25 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

The last fortnight has been a time of mixed emotions. Last week finished on a high as we watched our students perform at the One Big Voice concert at Perth Arena. Those of you who attended will agree that this was an incredible event. Over 4,000 students from schools all around Perth gathered to create this giant choir. Just the thought of organising some many students to sing together with perfect timing gives me a headache. However, with just one practice together as a group in the hours preceding the performance, the children nailed it. The singing was beautiful and the harmonies spectacular. It was definitely a ‘shivers down your spine’ experience. Our students were amazing on many levels - behaviour, performance and keeping those white tops clean! In addition, Philippa Toby and Milla made us proud when they performed an original composition, by Toby, to open the show. The whole evening was a wonderful experience, one I’m sure the students won’t forget. Thank you Mrs Ameduri for organising the event and giving up so much of your own time to ensure our choir performed at their best. Without you, this event would not have happened. Also, thanks to Jess Smith, our school chaplain, and parent helpers, Tarryn Culverhouse, Kylie Squires and Sharn Scott, for helping get the choir ready at the Arena. We really appreciate your support.

As this week finishes, however, we are feeling rather sad. Today, we say goodbye to Rachael Edwards, who is leaving to have a baby. Rachael has been a positive and enthusiastic member of our staff for a number of years and has inspired the students she has taught to achieve great things. We will all miss her vibrant lessons and cheerful demeanour. We wish her all the best for this exciting new chapter in her life and have no doubt that she will approach motherhood with the same positivity and commitment she has employed in her teaching. She will make a wonderful mum. Miss Kylee Mollentz will be teaching Room 11 for the remainder of the year.

Our student NAPLAN results were given to families this week. In most cases, these will be something to celebrate with your child, the manifestation of hard work and concentrated effort. Where children are disappointed with their results, it is important to remind them we only ever expect them to do their best and no more. In addition, NAPLAN is just one test. It tells us what the students can do in literacy and numeracy at a particular point in time. This information will be considered alongside the work students do in class every day. If they are consistently doing their best, then we are always going to be happy. If you have concerns about your child’s achievement, please make an appointment to discuss this with your child’s teacher at any time. As I have stated previously, at Mullaloo Heights, the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills is a priority and a strong focus of our teaching. However, we also believe that a broad, balanced education is essential and encourage parents to supplement homework with other activities when children are out of school, such as sports and performing arts. The pursuit of a wide range of interests will help students to put NAPLAN in perspective.

Next week is Book Week and there’s a lot to look forward to. The week kicks off with ‘Guess the Book’ in the library on Monday morning followed by our whole school literacy rotation. Don’t forget the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party on Thursday and our Book Week assembly on Friday. I can tell you our staff have been learning their lines for our annual play. Photos will certainly follow in the next newsletter.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Dates to remember

Assembly – Room 8

We all enjoyed watching and listening to the students in Room 8 present one of our favourite stories, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at their assembly. Their energetic oral retell, complete with highly expressive actions and some amazing costumes, was the result of their work on Talk 4 writing, our whole school literacy program. This program has not only resulted in fantastic oral work, but some highly creative writing too. Well done, Room 8, for presenting a great assembly.

Room 8 perform ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Merit Certificates

Reading Club

Mathletics Gold

Aussie of the Month

Aussie of the Month for August is Ayesha.

Ayesha consistently demonstrates the Mullaloo Heights values and applies herself to all learning areas with determination and enthusiasm. She is well-respected amongst her peers and teachers alike and is an outstanding role model for our school. She has a never-give-up attitude and is an absolute delight to teach. Keep smiling, Ayesha, and never stop striving for excellence.

Congratulations, Ayesha.

Aussie of the Month - Ayesha

Out and About at Mullaloo Heights

Our roving camera stepped out during the school lunch break this week to find out how our students amuse themselves during their downtime. We were very impressed by the range of activities in which we found the students engaged. As expected, there were plenty of ball games in action with students displaying their silky skills, but we also witnessed climbing, tumbling and drawing. What we liked best was seeing children of different ages playing together. We can safely say Mullaloo Heights is a very inclusive school.

