Mount Colah Public School

Telopea Street Mount Colah 2079 Ph: 9477 3627 Fax: 9482 2528
Website: www.mtcolah-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
Email: mtcolah-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

NEWSLETTER
Week 5, Term 2 – 28th May, 2019
Waratah Choir - Mondays @ 8.15am in K/1L Senior Choir – Tuesdays @ 8am in K/1L

Wednesday 29 May Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June

 C.A.R.E.S – 5/6E & 5/4B (YEAR 5 ONLY)  Band Camp
 Kindy 2020 Open Morning – 9.15am Monday 3 June
Thursday 30 May  Senior girls soccer knockout
 Author/Illustrator incursion – Years 3-6 Wednesday 5 June
Friday 31 May  French Presentation @ Assembly
 PSSA – Round 7 – 12.45pm – Mt Kuring-gai vs Mt Colah Friday 7 June
 Football @ Mt Kuring-gai Oval  PSSA – Round 8 – 12.45pm – Mt Colah vs Hornsby Heights
 Netball @ Mt Kuring-gai school  Football @ Parklands
 AFL @ Foxglove  Netball @ MCPS
 Author/Illustrator incursion – Years K-2  AFL @ Foxglove

**SAVE THE DATE **

Wednesday 12 June – Concert Band @ Assembly

Thursday 13 June – School photos
Friday 14 June – PSSA photos
Tuesday 18 June – Senior Choir rehearsal at Chatswood High School (Arts Alive)
Thursday 20 June – Performing Arts Concert @ MCPS – 11.30-1pm
Wednesday 26 June – Waratah Choir perform @ Assembly
Friday 5 July – Term 2 ends
Tuesday 23 July – Term 3 begins
Thursday 8 August – K-6 Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 20 August – Grand Parents Day

**** PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING FOR PAYMENTS ****

SCHOOL = ONLINE THROUGH THE SCHOOL WEBSITE or E-NEWS APP – WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH OR CHEQUES
P&C (canteen, uniform shop, fundraising etc) = QKR! App
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE PAYMENTS FOR P & C ACTIVITIES VIA THE SCHOOL’S ONLINE PAYMENT PORTAL. PLEASE USE QKR!

THE UNIFORM SHOP WILL BE OPEN WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE

You can order on Qkr! at any time and the order will be delivered to your child’s classroom each Wednesday

Merit Awards will be presented at Assembly on WEDNESDAY 29 May 2019 at 12.30 pm

PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS: Meg F, Nena Z, Ryan D, Koby G

MERIT AWARDS: Amelia V, Anna S, Lara E, Tara A, Leah L, Jamie W, Hugo M, Sophie T, Sebastian M, Gemma G,
Wil Q, Nicholas M, Ben B, Cooper L, Tashi R, Oliver S, Noah G, Taylor J, Isabella B, Hunter P,
Emma T, Sean C, Elise W, Dominic N, Ryan M, Gabrielle S, Lucinda P, Sienna R, Charlie P,
Nathan S, Caitlyn G, Lily R, Rachel D, Eve P, Will F, William H, Aaliyah P, Aidan R, Daniel W,
Josephina D, Imogen K, Patrick K, Skye A

NOTES HOME LAST WEEK

Year/Stage Note
Senior Choir Senior Choir Preliminary Rehearsal for Arts Alive
 FROM THE PRINCIPAL
School Uniform
The P&C and the staff of the school are making a concerted effort to have a uniform that the whole student
body can wear with pride. The P&C are currently sourcing a new line of shorts for the girls as the batch that
was delivered were found to be faulty. This is an unfortunate setback but we hope to overcome this difficulty
soon. Winter can lead to a whole range of variation in what children wear to school which results in a mish-
mash of colours. It is better for students to wear warming layers under their uniform than adding a parka or
jacket that is not school uniform.

When students perform on stage or receive an award they need to be wearing proper school uniform as they
are on view to the whole school and also any visitors that are present.

Sick Children
With the winter season upon us, a number of children present each day to the office with a range of
complaints about being unwell. Often these children go home but are back at school again the next day
and are clearly still unwell. Out of consideration for everyone, parents please observe the exclusion period for
conditions that are infectious. It is important that we know what illnesses are affecting our school community
as we are then better able to keep everyone informed so we would appreciate being able to accurately
record students illnesses. If you are unsure about this, please call the office or look at the Health Department’s
website at www.health.nsw.gov.au. It’s in everyone’s interest to observe good health practices.

Persistence or Intelligence
Parenting expert Michael Grose has some thought provoking comments to make on intelligence versus
persistence. Imagine at the birth of your child you were given a choice between bestowing great intelligence
or great persistence on your baby, which would you choose? Take your time and think about it! Your choice
will make a profound difference. It will impact heavily on your child’s success at school, their future levels of
achievement levels and eventually income levels as an adult. Smarts or persistence? What would you
choose? If you chose persistence then you are on the money. You are giving your child a significant leg-up
for future success.

