Newsletter - 28 February 2024

Principal's Highlights

Thank you to our families who were able to come to our Parent-Teacher Information sessions last week. We appreciate you coming to meet our wonderful staff as we see the parent/carer family connection as vital to the educational progress of your children. We are all working together to maximize the educational opportunities for every child at our wonderful school. With the change in format, we had a significant increase in families visiting us this year. Each teacher has a brochure briefly outlining their class program, please look out for these forms on Schoolzine if you were not able to make the meetings last week. Or alternatively, please approach your child's teacher and introduce yourself!

It was great to welcome back our Mount Nelson Primary community at our Welcome BBQ for the start of our 2024 learning journey. This is always a wonderful opportunity to meet other families and to catch up with our teachers. It was also a wonderful opportunity to informally meet our School Association Representatives and find out more about the significant role the School Association play in supporting our learners. Last year was a busy year for the School Association and our whole community has benefited from their endeavours. We would strongly encourage you to volunteer or participate in supporting our School Association at an event this year! It is through such collaboration that our school community grows stronger.

As a school community we should be incredibly proud of the school culture that supports our school values and assets. After just a few weeks, one of the strongest impressions I have gained, is how willing and articulate the students are in sharing their stories, how polite and caring they are towards each other, and brave in their problem solving.

We are excited that we are beginning 2024 with a Whole School Inquiry in each class learning program, “How do we collaborate, to work, play and learn together?”. Drawing on our Learning Assets of Collaboration, students across the school are taking this big idea as a means of building connections across our learning community. Each class will take this overarching idea and link it to curriculum outcomes and be guided by student interest and voice. We are all looking forward to seeing the direction of learning taken by each class. We will keep you informed! We want Mount Nelson Primary School to continue to be a vibrant learning place where these assets are nurtured and deepened in each student.

2024 House Captains

Our House Captains for 2024 were elected on Friday 23, February 2024.  Here's what they have to say...!

"Hi, we are Joe and Annabel, and we are Bass house captains for 2024. We wanted to be house captains because we both love to play sport and to encourage our house. Next week we want all Bass kids to try your best and come dressed in Bass colours.
All kids in Bass will be team players by participating and cheering everyone on!" - Joe and Annabel, Bass House Captains

"Hi, we are Will and Grace and we are Flinders house captains for 2024.
We wanted to be house captains because we love sport. Sport is something that we are passionate about and love doing.
We’re encouraging Flinders to do theirbest and win for the 5^th time since 2019 but don’t overdo yourself, just try hard! Wear white to help Flinders spirit. Participate in every event you can. Use lots of teamwork to help get house points. But most of all, have fun." - Will and Grace, Flinders House Captains

"Hi, we are Elliott and Eve house captains of Tasman for 2024.
We wanted to be your house captains because we love doing sport and we love encouraging our team.  When going to the athletic carnivals we would love for you to wear blue, encourage you to participate in every event. All we would ask for next week's athletics carnival is for you to try your best, be a team player in all races and have fun." - Elliott and Eve, Tasman House Captains

Progress Statement

Progress Statements will be sent home on Tuesday, 12 March.
These statements are designed to let you know how your child has settled into the new year. If there are any concerns in the early weeks, teachers will be contacting parents/carers to explore how we can best work together to meet your child’s needs. If you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher and make a time to meet.

Volunteering at Mount Nelson Primary School

Did you know that as a DECYP employee, volunteer, or external service provider for the department, you must complete Safeguarding Training?

The compulsory training is designed to help us better safeguard kids in Tasmania.

Throughout the training, you’ll learn what to do if you believe a child or young person is being harmed. You will also learn what your reporting requirements are.

For more information on our Safeguarding Training, visit: https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/.../safeguarding-training/

To find out how the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People is working to safeguard and protect children in the Department’s care, visit: https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/safe.../safeguarding-children/

If you are interested in volunteering at Mount Nelson Primary School, please click below to start your Safeguarding Training.  Once you have completed the Safeguarding Training, please email your certificate to mount.nelson.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au so we can keep it on file for future. 

Every School Day Matters

Make sure your child goes to school, every day!
Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow, and connect with their mates and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.

Get them excited for school
If you show a positive attitude and excitement towards school, your child will pick up on that. The most common thing we hear from students, of all ages, is that school is where they can:

» spend time with their friends and teachers
» create new and fun experiences
» find their interests
» learn new things
» open up their options – for whatever future they want (whether that’s their dream job or to travel around the world).

Share these positives with your child.

Talk to your child about school
Open up a conversation with your child about what’s happening at school. It will help you to better support their interests and confidence in learning. If you show an interest in school, they’ll know that getting an education is important and valued.

