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Mortlake Public School

Brays Road Phone: (02) 9743 3001

Concord NSW 2137 Fax: (02) 9743 0261

Website: www.mortlake-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Email: Mortlake-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Issue 7/2012 29 November 2012

DATES TO REMEMBER

Stage 3 students at Milson Island

Sport and Recreation Camp

TERM 4

28 November Thank you morning tea M’ARIAS

30 November Christmas at Mortlake Movie Night

6 December Billy Cart Derby and Hat Parade

10 December Presentation Day

12 December Senior Citizens Performance Year 6 Farewell

17 December Stewart House Concert

19 December Last Day of Term for students

Term 1, 2013

29 January Staff Return

30 January Year 1-Year 6 Students Return

31 January Kindergarten Students start Tea and Tissue Morning Tea

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Principal’s Message We are almost at the end of another exciting year. I want to thank teachers for the hard work and effort they are putting into the end of year activities and reports. Congratulations to Mrs Burjan, the music sub-committee of the P&C as well as all the students and parents involved in the M’ARIAS on Wednesday, 28 November, 2012. It was an exceptional evening with an outstanding display of musical talent. The evening was fantastic! I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Watson who organised a fun filled overnight excursion to Milson Island for Stage 3 as well as teachers- Miss Wilson, Miss Watts and Miss Mc Carthy who accompanied our students.

Fun on the water at Milson Island

A special thank you is also extended to many parents who have been involved in many school activities that have been happening around the school, including fundraising. Thank you for your support and efforts!

The grass on the northern oval has been laid. A huge thank you is extended to the Callander family who organised the playground upgrade. We are also grateful for the support of Concord Golf Club, ‘Dad and Dave’s Turf’ who donated the turf and organised the levelling of the playground.

Our beautiful new grassed area

Our student enrolments for the 2013 school year have increased to just over 350. This means that we will have 15 classes to begin 2013. The DEC have organised the installation of a demountable in the southern end of the school.

I would like to inform parents that Mrs Murray and Mrs Valore will be returning from leave in 2013 and will be working one day per week. Mrs Alexander will be returning from leave for two days per week next year. The temporary

teachers, Mrs Corbridge, Miss Watts, Miss Symonds, Miss Aloe and Miss Jordan will be at Mortlake in 2013. On behalf of the students and staff, I would like to wish Mr and Mrs Karikios all the best on the arrival of their newborn baby in 2013. Best wishes is also extended to Mr Bruscino on his new appointment as Assistant Principal at Boronia Park Public School. The elections for school captains and prefects have taken place. To avoid disappointment on Presentation Day, students will be told by Friday 7 December 2012 who the captains and prefects elect are for 2013 and a special announcement will be made on Presentation Day on Monday, 10 December 2012. As of 2013, hard copies of the newsletter will be made available at the front office and via email. Parents are reminded to complete and return the attached form requesting your email address.

Director’s Choice 2012 Congratulations to Mrs Knight and our wonderful recorder group who performed at the Directors’ Choice on 8 November. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Our school recorder group with Mrs Knight

Aussie Of The Month As part of the school’s student welfare program, each month at a special assembly a student is named Aussie Of The Month and presented with a certificate. Our Aussie Of the Month for November is Georgia M. Congratulations Georgia!

Reading Recovery Our reading Recovery funding allocation for 2013 has been reduced from 2.5 days per week in 2012 to 1 day. Mrs Madden will continue taking on this role. Reading Recovery is a research based early intervention program to assist students who are experiencing difficulty in reading and writing.

The students selected to participate in the Reading Recovery program are those who after a year at school are experiencing difficulty with their reading and writing. The 30 minute daily Reading Recovery lesson includes activities in text reading, letter identification and text writing.

Principal’s Award Students are reminded that once they have earned 3 merit certificates that they are entitled to receive a Principal’s Award. When a child earns 6 merit certificates, they will need to bring them to the office as they will earn a Principal’s ribbon.

End of Year Presentation Assemblies

Parents are reminded that the end of year presentation assemblies will be held on Monday 10 December, 2012. The K-2 assembly will be held in the school hall at 9:45am and the Year 3-6 assembly will be held in the school hall at 11:45am. We look forward to seeing all parents.

Canteen The last day for the school canteen will be Wednesday, 12 December, 2012. Parents are asked to ensure their child has a packed lunch for the remainder of the year.

Billy Cart and Hat Parade

Students are reminded that our annual Billy Cart and Hat Parades will take place on Thursday, 6 December, 2012. Billy carts (for Years 3-6) and hats (for K-2) will be paraded and walked through the playground. Billy carts will be examined and judged according to construction and safety factors. There will also be a special prize for the best hat.

The Year 6 farewell which will be held on Wednesday 12 December 2012. Students in Year 6 are expected to arrive at 6:00pm. Parents are invited to watch a short power point presentation at the start of the night. Year 5 students are welcome to arrive at the farewell at 6:45pm. We look forward to an exciting evening.

Dogs in Schools Parents are reminded that dogs are prohibited from entering the school grounds.

Jacqui Attard

OUR COMMUNITY

HPV vaccination for boys to commence in NSW From next year, NSW school boys will have access to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which will protect them against developing infections that can lead to cancer. From 2013, boys in Year 7 in all NSW high schools will be offered the HPV vaccine annually. In addition, boys in Year 9 will be offered the vaccine as part of the national „catch up‟ program in 2013 and 2014.

