We hope everyone is in good spirits and good health.

Well done on your tremendous efforts to continue learning from home during this time. The resilence and quality of work our students are showing is oustanding. Keep up the fabulous work!

As we enter the final few weeks of term, we endeavour to evaluate our Home Learning structure in order to determine its overall effectiveness.

Please take a moment to complete our short, anonymous Home Learning Survey found in the link below. We welcome all feedback.

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.

Home Learning Survey – Link

From the Principal’s Desk

Hello again from the Principal’s desk.

Just to let everyone know that for the next couple of weeks, Mr Culhane will be on leave and I (Mr Prigg) will be the Relieving Principal. While I am the Relieving Principal, Miss Miller will be teaching and having fun with 4/5P. Miss Miller has been teaching with me and working with 4/5P over the past 4 weeks and is very familiar with the routines of 4/5P.

I would like to say a big thank you to every family for your efforts to support learning from home for your children. We acknowledge the experience for every family will be different. The connection between the school, teacher, you and our students is vital to ensure that everyone feels supported. Even in a learning from home environment these connections can have a profound impact on the learning that continues to take place. Please ensure you are keeping in contact with school. Each class has scheduled Zoom meetings as well as lots of opportunities to post learning activities on Seesaw and Google Classroom.

Important to remember, if you are collecting learning packs or booklets from school please make sure that you pick up a new one each Monday morning.

The department is working very closely with NSW Health as the restrictions and the stay at home orders change. The clear messaging from Health, at this current time, is that families should be keeping children at home unless it is absolutely necessary they need to attend school. We will be in communication with you as soon as there are any changes to these health orders.

We understand the pressures of parents both supervising learning from home as well as completing their own work. Parents are the best judge of what is appropriate for your child to be doing at home. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or your child’s teacher if you need further guidance or something is not working for you.

As always, student and staff safety are our number one priority. The Premier has strongly indicated that restrictions may ease but will not be fully listed for some time and the department will be directed by the NSW Health and the Government advice. We will continue to work on the best way to support the safe return of students to schools.

I have included below a picture that I came across on the Internet that has some words of wisdom which is relevant during learning from home. I don’t know who the original author is, so I can’t take credit for it.

Remember to have a great week learning from home.

John Prigg – Relieving Principal

Book Fair Update

A big thank you to the many families who have gone online and purchased books from our fair. All orders placed up to Monday this week have been filled and can be collected from the office during school hours. Orders can still be placed through the Google Form on Facebook, Skoolbag or through the school website.

An invitaton is extended to all members of the community if they wish to purchase a book fair title and donate it to the Library, it will be gratefully received. Many thanks to the Butler family for beginning this initiative. A special donated label will be affixed to the inside the front of the book in recognition of such generosity. Please indicate your intentions in brackets after the book title.

Please note, we are keeping orders open for 1 more week. If you have been too busy, then make some time before Sunday September 5 as this will be the last day for orders to be accepted. Don’t forget this is a positive way you can support the school as Scholastic Book Fairs allow us to take a percentage of sales towards keeping our Library up to date with new and interesting titles.

Mrs Creasey

Teacher Librarian

If you would like to be featured in one of the MPS Weekly segments, then we have some good news for you!

Perhaps you have a video of your pet that you would like to share or images of some work that you are proud of? Maybe you have some footage of yourself doing a really cool trick in the backyard or a science experiment?

If you do, then the MPS Weekly Crew would love to see them!

Simply click on the MPS Weekly-Uploads link below to upload your videos and or images.

A link has also been added to the MPS Online Hub.

MPS WEEKLY – UPLOADS

We can’t wait to see great content comes through this week!

Please note: A teacher will be monitoring all the content that we receive.

MPS Weekly Crew 🙂

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday break and everyone was able to spend some quality family time together without having to juggle remote learning. As our wonderful school is in an LGA that is still under stay‐at‐home orders, we will continue to learn from home for the commencement of Term 4.
It is important that students who have parents working from home, stay at home until we resume face-to-face lessons. We will continue to offer minimal supervision for children of essential workers.
Staff have compiled remote learning packs and have resumed zoom lessons. The learning packs can be collected from 9am on Monday mornings. Whilst on learning packs, in Week 10 of last term we trialled the Department of Education learning from home packs. Survey feedback and anecdotal feedback from parents, teachers, and students indicated that class-specific English and Maths content were preferred along with a mixture of some of the Department prepared activities for the other Key Learning Areas. This will be incorporated into our learning from home activities to maximise student engagement. Your feedback was greatly appreciated.
School return
School will begin with a staggered return to face-to-face learning in Term 4 with NSW Health-approved, COVID‐safe Level 3 Plus settings on school sites as announced by the NSW Premier on 30th September.
· From 18th October 2021: Preschool, Kindergarten and Year 1
· From 25th October 2021: Years 2, 6 and 11
· From 1st November 2021: Years 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 This return to school roadmap is subject to change depending on new information communicated through the Public Health Order.
Welcome Back Mr Culhane
Mr Culhane has returned from a well-deserved break and is delighted to be back and is looking forward to the students returning to school. I would like to thank the teachers and the school community for their support while being Relieving Principal.

Stay safe and have a great and enjoyable week.
John Prigg – Assistant Principal

A very Happy New Year to our fellow Merewether Public School community.

We trust that all of our students are enjoying their school holidays and are keen to get back to school very soon. Students are to return on Friday, 29th January. (Teachers and Admin staff to return on Wednesday, 27th January). As for most of our parents, hang in there! Not much longer to go now.

Just an announcement regarding our BYOD Program 2021.

We’re very excited to implement the trial BYOD program (Year 5 and 6 students only) for the first time at MPS this year. With the beginning of the school year fast approaching, you may have some questions and or queries regarding whether or not to opt into the program.

