murwillumbah east...murwillumbah east public school newsletter term 4, week 7 21st november, 2017...

Murwillumbah East Public School

Newsletter Term 4, Week 7

21st November, 2017

Volunteer’s Breakfast

Photos from our volunteer’s breakfast. Thank you!

Student Leadership

2018 School Councillor Speeches & Voting

A great student leadership program sets a positive

school tone and the tone of any school is heavily

influenced by the skills and attitudes of its senior

students. That’s why great student leadership is an

essential element for overall school success.

Next Monday, 27th November, students from Year 5

will give their speeches to the whole school hoping

to be elected by their peers and staff as one of our

school leaders in 2018. All parents, friends and

community members are welcome to attend this

event starting at 9.30am in our school hall.

The public announcement of our school councillors

will be made at the Stage 2&3 Presentation Day

Assembly on the 13th December.

Student Reports

This time of year is important for student

assessment. It is absolutely vital that every student

applies themselves with diligence to all classroom

assessment tasks.

Teachers are currently in the process of assessing

and developing student reports. They will be sent

home on Tuesday, 5th December. If you wish to

discuss your child’s progress or report please don’t

hesitate in contacting your child’s teacher.

Be Safe Be Respectful Be A Learner

Charles Street, Murwillumbah 6672 6781 www.murwillume-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Whooping Cough

Murwillumbah East PS hasn’t received any

notifications of whooping cough at our school,

however, a number of students in other local

schools have been diagnosed with whooping

cough. We have attached an important

information leaflet for you to read. I encourage

every family to take the recommended

precautions.

Our Core Values

Learning Ladder

Our 2017 Learning Ladder program will finish this

week. They will have a fun disco with our

Kindergarten students before receiving a

Graduation from Learning Ladder certificate. We

can’t wait to see them all back in 2018 with their

school uniforms ready to learn!

Still Life - 3/4W

3/4W students are certainly great at art. Take a

look at their latest masterpieces.

2018 Planning

Staff will very shortly begin planning classes for

2018. If you won’t be returning to MEPS in 2018,

please let us know. Conversely, if you are aware of

children who may be joining us and haven’t yet

contacted us, please encourage them to do so.

This all helps in making the transition into 2018 as

smooth as possible. Thank you.

Have a great week!

Samantha Rowsell

Principal



Students of the Week

Class Awards

Ms Davison KD Ricki

Mrs Watts KW Chelsea

Mrs Hawthorne &

Miss Anderson K-1HA Tristan

Mrs Chaffey 1-2C Trinity

Mrs Lindsay 1-2L Chazz (Not in photo)

Ms Reeves 2R Oliver & Dominic

Ms O’Keefe 3-4H Joe

Ms O’Loughlin 3-4O’L Abbie

Mr Wills 3-4W Gypsy

Mrs S Robinson 5-6R Dylan

Ms Noble 5-6N Kelsey

Mr Tunaley 5-6T Kyan

Mrs Harper K-6H

Mr Vella K-6V

“Happy Birthday” to these students

Jayah, Jake, Dylan, Shakeisha, Toby, Cinnamon,

Sapphire, Felicity, and Tyrone.

Positive Behaviour For Learning (PBL)

Week 6 Gotcha Rule

Transitions – Walk quietly to class lines when the

bell goes.

Congratulations to:

Stage 1 - Darnika, Ivye, Jayda, Eloria, Tanvir.Alyra,

Riley. Isabella and Sienna

Stage 2-3 - Matilda, Ruby, Nayte, Diya, Alice, Jack,

and Lomani

Week 7 Rule

Transitions – Go to the toilet

and wash hands before

going to line up.

Bronze Bee Award - 40 Bee Cards

Congratulations to the following students on

reaching their Bronze Award:

Ewan, Dayalbaksh, James,

Kristin, William, Aaron, Riley,

Ekam, Riley, Lucas and Kirat.

Silver Bee Award - 50 Bee Cards


reaching their Silver Award:

Dominic, Seth, Jack, Tayla

and Noah.

Gold Bee Award - 60 Bee Cards


reaching their Gold Award:

Indigo and Ivy.



Wollumbin High School - Uniform Sales for 2018

Uniforms will be available for sale the last two weeks

of term.

When: 4th to 15th December

Time: Between 8.00am and 10.00am

Where: Canteen - Cash and Eftpos available

Canteen will also open School Development Day -

Monday 29th January 2018

Reminders

K-2 Picnic Day at Oasis Pools Banora Point

Wednesday 6th December - due to catering

purposes notes and payment to be returned by

Wednesday 29th November.

Year 6 Farewell Monday 11th December - payment

due by next Monday 27th November.

Murwillumbah High School transition day Tuesday

4th and Wednesday 5th December - please return

your form to our office as soon as possible.

