Dear School Community Members,

Parents regularly seek support from our team regarding a range of topics, and recently, multiple parents have shared that their child is experiencing challenges associated with sleep. Healthy sleep is an important part of children’s learning, behaviour, emotional wellbeing and overall health. Establishing consistent bedtime routines, limiting screen time before bed and creating a calm sleep environment can all help children develop healthy sleep habits. The Raising Children Network has a helpful resource for families about school-aged sleep, including information about sleep needs, bedtime routines and common sleep challenges. We encourage families to have a look at the resource: School-age sleep – Raising Children Network.

If your child is experiencing ongoing difficulties with sleep, we encourage you to seek advice from your GP or a qualified health professional.

Mano Colour Run – Thursday, 3rd September: The excitement is building for our annual Mano Colour Run! A huge thank you to all the families and students who have already registered and are helping make this such a special event. Students can come along in casual dress, including a white T-shirt, ready to get colourful and have plenty of fun! Importantly, all fundraising this year - including funds raised through the Colour Run - will go directly towards our Playground Upgrade Program. Every lap, splash and colourful moment will help us create even better spaces for our students to play, connect and enjoy.

We can’t wait to see Mano covered in colour! 🌈

Literacy, Numeracy and Book Week: What a fabulous week we have had celebrating Literacy, Numeracy and Book Week at Mano! Throughout the week, our students have participated in a range of engaging and exciting activities and events. Some of the highlights included our much-loved Book Week Parade, uncovering our daily ‘Masked Reader’, and taking part in our Family Maths Challenge.

It was wonderful to see so many students and staff getting into the spirit of Book Week during Tuesday’s parade. The creativity, enthusiasm and joy on display were fantastic! A huge thank you to our families for promoting, supporting and embracing these celebrations. Your involvement makes these special events even more meaningful for our students.

State School Spectacular: We wish our State School Spectacular team all the very best for their performances this Saturday! Our team of 16 talented Grade 5 and 6 students will take to the stage at John Cain Arena, performing in front of an audience of more than 8,000 spectators across two shows.

This is an incredible opportunity and one that our students will no doubt remember for many years to come. We are incredibly proud of their commitment, enthusiasm and hard work throughout the preparation and rehearsals. A huge shout-out and thank you to Mrs Grant, Ms Schuster and Mrs Fox for coordinating this wonderful opportunity and supporting our students throughout this experience.

Good luck, Mano! We can't wait to see you shine on the big stage!

Curriculum Day – The Teaching of Literacy: On Monday, our staff engaged in another valuable professional learning day focused on further strengthening our capacity to meet the diverse learning needs of all students in English (Literacy). Led by Mrs Seeckts and Mrs Geary, the day focused on further developing our ‘Mano English Block’ and strengthening consistency in the teaching of reading and writing across the school. Staff explored the different elements of our English Block, with a particular focus on the integration of reading and writing. Teachers also worked collaboratively to align their work programs with the new ‘English Block’ model, ensuring our planning and teaching continue to reflect evidence-based practice and the needs of our learners. A big thank you to Mrs Seeckts and Mrs Geary for leading this important professional learning and to all staff for their commitment to continually improving teaching and learning at Mano.

School Pride – Uniform: A reminder to families to please ensure children are wearing the correct school uniform each day, in line with our Uniform Policy. We currently have a significant amount of Lost Property, including many uniform items. Please take a moment to check the Lost Property next time you are at school - you may find a missing item!

Thank you for supporting our students to take pride in their appearance and our Mano community.

Thank you for supporting our school and have a great week.

Christian Smith