MPS Newsletter: Term 1, Week 4

Principal's Report

Welcome to our very first Schoolzine Mudgee PS Newsletter. We are excited to be sharing our newsletter with you on this platform and hope that the interactive features as well as increased photos and videos help connect you to your child's learning at school. You can use the tabs at the top of the newsletter to fast forward to the sections you want to see, just like you can use the arrow on the right to return to the top. The beauty of this format is that it is compatible with desktops, smart phones and iPads, so it should also make digital viewing much easier. 

As mentioned, you can receive the newsletter by installing the Schoolzine App. See the instructions below. Once downloaded search for Mudgee Public School and you will also receive every  newsletter and broadcast directly on your app when it is published. If you have any problems, give us a call. 

Meet the teacher

Thank you to all our parents and teachers who attended the Meet the Teacher Evenings this week. I appreciate the effort of attendance and hope the evenings were worthwhile. If you did miss out for whatever reason, please contact your child's classroom teacher and I am sure they will share the information with you in one way or another. 

Student Induction Ceremony

Congratulations to all students who were awarded with a badge at our Investiture Assembly on Tuesday. You should all be incredibly proud of your achievements and I look forward to working with you as leaders in our school. See some photos below, and click on the link under this gallery to see all the photos on Facebook. 

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Classroom Visits 

As mentioned previously, I am trying to get around and visit all the students in the school over the first half of the term. Over the last fortnight I have visited Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6), and Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2). I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the students in their classrooms and seeing all the high quality learning taking place. I look forward to visitng Stage 2 and Kindergarten over the next fortnight. 

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COVID Intesive Learning Support

In 2021, Mudgee PS (along with all schools across the state) have been granted with significant one off funding to support student learning in an attempt to get students back up to speed as a result of the disruptions to school in 2020. Through the COVID intensive learning support program, schools will be provided with funding to employ additional educators who will deliver small group tuition and will focus on core content and skills, particularly literacy and numeracy. Small group tuition involves supplementary teaching and learning support for groups of 2-5 students. Students are taught consistently for a predetermined amount of time with the intention to reinforce classroom instruction.

At Mudgee PS, we currently have Mr Wheeler, Mrs Baddock, Mrs Lyons, Mrs Skewes and Mrs Morley working with students either in small groups in their classrooms, or in small withdrawal groups  (supplementing the lessons taking place at that time). Throughout the year a large number of students will have access to these supports. If your child does say they are working in a small group with another teacher, it is not cause for concern. If your child requires more formalised Learning Support, your child's teacher or Learning Support teacher will be in touch as per normal communication procedures. If you do have any questions, I encourage you to talk to your child's classroom teacher. We are very fortunate to have access to these valuable resources. 

Highlights of the Fortnight

My first highlight is a repost from Facebook, but one worth sharing again. These two champions received a principal's award from myself last week for acting with honesty and integrity at the swimming carnival. They found money on the ground and immediately handed it in.  Well done, boys!

Secondly, this week, I was visited by class KN who were learning about all the different locations around the school. Student of the week, Victoria, seemed to enjoy sitting in my chair - I might have to get her back down to help with some of the big decisions! Well done, Victoria!

I hope you all have a great fortnight. 

Mr Carters,
Principal

Principal and Deputy Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Principal and/or Deputy Principal Award over the last fortnight.

Students of the Weeks

Congratulations to these students who have been recognised as "Student of the Week" over the last fortnight. Please join us in ackowledging their efforts and contribution.

School Leaders 2021

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our School Captains and Vice-Captains for 2021. Mr Carters will be holding a morning tea with these students shortly to discuss their leadership as well as listen to their ideas. 

Pictured below are our House Captains for 2021. In the Week 6 newsletter, we will introduce our Term 1 Student Representative Council (SRC) and ATSI Rep.

P&C Report

QuickCliq booking fee - 21c per order from 22nd February.
We hope everyone is enjoying the convenience of online ordering with QuickCliq. Did you know that QuickCliq charges a booking fee of 21c per order? Every online ordering system has a similar type of fee.  Many schools elect for families to pay this fee when an order is placed, some schools absorb the fee. So far, the MPS P&C has been absorbing this fee. The P&C recently had to make the difficult decision whether to stop absorbing the fee or increase prices to make ends meet in the canteen.  The canteen aims to provide affordable food to all so the P&C decided the best option was to stop absorbing the booking fee.  This means that from Monday, 22nd February, 21c will be automatically added to orders placed via QuickCliq.  You can still send lunch orders to school with your child and there is no booking fee for this.  If you would like some more information about the booking fee, please send a message via Facebook or email mudgeepublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au.

