Newsletter - 20 June
- Principal's Highlights
- Student Voice
- Class Spotlight - 5/6AH
- 2/3B & 2/3G Excursion to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
- Netball at MNPS
- Teacher Learning!
- Art/Media - Prep F
- Celebration of Learning Assemblies
- Foyer Display Spotlight - Kinder!
- Car Parks - Traffic Flow
- Premier's Reading Challenge
- Australian Maths Trust Competition
- Home Reading at Mount Nelson Primary
- Bag-a-Book Day!
- School Uniform
- Landcare Grant!
- Before/After School Hours - Duty of Care
- Children and Young People with a Disability
- French Class at Mount Nelson Primary School
- Winter Wellness
- School Intentions 2025
- From the School Association
- School Calendar
- Volunteering at Mount Nelson Primary School
Principal's Highlights
Dear Families,
We were incredibly fortunate to welcome David Gilkes, a highly regarded childhood educator, to work in our classrooms last week. Our learning with David focused on Inquiry as well as Learning Assets such as Collaboration, Communication, Thinking, Self-Management and Research.
This has been a valuable opportunity for us as teachers to collaboratively work together and co-construct our Inquiry for Term 3. It is crucial that we continually strive to improve and enhance our own learning. As a collaborative learning community, we learn from and with each other.
Over the past few days, as our staff have worked closely with educator David Gilkes, I've been reflecting on our Learner Asset of Collaboration and how it enhances learning at Mount Nelson Primary. It's inspiring to witness our Grade 5/6 students growing more confident in their roles as Daily PE Leaders and developing their Self-Management skills through additional responsibilities in the classroom and in their Grade 6 Leadership Groups.
In our Early Years classrooms, students are taking on various roles in collaborative tasks, learning to balance their own contributions while encouraging others to do the same. In the middle primary grades, students are becoming more flexible in their collaborations, gaining confidence in communicating and sharing ideas with larger groups, listening attentively, and responding to feedback.
As we approach the halfway point of the school year, there is a palpable sense of positivity, excitement, and enthusiasm for new collaborative learning approaches. Senior staff members visiting classrooms and speaking with students about their learning confirm that collaboration is a central theme being explored in diverse ways across the school.
- "Being nice to others and showing you care is important when working with people." - Year 1
- "Being ready to give up ideas and talk with others is a big skill when working in teams." - Year 4
- "Working with lots of different people, not just your friends. Everyone! In games and everywhere else." - Year 3
- "We worked together by taking turns and respecting what others were doing." - Grade 2
- "You make sure everyone in your group understands what's happening so nobody gets left behind." - Year 6
- "Giving and getting advice makes our groups stronger." - Year 5
- "Taking charge of your job and coming up with ideas helps your group reach its goals." - Year 5
- "Being smart and using words to fix problems." - Prep
Catherine Grace
Principal
Parent Teacher Conversations
At Mount Nelson Primary School, we take great pride in the close relationships between parents, staff, and students. These relationships are built on open and honest communication that show care and understanding of the different roles each of us play in the lives of our students.
Although there are many conversations that take place incidentally, we believe it is important that we should offer a more formal discussion of each student’s progress, based on their report, in a private setting.
If you would like to discuss your child’s progress with their class teacher/s, please make an appointment.
Reports will be handed out this Friday, 21 June 2024. 15-minute appointments are being offered face to face and can be booked via the link below or scanning the QR code.
Our specialist staff are also available for parent/carer teacher bookings.
Student Voice
Hi, it’s the School Executives here!
We would like to just give you a little update of what has been happening around the school lately. Firstly, we would like to talk about the Grade 7 Taroona High School speakers. Five Grade 7's came in and talked to us about going to high school and what to expect and not to be scared of asking for help if you are unsure of something.
This week in PE we have had Max who plays Hockey and he taught us the basics. I think that we all really enjoyed it.
We are having a Celebration Assembly for Group B classes including PF, 1-2B, 2-3G, 4,5,6S (The hosts) & 5-6D. Family members are welcome to watch children if free.
Finally, Junior Choir will be performing their well-practiced mini musical on Monday and Tuesday next week if you have a child/family member who’s performing please come if possible!
