Newsletter - 21 September 2023

Principal's Highlights

Our Whole School Inquiry question for Term 3 is...
‘In what ways does our connection to place shape our identity, wellbeing and purpose?’

Our Inquiry question links with our 60th Birthday Celebrations and we have been very much looking forward to celebrating this school milestone with a focus on our learning and how it has changed over time.

Staff and students have been working really hard and were very excited to share our Inquiry with our families, a culmination of all the work we have been doing in classes.

At Mount Nelson, we are planning for the sustainability of Inquiry, including induction processes and re-visiting the Learner Assets, Inquiry Cycle and thinking routines, with staff and families.

As you visited classrooms yesterday, I am sure you would have seen our Learner Assets on every classroom wall and used by our students when talking about learning.  We know the words we use have a great deal of power.  What we say and how we say it helps shape a child’s view of themselves as a learner and their understanding of learning itself.  At Mount Nelson Primary, much of the language we use relates to the “Learning Assets”.  You may have heard your child and their teacher talking about these ‘assets’ and wondered what they are all about…

There are six assets that you may have heard mentioned yesterday. As effective learners, we need to be…

THINKERS
SELF MANAGERS
COMMUNICATORS
RESEARCHERS
COLLABORATORS
CONTRIBUTORS

Being a SELF MANAGER includes being able to stay focussed, manage your time and be organised.  This is also about being a responsible and resilient person.

COLLABORATING includes being able to compromise, take turns and take on different roles in a team.  It helps too if you are kind and reliable.

We all need to be RESEARCHERS these days!  This means learning how to do things like asking the right question or deciding whether a source of information is trustworthy.  It also helps to be curious and courageous.

Effective COMMUNICATION is a vital asset for learning.  We need to learn to listen actively, respond appropriately to others and get our message across in different ways.  Good communicators are responsive and respectful.

Building our skills as THINKERS is the key to deep learning.  Some thinking skills include being able to analyse, predict and imagine – and it really helps to be open-minded and flexible.

When we are CONTRIBUTORS, we make a positive difference to our own and others’ lives, we are aware of our own strengths and talents and look at how we can take action to help locally and globally.  We are courageous and responsible in our actions.

These assets are not just for our children.  We never stop learning – we learn at school, at work or at home.  You can help your child at home by using this language with them – even about yourself.  “Hmmm, the WIFI doesn’t seem to be working. I will have to think flexibly today and work differently!” .  It is also very powerful to use this language as you notice your child showing them in some way, “I noticed how well you shared with your sister when you were playing with the Lego. Great collaborating!”.  The lovely thing about the assets is that children can strengthen them all day, every day, whether we are doing school related tasks or simply setting the table for dinner.

Enjoy talking about learning with your child!
© Kath Murdoch, 2021

Catherine Grace
Principal

External School Review

Below are the commendations and affirmations from the review panel.  Throughout the rest of the year we will go through the recommendations for our work together as a school community over the next four years. 

Commendations:

• The school positively promotes a culture of inquiry where curiosity, independent learning and questioning are valued and encouraged.
• There is a positive collegial culture and there is a strong sense of belonging and pride in the school, where students, parents and staff articulate unity with the community, where people feel known, valued and cared for.
• A high priority has been given to professional development of teaching staff in the area of reading. Teachers regularly and collaboratively plan together to develop their understanding of the reading inquiry.
• The school principal and other school leaders are united, committed to and explicit about their core objective – to improve learning outcomes for all students in the school.
• There are school-wide programs and approaches for students requiring additional or specialist assistance, and families are supported to connect with external agencies.

Affirmations:  

• There are very few obvious behavioural or engagement concerns and behaviour management takes up very little, if any, time of school leaders and classroom teachers.
• There are high expectations for learners and teachers who are committed to building mutually respectful relationships.
• The school uses data to identify starting points for improvement and to monitor progress over time.
• School leaders ensure that opportunities are created for teachers to work together and to learn from each other’s practices.
• The principal and school leaders lead and model professional learning in the school, as well as building the capacity of others.
• Learning through an inquiry lens is highly valued by staff, noticed by parents as a strength of the school, and is appreciated by learners.

One of the findings that the External School Review Team particularly made a point of emphasising is that during conversations, there was huge consistency across throughlines for families/students/staff and leadership and that the work to be done is already underway with our Professional Learning Community (PLC) process!  Fantastic News!!

Next term, we will go through the recommendations for our work together as a school community over the next four years.

Reading Inquiry at Mount Nelson Primary

There are many ways that parents can support their child’s continuing reading development.

The first and easiest is talking to your child about the reading you do as part of your daily life. You may not be an avid reader of novels but think about all the reading you do for both work and as part of what you do each day. Think about internet searches, communicating, reading instructions. When you get a chance, please talk to your child about the reading you do each day and how important it is.

As the holidays approach consider spending some time with your child reading for a purpose. You could try using a new recipe or building a model of something following instructions. Has your child got a respected sports person, creator or someone they admire? Look out for an autobiography to find out more about them. There are lots of children friendly autobiographies or you could read an autobiography together. Consider buying or borrowing online, a magazine. There are a whole range of magazines covering many interests. If you aren’t a member of the Tasmanian State Library, the holidays could be a great time to join. Then go online and become an online member. There are many magazines for children plus a wealth of fantastic novels and non-fiction books to borrow.

Lastly, please keep reading to and with your child even if they can read themselves. Reading together and discussing what you are reading not only has benefit for your child’s reading development, but it is also a bonding and positive experience for both children and adults.

Happy reading everyone!

School Satisfaction Survey

The 2023 School Satisfaction Surveys is open!

