Newsletter - 25 September

Principal Report

Celebrating Our Shared Purpose and Values – Term 3 Reflection

As Term 3 draws to a close, we pause to reflect on the many moments of joy, growth, and connection that make Mount Nelson Primary School such a special place. We have so much to be grateful for — and so much to celebrate!

From the moment our doors open at 8:30am, the energy is unmistakable. Students rush down the corridors, eager to reconnect with their peers and teachers, and immerse themselves in learning. There’s a palpable sense of belonging, optimism, and pride that fills our school grounds each day — a true testament to our vibrant culture of learning.

One of the most powerful ways to sustain success is by understanding what we stand for.

At Mount Nelson Primary, our shared purpose is clear:

The Mount Nelson Way
We Nurture. We Empower. We Strive for Excellence.

This guiding statement unites us and empowers our community to work together with clarity and purpose.

Nurturing a Strong Sense of Community

Student engagement is at the heart of our success. At MNPS, we value three key elements of engagement:

• Belonging and strong relationships
• A positive and inclusive school culture
• Quality teaching for learning

We know that wellbeing, engagement, and learning are deeply interconnected. By nurturing all three, we create an environment where every learner can thrive. Our year-to-date daily attendance rate of 90.4% is a wonderful reflection of this commitment — thank you for helping us make every day count!

Empowering Our Learners

With a strong focus on student voice and agency, our learners are developing essential skills for lifelong learning.

During classroom visits, assembly presentations, at incursions or excursions or in our Evidence of Learning -you may have seen students confidently tackling real-world questions, solving problems, and sharing their ideas. This is something that sets Mount Nelson apart.

We also teach students to “drive their own brain” through metacognition — helping them think about their thinking and take ownership of their learning.

Our Learner Assets language supports this across all contexts. Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom:

• In the playground, when students create new games or solve disagreements — they’re being communicators and collaborators.
• In the sandpit, building imaginative structures — they’re acting as creators and thinkers.
• Trying a new piece of play equipment, even if it feels a bit tricky — they’re showing courage as risk takers and resilient learners.
• Sharing lunch with friends, listening and taking turns in conversation — they’re being empathetic communicators.

Striving for Excellence

Throughout Term 3, our staff have continued to foster high expectations while ensuring every child feels supported and known. From rich classroom experiences to joyful community events, we’ve worked together to create a learning environment where every student can flourish.

As the proud Principal of Mount Nelson Primary School, I want to thank our students, staff, families, and the wider community for being contributors to our Culture of Learning. YOU make a difference — every day.

Thank you for your continued support, enthusiasm, and belief in our shared purpose. We look forward to an exciting Term 4 ahead!

Catherine Grace - Principal - "We Nurture, We Empower, We Strive for excellence"

Lisa Ford Seminar - Reminder

Lisa Ford - Clinical Psychologist, Workshop Facilitator & Founder (the resilience co.)

In response to your feedback on previous sessions, we’re pleased to offer another session with Lisa Ford, titled “Empowered Kids”. Mount Nelson Families are invited to attend the seminar, here at school, on Thursday 6 November from 6pm-7:30pm. 

This session aligns with our whole-school focus on empowering students and supporting their wellbeing.

Lisa has over 20 years' experience working with children, adolescents, parents and educators. As a mother to three children herself, she offers practical advice and a deep understanding.

Lisa’s previous talks have resonated deeply with our community, and her insights continue to shape our collective approach to raising resilient, confident children. As we prepare for her next visit, we wanted to share some key principles that Lisa will explore:

• • Developing resilience and wellbeing in children – helping young people build the emotional tools they need to manage change, bounce back from setbacks, and thrive in everyday life.

  • Equipping families with practical strategies – providing simple, effective approaches that parents can use at home to support their child’s confidence and emotional regulation.

  • Strengthening communication and relationships – encouraging positive interactions between children, parents, and schools to create a strong support network.

  • Building confidence and problem-solving skills – guiding children to approach challenges with curiosity and courage, developing the skills needed to make thoughtful decisions.

  • Promoting a growth mindset – fostering an attitude that embraces effort, learning, and perseverance as the keys to success.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by clicking the link below or by e-mailing the school office.  

We look forward to welcoming you to the next session on Thursday 6 November.

Rachel Viney - Assistant Principal

Evidence of Learning

Thank you to our families who joined us during Nurturing Time this week to view your child's Evidence of Learning.

This was a great opportunity to provide a snapshot of how your child is progressing in their recent class focus. 

We would also like to thank you for your continued commitment and engagement with our school this term, and we look forward to sharing more opportunities with you in Term 4.

Georgie Field - AST

Family Support & Well-being

We encourage our families to visit our webpage dedicated to Family Support and Health & Wellbeing. This page brings together a range of useful contacts and resources, including information such as family assistance, health advice, parenting support, online safety, guidance around student attendance and much more. Please take a moment to explore the page and make use of the support available. You can access the page via the link below or by visiting our school website and clicking on the Family Support & Well-being tile.

Class Placements for 2026

Early in Term 4, we will begin considering class placements for 2026. Teachers will use their knowledge to determine the best placement based on academic, wellbeing and social needs.

Decisions are made by our staff with a child centred approach, ensuring students are placed in the most appropriate class based on their individual needs as well as taking into consideration the students' voice. 

Once the classes have been established and staff confirmed for our school for 2026, teachers will be allocated to classes. Please do not request specific teachers as the makeup of our teaching staff is still unknown.

If you have any information - specific to your child’s learning outcomes - that you feel needs taking into consideration for 2026, please complete the form below.

