20 May 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Our NAPLAN testing will be finalised tomorrow. Congratulations to all year 3 and 5 students on their focus and commitment to these assessments over the past two weeks. Tomorrow will be the last catch up day for any students who missed any of the tests.

Zone Cross Country - Tuesday 25 May

Good luck to all our zone cross country athletes as they compete at the zone carnival next Tuesday. As a school, we are proud of all our athletes and hope they all achieve their personal best at the track next week.

Sorry Day - More Than a Word

Next Wednesday 26 May is National Sorry Day. We remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities which we now know as the “stolen generations.”

We acknowledge the truth of the past and by accepting the mistakes of the past we can move to reconciliation for all Australian people. Action rather than words is the focus for Sorry Day this year.

Principal’s - “Acknowledgement to Country”

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which Manly Vale Public School stands.

Always was, Always will be, Aboriginal land.

I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

We meet on the land of the saltwater people.

Where the bush meets the sand, and the sand meets the ocean.

The original inhabitants hunted, lived in an organised clan system, had comfortable homes and passed down their history through yarns, carvings and art.

A people that survived the dark ages after an invasion in 1788 to a renaissance of the 1980/s and 90’s.

In 2019 we lost our last Gai-marigal speaker.

It is our duty as educators to ensure the true history of this land be told. Aboriginal perspective is to be taught in conjunction with Anglo-Saxon stories.

We fly the National flag alongside the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag in recognition that Manly Vale Public School will hear, teach and learn all the stories of this site in our “Road to Reconciliation.”

Multicultural Public Speaking Competition

Congratulations to all the students who have participated in the Multicultural Public Speaking competition this year. Our 6 school finalists will be presenting both a prepared and an impromptu speech on Friday 28 May. Thank you to Mrs Lucey and Mrs Banham for their organisation of this competition and to all students who prepared and presented speeches.

Community Weeding Day – Monday 31 May

Tom Hazell and his team of community gardeners will be at school on Monday 31 May from 9.15am to assist in the weeding and maintaining of our nature areas around the school. We would love some parents to get involved with this working bee with a morning tea provided at the end of the couple of hours. If you are able to assist for an hour or two that morning please email the office to register your interest and meet at the office on that day at 9.15am.

K-2 Dance Concert - Wednesday 23 June

Our spectacular K-2 dance concert will be on Wednesday 23 June at 11.30am, with the dress rehearsal the day before on Tuesday 22 June. Individual notes will come home via Class Coordinators and students about the details of this concert. Entry to the concert will be a gold coin donation. All parents are welcome to attend. We ask that visitors be kept to 2 per student to allow for everyone to fit comfortably in the school hall. Thank you to Ms Pembroke for her organisation of the event and to Ms Vanessa for her creative choreography.

Tina Lee - Principal

Dates for your Diary

Winter PSSA Teams and Venues

Debating

Yesterday our 2 debating teams debated Manly Village Public School on the topics of “There should be a 3 day weekend” and “Every class should have a dog or cat as a class pet.” We did a great job in putting forward our arguments and rebutting the opposition.

Congratulations to both our teams below in representing our school and thank you to Mrs Radan who accompanied the students. Although we narrowly lost both debates we look forward to improving our skills in preparation for our next debate against Harbord in week 10.

The Manly Vale Owls - Brooke Fisher, Eleanor Beck, Isla Stedman, Katie Birch

The Manly Vale Foxes - Lenny Krause, Ari Goodsir, Isaac Lau, Shay Eggeling

Library News – Meet the Monitors

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday this week our students joined thousands of other schools across Australia to read Give Me Some Space! by author & illustrator Philip Bunting for National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). NSS is held annually and aims to promote a love of books and reading, as well as give recognition to wonderful Australian authors and illustrators.

This year was pretty special because the book was read by NASA Astronaut Shannon Walker from the International Space Station! Please enjoy these photos of students participating in this special event.

Give Me Some Space by Philip Bunting – Book Review

“Una dreams of a life in Space. Life on Earth is just so so-so. But how will she get there? And will she complete her mission to discover life in Space? And did she remember to feed Neil the goldfish?”

Give Me Some Space is a gorgeous new book from talented Australian author and illustrator Philip Bunting. Rich in vocabulary and flowing with facts, this is more than just a simple picture book. The pictures are in Philip Bunting’s distinctive cartoonish style and add to the slightly subversive humour throughout the book.

This book has something for everyone and defies the typical age constraints – I think it would be most enjoyed by students from Kinder – Year 4, especially those with a keen interest in Space!

Ali Webster – Teacher Librarian

Just for Fun Writing Competition

Congratulations to Johan Hawryluk and Finlay Blanchard in 5T for entering the Just for Fun Writing Competition. Johan wrote a wonderful story called ‘At Night’ and Finlay wrote a funny story called ‘The Adventures of Lucky Phil’. They have now been selected to go into the second round of judging.

2S Artwork

School Banking

School banking has resumed this week. Parent volunteers are needed to help with school banking. If you are interested in volunteering please get in touch with Kirralyn (school banking coordinator): kyrralyn@gmail.com

Canteen News

Thank you to all the people who have signed up to volunteer in the canteen. It is so appreciated. There are still spots available throughout the term so please continue to sign up.

In particular we need someone for next Tuesday's shift 25 May - 9.00-11.30am. No experience is needed. Please sign up using the following link:

Robyn, Kerry and Becky - Canteen Managers

Community Notices

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood

Time to give blood and change lives? 1 in 3 people in Dee Why will need blood, and they need people like you to give it. We’re rolling into town from 24 May to 28 May. Don’t forget to pre-book your spot at the link below, on our app or on 13 14 95.

Dee Why Mobile Blood Donor Centre

Monday 24 May 9:00am – 2:00pm
Tuesday 25 May 1:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday 26 May 1:00pm – 6:00pm
Thursday 27 May 9:00am – 2:00pm
Friday 28 May 9:00am – 2:00pm

Dee Why Beach Car Park, Cnr Dee Why Parade and The Strand, Dee Why

School Information