As stated in the policy that was sent out to Year 5 and Year 6 students at the end of last year, the BYOD program aims to support the learning across all subject areas further, as well as increase the number of devices we have to use in upper primary classes; with possible expansion of the program to other classes down the track. The implementation of this program does not specifically mean an increase in time spent on devices and will be used in conjunction with learning programs currently in place at school. All curriculum content will be covered, as per normal.

Due to an influx of schools implementing their BYOD programs with JBHiFi, they have underestimated the time frame to get our portal up and running. This process has taken much longer than anticipated. A notice will be made as soon as it becomes available—sincere apologies for the delay and any inconvenience.

In the interim, please refer to the attachment provided where you will find a selection of recommended laptops and a carry bag that would be suitable for school use. You are not required, nor limited to, purchasing from this selection. Please note: These selections are also suitable for High School Use, and specifications have been cross-checked to meet our feeder high school’s minimum requirements.

Should you want to actively seek out a device of your own, you will find a list of the specifications required on page 5 of the BYOD Policy. Most new devices are equipped with all the specifications required for school use. Older devices may need to adhere more closely to the specifications.

We understand that not everyone will be in a financial position to purchase a new laptop for their child. If you currently have a laptop at home and are unsure if it will be compatible for school use, please feel free to reach out to Katerina.razmovski@det.nsw.edu.au. The program’s implementation should see more school-owned devices become available to share out to students and or classes who need them.

Even though this is a trial and an optional, school-driven program; endorsed by the Department of Education, we understand that implementing a BYOD program is a huge step for parents and students and should be carefully considered.

While there are many benefits to bringing a device to school and or purchasing one for your child to use at home, we are aware of the presenting health, physical & social factors that can arise with technology use. We aim to continue actively teaching and promoting good technology habits to minimise and prevent such factors.

Such considerations include:

* The use and or purchase of a hand-carry laptop case (refer to attachment) to more evenly distribute weight and potentially relieve additional strain when carrying devices to and from school. Please note: Devices will be required to be taken home at the end of the day for security reasons and continue learning at home.

* If opting to purchase a laptop, please be mindful of the anti-glare options available (refer to attachment). Alternatively, frequent breaks and natural light exposure is known to be protective against the effects of Myopia or nearsightedness in children (Read et al., 2018). At MPS, our school programs factor in 20min rotations or blocks with frequent brain breaks and opportunities for walks/exercise during school hours. TIP: At home, opt for a well-lit environment with natural light and position your child’s work desk/laptop perpendicular to a window. Furthermore, use a timer to monitor screen time and limit to 20min sessions. Encourage walks and outdoor activities, when appropriate.

* Neutral head and sitting posture when using a laptop device is important to reduce shoulder, neck, and back strain (Lee, Lee & Chung, 2017). Our chairs are ergonomically designed for school use and provide adequate support for students when working at their desks. Appropriate seating and typing posture when writing and typing is taught in class as part of the curriculum. TIP: When your child is working on a laptop at home, ensure they are seated right back into their chair, feet flat on the floor, and looking straight ahead in a neutral head position.

* We expect appropriate use of technology at all times. As outlined in the BYOD Policy, laptops are primarily used as a learning tool. At school, we use various platforms, such as Google Docs, that allow teachers to check students’ work in ‘real-time’ (while they are typing). These platforms allow teachers to monitor device usage, provide timely feedback, and ensure that work is completed and submitted. TIP: Students may be asked to complete collaborative online homework tasks at home using various platforms. You can easily view what and how much your child has completed.

* Any form of online bullying or socially inappropriate behaviour, as outlined in the BYOD Policy, will be taken very seriously. Standard procedures and action will follow immediately. Ongoing lessons on Anti-Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, and Online Safety & Etiquette will continue to be covered during Whole School PBL Lessons and in class. Please discuss the expectations and importance of acting appropriately online prior to participating in the BYOD Program.

Please note: While the BYOD program will commence from Term 1 2021, you may choose to opt into the program at any point in the year. Similarly, you may also choose to opt-out of the program at any time. We advise that the BYOD ICT Policy Agreement (found in your BYOD Policy Pack sent home last year) must be read, discussed, signed, and returned to the office before bringing devices in for school use. This trust-based agreement ensures that rules and expectations are effectively communicated to all parties, i.e., school, parents, and students.

Should you have any further questions regarding our BYOD Trial Program, please feel free to email katerina.razmovski@det.nsw.edu.au at any time or simply lodge your enquiry using the MPS BYOD Portal.

Please click here for MPS Laptop Options 2021

We look forward to a great start to the schooling year!

Warm regards,

Miss Razmovski

From the Principal’s desk

I would just like to say thank you to our parents and carers for their cooperation with our new drop off and pick up procedures. There have been a few “hiccups” but otherwise, things are running smoothly. Even though there has been some relaxing of restrictions these guidelines will stay in place until further notice.
If you have missed correspondence regarding the procedures they have outlined below again for your information:

The children will lie up in 4 groups inside school grounds at 2.50pm
The groups are:
1. Walking home from the top of the school (Henry Street gate near office)
2. Walking home from the bottom of the school (June Street gate)
3. Car pick up (Henry Street gate near school hall)
4. TASK

A rostered teacher will walk with the groups to their destinations. For groups 1 and 2, the accompanying teacher will supervise the handover of students to waiting parents/carers.
Parents will have a 2-minute time limit to collect Group 3 students from the Henry Street gate near the school hall. As vehicles pull up, the teacher will call on relevant student/s and assist them to to their cars. There will be no regular parking in this area. Students cannot be picked up from the main gate area by car.
Group 4 will be escorted to TASK at the school hall.