15 October 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome back to what seems an already busy term 4. It is hard to believe that we are opening our Term 4 events with a bushfire fundraiser that we have put off since Term 1. Manly Vale Public School participated in the “adopt a school” program to help schools who were badly affected by the by the January and February bushfires. It was to become an SRC charity of the year with all students fundraising activities targeted to support this school in the Riverina.

Our first SRC meeting in Term 1 of this year was designed to introduce our students to the effects of the bushfires and brainstorm ways to assist this school and their community. My last communication with Jennifer Lumsden was on the 5 March this year where she wrote:

“We have been very fortunate at Tumbarumba that our school wasn't damaged however the fires have impacted all of our school and staff members. Many families were immediately impacted by loss of buildings, fences, pasture and stock. The evacuation of the town and district also affected everyone as families and children were away from their homes for up to three weeks watching the fires progress from the distance (which is in some ways more difficult for the parents). Many were without power for up to 3-4 weeks. We have found that children who are already managing mental health issues have been much more dysregulated which has been challenging for staff as they have returned to school very tired themselves.

We are also beginning to see the impact on businesses, jobs etc as all normal work ceased and the focus was solely on fighting the fires. The fallout will continue into the future as many businesses have been given huge blows such as the timber industry, vineyards and wineries, a large blue berry operation and tourism being severely damaged.

I have taken your offer of support to our executive and an area we are concerned about is the capacity of parents being able to fund the costs of excursion throughout the year. Every year the students, particularly Stage 2 and 3 undertake fundraising to help subsidise the cost of their major excursions for Stage 2 to Borambola (Sport and Recreation Centre nr Wagga) and Stage 3, this year to Sydney. Our infants usually go on a day excursion to an event or show of some description in Wagga or surrounding areas.

We were wondering if your students would be interested in fundraising to contribute towards subsidising their excursions?” Jennifer Lumsden (Tumbarumba Principal)

Tomorrow’s fundraiser is about helping this school and its community to recover after the devastating losses they have experienced due to the bushfires. I would ask all our families to please donate money to assist the 160 students of this school and their families. Tomorrow’s fundraiser is about wearing the school colours of Tumbarumba Public School (green and white) and bringing in a donation from home to assist this community. Thank you for all you are able to provide for this community! Donations will be collected by our school leaders tomorrow. Please give generously!

Bushfire Action Plan

This week Mrs Ward and myself met with the WHS consultant regarding a bushfire plan and strategy for Manly Vale Public School. We are in a bushfire prone zone and it is important to annually evaluation of our evacuation plan and bushfire prevention strategies.

Annual clearing and maintenance has occurred on our Asset Protection Zone during the last school holidays and the schools’ WHS committee is currently reviewing our Emergency Management Plan to ensure all students, staff and community are well aware of their responsibilities during the bushfire season.

Banner Assembly

Congratulations to all our wonderful students who received a School Banner at the final assembly for Term 3. It was wonderful to be able to acknowledge and applaud the great achievements of our students at this assembly. Although parents weren’t able to attend it was a special day for all of these students.

Kindergarten Orientation 2021

As the restrictions ease we are able to have our new students for 2021 attend an orientation program at the school. Thank you to all the parents who attended the zoom meeting “Question and Answer” session on Monday 21 September.

We will now look forward to meeting our new enrolments face to face on Monday 2 November and Monday 9 November. If you haven’t yet enrolled for Kindergarten 2021 please make sure you do before these dates so that you are included in the program. Thank you to Mrs Oscroft and the Kindergarten team for all their work and preparation.

Enquiries regarding enrolments can be made to our front office. All enrolment forms are now due.

Uniforms will be available for viewing in the front office on Monday 2 November. Sizes and styles will be displayed in the front office from this day. Uniform orders can be made online through

Year 5 Leadership

This week we will begin our preparations for leadership 2021. Our year 5 students will begin their training for leadership next year. Mrs Blackband will be preparing the students for their leadership journey with a short discussion on the various roles and responsibilities required for the 2021 Leadership team. A Year 5 Leadership day has been organised for next Monday 19 October. Year 5 students will participate in a variety of leadership activities around the theme “Leading With Heart.” It is an exciting time for our future leaders and I wish them all the best in their Leadership Journey over the next few weeks.

Book Week – 2020 “Curious Creatures and Wild Minds”

Next week we will celebrate Book Week 2020. The theme is “Curious Creatures and Wild Minds”. We are asking that all students dress up in their favourite book character on Wednesday 21 October in line with the theme or as their favourite book character. Mrs Webster, our Librarian, is excited to celebrate Book Week 2020 with all of our students on that day.

