EDUCOM - Mount Riverview · 2020. 11. 28. · Issue 12/19 – Tuesday 13th August EDUCOM Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success Welcome back to Week 4 after the wintery blast of

Issue 12/19 – Tuesday 13th August

EDUCOM

Excellence, Opportunity, Care and Success www.mtrivervie-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Welcome back to Week 4 after the wintery blast of the weekend. It is a great day though for our Year 4 who are playing tennis in Penrith for the Todd Woodbridge Cup.

A reminder that the UNSW Competitions (yrs 2-6) for 2019 are now completed online and this includes enrolment. Please see the information in the newsletter about how to enrol your child in any of the competitions. Entries close 16th August.

It was a wonderful Friday afternoon / evening for our first Mount Riverview Art Show. There was a steady stream of people in both sessions going through and placing their votes in for the People’s Choice awards. The 9 winners will be announced during captains’ assmbly on Friday 23rd August.

Finally, a reminder that teacher supervision doesn’t begin until 8:30am in the morning. Over the last week or so there has been an increasing number of students arriving well before 8:30, sometimes as early as 8am. If your children get to school by themselves please remind them to time their arrival for 8:30am. Also remember that if you do need early drop offs that we do have before school care on site with Fun Kids. If there are any questions please contact the office.

Mr Giles Working Bee – Sunday 18th August

Just a reminder that this Sunday is our working bee, commencing around 10am. On the job list for the working bee are:

rejuvinating the vegetable garden beds; mulch spreading; and softfall spreading under the play equipment

(if it arrives in time).

Anyone interested in lending a hand please come along and join us. We have a limited number of garden tools so if you have a shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, etc and are in a position to bring them along, please do so. If there are any questions please contact the office.

What’s Happening At Our School ……

TERM 3 WEEK 4

Tuesday 13th August Todd Woodbridge Cup P&C Meeting – 8pm

Thursday 15th August Hat Count BBQ – KB, KS & 5M

Friday 16th August Athletics Carnival

Sunday 18th August Kitchen Garden Working Bee

TERM 3 WEEK 5

Monday 19th August Girls Soccer Gala Day

Thursday 22nd August Choir Rehearsal - Penrith

Friday 23rd August Athletics Carnival (Back Up) School Disco (Yr 6 Fundraiser) 6:30pm – 8pm Captains’ Assembly – 1:45pm

TERM 3 WEEK 6

26th – 28th August Life Education Van

Thursday 29th August Dance Festival Rehearsal

Friday 30th August P&C Fathers’ Day Breakfast

TERM 3 WEEK 7

Monday 2nd September Dance Festival Evening Perform.

Tuesday 3rd September UNSW IT Competition – 8am

Thursday 5th September UNSW Science Competition – 8am Dance Festival Matinee Perform.

Friday 6th September District Athletics – Blacktown Infants Assembly – 2pm

TERM 3 WEEK 8

Tuesday 10th September UNSW Writing Competition – 8am P&C Meeting – 8pm

Thursday 12th September UNSW Spelling Competition – 8am AECG – Faulconbridge PS – 4pm

Friday 13th September Regional PSB Final – Blaxland PS Primary Assembly – 2pm

TERM 3 WEEK 9

Tuesday 17th September UNSW English Competition – 8am

Wednesday 18th Sept. Calmsley Hill – Kinder excursion

Thursday 19th Sept. UNSW Maths Competition – 8am


Thank you to:

Mrs Bell and Ms Symonds for organising the school’s first Art Show.

All of the parents who helped set up and pack up the art show.

All students and teachers for the art work in the art show – very inspirational under the theme of Every Student Every Voice.

All parents, grandparents and community members who visited our school during Education Week. Staff and students all appreciated your visit and support.

All parents who are helping transport students for the Todd Woodbridge Cup in Penrith today.

All parents and community members who have volunteered to help at the athletics carnival this Friday. Without this assistance the carnival would be difficult to run. There is still room for other volunteers

Congratulations to

Our Premier’s Spelling Bee representatives:

Junior – Joel B. and Rhys H.

