MPS Newsletter - Week 1, Term 4 - 8 Oct 2021

Principal's Report

I would like to start this newsletter with once again thanking you all and congratulating every student, parent and teacher for their support, positivity, achievements and growth mindset over the last 7 weeks. We simply couldn't be more happy to welcome the students back to school this week. For me, the laughter, chatter, play and excitement that could be heard and seen as the children walked in the school gates on Tuesday was something that I will remember forever. What do they say, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone", and students not being in a school site is something we should never take for granted. This will also teach us all that we need to make the most of the opportunities we have whilst at school. Welcome back everyone!

Mudgee Beginners - Kindergarten 2022

We are currently planning our transition for Term 4, which is ‘Mudgee Beginners’. These plans will also be subject to updated advice on Department restrictions throughout the program. 

At this stage we are planning to run our transition program which will be similar to last year which was a combination of Jolly Gym and Mudgee Beginners. The program will run for 5 x 1 ½ hour sessions from 19^th / 21^st October until 16^th/18^th November. 

Children can attend 1 regular session per week and engage in a combination of both classroom based and outdoor/gross motor type activities. The lessons will be taught in the current kindergarten classrooms and in the infants playground. 

Session times will be Tuesdays 9:30-11:00 OR 11:40-1:10 and Thursdays 9:30 – 11:00 OR 11:40-1:10  To secure a place, please enrol your child and notify us of your preferred session time by FRIDAY 15 October via this google form:

https://forms.gle/FwcEYdpyxhupkxU47  

It is not too late to enrol Kindergarten students for 2022. Please contact the front office or complete an online enrolment form to do so. 

COVID-Safe Level 3 Restrictions continue

We return this term under Level 3 Restrictions, most of which I outlined in my email last weekend. You will again find the main points outlined below; however, if you have any further questions regarding what the Level 3 Restriction requirements please do not hesitate to contact the school by phone. The following link is also a good source of information to find out what Level 3
Restrictions allow:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-forfamilies

Cleaning and Hygeine

Our school has in place increased cleaning measures and additional hygiene supplies to ensure everyone's safety. The same classroom hygiene habits prior to lockdown will continue to be encouraged by teachers such as regular hand washing and sanitising. Teachers will also be ensuring their classroom is well ventilated to support airflow throughout the day.

Pick-Ups in the Afternoon

Please be mindful not to stop and wait in the bus bay of an afternoon. The police have been patrolling and will enforce the road signs. If you can't find a spot in the pick up space you will need to either find a parking spot and walk to the gate or complete a lap around the school and hope there is a space on your return. Thank you for your support in keeping our students safe. 

Mask Wearing for students and staff

It is recommended that students in primary school wear masks while at school, however, this is not mandatory. All staff will be following their mask wearing requirements whilst at school.

Assemblies and Excursions

Under the Level 3 Restrictions school assemblies are not permitted, and all excursions are currently not able to go ahead. This means that our planned Year 5 Excursion to Broken Bay, Year 4 Blue Mountains, Year 3 Dunns Swamp, Riding for the Disabled and Year 2 Z0o excursions have unfortunately all been cancelled. Monies paid can be refunded or alternatively, and preferably, a credit is able to be held to be used against your child’s excursions in 2022. (See the OFFICE notice below in this newsletter regarding refunds). If and when we return to Level 2 Restrictions, we will be able to plan excursions within our Local Government Area. 

Returning Laptops and iPads

Could I please ask that all families who borrowed a laptop or iPad to support their child with learning from home please return these to the office so that they can be used within the classrooms. I hope this was useful whilst learning from home. As we are not able to have parents onsite, please either send in with your child, hand to a teacher on gate duty, or call the front office and someone will meet you at the gate.

Non-Essential visitors

Non-essential visitors are not permitted on site. This means that parents and carers are asked to remain outside the school gate at pick up and drop off time. Parents are also respectfully reminded to wear a mask at pick up time and to avoid congregating in large groups. Where possible please encourage your child to meet you at the car. Anyone who enters the school grounds, to support a vulnerable student or if your enquiry is not able to be answered over the telephone you must wear a mask and also sign in via our Services NSW QR code. If you are needing to pick your child up early for an appointment please contact the office, via phone prior to your arrival, so that we can organise to have your child walked to the front gate for you. 