This is the finding of the ground-breaking research into factors determining children’s achievement levels by
Professor Charles Desforges from the University of Exeter in the UK. Desforges found that the greatest individual
characteristic that determined children’s success at school was persistence. It was number one by far. In fact,
persistence was a staggering seven times more significant than intelligence as a determinant of a child’s
achievement. Persistence is not merely an inborn trait. It is the one aspect of a child’s temperament that can
be impacted by people. Desforges found that parents, rather than teachers, are the people most likely to
impact on a child’s persistence.
What does a persistent child do?

Persistent kids do the some or all of the following:

• They stick at task until the end.

• They set goals and work toward them.
• They generally focus on tasks and are not easily distracted.
• They don’t let failure stop them.
• They are more likely to take risks as learners.

Dr John Paterson
Principal

PARENT SURVEY
We are asking parents to complete this survey as a follow up to a survey that was completed last year. This
allows us to evaluate, over time, the effectiveness of the initiatives that have been introduced. Hopefully over
the past year you have become more familiar with these programs and initiatives.
The school has been working hard to keep you informed of these initiatives through parent information nights,
new signage, the school newsletter, assembly items and other avenues. The survey will take approximately 10
minutes. We appreciate your time in completing this survey.
Please follow this link to complete the survey https://forms.gle/bSPzCb7zGztcPxuN8

Karen Bennett and James Tod

Stage 2 and 3 Assistant Principals
 VALUE OF THE MONTH
Our value for April was doing your personal best. This is
one of our core values and many students over the
year receive Mini Merits for personal best. This made it
extremely difficult to choose students for this value.
Congratulations to Lexi P, Vili V, Sophie A and Lollie H
for receiving the Personal Best award for April.

Mr Tod
Stage 3 Assistant Principal

ZONE CROSS COUNTRY

Yesterday 56 students represented Mount Colah at the Zone Cross Country carnival held at Rofe Park. Despite
the cold weather and some unexpected hail, the day went well and all students tried their best in their race.

It was great to see many students overcoming their nerves and giving it their best shot. Overall our school was
very successful, with many students placing in the early numbers. 5 students will go on to represent Hornsby
Zone at the Area Cross Country carnival. Congratulations to Ethan M 1st place, Ryan M 1st place, Braeden S
3rd place, Jade J 4th place and Nicholas M 2nd place.

Thank you to all our parents who managed and supported our team and who jumped in to help out when
the weather took a turn.

Mrs Furey and Mrs Perring

Cross Country Coordinators
 SCHOOL PHOTOS 2019
Envelopes are being sent home today for school photographs which are scheduled for Thursday 13 June and
Friday 14 June. All classes and extra-curricular groups will be photographed on Thursday 13 th June with PSSA
teams scheduled for Friday 14th June.

All children will need to be in full school winter uniform even if Thursday is their regular Sports day. Alternate
arrangements have been made for the K-2 Sports in Schools programs.

Some groups will have photographs taken before 9.00am on Thursday. Details to follow later. Due to the tight
schedule, the photographers cannot wait for latecomers either before school or during the school day. As the
photographs are taken one after the other and the schedule can change at a moment’s notice, it is not
possible to provide an exact time for class or group photographs.

Envelopes are to be returned to the class teacher BEFORE photography day.

Every child will be issued with an individual envelope and every child needs to return an envelope to their
class teacher prior to photo day, even if choosing not to order any photos.
Please ignore the name on the envelope as they are not our regular class names but they will appear as
normal on the actual photo.

Sibling photo envelopes are now available from the school office. Sibling photos will be taken on Thursday 13
June at lunchtime.

Further details will be in the newsletter closer to the dates.

Adele Pugh
Photo Coordinator

SENIOR CHOIR
Preliminary Rehearsal for 2019 Arts Alive Primary Choral Concerts

Senior Choir will be attending a combined preliminary rehearsal at Chatswood High School on Tuesday, 18 th
June (Week 8). We are meeting at the Mount Colah Community Centre at 7:20am and catching a 7:40am
train from Mount Colah station. Please advise BASC if your child attends on Tuesday mornings. I will be
collecting any students attending BASC at 7:15am. Students should return back at school in time for normal
afternoon travel arrangements.
We are currently learning one song a week so it is important that students are practising at home and
catching up any songs that they miss. There have been some faults with the CDs and replacement ones. If
your child’s CD is not working please provide an email address so I can send you a Dropbox link.
Please refer to the information below about our preliminary rehearsal in Week 8. Also, a subscription to Choir
eNews alerts is available on the school website. I will be sending eAlerts as well as reminders in the school
newsletter about upcoming events.
Liesl Behrens
Senior Choir Director

Preliminary Rehearsal Information

When: Tuesday, 18th June, 2019

Where: Chatswood High School (24 Centennial Ave, Chatswood)
Time: Meet outside the Mount Colah Community Centre at 7.20am
Transport: We will be catching the 7.40am train from Mt Colah and should return to school for
normal travel arrangements in the afternoon.
What to wear: Full winter school uniform
What to bring:  Opal Card (Please ensure it is topped up)
 Students will need their music regardless of how well they know the repertoire.
 Bring morning tea, lunch and a water bottle in a small excursion type bag.
 A book to read or something quiet for the train (No electronic devices please!)
 Best manners and behaviour
 Wet-weather gear if raining or looking doubtful.

