McDonald Park School NEWSLETTER Principal - Sandy Davey Chairperson Governing Council – Damian Buckley 57 North Terrace, Mount Gambier. SA 5290 Telephone 08 8724 9811 Fax 08 8725 0254 Email – [email protected] www.mcparkr7.sa.edu.au Issue No 1, 30/1/14 – Week1, Term 1 COMING EVENTS WEEK 2 A1/A2 Swimming WEEK 3 10/2 Wipe Out Waste Performance 11/2 Governing Council Meeting 14/2 Assembly BELL TIMES 2014 8.55am 10.55am 11.25am 1.05pm 1.35pm 3.15pm School begins Recess - out to play Recess finishes Lunch - out to play Lunch finishes Dismissal WELCOME BACK Welcome to the 2014 school year. We hope you had a restful break. We have started back on a very positive note with students arriving at school on Tuesday full of enthusiasm and stories to share from their holidays. We have some exciting learning experiences planned for 2013, including the continuation of our wonderful kitchen garden program; our program will follow the same format as 2013 with teachers delivering the kitchen component. Courtney Mesecke and John Magarey will be integrating cooking lessons into their health and physical education curriculum. These lessons will still run once a fortnight and they are seeking volunteers for these lessons. Sam Baker continues in the garden. This year we continue to phase in the Australian curriculum with a focus on numeracy, geography and the arts. With Governing Council approval we are hoping to run a pupil free day on Tuesday, 8th April, which will focus on numeracy. ACQUAINTANCE NIGHT We are very proud of our school and the fantastic programs and facilities that we offer. We welcome parents to come in at any time to have a look around or join in activities such as class reading, kitchen-garden lessons or helping out in the library. We realise however that this is not always possible to do during school hours and therefore invite families to come along to our acquaintance night on Wednesday, 19th February between 6.00pm to 7.00pm. This is a great opportunity to take a closer look and meet your child (ren)’s teacher(s) we hope to see you there. WEEK 4 A3 Swimming 19/2 Acquaintance Night 6-7pm MCDONALD PARK ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS 2013 RECEPTION YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6 YEAR 7 Felicity Kelly Yug Kumar James Winterfield Aiden Creasey Edward New Hugh Winterfield Jarrod McGregor Kye Heemskerk Taj Munro Giaan Ferguson Layne Blackwell Skarlette Case Tannah Solly Nicola McMillan Jess Geraghty Jess Smith WELCOME TO NEW STUDENTS & THEIR FAMILIES We welcome these new students and their families to McDonald Park: Mason A, Conna A, Dylan B, Cody B, Harrison B, Kayla B, Charlie B, Gemma B, Ruby B, Seth C, Lachlan C, Axel C, Gracie D, Jasmine D, Sienna E, Rhys G, Charlotte H, Ethan H, Baraka I, Shukuru J, Jarred L, Georgia L, Ethan L, Mikailey M, Lily M, Oliver McC, Lily McI, Shayla McR, Lee McT, Cooper M, Abbey M, Hale M, Bennet M, Rupert M, Heng O, Henry P, Jesse P, Jaslyn P, Slade P, Abdul Q, Aulfet, Q, Archie R, Shayden R, Tyge S, Levi S, Luke S, Cooper S, Jack S, Ciara S, Alissa S, Rachel S, Ethan u, Zoe W and Nehema A. NEW STAFF Welcome to these new staff members - a complete list of staff is attached to the newsletter. Gaynor Arthurson, Chris Jordan, Caroline Kacirek, Courtney Mesecke, and Amber Cason. Welcome back to Fiona Fox. MCPARK ON FACEBOOK McPark has a page on Facebook. Search for McDonald Park School and Like our page to keep up to date with what’s happening. We will be posting information for parents and caregivers. Our newsletter can be accessed online at http://www.mcparkr7.sa.edu.au/whats_happening.htm RESOURCE CENTRE  The resource centre staff welcomes all new families to our school and looks forward to seeing all families throughout the year. Resource centre staff are teacher librarians Suzanne Harding (Monday–Thursday) and Robyn Williams (Thursday–Friday) and our SSO is Jan Boyanton (Monday-Friday). Our regular volunteers are Richard, Marg, Glad and Nola.  We are open from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Please visit us with your child/ren to ask questions or simply to enjoy our wonderful variety of books with your family!  This year reception to year two classes will have a 30 minute library skill/borrowing session per week. Years 2/3 and 3-7 will have a 30 minute lesson fortnightly.  