Issue 02/19 – Tuesday 19th February

EDUCOM

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Welcome to Week 4. Everyone has settled in nicely to the school routine and the hectic pace of Term 1.

This Friday we have students representing the school at the district swimming carnival. If they are successful there they will then be selected to participated in the Sydney West carnival in Week 7.

This Thursday is the ‘Welcome Back to School BBQ’ which is coordinated by the P&C with Year 6 organising games for those students who come along.

A special mention around road safety. Please set the right example for our students and use the pedestrian crossing if you need to cross the road and also only use the pedestrian entry gates when entering and exiting the school.

Finally, please ensure family contact details are up-to-date. There have already been a couple of instances where the office has tried to contact a family to find that phone numbers have changed. There is a form for changing details on our skoolbag app.

Mr Giles

Congratulations to:

Platypus for winning the school swimming carnival this year.

Our recently elected class SRC and Futures reps.

All students who have been selected to represent the school at the Blue Mountains PSSA swimming carnival this Friday.

P&C Meeting

The next P&C meeting will be held on Tuesday 12th March. The AGM will be held first (7pm start) with the March meeting following directly after the AGM. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting.

What’s Happening At Our School ……

TERM 1 WEEK 4

Tuesday 19th February Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Wednesday 20th February Blaxland HS Open Night 6-8pm

Thursday 21st February P&C Welcome BBQ – 5pm

Friday 22nd February District Swimming Carnival

TERM 1 WEEK 5

Tuesday 26th February Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Thursday 28th February AECG meeting – BHS – 4pm

Friday 1st March Primary Assembly – 2pm

TERM 1 WEEK 6

Tuesday 5th March Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Friday 8th March Infants Assembly – 2pm

TERM 1 WEEK 7

Tuesday 12th March Healthy Active Lifestyle program Sydney West Swimming P&C Meeting & AGM – 8pm

Friday 15th March Bullying – No Way! Day

TERM 1 WEEK 8

Tuesday 19th March Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Friday 22nd March Primary Assembly – 2pm TERM 1 WEEK 9

Monday 25th March School Photos

Tuesday 26th March Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Friday 29th March Infants Assembly – 2pm

TERM 1 WEEK 10

Tuesday 2nd April Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Friday 5th April Captains’ Assembly – 1:45pm

TERM 1 WEEK 11

Tuesday 9th April Healthy Active Lifestyle program

Thursday 11th April Anzac Day Assembly

Friday 12th April Pedlars’ Parade – 11:10am End Term 1

TERM 2 WEEK 1

Monday 29th April Staff Development Day

Tuesday 30th April Students Return – Term 2

Thursday 2nd May Sydney Writers Festival – Yrs 5&6

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Thank you to:

Mrs Thompson for her organisation of the swimming carnival.

Staff, students and parents for their part in making the carnival a huge success.

Parents who are helping transport students to the district swimming carnival this Friday.

The P&C for helping subsidise the cost of the Year 6 GRIP Leadership conference.

School Swimming Carnival

On Wednesday 13th February, students from Years 3-6 and those Year 2 students turning 8, competed in the annual Mt Riverview Swimming Carnival. The weather conditions were lovely and all students had a wonderful day competing in a variety of events, including novelty races.

Congratulations to the following students who were our age champions:

Junior Girls: India R. Junior Boys: Rhys H.

11 Year Girls: Liana M. 11 Year Boys: Euan W.

Senior Girls: Emilia M. Senior Boys: Bodhi J. Well done and congratulations to our sport houses:

1st – Platypus 2nd – Echidna 3rd – Kookaburra Thank you to all staff, parents and helpers! The day would not have been as successful as it was without you all! Well done to all students for their positive attitude and good behaviour.

Good luck to the students representing Mount Riverview at the Blue Mountains PSSA Swimming Carnival this Friday!

Library News

Congratulations to our twelve new Library Monitors who will be assisting me in the Library this year.

Congratulations also to Lily K. and Annika J-H. for completing the Premiers’ Reading Challenge for 2019 already. Both girls gave me their completed reading record on the first day of the term. Great job girls!

All classes commenced borrowing last week with my focus on encouraging all students to complete the PRC as quickly as possible. All students can now borrow three books per week. With weekly borrowing, finishing in term one is a real possibility. Many new books in each section of the challenge have been added to our collection. Reading impacts all learning so daily doses of reading benefits everyone.