Thank you

Community Notices

Guitar Lessons

Dave Ash - Local tutor since 1995.

All levels

All styles

Phone or Text - 0432 799 506

Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3:

MEPS Factor Entry Form Name of Act:

______________________________ Performers Names:

____________________________Class_______

____________________________Class ______

____________________________Class ______

____________________________Class ______

Category: _________________________________

Please place your entry in the box at our office.

Be safe

Be respectful

Be a learner

Well

Done!

Be safe

Be respectful

Be a learner

Well

Done!

Be safe

Be respectful

Be a learner

Well

Done!

Last updated: 20 October 2016

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough can be a life threatening infection in babies. Whooping cough in babies can lead to apnoea (pauses in normal breathing), pneumonia, feeding problems and weight loss, seizures, brain damage and, in some cases, death. Older children and adults can get whooping cough too and pass it on to babies.

What are the symptoms?

Whooping cough usually begins like a cold with a blocked or runny nose, tiredness, mild fever and

a cough.

The cough gets worse and severe bouts of uncontrollable coughing can develop. Coughing bouts can be followed by vomiting, choking or taking a big gasping breath which causes a "whooping" sound. The cough can last for many weeks and can be worse at night.

Some newborns may not cough at all but they can stop breathing and turn blue. Some babies have

difficulties feeding and can choke or gag.

Older children and adults may just have a cough that lasts for many weeks. They may not have the whoop.

How is it spread?

Whooping cough is spread when an infectious person coughs bacteria into the air which can be inhaled by people nearby. If they are not treated early, people with whooping cough are infectious in the first three weeks of their illness.

Whooping cough spreads easily through families, childcare centres and at school.

Who is at risk?

Anyone can get whooping cough. People living in the same household as someone with whooping cough are especially at risk.

Immunisation reduces the risk of infection but immunity fades over time. You can still get whooping cough even if you've been immunised.

How is it prevented?

Whooping cough vaccines provide good protection from infection but immunity fades which means that boosters are needed.

Immunisation for babies

Babies need to be immunised at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 18 months. The first dose

can be given as early as 6 weeks of age.

Getting your baby vaccinated on time gives them some protection when they are most at risk of

severe illness.

If your baby's vaccines are overdue, see your GP now to catch up.

Whooping Cough (Pertussis) page 1 of 2

Communicable Diseases Factsheet

Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

Whooping cough affects people of all

ages. It can be especially serious for

babies. Vaccination reduces the risk

of infection.

Immunisation for older children

A whooping cough booster is needed at 4 years of age.

Check if your child has been vaccinated. Look at their Blue Book, speak to your GP or ring the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809.

A second whooping cough booster is given in high school through the NSW School –based Vaccination Program.

Immunisation for adults

A booster for adults is recommended for:

Women who are in the third trimester of pregnancy, preferably at 28 weeks. Free vaccine is provided in NSW through Gps and hospital antenatal clinics.

Other adult household members, grandparents and carers of infants under 12 months of age.

Adults working with young children, especially health care and child care workers.

If you are a close contact of someone with whooping cough:

If you have been exposed to someone with whooping cough early in their illness while they are infectious, watch out for symptoms and see your doctor if you get a new cough.

Some babies and some pregnant women need antibiotics to prevent whooping cough infection if

they have had significant contact with an infectious person.

How is it diagnosed?

Your doctor may ask about your symptoms and whether there you've had any contact with whooping cough. If your doctor thinks you have whooping cough, a swab from the back of the nose or throat can confirm the diagnosis.

How is it treated?

Some babies may need treatment in hospital or in intensive care.

Antibiotics are used to treat whooping cough in the early stages and can help prevent spreading whooping cough to others. People who are not treated early with the right antibiotics can spread the infection in the first 3 weeks of their illness. After 5 days of antibiotics, you are normally no longer infectious.

The cough often continues for many weeks, despite antibiotics.

What is the public health response?

Doctors and laboratories must confidentially notify cases of pertussis to the local Public Health Unit. Public

Health Unit staff can advise on the best way to stop further spread.

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.

Identify - Protect – Prevent

NSW Health whooping cough

campaign http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/PublicHealth/Infectious/whoopingcough/index.asp

For further information please call your local Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055 or visit the New South Wales Health website www.health.nsw.gov.au

Whooping Cough (Pertussis) page 2 of 2



insights How much is too much to

tell our kids? by Dimity Sharpe

POSITIVE PARENTING

In a world where transparency is the new black, does modern day parenting need to follow suit? Do our

children need to know explicit details about relationship breakdowns, disability or themselves?

Culture of transparency

As a teacher I am increasingly being challenged by children who tell me they can’t engage in particular activities

because of ailments or labels that they throw across the desk like a fidget spinner. Truly out of the mouths of

babes comes very adult language and concepts like ‘diagnosis’, ‘ADHD’ and brain problems. There are also

relationship observations such as “Dad’s too busy for us, my parents are separated”.

