News From Mr Smith

Dear School Community Members,

As a dad of four children, I am regularly seeking ideas, tips and advice on parenting. Goalcast is a regular source of mine and one that provides me with timely and practical ideas on developing my capacity as a parent. One of the most influential and powerful Goalcasts I have viewed is titled, ‘How to raise an independent and Free Thinking Children’ by Dr Justin Coulson. In this four-minute videocast, Dr Coulson shares his advice on creating independent children, and in turn a happy and harmonious family, by developing agreements and rules through autonomy rather than control. Dr Coulson states, “Great relationships build autonomy, which allows us to leverage trust, which builds massive influence on our children ......” Each time I watch this short clip, I am reminded and motivated to create agreements with my children rather than set rules. This videocast is well worth watching. https://youtu.be/Krnq1wFsJmE

Mano Colour Run – Friday 10th November: Thank you to the 271 students who have registered for our Colour Run. Students will be able to wear casual dress on this day with a white t-shirt. All fundraising efforts from the Colour Run will go directly towards our Playground Upgrade efforts.  Please register students to fundraise at www.australianfundraising.com.au 

Congratulations Jacquie Clancy: It is with mixed emotions I inform our community that Jacquie has been appointed to Chilwell Primary School as Business Manager to begin in 2024. While Jacquie will be sorely missed by our community, we look forward to thanking Jacquie for her immense contribution to Mano later in the year.

Congratulations, Jacquie!

Remembrance Day: Our annual Remembrance Day ceremony will take place:

Date:                     Monday 13th November

Time:                    9:05am

Venue:                 Assembly area (in front of flag poles)

We will observe a minute’s silence and lay wreathes in memory of fallen service men and women. Please feel free to join us for this special service and take some time to discuss the significance of events such as these with your children.

Referendum BBQ & Cake Stall Fundraising: Thank you to everyone in our school community who supported our recent Referendum BBQ & Cake Stall.  Whether you baked, cooked sausages, collect money or bought items from the stall, we really appreciate it. We raised an amazing $3,122.45 which will be going towards our Junior Playground Upgrade.  Thank you to members of Parents & Friends for organising a successful fundraiser.  

Capital Works – Upgrading Storm Water and Drainage: We recently met with the Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) and Kennedy’s (contractor) to discuss the progress of our works. I am pleased to report that the works are on track. The works will continue down the Narmbool Street side of our school in the coming week. We are working with Kennedy’s to minimise the disruptions to the Basketball/Netball Courts during this time. The plan is to commence works on the oval in the next three weeks.

End of Year Celebration (Christmas Concert): I am pleased to inform you that the date and details for our ‘end of year’ celebration has been finalised.

Date:                     Friday 15th December

Time:                    9:30am

Venue:                 Assembly area in front of flag poles 

Each class will perform a ‘song’, our Term 4 Unleashing Potential awards will be presented, along with some other awards and announcements. We look forward to sharing with you further details as we get closer.

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

Christian Smith

Principal