Resource Based Learning lessons will continue with each class  Students will need to bring a library bag (cloth or plastic) and are expected to return books fortnightly More information will come home via newsletters and class teachers. You are welcome to phone, write notes or see us in person at anytime. “You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page, and feel like you’ve lost a friend.” Paul Sweeney POLICE CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS A reminder to parents/caregivers that if you are intending to volunteer here at school, whether it be for classroom reading, canteen, excursions etc, you will need to have a current police check done. Please enquire at the front office for the correct forms. SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS The first two weeks will be spent on our ‘Setting up for Success’ program. The program was written by teachers and aims to provide a positive and consistent start for all students. During this time teachers will also collect information about your child’s learning, which will assist them to plan for your child’s needs. Some reminders:  Hats and Uniforms – in terms 1 and 4 all students need to wear a broad brimmed or bucket hat in the yard and during outside activities such as fitness and PE. Hats are available from the front office for $8.00. We have a school dress code and we expect all students to dress accordingly. Most items are available for purchase from the front office. Please label all items of clothing. We have a lost property bin which is located in the main building near the front office. Please check this regularly for lost items.    Hot weather – All areas of the school are airconditioned, which provides students with pleasant learning conditions at all times. For this reason we do not send students home when the forecast is 38 degrees or above. If parents wish to collect their child it is their choice. We also have an inclement weather policy and students are kept inside during break times on wet and very hot days. Medication – Please remember to ensure your child’s medications eg asthma puffers, epipens, ADHD medicine are not past their expiry date and that you have supplied the school with necessary medications and health care plan signed by your doctor. Materials and Services – Invoices and school card forms were posted out to families last week. Please see front office staff if you didn’t receive one. School Bank please note school bank day is Tuesday with Bank SA and Wednesday with Bendigo Bank starting week 2. Nut Allergies -DECD requires schools to promote and construct learning environments that are safe and supportive. Students and staff may have anaphylactic (severe allergic) conditions, that include nut allergies. This means that exposure at school may constitute a risk to the health and well being. It is not possible to guarantee that the environment will be completely free of potential hazards, however, compliance to reasonable guidelines will minimise the potential risks. Where a parent of a child with an allergy to nuts or nut products has alerted the school to the fact (backed by medical evidence /documentation), the school will manage the situation in the following way: Parents: o Parents and caregivers being asked to take this into consideration when they are packing their child’s lunch. Where possible pack an alternative to peanut butter, Nutella or similar, nuts, peanut cooking oil and other foods that may contain nuts. Students: o Students being encouraged NOT to share or purchase food for other students. o Students being encouraged to wash hands after eating. o Students bringing food that contain nuts or nut products being asked to eat that food away from any other students and to wash their hands after eating. Staff: o Staff supervising eating at lunch time in classrooms or another confined area. o Staff made aware of students who have anaphylactic responses, including nut allergy. PARKING AROUND THE SCHOOL SCHOOL UNIFORMS A reminder to parents that for the safety of all children you may not park in the staff car park when dropping off or picking up children unless you have a disabled permit. The gates will be shut from 3.153.30 each day and must not be opened. Thank you for your co-operation. The school has been contacted by local residents on a number of occasions about cars being parked across their driveways, both before and after school. We ask that parents and caregivers be mindful where they park at these times as it makes it difficult for residents to come and go from their homes when this happens. Thank you. We currently have in stock the following uniforms:  Summer dresses(size 4,6 & 8) $16.50  Hats $8.00  Black shorts $16.50  Red/white t-shirt $24.00  Green jumper $29.50  Pinafore $44.00  White shirt $16.50  Black fleecy