Week 10 Update

It is hard to believe that we only have 2 weeks to go! No rest yet though with lots of exciting things happening to finish the term.

On Monday, the Martin’s Gully, Kelly’s Plains, Rocky River and Kentucky ‘Dream Team’ participated in the NSW PSSA cricket knockout against Ben Venue. Thank you to Mr Annetts for taking the boys and coaching them to be ready for the game. He gave the following report.

'Students from both sides showed outstanding sportsmanship with all runs and wickets supported throughout. Martin’s Gully won the toss and sent Ben Venue in to bat. Ben Venue were able to score 95 from their 25 overs with consistent wickets along the way taken by our bowlers. In reply the ‘Dream Team’ posted a solid 52 all out from 20.1 overs with all round contributions from every student. All students were able to showcase their bowling on the day as well as with the bat. Thank you to the parents of our team for the cricket gear which we know is a big commitment for your child to play this sport. We will look forward to another try next year but the less formal cricket without helmets and pads will continue for students in their breaks.'

Tomorrow Mrs Bull is taking 17 Stage 3 students to TAS to participate in the da Vinci Decathlon 2025. The theme this year is 'SUSTAINABILITY' and the 10 disciplines are Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art & Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy. Good luck to those students.

On Friday some students from Stage 2 &3 are participating in a soccer gala day that is being provided for Armidale Public Schools at Phil Wheaten Oval. The day will focus on fun, skill building and participation with no results being recorded. Students must wear shin pads and joggers or football boots as well as their sports uniform. I am sure they will have a great day!

If your child is attending the soccer, and you were notified that they will be receiving an award at Assembly this Friday, we will hold on to these awards and present them at our Monday morning muster next week.

Kindergarten will be presenting their first assembly event with an Easter theme this Friday at 12:30pm, so we still hope to see many visitors there.

Last Thursday, I mentioned that 6 students were going to ASC to participate in the New England Junior and Senior Drama Workshop. I was lucky to accompany the girls for part of the day and enjoyed seeing them join in activities such as learning how to get in character, move around the stage and create a stage presence. Rikki, Olivia O, Lucinda, Abbie, Lia and Alana all had a wonderful time, and we look forward to them sharing some of the things they learned in our own drama lessons here at school.

We would also like to acknowledge Olivia for her recent selection in the State tennis team. The team consists of 5 girls, she is playing the number 1 position. An amazing achievement Olivia, we can't wait to see how you go in May.

Unfortunately, the Slime Fest was postponed last week due to the weather. We will keep you informed of a new date later in the year.

Autumn Festival this Saturday

The Autumn Festival is on this Saturday 5th April. The parade starts from Central Park at 12.00pm. Mrs Bull and I will be there at 11am and all students need to arrive by 11:30am. Martin's Gully students will walk with students from the other public schools in Armidale. We will be the 9th Float and walking with the Armidale Community of Schools banner (and the MGPS Banner) with the parade starting at 12:00.

The parade finishes at Civic Park (Opposite the Ex-services Club). Please collect your child promptly at 1:30pm in Civic Park - look for the MGPS banner.

Students attending should wear their school uniform with RED polo shirt – the theme is Celebrating Autumn.

Easter events

Thank you to the many donations of Easter eggs so far which are very tempting sitting in the box at the front office. Raffle books and chocolates for the hampers need to be dropped to the office by the 10th of April.

The raffle and the collection of pre ordered buns will coincide with our K-6 Easter Hat parade on Friday 11th of April starting at 9:15am in the quadrangle. We will also hold a P&C lunch order which can be ordered through the Qkr app. Orders close 7pm today. No Pearl Perch order will be available next week in leui of this. Family and friends are all invited to come and watch the parade. We encourage you to make an Easter hat with your child at home. K-2 Easter hats will be made in the classroom and either one can be worn for the parade. All proceeds from these initiatives will be directed to the Martin's Gully P&C, to benefit the school community.

Wellbeing - You Can Do It!

As parents, we want our kids to get the most out of learning and life. Learning can be fun, especially when kids are encouraged and challenged, both at home and school. But even the brightest kids can fall behind in their learning if they can’t get along with others, manage their time, make decisions or work as a team. Academic achievement is all well and good, but if our kids can’t relate or haven’t learnt how to manage and express their feelings (social and emotional skills), learning can become anything but fun.

Without social and emotional skills, kids can’t learn as effectively and can’t make the most of their education. Children who have good feelings about themselves and others and know how to express their emotions and relate to others will be more effective learners and achievers.

Modelling social emotional skills for kids at home:

Identify and name feelings
Recognise other people’s feelings and viewpoints
Show empathy
Demonstrate how to deal with strong feelings
Praise our kids when they practise appropriate skills
Talk taking turns, sharing, caring, getting on
Put things into perspective
Practise perseverance and resilience
Resolve conflicts
Model setting goals, achieving goals, celebrating success
Teach strategies for time management and organisation

Martin's Gully official Facebook page

Here is the QR code to access our official Martin’s Gully PS Facebook page. It's been lovely to see new followers to our page. If you haven't joined already, please scan and share! It is a great way to promote and celebrate our wonderful school with the broader community.

Please keep checking our What's Happening for events coming up next week which is the end of Term 1!!

Wishing all families a wonderful week!

Mrs Polson

P&C Information

P & C Lunch Order Day

Become a P&C member - Available on Qkr! Meetings are held 1pm Friday of Week 3 and 8 of each term in the MPC. Contact the P&C anytime on martinsgullypandc@gmail.com