Mount Ousley Public School News

This week we have seen our students do their very best writing and show their reading comprehension skills in the NAPLAN assessments. These assessments will continue next week with with Language Conventions and Numeracy. I am sure we will keep up the great work. 

On a sad note, we have had two instances of graffiti on our external signage this week. On Monday and Tuesday mornings, we arrived to see our beautiful signs had been defaced by people tagging and drawing on them. This was confronting and upsetting for both students and staff. The police are now involved and we are hopeful that they can track down those responsible. If you know of or have seen anyone hanging around the entrances to our school on the weekends or late in the afternoons this week, please contact the school. If you are witness to this destructive behaviour please contact the police directly. 

Last week our entries in the Keirabald portrait art competition were unveiled at the Project Art Centre in Wollongong. Our students have worked extremely hard on their entries and two of our entries were acknowledged in the ceremony on the opening night. In first place for Year 5 was Amelie P's artwork titled 'Imaginary Friends' and in the Year 6 category Astrid P received a Highly Commended. This is an outstanding achievement for our students. I encourage all families to visit the centre and admire the artworks of our and other schools over the next few weeks. It is an amazing demonstration of the creative talents we have in our community. 

With the ever changing rules and regulations there are now procedures we must follow for students and staff who have contracted COVID or are a household contact of a person with Covid. These are as follows;

• If you are Covid positive you must stay at home for the isolation period of 7 days. If you continue to be unwell after this time it is important that you continue to rest and recover. 
• If there is a person in your house who has tested positive you must inform the school on the day they test positive (Mon-Fri) or on Monday if they test positive over the weekend. 
• You are a household contact if you live with a person who is Covid positive. 
• If you are a household contact and are symptom free, you may attend school/work, if you test negative each day and wear a mask indoors. 
• Students will be encouraged to wear a mask indoors. We will provide these for them. 

All schools have been asked to keep a record of household contacts who are on our sites to provide critical information to the Minister's office. 

Thank you for assisting us in keeping everyone healthy and safe by keeping your children home when they are sick. If they test negative for Covid but are still unwell, it is preferred that they are kept home until they are well. 

Today your child will be bringing home the next distribution of RAT Kits for future use.

We are in urgent need of volunteers for the canteen. This week our long standing canteen champion, Anthea, has had to resign her position at our canteen for personal reasons. This has left a huge hole in the organisation and running of our canteen. If you can help in any way please contact Mandy at amandalawler77@gmail.com. We also continue to need volunteers to staff the canteen on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. If you can spare some time to assist you would be helping to keep our canteen open. 

Well it’s that time of year again when our school seriously starts talking about walking! On Friday 20 May, Mount Ousley will be participating in National Walk Safely to School day. 

Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:

• Walking with them the whole way to school
• If they get the bus or train, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop
• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.

On Friday 20th May, we will be encouraging all students to walk safely to school. We will also have 2 Walking Buses, where parents and students are welcome to meet at 8:15am, and walk together to school.

Our meeting points will be:

1. Next to the Pedestrian crossing on Cabbage Tree Lane (outside of Good Samaritan Primary School), or
2. Corner of McGrath Street and David Crescent.

Please see the below walking map. If you are interested in being a Walking Bus parent leader, please contact the office before Tuesday 17th May. 

The UCI World Road Championships is being hosted by the City of Wollongong from 18 to 25 September 2022. 

This is an exciting event for our city and will attract people from right around the globe.

The event will take place during the last week of Term 3, and the time trials running along a city circuit from Monday 19 to Friday 23 September, will affect the operations of a number of schools in the Wollongong area, to varying degrees.

Representatives from the NSW Department of Education are currently working with affected schools, UCI, Wollongong City Council, the State Government and Transport on a plan to support the event and minimise disruption to each school as much as possible.

Schools impacted will have a unique plan developed in consultation with key stakeholders, factoring access for students and staff. 

Special arrangements will be communicated when finalised. 

We ask for your patience, understanding and support while these arrangements are decided upon. 

To learn more about this upcoming event, you can visit the UCI 2022 Road World Championships -Frequently Asked Questions page at UCI FAQ

Outstanding Accounts

This week our lovely office staff are continuing to follow up with families who have not yet paid for Life Education Van and Footsteps Dance. If you have not already paid for these incursions please  promptly pay them either through the website or in cash at the office. We need to ensure all accounts are paid prior to the end of the financial year and we appreciate your assistance in this matter. 

TERM 2

Please see below our list of school events for the upcoming months: