Term 4, Week 3 23rd October, 2012 COMING UP: Thurs-Fri Oct 25-26th Year 3 Yarrahapinni Excursion Wed Oct 31st 1st Kinder 2013 Transition Day Thurs Nov 1st Whole School Assembly Mon-Fri Nov 5-9th Year 5 Lake Ainsworth Excursion November 12th-23rd Swim & Survive Program

Gawanyjarr awarded “Grand Champion” YEAH! Our Picasso Cow was awarded the title of “Grand Champion” last Thursday at the Dairy Australia Conference held at Opal Cove in Coffs Harbour. Miss Yates, Mrs Clogan and 15 students attended the viewing of

the nine cows across the Region and had a chance to see the amazing work submitted by all the participating schools. There was some fabulous learning by the students, and the games and day highlighted the facts and knowledge gained by the students involved

throughout the program. It was a fun day for everyone, and Macksville P.S. came home with the prize and the acknowledgement of the great work they had done! Congratulations to Stage 3 for committing to the project and also to the whole school who incorporated the theme of “From Farm to Plate” into their classrooms.

Macksville P.S. offering an array of Musical Opportunities Mrs Geerlings has been supporting the recorder group over the years which has performed beautifully at many awards ceremonies, entertaining audiences across the Valley. With the vision of performing in Sydney next year, the recorder group has grown enormously and the school now supports a very large group of students participating in the program. Mrs Lynch has also introduced the Ukelele group, which is rehearsing vigorously so they may perform in future assemblies. Two great musical programs along with our band, choir and other wonderful opportunities.

Relay For Life Students also supported the Relay for Life program held at the Macksville showground on Saturday. The Infants Choir performed a collection of songs from Mary Poppins. They represented our school beautifully and at one time we thought the stage would collapse with an enthusiastic rendition of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Everyone just loves the cute factor the little ones bring to their performances.

Next P & C meeting Wed. November 14th 5.30pm LCC

The audience was also suitably impressed with the skills and the expertise of our Circus Troupe. Everyone was amazed at the gymnastics, juggling, and flag and hoop twirling by our students from across Years 3-6. Mrs Herron has been training the Circus Troupe over the last 2 years and it is wonderful to see them sharing their skills within the community. Thank you to our many staff members involved on the day and also to the parents who supported the event, with many from our parent community registering their teams, ensuring a very successful result on such a hot day. The Great Aussie Bush Camp – Year 4 Excursion Last week, Year 4 attended a two night excursion to the ‘The Great Aussie Bush Camp’ at Tea Gardens. The students participated in a wide range of activities that promoted team work and challenged students to go beyond their comfort zones. Activities ranged from a relaxing canoeing trip to an adrenaline inducing ‘Giant Swing’. According to most accounts the ‘Giant Swing’ was one of the most challenging and exciting activities of the camp. Students also visited local beaches, traversed giant sand dunes and learnt about the Aboriginal history of the area. A great time was had by all!

Year 3 Excursion to Yarrahapinni Year 3 will be attending their Excursion to Yarrahapinni this Thursday and Friday, October 25th and 26th. Mrs Herron and Mrs Vicario will be supervising the students and offering some wonderful activities for 3H and 3V to enjoy. Out of Hours Supervision Please be reminded that students should not be within school grounds after hours in the afternoons and also during the weekend. There has been a spate of vandalism within, and around the school lately, and it is wise for students not to be in the vicinity of the school grounds. Parents are also reminded that students should not arrive at school until 8:40am. Students assemble in the top playground where they will be supervised at all times. Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 students must assemble in the top playground on arrival. Stage 1 students do not go to classrooms before school until dismissed by the teacher on duty. Week 2 Stage 1 Assembly Awards Kindergarten: Travis Smith, Ezra Ward, Brayden Luffman, Maya Jarrett, Jamie Ward, Mercedes Ramunno, Imogen O’Connor, Bella Douglas, Montana Ward, Asha Searle, Luke Jefferson Year 1: Torrie Maloney, Blake Burnham, Harry Wagner, Kyeisha Blair, Jack Kelly, Cooper Whitehead, Ciara Russell, Ruby O’Connor, Jazmin Czisz, Eli Bennett Year 2: Bailey Heather, Dusk Burt-Perks, Braith Adams, Krystal Cant, Erin Thorp, Ares Toth, Phoebe Adams, Asha Richards, Nash Banks

