23 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Tomorrow will be our last day of the NAPLAN testing. All students in Years 3 & 5 will have now completed assessments in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy. Congratulations to all our students on their ability to try their personal best under these test conditions.

Leadership Camp

Last Monday our school leaders attended a leadership training camp at Narrabeen Sports Academy. They participated in team bonding, leading activities and enjoyed sharing their strengths and areas for development with the other school leaders from the 13 primary schools in the Northern Beaches Learning Alliance (NBLA).

The leaders came up with an action plan for the year of things they wished to achieve for Manly Vale Public School. They worked on how to make our playground spaces more interesting for the students. Some of their initiatives included bush tucker and vegetable gardens, installation of new soccer goals, cricket nets, more handball courts and equipment for the K-2 playground. Fundraising will be required to finance these projects so please give generously to our upcoming fundraising events for example the Mother’s Day stall, so we can support these student-driven projects this year.

Harmony Day- Monday 20 March

Thank you to all the students who came to school with a splash of orange last Monday. We received $674.00 which will go towards the earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey. This week the students have been participating in lessons around this year’s theme ‘Everyone Belongs.” Thank you to our canteen who supplied orange ice blocks for the day.

Design Make Innovate Showcase- Friday 24 March

Tomorrow our stage 3 students will display their Design, Make & Innovate projects in their classrooms between 9.00am-10.00am. All parents are welcome to visit the classrooms to see the wonderful sustainable projects our senior students have designed with their high school mentors. The most creative and innovative works will be chosen to be displayed at Freshwater Senior campus in a combined campus expo day. Congratulations to all our students.

3-6 Assembly – Friday 24 March 2.15pm

Tomorrow will be our last year’s 3-6 assembly for the term.

Next week is our banner assembly commencing at 9.00am under the K-2 COLA. Congratulations to the following students who will receive a banner next Friday, as they have earned 3 principal awards.

The swimming record breakers from our school carnival will also receive their certificates at this banner assembly. Congratulations to the following students.

PSSA Winter Trials- tomorrow

Tomorrow year 3-6 students will be able to try out for winter sports. We still have been unsuccessful in securing buses for the winter competition due to the shortage of bus drivers but will go ahead with the trials in case this situation changes over the next few weeks. Students need to come prepared for PSSA tomorrow with drink bottles, hats, mouthguards, and shin pads if they are trialling for rugby or soccer.

Easter Hat Parade- Thursday 6 April- 9.00am

To finish off what has been a very busy term we will have our annual Easter hat parade for Kindergarten to Year 2 students and their buddy classes. All K-2 classes will make Easter hats next week in class with the help of their older buddies. Information regarding what to send in to assist with the making of the hats will come out through Class Coordinators next week.

Classes in years 3-6 will not be making hats but will be invited to attend the parade. Café Owl will have a bacon and egg and hot cross bun breakfast to begin the day starting at 8.15am.

Mother’s Day Stall- Next Term

This week students can bring in their Mother’s Day stall donations to the classroom. Boxes are set up in classrooms for the collection of gifts for the stall (with a value of $10). This fundraiser requires that you donate a gift to the value of $10.00. Names of students will be ticked off on a class list in the classroom. Only students who donate a gift can purchase at the Mother’s Day stall. All money raised will go towards the P & C fundraising this year. The stall will be run by our Kindergarten parents on Friday 12 May. Any enquiries please email your Class Coordinator.

Bus Driver Shortages

Due to the shortage of bus drivers, we have been unable to secure additional buses for the journey to and from school, and to service our additional catchment area. Opal cards are the only way to show the need for additional buses, and as many students do not have opal cards, we will not be eligible for additional services.

If parents wish to make contact regarding services, please see the following information from TFNSW:

Report the cancelled bus services every time using the snap send solve app or website, use a pin on the map for your location. Click public transport. Then Bus / Bus stop and enter the stop ID number (this is on the bus stop sign or shelter, it usually starts with your post code for example, Pittwater Road stop ID is 210017 and you can see it on the google maps) direction of travel and if there was no bus that turned up – leave the bus number plate blank.

Students with a bus pass need to tap their bus pass every time they get on and off the bus. When TFNSW and the bus operator must make the tough decision about where to allocate services during a driver shortage – if the school bus appears to not have anyone on it (because the “tap on” data is low) that is the first service that drivers or buses are reallocated from. Here is a handy PDf

Parents to sign their students up for the bus pass, even if they do not have an option yet. This will help TFNSW gauge there is interest for a bus service, based on their home address details.