pant $16.50  Girls black leisure pant $17.50 CANTEEN HELPERS Phone Michelle 87254221 rd th Week Beginning Mon 3 FEB Mon 10 FEB Monday Sharon & Jo Sharon & Jo Tuesday Lyn Lyn Wed Rachael Rachael Thursday Deb Deb Friday Deb Deb SCHOOL BUS SERVICES Please note that the School City Bus Service has a code of conduct and behaviour on our buses and would like to see all students abide by the rules for the safety of all concerned. We are not a free service so would appreciate students having the correct money when travelling to and from school. Fare prices are $1.10 per trip or our student multi trip ticket 10 x trips for $8.60 per ticket. Also we have our student concession pass 4 weeks at $24.80. Hope you all have a happy 2014. Any queries please call Michael Suto or Jo Sykes 87249978 during business hours. LAP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We are once again in the process of setting up our LAP programme for 2014. LAP is based on the six C’s. CARE: Positive relationship is vital COMMITMENT: Time and motivation COMMUNICATION: Sharing with another CONFIDENTIALITY: Of their work CONTENT: Work with teacher CO-OPERATION: If you have a spare 45 min or1 hour per week or know someone that you think would be interested in being involved in the program or would like more information, please give Linda Ward or Kirsty Trahar a call at school on 8724 9811 or return the slip below. …………………………………………………. LAP VOLUNTEERS FOR 2014 I am interested in working as a LAP volunteer. Name: ………………………………………………..…… Phone Number: ………………………………………….. Eldest Child’s Name……………………………………… Room No……………………………………… MCPARK’S TWO MILLION MINUTES OF READING We are starting next week! Last year the students in our school read over one million minutes collectively. This year we are aiming higher. We are aiming to achieve two million minutes of reading at home across the school. To do this, we need every student to read regularly at home. Why are we doing this? This was a project started last year to encourage reading at home. There is extensive evidence that says, the more students read the higher they will achieve academically. Our goal at McDonald Park is that all students become proficient readers and develop an enjoyment for reading. How does it work? All students are expected to have a reading book that they read every night for a set amount of time. When students read this must be recorded in a diary/reading record and signed by an adult. Each class has an excel file with the names of the students in the class. Minutes are recorded as points. This ensures that student age is taken into account. Two million minutes is equivalent to 140,000 points (double what we achieved last year!). If the students have read for the expected time and have their diary signed, this will be recorded as a point next to their name. Junior primary: Rec/1/22 – 10-15 minutes = 1 point (This may be reading their reader and practising sight words) Middle primary: Year 3/4/5 – 15-20 minutes = 1 point Upper primary: Year 6/7 – 20-25 minutes = 1 point The more students read, the more points they can earn. The time read must be recorded in students reading diary and signed by an adult. The points for the class are then added up. This then goes towards our whole school total. The classes with the highest totals are then awarded a trophy to keep in their class for the fortnight. Students with the highest points from each class are also given a certificate and five points towards their house team. These students will have their name published in the newsletter and have their names read out at assembly. Please encourage your child to read at home. Students become better readers when they practice regularly. If you have any questions please see your class teacher. KITCHEN GARDEN CATCHUP The school’s kitchen garden has survived the holidays, no thanks to the weather, but many thanks to our volunteers Jenny and her husband Don, who were up there every Thursday morning weeding and watering – even starting at the crack of dawn on the scorchers in order to get the job done before the sun made it impossible to stay. Thanks to George too who came in throughout the holidays, always there to lend a hand and doing a great job of making new brick beds and painting the tables. This term the children will be looking at the pests, diseases and other problems which can bother our gardens, so if you have any good examples to send in with your child we would love to see them – we have about four different pests eating our tomatoes at the moment (and that’s not counting the random human