SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Week 3, Term 1 2023
Principal's Report
A big thank you to everyone who came to our Meet the Teacher evening on Wednesday night. We had approximately 400 people onsite and it was lovely re-connecting with you all. Most teachers will email home any hand outs for those who couldn't make it. If you would like to catch up with your child's teacher, I am sure they will make time to fill you in on anything you need to know.
Swimming Carnival: Our MPS students received very important permission notes for the annual MPS swimming carnival, being held on Tuesday 14th February 2023. All students who are 8 years old and up from Year 2 to Year 6 received a note. This year students can swim in 16m, 25m OR 50m races (they can only swim in one distance, not multiple distances). All students are strongly encouraged to attend the swimming carnival this year, and participate in the races, it’s all about giving it a go. As a school we promote sportsmanship and participation and we can’t wait to cheer home all the swimmers from Gladstone 
Perry 
Douro 
and Denison 
Note: Students must be turning 8 this year to attend. If you are currently 7 years old but turn 8 this year, that is completely fine. Notes were due to classroom teachers by today so that the organisation of the day can be done, however if you have forgotten, please make sure it arrives before school Monday morning.
There is also a modified canteen menu on the day which you can view below:
House Captains and Investiture Assembly: We are right in the middle of assembling the rest of our student leadership team. On Tuesday we held our House Captain elections. Congratulations to:
Gladstone: Wailen, Tom, Grace and Rachel
Douro: Levi M, Levi F, Bonnie and Tenacity
Perry: Angus, Fletcher, Leah and Lexie
Denison: Seb, Jake, Ava-Rose and Ayla
We are just finalising our Class SRC Representatives, along with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SRC Rep and will notify all families via letter if their child will be presented with a leadership badge at our Investiture Assembly which is scheduled for Tuesday 21 February at 10:15am.
Stage Visits: This week, I have been busy visiting Stage 3 classes. I have been so impressed with how settled and engaged they all are. Next week I will be spending some time in Kindergarten rooms.
P&C Meeting: Our first P&C meeting will take place this Monday evening 13 February at 5pm in Mudgee PS Residence. I would like to encourage you all to come along and have a say about our school. I will be providing an update on how the year has started, as well as plans for the year and beyond. I hope to see you all there. See below a message from the P&C and don't forget, we are always looking for volunteers in the canteen.
Blue Day: Next Friday, we will be supporting this very important fundraiser along with other schools in the local area. Please wear blue and bring in a gold coin donation.
Stewart House: Stewart House envelopes have gone home. It really is worth supprting this fantastic organisation. There's even a super prize up for grabs!
Service NSW Vouchers: Just a brief note to let you know that both our uniform shop and front office are accepting the Back to School Vouchers provided by Service NSW. They can be used towards all items in the uniform shop and in the office they can be used to go towards excursions and incursions only. Unfortunately we can't accept these online but if you come in, we will be more than happy to scan them and credit them towards your purchase. Contact the front office for more details.
Kindergarten 2023: It is always the most special time of the year welcoming a new cohort of Kindergarten students and their families through the gates. If you didn't see it on Facebook, take a look online at Kindergarten 2023's first day of big school.
Highlight of the week: Similar to above, I absolutely love this time of year. This week I had a lovely visit from Kindergarten touring the school & their first visit to the @MudgeePS principal office. So many excited little people who have settled in so well thanks to our incredible Kindergarten teachers & supportive parents.
Wishing you all a fabulous fortnight.
John Carters
Principal
Dates for the Diary
- 13 February - P&C Meeting
- 14 February - Swimming Carnival approx 10am start
- 16 February - Dragons Visit MPS 2pm - 2.40pm (Year 6)
- 17 February - Wear Blue for Brain Cancer
- 17 February - Oz Tag Gala Day - Glen Willow
- 21 February - Investiture Assembly
- 22 February - Zone Swimming Carnival
- 24 February - Kindergarten YELLOW Day
- 2 March - Boys & Girls Touch 2pm - 4pm
- 3 March - FUN Friday
- 3 March - Kindergarten GREEN Day
- 4/5 March - Mudgee Show
- 6 - 9 March - Life Education MPS
- 8 March - Yarn and Cuppa afternoon
- 10 March - Kindergarten RAINBOW day
2023 Class and Staff List
Principal/Deputy Principal Awards
Congratulations to the following students on receiving a Principal's and/or Deputy Principal's award over the past fortnight.
Principal Awards
3D - Madeleine McKenzie, Lyra Johnson-Barnett, Grace Marchant, Scout Smith, Will Cole, Matilda Bartlett / 3S - Hannah Pye / 5B - Aaleaihya Brennan-Young, Lexie Dinsmore, Violet Healy, Lou Smith / 5/6H - Matilda Bartlett
Deputy Principal Awards
3D - Will Cole
Students of the Week
"Be inclusive and considerate of others."
Term 1 - WEEK 2
PRIMARY 3D - Issabella Marskell / 3L - Max Ray / 3S - Lukas Schrover / 4H - Rhianna Del Rosario / 4W - Marcie Grosse / 4/5A - Lottie Harvey / 5B - Annabell Pronk / 5/6H - Lily Kenny / 5/6T - Chloe Clarkson / 6J - Zayne Meah-Reynolds / 6S - Maya McMaster / JC - Parker Barrass / LL - Liam Hughes / MW - Zoe Roche
"Be in the right place at the right time."
