Newsletter - 15 August 2024

Principal's Highlights

Dear Families

Understanding and articulating what our school stands for is a powerful way to unite and inspire our Mount Nelson community. We are fortunate to have a strong set of core values at MNPS, which guide our approach to education and community life.

We also have a strong set of assets that fuel our educational efforts. 

In 2023, we posed the question: “What makes Mount Nelson Primary School special?” We collected insights from students, staff, and families, revealing recurring themes in our mission and vision statements. From this feedback, specific action-oriented terms emerged that help distinguish us from other schools.

We have distilled these themes into three core concepts that reflect the essence of our school community:

1. Nurturing: We create a nurturing environment where students, staff, and families thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. Our goal is to support every member of our community in reaching their full potential.
2. Striving: We foster a culture of Inquiry, growth, and perseverance. Here, everyone is encouraged to extend their boundaries and aim for their highest potential, contributing to a vibrant and dynamic school environment.
3. Empowering: We provide students, teachers, and staff with the tools, confidence, and opportunities to take ownership of their learning and growth. By fostering a supportive environment, we enable individuals to make informed decisions, solve problems, and achieve their goals.

We invite our families to contribute their ideas on how we can embody these values in our daily practices.

Please visit the main corridor of our school to add your thoughts and suggestions on how we can live out these principles in our community.

Thank you for being an integral part of what makes Mount Nelson Primary School exceptional!

Kind regards

Catherine Grace
Principal

Student Voice

Hello, it’s the School Executive's with an update on what’s been going on.

As you may have noticed on Monday, the oval has been closed for the time being due to some sand patches and the paint for the footy ground for the Winter Sports Carnival. Last week on Wednesday, the Grade 5's and 6's went down to Waimea Heights Primary for Winter Sports to play Netball and AFL. Also last week, some Grades 3 - 6 competed in the Australian Math Competition which also took place on Wednesday, so a busy day it was then! 

2024 School Executives

Zones of Regulation at MNPS

In Terms 1 and 2, our students in Grades Prep to 4 participated in weekly Zones of Regulation sessions facilitated by Mrs Bishop. Teaching children about the Zones of Regulation helps them to understand and manage their emotions and behaviours. Students were taught how these different states can affect their behaviour and how to use self -regulation strategies to move to a more appropriate zone. The teaching of Zones of Regulation can improve emotional intelligence, self-control and social interactions.

Please see below for our findings.

Lisa Ford Recap

Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us on Monday night to listen to Lisa Ford share her knowledge around how we support children to navigate friendships.  Lisa has worked with parents, teachers and students at our school to help us develop a shared language around resilience, friendships and anxiety. Attached are two visuals we have created as a result of our work with Lisa, that help to when communicating and problem solving with our students.

Here are some thoughts from parents who joined us on Monday.

"Lisa's content and presentation provides such a great framework to help with any parenting journey.  Personally, I took home some gold nuggets in regard to different approaches I could use with my own children, and I just loved the fact that she doesn't give you the 'answers' or pertains to be perfect herself at this parenting gig but provides solid evidence-based facts and her own insights and experience to help in many varied situations.  I certainly gained a great deal of awareness about my parenting, other children and my own children. A big thanks to the school for providing us with such an insightful professional for our own parenting toolbox."

"Lisa has a relaxed and personable presenting style as she gives valuable insights into our children's development and the possible challenges that accompany these changes.  As a parent of a grade 4 and grade 1, girl and boy, I found the presentation very enlightening as she goes through the development differences in age and gender. I highly recommend that parents attend so as a school community we can share the same language and strategies."

"Lisa Ford provides practical advice that is tailored to the needs of our school community. Lisa’s experience, insights and simple tools/phrases have helped us as parents to support and empower our kids to navigate through some of our challenges."

"Lisa Ford is a very engaging, natural, speaker who is very knowledgeable on the evidence-based studies around social development of primary children-age children. Lisa emphasised that social ability is learned, not innate, and that children should be forgiven for the mistakes that they will inevitably make. She stressed that adults should listen, with empathy, to children's descriptions of their problems with other children, should provide guidance, and then leave children to continue to experiment on their own, so that they can learn how to get along with others. However, when negative interactions are persistent and deliberate (bullying) then adults should intervene directly. I have heard Lisa speak on this topic twice and have found her presentation very valuable both times."

Science Week

A huge thank you to Amelia, Justine, Marita, Bec, Kim, Jane, Kate, Damien, Aleks, and Andrew for organising a series of engaging activities centred on the theme "Species Survival - More than just Sustainability" for our Prep to Year 6 students. They’ve created a fantastic array of curiosity-inspiring opportunities.

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Class Spotlight - 2/3O

For Science Week this week 2/3 O have been learning about the changes that have happened throughout our earth’s history.