Parent Information

Woolworths Earn & Learn 2017 has started!

A reminder to Parents, don’t forget to collect!

From Wednesday 26th July to Tuesday 19th September or while stock lasts, we are collecting Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers. You will get one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent (excluding liquor, tobacco and gift cards). Place the Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker onto a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet and when it’s complete, the Sticker Sheet can be dropped into the Collection Box here at the school or at our local Woolworths in Beldon.

We are grateful for your support and look forward to a successful program.

Music News – One Big Voice

The concert at Perth Arena was a wonderful end to many months of hard work in the music room with the School Choir. I was so impressed by the way our students behaved and performed last Friday Night. The show opened with our very own young talent, Toby, Milla and Philippa. They were superb, as were all of our singers.

Thanks again to the mums, and our school Chaplain Jessica, who came with us to help.

Also, thanks to all the parents of the choir students for your full support in this. The students all looked fabulous and were well prepared for the big night.

Please return the choir shirt to school when it has been washed.

Thank you.

Mrs Ameduri

Talk 4 Writing News

Our Year 3 & 4 students have spent that last few week researching famous explorers as part of their Talk 4 Writing and history work. We have been very impressed with the way in which they have skimmed and scanned information, made comprehensive notes and summarised their findings. Have a look at their finished reports and you’ll see why we are so pleased.

French News

Salut á tous!

Our school has recently taken part in this year’s annual Sticker Competition (Theme = Living together/Vivre Ensemble). There were over 30 schools participating and it was a real challenge for the judges to choose winners out of the many designs entered into the competition.

This year our Year 3/4 students were given the chance to participate in their age group and represent our school. Although we did not receive a winning entry this year, we can congratulate Callie, Leah, Cassie, Lakshi, Oscar P and Charli, who were finalists from Mullaloo Heights Primary School. Our clever designers will receive a participation certificate.

Bonne Semaine,
(Enjoy your week)

Madame Wilderspin

The 20 winning stickers across age groups.

Chaplain’s Corner

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying term 3 so far and all the exciting things that have been happening around school and still to come.

The BUZ Together Program has officially finished in room 11 with the year 5 and 6 students. They loved the program and in the words of some students, “BUZ taught me not only how to make friends, but how to keep friends and resolve problems with them” and “BUZ showed me how to manage strong feelings.” The students got so much from the program and have really developed in the social and emotional skills that BUZ teaches.

BUZ will also move to the year 3/4 students next term and I am looking forward to them developing their skills in the same way the year 5 and 6 students have. The small group programs and activities that I have organised will also support the development of these skills.

With Girl’s Club coming to an end for the year 5 and 6 girls, the long anticipated Boys Club has finally arrived! The year 6 boys have enjoyed their dodge ball competitions, just as much as the rest of the students have, who were excited to watch the competitions in the undercover area. The boys have also loved playing other games during Boys Club, including pool and table tennis. In the coming weeks, the year 5 boys will also have their turn of playing games at lunchtime.

Please see the article below about ‘How the Mood Meter tool can help children and parents better manage their worries, fears and anxieties, and assist with their wellbeing, emotional intelligence, and overall effectiveness’ by Michael Grose.

“I wish the Mood Meter was available when I was raising my kids. It would have given me a wonderful tool to help them better manage their worries, fears and anxieties. Importantly, they would have carried the insights and skills they gained using the Mood Meter into adulthood to assist with their wellbeing and overall effectiveness. I also think it would have made me a more relaxed, less tense parent as it would have given me a better insight into my own emotions. If we want our kids to be emotionally smart then ‘we must go first.” So in the spirit of sharing here are seven reasons why I sincerely believe you should add the Mood Meter to your parenting repertoire. For the full article please visit:

Kind regards

Jess
School Chaplain

An image of the ‘Mood Meter’ tool discussed in the article

Community News