Celebrate the milestones
Big and small! Celebrate milestones such as making it through the first day or week of school. And remember: all milestones look different. If it’s a big achievement for your child, it’s important to recognise it.

Set up a time to talk to your child’s teacher or principal
If you’re struggling to get your child to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation. We’ll support you, in whatever way we can.

Know when to seek help
There is no weakness in admitting you need help. If your child has completely disengaged with school, and not attending at all, there is support to help you. In the first instance, talk to us at school.

For more helpful tips, please check out the Anything can happen websit:
Anything can happen - Department of Education, Tasmania.

Class Spotlight - 2/3G

In 2-3G we are investigating number and place value. We used concrete materials to represent numbers and shared our thinking with our peers.

Changes to School Uniform Survey

Last week, we surveyed the Grade 3-6 students to see if they wanted to make any changes to the school uniform. The boys surveyed were happy with their options, but there is room to improve the range of uniform for our girls.  Here are the results of the survey from the 40 Grade 3-6 girls who participated in the survey.

Based on these results, the School Executive will work with the School Association to decide what changes to introduce.

Rachel and the School Executive

Molesworth Excursion

Our Year 6 students had a fantastic day at Molesworth Environment centre, on Wednesday, 14 February 2024. 

Students participated in a range of activities that are designed to develop their leadership and collaborative skills, and also tied in beautifully with out inquiry into “How do we collaborate, to work, play and learn together?”.

“We had to work together to succeed – if we didn’t work together, we wouldn’t have arrived on the other side, which shows how working together is much more successful than working alone” – Wolfe

“Trish and Lani told us that there are two types of people, ME -ME’s and quiet observers . I thought that I was somewhere in between but when we started doing to activities, I realised that I didn’t speak up much. In the next few activities my team started asking me if I had any ideas and it was nice to be asked and to be able to share my ideas” – Isla

“Our goal for the day was to team build and work together in diverse groups than what we normally would” – Billy

“After every obstacle did Lani would blow her whistle and we would put everything back into place how it was set up, and then had a group conversation about how we thought we did and what we could work on for the next obstacle” - India

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NAPLAN Testing

NAPLAN testing of students in Years 3 and 5 will be held from
Wednesday, 13 March - Monday, 25 March.

Detailed information for parents and carers can be found here: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

Parents and carers information sheets can be accessed at the following links:
https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/simple-english-naplan-parent-carer-information.pdf

https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

When your child should stay home...

Just a friendly reminder if your child is feeling unwell with any symptoms of cold/flu or similar please stay at home until feeling well again. Covid is still prevalent within our community and is affecting our staff and students.

Athletics Carnivals

Our School Athletics Carnival is approaching with our Early Childhood Carnival (K-2) to run at school on Wednesday, 6 March, starting at 1.45 pm and the Upper Primary Carnival (3-6) to be held at the Mount Nelson Oval on Friday, 8 March, starting at 10 am.

Both carnivals will require some help from parent/carer volunteers.  It is now compulsory that all DECYP employees, volunteers or external providers complete Safeguarding Training as well as having a current RWVP card.  If you are interested in volunteering, please follow the link below or alternatively head over to SZapp and click on the Volunteer tile on the home page to complete the training prior to volunteering.  Once you have completed the Safeguard Training, please email your certificate to mount.nelson.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au so we can keep it on file for future.

Early Childhood Carnival (Kinder – Grade 2)
Wednesday, 6 March 20245

On Wednesday, 6 March, students from Kinder – Grade 2 will be participating in an Athletics Fun afternoon around the school.  Students will participate in a range of activities which promote participation and enjoyment in sport and will be supported by teachers, Grade 6 Leaders and parental volunteers.

Due to the school oval being closed the events will take place on the Netball Court, Tennis Court and the playground area.  This event will begin at 1.45 pm after lunch and finish at 2.45 pm with all Kinder – Grade 2 students able to participate with their class in all events.

Please ensure your child has the following items:

• Appropriate clothing (Warm jacket, running shoes)
• Drink Bottle
• Lunch
• Any medication they may need (Asthma etc.)

Upper Primary Athletics Carnival (Grade 3 – Grade 6)
Friday, 8 March 2024

On Friday, 8 March, Grade 3 – 6 students will walk to the Mount Nelson Oval to compete in the Athletics Carnival.  Students will be able to participate in a variety of individual, team and participation events and all students are encouraged to participate in as many events as possible.

This event will begin at 10 am and finish at 2 pm to ensure students have time to walk back to school before 3pm.