Writing, a Focus across the School: All classes across Kindergarten to Year 6 are focussing on building their writing skills. Last term the students

completed a writing task which was used to not only assess individual results, but also provide the opportunity for staff to discuss the specific criteria for further

teaching and producing quality pieces of work. The experience was a fabulous teaching tool and students are now undergoing further writing tasks to assess

individual, class and across grade progress. Many students have been very excited about their writing and have brought their work for me to see on a daily basis. Our

many ‘Stars of the Week’ are just some of the great results we are seeing across the school. ~ Debbie Grenenger, Relieving Principal

Scholastic Book Club: Book club orders with name and class are due in the library today Tuesday October 23rd, or by Thursday at the latest. Thanks ~ Brendan Gillis, Teacher/Librarian Excursion Payments for Yarrahapinni Camp for Year 3, and Lake Ainsworth for Year 5: Please finalise all payments as a matter of priority. Please contact the office for any enquiries on 6568 1800.

Community News Parents Information Evening for Macksville High School: Open to all parents of Year 5 and 6 students. To be held at Macksville High School in the hall, Tues Nov 27th from 5.30-6.30pm. Supper will be served. RSVP to Lynette Howle, ph: 6568 1066 or email Lynette.howle@det.nsw.edu.au Interactive Workshop for Parents: Monday November 5th, 6-8pm supper provided at Early Childhood Intervention Centre, 13 Kane Cres, Coffs Harbour. $10pp, bookings essential on 6652 8080. Treasure Seekers Surf n Sand Camp: Jan 3rd-9th at Scotts Head Christian Youth Centre. Program includes swimming, treasure hunt, mystery expedition, crafts, learning about God. $170 includes all meals and activities. Book by Dec 5th to Geoff Hannah 6569 8253, email cyc@ausi.com or www.christianyouthcentre.com ‘Day for Daniel’ Walk: Sunday Oct 28th, 10am starting at Deep Sea Fishing Club Carpark. Walk in a red shirt to remember child protection, safety and opportunity. Walk finishes at Jetty Park with family fun including jumping castles, facepainting, BBQ, music and kids activities.

SCHOOL CANTEEN ROSTER Wed, October 24th Jessica Burgess & Kirra Bennett Thurs, October 25th Beth Graham and David Flack Fri, October 26th Therese Laverty and Billie Grant Mon, October 29th Billie Grant & Karen Vick Tues, October 30th David Flack Wed, October 31st Leanne Welsh & Jessica Burgess

We always need helpers in the canteen.

Please consider spending

an hour or so anytime that suits ~ Phone Wendy on 6568 1800.

Summer

Menu now on: Salad bowls,

Fruit Salads,

Wraps

HOT Noodle Cups Chicken & Beef

$2.50 each

OUR STARS THIS WEEK !

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P & C Xmas Festivities

Can you believe it’s nearly that time of year already? Our tireless P&C will be holding two Xmas events this term.

Xmas Stall on Thursday 6th December for students who would like to pick up a surprise gift. Xmas Raffle. If you would like to start donating items to go towards our Xmas raffle, please leave any non perishable food, toys, gifts etc at the LCC. This year we will have three major prizes and stay tuned for raffle books to go home. Our raffle will be drawn on Presentation Day.

Out And About At Macksville Public School

Proud to be a part of the Family School

A diplomat thinks twice before saying nothing.

The LCC is on the Mobile Muster!