Breakfast Club + Canteen

Breakfast club will return next week; however, K-2 students will have breakfast club up under the Library COLA to minimise cross cohort mingling.

The Canteen will continue next week with online ordering only. This means no lunch time or recess sales. Headover to quickliq for all your canteen needs: www.quickcliq.com.au

Check-In Assessments

In Week 3, all students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be completing a "Check-in Assessment."

Check-in assessments are an online assessment for students in Years 3 to 9. They are mapped to the NSW Syllabuses and National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions. There are two assessments:

• reading
• numeracy

Each assessment is designed to be quick and easy to administer, consisting of between 40 to 50 multiple choice questions. The data is provided to teahcers nearly straight after the assessment and is used to identify main teaching focus for the remainder of the term. Considering the time away that we have had from school, this will help point our teachers in the right direciton, as well as ensure that we are making the most of the learning opportunities in Term 4.

Before and After School Care

As you are aware, the Department's Before and After School Care (BASC) Team consulted with our school and parent community to understand before and after school care needs, through a parent survey in Term 2 of this year. 

The results of this survey have indicated a strong need for before and after school care at Mudgee PS and whilst it is not fully confirmed, the Department will be working with us more closely to look to delivering this service to Mudgee PS parents and community sometime in the near future. 

I will discuss this and give an update at the next P&C Meeting.

Important Dates 

• Mudgee Beginners (Kindergarten 2022) 5 weeks - TUESDAY 19th October to 16th November OR  THURSDAY 21st October to 18th November

Thank you for support! 

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.

PBL EXPECTATION OF THE WEEK

 "Bee Safe - Be in the right place at the right time"

PBL - Positive Behaviour and Learning

From The Office

Payment Refunds - CANCELLED Excursion Year 4

If an excursion, school performance, student purchase is cancelled or illness prevents a student attending then parents have an option to request a refund. Payment refunds can be requested using the Student Refund Application form. Student payments that are in credit are held as 'Fees in Advance' for future school expenses. Credit receipts are provided to the student and families showing the amount of fees that are in advance. 
PLEASE NOTE: A refund can only be made to the person who made the original payment. Refunds can only be made back to the original card for POP and EFTPOS. Cash or Cheque payments will be refunded via EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). If you wish to apply for a refund please download the Student Refund Application form below, complete details and return to the school office. Once we have received your application, one of our friendly staff will be in touch to confirm and support the refund process. 

Regards, MPS Admin Team

Library News

WELCOME BACK!! It is great to see students' faces again back in the Library 🙂

Book Fair - We are hoping to hold our annual Book Fair in Week 5 this term. It will be a students-only event similar to last year, and we will have confirmed dates in the next couple of weeks.

PRC - Congratulations to the 82 students who completed their 2021 PRC! You will be receiving your certificates this term. 

Overdue Books - As we are back at school at the moment, it would be great to see some of the overdue books returned to the Library. There are quite a few across the school so I ask you to please check at home, and return them asap.  If you have any issues with missing or damaged books, please let me know and we can sort something out. 

Stay safe and Happy Reading! 

Mrs Siobhan Vitnell - Teacher Librarian

Primary Ethics

Bites - Online ethics

Ethics lessons aren't able to be taught in school at the moment - but there is an online alternative based on the Primary Ethics curriculum. Bites are short stories that present ethical dilemmas designed to get children practising their skills of close listening and careful reasoning .

There are Bites for K-2 and for Yrs 3-6. They come with notes for parents/carers and are available to all children.

A completely new series of Bites for Term 4 is now available: https://primaryethics.com.au/education/

Community Messages

MUDGEE SWIMMING CLUB

Interested to see if the kids will love swim club? 🏊🏼‍♀️🏊🏻(we know they will😝) 

Come along Tuesday the 19th October  and give it a go for free. 

We are a family-friendly club and encourage members of all ages and swimming abilities to join. 

We are non-competitive which means we do not award 1st, 2nd, 3rd in races, swimmers compete against themselves trying to improve each week. 

We have 16, 25, 50 & 100 metre races. The younger ones can have an older member assist them, if they are not a super confident swimmer.

We can’t wait to meet you. Contact us @ mudgeeswimmingclub@outlook.com or find us on FB