Welcome back to a busy Term 4. We are very happy to welcome three new students and their families to Mullum Primary this term: Lachlan (5/6O), Thomas (FS), Charlotte (FS). We hope that you are settling in well. Please check all of the updated diary dates in this newsletter, including confirmed Curriculum days for 2024.

Think U Know Presentation

Thank you to the families who braved the cold and wet last night to attend the Think U Know presentation by the Federal Police and Neighbourhood Watch. David and Graham took us through the hard facts about sexual exploitation and online app use of children as young as eight. At the heart of the presentation was the importance of building open and honest relationships with your child and together talking about the issues that face young people when online. The program title 'Think U Know' aptly describes the haunting fact that as parents we think we know what is going on with our kids online, but we don't really. In order to inform ourselves it can be a simple as 'googling it'. Our presenter David, spoke about how we give our young people 120 hours of driving instruction before putting them behind the wheel of a car, but we provide 0 hours of training to safely use a mobile phone (a sobering thought for everyone present last night). One of our Foundation families in attendance last night stated that this type of information night should be compulsory for all parents to attend. If you would like more information please check out the link below that will take you to the Think U Know website where there are valuable resources for parents:

Think U Know - Parent Resources

Furry Addition to Foundation

Have you heard about the visiting furry friends in Foundation. Jeff and Possum appeared after the holidays and are here to compliment the science based inquiry unit "Staying Alive" that the students are working on. After the four week period these delightful animals are available for adoption to a loving family. They come complete with indoor cage and instructions on caring for them. If you are interested, please contact Narelle Sencek or Lauren Lee via the school office. The photos were so cute I couldn't edit any out, check out these happy faces.

My FRIENDS Youth - Hawks

For ten weeks this term the Hawthorn Football Club are running their Hawks FRIENDS program with all of the Grade 5 & 6 students. The Hawks FRIENDS program is a suite of Australian-developed, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) based programs designed to build life-long resilience in individuals, families, schools and communities. The social and emotional skills promoted in the FRIENDS program have been endorsed by the World Health Organisation as the best practice for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression. Each Grade 5/6 class will attend 10 x 1 hour sessions throughout Term 4. The acronym FRIENDS is used to help students remember the the skills they are learning:

F - Feelings (try to be aware of feelings and regulate negative feelings)
R - Relax elax (do “relaxation” breathing, meditation and have some quiet time)
I - I try to think helpful (positive thinking)
E - Explore solutions (step plans and problem solving techniques)
N - Now Reward Yourself (quality time together doing fun activities)
D - Don’t forget – be brave! (practice skills everyday with friends /family)
S - Stay happy and talk to support network

60th Anniversary Trivia Night - Sponsored by Ross Office Supplies

We are so excited about our 60th Anniversary Triviat Night on Friday 17 November. Check out the dedicated page in this newsletter (and all others until 17 November) for up-to-date details of how to book a seat or a table, donations from our sponsors and many others.

Fathering Project - Working Bee

A Thursday night working bee has been organised by our Fathering Project team on 26 October. We are starting at 3:30 and going through until about 5:30 and hope that as many fathering figures can join us to weed, mulch and clean areas of the school. A sign up event will be available on Compass soon for you to indicate how many people will be attending and how many sausages (vegetarian option available) we need to cook on the BBQ.

Grade 1 Writing

Last term, Grade 1 students were learning about the ocean habitat and the harmful effects of rubbish on our sea creatures. They used their knowledge of the model text ‘Save the Penguins’ to plan and write their own innovated persuasive texts. The students have become passionate about keeping the school grounds rubbish-free and are actively working to make this happen! Well done, Grade 1

Save the Sea Turtles

Have you ever marvelled at the awesome sea turtles? Have you ever seen their flippers on the sandy coast? Did you know rubbish hurts sea turtles?

Unfortunately, plastic rubbish gets dropped at Mullum Primary School every single day. Plastic rubbish gets washed down the drain and ends up in the ocean.

When sea turtles are looking for jellyfish, they get tangled in plastic bags. It is incredibly hard for the sea turtles to get away.

Sometimes, sea turtles eat plastic. This can make them sick. They get hungry because they are not eating real food.

If we put our rubbish in the bin, then we will keep the sea turtles happy.

By Cayden

Grade 1

Save the Seals

Have you ever marvelled at funny seals? Have you seen them dive under the water at Phillip Island? Did you know that rubbish kills seals?

Unfortunately, rubbish gets dropped around Mullum Primary School every single day. Plastic rubbish gets washed into the drains and ends up in the ocean.

When seals are swimming, plastics gets tangled around their neck. They can die.

Sometimes, seals eat plastic. This can make them very sick. They get hungry because they are not eating real fish.

If we put our rubbish in the bin, then our seals will not die.

By William

Grade 1

Save the Sea Turtles

Have you ever marvelled at green sea turtles? Have you seen them swim in the deep blue sea? Did you know that rubbish hurts sea turtles?

Unfortunately, rubbish gets dropped around Mullum Primary School every single day. Plastic rubbish gets washed into the drains and ends up in the deep sea.

When sea turtles are swimming, they can get tangled in rubbish. This makes it incredibly hard for the turtle to swim.

Sometimes, turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. This makes it hard to eat. They get hungry because they are not eating actual jellyfish.

If you don’t let our plastic bags get in the ocean, then the turtles will be safe.

By Rosie

Grade 1

Warning - Mischievious Pixies

Grade 1 students are on high alert this week as two mischievious pixies have created havoc in their classrooms. I am on the look out for these two characters, please let me know if you have seen them.

Playground Update

Over the holidays Kelli Heriot has been busy finalising fundraising efforts for the playground and we are very pleased to let you know that a grand total of $49 213 was raised and we have made contact with the contractor, Richard Bellemo who has commenced planning for the playground to be installed in late November. Thank you everyone for the huge effort! A new focus for fundraising has been decided and will be for the development of the sporting areas of the school: leveling and re-laying the running track around the oval; development of a long jump pit; removal of the old cricket pitch; moving football and soceer poles to be in better alignment and more.

Lunch Ordering service - Hungry for Success

Many of you are aware that the Hungry for Success lunch ordering system supports the Glen Park social enterprise catering program that provides frozen meals, community pantry items, emergency relief packages to members of the community. Between April and September this year Mullum Primary school has contributed $1,986.09 towards the work of Glen Park. Well done Mullum, keep it up! Remember lunch orders are due in at school on Thursdays for a Friday lunch and can now be ordered using eftpos through the office.

Additional programs on offer to students

This term we continue to offer a range of activities for students including:

Chess Club
Tennis lessons
Instrumental lessons - guitar, keyboard, percussion
Dance class

Please check out the 'Optional Activities at MPS' page in this newsletter for Term 4 enrolment in any of the above activities.

Major sponsor of our Trivia Night