passersby!) how about you? Discovering Sailing Day Discovery Sailing Day is an introductory, fun, safe, accessible based sailing program. Kids don’t need to have any sailing experience and all the equipment, including the boats and life jackets will be supplied. On the day, kids will have the opportunity to go for a sail with an experienced sailor, learn a little about boat sailing and have a look around and enjoy the Club facilities. Should you wish to discuss exactly what the activity involves or have a query contact the club’s sailing coach, Brad Mann, on 0435 065 299. Mount Gambier Public Library The Mount Gambier Library is thrilled to present an author event with internationally recognised crime writer, Michael Robotham, on Wednesday 19th February at 6.00pm. Tickets are just $7.00 which includes supper and available from the Mount Gambier Library. 2014 LSE INTER SCHOOL SWIMMING TIME TRIALS AND TRAINING WHERE: WHEN: Duck Update: Shed up but yard not as posts obviously coming by bullock dray from Colac…..when they eventually get here I will urgently need enough wire mesh to cover a fence two metres high and sixty metres long. If you have any spare rolls or lengths of mesh lying around, please consider donating it to this worthy cause – it will protect not just the ducks but an orchard of fruit trees from the abovementioned random passers-by. Garden Wish List  WIRE MESH– chicken wire, chainlink or ring lock fencing  Manure – horse, cow or sheep etc.  MORE VOLUNTEERS please gardeners or garden class helpers COMMUNITY NEWS Junior Cricket – Ages 10 & Under When: Thursday afternoons (13/02 to 20/03) Where: Frew Park Time: 4.00pm to 5.15pm Cost: $30.00 for non club registered players, $20.00 for club registered players Separate All Girls Competition Modified games of cricket, all equipment provided (although you can bring your own bat if you like). Flexible on the age restrictions Please contact SACA Cricket Officer, Shelley Nitschke on 0447 081 634 or [email protected] to register. Aquatic Centre Margaret Street Mt Gambier Thursday February 20th 12.45pm-3.00pm If your child is interested in swimming in the Lower South East Interschool Primary Swimming time trials and training They need to be able to swim laps of the 50m pool of their chosen stroke as this is also a ‘try out’ to be selected for a Lower South East SAPSASA team to compete in Adelaide in 2014. There will also be a cost with admission being $4.00 paid to the Aquatic Centre on the day. It will be parent’s responsibility to take their child to the Aquatic Centre. If you wish to participate, come to the front office or see Mr Magarey. If you have any problems with transport please see Mr. Magarey. So that we can finalize our school team numbers, we need to receive all Consent Forms by Tuesday 18/02/14. Please return Consent Slip below and the Aquatic Form as soon as possible. JOHN MAGAREY ----------------------------------------------------------------- LOWER SOUTH EAST INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING TIME TRIALS 2014 …………………………………….. . . has my permission to swim in the 2014. Lower South East Inter Primary School Swimming Time Trials at the Aquatic Centre Thursday 20th February. The aquatic form has been completed. Signed …………………………… OUR STAFF 2014 LOCATION PRINCIPAL DEPUTY SENIOR LEADER STUDENT COUNSELLOR LITERACY COACH YR READING SUPPORT TEACHER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 A1 A2 A3 A4 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 Kitchen RESOURCE CENTRE SSO’s ACEO Student Support Worker CANTEEN GROUNDSMAN REC REC R/1 R/1 R/1 NIT 5 5/6 4/5 4/5 NIT 1/2 1/2 1/2 2 2/3 2/3 NIT 3/4 3/4 3 NIT 6/7 6/7 6/7 6/7 TEACHER Sandy Davey Kirsty Trahar Helen Widdison Michele Wichman Sharon Day Katherine Bundy Deanne Spencer / Gaynor Arthurson Lydia Huitema / Trevor Christopher Amy Pitkin / Karen Fox Naomi Aston Sue Wilson / Carrie Bisnov Chris Jordan Jill Kennewell / Courtney Mesecke Caroline Kacirek Melissa Hopkins / Megan Hill Karen Mitchell / Megan Hill Courtney Mesecke Sonya Jolly Kirsty Michalski Kate Eldridge Ashleigh Hutchesson Trudi Dew Jenny Ward Amber Carson Naomi Pudney Katherine Bundy / Karen Fox Michelle Schulz Sam Baker – Garden Specialist John Magarey Troy Bird Vanessa McLean Erin Munday / Helen Widdison Michael Gannon Robyn Williams, Suzanne Harding, Jan Boyanton Ev Stratman Kelly Bernie Connie Nieto Shane Lewis Peggy Johns Sue Moelder Samantha Clarke Sonya Shepherd Anna Doll Nicole Thompson Bronwyn Waters Linda Ward Fiona Fox Bernie Manser Robyn Mason Michelle Clark, Deb Neilson Peter Williams