We have learnt that our planet is 4.5 billion years old and there have been many physical changes throughout that time. There have been mass extinctions, acid oceans, ice ages and volcanic eruptions that lasted hundreds of millions of years.

For our Science Week activity, we were lucky enough to have Geologist, Kate and Lab Tech, Lucy come and share their knowledge with us. They helped us to understand the earths changes and we even put these events on a scaled timeline. After we hung our timeline up, we got to make our own fossils using plasticine and plaster.

After a few days we revealed our fossils and the impressions made by the moulds.

Staff Spotlight - Katie O'Keefe

How long have you been a teacher? 
This is my 7^th year working as a teacher on class. I did do some relief teaching for a year before that, so around 8 years teaching!

What days do you work at Mount Nelson PS and what class?
I work Monday to Thursday at Mount Nelson Primary and on class 2/3 O.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Getting out and about is my favourite thing when the weather is nice I'll be bush walking or scuba diving, fishing or just being outside with my family.

Do you have any pets?
I have 1 pet. He is a German Shepard dog called Boston, his nickname is Boss, and he definitely thinks he is the boss!

Where is your favourite place to travel to?
My favourite place in Tasmania is on the Tasman peninsula as we have a shack down there and we spend a lot of time exploring and doing fun things with my family. My favourite place to go internationally is Greece because I have a lot of family there and it's so great to see them and spend time with them. 

What is the best part about your job?
Seeing the growth in the young people I work with. knowing how far they can go and seeing them surprise themselves and be so proud of their achievements. It's so great to see and getting to be a part of that is my favourite part!

If you weren’t in the job that you’re in now, what job would you be doing?
Probably living on a tropical island somewhere teaching people how to scuba dive!

What is your favourite meal?
I cannot pick! Food is too good to pick just one thing!

What is your favourite Sport to watch in the Olympics?
So many great Olympic events – I do love the diving though!

Every School Day Matters

Make sure your child goes to school, every day!
Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow, and connect with their mates and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.

Get them excited for school
If you show a positive attitude and excitement towards school, your child will pick up on that. The most common thing we hear from students, of all ages, is that school is where they can:

» spend time with their friends and teachers
» create new and fun experiences
» find their interests
» learn new things
» open up their options – for whatever future they want (whether that’s their dream job or to travel around the world).

Share these positives with your child.

Talk to your child about school
Open up a conversation with your child about what’s happening at school. It will help you to better support their interests and confidence in learning. If you show an interest in school, they’ll know that getting an education is important and valued.

Celebrate the milestones
Big and small! Celebrate milestones such as making it through the first day or week of school. And remember: all milestones look different. If it’s a big achievement for your child, it’s important to recognise it.

Set up a time to talk to your child’s teacher or principal
If you’re struggling to get your child to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation. We’ll support you, in whatever way we can.

Know when to seek help
There is no weakness in admitting you need help. If your child has completely disengaged with school, and not attending at all, there is support to help you. In the first instance, talk to us at school.

For more helpful tips, please check out the Anything can happen websit:
Anything can happen - Department of Education, Tasmania.

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. 

Pre-Kinder and Little Seeds!

It is so great to see so many families engaging in our Pre Kinder program already this term.

If you have a child turning 5 in 2025 and you would like them to attend Mount Nelson Primary School, pop into our Pre-Kinder sessions (Friday mornings at 9:00am in the Kindergarten room)

Pre-Kinder is an important program we offer to prepare our littlest learners for Kindergarten through play and Inquiry learning, helping to build social, physical, emotional and cognitive skills.

🐝🐉 ROUND 1 - The Masked Reader! 🐉🐝

The Masked Reader has officially started! 🎉

In this first round, we’ve got two mystery readers in disguise: The Bee and The Green Dragon! 🐝📚🐉

Can you figure out who they are? 🤔

Book Week Parade!

Due to our Librarian, Sheree, being on leave, we have had to reschedule our Book Week Parade until the end of Term 3.

We will keep you updated throughout the term.

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.

Australian Maths Competition

On Wednesday, 32 students from Grades 3 - 6 participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Students demonstrated fantastic collaboration in getting everyone logged in to the online platform, and were fantastic self-managers, getting right into the questions! Congratulations to everyone who participated, and we look forward to finding out how we all went!

