Harmony Week (17 - 23 March) is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world.

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together people from all different backgrounds.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a core set of Australian values.  

At MHPS our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. During Harmony Week our students will be focussing on learning experiences which support the Harmony Week theme Everyone Belongs and celebrating our diversity.

As is tradition at MHPS, we invite everyone to wear either cultural clothing, clothing that is significant to you and your family, or the colour orange.  Traditionally orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Our special clothing day will be on Friday 21 March.

Happy Harmony Week!

Sharon

On Wednesday 5 March, our Year 3-6 students participated in our annual Athletics Carnival. The weather was outstanding and so were the students, who were courageous in their efforts and showed respectful behaviour throughout the day. Congratulations to all students on their sportsmanship and demonstrating our school values. 

Thank you to our House Captains and Vice Captains, and the Staff who contributed to a very successful event! Thank you to the parents who supported us, particularly in the hot conditions in the afternoon.

The final scores:

1st Beatty  576       

2nd Jellico  539

3rd Cadorna  510     

We will publish the names of the students invited to compete in the LSSSA Athletics Carnival at the Northern Athletics Centre (St. Leonards) on Thursday 27 March in the next Newsletter. These students will receive a letter with a permission slip that needs to be returned to the school office by Wednesday 19 March.

House Keeping from our Carnival - There was an item of clothing left in the grandstand with a pair of glasses in the pocket. If this is yours, please collect from the School Office.

Josh Leighton - Health and Physical Education Teacher

Our annual Brixhibition Competition was held on Friday March 7, with 71 individuals and 35 teams registering for the event. Students in Prep to Year 6 voted for their favourite builds in each age group, with Edgar in 3/4U receiving the highest number of votes.  Congratulations Edgar on being the overall school winner at Mowbray Heights Primary School for 2025!

Edgar has been invited to showcase his design in the ‘Grand Competition’ at the Launceston Brixhibition Event held on April 26-27.

Well done to all of the participants, especially our age group winners and runners-up.

Team Entries:

Winner	Runner up
Kinder - Prep Inaya & Zaynab - Prep Fletcher	Kinder - Prep Hugo, Arnav & Noah Prep Fletcher
Year 1-2 Aubrey, Esther, Nomi San & Mercy - 1-2 Ostersen Neville	Year 1 - 2 Kee Har, Bloom, Levi & Rhino 1-2 Ostersen Neville
Year 3 - 4 Meika & Laura - 3-4 Boon-Smith	Year 3 -4 Navindu & Henry 3-4 Boyle
Year 5 - 6 Jasper & Kye - 5-6 Geale	Year 5 - 6 Savannah, Macey - 5-6 Geale & Adaora 5-6 Bodell

Individual Entries:

Winner	Runner Up
Kinder - Prep Edison - Prep Freeman	Kinder - Prep Zaiden Prep Fletcher
Year 1-2 Amber 1-2 Ostersen Neville	Year 1 - 2 Daisy 1-2 Paulsen
Year 3-4 Edgar 3-4 Uffelmann	Year 3 - 4 Ryan R 3-4 Partridge
Year 5-6 Oscar 5-6 Bodell	Year 5 - 6 Bronte 5-6 Geale

Overall Mowbray Heights Primary School Winner:

Aimee Pridmore

Launching into Learning groups have started!

We would love to re-connect with our families and welcome new ones with children from birth to 4 years.

Why come to Launching into Learning?

• Play and learn alongside your child
• Meet other families
• Get to know the school staff
• Get ready for school

Programs include Kindy Gym, Pre Kinder, Playgroup and stay and play. See the information below for times and details.

Please talk to a member of the LiL team or the school office if you would like some more information about our programs.

Lisa Probert, Danielle Evans and Kelsey Campbell

We are so pleased to invite parents and carers to come into school for a Parent and Carer Teacher Meeting.  This opportunity is extended to all families with children from Kindergarten to Year 6.

This first Parent and Carer Teacher Meeting for the year provides a great opportunity to connect, talk about how your child has settled into school and set goals for the remainder of the year. Parent and Carer Teacher Meetings are also a time when you are most welcome to share information about your child and ask any questions. Communication is a two way process where information is shared and involves listening to and learning from each other.  

Prep - Year 6 teachers will provide families with a Progress Report, indicating an assessment of your child's learning behaviours and social skills.

A letter has been sent home with the details you need to know. Please read the information carefully and return the form with your preferences for times and dates for your meeting as soon as possible. Meeting times have already been scheduled for EAL families requiring an interpreter. We invite you to record in the 2025 Parent Teacher Agenda section, specific information that you would like to discuss about your child. 

If your letter has been misplaced please ask your child's class teacher for a replacement.

Parent and Carer Teacher Meetings are a very important part of our Reporting to Parents schedule and we encourage all families to attend. Childcare is available for school age children in the PAC.

Kindergarten - Year 6 Parent Teacher Meetings are held over two weeks, with the final day being Wednesday 19 March. 

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is held in March. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests.  NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school's assessment and reporting process, and it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

NAPLAN is an online assessment (except for Year 3 writing which is a paper based assessment). NAPLAN Online provides a better and more precise assessment. The assessments feature a tailored test design where the questions a student receives will depend on their answers to previous questions. 

2025 NAPLAN testing will be held from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March.

Individual student performance in NAPLAN is shown on a national achievement scale for each test. The performance of individual students can be compared to the average performance of all students in Australia. Parents will receive their child's individual report.

Thank you for supporting your child’s participation in this important national initiative.  All we ask is they simply do their best.

Invoices will be sent home to families who have not been approved for STAS in the next couple of weeks.  This composite levy covers almost everything, including learning materials, resources, equipment, excursions and performances.  It does not cover specialised activities such as the Leavers’ Dinner, cost of school photo or any other optional activity.

Families are able to choose between a single payment of the levy or they may take advantage of a range of payment options. You are most welcome to discuss your needs with Ms Tina Todman our School Business Manager (6326 1892).

The Student Assistance Scheme provides assistance for low income families towards the cost of levies. STAS is provided to the school rather than paid directly to families. STAS 2025 application forms are available for new enrolments, or for families who have not applied for, or been in receipt of STAS in 2024. Please note, being the holder of a Centrelink Health Care Card does not automatically mean that a family will be approved for STAS. Families who were approved and received STAS in 2024 have been sent correspondence regarding STAS 2025 directly from the Department for Education, Children and Young People. STAS application forms can be downloaded from the Department's website at www.decyp.tas.gov.au or collected from our school office.