7 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome back all students, parents and teachers. What an exciting start for us all with the opening of our new school. The teachers and students are all enjoying their new air conditioned classrooms and loving working collaboratively within a new and modern environment. Although there is still some unpacking to be done most classes are very settled and enjoying their new spaces and teachers. Thank you to our committed staff who have worked tirelessly over the past week.

Farewell Mrs Glynis Poole

Our wonderful librarian Mrs Glynis Poole will retire today after 14 years of service to Manly Vale Public School and 38 years with the Department of Education. Glynis has run and managed our school library for 14 years and will be missed greatly by all she has worked with, along with the thousands of children she has inspired to read. Her love of literature and her passion for sharing books has been enjoyed by us all. Mrs Poole has also organised and managed scripture and ethics classes and is responsible for most of our in-school visits from performing artists. She will also be remembered for her amazing costumes on Book Week parades and mufti days.

Glynis looks forward to spending her retirement pursuing other passions, reading more and volunteering within the community. We will clap out Mrs Poole at the end of the day down the big walkway at the front of the school. Please feel free to join in and wish her farewell.

I’d like to thank and personally acknowledge her service to the Department Of Education and wish her all the best for a long and happy retirement.

Classes and Teachers for 2019

It was great to be able to form classes on day 1 this year. We have a few new teachers and of course many new rooms. Following is the list of teachers:

Congratulations Mrs Sarah Humphreys and Mrs Tegan Buckley (Robertson)

During the Christmas Holidays Mrs Sarah Humphreys announced she was pregnant and will be going on maternity leave during term 2. Congratulations to Sarah and her husband Rohan on this wonderful news. Sarah will be teaching science to Stage 3 this term until she goes on leave.

Ms Tegan Buckley married Dave Robertson and became Mrs Tegan Robertson. Sincere congratulations to you both on this very special occasion.

RFF/Science teachers

Our additional teachers for 2019 are as follows:

Mrs Jackie Holman - Science - Kindergarten, executive release ES1 (Mrs Jane Coulson is filling in this week)
Mrs Aga Banham - Science, Gifted and Talented programs, executive release Stage 2
Mrs Sarah Humphreys - Science and executive release - Stage 3
Learning and support - Mrs Cadence Abrahams and Mrs Karen Bellamy
Librarian / SEE & SRE coordinator - Clair O’Connor
School Learning and Support Officers (SLSO) – Peter Snailham, Mary Garth, Jayne Crain, Stephanie Davison.

Office Staff

Welcome back to our wonderful office staff.

School Administration Manager - Pam Davison
School Administration Officers - Luise Nealon, Annabel Marsden, Ann Baleisis

Information Nights

All classes will have information nights where parents will be able to come along and meet the class teacher and find out about the class organisation for the year. There is opportunity to elect a Class Coordinator who will make an email class list and communicate all P & C events and class requirements. The Class Coordinators are the main source of organisation and communication for P & C and everyday classroom events and needs. Sometimes they organise a class get-together and email reminders for excursions. Mrs Kristen Te Pania will represent the Coordinators at P & C meetings and assist with any enquiries the coordinators have.

Information Nights 2019:

School Tours

Mrs Lee will run school tours 45 minutes before each of these information nights for interested parents and community members. Feel free to meet Mrs Lee at the front of the school on any of the nights above at 5.15pm for a tour of the new school.

Swimming Carnival - Tuesday 12 February

Next Tuesday we have our annual school swimming carnival at Manly “Boy Charlton” pool. Please note that season passes do not apply this day for students and the total cost of the excursion is based on bus hire to and from the event and pool entry. All permission notes and money must be returned to school for students to attend.

Only year 2 students who can competently swim 50 metres and turn 8 this year are eligible to attend. Year 2 students who are not attending the carnival will remain at school with their teachers.

Thanks you to Mrs Sarah Birrell and Mrs Mel Ward for their organisation of this day. A huge job at the beginning of the year. Parent volunteers for time keeping and judging will be required to report to Mrs Ward on arrival at the pool at approximately 9.40am for the 10.00am start.

Congratulations SRC Representatives

Congratulations to the following Student Representative Council members on their election to these positions this week. They will receive their badges on Friday morning (8 February) at our 9.00am assembly under the Cola Area at the back of the school. All parents are welcome to attend.

