MPS Newsletter: Term 3, Week 1 - 16 July 2021

Principal's Report

Level 2 Restrictions Continue

We have been notified that for us here at Mudgee Public School in Regional NSW, Level 2 restrictions will continue until at least the end of Week 3. Whilst its a little frustrating, I am sure we are all thinking of our students and schools in Greater Sydney and the challenges they would be facing as they continue with remote learning in this time frame.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support at pick up and drop off times. Just a friendly reminder to not stop in the bus bay, nor to queue for long periods of time on Perry Street. 

Restrictions for Regional NSW from the Secretary of the Department of Education

"This means that in regional NSW, we will continue with Level 2 restrictions, with no access to schools for non-essential visitors and limitations on activities such as excursions. I know this will be disappointing news, especially for those of you in regions where there are no cases or transmission of COVID-19. However, this measure is an important part of our ongoing protection of the community while cases remain higher than we would like in Greater Sydney."

This means that at this stage nothing really changes from what I have communicated to you on Monday. However, we have further clarification around sporting events across Local Government Areas so the good news is that these can continue. We will be looking to carry on with our PSSA Knockout fixtures, reschedule the touch football gala day, and continue to plan for our Zone Athletics Carnival in Week 4. Unfortunately, we won't be able to have parents attend these events but it is great news that the students won't be missing out.

Staffing Update

We welcome 2 new staff members this term; Mrs Cheryl Seis, Relieving School Administration Manager (See staff spotlight for more information about Cheryl); and Mrs Belle Moylan who will be joining us as a teacher on Mondays and Tuesdays working with our COVID Intensive Learning Support Team. Please join me in welcoming them to Mudgee Public School.

We also have some restructuring due to a few movements which is best summarised below:

• Mrs Anna Baker will be doing more RFF across the Support Unit, not just with TT
• Mrs Claire Mortensen 5 days per week on 5/60 taking over from Mrs O'Brien's maternity leave.
• Mrs Lynda Baddock (Mon-Thurs) and Mrs Liesel Meers (Friday) will be teaching 5/6M
• Mrs Annette McRae will be working with COVID Learning Support Team
• Mrs Megan Cowan will now be working with Stage 3 RFF 
• Mrs Jill Dover extra Day Stage 2 RFF
• Mrs Elizabeth Roberts COVID Learning Support Team and Casual Relief four days per week
• Mrs Alison Lucas COVID and Stage 2 RFF four days per week
• Donna Doyle, Jenna Kensey and Sharon Daley increased time as SLSOs and will be doing MiniLit and some Maths Groups, as well as some classroom support
  

Zoo Excursion and Blue Mountains Excursion

What a shame we had to postpone these two excursions! Not to worry, our teachers have been working hard to reschedule.

- The Year 2 Zoo excursion has been rescheduled for Friday Week 9 this term, which is 10 September

- The Year 4 Blue Mountains excursion has not been 100% confirmed yet, but is likely to be in Week 5, Term 4 (the week beginning 1 November). Exact date TBC

Thanks to Mrs Hargraves and Mrs Endacott for their work with these excursions.

Attendance Matters

The Department of Education has produced some resources around the importance of school attendance. Research highlights a clear correlation between student attendance and the achievement of quality academic, socio-economic and health outcomes. This research tells us that students with an attendance rate below 90% are educationally at risk. At Mudgee PS, our expected student attendance is above 95%. It is vital that your child attends school every day unless they are unwell. The poster below will show you how many days your child will have to attend this year, to ensure they are above 90 or 95% attendance rate. 

As parents, we all want the best for our children and you can help your child succeed at school by supporting the school in the following ways:

• Ensure your child arrives at school on time. Every class at MPS starts the day at 9:15am with Morning Routine. This lesson is specially designed to wake up our brains and provide a strong foundation for the day’s learning. We need every student to be part of Morning Routine as it sets them up for success.
• Stay the whole day. The last session of the day at MPS is only 1.25 hours long, but it is a very important time. It is the time when our students enjoy learning activities that are often creative and involve group work and collaboration. It is a wonderful time for students to enjoy learning with their friends, so we need everyone to stay until 3:15pm.
  
• Make appointments in suitable hours. Where possible, please make appointments during hours that will not require you to sign your child out of school before they have finished their learning. I understand this is challenging in our community, but where possible please see what you can do.
  

Time away from learning adds up quickly so if you would like to know your child's attendance rate, please contact your child's teacher. 