Celebrating Birthdays

We understand that our community loves to celebrate their birthdays with their classmates at Mount Nelson Primary School.  To help us manage this and keep all students safe we ask you to follow the following guidelines:

• Parents of students with anaphylaxis caused by any food product are encouraged to either bring their own supplies of appropriate ‘treat food’ into school for the class teacher to store and distribute as required instead of birthday treats brought in by other students, or instruct the teacher that the student should not be given any treats at all when the rest of the class celebrates by sharing treats.
• Students with anaphylaxis caused by any food product will not be given food that isn’t supplied/ordered by their parent, unless their parent is present to check ingredients and give consent.
• Any birthday treats to be shared with others must be given to the class teacher before 9am. 
• We prefer that birthday treats are individually factory-wrapped and labelled with ingredients (e.g. Freddo Frogs).
• All birthday treats brought into school must have a written list of ingredients.

If you have any questions or concern, feel free to contact the school office. 

Winter Wellness

Winter has certainly arrived! Unfortunately, there are quite a few nasty bugs around. Please make sure that you keep your children at home if they show signs of covid, the flu or gastro (coughs, sneezes, fever, sore throat, upset tummy). 

We would like to thank our wonderful families for the kindness and understanding that you have shown to staff. We have had a lot of teacher and teacher assistants away due to illness and due to other schools being in the same situation, finding relief staff is proving very difficult. 

I would like to commend students on their resilience in dealing with change and the respect they have shown to teachers coming to help in our school.

Developing Fluent Readers at Mount Nelson Primary School

All classes have been encouraging students to practice and improve their reading by reading at home. Just like any skill practice is vital. Currently at school we are focussing on building all our students’ reading fluency. Reading fluently is an important skill for all learners. When you read something fluently you can understand what you are reading.

One of the important points to understand is that no one reads with fluency the first time. The first time you read an article, message, book etc your brain is decoding the words and making sure you are reading accurately. To read fluently you need to reread.

Teachers and Teacher Assistants are working with students to help them improve their fluency. Our focus on fluency starts with beginning readers who are supported to read words and short sentences fluently. The focus continues as students read longer and more challenging texts. We are using every chance and resource we have to support students’ reading fluency, so if your child comes home and tells you they read the same page or paragraph three times that is why!

At home families can help too! After listening to your child read ask them to reread a page or two again and to read fluently. Fluent reading is smooth reading – it should sound like talking. There should be some expression, but the focus is on a smooth pace.

Please also check with your child if they understand what they are reading as any loss of meaning can cause their reading to become halting or disjointed. Sometimes it may be a word that you need to discuss that is a new or challenging one.

Thank you for supporting our home reading programs, it is a valuable assistance to our combined goal of developing great readers.

Winter Sports Carnival

This term we are lucky enough to be participating in the Grade 5/6 Winter Sports Roster where our grade 5/6 students are given the opportunity to play either Football or Netball against schools in our area.

On Wednesday August 7 we played our first game against Waimea Height Primary School and our students displayed fantastic sportsmanship and displayed our schools’ values of collaborators, contributors and self-managers as they worked together to learn new rules and be team players. On behalf of our grade 5/6 Students, I would like to Andrew Sullivan and Kristy Sullivan for giving up their time to help with the Football and Netball teams respectively. Each week our House Captains will share a brief report on that week’s games and any highlights.

Declan West
PE Teacher

"On Wednesday last week all year 5 and 6 students that wanted to participate in the Winter Sports Roster went and played against Waimea. Mount Nelson played really well in netball and football with lots of people trying a new sport for the first time. Our school did a great job and represented the school really well. Well done to everyone for being a risk taker and trying something new."

Eve and Annabel
Year 6 Students

Recipes - from the School Nurse!

Student Achievements!

Congratulations to Annabel and Daisy (2023 alumni) on advancing to the Semi Final for their U14 football team Sandy Bay Lions. The game will be played this Friday night, 7.30 pm at the TCA ground! 

Good luck girls! 

If your child has been selected to be part of a representative team, has won a prize in performing arts, has a part in a major stage production or any other significant achievement outside of school, let us know via the webform below so that we can share the news and celebrate the achievement in our school newsletter.  Let's Celebrate!!

Quiz Night! Donations Needed

Free "Ask Us Anything" Sessions for Parents!

Help the young people in your life navigate intimate relationships with confidence. Join our online or in-person sessions with SASS educators. Get answers and strategies on topics like consent, body autonomy, online safety, and more. Don't miss this opportunity—spots are limited!

Book your free spot now!

8 August: https://events.humanitix.com/ask-us-anything-sass-hobart

27 August & 19 September: https://events.humanitix.com/ask-us-anything-sass-online

Spring Roster Netball!

The 2024 KNA Spring Netball Roster has returned! The roster will commence Monday, 2 September - Monday, 18 November 2024 for Grade 3/4 and 5/6 students.

Teams are open to players of any sex or gender identity, there are no restrictions. There are no restrictions on what positions players can play.

Contact Karrie if your child is interested!
0409 625 486

Helping Children Overcome Anxiety

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