Term 1 - WEEK 3
INFANTS 1N - Amity Barrington / 1RD - Ryan Carter / 1S - Mavis Johnstone Blewitt / 1/2SR -Miina Anderson / 2E - Brax Drewe / 2M - Lachie Buckman / AB - Angelo Musitano
PRIMARY 3D - Tyler Sheridan / 3L - Emrie Field / 3S - Arkie Gordon / 4H - Dakota Hogan / 4W - Owen Wray / 4/5A - Logan Duff / 5B - Scout Smith / 5/6H - Tom Nicholls / 5/6T - Skye Nelson / 6J - Ebony Crowe / 6S - Owen Cameron / JC - Lachlan Stewart / LL - Makayla Buckman / MW - Tahlia King / OL - Busta McCauliffe / SM - Jack Knobbs
Library News
Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday break.
Book Club Issue 1 - brochures will be coming home this week. There are lots of goodies in this edition! All LOOP orders and cash orders are due in by February 20th. Monday of Week 5.
Happy Reading!
Teacher / Librarian - Mrs Siobhan Vitnell
Meet the Staff
Grant Hough (Stage Assistant Principal):
Hello,
My name is Grant Hough and I am excited to be joining the Mudgee Public School team in 2023. I will be the Stage 2 Assistant Principal and 4H classroom teacher.
My family has recently moved to Mudgee from Sydney, where I have been teaching since 2007. Raised in Tamworth, I am looking forward to once again enjoying everything that life in the country has to offer.
I have three young boys named Alfie, Jack and Henry. Alfie is a student in Year 1 at MPS and my younger two are in day care. My partner, Michelle Prater, is also a teacher at MPS and is on class 2GP.
We are looking forward to this next chapter in our lives and becoming part of the Mudgee community.
Kylie Duffy (Acting Deputy Principal, Inclusion and Support):
I’m Ms Kylie Duffy, a Mudgee local and a proud ex-student of MPS. I have two beautiful girls and two naughty dachshunds at home. I love reading and spending time with my family.
I am very excited to be joining the wonderful students and staff of this fabulous school in 2023!
I
Michelle Prater (Year 2 Classroom Teacher): My name is Michelle Prater, I am one of the teachers on 2GP this year. I will be teaching the class on Thursdays and Fridays. I’m looking forward to getting to know all the families and the Mudgee PS community in general.
A little about myself - my family and I are brand new to Mudgee! We moved from the inner west of Sydney in January this year, we were after more space and a quieter life for our family, away from the traffic and hustle of Sydney! My partner Grant Hough is also a teacher here at Mudgee PS. We have 3 young boys - Alfie (6), Jack (4.5) and Henry (nearly 3). We are all settling in nicely and enjoying getting to know Mudgee. I’ve been teaching for nearly 20 years. I spent the first two years of my teaching career in Broome, WA before returning to Sydney and teaching at a few different schools around Sydney.
For the last 16 years I’ve been at teaching at Abbotsford PS. It feels great to be at a new school, meeting and working with new people and getting to know a new community. I am really looking forward to a fabulous 2023!
Lucy Roberts (Year 1 Classroom Teacher): Hello my name is Lucy Roberts and I am very excited to be joining the MPS teaching team. This year I am teaching 1RD with Mrs Jenna Donoghue. I am a local Mudgee girl, I even wore the brown and gold MPS uniform!
I have been teaching at Hargraves Public School for the last five years. When I am not at school, I am kept busy with four children of my own. I look forward to meeting more of the MPS community.
Alice Barnett (Year 5 classroom teacher):
I grew up in the hills area of sydney and I attended Macquarie University becoming a teacher in 2006.
I met my husband at Tripoli airport in 2008 when we were both starting at an international school in Libya.
We now have three boisterous boys that keep us far too busy. Last year, after just over a decade of teaching in Sydney, we decided a tree change was needed and have moved to beautiful Mudgee. We love the clean air, bushwalks and traffic. Thank you to the Mudgee Public School staff and community for being so welcoming. I'm very lucky to be working in such a great school.
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Class Corner - 2GP
2GP have hit the ground running this new school year. We are so proud of our Year 2 friends; we are working hard to implement the new English and Mathematics Syllabus. This means new modes of learning, new vocabulary and new classroom routines.
We have explored our Read to Self and Read to Someone routines. This involved learning how to choose "Good Fit" books and taking daily classroom book shopping expeditions to choose good fit books for each individual 2GP book worm.
Our 2GP mathematicians have been showing off their number skills, writing numerals, early addition and subtraction games and challenging each other's thinking through mathematical questioning and reasoning activities.
We are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning adventures with our 2GP friends. We have already learnt so much about one another and immersed ourselves in the fun of learning, and it is only week 3!
Class Teachers: Mrs George and Miss Prater
Class Corner - MW
MW has settled well into the start of the year and all students have successfully integrated into their mainstream class for sport on Fridays. They look forward to joining them throughout the year. We have been busy setting up our classroom rules and expectations. Our wonderful Year 6 students have been excellent monitors for their kinder buddies and should be congratulated on their outstanding behaviours.
Class Teacher: Mrs Kathy Walsh
Community Notices