Thanks to those who have sent in their old mobiles for recycling but we can still take loads more. In the front office area, you will find a box where you can recycle your old phones. But...wait...there’s more! You can also recycle:-

-mobile phone batteries -all mobile accessories (ear pieces, car kits, cases…) -USB devices -mobile chargers

Students will follow a program that will teach them things such as the importance of recycling and what goes into making a mobile phone. We will then be awarded 20 ‘Muster Points’ for every 8kg of recyclable material that we collect. Then the fun really begins! For every 20 ‘Muster Points’ collected we get a spin on the Muster Wheel to win prizes such as MP3 Players, Pencil Packs, Worm Farms and Scholastic Books Vouchers.

So start sending in your old mobile phones and accessories and we can start recycling them!

Women On The Move Golden Sands Hotel

This Thursday, 25th October, Women on the Move will be relaxing at the Golden Sands Hotel in Nambucca Heads. Come and join us from 11am and the day will be PAYG.

All women of all ages are invited to join in the variety of ‘Women On The Move’ activities each week. For further details or for help with transport, please contact the Nambucca Valley Neighbourhood Centre on 6568-2305.

Reusable Lunch Order Bags

If you would like to order a reusable canteen bag simply add it to your regular lunch order and we’ll send it home with your child. Only $7.50! Feel free to drop in to the canteen and have a look at them before you buy. Here a just a couple of advantages to our new bags. A zipped section so that the order and money

don’t get lost Folds up to a small size Opens up to hold a full lunch Easy to keep clean

Keep an eye out for our extra spooky Halloween specials coming up at the end of this month. We’ll keep you posted.

Come & visit us in the canteen A copy of our menu can be found on our school website or you can pick one up from the canteen.

Kyleigh, our Gondwana Choir Star, reports on her amazing trip to cairns with the choir

From the 7th October to the 14th of October, I went on a 7 day camp in Cairns for the Gondwana National Indigenous Children’s Choir. It was my first time on a plane but it was so cool, I loved the take off and landing especially. Each day 35 kids from Darwin, Sydney, Alice Springs, Bowraville, Nambucca Heads and Macksville would walk to the Somerset room in the Cairns Colonial Club where we stayed. Here we met 30 Cairns students who work with the Cairns Gondwana Choir every 2 weeks. We would rehearse from 9am to half past 5pm every day. It became very hot through the week so we got the bonus of swimming.

Saturday was performance day at St Monica's Cathedral, there were two performances before us then we hopped up and performed the songs Riawanna, Waka Pini Yana, Out There, Land Sleeps Ocean Rests (which the north coast region kids made at the weekend camp at Yarrahapinni) and Just One World. After us was the big Sing Fest Choir (including us) and there were about 250 kids from schools all over Cairns. Sunday morning was time to pack up and head home, after bonding with so many kids it was really hard to say goodbye. The Coffs Harbour flight departed from Cairns Airport at 12:10pm and we arrived at home around about 9:20pm. I really loved the trip. Kyleigh Go-Sam

Good friends and good memories….

Macksville Public School Step Back In Time

This term we are going to introduce you to the namesakes of our sporting houses starting with Mr John Smith. Our houses were named after prominent community members who had children at school and who donated both their time and money to the school in various ways.

Pictured right is Mr John Smith addressing the Macksville Public School community at an (as yet, we’re onto it) unknown event. With great thanks to Geoff Minett, from the Historical Society, we have been able to glean some information about John’s life. So next time the members of Smith House cheer at a sporting event, they will know a little more about the man their house was named after. John Smith was born on the 16th March 1920 at Macksville and married Olive Ballard at Bellingen.

John worked for the Taylors Arm Butter Factory as a 16 year old platform hand. At 19 he became a cream taster and grader after taking a three year course on Dairy Science. John enlisted in the Second World War. In 1949 John and Olive opened ‘Smith’s Furniture Store’ which was located on the western side of Princess Street. Then in 1954 John purchased and built a shop on the corner of Wallace & Princess Streets.

John and Olive retired in 1991 and John passed away in 2007. Olive still represents John as a patron of Macksville Public School. John was very interested in history and was a very good towns person by many peoples reckoning. Other sources tell us that John was involved in many sporting activities, clubs and served our community in many ways of which people are unaware. One recount tells the story of John donating and delivering a lounge to a recently widowed local woman.

SMITH

Mr John Smith