Week 6

This week sees us hit half way through the term and what a busy term it has been. Good luck to our Netball team who play in the PSSA knockout on Friday.

We all get to enjoy an extra day off on Monday due to the long weekend. Have a wonderful rest.

Creative Arts Concert

On Wednesday 18 June at 2pm, we will be holding an afternoon where we are asking students who would like to perform their eisteddfod item to perform at school in a mini Creative Arts concert. This will replace the Assembly on Friday. For all students interested, please see Mrs Deiderick.

Athletics Carnival

This year our Athletics carnival will be run a little differently to make it a K-6 event.

All students will go to Harris Park to participate in the track events on Friday 20 June and K-2 will also participate in novelty events. High jump, long jump and shot put will take place at school for our students who are turning 8 and above on Tuesday 24 June for the whole day, starting at 9:30am. Discus will be completed at Harris Park on the track events day on Friday 20 June.

Touch Football

Last Friday, our girls and boys touch football teams attended the PSSA Zone Gala knockout and trials.

Our students showed amazing sportsmanship and teamwork achieving excellent results. The girls lost their first match against ACPS, knocking them out of the official matches before winning their last 2 matches.

The boys fought hard, making it to the finals against Walcha where it came down to the wire with Walcha just getting in front and the boys taking second.

Congratulations to Olivia, Nixon, Beau and Oliver who were selected to progress to the Northwest trials.

Spelling Bee

Today our students participated in the MGPS Spelling Bee Finals. Congratulations to Emalie and Flynn who will now progress to the Regional Finals.

UNE Discovery

Last week our K/1 Magpies and Year 2 Possums had a fantastic visit from the UNE Ant Discovery Program!

They dived into an investigation exploring what different types of ants like to eat the most. The students had a blast examining ants through microscopes and solving ant puzzles.

What a fun and educational experience! Thank you to the UNE team for inspiring our young scientists!UNE Discovery.

Painting

Over the coming weeks our school will be receiving a painting makeover across all classrooms and entry ways. Unfortunately this means at times our classrooms will be impacted. Magpies are the first room to be impacted starting today and will be followed by the Possums, junior toilets, hall and then Kindergarten at this stage.

All classrooms will move to the library during this time and will continue with their day to day learning

NSW Public Schools Survey

In Term 2, we are offering our students the opportunity to participate in the NSW Public Schools Student Survey. The survey gives students the chance to share their thoughts and feelings about life at school, including questions about their engagement, learning experiences and wellbeing at school.

Hearing directly from our students will help us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made to our school. The survey is confidential, takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and will be conducted online during school hours.

Participation is voluntary. If you prefer your child not to participate, please request and complete the opt-out consent form, and return it to the school. Further information about the survey is available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/npss

School Bytes Reminder

MGPS moved to using the platform School Bytes for all communication and payments. This is because COMPASS is now School Bytes. If you haven't already, you will need to download the School Bytes Parent App.

Reminder: One off excursion fee reminder: If you have not yet paid your excursion fee, it can now be paid using School Bytes.

Our PAX word of the fortnight is TEAMWORK.

TEAMWORK is the ability of team members to work well together in every situation and empathise with each other. Teamwork skills also include the ability to be mature enough to agree to disagree when needed and focus on and contribute to team goals, not individual ones.

New resources on the Parent and carer information hub for families with newborns, babies, toddlers and preschool age children.

The Brighter Beginnings Parent and carer information hub has new resources to help parents and carers take action to support their child’s development in the first 5 years of life.

We encourage you to explore the new content at nsw.gov.au/Brighter BeginningsExternal link

The resources and videos include tips and easy-to-follow activities parents and carers can do at playtime, mealtime and bedtime to help give their children the best start in life.

ZONES of REGULATION

What is dysregulation?

"..Dysregulation is the opposite of regulation and describes the imbalance in our internal state, such as when we physiologically feel “off” or are experiencing sensory overload in a busy environment. Dysregulation can be used to describe our emotions and behavior, such as when we aren’t able to manage our feelings and react with behavior that doesn’t serve us well..."

When we are dysregulated, our nervous system is often flooded with stress hormones that affect our brain and body and interfere with our well-being.

WE CAN REGULATE IN ONE OF TWO WAYS:

As we improve our thinking skills, we get better at managing ourselves, but even as adults, we still need support from others.

Have you ever shared your frustrations with a coworker or sought comfort from a friend when you're feeling down? We all rely on others for help in managing our feelings.

While we work on building self-regulation skills in ourselves and our students, it's important to remember that no one is perfect at regulating their emotions. Everyone, from experienced adults to young children learning to express their feelings, has moments when they find it difficult to manage.

At MGPS, we are teaching kids how to support each other and also how to manage their own emotions. Part of improving our self-regulation is learning how to move forward when we don't handle our feelings well and feel regret. Moving on can include:

Taking responsibility for our actions.
Forgiving ourselves since everyone makes mistakes.
Repairing relationships that may have been affected.
Planning for the future, which might involve asking for help.

As we enhance our emotional awareness and regulation skills, we gain a better understanding of what happens when we struggle to manage our feelings. This understanding helps us improve and recover more easily.

Remember to be kind to yourself and your children when emotions run high—it's a normal part of life.

Have a wonderful week!

Peta Deiderick

Community Information