1 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

It’s hard to believe we’ve been back at school for such a short time. So much has been achieved already - councillors elected, Literacy pro and Mathletics points earned and Talk 4 Writing oral texts learnt. The students have quickly settled into the new school year and it is inspiring to see their enthusiasm for learning and eagerness to share this with others. They are committed to extending the knowledge and skills acquired last year and have set targets with this in mind. I have been particularly impressed by the maturity and self-awareness shown by our older students with regard to this; many have expanded their targets into personal mission statements, applying critical self-reflection and honesty to this task. I have attached a few examples so that you can view this for yourself. Not only are these statements well written, they also illustrate how our students have aligned personal values to their desire to excel, whether socially, physically and/or academically. Click on the link below to read more.

We are planning to make 2019 a memorable year at Mullaloo Heights; if you haven’t heard, we are about to turn 40 and are currently working with the parent community to plan a celebration to commemorate this important milestone. Initial planning began at last weeks’ P&C meeting so it was great to see so many new faces, in addition to the regulars. Everyone was motivated to organise a memorable event and a 40th Birthday Celebration Committee has been formed. Of course, all are welcome to join, regardless of membership of the P&C. Look out for dates of meetings in our school newsletter and on the parent Facebook page if you are keen to join in the fun.

Talking of the P&C, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful work they do for our school. Providing resources and support to enhance the quality of each child’s education at Mullaloo Heights is at the forefront of their fundraising. They have already begun the school year with a generous donation of $4.50 per child to reduce the cost for those attending the Swimming Carnival. Of course, as you read this, our Y4-6 students are enjoying this event and news of the day will follow in our next newsletter. Until then, have a great weekend.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Dates to remember

Reading Club

New Student Leaders

We have expanded our group of student leaders since our last newsletter. Faction captains and library and environmental garden monitors have now also been appointed. To be a positive leader takes strength of character and will often involve the following qualities; kindness, integrity, initiative, forgiveness and delegation. Congratulations to all of our new school leaders. We look forward to seeing you in action over the coming months.

Our new Faction Captains

Our Faction Captains for 2019 are:

Tern: Alannah, Daniel. M.
Gull: Che, Toby
Albatross: Will, Angus

Their first role will be to organise their factions for the swimming carnival.

Environmental Garden Monitors: Bell, Levi, Charli, Mia, Isabella, Maddie

Library Monitors: Joel, Lakshi, Callie, Melody

Our new year 5 leaders

Dogs on School Grounds

We would like to remind you that dogs are not to be brought onto school grounds. A couple of years ago, we had an incident where a dog tied up near the Early Childhood Block nipped a small child. While this is very unfortunate, it could easily have been avoided. Dogs will often react differently around large groups of people and, regardless of size or temperament, can cause both physical and emotional harm. It is worth remembering that there are children who are frightened of dogs, no matter how friendly their owner perceives them to be. These children have the right to feel safe while at school. Because of this, please ensure that dogs are not brought along to school, even if they are on a lead. Thank you for your support and understanding with regard to this.

Nature Playground

Many students are enjoying an additional play on our new nature playground at the end of the school day. Although we are happy to see the school community taking advantage of this facility, we do have a couple of requests which are motivated by safety. If your child is using the playground, please ensure you are supervising him/her at all times. This will allow you to stop any actions that may result in injury to your child or others. We do not allow children who are unaccompanied by an adult to play in the playground after school for this reason. We find that well supervised children play harmoniously and unpleasant incidents are reduced. We appreciate your support with regard to this.

Cybersafety

As the new school year begins, our class teachers are ensuring students are well versed on cybersafety. Many of you will have viewed our school online agreement which sets out the rules and expectations for working online. Lessons have already started about the risks attached to social media and online activity and also how to treat others with respect and care when using these resources, both in school and out. We take cybersaftey very seriously at school and use a number of resources to explicitly teach key behaviours to apply whenever they go online. These include:

• Keeping personal details private – using a nickname rather than their real name and asking parents before giving out their name, address or phone number
• Not to share username or passwords
• To always think before posting something on social media, as once posted, messages can be difficult to remove
• Not to post images or messages that they would not want others to know about or that they would not say directly to the person
• Being respectful of others content, e.g., not to post photos without the owner’s permission
• The possible negative consequences of publishing identifying information, including images of themselves or others

We use age-appropriate teaching tools, from Kindy to Year 6, to reinforce these messages, many of which can be located on the Department of Education esafety website. This website also has excellent advice and resources for parents who are concerned about the dangers associated with online activity and social media in particular. Please investigate the following link to find out how you can support your children when they are working online. This will help to reinforce the message we are giving as a school.

