Mount KuringGai Public School

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Mount Kuring-Gai Public School MINI NEWSLETTER
Term 1 Week 11 2009
Growth
Community
Quality
Phone [phone] Fax [phone]
Email mtkuringga-p.school_at_det.nsw.edu.au
Shared Accountability
Term 1 2 Dates to Remember!
From the Principal
Dear Parents, Students and Friends of Mount
Kuring-gai P.S
Week 11
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday
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Easter Parade Morning
Thinking back to my end of term messages since I
first began here at Mt Kuring-gai, there has
always been a comment of wow what a busy term.
As I begin to write this week my thoughts are
more so wow what a productive and progressive
term we have had. We have made changes, some big
changes and for this we can be proud. More
importantly though we know what opportunity there
is in continuing to reflect upon and refine these
moves. On a staff level we have committed
management plan teams in Literacy, Numeracy,
Technology and Environmental Education who are
working towards genuine school improvement and
professional development that is led by all.
You have heard much about our progression
forward in infrastructure, especially in the area
of technology. Listening to Kevin Rudds
announcement about the countrys move to improved
broadband yesterday made me feel confident that
our students will be well placed to understand
what it is to work and learn within a
technological environment. This was so evident
this week as I watched the Easter Scripture
assembly which was presented in multimedia form
using our interactive whiteboard. How things have
changed! This work will be continued over the
holidays with the toilet roof upgrade. I am also
happy to announce that by Christmas we should
have a brand new hall completed. Hard to
imagine. To conclude I must say a big thanks to
staff. Hattis research in New Zealand states
that quality teaching makes the difference.
Part of this is a teacher who is prepared to be
flexible and accommodate change. We are fortunate
to have teachers here who are keen to try new
things and have strong values and principles that
guide the holistic manner in which they endeavour
to teach our children. This will help them become
the best young people that they can be. Happy
Easter to All, Mr Smerdon

3 Way Goal setting Interviews Up to 7pm
ANZAC DAY service
Good Friday
Public Speaking Prog
Week 1
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday
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Gazetted ANZAC Day Holiday
Staff Development Day
Aussie of the Month Assembly 3/4
No Assembly
OOSH Open
OOSH Open
Week 2
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday
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5
6
7
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Public Speaking Comp Notes Home
Cross Country Carnival
Mothers Day Stall
Cross Country Carnival wet weather backup
Band to perform for senior citizens Mothers Day
930 Assembly
Yearly Calendar Changes Week 10 Disco moved to
15/5. Venue being painted! French Day 6/6
Habits of Mind Quote for the Week- Being Open to
Continuous Learning "No matter what you do, no
matter how stupid, dumb or damaging you judge it
to be, there is a lesson to be learned from it.
No matter what happens to you, no matter how
unfair, inequitable or wrong, there's something
you can take from the situation and use for your
advancement."Peter McWilliams, author "If I
could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be
tempting but I would have to decline, for life
would no longer teach me anything." Allyson Jones

