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Mount Kuring-gai Public School NewsLeeming Street, Mount Kuring-gai NSW 2080T (02) 9457 9088 F (02) 9457 8691 E-mail: [email protected]

TERM TWO - WEEK 2 MAY 2019

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Term Two, Week 2 Hello, Everyone! I am so excited to be writing my first principal’s address at MKPS!

I knew I was in for exciting times when I was handed a goat on my first day here (thanks, Mrs McCloughry and OOSH!). I have felt so welcomed by everyone so far and I look forward to working alongside this wonderful community.

I’d like to officially thank Mrs Natalie MacDonald and acknowledge the hard work she put in for the good of the school. Her heart was truly in it and I could see how well received she was, by the wonderful farewell afternoon she was given at the end of the term. She facilitated some wonderful improvements and updates which the school will continue to benefit from. Mrs MacDonald provided me with a great hand-over which I feel has set me up for a smooth start as principal here at Mt Kuring-gai. As a valued colleague, I wish her all the very best as she begins principalship at her new school at Erina Heights.

I’d also like to extend my thanks and best wishes to Mr Matt Pinchbeck for his support and handover. He achieved great things here at MKPS by updating policies and procedures and getting curriculum up-to-date within a time of educational change. This certainly made both Mrs MacDonald’s and my job here much easier. I’m sure Mr Pinchbeck is already bringing about change at his new school and will achieve more great things there.

But of course, the school would not be in such a great place without the fantastic staff, students and community. So thanks should also go to you, for being open to change and committed to making Mt Kuring-gai PS a happy, nurturing place of learning and development for its students. I am so looking forward to continuing to progress in our journey as a school and to ensure that every student will “Grow in Knowledge”.

Mrs Greta Hughes

MKPS NEWS | PAGE 1GROW IN KNOWLEDGE

MKPS Fortnightly Calendar

WEEK 3

May 13 Mother’s Day Breakfast 8:30am-9:15am Art Club with Mrs Slade

May 14 Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre visit (GEEC) YR 1 ONLY NAPLAN test period beginsSenior Choir with Mrs Slade

May 15 Captains to Leadership camp at GibberagongNAPLAN test periodP&C Meeting AUSLAN group with interested Year 5 and 6 Junior Dance Group with Mrs Connelly

May 16 NAPLAN test period Junior Choir with Ms Samuel

May 17 Walk Safely to School Day NAPLAN test period Senior Dance Group with Miss Brown 9am Garden Club with Miss Hindmarsh

WEEK 4

May 20 NAPLAN test period Art Club with Mrs Slade

May 21 Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre visit (GEEC) KINDY ONLY NAPLAN test period Senior Choir with Mrs Slade

May 22 9.30am AssemblySimultaneous Storytime 11am NAPLAN test period AUSLAN group with interested Year 5 and 6 Junior Dance Group with Mrs Connelly

May 23 Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre visit (GEEC) 1/2T ONLY NAPLAN test period Junior Choir with Ms Samuel

May 24 NAPLAN test period ends Senior Dance Group with Miss Brown 9am Garden Club with Miss Hindmarsh

Anzac Day Service Once again, Mount Kuring-gai participated in the Berowra Anzac Day march. Thank you to the following students who represented our school and displayed outstanding behaviour throughout the entire service : Angus M, Dulcie T, Xavier B, Lucinda R, Billy R, Hunter R, Jack R, Eleanor C, Florence T, Charlie W, Ellie W, Tobias Y, Maude T, Lucas W, Emma S-L, Amy S-L, Christopher I, Zoe A, and Surmayi P.

It is always lovely to see so many young people at this event, continuing the tradition of remembering those who served and continue to serve our beautiful country. Well done, Mount Kuring-gai students.


New-look Library! The library was a hive of activity on the first day back at lunch time as the students enjoyed the new seating, games and overall arrangement. We look forward to the space being used for creative and collaborative activities that promote a love of literature and confidence in the use of digital technologies. Feel free to pop in and have a look inside.

Farewell Mrs MacDonald


Life Education Van VisitDuring Term 1, students at Mt Kuring-Gai Public School had the opportunity to take part in the Life Education program. Life Education aims to empower children and young people to make safer and healthier choices through education.

Students in each stage took part in the following workshops.

Early Stage 1 - Harold’s Friend Ship: Kindergarten and year 1 students explored the qualities of a good friend, feelings and emotions, early warning signs, and safe and unsafe situations.

Stage 1 - Safety Rules: Year 1 and 2 students found out how to seek out safe spaces and how friends can care for and support each other.

Stage 2 - Cyberwise: This workshop helped year 3 and 4 students to be wise when it comes to relationships - both off and online.