Loud Shirt Day

On Friday 17 October, the Mount Nelson Primary SRC will be holding a Loud Shirt Day. It is a day to get LOUD and PROUD to raise awareness and funds to support children with hearing loss. United in colour, we hope to create a world of choice for every child with hearing loss to connect, communicate and thrive.

Staff and students are invited to wear their brightest, loudest shirt/t-shirt to school and make a gold coin donation. All funds raised will go directly towards The Shepherd Centre.

Pages Turned, Pizza Earned

Today we celebrated the incredible success of our Pages Turned, Pizzas Earned home reading incentive! Students were very pleased with their Pizza treat.

Thank you to every family who participated. This initiative was never just about the pizza — it was about encouraging our readers to build strong habits, grow in confidence, and develop a lifelong love of reading. Your support has helped foster a culture where reading is celebrated, enjoyed, and shared — both at school and at home. Let's keep it going!

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Reading at Home tips for parents

Parent/carer engagement plays a big part in empowering children to read at home. Below are some helpful tips on how you can encourage your child's love of reading.

• Engage with your child. Take in turns and read aloud to each other.
• Read text in short sections, making sure your child understands what they have read. 
• Discuss the meanings of unknown words.
  
• Discuss what your child has learned from reading informational text.
• Think aloud and have a conversation with your child about what they just read. Ask guiding questions - For example, say "I wonder why they did that?" or make predictions "what do you think they will do now"
• Summarise the book together. Discuss the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution. 

Student Voice

Mount Nelson's Got Talent!

During recess & lunch, Mount Nelson Primary School hosted a talent show for everyone to show their skills and talent. Many students signed up for the talent show, showing off their talents and tricks that made us shocked, surprised and awed. There were a variety of shows that the students created with practice by themselves. We thank all the students for working hard into putting effort in the talent show and the audience for being respectful to the ones on the stage.  All students achieved, adapted and contributed.

Thank you, Sarah Tollner and Media team, for making this happen!

Save the Dates!

Class Spotlight - 1/2 Tessa Odgers

Fraction Fun

In 1/2, we've been exploring the exciting world of fractions through hands-on and imaginative activities. We've discovered that fractions can be represented in many different ways and have made meaningful connections between numbers and real-life objects.

Some of our favourite activities have included a lively scavenger hunt around the classroom, where we searched for and solved fraction challenges. We also created imaginary ice cream orders—students chose three pretend flavours and asked three friends what their dream scoops would be, then represented the results as fractions. To top it off, we designed make-believe pizzas, carefully choosing the correct fraction of toppings for each slice.

STEM

At Mount Nelson Primary, we are lucky to have Virginia Fleming as our dedicated STEM teacher for our younger students. Our 2/3 classes are currently exploring feathers, fur and leaves, investigating flora and fauna and learning to classify them. 

Striving Together: A Joyful Swimming Carnival

What a fantastic day we had at yesterday’s swimming carnival! A huge thank you to Declan for his outstanding organisation — the event ran beautifully . And special thanks to our amazing family volunteers and staff- the event was  filled with energy, encouragement, and fun. 

It was especially heartening to see such a high level of student involvement across all events. Many staff and families commented on the incredible enthusiasm and willingness to give things a go — a true reflection of our school’s way of working, where we nurture confidence, empower learners, and strive together for growth and connection.

Events like these remind us of the power of community and the joy of shared experiences. Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a memorable day.

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Grade 6 Camp Recap

It has been a very busy term 3, especially for our grade 6 students!

The camp to Canberra has definitely been a highlight of their year, so far. If you were able to attend our Group A Celebration Assembly a few weeks back, you would have heard our students share their favourite experience from the trip. It was so great to hear that nearly every student had something different to share.

Below are a few quotes and photos we wanted to share with you:

"We enjoyed being in the cabin with our friends. We also really enjoyed Questacon, because it had lots of fun science activities and there was so much cool stuff" - April & Eva

"I learnt many facts about physics and science through the fun, interactive activities." - Yashi

"I really enjoyed the embassy tour! I was really engaged by the idea of embassies." - Addy

"I enjoyed going to the Observatory and learning about how they destroy trash in space and how the universe will probably end." - Louis

"The greatest thing I enjoyed, and was a once in a lifetime experience, was looking around Parliament House and seeing Anthony Albanese, and taking a photo with him! I'll probably never get to see that stuff again." - Ted

"The National Film and Sound Archive really taught me to look at media in different ways, not just the main character." -Hamish

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Healthy Habits

It has been wonderful to see so many healthy lunchboxes around our school! A big thank you to our families for supporting your children with nutritious food choices each day. These healthy lunches help our students stay focused, energised, and ready to learn. We really appreciate your efforts in making healthy eating a priority.

Pre-Kinder Term 4

Our pre-kinder sessions will commence on Friday 17 October.

School Association

Group B Assembly Awards

Thank you to those families who attended our Celebration of Learning Assembly for Group B. We would like to congratulate the following students who received an award for demonstrating our school learning assets:

Prep - Max, Evie, Oliver, Alice, Maize & Bishop

1/2 - Joey, Cooper, Zunaira & Evie

2-3 Yellow - Julian, Ted, Yuhan & Daisy

4/5/6 - Abdul, Lara, George & Isaiah

5/6 Yellow - April, Jamie, Ashlee & Angus

Student Achievement

At Mount Nelson Primary, we love to share and celebrate our student’s achievements. If your child has something special to celebrate, be it a sporting or an academic achievement, or any extra-curricular activity achievement, we would love to hear about it. You can share this information via e-mail - mount.nelson.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au

Reminders

Term 4 Calendar

Community Noticeboard