From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Week 6!

This week is School Support Recognition Week, an annual celebration of school administration and support, and other non-teaching staff that work in our schools. At Martin's Gully we are very fortunate to have Dawn, Leanne, Travis, Kim, Chris and Barry work at our school. They help make Martin's Gully a great place to work, but more importantly support the students and staff every day, going about it in a quiet way and rarely getting recognition for what they do.

Thanks team!

This week Quade (Year 6) is representing North West at the State PSSA Soccer Championships in Tamworth. On day one Quade's team played two games with a win against Western Region and a loss to Southwest Sydney Region. Apparently, the win was the first time in 10 years that North West has won a pool game.

This week students move from having gymnastics lessons to learning how to play tennis. Funding through the Sporting Schools Grants allows us to offer these lessons. Tennis coach Brandon will be here every Tuesday for the remainder of the term.

Tomorrow, Kindergarten have an excursion to Thalgarrah, and Year 6 attending Armidale Secondary College have a "taster" day.

Finally on Friday, Stage 1 will be presenting at the assembly.

Martin's Gully shine at the 'Let there be light' festival

How exciting was it to see the fantastic light sculpture on display at the "Let there be Light" festival. Numerous community members came up to me to say how great it was. I nearly took all the credit!!! Well done Mrs Williams and students. If you missed it, the amazing sculpture is now on display in the town library.

Book Week 2024!

There was a great vibe in the school on Friday for the annual Book Week parade. Parents, students and teachers put a lot of effort into their costumes. The scarry fairy made a brief appearance, and may never come out again.

Athletics Champions

Next week a number of students will travel to Tamworth to represent Martin's Gully and the Armidale Zone PSSA in athletics. We wish all students success at this event.

On Friday, students will receive their age champion medallions for our carnival.

Junior Girls Athletics Champion - Lia McRae

Junior Girls Athletics Runner Up - Evie Riggall

Junior Boys Athletics Champion - Nixon Kennedy

Junior Boys Athletics Runner Up - Oliver Emery

11 Years Girls Athletics Champion - Pippa Riggall

11 Years Girls Athletics Runner Up - Eily O'Connell

11 Years Boys Athletics Champion - Julian Warne

11 Years Boys Athletics Runner Up - Beau Mathew Pickering

Senior Girls Athletics Champion - Darcy Morris

Senior Girls Athletics Runner Up - Charlotte Perry

Senior Boys Athletics Champion - Logan Whitbread

Senior Boys Athletics Runner Up - Jake Simpson

Outdoor Classroom and Open Day

On Thursday 7th November we are having an Outdoor Classroom and Open Day. Throughout this day students will be involved in a number of lessons "outdoors" with the assistance of staff from Thalgarrah and UNE Discovery. Parents and the wider community will be invited to this day, and we encourage you to invite your friends to come and see our great school.

Other significant events in Term are:

16th to 18th October - Stage 3 excursion - Great Aussie Bush Camp

31st October - Music Viva

4th November - Kindergarten's Teddys Bears Picnic Thalgarrah

Tuesday 5th November - Kindergarten Transition Morning

Tuesday 19th November - Kindergarten Transition morning and welcome BBQ (5.30pm)

Friday 6th December - P&C Christmas Party and Fireworks

Friday 13th December - Celebration of learning Assembly

Wednesday 18th December - Year 6 Final Farewell Assembly and the last day of the year.

Icy Pole Friday

Icy Pole Friday is back. At recess time students can purchase an icy pole for $1. Money raised goes towards the Year 6 gift to the school.

Don't forget the Father's Day stall is this Friday.

Slime Fest

The slime fest, a major P&C Fundraiser is fast approaching (Friday 20th September). Mrs Dunham, Mrs Townsend and the Year 6 students are arranging a number of stations that each class will rotate through. There will be optional non-slime activities at each station.

All students should have received a School Run4Fun booklet that takes you through the steps of registering etc. If you miss-placed the booklet, there's still a couple available at the office.

You Can Do It!

This week our focus for being resilient is to be able to bounce back and not put ourselves down.

Here are some ways to eliminate different types of negative thinking that lead to poor Emotional Resilience.

To Eliminate “Self-Downing”: Explain to your child that they are made up of many characteristics –some good, some that are not so good. You can ask your child to come up with five good things about their skills, talents and personality and five things that could be improved on. It is important that the parent or carer can help the child who gets stuck. Then, it should be explained that because the child possesses good qualities, it never makes sense for the child to think “I’m hopeless” or “I’m a loser” when something bad happens.

We want all our children to be encouraged to think:

“When a bad thing happens, I do not lose my good points. I am still me – capable and likeable.”

Check In Assessment

This week Stage 2 and 3 students have been busily doing their Check-in Assessments. Students in Years 3, 4 and 5 complete reading and numeracy assessments. While students in Year 6 complete reading, numeracy and writing assessments. These assessments support the identification of students’ performance in literacy and numeracy and informs next steps in teaching and learning. Parents do not receive a report for these.

Road Safety Message

Parents and carers are responsible for their child's safety on the way to and from school. Always supervise your child until they are at least 10 and hold their hand when walking to and from the bus stop and when crossing the road.