Mount Kuring-gai Public School

Leeming Street, Mount Kuring-gai NSW 2080

T (02) 9457 9088 F (02) 9457 8691 E-mail: mtkuringga-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au 12 April 2018

Principal’s Report

Safe and Enjoyable Vacation

Congratulations to every student at our school for their incredible efforts with their studies this term. I have

visited each class on several occasions this term and can attest to the wonderful work that is happening in

each and every classroom. The parent-teacher interviews have taken place over the last two weeks and I

thank all the parents/carers and teachers for giving their time to benefit the learning journey of each and every

student. Please enjoy the holidays and remain safe. Students return to school on Tuesday 1 May and can

begin to wear their winter uniform. If the weather is warm then they are welcome to continue to wear their

summer uniform.

Share Our Space program

After a successful NSW Government trial over summer, Mt Kuring-gai Public School will be one of 81 schools

opening our gates to the public in the school holidays. Our school grounds will be open from 8am to 6pm, 7

days a week from 16th – 27th April 2018. Please take the opportunity to enjoy the school’s facilities during the

holiday vacation.

Sydney North Area Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Ruth (Powerful Owls) who competed at the Sydney North Area Swimming Carnival a couple

of weeks ago. Ruth came 5th in her heat and swam her ‘personal best’. A magnificent achievement, well done!

Old School House and Farm, Rouse Hill

Tuesday I had the pleasure of accompanying stage one students to Old School House and Farm at Rouse Hill.

They got to experience life as a child in the late 1800’s. Schooling then was very different from what the

students experience today. I was very impressed with their behaviour and it was very obvious that they were

interested. Students got to experience several lessons from that era such as marching and sewing. Students

then were taken on a tour of the original Rouse Farm and saw how families lived back then. It was a great

excursion and beneficial for the children’s learning.

ANZAC Day Service

There was a special ANZAC Day service today in the school playground. Each year we commemorate the significant sacrifice that so many Australians have given over the years to ensure that we live in this wonderful country. We were very fortunate to have Mr Bob Dobson from Berowra RSL sub-branch speak to us about the importance of the day. His knowledge and insight certainly benefits us all.

Our school will be represented again at the Berowra RSL ANZAC Day service. If your child would like to

attend and would like to represent our school, could you please email Mrs Tudor ni-

cole.m.tudor@det.nsw.edu.au . The service is being held on Wednesday 25th April at 7.30am at the Berowra

Community Centre.

Intention to apply for Year 5 entry to an opportunity class in 2019 Information regarding Year 5 entry to Opportunity Classes for 2019 went home today. Opportunity classes cater for highly achieving academically gifted students. Applications for opportunity class placement are considered mainly on the combined results of the Opportunity Class Placement Test and school assessments. The Opportunity Class Placement Test will be held on Wednesday 1 August 2018.

Cross Country Carnival Thursday 10th May The School Cross Country Carnival is on next term. We are seeking parent volunteers to help supervise the race from approximately 10am to 1pm on Thursday 10th May. We would greatly appreciate your support. All permission slips are now overdue. If you are able to assist please see Mrs Todd. Star of the Month Assembly Friday 4th May “Star of the Month” assembly will take place the first Friday back next term in the school hall at 9.30am. We

look forward to The Powerful Owls (5/6) running (soaring through) the assembly. Please take note of the start

time.

Fruit & Veg Sense Workshop Monday 14th May

Cancer Council NSW is holding a FREE workshop for parents/carers of Mount Kuring-gai Public School on

Monday 14th May at 9.30-10.30am in the school hall. If you would like to:

Save time and money making healthy meals

Learn clever ways to entice fussy eaters

Receive a free recipe book simply by attending

Please let the ladies now in the office by Wednesday 9th May. Registration is essential.

NAPLAN Online 15 – 25 May

Students in Years 3 and 5 will be sitting the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Online this year. NAPLAN has the support of all State and Territory Education Ministers and will assess the literacy and numeracy skills of students across Australian schools. NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. NAPLAN helps parents, carers and educators to see if children are meeting important numeracy and literacy standards. It is used to support school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor their stu-dents’ progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development. It provides parents and carers with an individual report, showing their child’s results and a national comparison of their child’s performance against other Australian students in their year level. NAPLAN tests will be conducted from 15th – 25th May 2018. The test window for NAPLAN online is nine days, compared to three days for paper-based NAPLAN. This extended test window allows schools more flexibility in scheduling and accommodates schools which have fewer devices than students. All students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to participate in NAPLAN tests. Any students who are absent during this week will be able to complete catch up tests in the following week of the test window (until Friday). Some of the main benefits of students taking part in NAPLAN Online include:

Better assessment – and more precise results. NAPLAN Online uses a tailored test or adaptive de-sign, where the test automatically adapts to a student's performance and asks questions that match

the student achievement level, allowing the student to demonstrate their knowledge. This provides teachers and schools with more targeted and detailed information on students’ performance on the tests. Tai-lored testing also provides an opportunity to broaden the scope of the assessments.