Athletics Carnivals are an opportunity for students to take risks and participate in a range of activities which may or may not be out of their comfort zone and we encourage all students to try their best and attempt as many events as possible.

Please ensure your child has the following:

• Appropriate clothing (Warm jacket, running shoes)
• Drink Bottle
• Lunch
• Any medication they may need (Asthma etc.)
• House coloured clothing is permitted

Launching into Learning!

Launching into Learning has already begun in our Kinder space! We have one session a week with Georgie Field running our sessions every Thursday from 9.15 - 10.15 am. Please join us when you can!

Clean Up Australia Day

All families are invited to help ‘clean up’ our community on Sunday, 3 March from 2.00 pm. Hosted by the Mount Nelson Community Association, everyone is welcome! Meet in the car park at the Mount Nelson oval to collect bags, gloves etc, and then you can clean up your favourite spot.

Register and find out more information at: https://register.cleanup.org.au/fundraisers/maryblake/mount-nelson-bush

Celebrating Birthdays

We understand that our community loves to celebrate their birthdays with their classmates at Mount Nelson Primary School.  To help us manage this and keep all students safe we ask you to follow the following guidelines:

• Parents of students with anaphylaxis caused by any food product are encouraged to either bring their own supplies of appropriate ‘treat food’ into school for the class teacher to store and distribute as required instead of birthday treats brought in by other students, or instruct the teacher that the student should not be given any treats at all when the rest of the class celebrates by sharing treats.
• Students with anaphylaxis caused by any food product will not be given food that isn’t supplied/ordered by their parent, unless their parent is present to check ingredients and give consent.
• Any birthday treats to be shared with others must be given to the class teacher before 9am. 
• We prefer that birthday treats are individually factory-wrapped and labelled with ingredients (e.g. Freddo Frogs).
• All birthday treats brought into school must have a written list of ingredients.

If you have any questions or concern, feel free to contact the school office. 

Student Achievements

Josie represented Kingborough Little Athletics the other weekend for the State Relay Championships, where Josie and her team won 2 silver and 2 bronze medals!  

Awesome work Josie! ⭐

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!!

School Calendar

Mixed Netball on Mondays

Netball is a fantastic and fun team sport that has become popular with both boys and girls.

Kingborough Netball Association will be running a skills session on Monday, 11 March (public holiday) 4 - 5.30 pm for grade 3's and new players.  

Netball games are held at Kingborough Sports Centre & Netball Courts
Season starts Monday 18 March, and runs for 10 weeks, concluding 17 June.

Grade 3/4 games are at 4.10 pm or 5.00 pm 

Grade 5/6 games are at 5.00 pm or 6.00 pm 

We are on the hunt for some more grade 3/4 players to fill the team, so please let Karrie know if you're interested, or have any questions. karriemalan@gmail.com or via text message: 0409 625 486

From the School Association

Welcome BBQ - Thank you!
It was wonderful to see so many parents and children at the Welcome BBQ last week. The netball game was enjoyed by all, and our icypoles were a big hit in the heat! Thank you to our volunteers who helped to make the event a success.

Nominations open for the 2024-25 School Association Committee
The School Association is an important part of the school, working with the Principal to achieve shared outcomes for learners attending the school and for the benefit of the whole school community. Membership of the School Association provides a forum for the sharing of knowledge and skills. 

Did you know that all Parents and Carers are members of the School Association, and are welcome to come long to Committee Meetings? Find out what the meetings are all about before nominating for a position. Our next meeting is Wednesday, 20 March, 2 - 3 pm in the School Staffroom.

Nominations for the 2024-2025 committee are now open, and we invite all parents, carers, and community members to consider nominating. The nomination form can be found below.

So many different ways to get involved
The School Association supports a whole range of activities for the school, including fundraising for additional learning resources, coordination of extracurricular activities and sports, and running community events like our Welcome BBQ last week. These activities would not be possible without you, our amazing parent community.

If you’d like to offer an hour or two, or perhaps make a longer investment, just complete the short Volunteer at Mt Nelson Primary School form available on Qkr! and a member of the school association committee will be in touch. 

Remember that all volunteers need to have a Working with Vulnerable People Card and completion of an online DECYP training module.

Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop is open every Tuesday from 2.45 – 3.15 pm. Orders can be placed on Qkr! and will be delivered to students on Tuesdays.

Keep checking our stock levels as new items are continuing to arrive. And remember that we also have a second hand uniform shop with quality items available.

Veggie Gardens
You may have seen that our gardens beds are getting closer to completion. If you’re interested in helping with the final stages please complete the volunteer form on Qrk! and we’ll be in touch.

Community Noticeboard