Murwillumbah Public SchoolPromoting Excellence in EducationNewsletter 5th April 2018 Week 10 Term 1

PUBLICSCHOOL

Prince Street 6672 1467Murwillumbah

Principals Message Welcome to Week 10 of Term 1. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with lots of chocolate and family time! It is with sad but happy news that I inform you that Miss Rawson has been successful in gaining the

permanent Assistant Principal position at Ocean Shores Public School through a merit selection process. To ensure a smooth transition at both schools Gemma will start her position day one, Term 3. This is an exciting and rewarding next step in Gemma’s educational and professional journey. She

has worked extremely hard over many years and while this is a well-deserved promotion for Gemma, she will be greatly missed at this school, where she has been a highly contributory member of staff. We are all very proud of her achievement. Last week we had a fabulous day of celebration. Our hall was awash with colour as students proudly paraded with their delightfully decorated hats to some catchy music. It was great to see

so many parents and friends come along to join us in celebrating this wonderful time of the year. Many thanks to the parents and carers for your time in helping your children create such masterpieces. A huge thank you too to every parent who generously donated Easter eggs for the P&C Easter raffles.Many thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday for our Seniors Concert. Once again, our children were fantastic with a variety of performances that kept everyone entertained throughout the morning. I had many people approach me afterwards telling me what a wonderful morning they had listening to our children and how proud we must be of them. Yes…… we are certainly very proud of our children. Outstanding work, kids! Many thanks to our staff who have worked with the children during the last few weeks preparing them for the day and to Mrs Armour for bringing it all together. What a great team of staff we have at Murwillumbah.The ‘Tell Them From Me’ Student Feedback Survey We are delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 2

once again participate in a Department of Education initiative: the ‘Tell Them From Me’ Student Feedback Survey. The survey aims to help improve student learning outcomes and 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. You may remember that our students also participated in a ‘Tell Them From Me’ Student Survey in 2017 and will again this year in Term 1 and 3. Asking students to complete the survey twice in one year allows us to identify trends in student responses as well as track engagement and motivation across the school year. 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 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. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the ‘Tell Them From Me’ survey to help improve how they do things at school. ANZAC DAYThis year ANZAC Day falls in the last week of the holidays. The school will still be participating in the local ANZAC March on Wednesday, 25th April. Our school has a very strong tradition of student participation in the march and commemoration service. Students marching on the day should meet Mr Daley and other staff at the front of the post office at 10.00am. Full school uniform should be worn. A reminder will be sent out on SchoolStream during the holidays. Lake AinsworthTuesday next week, 90 children from year 4, 5 & 6 will head to Lennox Head (Lake Ainsworth Sport & Rec) for four days. I know they will

have a great time and are all looking forward to spending time outside the classroom. Students will take part in canoeing, archery, sailing, cycling, high ropes, marine studies and rock wall climbing to name just a few. What a week they will have! Mr Stowe, Mrs Lack, Miss Rawson, Mrs Williams will be attending. Mr Gamble, Mrs Price and myself will also be staying on different days. School ReportsOur Annual Report for 2017 is waiting to go on our website and will be able to be accessed under the ‘About’ tab. Our 2018-2020 School Plan is currently with our Director, Public Schools for his approval. It will be available on the website by the 13th April under the ‘About’ tab. SportNext Monday, Mr Gamble will be taking the boys rugby league team to a gala day at South Tweed Heads as part of the NSWPSSA Classic Shield KO competition. Our first game will be against Bogangar Public School. Good luck boys! Good luck to Kai who next week will head down to Sydney to compete at the NSWPSSA Swimming Championships at Homebush. It will be a great experience for Kai and we wish him all the very best. Many thanks to children who purchased an ice cream last week to help raise funds for Kai. We raised just on $240.Thank You! Congratulations to our mixed hockey team who for the second consecutive year, won the Fitzpatrick Shield. The team played five games throughout the day winning four and drawing one. The final was played against St Anthony’s Kingscliff which resulted in a draw. Both teams were declared joint winners. All the students enjoyed themselves displaying good sportsmanship and were also able to improve their skills throughout the day. Well done, TEAM!

Principals Message Cont.

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 3

School Photos ….This Friday School uniform to be worn. As this will be the last newsletter this term, I would like to wish you all a restful and enjoyable holiday break. Students will return to school on Tuesday, 1st May. Enjoy your week,

Regards

Les DaleyPrincipal

ICAS Test ReminderICAS is an independent, skills-based assessment program which recognises and rewards student achievement. ICAS is unique, being the most comprehensive generally available suite of academic assessments for primary and secondary school students. These tests are open to students from Years 2 -6. The closing date for Science, Spelling and Writing is Friday the 13th April. The cost of each test is: Science $9, Spelling $12 and Writing $18.If you would like your child to participate in these external tests, your payment is due to the office before the closing date.Simone KingICAS Coordinator

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 4

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MERIT AWARD WINNERS FOR WEEK 10 TERM 1KK: Tamati, Aidan 4W: Mia, FinnianKS: Tom, Heath 5_6C: Cree, Maddie1S: Dharylle, Sunee 5_6G: Uriah, Robert1_2T: Olive-Jane, Riley 5_6P: Vanessa, Summer2W: Elyjah, Khylan 5_6R: Tess, Holly2_3H: Cooper, Indi Computer /Library Chloe, Elyjah3_4L: Abigail, Mia3_4S: Amos, Jai

