Mount Ousley Public School News

Who can believe that we are now in week 9 of term 3? Time is flying by as our students are continuing to learn and grow their skills across all key learning areas, creative pursuits and sporting ventures. These regular parts of schooling continue to look different to previous years, but our students and staff continue to adjust and make the best of the opportunities we have.

A huge congratulations goes out to the Tournament of Minds team who have won the regional event for the 4th year in a row. This is a magnificent achievement for our students and they are extremely proud of this accolade. Thank you Miss Brule for your commitment to the students and this project as a whole. It would not be the success it is without your support. 

The Game Changers also competed over the weekend in their statewide competition, unfortunately they were unsuccessful in making it to the next round, this time. The submissions these students created are amazing and we look forward to sharing them with our community through our social media pages. 

You may be aware that there has been a concerted effort to increase the attendance of our students. Our priority is to have all students at school, on time, each day, unless they are unwell or have a justified reason for being absent. It is extremely important if your child is absent from school that the office is informed. A SeeSaw message, phone call or even a note sent in with your child when they return, are all great ways of communicating the reason for the absence with us. I would like to thank all those who have been contacted for your prompt response to the letters that have been sent home. These letters will continue to be part of our attendance procedures each fortnight. You may also receive a phone call or SeeSaw message from your child's teacher if we have not received an explanation for 2 consecutive days of absenteeism. 

New procedures for evacuation and lockdowns are now in place. We have had a new element added to our existing bell system that allows the communication of evacuations and lock-downs to be in line with Australian standards. This new system is designed to make our communication during an emergency easier and clearer. Today students participated in an emergency evacuation drill to enable them to practice what to do in these situations. Students did a wonderful job of responding calmly and following the instructions of their teachers. Well done everyone!

As we head towards the end of term 3, which occurs on Friday 25th September, it is important to remember that students resume on Monday 12th October. We look forward to another wonderful term of creativity, innovation and learning. 

September 25             Last day of term - Crazy Hair Day

Term 4

October     19-23        Book Week - Dress up Friday 23rd

                    21              MOPS Mega Book Swap

                    22              School Photos

G’day! My name is Jimmy and I have just recently joined Mount Ousley Public as the School

Chaplain.

I am an enthusiastic and outgoing individual with a passion for seeing children and youth

realising and taking hold of their potential.

I currently study Social Work at UOW and have worked with youth and children for over 5

years in various religious and school settings.

I love anything to do with the outdoors, particularly soccer and surfing, although I’ve been

quite content staying away from Bulli and Austinmer beach this last week!

My role as a Chaplain is to provide additional support for the school community to assist

with the social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing for all students. This support may include running a number of programs tailored to the needs of the school such as grief or loss, resilience building, mental health and anti-bullying. It may also include one-to-one care, mentoring and networking with the local community to provide a broad range of support services to the school.

The passion and care for the students that the teaching staff have here at MOPS has been obvious to me from my first day here. I have felt very welcomed by them and look forward to working with both staff and parents as we strive to support students in their learning and wellbeing.

Did you know only 35% of First Nations kids in remote communities can read by Year Five? We want to change this and we need your help! We are organising the MOPS Mega Book Swap because we want to raise money so they can have new books.

We need people to donate books that are in good condition by the 16th of October. Please bring them to Ms Fitzpatrick’s office by the end of Week One next term. Then we will have a book swap where, for a gold coin donation, you can choose a new book.

The MOPS Mega Book Swap will be during Book Week, on Wednesday 21st of October. It would be really nice if you could help because you will be helping First Nations kids to read and write better.

 Thanks for you help,

 The First Nations Team

'COME AND JOIN OUR FAMILY'

We are currently taking enrolments for all scholastic years.  Contact the school office on 4285411 if you require information.

To raise awareness for organ donation we participated in Jersey day. Students and staff had a fun day of friendly rivalry as we defended the honour of our chosen team. Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in this very important awareness day. The main purpose of the day is to start a conversation about organ donation and why it it import. Did you know? In 2019, 1,683 lives were transformed by 548 deceased and 239 living organ donors and their families.

JERSEY DAY has been inspired by the story of NATHAN GREMMO who was tragically lost in an accident in May 2015. Nathan’s family chose to give the gift of life to others to honour the legacy of Nathan’s generous personality.

Great news!!!!    At this stage, the school's canteen will finally be operational from the start of Term 4, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you are available and would like to be a volunteer please contact Amanda via email on 

The students are very excited about having the canteen reopened, please support us by volunteering your time. 

In the lead up to summer, students will learn about sun protection, and how to make healthy, safe and proactive choices that reduce their risk of skin cancer.

 Statistics show that melanoma is the most common cancer affecting young Australians aged 15-24. With that in mind, we will be teaching students about the dangers of sun exposure and that skin cancer prevention starts with practising sun-safe behaviours at school.

This focus on sun safety follows the release of a suite of interactive skin cancer prevention resources for NSW schools. The Sun and UV at School classroom resources are curriculum aligned and have been developed by the Cancer Institute NSW in consultation with the NSW Department of Education, other education advisors and Cancer Council’s SunSmart program.

 As part of the initiative, students will be encouraged to take part in a Sun and UV School Challenge, designing contemporary shade solutions that protect them, their friends and local community from the harmful effects of the sun. cancer.nsw.gov.au/sun-school