C is able to vote on the night but new parents are always welcome to come along and join the P & C in preparation for next year.

Role descriptions for these positions are available by following the link below:

President

The President is responsible for:

• The successful functioning of the P&C Association meetings
• The attainment of the P&C Association’s objectives
• Ensuring that the P&C Association takes part in decision-making processes in the school
• Fostering fair participation of all members and ensuring that all new members are made to feel welcome
• Supporting volunteers
• Consistent adherence to the constitution
• Acting as the P&C Association’s spokesperson when public statements or actions are needed
• Setting up lines of communication with the Principal
• Being signatory on the Association’s bank accounts
• Chairing meetings, in the absence of the President, one of the Vice-Presidents will chair the meeting or the meeting can elect a chairperson from the members present for that meeting.

Vice President

• Supports the president in his/her role and can stand in for the president when absent.

Treasurer

• Whilst all P&C members must be mindful of complying with financial accountability requirements, this is the Treasurer’s primary responsibility. The Treasurer receives and deposits monies, maintains records, draws cheques* and presents accounts.
• The Treasurer also ensures that all funds held and handled by P&C are properly and openly accounted for as the Treasurer is responsible for all funds held in the name of the P&C Association. This includes all P&C Association committees. This does not mean that the Treasurer must undertake the actual bookkeeping themselves but they must ensure that the various sub-committee financial records have been kept to the Treasurer’s satisfaction. The Treasurer is a signatory on the P&C accounts and should not delegate this responsibility.
• The Treasurer should encourage members to understand the state of the P&C Association finances. The Treasurer must ensure a case book or books are kept, recording all financial transactions of the P&C Association.

Secretary

• The Secretary is responsible for carrying out the administrative tasks related to the decisions of the meetings as resolved. The Secretary prepares, in consultation with the President, all meeting agendas.
• The Secretary is required to attend P&C Association meetings and take notes of the discussions in order to produce a set of minutes for subsequent distribution to members and for receipt, possible amendment and adoption at the following meeting. (In the absence of the Secretary the meeting should elect a person to take the minutes, this person should be identified in the minutes.) Further, the position includes receiving and tabling all correspondence as well as writing and dispatching outgoing correspondence as resolved/appropriate. The Secretary also issues notice of all meetings and maintains official records of the P&C Association such as the constitution, by-laws, rules of subcommittees, Incorporation Certificate, ABN details, list of financial (voting) members, minutes, attendance book.

Farewell P & C Members

It is always sad to farewell our year 6 students but equally to say farewell to our parents of these students who have put so much volunteer time and effort into the school. Many of the parents that were on the P & C and School Council when I first arrived are leaving the school this year. I was welcomed so warmly into the school and it is with great sadness that I farewell these parents along with their children this year. I would like to take the time and personally acknowledge their contribution to our wonderful school and wish them all the best as they move their support to the local high schools.

Mel and Andy Corner (Noah) - Mel has been a long-standing secretary, vice president, fundraising coordinator on the P & C. She has worked tirelessly on the band committee for many years and always given her time to Bunnings cake stalls, fundraising commitments, band and dance organisation and support within the school. Mel was the first fundraising coordinator I met when I came to Manly Vale Public School and will be a huge loss to our current P & C. Andy has continually offered his time as the auditor of the P & C and Band Committee books. Thank you for all you have done for our school. You will be greatly missed.

Wendie and Wayne McDougall (Kyan) - Wendie has run the uniform shop this year and may hopefully continue to do so in the future. She has volunteered her time in the uniform shop through many changes and her mother was the designer of the tartan pattern on the current girl’s tunic. She is always a friendly face at the shop on a Friday morning and was the first parent to welcome me as a new principal back in 2012 when I attended the Celebration of Learning assembly. Wendie is always willing to lend a hand to help out and takes pride and pleasure in welcoming new families through her work in the uniform shop. Wayne has made and donated much of the signage in the school from his business and is always in the background supporting Wendie in her volunteer roles. Thank you the McDougall family.

Ian and Heather Hills (Sarah) - Ian currently runs Café Owl and has held the liaison position on the School Council for the last 2 years. He donates his time to the school for various fundraising events and is the chief cook at Café Owl every Friday morning. Heather ran the uniform shop when I first came to the school and turned it into a well-run profit making business that supported school and P & C initiatives. Heather and Ian are always the first to volunteer for fundraising events and are strong supporters of the school. Thank you.

Stewart and Deb Davies (Taylor) - Stewart was the P & C president for 3 years, a great advocate for the interschool rugby knockouts and the chief cook at Café Owl on a Friday morning. Stewart enjoyed playing Santa Claus on the end of year carol’s night. Deb has been a keen volunteer on many fundraising initiatives along with canteen and dance support. Thank you to the Davies family.

Lyn and Anthony Powe (Sarah) - Lyn has been an active member of the P & C and Anthony a long serving member of School Council. The Powes have had 3 lovely daughters go through the school and have volunteered on many fundraising events, and Anthony was the chief coffee maker at Café Owl for many years. Thank you to the Powe family for their contributions.

Natalie Chew (Kaeli) - thank you Natalie for your role as treasurer on the P &C for many years and your ongoing efforts to support the school and various fundraising initiatives.