The NSW Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said the highly successful vaccine has already seen a drop in the infections that lead to cervical cancer in females. However, as the vaccine only protects against two of several high-risk types of HPV associated with cancer it is vital that women continue to have regular Pap tests. “The vaccine, which has been available to girls since 2007, is highly effective in preventing the main types of HPV infection and should be given to adolescents before they become sexually active”, said Dr Chant. “Extending the vaccination program to boys will help protect them against some of the most common types of HPV infection and against developing a range of cancers.” Associate Professor Kristine Macartney of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance said that “as well as protecting males from HPV infections, immunising young men will also help protect women from infection”. “The HPV vaccine is a strong weapon in preventing this common virus that is easily spread during intimate contact with another person,” Associate Professor Kristine Macartney added. In 2011, 81% of Year 7 girls received at least one dose of the three-dose course of HPV vaccine. HPV is the name given to a group of viruses that affect both females and males. Most people who are sexually active will have a genital HPV infection at some time in their lives. HPV infection usually causes no symptoms and goes away by itself. However, in rare cases infection can cause life-threatening cancers. Almost all cases of cervical cancer and genital warts are due to HPV infection. HPV also causes cancers in other parts of the body. Information kits will be sent to the parents of all NSW schoolboys eligible to receive the vaccine in early 2013. Students in Year 7 will also be offered vaccination against other diseases, including diphtheria-tetanus-whooping cough (dTpa), hepatitis B and varicella (chicken pox). For more information please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation

Celebration Mass A special celebration mass is to be held for Catholic school students of Mortlake Public School and their families on Thursday, 29 November, 2012 at St Patrick’s church in Gale Street, Mortlake at 7pm. The students will be participating in the mass and will be awarded certificates for completing their religious studies for 2012. Refreshments will be served after mass and all Catholic students and their families are encouraged to attend.

MOSHC We recently issued a survey to families who use our Centre to explore their requirements for care over Christmas. As the school term finishes on Wednesday 19th December, Vacation Care will be offered on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st. The centre will reopen on Monday 14th January 2013.

Our December/January Vacation Care program is now available. It can be accessed via our website www.primaryoshcare.com.au or copies are available on the Parent sign in table at the centre. Some of the activities children will be participating in are: an excursion to Featherdale Wildlife Park, Barefoot bowling, Rainbow day, a Treasure hunt and to the cinema to watch Monsters Inc in 3D.

Our updated seasonal menu now includes: A variety of summer salads eg. Pasta, Garden or Greek salad and Rice paper rolls containing salad vegetables with ham or chicken.

The last Community meeting for the year will be held on Tuesday 27th November at 6.15pm

ONLINE LEARNING

When your teen's new best friend is a bad influence Best friends are a key part of adolescents’ lives. But what do you do when you suspect your child’s best buddy is a bad influence? Experts discuss different approaches. Find out more: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/behaviour/when-your-teens-new-best-friend-is-a-bad-influence

Copying and plagiarism Copying other people’s work and presenting it as your own is plagiarism. It’s an increasingly common problem in the online world where material can easily be copied and pasted from websites. Students need to acknowledge the ideas of others when they use them in projects, assignments and assessments. Find out more: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/homework-tips/copycats-bewar

Help your kids enjoy reading d How do you make reading a joy and not a chore for your child? One way is to find information and interesting facts about things that intrigue or interest your child in books,

magazines or on the internet. Read and talk about what you find out. Here are some other tips:

http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/english/english-tips/ten-ideas-to-help-your-child-with-reading

Our school website While you are online, please take a moment to have a look at our updated website: www.mortlake-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Homepage of our school website

SPORT RESULTS

PSSA SUMMER SPORT ROUND 11 – TERM 4 WEEK 4 (02.11.12) Sport Against Result

Senior Girls Softball Dobroyd Point Lost 6-9

Junior Girls T-Ball Dobroyd Point Lost 5-30

Senior Boys Cricket Dobroyd Point Lost 90-136

Junior Boys Cricket Dobroyd Point Won 67-63

PSSA SUMMER SPORT ROUND 12 – TERM 4 WEEK 5 (09.11.12) Sport Against Result

Senior Girls Softball Enfield Washed out

Junior Girls T-Ball Enfield Washed out

Senior Boys Cricket Bye N/A Junior Boys Cricket Bye N/A

The Year 6 boys in the Senior Cricket Team

RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL

As part of our revamp of our school newsletter, we would like to forgo sending out printed copies in favour of sending newsletters to our school community via email. Electronic distribution is a much better method of communication with families as it allows the school community to enjoy a coloured and more extensive newsletter without the environmental impact of substantial paper usage. We would appreciate it if you could take a minute of two and fill out the slip below so we can add you to our school newsletter email list. The school will only use this email list to send out school newsletters and your email address will not be displayed. Only one slip needs to be completed per family. If more than one family member would like the newsletter emailed, please write in the second email address on the slip below. We will send out a printed copy of the next newsletter to families that have not completed the slip below, but would like to transition away from doing so. If you do not receive the next newsletter via email and have handed in the slip below, please first check your junk mail. If it hasn’t come through, please let the school know so we can update our email list. As always, our school newsletter is accessible on our school website, which can be found at: www.mortlake-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Mr Bruscino

Excel by effort

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