Mansfield Primary School

Mansfield Primary School

Apollo Street, Mansfield 3722

Telephone 5775 2325

Fax 5775 1914

Principal: Paul Volkering

Assistant Principal: Hazel Bell

Email:

mansfield.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Or visit:

www.mansfieldps.vic.edu.au

Newsletter 7

15th May, 2014

IMPORTANT DATES:

16th May Catching on Early

program commences

18th May Parent & Friends

WORKING BEE 1pm

19th to 23rd May Education Week

19th May School Council meeting

20th May Yr 3-6 District Cross

Country Botanical

Gardens 9.30-12.00pm

22nd May Education Week-

Morning Tea 10.30am

23rd May Yr1/2 Historical Walk

11.30-1.30pm

National Walk to School

Day

School Assembly 3pm

24th May Parents & Friends Cake

Stall

29th May Prep Historical Walk

11.30-1.30pm

30th May Catching on Early

(session 2)

4th June Yr 3/4 Historical

Excursion—Glenrowan

5th June Zone Cross Country—

Yea

6th June Report writing day-Pupil

Free

9th June Queens Birthday

holiday-Pupil Free

13th June School Assembly 3pm

20th June Catching on Early

(session 3)

27th June Last day Term 2

Education Week special morning tea on

Thursday May 22nd at 10:30a.m. Check out

the program in this week’s Courier and let

your friends and family know. Please see the

back page of this newsletter for the program

highlighting the activities and opportunities

for school visits.

CURRICULUM DAY

Our staff along with teachers from St

Mary’s, Merrijig and Jamieson schools came

together two weeks ago for a professional

learning day in Mathematics. Curriculum Days

are chosen by the school leadership team and

approved by School Council. The Department

of Education and Early Childhood

Development (DEECD) mandate that the first

day back at school each year, is a designated

state wide curriculum and planning day, but

apart from that day, schools may chose the

remaining days themselves to suit their own

purposes. Rob Vingerhoets, a prominent

educator and Maths “guru” lead our day which

was organised by Jess Harris from St Mary’s

and Yvonne Robinson from Mansfield Primary.

Our thanks go to Jess and Yvonne for their

hard work, organisation and leadership.

WORKING BEE

Our Parents and Friends group are a group of

dedicated parents who support our school in

many fantastic ways. Apart from raising

money for the school through cake stalls,

functions and other activities, they also help

bring our school community together. They

are conducting a WORKING BEE this Sunday

to help spruce up the school grounds as we

head into winter.

If you have some time this Sunday at 1:00pm,

please come along and support the P&F who

work tirelessly for the school.

EDUCATION WEEK.

During May we celebrate Education Week.

Next week is a great opportunity to come

and visit the school and help us celebrate

Education Week. Come along to our

HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS

Managing serious infections including colds and flu are

becoming a major source of concern for medical practitioners

and health authorities around the world. With winter just

around the corner, it is timely to remind everyone of some

simple hygiene measures that can make a difference.

Most importantly the Victorian Health Department

recommends a few simple steps along with good common sense

that will mean we reduce the threat of significant outbreaks

within our school and community.

1.Always cover your mouth when either coughing or sneezing.

2.Use a tissue or handkerchief to clear the nose or to cover

your mouth when coughing

3.Wash and dry your hands thoroughly after going to the

toilet.

4.Never share food, food containers or eating utensils.

Parents are asked to share this information with their

children and to make sure your child has some tissues or a

handkerchief with them every day.

UNIFORM

While response to wearing the correct school uniform has

generally been very good this year, there are some children

and families not supporting our goals in regard to uniform.

Parents are reminded that all children are expected to be in

Uniform and to wear the school uniform in the correct

manner every day. Parents are also urged to check “lost

property” as the number of unmarked items continues to

grow. If your child has lost an item of uniform, check lost

property as it is most likely buried somewhere in there. Girls

shorts may be worn, but must be at proper length, not with

the legs rolled up!

CHANGED TRAFFIC CONDITIONS

Parents are reminded that new traffic arrangements are now

in place in both Apollo Street and Victoria Street. Apart

from a new “roundabout” new parking areas are in force.

Notably, there is more room for buses to “bank” at the front

of the school and the Disabled car spaces have moved

further north. Please observe safe driving around the school

and be aware that the speed limit is 40kmph, which is being

monitored by Police.

Mt Buller enrolments

If you child is currently enrolled at Mansfield Primary School

and attending the campus in town, please advise us if you

intend to seek enrolment at our Mt Buller campus for winter.