2024 School Executive
Class Spotlight - 5/6AH
Students in 5/6AH have been exploring deeper into their Personal Reading Books.
Students chose a character from their novels and reflected on what the character wanted, the problems they faced and how they overcame these issues. After constructing their paragraphs, students reviewed their work, highlighted to make sure they had included all the information and then bumped up their paragraphs using quotes as evidence form the text. 📚
2/3B & 2/3G Excursion to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
On Tuesday 18 June, 2/3B and 2/3G went to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary to learn about the animals that have been rescued and rehabilitated at the park and how we can care for and protect our native Australian wildlife.
Netball at MNPS
Mount Nelson Primary Grade 3/4 Eagles and Grade 5/6 Panthers have just finished their netball season.
A big thank you to Karrie for coaching both teams. Karrie has helped us to learn new skills, including what throw to use at different times, how to defend and how to set up different plays.
Thank you to Kristy for umpiring the Grade 5/6 games each week as well as Amber and Karrie for umpiring the Grade 3/4 games. We would also like to thank Justin and Anna for helping out at training.
Joe F and Grace B
Grade 6 Netball Players
Teacher Learning!
Teachers have had two very rigorous and productive days (13 and 14 June) working with David Gilkes, our visiting Educational Inquiry Consultant. We are very excited about our next steps and sharing our learning with you! This has been a great opportunity because as teachers, it is so important we are always improving and learning ourselves.
Art/Media - Prep F
In Art recently, Prep Fox have been exploring the creatures that live amongst the leaf litter. We looked closely at photographs of leaf litter from the bushland around the school and then used oil pastels, tempera and watercolour paints to create a leaf litter background. Then we created 3D insects out of model magic, painted them and hid them amongst the leaves.
Celebration of Learning Assemblies
Congratulations to the students who received a Celebration of Learning award at our last Assembly (Group A)!
| Prep-1FT | |
| Daisy T | for taking on teacher feedback to strive to improve and grow in her learning. |
| Owen M | for his keen interest and engagement in our Inquiry on “What Lies Beneath” using our Learner Asset of ‘Researcher’ to question and explore further. |
| Joey C | for his unwavering commitment in using the ‘Thinking’ Learner Asset to achieve in all aspects of his learning. In particular, his writing skills |
| Huxley C-B | for harnessing our Learner Asset of ‘Thinking’ to achieve significant gains in reading. |
| 2-3B | |
| Heather B | her focused and committed approach to her learning in Literacy. Heather strives to do her best in all tasks, and regularly bumps up her work and takes on challenges to demonstrate the depth of her understanding and knowledge at all times. |
| Lucas D | for always contributing to his team’s understanding of a topic by sharing his thinking and making important connections in discussions. Lucas is a valued member of our team and consistently strives to build a connected, authentic learning space for us by sharing relevant items from home to connect with our Inquiry. |
| Emmeline O | for expertly demonstrating three of our Learner Assets, ‘Researcher’, ‘Thinker’ and ‘Self-Manager’. Emme has gone above and beyond to challenge herself to independently create a very well-researched information report on Bowerbirds, extending her understanding and inspiring her peers. |
| Valentino C | for his enthusiasm and engagement in our exploration of text features this term. Valentino makes important connections in his and others’ learning and is a great contributor to our team. He upholds our Values and Assets as a connected learner in 2/3B. |
| 4M | |
| Joe S | for conducting science experiments that exemplify a fair test. Joe showcased our Learner Assets of ‘Collaboration’, ‘Thinking’ and ‘Communication’ in our Science Inquiry “How can learning about the properties of materials help us to understand how to use the?”. |
| Layla C | for her improvement in her reading through her determination and persistence to achieve. |
| Phoebe W | for her demonstration of the School Values of ‘Care’ and ‘Respect’ through her interactions with students and teachers. Phoebe has been a considerate classmate who is patient and understanding of people’s differences |
| Hugo M | for demonstrating his good listening skills, sharing his ideas and participating as a team player in a range of activities as part of our Science Inquiry. |
| 5-6AH | |
| Alex M | for consistently using our Learning Asset of being a ‘Self-Manager’, especially during HASS Inquiry time. Alex shows a growth mindset and uses this to further research and collaborate with his peers. This results in the further extension of his own learning and the sharing of knowledge with others. |
| Dora T | for being a role model to others in showing our School Value of ‘Adaptability’ throughout our HASS Inquiry. In the classroom Dora uses flexible thinking skills, works independently and effectively collaborates with all other students when researching, questioning and presenting work. |
| Chelsea P | for positively contributing to both our whole class and small group learning, during our HASS Inquiry, with her willingness to share ideas and support others. She is able to clearly communicate her thinking in all situations and happily works with her peers for collaborative growth. |
| Eve R | for her hard work and persistence in setting and working toward her individual goal in Maths. |
Our next Celebration Assemblies will be held...
