24 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

It’s been a fortnight where the parental support of our school has been particularly evident. Although this is always a prominent feature of Mullaloo Heights, it has manifested itself in many more ways recently. It is well known that our parents regularly donate their time. The canteen is run by a core of committed volunteers who put immense effort into providing nutritional and tasty bites on Wednesdays. School banking, again organised by parents, allows our students to save and begin to appreciate the value of money, while our parent rosters for reading and helping in classrooms are always full. However, in addition to this traditional support, there has been a recent furore of further assistance. Our students in Year 4-6 are currently preparing to compete in the Interschool Lightning Carnival under the guidance of teachers and also a group of dedicated parents. It has been wonderful to witness these volunteers share their knowledge and skills with the students each week, as well as their passion for each particular sport. Teachers have been very appreciative of the help and the students are feeling very confident about the forthcoming competition as a result of this extra input. A couple of weeks ago, a Mother’s Day stall was organised so that our students could treat their mums to something special and the Book Fair and associated competitions, again organised by parents, is currently running in the library. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the parent volunteers who worked with students and staff to support us on our recent Kindy and Pre-primary Open Day. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces and hear you share your positive experiences of Mullaloo Heights with new families considering enrolling here. We received many glowing compliments about our school, particularly the warm and welcoming community vibe and the energy and enthusiasm of our staff. Our assertion that Mullaloo Heights is a vibrant community, with a supportive environment in which children can learn, was well and truly vindicated. In addition to the friendly greeting, our open day guests, both old and young, were given an enticing taste of what is in store for Kindy and Pre-primary children during a typical day at Mullaloo Heights. There were messy activities, decorating and designing tasks and some highly professional face painting. Children and parents mixed together to try everything and rounded off the range of experiences with a delicious sausage sizzle served by our student volunteers. The morning was a great success and an opportunity to show the local community exactly why Mullaloo Heights is such a good school.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Caroline Booth

Dates to remember

Reading Club

Open Day in Early Childhood

Enjoy these photos of our recent Open Day for Kindy and Pre-Primary, 2020. It was great to welcome so many new faces into our school and show them the great things happening in our Early Childhood Unit. Thanks to all of our current parents who came to give us a helping hand. We think you’ll all agree, the morning was a great success!

Worms Pay a Visit to Mullaloo Heights

On Wednesday, students in Kindy, Pre-primary and Room 8 attended a ‘Wonderful World of Worms’ incursion, run by Peg from the Mindarie Regional Council. The children were taught about worms and how to look after them. Then, they had the chance to touch and examine a whole pile of wriggling worms! They even found some eggs and learnt that a little worm egg might contain only a couple of worms or as many as TEN per egg.

Student on Track at Mullaloo Heights PS

Mullaloo Heights Primary School was lucky enough to secure a limited number of places for our Year 5/6 students to participate in a ‘Students On Track’ Program and spend a day trackside at the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship event held at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo earlier in May.

This invitation arose after one of our students wrote a letter to Dean Fiore, a driver for Kelly Racing and Egglestone Motorsport. He generously extended the opportunity to a few other students. A lucky draw was held at school and the five excited students were treated to VIP acess at the event.

It was a great opportunity to see how some of the things we learn in class translate to life on and around a race track. We saw practical applications of maths, physical education, science, marketing, event management, first- aid and engineering in action at a large scale motorsport event.

The ‘Students on Track’ program included entry tickets to the circuit and Supercars Paddock, getting us close to the excitement of the purpose built Team Transporters and the action of the garages. We received some VIP access from Dean Fiore which included a personal pit tour by Dean showing the students all around these cars, watching the team mechanics at work and this even included sitting in the driver’s seat!

Plus, they got to enjoy the excitement of the Supercars practice sessions, support category sessions and other entertainment on track.