Stage 3 Surf Education

Years 5 & 6 will have a talk on Friday regarding surf safety in preparation for their Surf Education day on Thursday 14 February. Please return all permission notes regarding the Surf Education day (Thursday 14 February) by the end of the week.

Congratulations to Hannah Murtgatroyd and Ruby Nelson

Congratulations to Hannah Murtgatroyd and Ruby Nelson who played in the Manly Warringah U13 team at the 2019 Australia Day Junior Softball Carnival. They played in 40 degree temperatures and came 6th overall, missing out by 1 run on a place in the semi-finals. Great effort from our Year 5 girls!

Tina Lee - Principal

K-2 Assistant Principal’s Report

Shaping little minds for the future through creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking

Dear Parents and Carers,

The Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) and Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) teams have had a fabulous start to the year. We have been extremely impressed with how quickly our K-2 students have settled into their new school, classes and routines.

Our Parent Information Evenings are quickly approaching:

Early Stage 1 (ES1): Monday 18 February 6-7pm
Stage 1 (S1): Thursday 21 February 6-7pm

Both sessions will begin in the breakout space between the Year 3 and Year 4 classrooms on the 2nd floor, before parents are invited back to their child’s classroom.

Both events will be well signposted each evening.

Please note that this evening is not for personal interviews with your child’s teacher. It is a forum for delivering consistent information to parents and carers of students in K-2.

We truly appreciate the incredible support and positive comments we have received regarding our new school and classrooms. All staff and students are extremely excited about the exciting year ahead. Your positive comments help make our job that much more rewarding, so thank you!

We look forward to an incredible year shaping little minds and hearts.

Mrs Carol Speight - K-2 Assistant Principal

Yr 3-4 Assistant Principal Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

The Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) classes and teaching teams have enjoyed a fantastic start to the new year in our brand new school. It has been wonderful to welcome our Year 3 and 4 students into their new classes and get to know each other over the past week.

We welcome all parents and carers to our Parent Information Evening on Tuesday 26 February, 6.00-7.00pm. The Stage 2 teachers look forward to meeting you in our school hall where we will begin the evening before parents are invited back to their child’s classroom.

Please note that this evening is not for personal interviews with your child’s teacher. It is a forum for delivering consistent information to parents and carers of students in Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4).

The Stage 2 teaching team would like to thank you for the kind words and support we have already received for the year ahead. We are very much looking forward to settling in to our new learning spaces and continuing to create rich and engaging experiences for our students.

What an incredible year we have ahead!

Miss Catherine Thomson - Stage 2 Assistant Principal

Dates for Your Diary

Band Rehearsals 2019

Welcome back to our band members and welcome to our new band members!

Rehearsals will commence in week 3 at 7:35am in the new school hall.

• Senior Band – Monday 11 February & Wednesday 13 February
• Junior Band – Tuesday 12 February & Thursday 14 February

Gergely, our past Junior Band conductor, has taken up a position at another school. We wish him all the best in his new role. Ben will conduct the Junior Band until a new junior band conductor is employed.

Good luck to all of our band members for 2019.

Mrs Humphreys & Miss Stacey

House Captains

At the end of last year students from Yrs 2-5 voted for their 2019 House Captains. These students will be receiving their badges on Friday 15 February at the morning assembly under the P block COLA. Congratulations to these students and may you serve your houses well at the upcoming carnivals.

Learning Support

Welcome back to the 2019 school year! The Learning Support team is excited to be back and to continue our work here at Manly Vale. We even have our own classroom this year! For those who are unfamiliar with Learning Support, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce the team and give a brief overview of what we do.

Manly Vale has two Learning and Support Teachers (LaSTs) – Ms Karen Bellamy, who works Mondays, Tuesdays and every second Thursday (odd weeks), and Ms Cadence Abrahams (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Our role is to support staff and assist students with additional learning needs to access the curriculum. We also have four SLSOs (Student Learning Support Officers): Peter Snailham, Mary Garth, Jayne Crain and Steph Davison. Their role is to guide and support students with learning, under the direction of class teachers or the LaSTs. Our school counsellor is Mrs Deborah Curran and the team is overseen by Mrs Carol Speight (Stage 1 AP) and Mrs Tina Lee (Principal).