P&C Meeting - MONDAY 19 July @ 6pm

In light of the current COVID-19 situation, we would encourage as many people as possible who are able to, to join via Zoom; however, we are still permitted to have people attending the meeting in person provided they can do so in a COVID safe way e.g. signing in via QR Code and not attending if you have been in Greater Sydney or showing any signs of COVID-19.  If you intend on attending in person could you please let Karen Schrover know via email mudgeepublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

Otherwise, please register for the Zoom call via the link below. Register in advance for this meeting:  https://au01web.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cqd-mppzIvEtKGl6-JvIPIUNmmZ5veKtxE

Important Dates - Week 2, Term 3

• Monday 19 July: P&C Meeting 6:30pm
• Wednesday 21 July: Debate v Cudgegong Valley PS
  Thursday 22 July: Mudgee Newbees
• Friday 23 July: 100 Days of Kindergarten; Debate v Coolah PS (via Zoom)

Week 3, Term 3

• Education Week - Stay tuned for online sharing as we focus on the theme "Lifelong Learners"
• Tuesday 27 July: Jolly Gym Week 1
• Wednesday 28 July: Proposed PSSA Knockout Soccer Fixture v Forbes North PS
• Thursday 29 July: Jolly Gym Week 1

Week 4, Term 3

• Tuesday 3 August: Jolly Gym Week 2
• Thursday 5 August: Jolly Gym Week 2
• Friday 6 August: Jeans for Genes Day
• Friday 6 August: Zone Athletics
  

Kindergarten 2022 Reminder

You can enrol your child for school now! Local enrolments can enrol directly online.

https://mudgee-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/about.../enrolment.html  

Visit our school office or call on 6372 2036 for further information and /or take a Virtual School Tour (click on the link below).

• Kindergarten Transition dates below. At this stage, we are still allowed to hold Jolly Gym. Great news!!!

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. 

Students of the Weeks

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

Library News

PRC -​ The Premiers Reading Challenge is in its final weeks! You have until August 20th to get all your books read and logged online. Alternatively, you can fill out the green PRC sheet and hand in to me when you have finished. Congratulations to the students who have already finished their challenge, your names are on the PRC Tree in the Library. More information can be found at https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html​ 

Book Club - ​Issue 5 brochures were handed out this week. All LOOP and cash orders are due in Monday August 2nd. No late orders can be accepted. 

Book Fair - This Term we will be holding our annual Book Fair. We are not exactly sure what it will look like yet, given the current environment, but as soon as we know what we are allowed to do we will let you know. I can tell you it will be held in Week 7 and there will be lots of fun resources to purchase! There will be a Book Week Dress Up around that time too, for those who like to plan early. 

Happy Reading!

Mrs Siobhan Vitnell - Teacher Librarian

Class Spotlight - KS

Term 3 in KS has started with a big burst of magic. For our Literacy Unit this term we are studying the topic of Fairy tales. Today we got into character by dressing up as a character that you would find in a fairy tale and then they wrote about who they were and what special things they could do. In maths we have been exploring and creating patterns. In groups, students worked together to make patterns with a selection of objects. Helping and encouraging each other in their learning. KS students are all exceptional team players.

Mrs Kim Sanders & Mrs Nicole Wallace - Class Teachers

Class Spotlight - 5/6L

Term 2 was very busy in 5/6L, but we still found time for some Creative Arts! We upcycled floral wreaths laid at ANZAC Day to create stunning still-life scenes of flowers. This was a delicate process, which required steady hands, patience and care!  Then we made them into Mothers’ Day cards.  We always like to sing together during our weeks at school, and recently we’ve begun to play a series of musical games, as well as learning to discuss music and sounds using musical terminology like pitch, melody, tempo, and tone. Our students really like to play the different percussion instruments!

Mr Owen Lesslie  - Class Teacher

5/6L Music Art

5/6L Flower Art

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Meet the Staff - Mrs Cheryl Seis (SAM)

I have worked in the Department of Education for 26 years and have been the Administration Manager for 21 years.  

I recently moved from a high school setting to Mudgee Public School.  I love the diversity of my role and the constant challenges that arise day to day. 

Mudgee Public has a very nice, friendly vibe and I have enjoyed meeting the staff and children.  I am very excited to be at Mudgee Public School.

Canberra Excursion - "Wrap up!"

Year 6 Canberra Excursion - Sunday 6th to Wednesday 9th June, 2021

Our Year 6 students have recently returned from an Educational Tour of our Nation’s Capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia's history, culture, heritage and democracy. While in Canberra our students visited key civics and cultural sites such as The War Memorial, The National Electoral Education Centre, Parliament House, the CSIRO Black Mountain Discovery Centre and Mt Stromlo to name a few. A highlight was definitely our trip to Perisher (a video of our students was recently shared by the NSW Department of Education’s Facebook page).

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government contributes funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

This year, the Canberra Excursion began on a Sunday morning and concluded on the Wednesday evening. A huge thank you to the teachers who attended this excursion. It is not often you will find teachers giving up their weekends to attend a school camp! The teachers also reported that they had wonderful feedback from the venues about how well-behaved our students were. Well done and Congratulations Year 6!!

Mudgee Newbees - Playgroup

Mudgee Newbees is back for Term 3 and we can’t wait to see all our future MPS students and their families. We’ll be operating under the current guidelines. Parents, when you arrive, please sign in using the QR code and make sure you have your face mask. We’ll also be paying attention to our social distancing and there will be plenty of hand sanitiser around for us to use. I look forward to seeing lots of smiling faces at Newbees this term!

Liz Halbisch - MPS Community Liaison Officer

Community News

AFTER SCHOOL ART

@Mudgee Art House - contact 0401 175 148

Monday to Thursday for 5 -13yrs

Friday for Teens 12 -18yrs

Mondays - Printmaking

Wednesday - Painting

Thursday - Mixed media

Friday - Self directed project