- Tuesday 25 June (Group B) at 2 pm
- please note the earlier start time as we have our Mini Musical starting at 2.30 pm straight after!
Foyer Display Spotlight - Kinder!
Car Parks - Traffic Flow
Parking has become congested during peak school drop off and pick up times. Please be mindful of residents and not blocking access to their properties.
BOTTOM CAR PARK
To control congestion in the front car park, we encourage families to utilize the bottom car park as an alternative parking option to help distribute traffic more evenly. This will ensure a smoother experience for all families and the Mount Nelson community during peak times.
We have now unlocked the bottom gates for easier access to collect students in the afternoon.
Front Car Park Reminders:
- We encourage parents/carers not to park on the right-hand side of Tangara Rd (indicated on
the diagram below) - If you are the first car in the carpark for pick up, please drive right through the carpark and
begin lining up from the top (indicated as spot number 1 on the diagram) to avoid congestion. - Please do not leave your vehicle while in the “park and sit” lane. If a car in front of you exits
the carpark or moves forward, please shuffle forward so other cars behind can fit in. - If the “park and sit” lane is full, please use the right-hand lane to do a block until a spot becomes available.
Green markers are “park and sit” spots in the left lane. Please wait in your car for your child/children to meet you there.
Yellow lane is a no stopping lane from 2.50 pm - 3.10 pm to help cars flow easier.
We have a staff member on duty at these times in high vis vests - please follow their instructions.
If you have any concerns/issues, please contact the office for further information.
Thank you in ensuring all children are dropped off and collected safely each school day.
Premier's Reading Challenge
Every year, thousands of students across Tasmania participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge. The Challenge encourages personal reading goals over 10 weeks, embracing diverse formats, including recommended books.
The Challenge is not a competition, but a way to encourage you to develop a love of reading for life. No matter what you aspire to do or be, reading and literacy skills will help you get there.
I encourage all Tasmanian students from Kinder to Year 12 to take part, no matter what your reading
level. Whether you’re a bookworm or just starting your reading journey, this challenge is for you!
It’s not about how many books you read, but about the joy and excitement of exploring new stories,
characters, and ideas.
And for families – you can help your child get involved in the challenge by reading with them, talking
to them about what they are reading and providing lots of encouragement!
So, grab something to read and challenge yourself!
Jeremy Rockliff
Premier
Australian Maths Trust Competition
DATE Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 August 2024
TIME Primary divisions: 60 minutes
COST $8.50 per student – Payable on Qkr.
PAYMENT IS REQUIRED WITH A PERMISSION FORM BY THE END OF WEEK 10, TERM 2. Late entries will not be accepted.
DIVISIONS
- Middle Primary – Australian Years 3 and 4
- Upper Primary – Australian Years 5 and 6
- Junior – Australian Years 7 and 8
- Intermediate – Australian Years 9 and 10
- Senior – Australian Years 11 and 12
TOPICS
- Basic arithmetic
- Fractions and ratios
- Algebra and pre-algebra
- Geometry
- Measurement
- Statistics and probability
- Problem-solving (including enumeration)
Home Reading at Mount Nelson Primary
Reading at home with your child sets them up for life.
Reading unlocks everything we do – learning, working, participating in society.
Supporting your child to read at home is one of the most powerful things you can do for them.
Have you taken the time to read with your child today?
At Mount Nelson Primary School, we believe that daily reading is fundamental to our students' academic achievements.
Reading is more than just a fundamental skill it is a lifelong asset and a gateway to imagination, knowledge, and empathy. When children read regularly at home, they embark on a journey of discovery that extends far beyond the pages of a book.