A few quotes from the students;

“I liked seeing all the cars and getting to sit in Dean’s race car was really interesting.” (Lexi S)

“I enjoyed watching the different race cars and getting the signatures from all the Super 2 drivers.” (Finn W)

“I liked walking around the all the pits and seeing all the different cars and drivers.” (Gemma D)

“I loved watching the Super 2’s and the V8’s on track. I enjoyed being shown around the pits by Dean, seeing his real race car and getting Jamie Whincup’s signature”. (Cash A)

“I liked watching the V8’s and GT’s. I enjoyed walking down pit lane and seeing all the different pits. I also liked sitting in Dean’s Fiore’s car, it was interesting how they made the race seats.” (Elijah B)

We would like to thank Dean Fiore, Eggleston Motorsport and Supercars Australia for their support and generosity in making this experience happen.

Please enjoy some photos of this experience.

Parent Information

Woolworths Earn & Learn

Triple P Seminar Series - Kindy to Year 5

Kids as consumers - By Professor Matt Sanders

It could be anything from breakfast cereal at the supermarket to an expensive new video game. Chances are though, your child has a very clear idea of what he or she wants you to buy.

It’s hardly surprising when you consider children watching two hours of television a day will be bombarded with around 10,000 advertising messages every year.

So, with children being groomed to consume from a very young age, some parents may feel powerless when the pestering starts. But there are ways to help children express their wants – which is natural and not necessarily negative – yet prepare them for the disappointment of not always getting everything they want.

First, you should help your child understand why you will or won’t buy something. Rather than telling your son he can’t have something, “because I say so”, you could explain why the product isn’t suitable. Is it offensive or too expensive? Perhaps the child can have the item when they reach a certain age. Explain once and don’t let your child interrogate you.

You can also help your children become better informed consumers by teaching them the value of money. Give them a set amount of pocket money to spend as they like. Even six year olds soon learn they can’t buy anything once the piggy bank is empty.

And finally, remember you’re a role model. Think about what you say and do in front of your kids. If you constantly discuss other people’s worth or success in terms of how much they earn, how much they have or what they’ve bought, your child is going to accept those values as important.

Lying - By Professor Matt Sanders

Preschoolers sometimes mix up reality and fantasy, but we expect that by primary school, children will know the difference between the two.

To discourage lying, parents need to explain to their child why lying is wrong and the consequences of lying.

For example, you could briefly and calmly tell your child: “Tania, I feel disappointed when you lie. It makes it hard to believe anything you say. If you keep telling lies you will find that nobody will trust you.”

Give your child opportunities to be honest and praise them for telling the truth. Your positive response will encourage them to repeat their honesty in future. Even when a child admits to telling a lie, praise them first for their honesty, before proceeding with the disciplinary consequences.

If your child is finding it hard not to tell lies, you might need to set up a written contract signed by you and your child. This contract should state what you expect your child to do and the rewards and consequences that will follow. If they have lied, the consequences for that behaviour are clearly listed in the contract.

As your child learns to not lie, you will no longer need a written contract as you and your child will have established a more permanent contract of trust.

Please express your interest in attending a whole day Seminar Series in Term 3 Week 2- Thursday 1st August 2019 9am-2:30pm, in the Science/Art room – Morning tea and lunch provided. Contact Mullaloo Heights PS on (08)6206 2100

Professor Matt Sanders is founder of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program®. For more information, go to the link below

Parent Reminders

Enrolments for 2020

We are now accepting Enrolments for the 2020 school year.

Who needs to enrol?

You need to apply to enrol your children in public school for 2020 if they are:

• starting Kindergarten – 4 years old by 30 June 2020
• starting Pre-primary, the first year of compulsory school – 5 years old by 30 June 2020
• changing schools.

Applications for enrolment in a public school for 2020 close on Friday, 26 July 2019.

Enrolment documents for Mullaloo Heights PS are available to download from the school website at http://mullalooheightsps.wa.edu.au/enrolments/ or alternatively they can be collected from the school office.

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.

Chaplain’s Corner

Dear parents,

For the last couple of weeks, the year 3/4 students from rooms 9 and 10 have been learning about feelings- how to recognise others feelings and what to do when we recognise certain feelings in others. The students have also learnt why that’s important and developed their skills of empathy and understanding. This week the students went into more detail as they learnt about how to handle anger and “keep their cool.”

The year 5 girls and boys have started girls and boys club at lunchtimes now- crafts for the girls and dodgeball for the boys which they are loving!

Please see the article below from parenting ideas about “helping your child make and keep friends.”

Jess Smith

Community News