28 May 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

It was great to welcome back all of our students to fulltime face to face teaching this week. We are all so proud of our Kindergarten students particularly for the way they have transitioned to the new arrangements of “kiss and drop” at the school gate. The balloons and bubbles as a welcome gesture were greatly appreciated. Thank you to Mrs Oscroft for her organisation of this special welcome.

National Reconciliation Week 27 May - 3 June “In This Together”

This week Manly Vale Public School acknowledged National Sorry Day on Tuesday 26 May as a day to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of our indigenous people. Saying sorry is the first step to reconciliation.

This year the theme of National Reconciliation Week is reinforcing that we all have a part to play in collectively building relationships and communities to value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, history and culture. At Manly Vale Public School, we proudly fly our Australian flag alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in support of reconciliation, the education of truth regarding our Australian history and the acknowledgement of the first people who were the traditional custodians of this land.

Travel to school

Both the 618 and 620 buses are filling up and students will be asked to sit at all times when travelling on the bus for safety reasons. In the afternoons the executive team ensure all students are seated as they leave the school to ensure their safety for the trip home.

Our bus monitors are reporting that the morning bus is very crowded and that some students are standing due to parents insisting on physical distancing. Please see the guidelines below from Transport NSW regarding bus travel.

“Transport for NSW is working closely with the Department of Education and the education sector and is playing a vital role in supporting students getting back to school. The NSW Government’s policy is to not leave a school student behind. There is currently no physical distancing restrictions on dedicated school services.

School students will be given priority over other customers on general services, even if this means a service goes over physical distancing capacity. Adults may have to wait for the next service or may choose to get off if they are not comfortable with how many customers are on a service.

Parents and carers should make travel choices which suit their individual circumstances, including driving, walking and cycling.”

Interviews and Reports

In weeks 9 & 10 of this term, the teachers are aiming to have some form of interviews (phone, zoom or face to face) so as to touch base with parents. A written report will also be given to parents regarding your child’s progress. We as a school are waiting to see if the restrictions lift regarding parental access to the school before we give details around the interview times and platforms.

Super Owls, Merit Awards and Principal Awards

As we are unable to have assemblies at this stage students will receive their Super Owls, Merit Awards and Principal awards in front of their class. Banners will be held until next term when we are able to have our Friday morning assemblies.

School Build Complete

This week we farewell most of our builders with only a skeleton staff of tradespeople left to complete railings and some concrete remediation work. The children were all very excited to see the new facilities and grass areas. We would like to thank ADCO Constructions for their efficiency and professionalism in completing the project. The school looks amazing and it is very exciting to have all our playgrounds and facilities now available to us.

Lunchtime/After School Activities

At this stage we are unable to host our afterschool robotics and science clubs and our lunchtime music groups (Lucid Music). We will notify families as soon as we know when these clubs can go ahead. Our school bands have resumed rehearsals with strict social distancing guidelines and procedures in our school hall. These are the only additional activities until further notice. If you require after or before school care please contact the Manly Vale Primaryoshcare on 0430 369 288 or email mvoshc@primarysoshcare.com.au.

Uniform Shop

Our uniform shop is available for online orders until further notice. Please place your orders via the website or email manlyvaleuniformshop@gmail.com. Orders will be given to students in their classrooms or delivered to the front office for pick up.

At Home Learning

Now that we are all back at school there will be no more online or remote learning provided for students who are at home. As children become sick with colds during these winter months they need to be kept at home until they have no symptoms.

The Department of Education has provided a website where you are able to access lessons for your child during this time. The Learning Hub has activities and assessment tasks that can be used for remote learning. Please follow the link below:

ABC education also has some great resources.

Laptops on Loan

Please return all school-issued laptops and technology to the front office by this Friday 29 May. All laptops must be cleaned and sterilised before returning. Laptop bags should also be wiped out and sprayed with disinfectant prior to returning. Outstanding returns will be followed up next week as the technology is now required at school for our students.

Tina Lee – Principal

Dates for Your Diary

2C Edible Sculptures

School Photos

Hopefully you have all received your photos last week from your teacher or from the front office. For those that were involved in the Choir, School Leaders or SRC photo and would like to view or buy a copy of it, please head to the link below and enter the 9 Digit Online Code: PB2 27Y HEW. Select “browse group photos” from the menu and then make your selection from the list. Once you have chosen the group photo/s you’d like to order, select the View Shopping Cart option and follow the prompts.

Sarah Birrell – Photo Coordinator

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 4 orders are due on Tuesday 23 June 2020.

Community Notices

Northern Beaches Council Covid-19 and shared paths

In these strange Covid-19 times, many more families than usual are using our shared paths. This is a very positive thing to do, for so many reasons; exercise, getting out of the house and mental health being some of those reasons. However, the extra people means that we have to take extra care with our etiquette on shared paths, so that we reduce the risk of injury to ourselves and others.

Please see this short Shared Path video, that is on the Northern Beaches Council YouTube channel.

Please note that everyone can still maintain the required 1.5 metres separation while keeping the Shared Path etiquette, such as walking single file in order to keep to the left and allow others to pass in both directions.