Learning support is delivered in a variety of ways: team-teaching, small group work, one-to-one individual support (just to name a few). We also implement and monitor programs run within the school, such as MultiLit and Peer Tutoring. We are here to support not only staff and students but parents also, via meetings and communication regarding their child’s learning.

Each week in the Bush Telegraph we will endeavour to provide information that is relevant to learning support and of interest to the community. This week we will briefly discuss starting a new school year.

Settling in

“Big school” is a big change! It is very normal for children to experience a variety of emotions in the lead-up to and during the first few weeks of school. Allow your child time to settle and try to remain positive – this demonstrates to your child that school is a safe place and that you believe they will cope and have fun.

Some children (and parents!) find it difficult to separate at drop-off in the morning which can be upsetting for both parties. Below are some tips for saying goodbye in the morning:

• Tell your child when you’re leaving and when you’ll see them next. Leaving without saying goodbye can make things worse. Your child might feel confused or upset when they realise you’re not around and they might be harder to settle next time.
• Help your child settle by encouraging them to engage in play.
• Say goodbye to your child briefly – don’t drag it out.
• Keep a relaxed and happy look on your face when leaving. If you seem worried or sad, your child might think school isn’t safe and could get upset.
• Have a designated pick-up spot or home-time routine to alleviate anxiety in the afternoon.
• Please contact the school if you are going to be late picking up your child. This will also alleviate any anxiety.
• Spend time together after school, sharing a healthy snack and talking about the day. Children are not always forthcoming with information so it may be helpful to ask quite specific questions such as: What made you smile today? What was your favourite thing that happened today? What did you play at morning tea? Who did you sit next to? What was something you found challenging? etc.

Of course if it is nearing the end of term and your child is still struggling to settle in, please make an appointment to see their class teacher.

More information can be found at:

Suggested books:

The Invisible String – Karst, P. (suitable for K-3)

Owl Babies – Waddell, M. & Benson, P. (suitable for Kindergarten)

Learning Support Team

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic Book Club issue a catalogue twice a term and offer a wide range of products appropriate to the age of your children.

Our school receives 20% from all orders and this is used to purchase class resources and books for the children. The money raised from last year’s book club orders allowed each class teacher to receive a mini library for their new classroom.

Ordering can be done online (preferred method) at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by downloading the LOOP App.

Ordering dates will appear in the newsletter after each issue has been handed out to the children.

Issue 1 orders are due by Friday 15 February 2019.

If you wish to purchase items as a gift and do not want them to be distributed directly to your child, please select GIFT ORDER when ordering online.

If you have any queries concerning book club, please contact Jodi Twidale 0421 082 927 or email joditwidale@gmail.com

Volunteers Needed – Café Owl

Volunteers needed to work at Café Owl, our Friday morning café

Run exclusively by Manly Vale parent volunteers every Friday from 8.00-9.00am, it’s a popular place to meet friends and enjoy a yummy bacon/egg roll and coffee before school.

We need parent (or grandparent) helpers to keep our café running. Working at Café Owl is a great way to meet other parents and help raise funds for our school. If you’ve like to volunteer, please contact Justine at jneditorial@gmail.com.au or 0406 451 098.

Canteen News

Welcome back to school. We are very excited to be in the new canteen and looking forward for work with all the volunteers this year. The new canteen is situated next to the new school hall. We still have some date/time slots on the roster (they are the ones with ?) that we need help. If you could help out we would love to hear from you either email manlyvalepscanteen@gmail.com or call Robyn on 0402 911 655.

Robyn and Kerry - Canteen Supervisors

Canteen Volunteers Roster Term 1, 2019

Community Notices

NBSC Balgowlah Boys Campus Open Evening and Day

Join us for our Open Evening on Wednesday 13 February, 6.00pm - 7:30pm:

And our Open Day on Thursday 14 February 9:30am – 12.00pm:

Our Open Day will involve tours of the campus, band performance, demonstration lessons in Science, PE Technology, Dance, Visual Arts and Music. BBQ for students and morning tea for parents.