Stage 3 - Relate Respect Connect: Year 5 and 6 students learnt the skills and strategies required to build healthy relationships.

Teachers will be consolidating the children’s learning with further classroom activities relating to these topics.

Crazy Hair and Sock DayLast term students participated in Crazy Hair and Sock Day to raise money for our School Band. It was great to see so many students getting on board with coloured spray-painted hair, Barbie mermaid tails, horns, plaits, spikes and even cupcake hair styles! There was no shortage of coloured and patterned socks either. Our school raised a total amount of $170 which will go towards covering the cost of school band fees – Thank you!


Easter Hat ParadeThe Easter Parade was a huge success! The students had a wonderful time showing off their creative hats and masks. We were so lucky to have had the Easter Bunny attend our parade to say hi to all the students and draw raffle tickets for us! Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful community we were able to give away so many prizes! Thank you to everyone who donated something for the raffle prizes, you helped make the day that extra bit special and ‘egg-citing’. Thank you also must go to all the parents and carers for supplying their children with the materials they needed to make their Easter hat or mask. We hope you all had an ‘egg-cellent’ Easter break with your families and friends.

Star of the MonthOur last Star of the Month Assembly in Term One was run by Members of Parliament and included two fantastic performances from the Senior Choir as well as 5/6S with their musical items using the Jamba drums. It was also an opportunity to celebrate Mrs. Wasowski’s many years of teaching and contributions to Mount Kuring-gai Public School, as she prepares for long service leave.

We are looking forward to another term of exciting performances while also acknowledging our next round of student achievements.


Mother’s Day Breakfast All mothers, grandparents, aunties and carers are invited to our Mother’s Day breakfast on Monday 13th May. We will have some pampering stations set up so be prepared to get spoilt by your children! We hope to see you there.

WiFi and Technology We are currently updating our WiFi and technology and we apologise that some of our communication systems/processes may not be running as smoothly as they usually do. SeeSaw for example, which some classes use, is not possible without WiFi and iPad apps. Hopefully this will be rectified soon and all will be back to normal. You might also notice a more regular change in bell signals. The class and break times will not change nor the length of time the song plays (2mins).

Opportunity Class Placement information Applications are now open for interested Year 4 students to apply for Opportunity Class placements in 2020.

What are opportunity classes? Opportunity classes cater for Year 5 and Year 6 academically gifted and talented students. Parents apply when students are in Year 4. Successful students will leave their current school to attend a school with an opportunity class. There is no provision to apply for Year 6 placement only as it is a two-year placement program.

Please note that this is an online process to be completed by parents and applications will close on Friday 17th May at 5pm. The school is unable to assist in the process after the cut off. Year 4 students will bring home a separate note and you can visit the website for more information.

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5

Positive EducationThis term in Positive Education K-2 students will be looking at recognising different feelings, discussing different intensities and body signs associated with those feelings and linking this knowledge to the Zones of Regulation. 3-6 students will be looking at the characteristics that people should acquire to be good friends and to help them to get along with others. This fortnight the students participated in a scaling activity where they gave a number from 0-10 about how happy they are in general in their life. This was a great opportunity for students to begin reflecting on the things that are working well at the moment and things that could be working better. 3-6 looked at the concept of hope and watched some inspiring stories of people who demonstrate hope within their lives. K-2 learnt all about the four Zones of Regulation and how we can use these to monitor our emotions. You can find this week’s lessons on the school website under ‘Learning at our School ➜ Positive Education’.

Amelia WargrenWellbeing Team Coordinator


CROSS COUNTRYThe 2019 MKPS Cross Country Carnival took place last Thursday at Mt Kuring-Gai Oval. It was a wonderful to see students putting in their best effort to complete the challenging course. It was heart-warming to witness the support our students showed for each other, cheering on not only the winners but also those that need a bit of extra encouragement.

A special mention to Dulcie Thompson who set a new record in the 6yr girls event. Well done also to the parents who took part in the fancy dress race. It was certainly entertaining!

The day is not possible without the wonderful support of our school community. Thank you to all of our parent helpers who filled various roles on the day. Particular thanks to Tamara Williams for running the canteen with lots of yummy treats baked by parents, to Heidi and Stuart Guthrie for helping with setting up, timing and gate duties. Also thanks goes to Belinda Robson for creating and running the recording system that keeps things operating smoothly.

The Zone Cross Country Carnival will take place on Monday 27th May. Those students who will be progressing to Zone will be receive their notes at the end of the week.


PATCHTerm two has commenced with more fun in the playground with the PATCH activities. The students have had fun playing games like Tug of War and Capture the Flag.