We seem to have created a culture where discussing these often complex issues is done openly and in great

detail. Perhaps this is reflective of the greater transparency we see in the world today, with personal information

being shared on social media and reality TV.

Our society has evolved to favour transparency in most aspects of life. It’s the new norm. But is it in the best

interests of our children’s wellbeing that our parenting follows suit?

My gut says no. When a child says these things, I find my heart skipping a beat. I can see by the way kids

casually deliver these terms and labels that they don’t – they simply can’t – understand what they are saying

and what it means for their own identity.

The dangers of labelling

I’m sure that most adults can remember a time when they were given a particular label as child. You’re the

“clever one”, you’re “not good at sport”, you’re “better at maths”. How many of those things stayed with us

into adulthood and continue to change the way we perceive ourselves? Were those thoughts responsible for us

not attempting things, a subconscious block to our learning and development?

This issue becomes even more difficult in relation to a disability or difficulty. When we tell a child about a

disability of difficulty that they are experiencing, we are potentially giving them a story to follow. We are telling

them ‘this is what you are’. Of course we don’t mean for this to have a negative effect, and we are for the most

part trying to help the child. But disability is difficult. Often as adults we are left without concrete answers and

we struggle to cope, so how then do we expect a child to be able to effectively deal with these issues?

We're a Parenting Ideas school parentingideas.com.au/schools



Children’s brains are poor processors

The problem is, and this has been beautifully articulated by Michael Grose,

that children are essentially poor processors. Their brains do not process

information the same way as an adult brain does.

How many times has a child told you “everyone hates me” or “I did nothing

on the weekend”? They see things in absolutes, black and white. Of course

they did things on the weekend, and often with structure and

encouragement targeted at the children’s developmental level you will find

out that the events of the weekend were vast.

We don’t teach six year olds about calculus because their brains are not ready for that. They don’t have the

mathematical building blocks to understand those higher order concepts. How then do we expect that children

will be able to weed through the true facts and ramifications of delivering news like, “We are going to the

doctor to see why your brain isn’t working properly”.

As adults we often find solace in more information, more details. But as adults we can sort this information: our

brains and bodies can let go of things we know are not important. We can seek the support of other adults. We

can google things. Children aren’t equipped the same way. They are told something and it becomes a fact. Real.

It becomes a part of who they are.

By tailoring the narrative you give your children to better suit their developmental age and stage in life, by

telling them just enough to get them through, you give their minds and bodies a better chance to process

complex issues.

How much is enough?

The question then becomes how much is enough? When children ask where

babies come from, we don’t tell them the intricate details of reproduction.

We tell them just enough to satisfy their curiosity. “Mummy’s tummy” is

enough for some young children. Then as they grow developmentally and

their mental faculties expand, their questions evolve and so can our answers.

Schools are increasingly adopting the Growth Mindset philosophy, that is,

that intellect is not finite, it’s a growth process. We work at things, we make

mistakes and we progress.

I encourage you to try to tailor what you are telling your children to align with their developmental age and

abilities. Support them and in time they may seek further answers. Be confident that you have told them enough

and that you aren’t swamping them with too much information for them to accurately process!

We're a Parenting Ideas school parentingideas.com.au/schools

Dimity Sharpe

Dimity is a passionate and experienced Primary school teacher. She endeavours to

ensure all students feel valued, and builds instant rapport through humour and

empathy. Dimity strives to provide a learning environment where all children can

flourish. She has a degree in Special Education and is a Growth Mindset advocate.



Murwillumbah East Public School

Term 4 Calendar

7 20th November 21st November 22nd November

Last Day for

Wednesday

Learning Ladder

23rd November

Last Day for

Thursday Learning

Ladder

24th November 25/26th

8 27th November 28th November

Last scripture lesson

29th November 30th November 1st December 2/3rd

9 4th December

WHS Parent

Information Evening

5th December

MHS Yr 6 to 7

Transition Day.

WHS Yr 6 to 7

Transition Day.

6th December

MHS Yr 6 to 7

Transition Day.

Stage 1 Pool day at

OASIS Pools .

7th December 8th December 9/10th

10 11th December

Year 6 Assembly

Year 6 Farewell

12th December

STAGE 2 & 3 Pool

Day.

13th December

School Presentation

Assemblies.

14th December

MEPS Factor

15th December

Last day for students

& staff

Year 6 ringing of the

bell

16/17

Term 1 2018 Calendar

1 29th January

Staff development

Day - no students

30th January

Students Return

31st January 1st February 2nd February 3/4

2 5th February

6th February 7th February 8th February 9th February 10/11

murwillumbah east...murwillumbah east public school newsletter term 4, week 7 21st november, 2017...

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