We have now been provided with data that enables us to compare our NAPLAN results against the Tasmanian and Australian results.

Newsletter Vol 22 shared our outstanding data in comparison to Similar Schools.  I am now able to share that our Year 3 and Year 5 students have outperformed the Tasmanian results in many areas. Our Year 3 students have outperformed Australian mean score data in Writing and Spelling!  We also have a higher percentage of students in the high and exceeding range in seven areas when compared to Tasmania and Australia.

NAPLAN 2024 - Final Results

A consistent plan for improvement, explicit teaching, high expectations for learning and your support from home, have significantly contributed to the learning outcomes for the students at Mowbray Heights Primary School. 

Together we can justifiably celebrate!

Sharon

Next Wednesday is the last day at Mowbray Heights for Stephen, our School Chaplain. He is currently studying and his course requires a 14 week placement.

On behalf of our school community I would like to thank you Stephen for your support of our students, families and staff. Your generous spirit, calm nature, listening ear, and kind words have contributed to our students feeling known, safe, well and learning. We wish you all the best for the future and are hopeful that we will cross paths again.           Sharon

Bootcamp @ Royal Park

Kingball Bye

Netball MHPS v East Launceston Primary

Football East Launceston Primary School v MPHS

Soccer MHPS v East Launceston Primary 

Recently we hosted a visit from Rose Anderson who is a DECYP Curriculum Projects Leader focussing on Racial Inclusive Education. She was extremely impressed by the strong sense of community we have a MHPS. Here is the email she sent after her visit ...

Dear Sharon, 

I wanted to extend my sincere thanks for the warm welcome I received during my visit to Mowbray Heights Primary School on Monday. It was a pleasure to experience firsthand the inclusive and calm nature of your school, and I was truly impressed by the strong sense of community among both staff and students. The inclusive practices I observed, along with the respectful and supportive interactions, were particularly inspiring. The commitment to fostering an environment where every student feels valued is evident, and it aligns perfectly with the goals of the Racial Inclusive Education initiative.  

This visit has provided me with valuable insights that will inform the broader implementation of our program across other DECYP schools. Your school’s approach will serve as a strong example as we work to create inclusive educational environments throughout the state.  

Thank you once again for your hospitality and for sharing the great work being done at Mowbray Heights. I look forward to staying in touch and exploring potential collaborations in the future.

Kind regards, Rose

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at our last assembly.

Dear Families

Consistent attendance at school is critical to achieving positive educational outcomes, keeping students engaged in their learning and connected to their peers. Research indicates that missing school can have negative impacts on students' emotional and behavioural well-being. Everyday a student is absent from school may reduce a child or young persons' chance to reach their social and education potential.

At MHPS we have an Attendance Team who meet regularly to review student attendance.  Mel Petterwood (Social Worker) and I lead the Attendance Team and are responsible for supporting students and their families to overcome barriers to attendance.  The other members of the team alongside class teachers, have specific responsibilities for following up non-attendance and supporting attendance with the cohorts they lead.

• Mrs Probert - Kinder and Prep
• Miss Bird - Year 1 and Year 2
• Mrs Galloway - Year 3 and Year 4
• Mrs Wright - Year 5 and Year 6

Currently we have an average daily attendance rate of 87%, our aim is to have every student attending 90% of days.

• There are 197 students attending below 90% (this means one day away every fortnight)
• There are 79 students below 80% (this means two days away every fortnight)
• There are 47 students below 70% (this means three days or more away every fortnight)

We understand that there are factors influencing student attendance that can be complex. Class teachers may want to discuss your child's attendance during your Term 3 Learning Conversation. Please take this opportunity to share your concerns and know we are here to support you. Working in partnership to address barriers to attendance will be of great benefit to your children.

Kind regards

Sharon

The wellbeing of our students is important to us - we want to hear how students feel, and think, about different things going on in their lives.  

Students in Year 4, 5 and 6 at Mowbray Heights Primary School will be taking part in the Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey. The results from this survey will help us get a picture of the current wellbeing of our students, and what we can do to improve future wellbeing for learning. The more students who take part, the clearer our picture will be.  