If you are intending to enrol at Mt Buller campus, please

advise Lisa Gray in the school office as numbers are closing

quickly.

KOORIE STUDENTS

If your child is either Koorie or of Koorie background, could

you please let Mr Volkering know. A number of students when

asked, indicated that they were either Koorie, or Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander. To help ensure our records are

correct, and to ensure that we are supporting all students

equally, please advise us of you think our records on your

child don’t indicate their Kooire or Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Island background.

NAPLAN

I’ve written before on this topic and I, like most educators,

don’t like the way in which the current program is conducted.

Most families would know that every day, teachers assess and

test students both formally and informally. This assessment

by teachers culminates in two formal reports every year, with

further opportunities for dialogue between your child’s

teacher and you as a parent if necessary.

For the record the aspects of the test I don’t like are:

1.The pressure it puts on some students, especially those

students with a disability or a special learning need.

2.The timing. May is far too early for a Year 3 student.

3.The fact that NAPLAN tests the students on only one day,

rather than over time.

4.The use of the tests to compare schools on a league table.

5.The creation of a belief that some schools are successful

and others failures due in part of their NAPLAN data.

Suffice to say that we appear to be stuck with NAPLAN and

until such time as the voice educators is heard and acted

upon, we will have to continue to deliver the program to our

students.

GONSKI GONE!!!!

It would appear that the Federal Budget along with a general

lack of intent by key decision makers to properly fund public

education, has seen the demise of the Gonski funding that

was promised to schools in the lead up to last year’s federal

election. The debate should never have been about how much

schools got, nor about public verses private education

funding, it should have been about long term equity funding in

Australian schools.

One only has to go overseas to countries like Finland, Holland,

Sweden, Germany, South Korea and Japan to see how those

countries are forging ahead, due to a clear and coherent

policy around funding of education. Interestingly, none of

those countries have a private school system as well

entrenched as ours.

In my time as a Principal I’ve witnessed so much waste in

Education that it almost makes me sick. Politicians from both

sides come into power and tinker with Education policy to the

point that good people are replaced and good programs are

terminated. One would think that in a young vibrant country

like ours, rich in both human capital as well as resources; that

a clear bipartisan policy would exist in terms of how schools

are funded and how they are to be run. But no, nearly every

election there is more tinkering with education policy.

Australia’s educational ranking in terms of our international

standing continues to slide. Usually it’s teachers and lack of

productivity in schools that become a public “whipping boy”.

Significant numbers of young people continue to disengage from

education from about Year 9 onwards and access to training and

university is becoming largely the domain of the rich. If you can

afford an education, then you can get one. If you happen to be

further down the socio economic ladder, then you may get a

good education. Many of you will know how hard it is for young

people in our community to try and sustain themselves if they

are fortunate enough to be able to study beyond secondary

school.

I was desperate for the additional funding that Gonski would

bring to our school. I had plans to employ additional teacher

aides in every class and to be able to develop specific programs

for our gifted and talented students as well as our special

needs students. Alas, another policy decision lost!

PARENTING IDEAS

On a brighter note, this week’s Parenting Ideas focuses on

emotional intelligence. Kids these days have a lot to deal with.

Their world seems far more complex than when we were at

school. Having a high level of emotional intelligence can mean

that students cope better and manage challenging situations

better. I commend that attached article to you.

Parenting Ideas is brought to you through our subscription to

Parenting Ideas. For further help and

support go to:

www.parentingideas.com.au

In the meantime keep up the great work

you are doing as a parent.

Sincerely,

Paul Volkering

CAKE STALL!!!

The fabulous fundraising Mansfield Primary School Cake Stall at the Farmers’ Market is happening again on

Saturday 24th May.

In the past, this has been one of our most successful fundraisers for the school. Please be in-volved and bring something to sell, or come and buy! How to help: Bake something homemade (NO packets please) - cakes, biscuits, cupcakes, slices, fruit loafs We can also sell any produce from your garden or chooks Best sellers are usually: Savoury - quiches, cheese biscuits Kids treats - toffee apples, gingerbread men Wholesome - e.g. carrot cake, lemon poppy seed, apple Gluten-Free - e.g. flour less chocolate cake Old fashioned goodies - sponge, grandma’s slice etc

The Shire Council Environment Health Officer will waive fees for fundraiser, BUT we are bound by the Food Act which means that goods MUST be baked in a clean kitchen and good personal hygiene MUST be practised when handling food. Labelling: Goods must be labelled. Please label goods with sticker or paper: including ingredients, date made and your initials. (Alternatively let us know what you have done and we can put a code on if you don’t want your initials there). For example Flourless Chocolate Cake

Chocolate, almond meal, sugar, butter, eggs

25/6/11 C.L.