Skip-A-Thon 2020

This year we have been unable to support our P & C fundraising efforts due to the COVID restrictions. No money has been raised by our P & C this year and yet the expenses have been ongoing for the uniform shop and canteen. A priority for the P & C fundraising is the replacement and refurbishment of the current outdoor fixed equipment.

As a school we would like to hold our one and only fundraiser for the year. A skip-a-thon! Sponsorship forms will be sent home this week for you to collect money to provide for new fixed equipment in our outdoor play spaces and the ongoing expenses for staff on our canteen and uniform shop.

The skip-a-thon will be held on Friday 6 November at school. This short turn around means that students will need to collect sponsorship over the next 2 weeks. Please give generously for our one and only fundraiser this year! All sponsorship forms and collections will need to be finalised by 6 November 2020. Thank you for your continued support of the school and the P & C during this difficult time.

Year 3 Check in assessments

This week in the absence of NAPLAN our year 3 students have taken part in a check in assessment online. This information will inform the end of year reports for our year 3 students and assist in catering for the individual needs of our students.

Junior Band Performance – Tuesday 27 October

Our Junior Band will perform to year 2 and 3 students on Tuesday 27 October. This will be their first performance for the year. This performance will be to explain and allow students from years 2 and 3 to join the band program in 2021. Thank you to Carlos and the Junior Band for all their work in keeping the commitment to the Band program alive during a very difficult year.

OOSH Tender 2020

Next week we will evaluate the tender submissions for our Before and After school program. Currently the licence is held by the Primary OSHCare company. Mr John Gillings is the parent representative on the panel to assess the applications along with Mrs Oscroft (Deputy Principal) and Mrs Lee (Principal). If you wish to have an input into the proceeding please contact one of these people.

Opal Cards

Please ensure your child has an opal card and uses it to swipe on and off the bus when travelling. The Opal cards are the only assessment for patronage of our bus services. The bus company bases its decisions on whether to include additional services to a school on the amount of opal cards used. We are currently trying to get an additional service for the 620 and it would be extremely helpful if students bring their passes and use them when travelling.

Parking

Every week a neighbour calls the school with complaints of driveways being blocked due to parents illegally parking in the pick-up and drop off times. Please do not park across the neighbour’s driveways. There is plenty of parking just a short walk from the school. Please respect our neighbours and their property.

Tina Lee – Principal

Year 5 Students - Selective High School Test, Year 7 2022

Year 5 students all received a note this week outlining the application process for Selective High School applications for Year 7 2022. Could you please return the permission note if you would like your child to apply for Selective High School. If we do not receive a reply we assume that you and your child are not applying.

The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on Thursday 11 March 2021.

If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2020, you need to apply on the internet.

Detailed instructions on how to apply online will be available at the link below:

The application website opened at that link on 6 October 2020 and closes on 9 November 2020. You must apply before the closing date.

There are no paper application forms. If you do not have internet access, you could apply at a public library. If you have a disability that prevents you from using a computer, you can contact the High Performance Unit for assistance.

TO APPLY YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER AND THEN APPLY THROUGH THE HIGH PERFORMING STUDENTS WEBSITE.

I you have any further questions please contact Mrs Blackband via the school office.

Skip-A-Thon

Friday 6 November 2020 (week 4), all children from K-6 will be participating in our school skip-a-thon. The Children will be demonstrating their skipping skills across a range of rotational skipping activities. This is the main P & C fundraiser for 2020. All sponsorship forms need to be handed in by Friday 6 November. Due to covid restrictions donations will be collected through Flexischools online. Students are encouraged to collect donations from family and loved ones and then parents deposit these amounts through their Flexischool account

Melinda Ward

Book Week Dress-up Day

Do you love reading? Do you love dressing up? Book Week Dress-up Day will be held next week on Wednesday 21 October. Students are encouraged to dress up as a character from a book to celebrate our love of reading. Costumes don’t have to be elaborate or expensive – you can use things that you already have at home, including borrowed or recycled materials. If possible, bring a copy of the book so we know which character you are dressed as. We will take plenty of photos of the wonderful costumes to share in future newsletters.

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds Challenge

Students can visit the library to see the Curious Creatures, Wild Minds display on the front windows. Each letter of the display represents a different book character. We challenge you to figure them all out! See Mrs Webster or Mrs Morrison in the Library for an entry form.

Ali Webster – Teacher Librarian

5W

Last term 5W explored key music concepts and completed 10 weeks of ukulele lessons. All students demonstrated the ability to play the ukulele with simple strumming patterns and performed a range of music, individually and in groups. By learning a few simple chords they can now play a variety of ukulele tunes.

Melinda Ward

Dates for your Diary

Waste Free Wednesday