15 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

The last newsletter made a passing reference to the fact we’d all be enjoying the swimming carnival at the time of publishing. In retrospect, this was rather an understatement! Those of you who attended will agree that it turned out to be one of the best carnivals ever. Of course, it was incredibly well run, as always. Mrs Thorby’s organisational skills are well known and these, combined with the support she received from our teachers and parent helpers, led to an excellent and enjoyable event. However, this year’s carnival had an added extra - determination and an unwillingness to give up from our students. In true underdog style, Albatross slotted into third place after the first few races. Their position seemed to be cemented as subsequent races served only to increase the gap between them and the other factions. At one point, they trailed behind by more than 60 points. Nonetheless, they refused to give up, with every team member continuing to try their very best in every race. As the day progressed, their tenacity paid dividends and they inched closer to the leading point scorers. By the final races of the day, the three faction teams were separated by minimal points and it really could have been anyone’s tournament. After the final relay race, Albatross scored enough to pull ahead of Gull’s final total by just 2 points and Tern’s by 4, resulting in the closest finishing scores so far. As thrilling as it was, there’s also an important message to be gained. Team work really matters; every Albatross member contributed in some way to the result. Moreover, hard work and determination can always make a difference. At the end of the day, it was lovely to see the teams accepting the result with grace and congratulating one another. I think they all felt immense pride at competing in such a close and hard fought battle. It certainly added additional excitement to what was already a great day. In light of this, it is not surprising that the students are already talking about the rematch in 2020. It will be the event to watch!

Today is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. At Mullaloo Heights, we take a proactive approach to preventing bullying. Our Friendly Schools and Families programme informs students about the many forms bullying takes and the importance of not being a bystander (witnessing bullying and ignoring it). Teachers explicitly teach students strategies to resolve conflicts and deal with bullying behaviour, whether it is online or face to face. To supplement our usual approaches, Jess Smith, our school chaplain, invited Jon Pritikin to school on Thursday to talk about how he has overcome challenges, most notably bullying, in his life. Tall and strong, Jon does not fit the stereotype of a victim so it was great for our students to reflect on his story. Today, they are wearing their ‘Bullying No Way’ wristbands with pride and, without a doubt, remembering Jon’s inspirational messages.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Dates to remember

BOARD NOMINATIONS

We are currently seeking nominations from parents to join our School Board. The School Board plays a major role in setting the school’s long-term future and maintaining an oversight of its operations. Below is an overview of what this may entail:

Boards take part in:

• Establishing and reviewing the school’s objectives and general policy directions
• Planning of financial arrangements to fund those directions
• Evaluation of school’s performance in achieving these
• Formulating codes of conduct for students at school

Boards determine:

• In consultation with students, parents and staff a dress code for students when attending school

Boards promote:

• The school in the local community

Boards do not:

• Intervene in the educational instruction of students
• Manage the day to day running of the school (for example, managing staff or assigning students to class)
• Intervene in the management of a school fund
• Represent any specific interest groups or dominate the agenda by special interests

If you are interested in joining our Board, please email an expression of interest (EOI) to Caroline.Booth@education.wa.edu.au by 3:00pm, Friday 29th March. The EOI should include 3 short paragraphs (100 words or less) about yourself under the following headings: personal background, professional background and motivation for board membership. I also encourage you to have a chat with our Board Chair, Andrew Ridley, in order to gain an accurate picture of what being a member of the Board entails. Please let the school know if you require her contact details. If the number of nominees exceeds the number of vacant positions, we will run an election in which the parent body can vote for their preferred representatives. The information in your EOI will be given to the parent community as part of this process. Once all nominations are in, we will let you know whether an election is required.

Merit Certificates

Reading Club

Faction Swimming Carnival

Our annual Swimming carnival was held on Friday 1st March at Craigie Leisure Centre. The students had awesome day with many earning ribbons and points for their faction! It was a close competition, especially towards the end with only a few points separating the winning faction!!

The overall results were:

1st Albatross 452 points
2nd Gull 450 points
3rd Tern 448 points

We had over 20 parent helpers on the day who did an amazing job assisting teachers and students, thank you parent helpers.