The children have been having a blast and staying very active!

Walk Safely to School Day - FRIDAY 17 MAY 2019 Well it’s that time of year again when our school starts talking about walking!

Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for all of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine.

You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:

• Walking with them the whole way to school

• If they get the bus or train, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop

• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.

Regular exercise like walking with your child, not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes, it also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.

Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids, so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 17 May 2019!

For more information, visit www.walk.com.au

NAPLAN – 14-24 May - Years 3 and 5 students Like most schools, Mt Kuring-gai PS will now complete NAPLAN online. Year 3 students will do the writing component with pen and paper, but remaining assessments will be online. The NAPLAN testing period will be over two weeks to allow for the sharing of technology, devices and space.

It’s worth saying that while the data schools gain from this process can be very useful when evaluating our teaching and learning practices and curriculum delivery, we also recognise that on an individual student level, these tests are just a snapshot of a student’s achievement level. They are just one piece of a puzzle. So while we ask that you try and have your child well fed and well rested for the test period – this would be our request for all school days. Our main aim is for them to be happy and stress free.

Are You A Parent of a Child Aged 2 to 12?The Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland is conducting research into parents’ opinions about parenting and parenting programs. If you have a child between 2 and 12 years, we would love to hear your views on parenting and the services that are available to you as a parent. You will need to complete a short survey. To find out more or to participate please visit https://exp.psy.uq.edu.au/parenting or Facebook: @experiencesofparenting


Health and Development Information and Services We will be sending home some information to our younger students for your consideration. We have also attached here for any other interested parents and carers.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY @ OOSH

Enquiries: [email protected] Phone: 0475 911 376

THE CHILDREN DEMONSTRATED RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AS THEY HELD THE KINDI FARM ANIMALS VERY CAREFULLY AND LOWERED THEIR VOICES SO THEY WOULD NOT SCARE THEM (OUTCOME 2). THE CHILDREN ALSO DISPLAYED AN AWARENESS OF FAIRNESS AS THEY ENSURED THAT ALLCHILDREN HAD A GO WITH THE ANIMALS (OUTCOME 2).


LEARN TO SWIM HORNSBY AQUATIC AND LEISURE CENTRE• Heated program pool – 31 degrees

all year round• Lessons 7 days a week – school term

and school holiday programs• Qualified instructors

• Fun, encouraging and safe environment

• Free Family Swimming for enrolled students during the term

• Active Kids Provider

Telephone 9847 6307hornsby.nsw.gov.au/hornsbyaquatic


SPOTLIGHT ISSUE 3 2019

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT • Dav was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD

as a child and was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hall every day.

• In second grade Dav created a comic book about a superhero named Captain Underpants. His teacher ripped it up and told him he couldn’t spend his life making silly books. Fortunately for us, Dav was not a very good listener.

• His Captain Underpants series has sold more than 70 million copies and been translated into more than 28 languages. He’s also written the Dog Man series, Mighty Robot series, The Dumb Bunnies, Dog Breath, Kat Kong, Dogzilla, World War Won and so many more!

Trallalala!!! It’s…

AGES 6+ Get ready, get set and race! Matilda and Olivia have a super-amazing idea for Recycling Week at their school! They get their whole class to make box cars so they can race each other! But why hasn’t Bethany made a box car?

AGES 10+ The story of my life! One day Greg will be rich and famous, and everyone will want to know his life’s story. But is Rowley really the right person to be writing Greg’s biography? What could go wrong?

AGES 7+ Can Dog Man answer the call of duty? When Greg the police dog and his cop companion are injured on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history, and Dog Man is born. With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound has a real nose for justice.

AGES 3+Are penguins always polite? Penguins are always polite, they always wait their turn and they always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. But Polly decides that being polite is boring! Will Polly learn the importance of manners?

Perfectly Polite Penguins Georgiana Deutsch

Item 150—Page 12

MAKE SURE YOU GET YOURORDERS BACK TO SCHOOL BY:

Box Car Racers Danielle McDonald Item 034—Page 4

Dog Man Dav Pilkey Item 016—Page 2

Rowley Jefferson's Journal Jeff Kinney Item 004—Page 1

To help bring reading alive in your classroom, you can

download a FREE copy of the

Dav Pilkey’s Reading gives

you Superpowers kit!

scholastic.com.au/readingeventkit

He changed the spelling of his name while working at Pizza Hut, when his name was misspelled as Dav on his nametag, and the rest, as they say, is history...

FUN FACT

© Dav Pilkey 2019

SCHOLASTIC

Make sure you share this with your colleagues to help get their

students reading more!

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