I note that TFNSW do not usually see high bus use in metropolitan primary schools as students live ‘too close’ to be eligible for the free bus pass, as parents usually aren’t prepared to pay the $55/ term for the School Term Bus pass. The SSTS eligibility is for K-2 students living any distance from the school and students in year 3-6 are eligible if they live 1.6km as the crow flies from the school entries for primary school.

School Fees / Statement of Account

This week school fees “Whole School Program” were sent out via Schoolbytes. You child/ren have already received workbooks, used computer licenses, and attended dance and gym, so prompt payment would be appreciated. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact me for a confidential interview.

Tina Lee - Principal

Message from Cliona Mulloy – School Counsellor

Resilient Kids Toolkit (Royal Far West)

Parenting and caring for health and happy children is not the easiest job in the world, but the good news is that there are plenty of great evidenced-based resources that we can learn from. Over the next few weeks I plan to take some simple and fun ideas from the Resilient Kids Toolkit produced by the Royal Far West. This free Resilient Kids Toolkit guide is filled with many easy-to-follow strategies for parents and activities for kids. It’s designed to help develop positive relationships, strengthen mental health and build resilience and self-awareness. You’ll find essential and practical information to support you and your family and help you navigate stressful events and life’s challenges.

The key areas we will look at are:

1. What is emotional resilience?
2. Self-care plans
3. How to understand and manage emotions
4. Tips on connection and communication

To download your own free guide today, go to:

Cliona Mulloy -School Counsellor - Manly Vale Public School

Stage 3 Surf Education Excursions

The students in years 5 & 6 enjoyed two days at beautiful Manly Beach recently for developing their Surf Education skills. Both days were so much fun, and the students practised wading, diving, body surfing, floating /treading water (in deep water) and surfing!

Have a look at the great photos from the year 5 day below.

Lisa Cash – Year 5 Classroom Teacher

Harmony Week

This week we have been celebrating Harmony Week and reflecting on this year’s theme “Everyone Belongs”.

On Monday everyone got into the spirit of Harmony week by wearing a touch of orange. We reflected on what the theme means for us by thinking about how “Everyone Belongs” at our school. Classes contributed to a whole school poster which will be displayed in the foyer. Here are some of the wonderful ideas they had to share:

We always include and never exclude – Isla, 2W
We may all be different but in this school we all grow together – 4A
Everyone is counted as ONE and NO ONE is greater than one – 5J
Everyone belongs because we are all friends – Lachie, 2LY
It doesn’t matter what you look like, it’s the inside that counts – 4W
Manly Vale Public School has caring and sharing kids and teachers – KC
We are kind, we are a family – KS
We celebrate our differences – 5CR
We are one, we care for each other, we welcome all – 3M
Open up your heart and come together (Amplify) – 1FH
Everyone has the right to be educated, everyone is equal – 5L
We include everyone – 1C
We know what makes a happy school – 3E
Everyone belongs at school so we can learn together – 1/2K

Thank you everyone for your gold coin donations to our Turkey-Syrian Earthquake appeal with CARE Australia. We raised $674.00

Dates for your Diary

Mother’s Day Stall

Mother’s Day Stall - Friday 12 May

Attached to this newsletter is the flyer for our first fundraiser for the year. Parent volunteers from the kindergarten classes will be required to sort out gifts and collate items, as well as set up the stall and work on the day.

Please contact your Class Coordinator if you can assist in any way. New and unused items for the stall are donated from children who wish to purchase at the stall.

We also need raffle prizes, the bigger the better. If any parent has a link to a local business that could donate a prize, please could you reach out to them.

Please advise of any raffle donations to Amy at

mvpspandccommunication@gmail.com

P&C Committee

Naplan Reflections – 3B

3B has been working hard this term, learning to manage stress, setting personal goals and expectations, and recognising emotions. Every student in my class took on the NAPLAN challenge with a positive ‘can do’ attitude. Here is what students have to say about sitting their very first NAPLAN test.

I felt brave and confident and a bit nervous when we started. I knew how [the test] would be like and I have been writing a lot of stories in year 2, so I was feeling great about it. After it I felt a little sleepy. Harlow

Before NAPLAN yesterday, I felt confident and well-prepared. When I was writing my narrative, I felt excited to write and calm at the same time. After NAPLAN, I felt happy, relieved, and proud of myself. I was surprised that I did all three pages of writing. Harry

When I did NAPLAN I felt a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to do because it was the first time I did NAPLAN.