Mrs Turner

Bookclub

This year, your child/ren will be regularly bringing home their Book Club catalogue from school. It is packed-full of awesome books and products at affordable prices.

Book Club provides your family with a fun and convenient way of bringing the best in children's literature into your home, while also helping to bridge the important class-to-home reading gap.

Not only are you helping your children, you are also helping your school—20% of your spend goes back to the school in valuable Scholastic Rewards which we then use to purchase new books for the school library.

Just a reminder to do your Scholastic Book Club orders online through the LOOP ordering system. This will mean orders can be processed quicker and more efficiently.

The details on how to use the LOOP system are on the back of the Book Club ordering form, by downloading the Scholastic Book Club LOOP app or by visiting the website www.scholastic.com.au/loop.

Orders will need to be placed by no later than Friday 22nd February.

Mrs McGoogan

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Assembly Dates

Friday 1st March Primary Assembly (2pm) Friday 8th March Infants Assembly (2pm) Friday 22nd March Primary Assembly (2pm) Friday 29th March Infants Assembly (2pm) Friday 5th March Captains’ Assembly (1:45) Band News

Band will commence this Thursday 21st February at 7:30am for all band members (returning and new).

Wesley will hold a combined group this Thursday before working out Junior and Senior band mornings. Instruments will also be handed out this Thursday.

If there are any questions please contact the school.

Mr Giles School Canteen

School canteen has begun, opening on Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you are interested in volunteering in the canteen during the term please contact the office to put your name down.

When ordering, please use the Term 4 canteen list found on the school website. Please try and have the correct money in your child’s order bag if possible please as it helps the canteen staff. School Banking

School banking operates every Thursday. The mums who coordinate the program are set up in their regular place under the COLA. For those families wishing to commence student banking please have a chat with them.

SRC and Futures Representatives – Semester 1

Classes have elected their representatives for semester 1 n the SRC and Futures committees. They are:

SRC

KB Leah B. Ava Y.

KS Lews B. Kate D.

1E Hugo V. Jack E.

1/2K Cash R. Edie H-L

2/3G Nylah D. Brax N.

3V Ruby G. Isaac F.

4T Madison W. Lexxie D.

5M Stephanie K. Lachlan B.

6S Adam Z. Natalie B.

Futures

KB Cormac C. Zara P.

KS Willem R. Miranda P.

1E Harry L. Gemma P.

1/2K William P. Willow L-C.

2/3G Samantha D. Jessica Y.

3V Lily K. Lily L-C.

4T Rhys H. Lara H.

5M Zane B. Mitchell M.

6S Xyla T. Blake R.

GRIP Student Leadership Conference

Year 6 will be attending the GRIP Leadership Conference on Tuesday 5th March at Sydney Olympic Park.

The leadership conference is unique in that it concentrates specifically on training student leaders for their role as school leaders. The style, topics and content of the conference all focus on what students can do right now.

An information slip has been sent home to Year 6. Please complete the Year 6 Permission Note for 2019 on Skoolbag and make payment no later than Wednesday 27 February.

The school and P&C have subsidised the cost of the conference so that all Year 6 are able to participate.

If there are any questions regarding the day please contact Mr Simone.

PBL News

Our school Warin token will be handed to children who are seen to be following our school rules of being safe, respectful and a learner.

They will be collected in the classroom and placed in a class Warin box. For every 5 Warins collected, a Mt Riv sticker will be given to the student that can then be placed on their Mt RIv chart.

We will continue to draw 2 Warins from each class box on a Monday morning assembly. These students will receive a Mt Riv sticker.

Mrs Sowter

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Tell Them From Me student feedback survey (Term 1, 2019)

I am delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents

The survey is a great opportunity for our students (Years 4-6) to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school.

I want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 11 March and 12 April. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A non-consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey is being sent home with students. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by Friday 8th March. Scripture and Ethics Classes

Scripture (SRE) classes commenced on Friday 15th February.

Here at Mount Riverview the following options are available:

Catholic SRE

Protestant / Anglican SRE

Ethics

Non-scritpure

Students will continue in the group they were attending in 2018. If families wish to change SRE options a note needs to be sent to school advising which group they are withdrawing from and the group they wish to start attending

If you are unsure of the scripture group you may have selected in the past, or have questions regarding the SRE/Ethics program, please contact the office.

