Newsletter - 29 November

Principal's Report

Dear Families,

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to Margaret Crosswell and Rachel Viney for taking on the Acting Principal role while I am on Long Service  leave for weeks 7 and 8.

Our Grade 6 Year, tends to be one that we all remember,  it is a milestone year in all of our school life. As a school we are very proud of the leadership they offered to younger students this year. The Year 6 students displayed care and kindness in leading others in Daily  PE and many other opportunities offered by the school this year.  Taster Days and transition activities to their future school have started. Our Year 6 students voted some months ago for a Big Day Out where they get to have fun with their friends in a variety of planned activities.  We are also looking forward to our Grade 6 Celebration Assembly! We wish them every success in the years to come.

2024 Planning

Many hours go into organising classes and staffing for 2024.  We are in the final stages of this with configurations and student placement in these classes nearly finalised.  We have 10 classes in 2024 and the school is purchasing additional staff from its resource package to supplement the number of teachers in the school.  We will have the following classes:

• Kindergarten
• Kinder-Prep
• Prep-1
• 1-2
• 2-3
• 2-3
• 4
• 4-5-6
• 5-6
• 5-6

In 2024, we welcome Georgie Field to our team in 2024.  Georgie has been an AST at Herdsmans Cove for a number of years.  She has taught from Kinder to Grade 6.  As well as running Launching into Learning (LiL) and Pre-Kinder, she has also held various literacy roles.  She has implemented Nature play at HPS as part of her leadership in the  early years program.

Catherine Grace
Principal

Mount Nelson Students Have Their Say!

We have received the results from the grade 4 – 6 Student Wellbeing Survey where our students tell us about their health and wellbeing.

The first thing that stood out was the fact that we had 92% of our students participate, up from  74% last year, this is a fantastic achievement.

We would like to share a few things about what they say about their school:

At MNPS, we  have consistently continued to have high wellbeing for key measures compared to Tasmanian schools.  The results reflect how students feel and their thoughts on the survey day.

Our students are telling us that they are well above the state average in being connected and interested in their learning (Cognitive engagement – 93% high or medium), they feel Loved and Safe and have a strong sense of emotional engagement with teachers.

 Even though the majority of our students are tracking well there is still a small percentage of concern for some measures.

Something for us all to think about: the percentage of our students who reported that they worry about things at home and at school.  Although the percentage for Tasmanian schools is 28%, we would like a higher percentage of our students to  worry less.  We will continue to use our our Student Well-being boost funding to further support student well-being at home and in our school.

Our relationships with our families is a vital element in our learners’ successful outcomes and we thank our wonderful families for the trust and support you give us each day to nurture your wonderful children.

Thanks also to our wonderful staff, for your dedication, and efforts in seeing our students flourish.

Student Voice

This week, we have enjoyed a few different activities, including the Champions Swimming Carnival.  Great work to everyone who competed in the champions carnival, everyone tried their absolute hardest. 

This week on Friday, we have our annual Schools Triathlon.  Lots of people are entered, whether it's in teams or individual, and we’re sure everyone will try their best.

In this past week, we’ve also had our Jack and the Beanstalk Musical.  Massive thank you to Sarah Tollner for organising everything and putting her heart and soul into helping the students in it being the best that they can be!

Jasmine and Amber
Part of the 2023 School Executive

Class Spotlight - Prep F, Motion Inquiry

How does force make objects move?

This term, the Prep class have been Inquiring into motion.  This is a part of the Prep Science curriculum and one that the students always enjoy exploring and investigating.  They have shared some of their thinking with you.

Isaac - round objects move the best.
Thea - gravity makes objects move
Lucy - You can use force to push objects
Ethen - a ramp with a slope that goes down makes an object move because it gets speed. 

End of Year Assembly

School Uniform Update and Reminder

At Mount Nelson Primary, we have a very flexible, practical and identifiable school uniform.  We encourage all our students to wear uniform so that they are dressed safely and appropriately for school activities.  Wearing a uniform helps our students have a sense of belonging and take pride in being part of our school.

In the photo below, you can see the range of clothing that can be worn to school.  There are specific school leggings with the school colours and shorts, skorts or dresses for when the weather is warmer.  There are tracksuit pants and polo tops along with warmer fleece jackets.  Our bucket hats have a great brim and elastic to keep them in place.

We appreciate your help in encouraging your child to wear their school uniform to school.

The Uniform Shop is open every Tuesday from 2.45 pm - 3.15 pm and orders placed on Qkr! are delivered to students on that day. 
We are out of some items which are reflected on Qkr!  The stock will be updated when available so keep checking back in!

PE Update from Mr West

It has been a busy start to the term in PE with our School Swimming Carnival, the SPSSA Interschool Swimming Carnival, Champions Swimming and the Triathlon still to come!  Our students have done a fantastic job representing our school and showing the schools values during these events and I am looking forward to seeing them challenge themselves at the Schools Triathlon Challenge next Friday.

We have also had Shane from the Ride2School network come in for some bike safety reminders as we come into the summer months and students are out and about riding bikes! Students worked with Shane from the Ride2School program to learn some new skills and gain a greater understanding of how to stay safe on the roads when riding their bikes!