Every year, the Department for Education, Children and Young People conducts a School Satisfaction Survey to find out what your child(ren)'s school does well and where it may improve.

We would be grateful if you completed our online survey about Mount Nelson Primary School. Your feedback is very important to help us inform our school-planning and decision-making.

The survey is open from Monday 28 August 2023 until Friday 22 September 2023 and should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Take the online survey by clicking this Link. or typing/pasting it in your browser: https://ncv.microsoft.com/ANpHc87XHK 

The survey is carried out on a secure website and all responses are anonymous and confidential.

All families in this school received the same survey link and no identifying information is collected. A summary of the survey results will be provided to schools.  Responses from individuals or small groups will NOT be disclosed to any Department for Education, Children and Young People staff.

Please contact the school if you require any assistance.
Thank you for taking the time to fill in this survey.

Parent/Teacher Conversations

Over the next 2 weeks, we will be conducting Learning Conversations with families to discuss your child(rens) learning, growth and areas of focus.  This may be a face-to-face or phone conversation.  Teachers will also be sending home an ‘Evidence of Learning’ – this is a piece of work to show ‘evidence’ of their current achievements in a particular area of the curriculum. 
This term, teachers will be sharing some evidence within the mathematics curriculum.  If you have not yet, please make a booking using the link below or call the office.

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/zd3m5 

Student Voice

Term 3 is coming to an end, and we have some exciting things coming up!

On Wednesday, 20 September 2023,  we had our Open Classroom Inquiry, where parents visted our school to see everyone’s hard work.  We also celebrated our schools' 60^th birthday the same day in the afternoon.   

On our last day of Term 3, we will have Footy Colours Day! Footy Colours Day is where you dress up in your favourite sport team colours.  Hoping everyone has a great end of term.

Maddi, Finn and Jonty
Part of the School Executive Team

Footy Colours Day

PE Update

Just a few reminders for families this week as there is a lot happen at the beginning of Term 4 for our students in sport!

Champions Athletics
For those who have received notices, the Champions Athletics Carnival is on the first Monday of Term 4.  Students are required to be transported to and from the carnival by parents.  If you are making alternative arrangements for your child to travel with another family, you MUST let the office know so arrangements for signing children out can be made.

Swimming Carnival
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, we have had to reschedule the school swimming carnival until Tuesday, 17 October 2023 which is the first Tuesday of Term 4 due to a booking error by Clarence Pool.  A letter will be sent out next week providing more information on this.

Triathlon
The Schools Triathlon Challege is on again this year and will be held on, Friday, 1 December 2023 at Bellerive Beach.  All students have been offered an entry form, and if your child did not receive one, they can be found at the office or attached below.  As in previous years', registrations must be completed and handed to the school office by this Friday, 22 September 2023 as Mr West needs to enter students before the end of term 4.  Payments must also be made on Qkr! ONLY.  

Thank you

School Mission Statement - Mentimeter

Thank you to all the parents who responded to our question, ‘ What type of learning community do we want to be?’.
Here are our results.  Please look out for future opportunities to share your vision for our school community!

Class Spotlight - 1/2B

Year 1/2B and Year 1/2R went on an excursion to the museum.
Here are a few recounts and photos on what we got up to!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Junior Choir Performance - "The Emperor's New Clothes"

Next week, Mount Nelson students and families will have the privilege to be entertained by the Junior Choir members performing “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.   This term, students involved have been rehearsing weekly on songs and script to prepare this traditional moral tale.

Performance times are:
Tuesday, 26 September 2023
1.30 pm for students
2.30 pm for families of performers

The students are so excited and are looking forward to performing.   We hope to see you there!

Hat Reminder

As a Sun-Smart School, families are reminded that all students are required to wear a sun-safe hat during Terms 1 and 4.  We ask that students wear a named, broad brimmed hat, rather than caps to protect the back of their neck from sunburn. 
School hats are available from our uniform shop and can be purchased on Qkr! for $10.  

School Hours

Mount Nelson Primary School hours are from 8.30 am to 3.10 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.

Similarly, it is important parents/carers either collect their children at the end of the school day or arrange for them to catch the bus home/make other collection arrangements so that 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 such as car parks being used by buses and cars during school drop off/pick up. Parents are responsible for their child outside school hours unless they have accessed school-based childcare during these times.

If you are unable to make drop off/collection during our school hours, Lady Gowrie hold Before and After School Care in our school hall.

Please contact them directly to book your child in -
(03) 6230 6800 Home - Lady Gowrie Tasmania (gowrie-tas.com.au)

School Intentions 2024

School planning for 2024 is underway.  To assist us with this work it would be greatly appreciated if Kinder to Year 5 families could give us an indication via email to mount.nelson.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au if you may be moving elsewhere or changing schools for 2024.

Lisa Ford - Parent Workshop

From the School Association

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to make our Night Out event happen on Saturday, 9 September.  It was lots of fun!  Also, congratulations to the team who pulled together the 60th birthday celebrations and Inquiry afternoon, we hope everyone enjoyed it. 

Our final School Association meeting for the term is tomorrow (Friday, 22 September 2023) at 2 pm, we will be discussing events for Term 4, how to work with the school on its reading focus, and hearing from all our great activity coordinators.

Canteen News
Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls - 4 per serve, $3.50
Reminder that orders close every Thursday at 9.25 am.

A huge thank you to Ainslie Timbs for running the canteen over the last couple of years.  Ainslie will not continue next year.  We are looking for a new volunteer Canteen Coordinator.  Ainslie will support the new person next term. 
Contact Mary on mnpsassociation@gmail.com for more information.

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