Mount Riverview Play Group

The playgroup runs every Wednesday morning in the school hall commencing at 9:15am. It has been established for parents, grandparents and caregivers of children aged 0 – school age in an effort to help the transition to school become a little smoother by helping children become familiar with our school environment.

School Entry and Exits

For safety reasons we ask that all students (and visitors to the school) enter and exit the school using one of the three pedestrian gates. There are two on Rusden Road and one on Blackbutt Circuit. Entering and exiting the school via one of the carparks is not a safe practice as we have delivery vehicles using all three driveway entrances at various times each day.

Residents in Students Lane have also requested that people who park in the lane in the morning or afternoons please not park across driveways as residents use the lane to access their properties.

Finally, when crossing Rusden Road outside of the school please use the pedestrian crossing thereby setting a good example for all of our students.

Sun Safe K – 6

Sunscreen is available in all class rooms for use at recess, lunch and during sport times or times spent outside. If your child cannot use sunscreen due to allergies or sensitivities please let your child’s class teacher know. Parents may opt to provide sunscreen for their child to use at school.

The school’s bucket or broad brimmed hats are a requirement of the school uniform and sun safe policy. If students forget their hat then they will be asked to play in the various shady areas within the playground.

Sunglasses have been provided by the P&C for all students and should be worn during recess and lunch. Captains will announce during morning assembly particularly high UV days. Replacement glasses can be purchased from the office if needed. School Rules

At this time of the year it is a good opportunity to remind everyone of our school rules. The three rules are:

Be safe

Be Respectful Be a Learner

These rules are encouraged in both the classroom and playground environments.

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

School Uniform

We are a very lucky school in that nearly all children are dressed in the correct uniform every day of the school year. Whilst on excursions or camps we are always complemented on how smart our students look.

For 2019 the P&C have outsourced the school uniform shop to Principal School Wear which is located in Springwood – 2/66 Springwood Avenue, Springwood. Their telephone number is 4751 3157.

Opening Hours during the year will be:

11th Feb – 21st April: 9am – 5pm (Tues & Thurs)

9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

22nd April – 5th May: 9am – 5pm (M-F) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

6th May – 6th Oct: 9am – 5pm (Tues & Thurs) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

30th June – 22rd July CLOSED

7th Oct – 20th Oct: 9am – 5pm (M-F) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

21st Oct – 19th Dec: 9am – 5pm (Tues & Thurs) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

The P&C run a second hand uniform pool. This is run by volunteers and is currently open on Wednesdays from 8:45am – 9:15am.

Financial Assistance Is Available

Throughout the year we have several extra-curricula activities that are held approximately at the same time and have a similar cost each year. Examples include camps, overnight excursions, text books, gymnastics program, swim school, etc.

For various reasons this may become an issue for families within our school. There are however a couple of ways to tackle this issue and to help lessen the burden many of our families feel, especially if they have more than one child at school.

The most popular option used in 2018, was to work out a payment plan with Mr Giles, spread across the desired number of weeks, covering all associated costs within that time frame. This option is becoming more popular because it spreads the costs out over easy fortnightly payments rather than having a few major costs at different points of the year.

If this sounds like something you would like to look into, or if parents require any assistance with school related expenses, please contact Mr Giles or your child’s class teacher. All enquiries are confidential.

Family Contact Details

At the beginning of each year we ask families to ensure that their contact details are accurate, which include email address and mobile numbers. Thank you to those families who have already updated their details.

Accurate information is extremely important in the event that we have to contact you regarding your child or in the event that we have to declare a catastrophic fire warning during bushfire season.

Updates can be completed via our Skoolbag app or by contacting the office. If you have changed address, please send a copy of a bill from home with the new address.

Absent From School?

If you child is away from school a note explaining the reason of the absence is required to be sent to school within 7 days of them returning to school. If an absence remains unexplained after this period then a letter will be sent home asking for an explanation of the absence.

There is a feature available within our SkoolBag app which allows parents to send the absent note straight away. If you would like to be shown how this works please visit the office for a “test drive”.

Changes have been made to the way extended family trips or holidays taken during the school term are recorded. A certificate of exemption is no longer issued for such trips and the days will be counted as absences. Obviously, special circumstances do arise from time to time and will be looked at when they occur.