Colour Explosion Fundraiser – PP to Year 6

Parent Information

Use of Staff Car Park

In the interest of safety, parents and students are NOT permitted to access the school through the staff car park on Charonia Road before or after school. Our staff car park is out of bounds to all pedestrian and motor traffic other than staff themselves. The staff car park is not to be used for dropping off or picking up your children.

There are two pedestrian paths/access points either side of the staff car park on Charonia Road to facilitate SAFE entry to our school. The staff car park in Charonia Road is our Emergency Access point also. This must be free to allow ambulance, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles entry at all times. Please do not block access to the bitumen area.

Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to all who have paid their child’s contribution for 2018. Monies collected through this scheme enhance the learning program at MHPS. If you have overlooked payment, please come in and see us at the front office or alternatively, payment can be made via direct deposit into the school bank account.

Bank Account details for MHPS.

For your convenience to make direct deposits:

Mullaloo Heights PS (MHPS)
BSB: 066 040
A/C No.: 19903178

Please include your child’s name as reference.

Eftpos facilities at MHPS.

We have Eftpos facilities available, accepting Visa and Master Card. Please see the front office to make payments.

Parent Reminders

Rangers Parking and Community Safety – Safety around Schools – 40km ZONE

Vehicles which park contrary to parking signage around schools are a major hazard and impact on the safety of children, pedestrians and other road users in these areas. It is imperative that drivers are aware of, and park in accordance with, the parking conditions which apply near schools.

As part of the City’s continuing effort to provide a safer environment for everyone City of Joondalup Officers conduct patrols of school parking in the mornings and afternoons throughout the school term.

As part of this initiative Officers use patrol vehicles, which have been fitted with Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras, to capture digital images of vehicles which are parked contrary to parking requirements near schools. Any infringement notices, issued as part of these patrols, will be sent via mail to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Please see the link below for a copy of the City’s School Parking brochure which provides additional information in relation to parking near schools. This is a reminder for parents and caregivers of their responsibility in ensuring that they park correctly near schools.

Student Health Form 2019 (Excursions)

A hard copy of the 2019 Health Form for Excursions has been sent home with students. Could parents/ guardians please complete these forms and return them to their Class teacher by Friday, 1 March 2019.

Parent/ Guardian Contact details

If you have changed any of the following details, could you please notify the school, as soon as possible;

• Residential address
• Contact numbers – home, mobile
• Emergency contacts
• Email address

Medical updates

If there has been any change in your child’s health, that you may feel the school needs to know, for the safety of your child, for example; If your child has an anaphylactic reaction to anything, an allergic reaction or asthma, please notify our school in writing so that we can update our medical records.

Environmental Garden News

New gardening tools and stores have been purchased for our environmental area. Many thanks to Mrs Eloise Allbury who applied for and secured a $1000 grant from McDonalds. Last week Mrs Allbury, with the help of Mr Heron, went to Bunnings to purchase the new equipment. The shed looks fabulous with new shelving and equipment. The equipment and has now been labelled and will make taking classes to garden much easier. I'm sure all teachers and classes will be looking forward to using the new equipment and keeping our garden shed neat and tidy. Over the next few weeks’ classes will be preparing their garden plots ready for planting. We look forward to a great crop of vegetables. Mrs Davidson

Chaplain’s Corner

Dear Parents,

I hope you and your child/ren have settled back into school well and you’re enjoying the year so far.

Chaplaincy has been off to a great start this year. Boys Club has kick-started with the Year 6 Boys lunchtime competitions and games. The Year 6 Girls are looking forward to their turn in the next few weeks.

I am excited to begin a new initiative that involves the student councillors and head boy and girl this year. The student leaders will be trained in using the conflict resolution skills and bully-proofing strategies that come from the BUZ program which I have run in a number of classes over the years.

The school as a whole will also be trained in these strategies as part of the ‘Bullying No Way!’ Day where each classroom will be taught the strategies for resolving conflicts and bully-proofing themselves, as well as standing up for others. The student councillors will then be able to assist any students who need extra help and care at recess and lunchtime by using these strategies, and because the other students will already be familiar with the strategies, it will create a great environment where student leaders can listen to, help and support the younger students.

Please see the article below: ‘Finding the work-life balance sweet spot’ from Beyond Blue.

“‘Work-life balance’ is a phrase you probably hear often – and it describes a goal that anyone who’s ever been employed relates to. Because, let’s face it, there’s more to life than work, no matter how rewarding your job or career.

Ideally your professional and personal life should support and strengthen one another. Whether for family, study, hobbies, fun, socialising or relaxation, having time and energy to focus on activities you enjoy and your relationships is crucial for your wellbeing. It sounds obvious but creating a true separation between work and home life is likely to reduce the stress of one area impacting the other –even small changes to work arrangements can make a big difference.”

Jess Smith