Christmas Donations - THANK YOU!

Thank you to those who have donated a gift voucher or money via Qkr! to help us support the Hobart Women's Shelter.  We have raised total of $1,065! 
Your generosity will go a long way in making the festive season a happy one for all!! 🎅🏼🎁

2023 Netball Season

Hannah Challis has been coaching the year 3/4 Eagles netball team.  We have had a really nice netball season with her this year, and we would like to thank Hannah for her hard work and her willingness to give up her time for us.  Throughout the year heaps people join and Hannah has trained them to be their best.  We have had our games every Monday at the Kingborough Sports Centre where we were almost undefeatable but sadly on our last game we lost 7 to 8. 

We will be really excited if any new people want to join and we will be looking forward to seeing you at the games and training.  Thanks to the umpires and parents that have supported us these seasons!

Thank you also to Karrie Malan for coaching the Grade 5/6 team!

Zoey
Grade 4 Student

Jack and the Beanstalk Musical

From Tuesday, 21 November to Thursday, 23 November, the Grade 5-6 choir performed the ‘Jack and the Beanstalk Musical'. 
The first two days were performed by the main cast and the final day let the understudies have their chance to shine. Everyone had a really fun time performing and watching and we would like to thank the person behind it all, Sarah Tollner, for organising such a wonderful musical.

Jake
Grade 6 Student

Donation of Toy Cars

Prep Fox are requesting donations of toy cars to add to their class collection!  If you have some that you no longer use, we would greatly appreciate the donation 😀🚗

Tell Someone

All children in Tasmania have a right to be known, safe, well and learning.  We are highly committed to the safety of all students at our school.

Earlier this month, DECYP launched the Tell Someone initiative, to raise awareness in the community about child sexual abuse and grooming.

The Tell Someone website gives children and young people clear advice on what to do in situations where they feel worried, unsafe or unsure.  It also gives adults advice and support on how to respond if they suspect or know a child is being groomed or sexually abused or is at risk of harm.

Please visit the website, read the information, and try to find a suitable time to talk with your child/children about this issue and the resources available.  It’s important that everyone understands the possible signs of sexual abuse or grooming behaviour, and how to stay safe online and offline.

If reading this information has caused you distress, please visit DECYP’s website for a list of support services.

Please contact the school if you have any questions about this information

Student Achievements - Let us know!

If your child has been selected to be part of a representative team, has won a prize in performing arts, has a part in a major stage production or any other significant achievement outside of school, let us know via the webform below so that we can share the news and celebrate the achievement in our school newsletter.  Let's Celebrate!!

Grade 6 Graduation

Kinder Graduation

From the School Association

We hope you are as excited us to see diggers on the oval next week and the oval works commencing!  The majority of the works will happen over December and January, however, there may be impacts on parking around the oval for the last couple of weeks of term.  A big thanks to Pete Walker, Cam Fitze, Stephan Lubach, Radu Tudor, Andrew Sullivan, Mick Apanah, Sid, Kydan and Mary for braving the rain to attach wallaby proof fencing to the new oval fencing on Sunday morning. 

Thanks to everyone who ordered Christmas cards, these are looking great and will be delivered next week.

During term 1 2024 we will be seeking nominations for new Committee members.  Mary will be stepping down as Chair and Gemma as Treasurer, if you have skills in these areas and would like to help out the school community or just want to find out more please contact Mary.

There are some great opportunities to get involved with your School and the School Association as we head towards the end of the year and look towards 2024:

- 2024 Association Planning Workshop. Thursday, 30 November, 7 - 9 pm in the Staffroom. This is an opportunity to set out our ideas, events, activities and contributions to the School for the year ahead.  All parents and carers are warmly encouraged to attend.

- 2024 Canteen Coordinator.  Our current coordinator is stepping down at the end of the year.  If the School Canteen is to continue operating in 2024 we need a new coordinator.  There’s a post in this week’s newsletter with details of the role, time commitment, training and honorarium.  Please contact the Association if you have any suggestions, questions or ideas for this role at mnpsassociation@gmail.com

- End of Year Celebration and Raffle! Wednesday, 13 December, 3 - 5 pm at the School.  Join together with students, teachers, parents and carers to celebrate the school year.  We’ll have a BBQ, drinks, icecream and games.  There’s also a raffle with some amazing prizes.  Tickets now on Qkr! or purchase on the day. If you'd like to volunteer on the day, cooking sausages or arranging games, please contact Mary on  mnpsassociation@gmail.com  

- Whole School Bushwalk, Monday 18 December, all staff and students will be walking to the Mount Nelson Oval. The Association is hosting the lunch at the oval. We are seeking a couple of BBQ volunteers and a portable BBQ for the lunch. If you want to help out please let Mary know on mnpsassociation@gmail.com 

Canteen News - only 2 weeks of canteen left!

This week, we have added Gingerbread Men from the Sandy Bay Bakery - $3.00 each.
Qkr! now open for orders 😋😍

2024 Calendar