If a student has high absenteeism during the school year a referral will be made to the Home School Liaison Officer.

If there are any questions regarding school attendance please contact Mr Giles.

School Security, You Can Help

If parents or community members observe any destructive or suspicious behaviour in the school grounds please ring the School Security phone number listed below. All reports are treated discreetly; names do not have to be left with the operator.

School Security - 1300 880 021

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Visitors to the School

ALL visitors to the school are required to visit the office before going to one of our classrooms or contacting students in the playground.

If your child is arriving late or leaving early please remember to go to the office to receive an early leaving / arriving late slip which is then given to the teacher. If there are any questions then please contact the office.

UWS PENRITH OBSERVATORY Great Western Highway, Werrington North

(Building AO)

Public Astronomy Night

Saturday 2 March (8pm – 10pm)

From Dust to Destruction

Dr Luke Bozzetto

Explore the evolution of the Universe - from the cosmic soup present during the Big Bang, to the formation of the

first stars & planets, up until our present day, and then travel into the future and look into the fate of our Sun and

Earth, and the possible ends of the Universe.

The night will include a multimedia presentation, a 3D astronomy movie, tour of the dome and viewing of the

night sky through a range of telescopes (weather permitting).

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Public Astronomy Night

Saturday 16 March (8pm – 10pm)

Space Junk

Raelene Sommer

Orbital debris is circling around our planet. How did it get there, why do we care and what can we do about it.

The night will include a multimedia presentation, a 3D astronomy movie, tour of the dome and viewing of the

night sky through a range of telescopes (weather permitting).

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Cost: $18 adult, $12 child/concession & $50 family (2 adults + 2 children) Children under 3 years of age free

Bookings are essential

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_on

Enquiries:

Phone: (02) 4736 0135 (Mon, Wed or Thurs)

or email: penrithobservatory@uws.edu.au

Anaphylaxis – a shared responsibility

Being the start of a new school year it is just the right time to remind everyone about anaphylaxis and what we can do as a school community for the families that have to deal with this.

We now have several students at our school who have varying degrees of allergic reaction to nuts and mango in particular. Currently, our student reactions can range from mild allergies to severe reactions which can quickly become life threatening.

For this reason we ask (as much as possible) that nuts are not brought to school, which includes peanut butter, nut spreads (nutella), and nut bars.

Obviously, being able to do this is sometimes difficult or at times simply forgotten. With this in mind we implement hygiene procedures at school to try and eliminate as much as possible the likelihood of an allergic reaction occurring.

The procedures taught to students at school are:

a) washing hands before and after eating; b) washing hands at the end of each play period; c) using the sanitising spray which are being installed in classrooms upon entering and leaving the room.

The inconvenience to some children is recognised and their cooperation appreciated, but the consequences to children with anaphylaxis are extremely serious.

All members of our school community are asked to be aware of the dangers of even the slightest contact with nuts for these children.

To help minimise the risk, simply washing hands and cleaning teeth before coming to school would really help.

If there are any questions please contact the office.

School Voluntary Contributions

Each year the school asks families to consider paying the voluntary contribution if they are in a position to do so. Money raised with the voluntary contributions is used to help provide additional funding for programs that the school runs. Voluntary contributions for 2019 are $49 per student or $80 per family.

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

School Volunteers

At Mount Riverview we are very fortunate in the number of volunteer parents, grandparents and community members who volunteer their time to help the students at school in a variety of ways.

Anyone who is thinking of helping out at school will need to have completed a “working with children” form here at school. When completing the form you will need to bring 100 points of identification. I have included a list of appropriate documentation below.

If you volunteer at multiple organisations then it may serve you better to do the working with children check at the link below. Along with what you have to do there you will also have to go to the RMS and do the identity check. Their website is http://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/

If you are not sure about which procedure you need to do then please see Mr Giles

Proof of Identity

Category 1 – 70 points (Only ONE form of identification accepted from this category.)

Birth Certificate/Birth Extract

Australian Passport (Current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled)

Australian Citizenship Certificate

International Passport (Current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled)

Other document of identity having same characteristics as a passport e.g. diplomatic/refugee (Photo or Signature)

Category 2 – 40 points

(More than one of the following documents may be counted. The initial document will score 40 points, and any additional documents will be awarded 25 points each.)