Liesl Behrens
Senior Choir Director
 PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE
Below is a sheet taken from Premier’s Reading Challenge website explaining some
of the organizational aspects of the reading challenge. By visiting the PRC website,
using your child school username and password, you will be able to access all
relevant information (e.g. title of book, author and PRC levels) applicable to your
child. As not all books in the school library are listed in the PRC reading list, it is
recommended to check with this Reading List before your child borrows from school
library. During term 2, all books that are read, either in the library or classrooms that
are eligible for PRC entry will be printed in the school newsletter allowing you to enter those books into your
child’s Reading Record. The Challenge opened on 4 March 2019 and you must complete your online Student
Reading Record by 30 August 2019 (11:59 pm) to complete the Challenge.

If you, or your child, are experiencing any difficulty with the PRC, please contact Mr Milasas in the school
library for assistance.

Premier's Reading Challenge

Tips for parents and carers for participating in the Challenge

 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) coordinator(s) and how they plan to administer the Challenge.
 Familiarise yourself with the new PRC student website. There is a video on the PRC Support site that
you can watch that demonstrates how login, search for books and add them to a Student Reading
Record (SRR).
 Visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge Support website. It allows you to search for information about
the PRC and how to use the PRC website and also how to contact the PRC team.
 Set reminders for Challenge opening and closing dates in your and your child’s calendar.
 Find out your child’s logon details. For public schools, students’ logon will be the same one they use to
access computers and the internet at school. Non-government students will need to contact the PRC
Coordinator at their school if they cannot remember their login details.
 Assist your child to borrow books from the school or local library. Listen to your child read and talk
about the story/ characters/ information. Read to or with your child if she/he is participating in the K-2
Challenge.
 Help your child to add books to her/his Student Reading Record regularly.
 Follow The Arts Unit on Facebook and the NSW PRC on Instagram to keep up to date about
information about the Challenge throughout the year. We regularly run contests and Author events
your child may be interested in taking part in.
 Contact your child’s PRC coordinator if:
Your child has any difficulty using her/his logon details to access the PRC website.
You are concerned that your child’s name is spelt incorrectly in the PRC website.
If you need to check your child’s Challenge history, please contact your child’s PRC coordinator.
 Your child’s online Student Reading Record must have the required number of books recorded to
complete the Challenge by the student closing date. School PRC coordinators have an extra two
weeks to validate the SRR. Only students with a validated SRR are eligible for a certificate.
 In the final weeks of the Challenge, log on regularly to the website to check the status of your child’s
SRR. Contact your child’s PRC coordinator if you are concerned your child’s SRR has not been
validated.

Mr Milasas
Librarian
 WOOLWORTH’S EARN AND LEARN
We have had a positive start to the Earn and Learn collection period. There have been about 70 sheets of
stickers completed so far. Remember, we can place the stickers in either of our two collection boxes. Our
collection box at Hornsby Woolworths is on the far right of the row of boxes. Look for our school emblem (or
name) on the front of the box. You can also place stickers in the collection box in the school office. Sheets
are there too. If you are not able to complete a full sheet, a box of loose stickers will arrive in the office soon,
so simply finish of your sheet and place it in the box. Remember, grandparents, neighbours and friends can
also play a role. Have fun sticking and look for the next update. Only 6 weeks to go!

Naomi Fonti and Jane Lee

Earn and learn Coordinator

PRIMARY ETHICS
Do you have a child in Ethics classes or are you curious about our program?
Visit https://primaryethics.com.au/ and subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for updates on which topics your
child is discussing in class.

We have great news! A new teacher will be joining our team soon.

We are still seeking teachers for all stages. If you are interested or know anyone who may be interested in a
great volunteer role please let us know. It could be a carer, grandparent, neighbour, uni student e.t.c.
Please visit the website primaryethics.com.au or contact our ethics coordinator, Aimee Corcoran at
aimeecorcoran@live.com.au for more information or any questions.

We look forward to building our Team.

Mount Colah Primary Ethics Team

BASC NEWS
BASC Parent Reminder- no parking in Pierre Close kiss and drop off zone between 8-9.30am and 2.30-4pm

We have received reports that there are some parents who have been parking in the Kiss and Drop zone on
Pierre close between the hours of 8-9.30am whilst they head down to the centre to sign their children in for
the day.

No Parking is allowed. This zone is strictly for Kiss and Drop zone (max. 2 minutes parking time, driver must
remain within 3 metres of their car, and vehicle must not be left unattended). Please see below.

By not following these rules, congestion and safety concerns are being caused, as well as being at risk of
being fined.

When dropping off/or picking up your children between these times, please park outside of the designated
Kiss and Drop zone.

Thank you, your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Sahar Khorrami
Director/Nominated Supervisor
Mount Colah After School Care Association Inc.
P & C NEWS