Phone 4271 2565 www.mtkembla-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Selective High School Entry

Selective high schools cater for high achieving academically gifted students who may otherwise be without sufficient classmates at their own academic and social level. These schools help gifted and talented students to learn by grouping them with other gifted and talented students, teaching them in specialised ways and providing educational materials at the appropriate level. Applications for selective high school placement are considered mainly on the basis of the Selective High School Placement Test results and school assessment scores. The Selective High School Placement Test for 2021 entry will be held on Thursday 12 March 2020.

If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2021, you need to apply on the internet using a valid email address (not the student’s email address). Detailed instructions on how to apply online will be available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/general-information. The application website opens at that link on 9 October 2019 and closes on 11 November 2019. 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 Unit for assistance.

P & C MEETING

The next P & C meeting will be held on Wednesday, 4 September, starting at 7.00 pm in the staffroom. All are welcome to attend!

Coming Events…

P & C Meeting Wednesday 4 September

Stage 3 – Canberra Excursion

Wednesday 4 – Friday 6 September

Book Club Issue 6 due back

Wednesday 11 September

Assembly – 2/3 Thursday 12 September

Term Three, Week Seven 2 September 2019

Book Week

Last Wednesday we had Book Week and the “Reading is my super hero” costumes are awesome. I am impressed at the incredible effort families go to with outfits and props. It is inspiring and I hope that our students have gone away with the value of reading and the use of their imagination.

Books. Why are they important? I am an avid reader. My love of book began when I read the Nancy Drew series in my latter years of primary school. I remember reading by torch under the sheets, hiding away to finish the next chapter. Later, my teacher introduced me to the wonderful variety of books that expanded my world.

In our ever changing world, books continue their influence. Whilst a lot of entertainment and learning can be found online, through television and movies, there is still a strong place for children to use their own imagination to visualise when they are reading. I remember my son’s reaction when he saw the first Harry Potter movie. He ate these novels up and was very excited to see the movie. When he walked out of the theatre, his first comment was that he hadn’t liked the film all that much. As we meandered back to the car, I asked him what he didn’t like (I loved the cinematography, music and the great job the young actors did in their roles). Interestingly, the movie didn’t match what he had imagined. His imagery of the setting and characters was much richer than the movie could produce. Further, he felt many interesting elements of the story were missing. Ever since, his preference is to read a book before he sees a film based upon the book.

Summing up, I’d say books provide opportunities for children to create their own vision of a world. Through books we learn what it is like to be a super-hero in our own lives. Many thanks to Miss Larosa and teachers for organising the parade. Thank you also to all the parents who came to see the parade and celebrate books with their children.

Loose Parts Play

Our children having been enjoying every opportunity to play in our new play space. When the weather has been forgiving and our leaders are at school, they have been setting up the space with inviting spaces to inspire and motivate their friends. Thank you Mrs Keech for taking and sharing the photos of our students enjoying this wonderful play space.

Enjoy your week everybody.

Mrs MacDonald

Principal

From the Office… Enrolments for 2020

If you have a child ready to start school next year, or know of someone else who does, please direct them to our office so we can fill in the required enrolment forms ready for 2020. Similarly, if you will be leaving our school (apart from our Yr 6 students!) also let us know so we can adjust our expected student numbers. There is plenty of space for new families so spread the word!

School Fees

Thank you to those families who have paid their school fees. You can pay by cash or cheque at the office or through Parent Online Payment on our school website. If for any reason you are unable to pay your fees on time PLEASE contact the office regarding a payment plan. Thank you.

Dance2Bfit

The Dance2bfit Program will commence at our school in Term 4 2019. The Program is energetic, innovative and a fun way for our students to get fit and funky learning the latest dance styles to the hottest music tracks. This is a great program to improve the fitness levels of students while they are having a great time. Dance2bfit has been developed specifically for NSW Primary Schools under the PDHPE syllabus. Students will learn a range of routines suitable for their age and ability level as well as develop their confidence and skill in this area of the Arts. Dance is a mandatory part of the NSW curriculum and will be included on reports. Students will be taught a new dance every lesson over the 8 week program. Please complete the note (one per family) and return to the office by Monday 26 September 2019. Notes were sent home last week and a copy of the note can also be found on our school website. PLEASE NOTE: Dance2bfit fees were incorporated into school fees. Many families have already paid. If you are unsure please contact the office to confirm.

Book Parade 2019

The Book Parade last week was a huge success and I just want to say thank you to all students, families and teachers for all of their help. All of the costumes were so creative and impressive! I know they could not have been easy to make so I appreciate all the effort that went into making them the very best costumes I’ve ever seen.

Congratulations to all our raffle winners. As mentioned at the Parade, the raffle was drawn from the list of library borrowers from each class. Reading is a passion of mine and I am so glad that reading is important and enjoyable for so many of the students as well.

Thank you to all parents and families for coming along to watch the students’ parade. It made it all the more special for all the members of our community, students, families and teachers and staff to all be together to celebrate our students and their beloved books and stories!

Well done everyone! You made it a fantastic Parade. We have included some wonderful photos from the day over the next few pages.

Miss Larosa

Book Parade

FEAST PROGRAM

This week in FEAST we were introduced to soaking and mixing. Students also learnt how to minimise food wastage in the kitchen. It was great to see the children so engaged and excited to be back in the kitchen. The recipe is below if you would like to join in on the fun at home.

We would like to extend a big thank you to Emily from OzHarvest and our parent volunteers who kindly donated their time and joined us for our cooking experience. We would also like to thank Unanderra Woolworths who have kindly donated the food for each cooking experience. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Miss Leussink

Next Meeting: Wednesday 4 September at 7pm in the school library Father’s Day Stall A big thank you to Sharon & Emma for the fantastic job you did organising the Father’s Day gifts this year. We made $380.60 profit to add to our fundraising total for the year! Canteen News We are encouraging the students to bring their own cup (not breakable) each week and pay $1 instead of $1.20 with a disposable cup. Let’s get them thinking about good habits now!

Colour Run - FRIDAY 15 November 2019 We are thrilled to announce our school ‘Colour Fun Run’ is coming back! This will be a major fundraiser for our school. We do ask that you purchase a plain white t-shirt for your child for the day. Kmart currently have these for sale for $3 in the boy’s section. Students will be unable to participate if they do not have a plain white t-shirt. More details will be confirmed in the coming weeks so please save the date. We hope that all parents will be able to attend and join in the fun, so grab yourself a white t-shirt as well. This will be a day not to be missed.

HOT CHOCOLATE $1.20 OR

BYO cup and pay $1.00