I was prepared because I did lots of writing in the last few weeks. I knew that I tried my hardest story writing.

After we had finished I felt proud and happy that I wrote a story that was in NAPLAN for the first time. Isabelle

How did I feel about NAPLAN? At first, I was a bit nervous, but when I started, I kept going and when I finished, I was proud of myself. Ellie

Before we started NAPLAN, I felt uncertain if I would do good in the writing assessment. In the middle of NAPLAN, I felt very determined that I would do well in NAPLAN. After NAPLAN, I felt very proud, joyful and excited. Matthew

When we did NAPLAN, I was feeling brave and strong and ready. After NAPLAN I felt amazing and joyful. I also felt nervous and, at times, frustrated, but in the end, I felt happy. Reuben

Personally, I think that I did great on punctuation, but before NAPLAN, I was quite worried. It was easier than you think, and it was easier than you think it would be. Ace

Before NAPLAN, I felt nervous because I didn’t know what type of text I was going to do. After I felt proud and amazed at how well I did and turned out, it was really easy! I felt I did great after. Matilda

Before NAPLAN, I practised with my mum. When we were about to start, I got shy, nervous and scared. After we were done, I felt proud of myself, calm and confident. I started to think, “I actually could do this” I can’t wait to see my results in term 3. I think that I am going to get a really high score! Zoe

I am so proud of how well my students approached this challenge and demonstrated maturity, grit and pride in their work.

Mrs Banham and 3B students

Library News

IT’S BACK FOR 2023!

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE - how to enter books online.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. Participation is voluntary.

Books can be entered from now until 18 August.

The school library has hundreds of PRC books for students to borrow. The K-2 Challenge is for students to enjoy 30 books with an adult or by themselves. The K-2 students will be completing the challenge entirely at school. They will receive a participation certificate at the end of the year.

The year 3-4 and year 5-6 challenges are for students to read 20 books independently, with support from library staff as needed. They need to enter their PRC books on the website by the closing date, Friday the 18 August, to qualify for a certificate at the end of the year.

More detailed information can be found online at the link below:

https://online.det.nsw.edu.edu.au/prc/home.html

How to enter books online

• Go to student portal
• Click on the Premier’s Reading Challenge Icon
• On the left-hand side of your screen, click on Student Reading Log.
• Enter book– Type the title or author I the box, then click the title that appears. ‘Add’.
• The book doesn’t come up at all. Use the ‘Add a Personal Choice Book’ box.

Thank you for supporting your child’s reading. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Sue Yardley and Laurenza Butcher - Teacher Librarians

Canteen News

End of Term

The canteen will be closed for lunch orders on the last day of term (Thursday 6 April) to allow time to clean and stocktake before the holiday break. We will be open for frozen treats and drinks over the counter at lunch on this day.

Flexischools Ordering

Please remember that without an order confirmation your order has not been placed correctly.

We have had many students coming to school without lunch. This is upsetting for them and is time consuming for the canteen and office staff to sort out. Please check that you are sending lunch with your children or that you are ordering for them through Flexischools before they leave for school.

Volunteers

It is almost term 2. Sign up now to get organised for next term.

The canteen needs your help to get all the lunches made as well as serve at the counter. We really need Volunteers on Friday mornings to help get all the sandwiches and toasties made. Without volunteers the canteen will not be able to offer the full range of yummy foods each day.

Please sign up below, feel free to sign up with a friend if you want, just pop both your names in the sign up sheet.

Birthday treats

Please only order frozen birthday treats through the birthday section to ensure we have enough stock. Orders must be placed by 1pm the day prior (or Friday for Monday orders).

Year 3-6 students are encouraged to order their birthday treats earlier in the week as their PSSA classmates will not be at school to enjoy the birthday treats.

Becky McGowan - Canteen Manager

Uniform Shop

Community Notices

Lifeline Forestville Book Fair

Manly Fun Run & Walk – The Rotary Club of Manly

Be a part of the community and support local charities at the same time by forming a team for this run/walk. It's a great experience and lots of fun. And you can help your school, too.

If your team has 20 members, your school will receive 20% of the entrance fees back.

Anyone in the school community can be on your team; students, parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, or anyone involved in the school community. All welcome.

Manly Fun Run & Walk - 7 May 2023 - Race Roster

Northern Beaches Council – 3D Digital Animation & Design Workshop

School Information