We are committed to equipping our students to become strong, passionate readers through strategies such as guided reading, home reading and being part of a strong reading classroom environment.
The most impactful support you can provide your child is to read together every day. Whether it's a cherished storybook or an exploration of new topics, reading aloud helps build fluency and comprehension skills. Even independent readers benefit from reading aloud to refine their fluency and expression.
Here are some tips to make your reading sessions enjoyable and effective:
- Enjoy books together and discuss the story and illustrations.
- Prompt conversations about the book: What did you enjoy? What didn’t you like?
- Explore new vocabulary; discuss unfamiliar words and their meanings.
- Take turns reading, especially with more challenging books.
- Include a mix of fiction and non-fiction books in your reading routine.
- Most importantly, have fun reading together!
Bedtime reading is a fantastic way to wind down and connect with your child. For more guidance on supporting your child's reading journey, please contact your child’s teacher.
Together, we can empower our students to become confident and proficient readers. Thank you for your continued support in nurturing a love for reading in our young learners.
Bag-a-Book Day!
Thanks to everyone who purchased from our Bag-a-Book Day fundraiser!
It was a huge success and we raised over $540 which will go a long way in purchasing new books for our Library!
School Uniform
We kindly request parents to assist our staff and the School Association by ensuring students wear their Mount Nelson Primary School uniform every day. Lately, we've observed more students wearing non-approved clothing items.
We take pride in our uniform as it fosters unity, a sense of belonging, and promotes our school within the community. It also minimizes competition and is a cost-effective choice. During colder weather, please keep warm with coats and beanies outdoors, removing them inside classrooms, while ensuring our Mount Nelson Primary uniform is worn daily.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Uniform Shop Update - Polo Tops Have Arrived!
A friendly reminder that the uniform shop is closed until next Wednesday, 26 June. Orders on Qkr! will still be processed and delivered to children's classrooms.
Landcare Grant!
Stop the press! Mount Nelson Primary has been very fortunate to receive a land grant from Woolworths. This grant opens doors to new possibilities for enhancing our school grounds, promoting sustainability practices and fostering community engagement. The grant will contribute to the creation of more outdoor learning spaces, in theme with First Nations people and cultural practices.
A big thank you to staff who supported us in the grant process and watch this space for further developments in this area!
Before/After School Hours - Duty of Care
Mount Nelson Primary School staff have duty of care from 8.30 am with school finishing at 3.00 pm.
Mount Nelson Primary School's hours are 8.30 am through to 3.00 pm. It is important that parents/carers do not bring children to school before school hours because there is no supervision of students at that time. Prior to 8.30 is also an important preparation time for our teachers. Similarly, it is important parents/carers either collect their children at the end of the school day, arrange for them to catch the bus home or make other collection arrangements so students are not left unsupervised at the end of the school day.
Unsupervised students may engage in dangerous play or put themselves in dangerous locations. Parents/carers are responsible for their child outside school hours unless they have accessed school-based childcare during these times.
Children and Young People with a Disability
If you have a child with a disability, the Children and Young People with a Disability Australia website may be able to help you. Please access it via the link below.
French Class at Mount Nelson Primary School
A fantastic opportunity for Mount Nelson Primary School students!
Commencing Term 3
Wednesday Mornings in the Art/Media/Music Room
8:05 - 8:50 am
Introducing any language at an early age serves as a valuable incentive and lays a solid foundation for their language learning journey. The AEP lessons are led by a native speaker, and they prioritise interactivity and enjoyment. The classes focus on listening and speaking skills through engaging activities like songs, storytelling, and games.
Express your interest in the French Class by contacting Nina; alternative.education.programs@gmail.com
Winter Wellness
School Intentions 2025
Our school is starting to look at enrolments for 2025 from families within our school catchment area and out-of-area. We encourage all families with children who intend to join us in 2025, to contact the school office mount.nelson.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au or fill in the form below.
Please note, all out-of-area families will still be required to complete the Expression of Interest Out-of-Area application form and are not guaranteed a place at Mount Nelson Primary.
If your child is not in grade 6 and your child will not be continuing with us next year - please let us know for our future planning by contacting the school office or filling in the form below.
From the School Association
School Calendar
Volunteering at Mount Nelson Primary School