Current Licence or Permit (Government Issued)

Working With Children/Teachers Registration Card

ASIC/MSIC Card

Public Employee Photo ID Card (Government Issued)

Department of Veterans' Affairs Card

Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card

Current Tertiary Education Institution Photo ID

Reference from a Doctor (must have known the applicant for a period of at least 12 months)

Category 3 – 25 points

(More than one of the following documents may be counted; each will score 25 points.)

Foreign/International Driver’s Licence

Proof of Age Card (Government Issued)

Medicare Card/Private Health Care Card

Council Rates Notice

Property Lease/Rental Agreement

Property Insurance Papers

Tax Declaration

Superannuation Statement

Seniors Card

Electoral Roll Registration

Motor Vehicle Registration or Insurance Documents

Professional or Trade Association Card

To use more than one of the following documents, they must be from different organisations:

Utility Bills (e.g. Telephone, Gas, Electricity, Water)

Credit/Debit Card

Bank Statement/Passbook

Special Category 4 – Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander resident in a remote area/community

The applicant will meet the 100-point requirement if the applicant is an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander resident in a remote area/community, and the identity of the applicant is verified by two persons recognised as ‘Community Leaders’ of the community to which the applicant belongs.

Special Category 5 – Person under the age of 18

A child will meet the 100-point requirement if his or her Identity is verified from ONE of the following:

Birth Certificate/Birth Extract;

Australian Passport (current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled);

Australian Citizenship certificate;

International Passport (current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled);

Other document of identity having same characteristics as a passport eg. diplomatic/refugee (Photo or Signature);

Or

A statement from an educational institution, signed by the principal or deputy principal, confirming that the child attends the institution (statement must be on the institution’s letterhead).

Australian Canoe Slalom Junior National Championships

OPEN NIGHT & ENROLMENTINFORMATION EVENING

Wednesday 20 February, 20196:00pm to 8:00pm

In thePerforming Arts Centre

3-9 Coughlan Road, BlaxlandAll parents and students interested in enrolling in Year 7 at Blaxland High School in 2020 or

2021 are cordially invited to meet the Principal, staff and students on

Wednesday 20 February, 2019.

Displays, activities and information on our comprehensive range of programs and

achievements will be available. The Student Representative Council will be providing refreshments.

Enquiries to Enrolment Offi cerMrs Kerrie Vreeken - Phone 4739 4655

Thomas NadarajanATAR 99.0

TOP ALL ROUNDER

Tayla White Dance Callback

HSC Dance Core PerformanceMajor Study Performance

Alexandra DunningMusic - Selected for Encore

- Musicology Viva Voce

RM

6516

490

AFTER SCHOOL DRAMA @ Mt Riverview Public School

WEDNESDAYS 3:15 - 4:15pm : Years 1-4

4:20 - 5:20pm : Years 4-6

Term 1 2019: 6 february – 3 april (9 wks)

$153 for the term (sibling discount available)

Come join the fun and learn from a working industry professional

in invigorating, inspiring, and dynamic weekly classes

Learning is centred around voice, movement, improvisation,

script devising, play-making, & scripted work, culminating in

an annual performance for an invited audience later in the year

Exercise and improve:

voice speech breath posture

communication co-ordination confidence

teamwork negotiation problem-solving

literacy focus performance

in a positive learning environment

contact/click:

eliza@bluemountainsdrama.com.au or call 0414 930 455

bluemountainsdrama

www.bluemountainsdrama.com.au

Have you tried

PHYSIE yet?

Tel: 0402139613 /47394214

Glenbrook Physie

Why not join us in 2019? Physie is a great dance sport for girls and ladies including:

* Ballet * Jazz * Contemporary * Pilates * Aerobic dance For girls aged 3 years to Ladies. Your daughter can have fun, make friends and learn to dance…and so can you!

GLENBROOK PHYSIE is associated with the BJP School of Physical Culture

** CLASSES HELD AT MT RIVERVIEW PS

New members welcome

Work at the biggest event in NSWNSW State election 23 March 2019

Get paid to help deliver democracy.

We offer a variety of roles based on your interests and experience.

You must be on the electoral roll to work at the election.

Apply now at elections.nsw.gov.au

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