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New Hall
Easter Hat Parade ANZAC Service
This week I received formal confirmation from The
Federal Minister for Education that we will be
having a brand new hall constructed. This hall
will endeavour to be completed by 20th December,
2009. I have included below and example of the
standard type plans being used. Many of you have
asked questions around the inclusion of a
canteen, positioning etc. Some of this
information I do not have answers to at this
point but site meetings will probably occur just
after Easter. I will continue to let community
know as more details arive.
Tomorrow morning will be a fun Easter Hat Parade
for K-4 students. Students should not wear Mufti
as we thought it would be more respectful for the
afternoons ANZAC service to be in uniform. The
days activities will begin shortly after the
bell and will include the parade, band and choir
items and something special from the juniors.
Parents and friends of the school are welcome to
attend and hats that require eggs to be eaten by
the Principal are more than welcome also. ANZAC
Day will be marked by a short service being held
at 130p.m. We also encourage you to attend local
services in the holidays at Berowra and Hornsby
on April 19th.
Mathletics
Thankyou for all of the great feedback that we
have been receiving about Mathletics. We thought
it would be worthwhile giving you some things to
consider with regard to its usage -Mathletics is
not being implemented to replace the teaching of
the curriculum. It is an added value program that
helps with the old idea of rote and repetition.
The modern day curriculum is very crowded and
doesnt always allow the time for students to
complete consolidation activates. -The program
has help functions that support parents
learning about how curriculum is presented. If
you as a parent are unsure of a concepts
presentation why not work through the help
function example with your child. - Please dont
feel like big brother is watching your childs
performance. Together, we want the program to
highlight areas of need so that they can be
addressed. The idea is not to be perfect
otherwise you are not learning. - We are
currently testing the Spelling program and will
make a decision about its implementation after
reviewing its performance.
Note Example plan only
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Term 1 Assembly Award Recipients
Health Warning- Whooping Cough
What is pertussis? Pertussis (or whooping cough)
is a disease caused by infection of the throat
with the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis
usually begins just like a cold, with a runny
nose, tiredness and sometimes a mild fever.
Coughing then develops, usually in bouts,
followed by a deep gasp (or whoop"). Sometimes
people vomit after coughing. Pertussis can be
very serious in small children. They might go
blue or stop breathing during coughing attacks
and may need to go to the hospital. Older
children and adults may have a less serious
illness, with bouts of coughing that continue for
many weeks regardless of treatment. How is it
spread? Pertussis is spread to other people by
droplets from coughing or sneezing. Untreated, a
person with pertussis can spread it to other
people for up to three weeks after onset of
cough. The time between exposure and getting sick
is usually seven to ten days, but can be up to
three weeks. How is it prevented? -Immunise your
child on time The vaccine does not give lifelong
protection against pertussis, and protection is
sometimes incomplete. Children need to be
immunised at two, four and six months. Boosters
are needed at four years of age and again at 15
years of age. Immunisation is available through
general practitioners and some local councils.
-Keep your baby away from people who cough
Babies need two or three vaccinations before
they are protected. For this reason, it is very
important to keep people with coughing illnesses
away from your baby so they don't pass on
pertussis or other germs. -Get immunised if you
are an adult in close contact with small children
A vaccine for adults is available. It is
recommended For both parents when planning a
pregnancy, or as soon as the baby is born For
adults working with young children, especially
health care and child care workers. If you are a
close contact of someone with pertussis Watch
out for the symptoms. If symptoms develop, see
your doctor, take this factsheet with you and
mention your contact with pertussis. Some close
contacts at high risk (e.g., children under one
year, children not fully vaccinated, and women at
the end of their pregnancy) and others who live
or work with high-risk people may need to take
antibiotics to prevent infection. If you have
pertussis Get treated early while infectious,
avoid other people and stay away from young
children, e.g., at child care centres, pre-school
and school. How is it diagnosed? If a doctor
thinks someone has pertussis, a swab from the
back of the nose, or a blood test may be done to
help confirm the diagnosis. How is it treated? A
special antibiotic - usually either azithromycin,
erythromycin or clarithromycin is used to treat
pertussis. These antibiotics can prevent the
spread of the germ to other people. Coughing
often continues for many weeks despite treatment.
Infectious children are restricted from going to
pre-school and school. Unimmunised contacts may
be excluded from child care unless they take the
special antibiotics
Certificates
Mt Kuring-gai
Assembly Award Recipients Term1 Week 8 2009 James
S. (English) Chloe L. (English) Jack W.
(English) Cody L. (Rainbow) Alex L.
(Rainbow) Yasmine M. (HSIE) Alex L.
(Rainbow) Yasmine M. (PDHPE) Eleanor H.
(English) Eleanor H. (Mathematics) Daniel E.
(Rainbow) Rebecca S. (English) Assembly Award
Recipients Term 1 Week 9 Elizabeth A.
(Mathematics) Hannah M. (English) Holly M.
(Rainbow) Sarah B. (Creative Arts) Noelani B.
(Rainbow) Isabella M. (HSIE) Emily R.
(Rainbow) Luke G. (Rainbow) Jack C.
(Rainbow) Lisa M. (Rainbow) Cody M.
(Rainbow) Ethan M. (Rainbow) Hamish M.
(Rainbow) Pierce B. (English) Pierce B.
(PDHPE) Lisa M. (Thank You) Gabriella D.
(English) Gabriella D. (Thank You) Broden M.
(English) Isabella M. (Mathematics) Jack C.
(Bronze) James S. (Bronze) Assembly Award
Recipients Term 1 Week 10 Lana B.
(English) Jarvis C. (English) Hugh R.
(English) Elizabeth A. (English) Jonah M.
(English) Gordon T. (English) James T.
(English) Rohan B. (English) Lachlan B. (Creative
Arts) Elizabeth M. (Creative Arts) Hugh R.
(Creative Arts) Hugh R. (PDHPE) Eliza M.
(Mathematics) Gordon T. (Mathematics) Hugh R.
(Mathematics) Shakira R. (HSIE) Hugh R.
(HSIE) Taylor W. (English) Taylor W.
(Rainbow) Bradley F. (Rainbow) Rory G.
(Rainbow) Hannah M. (Rainbow) Holly M.
(Rainbow) Yasmine M. (Rainbow) Jack W.
(Rainbow) Samuel L. (Rainbow) Rohan B.
(Rainbow) Jakob O. (Rainbow) Jaz Todd
(Rainbow) Shayna S. (Rainbow) Isabella G.
(Rainbow) Miles K. (Rainbow) Ben P.
(English) Kavusik K. (English)
Aussie of the Month Aidan S.

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Community Noticeboard
Mothers Day Gifts
Donations for Mothers Day Stall If you have any
nice but unwanted gift items at home that could
be recycled as gifts on our Mother's Day stall
this year, please could you bring them in? There
will be a marked cardboard box in the office for
donations. For enquiries please phone Judy Friend
on 94579928 Mrs Tarte also has MKPS Cookbooks for
sale. What a great idea for Mothers day!
Next Cake Day
20th May, 2008
A big thankyou to the volunteers and Yr 6 sellers
on our special bushfire cake day. 76.35 was
raised.
Bulb Fundraiser
Thankyou to everyone who supported our bulb
fundraiser. The sixteen families who placed
orders raised 427 for our school. Your orders
will arrive at school during the first week of
term two. Happy gardening! Letitia
Boughton And thankyou Letitia for organising it!