29 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

It has certainly been a positive few weeks, with many successes evident at Mullaloo Heights. The first that comes to mind is the recent Swimming Carnival. Those of you who managed to attend will agree the day was an overwhelming success and the perfect antidote to the warm weather. It was wonderful to see so many of our students overcome nerves and enthusiastically take part in the many races organised. Sportsmanship was definitely the order of the day, with students congratulating one another for successes and offering support for disappointments. Not that the latter were dwelled upon for too long; most students were too busy enjoying the opportunity for a refreshing dip. They all finished the day with rather weary smiles on their faces and I suspect there were many early nights sought on Friday evening as a result of the day’s fun. I’d like to thank Di Thorby for organising this event and applying her incredible organisational skills to make it such a great success. I also would like to extend thanks to all the parents who volunteered, working throughout the day to perform numerous tasks. Your help was another example of the school community working together to make a memorable experience for our students. Hopefully, you enjoyed yourselves and are keen to offer your skills again next year.

Another success is our students’ commitment to Mathletics. This homework task is always well supported by our students, but even so, I was overwhelmed by the number who achieved their first silver certificate a week or so ago. Almost half of the school stood on the stage at Monday Line Up. This was the result of consistent work on Mathletics, with students achieving 1000 points every week since the start of term. This is a wonderful reflection of their hard work and their ability to rise to any challenge we set. We can’t wait to see how many achieve a gold badge mid-way through the year. From the great start already made, we are expecting quite a few.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our teachers. Along with other schools in our network, we have been implementing the Talk 4 Writing program and you will have seen much evidence of this work in classrooms, on our Facebook page and maybe the odd oral story with actions at home. Representatives from all schools got together to share our Talk 4 Writing experiences, last week. I may be biased, but our teachers’ hard work and innovative teaching stood out. The meeting showed others what a great job our teachers have been doing with this program and we were held up as an example of good practice. This was reiterated when a number of teachers from other schools asked to come and view our staff in action - a huge acknowledgement of the high quality teaching delivered at Mullaloo Heights.

I am sure there will be many more successes as the year progresses, but for the present, I wish you all a great weekend.

Best Wishes,

Caroline Booth
Principal

Caroline Booth

Dates to remember

Harmony Week - What’s happening?

Make sure you save the date for Harmony Week (Monday 9th - Thursday 12th April). There’s a lot happening at Mullaloo Heights. Here’s a taste of some of the events:

• Wednesday 11th April – Performance by MANA The Spirit of Polynesia

This includes students from PP-Year 6 and will take place in the Undercover Area at 1:45pm.

The cost is $2.00 per student and should be returned to school by Friday 6th April. A letter giving more information has already sent to families. Check your child’s school bag and your email.

• Buddy Kite Making Activity

Students will pair up with their buddy class to make a kite during the week. Older students will work with their younger buddy to make a joint kite before flying it on the oval.

• Whole School Lunch - Thursday 12th April at 12:00pm

Please donate a small plate of food to this whole school picnic – 1 per family. To promote cultural awareness, we ask you to donate your favourite food or snack from a different country. All are welcome.

• Whole School Dress Up – Thursday 12th April

Students are asked to come to school dressed in orange (or a colour along the red/yellow spectrum if you have no orange items).

If you need additional information, please talk to your child’s teacher. It’s going to be a great week!

Faction Swimming Carnival

Results for the Faction Swimming Carnival held on Friday 9th March, at the Craigie Leisure Centre.

1st Place - Tern 524 points
2nd Place - Albatross 414 points
3rd Place - Gull 408 points

All the kids had a great day! They loved the water play playground and free swim at the end! Thank you to all the parent helpers on the day and to those that were able to come down and cheer the kids on.

Water Corporation Visit

As part of our Science program, The Water Corporation of WA visited our school in early March.

They visited students from Year 2 to Year 6. The Year 2 students looked at the water cycle as they learnt about where Perth gets all its water from.

The Year 3 - 6 students used microscopes to take a close-up view of a number of different plants and leaves. They observed first-hand the differences of some native plants and how their special features help them to adapt to our climate. Students considered the benefits of native plants in our gardens and how they can help us reduce our household water use. Students also got to make their own ‘microscope slides’ as part of the program. Students had a great time during these lessons while learning more about our environment.

Following our visit, we received a lovely email from the Water Corporation of WA that we would like to share with you. It read;

…….I felt very privileged to be in a school where both teachers and students showed respect for each other. The students were absolutely gorgeous, and from visiting so many schools, I understand the effort which teachers and staff put in to create a positive ethos like the one which is very evident in your school. Please feel free to book us in again, if the need arises!.....

Well done to students and Teachers
Please enjoy a few photos from our interesting and engaging visit.

Parent Information

Triple P Parenting Program

Positive Parenting - by Professor Matt Sanders

As a parent, you want to do the best for your child, but how do you know what’s right? What do you do when your child answers back? Or is being bullied at school? Or starts telling obvious lies?

Over coming weeks in our Mullaloo Heights Primary School Newsletter, I will share some of Triple P’s proven tips for the best ways to handle common behavioural and developmental problems in children. From battling disobedience to encouraging homework routines, I’ll cover those everyday issues to help you work out some strategies to suit your family.

I’ll highlight common “parent traps” and hopefully make the very important job of raising kids as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.

But remember, parenting is sometimes hard work and it may take time to tackle more difficult problems. The good news is that help is always at hand.

Mullaloo Heights PS are offering parenting support with Triple P, one of the world’s most highly-regarding parenting programs. This program is targeted for Kindy to Year 5 parents and will be held on Tuesday 8th May (Week 2 /Term 2) starting at 9am and will conclude at 2:30pm. Morning Tea and Lunch will be provided

If you wish to attend, drop into the front office, or call, to register your place for this free seminar. School contact number is 6206 2100. This event will be conducted by our local School Psychologist, Priscilla Grainger and visiting Psychologist, Lauren Twomey.

Please RSVP by May 2nd to book your place.

Please note that a ‘Teen’ – Year 5/6 Seminar will be offered in Term 3 on the 18th September.

Professor Matt Sanders is founder of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program®.
For more information go to www.triplep-parenting.net

Sporting Stars

Well done to Heights Hero’s; Sam, Connor, Harry, Daniel M, Daniel R and Ivan, the Under 10's Summer Season Winners at Bouncers Sports Centre.

P&C News

Community News