Justine Northcott (Callum) – thank you Justine for being a long term contributor and organiser for Café Owl and being an active member of P & C.

Mel Lovell (Cleo) and Caroline Pickering (Poppy) - thank you for your work on the Bushcare group and your support of the P & C fundraising events.

These families will be acknowledged at next week’s P & C AGM. As a school principal I thank them for their ongoing commitment and support of the school. They will be greatly missed next year.

Skip-A-thon – 16 November

Next Friday we will have our annual school skip-a-thon. Please make sure you have all your sponsorship forms in on this day ready for the morning skipping.

New school Information Booth - Friday 16 November

There will also be an information booth on the new school build at Café Owl from 8.00am that morning.

Tina Lee - Principal

Waste Free Wednesday

Dates for Your Diary

Disco Thursday 8 November

Summer PSSA Sport 2018

PSSA Results

Skip-a-thon Fundraiser

Dear parents and carers,

Our final fundraising event for 2018 is a SKIPATHON! We are raising funds for classroom resources for our new school. An hour’s fun activity is planned for Friday 16 November 2018, following morning assembly.

There will be 5 great prizes to win: 1 prize for the student in each stage who raises the most amount of money (i.e. Early Stage 1, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3) and… a prize for the student who raises the most money overall!

Please Note: All sponsorship forms and money need to be handed in by Friday 16 November to be eligible for a prize.

Two Easy Payment Options:

Be sure to indicate on your sponsorship form how you paid and return the sponsorship form to your child’s class teacher by Friday 16 November.

Thank you!
P&C Committee

The Mall Music / Westfield Warringah Mall School Showcase

On Monday 5 November, the Junior and Senior Bands performed a variety of excellent songs at Warringah Mall as part of the School Showcase. We are very proud of their efforts and they represented Manly Vale Public School positively.

Thank you to all the spectators who came along to support the band by watching this wonderful performance.

Mrs Humphreys & Miss Stacey - Band Teacher Liaisons

Wellbeing and Welfare Support

Motivation & Praise: Supporting Children's Confidence (KidsMatter.edu.au)

How confidence develops

For most children, starting school means spending more time on learning and less on play. It also means more expectations of them – from parents, carers, school staff and also from themselves.

Primary school children typically start out with high expectations. When they see how well they do things compared to others, their view of their own abilities often changes. They learn that they are good at some things and not so good at others. They also see how other children and school staff respond to what they do. These things influence children’s confidence in their abilities. They also influence how willing they are to have a go in situations where they feel unsure.

How parents and carers can help

Confidence improves through building on small successes. Parents and carers (and school staff) can help by:

• explaining to children that skills develop with practice
• encouraging children to persist when they don’t succeed straight away
• praising effort, persistence and improvement
• making sure that goals are achievable by breaking down large tasks or responsibilities into small steps
• being ready to help when necessary, without taking over.

Encouraging children to have a go and valuing individual improvement support children’s confidence.

Confident thinking

Self-esteem is an important part of confidence. Having good self-esteem means accepting and feeling positive about yourself. Confidence is not just feeling good but also knowing you are good at something. Particular ways of thinking are very important for building confidence.

Helpful ways of thinking include:

• believing that, if you try, you can succeed
• finding positive ways to cope with failure that encourage having another go
• enjoying learning for its own sake by competing with your own performance rather than that of others
• making sure that goals are achievable by breaking down large tasks or responsibilities into small steps
• being ready to help when necessary, without taking over.

Dealing with disappointment

Everybody fails to achieve their goals sometimes. Parents and carers can help by:

• responding sympathetically and with encouragement (eg “That was disappointing, but at least you had a go.”)
• helping children focus on what they can change to make things better, rather than thinking that the situation is unchangeable or that there is something wrong with them (eg “What can you try that might make that work better next time?”)
• challenging ‘I can’t’ thinking by showing and saying you believe in them and reminding them of what they have achieved.

Optimistic thinking recognises what has been achieved more than what is lacking. It looks at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Parents and carers can help children focus on their own effort and on achieving personal goals as the best way to measure success.

Mrs Humphreys - (Welfare Committee Member)

School Student Transport Scheme 2019 Applications (including Opal Cards)

School Student applications for 2019 open from Monday 15 October 2018. Students progressing to year 3 and year 7 do not need to re-apply if they:

• Are continuing at the same school;
• Are residing at the same address;
• Have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2018 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2018, the system will automatically cancel a card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out during December 2018 and January 2019.

Transport for NSW

Canteen Volunteers needed

Volunteers are needed for Thursday 22 November 9.00am-1.30pm; Thursday 29 November 9.00-11.30am; Tuesday 4 December for both shifts; Friday 7 December 9.00-11.30am; Tuesday 11 December for both shifts.

Canteen Volunteers Roster Term 4, 2018

Volunteers are needed for Thursday 22 November 9.00am-1.30pm; Thursday 29 November 9.00-11.30am; Tuesday 4 December for both shifts; Friday 7 December 9.00-11.30am; Tuesday 11 December for both shifts.

Canteen Volunteers Roster Term 4, 2018