Girl's winter tunics
Thank you to everyone who supports the school by purchasing their school uniforms at the MPS Uniform shop.  Hard to believe, but we will all soon be thinking about winter uniforms.  Michelle, our MPS Uniform Shop manager, recently received word from our supplier that girls' winter tunics will be delayed this year and we now won't receive stock until early June.   This means there will only be limited sizes of the winter tunics until June.  Long pants or skorts with tights are a great alternative to the winter tunic for girls and the uniform shop will have plenty of these items as well as other winter uniform essentials like jumpers, long-sleeved shirts and beanies. We apologise for this delay and hope that you will continue to support the MPS Uniform shop.

Canteen menu ideas
It's that time of the year again - time to plan the winter canteen menu.  The menu is carefully designed to meet the standards outlined in the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy.  Do you have a fantastic idea or a favourite dish you would love to see on the winter menu? We would love to hear your ideas.  Instead of holding a canteen meeting this term, we are asking people to send in their suggestions.  Please send your ideas for the menu to mudgeepublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au or send a message via Facebook by Monday, 8th March.

AGM
The MPS P&C AGM will be held on Monday, 15th March at 6pm in the school residence and via Zoom.  Have you ever considered being an office bearer for the P&C?  Office bearers for the year will be elected at this meeting.  Being involved as an office bearer is a fantastic opportunity to understand more about how our school functions and to work closely with the school, especially principal, Mr Carters, in deciding goals for the P&C and contributing ideas to the direction of the school.  This year, we are particularly looking for a secretary and a president.  If you would like further information about the P&C or either of these positions, please send an email to mudgeepublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au and we'll be happy to talk to you

Class Spotlight - 5/60

5/6O are focusing on imaginative writing for the first five weeks of this term. We are revising how to structure an imaginative piece of writing, as well as looking at language devices that can be used to enhance our writing. As a class we have been discussing the elements that make a great story and how we need to paint a vivid picture for our audience to engage them entirely.

Our focus for the beginning of this unit has been on hooking the reader into our stories by creating sizzling starts (an element of the Seven Steps to Writing Success). Students were given a list of topics to choose from and with a partner or individually they were to write the first few sentences of their story. The focus was on not telling the reader what was happening but describing it to keep them guessing. We have banned starting our stories “one beautiful day” or “one night” and are experimenting with new ways of starting, such as starting in the action or by using onomatopoeia. This is an unedited sample of writing from Meilana and Maggie who chose the topic ‘the worst Christmas dinner ever’. 

Class Spotlight - 2S

2S have been reading "We're all Wonders" and realised that we are all in fact wonderful! We have also been busy in Science while we spot the difference as things change when heated. Check out the videos and pictures below.

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Kindergarten - Red and Blue Weeks

Last week, Kindergarten finished their first full week of school. Well done! Last week they were busy participating in red themed activities and celebrated all things red by dressing in red mufti, making kebabs with red fruit and, to top it off, they were treated to a visit from the Mudgee Fire Brigade. Students learnt about what to do in a fire and calling 000 for help. Thank you to the visiting fire fighters!

This week was Blue week. Keep an eye out on Facebook to find out what exciting activities were taking place. I wonder which visitor might have been here wearing blue? Have a look at the video below to find out.

Photos from Blue Week featuring KS and Kindergarten will be uplaoded in the album above in the coming days 

Meet the Staff - Mrs Jessie Price

My name is Jessie Price and I have been employed to work in the Support Unit here at Mudgee Public. My husband and I moved here with our two girls at the beginning of last year because he accepted a job at St Matthews and I had 12 months off on maternity leave. Before moving to Mudgee we spent  4 years living and working in remote Western Australia then returned to NSW to be closer to our family and have kids. We love living in Mudgee and I am looking forward to being a part of the school community. I thank everyone for welcoming me.

Jessie Price - Teacher

Meet the Staff - Mrs Anna Baker

Hello!
After nearly 20 years of teaching a wonderful mix of Kindergarten to Year 6 at both big and small schools in Sydney, the Mid-North Coast and in the last 7 years, at just about every school in the Mudgee region, I happily find myself in the Support Unit at Mudgee Public School.
My husband and I have 3 beautiful girls Ayla (6), Evie (4) and Scarlett (2). Our eldest has joined the MPS community this year too. Mudgee is such a great town to raise children in!
I really hope I have the opportunity to meet you and your child/ren                                                                   around School this year.

                                                        Anna Baker - Teacher

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