Senior – Holly S. and Xyla T.

Assemblies This Term

Captains’ Assembly Friday 23rd August Infants assembly Friday 6th September Primary assembly Friday 13th September Captains’ assembly Friday 27th September World’s Greatest Shave

On Friday 13th September we will be having a Crazy Hair Day to help raise money as part of Crazy Hair Day. Students can come along with their craziest, zaniest hair-do and bring along a gold coin donation.

As part of the World’s Greatest Shave Annika Johnstone-Hall (4S) will be shaving off all 65cm of her hair to help raise money in the fight to end blood cancer. Please consider supporting her efforts (she has nearly reached her fundrasiing target) and join the fight against these horrible diseases. Donations can be made via the link below and are tax deductible.

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/annikajohnstonhall

Minor Construction Works

This Friday, 16th August, we will be having minor works occurring near the top pedestrian gate on Rusden Road. Whilst the work is being carried out the gate entry may be closed off for part of the day.

If families could use the other pedestrian entry (near the office) it would be greatly appreciated. We are sorry for this brief inconvenience.

Education Week – Art Exhibition

Thank you to everyone who attended our Education Week Student Art Exhibition, it was a fantastic night showcasing a diverse range of colourful and creative work from all students in our School. At this stage (with art work purchasing still occurring) we have raised $1630 which was a great effort for our first show.

A very big thank you to the Baxter family from the Picture Framing Warehouse who kindly donated the mount board and frames for our exhibition artworks.

We are also very grateful for the effort and contributions made by the Exhibition Committee and volunteers - Linda Symonds, Alison Bell, Danielle Hanson, Samantha Buckley, Kelly Berriman, Kerrie Ward, Fiona Defina, Cath Rowland and Brooke El Najjar, thank you for all your work in organising and running this fundraising event.

For those families who were unable to get to the art show there is still an opportunity to purchase your child’s artwork. Simply send a gold coin donation to the office and we will organise the purchase. All artwork purchased will be sent home once we have finished scanning for the calendar later in the year.

Finally, as mentioned, People’s Choice winners will be announced during captains’ assembly next week.

Mr Giles

Blaxland HS 2020 Year 7 Extension Class

Attached to the newsletter is information regarding applications to the extension class in 2020 for Year 7 at the high school.

If interested, please read the information and follow the directions to register. This is only for our current Year 6 families. P&C Meeting

The next P&C meeting will be held in the library on Tuesday 13th August at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting.

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/annikajohnstonhall


As Science Week is officially drawing to a close, here are some free science events families may wish to check out. All of these events (and others) can be found on the National Science Week website https://www.scienceweek.net.au/

Gondwana Garden Family Day

https://tinyurl.com/yxhaqqzo

Living Labroratory – Royal Botanic Gardens

https://tinyurl.com/y3sdw8ne

Garden Night-Life for Families

https://tinyurl.com/y2yu8rqr

Kindergarten 2020

It is time to start enrolling for Kindergarten 2020.

If you have a child that is turning 5 by the 31st July 2020 and intend starting Kindergarten, please contact our school office to put their name down and pick up an enrolment package.

If you have any questions or you would like us to talk to preschools/daycare about school readiness, please let the office know or talk to Mrs Sowter or Mr Giles.

Please let any members of our community who may also have children starting kindergarten next year to contact the office.

Mrs Wendy Sowter

Absent From School?

If you child is away from school a note explaining the reason of the absence is required to be sent to school within 7 days of them returning to school. If an absence remains unexplained after this period then a letter will be sent home asking for an explanation of the absence.

There is a feature available within our SkoolBag app which allows parents to send the absent note straight away. If you would like to be shown how this works please visit the office for a “test drive”.

If a student has high absenteeism during the school year a referral will be made to the Home School Liaison Officer.

If there are any questions regarding school attendance please contact Mr Giles.

