Principal News:

Dear Families,

We trust that you all had a lovely Easter break and quality time with family and friends.

This term we welcome back Jess Corcoran from maternity leave. We also welcome to our staff and school, Helen Bull and Jemima Clyde-Smith.

Our new PAX word for the fortnight is courage. It is a great word to begin our new term. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow". This is what we all aim to do each day, staff and students. Be resilient and be persistent and keep trying to make a difference each day in our own lives and those around us.

Please find below and in this issue, some important notices and reminders/dates to prepare for what will be an undoubtedly busy and rewarding Term 2.

Easter Hat parade:

What a lovely time we had at our annual Easter Hat parade and congratulations to the winners of our Easter raffle.

Anzac Day Service:

Yesterday Martin's Gully students and staff walked proudly in the Armidale ANZAC service. It was wonderful to be a part of the commemorative service and to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many for our freedom.

New mural and artwork:

During the holidays Dr James O'Hanlon a super talented local artist created an amazing mural on our blank brick wall near the front office. He incorporated all of the Australian animals which our individual classes are named after. The mural is outstanding as are the artworks he created on different areas of pavement around our school. Thank you James!

PAX Word of the Fortnight: COURAGE

Courage means doing something even though we are scared or nervous.
Courageous PAX LEADERS don't give up even when things are tough.
At Martin’s Gully, we show courage by not giving up and being persistent and resilient.
Things to discuss at home: Have you been courageous lately? Have you seen someone show courage at school or home?

Toys:

Just a reminder for Term Two, that students in K-6 should not bring toys to school. Stuffed toys, small bags of small toys and other items should not come to school. These toys get lost in the playground or they become distracting in class during learning time. Thanks for your help with this.

Attendance Matters:

Well done students and parents of MGPS! In Term One, we achieved an attendance rate of 93.6%.

We still working towards our target of 90% students attending 90% of the time as this is currently at 81.1% however we would like to sincerely thank all families for your support with attendance.

We have set our school a target to achieve 90% attendance 90% of the time for 2023.

Can you help us do this? Can you make appointments or attend extra curricular activities outside school hours? Coming to school each day between 8:30am and 9:00am and leaving at 3pm is just a simple way we can achieve this together. Let's do this together.

We wish all students and families a wonderful Term 2.

Felicity Pennington and Peta Deiderick

P&C Information