I would also like to commend the students on their excellent sportsmanship and encouragement shown towards each other on the day!

Mrs Thorby
PE Teacher

Harmony Week - What’s happening?

Make sure you save the date for Harmony Week (Monday 18th - Friday 22nd March). There’s going to be a lot happening at Mullaloo Heights. Here is a taste of some of the events:

• Taiko Drums and Flutes of Japan (Anne Norman and Toshi Sakamoto) - Monday 18th March

This performance will include students from PP-Year 6 and take place in the Undercover Area at 1:30pm.

The cost is $2.00 per student and should be returned to school by today. A letter giving more information has already sent to families.

• Buddy Kite Making Activity

Older and younger students will work together create and fly their own kite this week. Watch out for a mass of colour and movement on the oval throughout the week.

• Colour Explosion - Friday 22nd March

This will take place at 2:00pm on the Oval. All students should come to school on Friday dressed in old clothes, preferably a white or light coloured T-shirt paired with shorts of any colour. We promise you that this outfit will be transformed by the end of the day; a liberal sprinkling of coloured powder mixed with a large splash of water should brighten up each student suitably. The P&C will be running a sausage sizzle from 2:30pm onwards just in case anyone’s feeling peckish.

Parent Information

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY IS COMING!

Thursday 28th March

Dear Parents,

Our school photo day is coming! This week students received a Kapture Photography order envelope to take home. The recommended method of ordering your photos is online through Kapture’s website as your payment is secure and can be easily verified at any time. If you pay online, there is no need to return the order envelope to school.

Alternatively, you can pay by cash and return the provided envelope to the school on the photography day. Please note the photographers cannot open sealed envelopes and cannot provide change.

SIBLING ORDERS CAN ONLY BE PLACED ONLINE: Late requests cannot be granted.

You have the option to order a sibling photo package online, however please note sibling orders will close in most instances @midday sharp at least one business day before the first photo date. We suggest you place your online sibling order as soon as you receive your order envelope with your order instructions.

Log on to kapture.com.au for your sibling photo order cut-off date and time.

Late payment envelopes cannot be accepted by the school office or by Kapture. You can place an order online for class or individual photographs at any time for the remainder of the current school year however a $15 fee will apply if you order more than 10 days after photography.

If your child is in a sports or special group photo, you can use the same school code on your order envelope to view and order these photos on Kapture’s website, around the time that school photos are ready to be delivered. Please note; Class group, individual and sibling portraits are not available to view online.

Kapture offer a money back guarantee for any parent who is not fully satisfied with their photo package. Should you have any queries before or after photo day, please direct them to the Kapture office on 9240 1714 or email enquiries@kapture.com.au.

All students will be photographed individually on photo day for school administration records AS WELL as included in their class group photo available for purchase to all families. Should there be any reason why your child should NOT be included in the photo shoot –please contact the school office.

Ocean Reef SHS – Parent/Carers Evening of Year 6 Students

Parent Reminders

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 2019. 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.

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.

Chaplain’s Corner

Dear Parents,

Today, Friday 15th March, Schools across Australia are getting involved and taking action on the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA).

As part of this, yesterday Mullaloo Heights got involved in ‘Bullying No Way Day’ by hosting Guinness World Record holder and international guest speaker, Jon Pritikin. Jon has spoken to over 8 million students since starting ‘Feel The Power’, a non-profit organisation which provides an exciting, interactive presentation to challenge students to value themselves and others by motivating them to make empowered, daily choices. Jon shared a powerful anti-bullying message and I was glad students could hear his inspiring story.

Students also received a “Bullying No Way!” wristband to promote the message of anti-bullying. In line with this, over the next few weeks I will be training students in each classroom on the strategies for resolving conflicts, bully-proofing themselves and standing up for others. These strategies are from the BUZ programs I have run over the years and will become part of the whole school approach to bullying.

Please see the article below about “taking care of yourself and staying well’ from Beyond Blue. This particular article focuses on how to take care of yourself through lifestyle, and over the next few weeks I will also provide articles on other ways to take care of yourself.

Jess Smith