The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey is part of the Department’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy .

The details for the survey for our students are:

When: The week beginning 26 August, 2024

Who: Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 students

What do I need to do?: You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.

A letter with more information has been sent home with all Year 4, 5 and 6 students, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.   

Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are known, safe, well and learning.

Sharon

At MHPS, families are valued members of the school community and play an important role in their child’s learning. There is a strong culture of mutual trust, and parents/carers and staff work in partnership to support student learning and well-being. This is evidenced by the outstanding attendance data at our previous two communication opportunities, in March we had 95% of our students represented and in June we had 93% of our students represented.  

Communicating Learning Progress with Families for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will take place again, in September.  This is our third opportunity to formally communicate about learning this year and once again we are providing two options for communication in Term 3.

Parents/carers can choose either a face-to-face conversation at school or a phone call from your child's teacher.

The conversation will focus on any follow-up matters from the June meeting, evidence of learning, progress and strategies for improvement, and your child’s wellbeing. 

Students are not required to be part of this meeting.  Childcare will be available for school aged students in the PAC.

A letter was sent home on Monday 19 August, containing the details you need to know, a preference sheet for dates and times, and an agenda where you can record anything you would like to discuss.  Please return the preference sheet and agenda to class teachers as soon as possible.

The Department of Health and Aged Care are pleased to announce new mental health and suicide prevention resources from Embrace, Mental Health Australia, and RUOK? 

Input from Hindi, Vietnamese, and Arabic-speaking communities helped create these resources. They aim to help start conversations that could change a life. The resources include posters, videos, and social media graphics. 

RUOK? has dedicated pages in six languages: Simplified Chinese (中文), Vietnamese (tiếng Việt), Greek (Ελληνικά), Arabic (العربية), Korean (한국어) and Hindi (हिन्दी). There are also resources available in Traditional Chinese, Italian, Punjabi, Spanish, Dari, Persian, Pashto, Russian and Ukrainian. 

RUOK?- www.ruok.org.au

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health has many different translated fact sheets on mental illness, common mental health concerns and how to access help.

embracementalhealth.org.au

Please share these websites with your networks to support the wellbeing of our community.

Due to rising costs we have had to slightly increase the price of a small number of items on our Canteen Menu. The new prices came into effect from Tuesday 30 July.  

The price increase applies to the following items:

The following sizes are available in the 2024 Year 6 Leavers Polos.  The tops are $35.00 and can be purchased at the school office. These are the last sizes available and no further orders will be placed.

STAS closes to new applications in the first week of September. New applications for 2024 will not be accepted after this time and further assessments will not be made for this school year.

Parents and guardians who are approved for STAS 2024 will have their files automatically re-assessed for the 2025 school year. Letters will be sent to families confirming STAS approval or otherwise at the end of the 2024 calendar year in preparation for 2025.

STAS applications for children enrolling in Kindergarten for 2025 cannot be accepted until the beginning of the new school year. Parents and guardians of students, other than students in Kindergarten, who have not applied for STAS previously can apply online from December at stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au (or Google STAS to be taken directly to the online application service).

Once approval letters for STAS 2025 have been delivered, if a parent or guardian wishes to add a newly enrolling student to their existing 2025 file they will need to email their details and the student’s full name, date of birth and grade in 2025 to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au. The additional student will be added to their existing file. Additional students cannot be added to an existing STAS file using the online application service.

For queries, please contact stas@decyp.tas.gov.au

In Term 3, AFL Tasmania are running NAB AFL Auskick and NAB AFL Superkick at local Northern schools. 

These programs are great opportunities for children to participate in Auskick and Superkick, programs to help you become the next Tassie Devils!

All participants will receive a pack including a Tassie Devils shirt for Auskickers plus more cool footy items, and Superkickers will receive a pack including a sports bag, football, socks and more. 

The programs are running for 6 weeks, for more information visit this link - Schools offering Auskick & Superkick in Term 3 | AFL Tasmania

If you have any questions, please contact Danyon Smillie at 0488 666 849 or via email at danyon.smillie@afl.com.au.