Library News

It was wonderful to see many visitors in the Library for Open Day. Many thanks to everyone who purchased and donated books for the Library. I must apologise for the limited number of books available to purchase and I know many students missed out on buying books. The new supplier vastly underestimated our needs and as a result I am going to offer another Bookclub later in the term to hopefully compensate for this misunderstanding. Watch out for details in future Educoms.

PRC finishes by Week 6 so please get your child's reading records entered ASAP.

The Book Week performance was well attended and enjoyed by all classes. The Books of the Year will be announced next week.

Please remember to return books on time.

Mrs Turner

PBL News

Our Focus of the Fortnight for weeks 4 & 5 is

“Entering and Exiting the School” at Mt Riverview PS”.

Mrs Wendy Sowter

Are You A Parent of a Child Aged 2 to 12?

The Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland is conducting research into parents’ opinions about parenting and programs available for parents.

If you have a child between 2 and 12 years, we would love to hear your views on parenting and the services that are available to you as a parent. You will need to complete a short survey, which will remain open until the 31st of August 2019.

To find out more or to participate please visit https://exp.psy.uq.edu.au/parenting

https://www.scienceweek.net.au/https://tinyurl.com/yxhaqqzohttps://tinyurl.com/y3sdw8nehttps://tinyurl.com/y2yu8rqrhttps://exp.psy.uq.edu.au/parenting


Mount Riverview Play Group

The playgroup runs every Wednesday morning in the school hall commencing at 9:15am. It has been established for parents, grandparents and caregivers of children aged 0 – school age in an effort to help the transition to school become a little smoother by helping children become familiar with our school environment. Visitors to the School

ALL visitors to the school are required to visit the office before going to one of our classrooms or contacting students in the playground.

If your child is arriving late or leaving early please remember to go to the office to receive an early leaving / arriving late slip which is then given to the teacher. If there are any questions then please contact the office. School Banking

School banking operates every Thursday. The mums who coordinate the program are set up in their regular place under the COLA. For those families wishing to commence student banking please have a chat with them. School Uniform

We are a very lucky school in that nearly all children are dressed in the correct uniform every day of the school year. Whilst on excursions or camps we are always complemented on how smart our students look.

For 2019 the P&C have outsourced the school uniform shop to Principal School Wear which is located in Springwood – 2/66 Springwood Avenue, Springwood. Their telephone number is 4751 3157.

Opening Hours during the year will be:

8th Oct – 21st Oct: 9am – 5pm (M-F) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

23rd July – 20th Dec: 9am – 5pm (Tues & Thurs) 9am – 12:00pm (Sat)

The P&C run a second hand uniform pool. This is run by volunteers and is currently open on Wednesdays from 8:45am – 9:15am.

Financial Assistance Is Available

Throughout the year we have several extra-curricula activities that are held approximately at the same time and have a similar cost each year. Examples include camps, overnight excursions, text books, gymnastics program, swim school, etc.

For various reasons this may become an issue for families within our school. There are however a couple of ways to tackle this issue and to help lessen the burden many of our families feel, especially if they have more than one child at school.

The most popular option used in 2018, was to work out a payment plan with Mr Giles, spread across the desired number of weeks, covering all associated costs within that time frame. This option is becoming more popular because it spreads the costs out over easy fortnightly payments rather than having a few major costs at different points of the year.

If this sounds like something you would like to look into, or if parents require any assistance with school related expenses, please contact Mr Giles or your child’s class teacher. All enquiries are confidential.

Sun Safe K – 6

Sunscreen is available in all class rooms for use at recess, lunch and during sport times or times spent outside. If your child cannot use sunscreen due to allergies or sensitivities please let your child’s class teacher know. Parents may opt to provide sunscreen for their child to use at school.

The school’s bucket or broad brimmed hats are a requirement of the school uniform and sun safe policy. If students forget their hat then they will be asked to play in the various shady areas within the playground.