Presentation: Presentation sells well! Please present goods on paper plate or op shop china plate covered by glad wrap. Biscuits look good in cellophane bags or jars. Cellophane bags are available at the packaging shop in the main street, next to the bike shop. Where/When to deliver your goodies: Deliver direct to cake stall at Farmers Market - High Street medium strip opposite Post Office between 8-9ish on Saturday morning. Or deliver to school front office on Friday afternoon before. Please contact us if you have any queries and THANK YOU in advance! Janine Appleton 0428 150 800 Anna Francis 0409 884 459 Belinda Elliott 0400 123 497 Kate Stonnill 0438 098 594 If you cannot cook for us, please come and buy some goodies - fill your pantry or freezer with treats to help the school!

NEWSLETTER DATES 2014

May 29th

June 12th & 26th

July 24th

Aug 7th & 21st

Sept 4th & 18th

Oct 9th

Nov 6th & 20th

Dec 4th & 18th

buddy day for 12p Last term 12P spent an enjoyable day with their big buddies. The Grade Ones went to Jamieson and the Grade

Twos went to Mirimbah. Below is what the students wrote about their day.

Jessica Andrews- My buddy Meg is very nice.

William Browning- We did science with water bugs.

Dylan Carter- We played on the playground.

Mia Davis- My buddy put a bandage on my finger.

Ashton Dean- My buddy Ollie is my friend.

Ella-Rose Dowd- We went to Jamieson School.

Connor Gibney- It was fun playing with Rieley.

Henry Gove- We made boats and raced them.

Jett Kipping- I thought I saw a fish.

Audrey Kirk – Samantha and I collected bugs under rocks in the water.

Elise Kirley- I like my buddy Kaitlyn so much.

Britney McIntyre- My buddy helped me.

Jaycee Murphy- I liked catching creatures.

Tyler Murphy- I liked it.

Ethan Peck- We went to Jamieson to play.

Bridie Peterson- We made a maze.

Josh Tanner-We went on a walk. It was fun.

Storm Welch- We made a maze in the river.

Emma Witkiss- I played with Lily.

Year 6 Tshirts

We have 1 size 12 & 1 size

14 current Year 6 Tshirts

$25.00 each. Now available

at the school office.

Phone 5775 2325

www.mansfieldps.vic.gov.au

open

E xc e p t i o n a l P r i m a r y S c h o o l E d u c a t i o n w i t h h i g h l y

q u a l i f i e d t e a c h e r s s h a r i n g s k i l l s a n d k n ow l e d g e

Mansfield Primary School

Open House

A week of activities & information

for the whole Mansfield

Community. All are welcome to

visit our school, ask questions and

find out more on becoming part of

our school community.

Monday 19 & Wednesday 21

May: 10am - 11am School Tours for new families. Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21

May: 12.30 - 3.30pm Open Art

Studio.

Artist in residence, Wendy Jagger

with the grade 6 students

demonstrate the art of the pottery

wheel and bowl making.

Thursday 22 May: 9am -10am All invited to visit our Open

Classrooms.

Especially valuable for parents,

grandparents, special friends and

volunteers to see how we look on

a day to day basis.

10.30am: Enjoy our visitors

morning tea presented by the

Parents & Friends.

Mansfield Primary School has

many unique opportunities

for students.

One example is our School to

Summit Program. This program

offers an outdoor learning

experience for all students from

Prep to Grade 6. The program

develops students over a range of

outdoor activities culminating in

an outdoor adventure challenge at

Mt Buller in Grade 6. Supporting

each student in their transition to

Secondary College.

Mr Paul Volkering:

Principal

An experienced Principal in

both rural and

metropolitan schools. He

has the Prime Minister’s

Centenary Medal for

Services to Education.

Mrs Nicole Comerford

Supports students,

families & individuals.

Nicole has a Master of

Education - Special

Needs.

Mrs Lyn Gardiner

Experienced Senior

teacher and Visual Arts

Specialist. Over the

past six years Lyn has

developed the Artist in

Residence program.

house

Mrs Julie McInnes

Year 3/4 Coordinator and

Literacy Coordinator with

a Master of Gifted

Education.