Faster turnaround of results. Delivery of assessments online significantly reduces the time it takes to provide feed-back to schools, students and parents, so teachers can respond more quickly to learning needs.

Matt Pinchbeck Principal

Commonwealth Games 2018 Congratulations to two former Mt Kuring-gai students who are competing at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Rohan Bright has completed his events, making the finals of the 50m freestyle and individual medley in swimming. Alysha begins her heptathlon events today. We wish her all the best! How inspiring for our students to see past students achieving their dreams after years of hard work and dedication. Well done ! We are very proud of you both!

Rouse Hill House and Farm

Dear Parents

MKPS P&C are organising another comedy fundraiser night in August. Our last event was a big

hit! Tickets available on sale now through the link below, look forward to seeing you there!!

Please see poster attached and invite your friends and family along for a fun, local night out!!

MKPS wants your help!

Can you sharpen pencils? Sort books? Play games?

More information to come, but if you would like to volunteer around the school,

opportunities will be coming.

Please see Mrs Whiting if you have specific skills which you think may benefit MKPS

school and community.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2018

Friday 13th April Last day of Term 1 Monday 30th April Staff Development Day Tuesday 1st May Term 2 students return

Thursday 10th May Cross Country

SCHOOL BANKING

School Banking takes place every Tuesday morning outside the library.

Please take your books to Mrs Fieramosca and not to the school office.

If you forget we are happy to pass them on the following week.

Protestant (Christian) Scripture at Schools

Scripture lesson are given once per week by accredited teachers.

On a weekly bases each lesson consists of

A memory verse from the bible that relates to the lesson over a few weeks.

Stories from the bible to illustrate God’s message of love, peace, saviour, guide, joy

comforter, hope and friendship.

We encourage and teach children to pray.

After the official lesson the children are given a student Activity book, to complete

week by week which relates to the lesson of the day.

Children also, sing songs to music and on some occasions they participate in drama

as part of the lesson.

Curriculum covers this year -

Who is Jesus; God the promise maker; God the promise keeper; and us the promise

receivers.

We hold assemblies at Easter and Christmas to which Families are welcome to attend.

Culture

The Christian heritage of our culture is very strong and Christian SRE will also help your child

in understanding Australia’s culture and language.

The Curriculum

We use CEP Connect Christian Education material especially designed for Religious

Education/Religious instruction classes in schools.

The Curriculum has been Authorised by Archbishop Glen Davies and approved by the

Department of Education NSW.

We have different levels of education for beginners, infants, lower primary and upper

primary.

You might ask who is a Protestant

‘Protestantism is a broad definition used to describe the branch of Christianity that holds to

the principles of the Reformation – that is, those Christians who rejected the doctrinal

stance of the Catholic Church in the 1500’s.

It includes Anglican, Baptist, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and Seventh Day

Adventist Churches, among others.’

For more information see website: www.whysre.com.au

Cancer Council NSW launches interactive Healthy Lunch Box website for families

The task of packing healthy school lunch your kids will love is now easier with Cancer Council NSW’s new Healthy Lunch Box website (healthylunchbox.com.au). We know that 93% of children don’t eat enough vegetables and 22% are overweight. The website includes recipes and tips on how to include more fruit and veg in the family’s diet and is complete with an interactive lunch box builder to involve the kids, at home, or on the move with a smartphone or tablet. The website has been launched as part of Cancer Council NSW’s

Eat It To Beat It program which runs free sessions and workshops

for parents of primary aged school children, helping them to

understand why fruit and vegetables are so important.

Visit healthylunchbox.com.au to pack a quick and healthy lunch box today!

Community Notice Board

FRENCH CLUBExpression of Interest for term 2

Thursday from 3.35 to 4.05pm

($11/lesson)

Really innovative and fun method

based on oral comprehension and expression

Research has shown that children learn a language most naturally when they are young. At thisage they are more confident about reproducing foreign sounds and are like sponges absorbing anew language almost as easily as learning their own.

We are seeking of interest to offer a French Club to both discover French language and culture.

The aim is not only for the children to improve their conversational skills and vocabulary, but also to gain confidence!

We emphasize on pronunciation to ensure that the children can speak eloquently. We make it fun, using games, songs, plays, or puppets.

If you are interested, please contact Roxane: 0401 923 232

St Luke’s 31st Annual Model Train Exhibition

The St Luke’s 31st Annual Model Train Exhibition will be held over the weekend of 5-6 May. About fifteen model railway layouts will be on display, together with a craft stall, Devonshire teas and other light refreshments. This year’s display will showcase about ten visiting displays, both large and small, together with home layouts belonging to club members young and old – each one displaying different modelling techniques.

St Luke’s Church will also be running a jumping castle and other children’s activities.

Details:

Saturday 5 May: Exhibition 9am to 5pm

Sunday 6 May: Church Service 9.30am – 11am

Morning Tea: 11am

Exhibition 12noon – 4pm

Where?

St Lukes Anglican Church

155-157 Galston Road

Hornsby Heights, NSW, Australia

For additional information phone 02-9477-3140