Sunglasses have been provided by the P&C for all students and should be worn during recess and lunch. Captains will announce during morning assembly particularly high UV days. Replacement glasses can be purchased from the office if needed. School Security, You Can Help

If parents or community members observe any destructive or suspicious behaviour in the school grounds please ring the School Security phone number listed below. All reports are treated discreetly; names do not have to be left with the operator.

School Security - 1300 880 021


UWS PENRITH OBSERVATORY Great Western Highway, Werrington North

(Building AO)

Sydney Science Festival and National Science Week event

Astronomy at the Bottom of the World Dr Nicholas Tothill

Saturday 17 August (7pm – 9pm)

Special Event for National Science Week

The Antarctic Plateau is the most extreme, most isolated environment on Earth and perfect for Astronomy. From star birth to black holes, from hard-to-spot neutrinos to

the cosmic microwave background, Antarctic telescopes have given us new insights into our universe.

The evening will include a presentation with time for Q&A, a short 3D astronomy movie, a tour of the dome area and an opportunity to view the night sky through a

variety of telescopes (weather permitting)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Cost: $18 adult, $12 child/concession & $50 family (2 adults + 2 children) Children under 3 years of age free

Bookings are essential and must be done online

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_on

Enquiries:

Phone: (02) 4736 0135 (Mon, Wed or Thurs)

or email: [email protected]

School Entry and Exits

For safety reasons we ask that all students (and visitors to the school) enter and exit the school using one of the three pedestrian gates. There are two on Rusden Road and one on Blackbutt Circuit. Entering and exiting the school via one of the carparks is not a safe practice as we have delivery vehicles using all three driveway entrances at various times each day.

Residents in Students Lane have also requested that people who park in the lane in the morning or afternoons please not park across driveways as residents use the lane to access their properties.

Finally, when crossing Rusden Road outside of the school please use the pedestrian crossing thereby setting a good example for all of our students.

School Voluntary Contributions

Each year the school asks families to consider paying the voluntary contribution if they are in a position to do so. Money raised with the voluntary contributions is used to help provide additional funding for programs that the school runs. Voluntary contributions for 2019 are $49 per student or $80 per family.

Anaphylaxis – a shared responsibility

This is a timely reminder for everyone about anaphylaxis and what we can do as a school community for the families that have to deal with this.

We have several students at our school who have varying degrees of allergic reaction to nuts and mango in particular. Currently, our student reactions can range from mild allergies to severe reactions which can quickly become life threatening.

For this reason we ask (as much as possible) that nuts are not brought to school, which includes peanut butter, nut spreads (nutella), and nut bars.

Obviously, being able to do this is sometimes difficult or at times simply forgotten. With this in mind we implement hygiene procedures at school to try and eliminate as much as possible the likelihood of an allergic reaction occurring.

The procedures taught to students at school are:

a) washing hands before and after eating; b) washing hands at the end of each play period; c) using the sanitising spray which are being installed in classrooms upon entering and leaving the room.

The inconvenience to some children is recognised and their cooperation appreciated, but the consequences to children with anaphylaxis are extremely serious.

All members of our school community are asked to be aware of the dangers of even the slightest contact with nuts for these children.

To help minimise the risk, simply washing hands and cleaning teeth before coming to school would really help.

If there are any questions please contact the office.

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_onhttps://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_onmailto:[email protected]


School Volunteers

At Mount Riverview we are very fortunate in the number of volunteer parents, grandparents and community members who volunteer their time to help the students at school in a variety of ways.

Anyone who is thinking of helping out at school will need to have completed a “working with children” form here at school. When completing the form you will need to bring 100 points of identification. I have included a list of appropriate documentation below.

If you volunteer at multiple organisations then it may serve you better to do the working with children check at the link below. Along with what you have to do there you will also have to go to the RMS and do the identity check. Their website is http://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/

If you are not sure about which procedure you need to do then please see Mr Giles

Proof of Identity

Category 1 – 70 points (Only ONE form of identification accepted from this category.)