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MERIT AWARD WINNERS FOR WEEK 9 TERM 1KK: Lora, Zoe 4W: Abbey, AlyssaKS: Arlia, Johnny 5_6C: Lilly, Adriana1S: Ella, Xzavier 5_6G: Lachlan, Leo1_2T: Kaden, Summer 5_6P: Narla, Vinnie2W: Calan, Scarlette 5_6R: Dean, Maighsi2_3H: Carlin, Mathew Music: Ammarah, Eben3_4L: Rylee, Tahlia Computer /Library Maddison, Heath3_4S: Kyle, Kyus

Merit Awards

MPS is very excited to announce that our school is now a PBL school! PBL stands for Positive Behaviour for Learning. PBL ensures all the staff, as well as our school community, are addressing the diverse academic and social needs of every student to support them to be successful. PBL provides a framework for the school and its community to collectively support the well-being of every student.A team of dedicated staff members has been nominated as our PBL team, which is led by Barb Power with Louise Watkins, Fiona Price, Lynn Lack, Paul Butterfield and Fiona Jarvis. The team has been working with all staff and students to clarify our behaviour expectations in non-classroom settings such as the canteen, playground and bus lines.These behaviour expectations will start to be explicitly taught to all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 next term. We will also start to display signage around the school reinforcing these expectations, which are strongly linked to our 3 school values of Respect, Responsibility and Learning.

***COMPETITION***All students from K-6 are asked to think of a character/symbol which may be used for our PBL mascot. The winning design will be a part of our positive reward system. A proforma will be sent with the students over the holidays.

PBL

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 5

Around the School with Stage 2Stage 2 have had an incredible start to 2018 jumping straight into learning. The classes have enjoyed our very engaging Science unit, ‘Smooth Moves’. We’ve been throwing, hitting, pushing and pulling a variety of objects, exploring the impact of different surfaces and forces such as friction, gravity and magnetism.

To further enhance the unit we have begun a STEM component involving designing and building a wind powered car. We were fortunate enough to have a car expert – Mr Gamble come and speak to the students about his experiences and considerations that may need to be made when designing their own cars.It was great to see some of the children’s parents tackle STEM during our STEM Information Session. They had to build a wind powered boat. It was amazing to see their unique and successful creations and allowed them an opportunity to understand what a STEM experience will be like for their children.A highlight each week has been Gymnastics. Michele Thomas has challenged and encouraged fantastic improvement of strength, flexibility and skills through lots of fun activities.It was fantastic to meet with parents and discuss the children’s personal goals during our Goal Setting meetings. This provides focus and encourages students to strive, inspire and achieve as responsible learners.The children have enthusiastically embraced Maths with Mrs Anderson and Miss Cater. This enables the class to be split into small groups to support the learning of all children.Cyber Expert, Kirra Prendergast came to speak with the children and parents about Cyber Safety. It complimented the learning from Healthy Harold which also incorporated safety when using technology.

Stage 2 were fantastic participants of last week’s Easter Hat Parade. An enormous effort was made by the students (and some parents)with an incredible display of hats. It was again another enjoyable event as it is each year.

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 6

Expressions of interest for Murwillumbah High School's selective class are now open. Parents can collect a copy of the registration & portfolio sheets from our office, the high school's office or visit the high school's web page. You can complete and email back to Murwillumbah High School or alternatively you can print off a copy and return to the high school office by Friday 29 June 2018.

Yr 7 2019 Expression of Interest for MHS Selective Class

P&C NewsThank you for your support of the P&C Easter raffle. There were plenty of happy families taking home one of the 50 prizes that were made up from your generous donations. A total of $1212 has kick started our fundraising efforts for the year. Families that are taking part in the ‘Little Mates Photography’ family photos have been contacted regarding their booking time. If you have any inquires about your booking time please contact Nat Hall on 0488105389. MOTHERS DAY STALL The P&C will be holding a Mothers Day stall on Thursday 10th May. There will be a variety of gifts for the students to buy for $5. Each class will have the opportunity to visit the stall and purchase a gift. More information will be sent home next term. UNIFORM SHOPThe uniform shop is open Wednesday 3-3.30pm. If you cannot get to the school at that time a uniform order form is available from the school office. Complete the form and return it to the office with full payment. Orders will be filled during the next uniform shop opening times and delivered to your child’s classroom or you will be notified when it is ready for collection. If you wish to purchase new winter uniform items they will be by order only. Fleecy zip jackets and fleecy sweaters are $30 each. Don’t leave it until the cool weather is here, order now so you are ready.P&C MEETING All parents and community members are invited to attend meetings which are held on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 6.30pm. The next meeting will be 23/5/18.

School News

www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 7

CALENDAR

Term 1

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

105th April 6th April

SCHOOL PHOTOS

FULL SCHOOL UNIFORM

119th April

Rugby League Gala Day

10th April

Lake Ainsworth

11th April

Lake Ainsworth

12th April

Lake Ainsworth

13th April

Lake Ainsworth

Term 2

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

130th April

First Day of Term 2 for staff

1st May

First day of Term 2 for students

2nd May 3rd May

Peer Support Training Day Yr

5 & 6

4th May

Cross Country

27th May

North Coast Rugby League

Trials

8th MayICAS

Digital Tech

9th May 10th May

Mothers Day Stall

11th May

Grip Leadership

314th May

Soccer Gala Day

15th May

NAPLANLanguage

16th May

NAPLANReading

17th MayNAPLAN

MathsPeer Support to

commence

18th May

Community News2018 Tweed Ball Series