Birth Certificate/Birth Extract

Australian Passport (Current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled)

Australian Citizenship Certificate

International Passport (Current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled)

Other document of identity having same characteristics as a passport e.g. diplomatic/refugee (Photo or Signature)

Category 2 – 40 points

(More than one of the following documents may be counted. The initial document will score 40 points, and any additional documents will be awarded 25 points each.)

Current Licence or Permit (Government Issued)

Working With Children/Teachers Registration Card

ASIC/MSIC Card

Public Employee Photo ID Card (Government Issued)

Department of Veterans' Affairs Card

Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card

Current Tertiary Education Institution Photo ID

Reference from a Doctor (must have known the applicant for a period of at least 12 months)

Category 3 – 25 points

(More than one of the following documents may be counted; each will score 25 points.)

Foreign/International Driver’s Licence

Proof of Age Card (Government Issued)

Medicare Card/Private Health Care Card

Council Rates Notice

Property Lease/Rental Agreement

Property Insurance Papers

Tax Declaration

Superannuation Statement

Seniors Card

Electoral Roll Registration

Motor Vehicle Registration or Insurance Documents

Professional or Trade Association Card

To use more than one of the following documents, they must be from different organisations:

Utility Bills (e.g. Telephone, Gas, Electricity, Water)

Credit/Debit Card

Bank Statement/Passbook

Special Category 4 – Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander resident in a remote area/community

The applicant will meet the 100-point requirement if the applicant is an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander resident in a remote area/community, and the identity of the applicant is verified by two persons recognised as ‘Community Leaders’ of the community to which the applicant belongs.

Special Category 5 – Person under the age of 18

A child will meet the 100-point requirement if his or her Identity is verified from ONE of the following:

Birth Certificate/Birth Extract;

Australian Passport (current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled);

Australian Citizenship certificate;

International Passport (current, or expired within the previous two years, but not cancelled);

Other document of identity having same characteristics as a passport eg. diplomatic/refugee (Photo or Signature);

Or

A statement from an educational institution, signed by the principal or deputy principal, confirming that the child attends the institution (statement must be on the institution’s letterhead).

http://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/

Mount Riverview Art Show 2019

$2000.00

Annika J-H (4S)

shaving

Primary Assembly, Mount Riv School HallFriday 13th September

All 65cm of her hair is going in the fight to end blood cancer! Pleasecome to school with your craziest, zaniest hair-do that day and bring a

gold coin donation to join the fight against these horrible diseases.http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/

You’ll need a MyServiceNSW Account and your Medicare card to vote

VOTE NOW

mycommunityproject.service.nsw.gov.au or visit your nearest Service NSW centre

For more information call 13 77 88

It’s your chance to pick your favourite projects

BLAXLAND HIGH SCHOOL

2020 Year 7 Extension Class Applications

Blaxland High School will be testing Year 6 students for possible inclusion in the 2020 Year 7 Extension class. If you would like your Year 6 son or daughter to be considered for the Year 7 extension class please contact Sharon Laurence, Teacher Librarian, or the School Administration Officer, Mrs Rachel Pope via email to register. When registering please provide the following:

1. your child’s name, 2. gender, 3. primary school, 4. parent/guardian contact details, 5. email and 6. preferred session.

Testing for inclusion for the 2020 Extension class will be held on Thursday 5th September 2019. There will be two testing sessions:

Session 1 Session 2

Arrive at 9:10 for a prompt 9:30am start Arrive at 11:20 for a prompt 11:40 start

Finish: 10:30 Finish 12:40pm

The test is the Middle Year Ability Test (MYAT) which is set and marked by the Australian Council for Education (ACER), Melbourne.

Please forward inquiries to

Sharon Laurence at [email protected] or Rachel Pope at [email protected]

Blaxland High School

3-9 Coughlan Road Blaxland NSW 2774 Tel. 4739 4655

email [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

13 August 2019Mt Riverview Art Show 2019Annika J-H ShaveBHS PosterTesting advert for Primary schools (6)

Insert name of the project and location: Invigorate Blaxland High School'sPerforming Arts Centre