Food allergies continue to increase at alarming rates. One in 10 infants now has a food allergy. The most common food allergies in childhood are cow's milk, egg, peanut and tree nut. Risk cannot be removed but it can be managed. Children at risk of anaphylaxis and those caring for them must know how to reduce the possibility of a reaction, be able to recognise a reaction when it happens, and know how to respond. Have a look at the Food Allergy Week website to see what you can do to make your home and school more allergy aware. The website... Read more

Protecting the privacy of personal information is increasingly important at a time when we are sharing more details about ourselves online than ever before. While interacting online can be great for kids, it also makes them more vulnerable. To help reduce the risk of cyberbullying, unwanted attention or breaches of their privacy, you can: encourage them to keep their usernames and passwords safe and not share them with anyone take them through the privacy settings of sites they join to ensure they are careful about what information they share... Read more

Kids and families tend to run more smoothly when there is a clear plan. So the online parent resource School A to Z has created printable homework and study calendars for each month of the year. The School A to Z website and mobile app can also help with common assignment and homework questions. In the Homework and study section you'll find links to useful websites, maths and English glossaries, and help sheets to make homework time easier in your house. Print your homework and study calendar pages for the rest of 2013. If you have ideas for... Read more

Spelling is an important skill but one that can be a problem for many children. However, there are some simple strategies you can use to help your child develop confidence in their spelling ability. What you can do to help your child with spelling: Explain to your child that some words can be sounded out, but not all English words can be spelt correctly by ‘sounding out', eg the words ‘you' and ‘said'. Talk to your child about how you spell, and what you do when you don't know how to spell a word. Encourage your child to write at home on... Read more

Last week Merimbula Public School held a "Pink Breakfast" to raise money for the Cancer Council. Community members, families and friends attended the successful fundraiser, joining students to raise over $1500. Thank you to Goodall's Butchery, Tura Beach and In The Mix Bakery, the Boardwalk Ice Creamery and Woolworths for kindly supporting this event.... Read more

A reminder to parents about the operation of school speed zones around the Easter holidays. School zones exist for the safety of children and families; they will operate on Thursday 28 March, then resume on Tuesday 2 April. Forty-kilometres-an-hour school speed zones operate across New South Wales at all school sites on gazetted school days, which are all days the school is open, even pupil-free days. Find out more... Read more

As mentioned in this week's newsletter, the school will be trialling some alternative lunch / break arrangements in Term 2. Changes come as a result of staff and parent suggestions / feedback regarding research into healthy eating and learning practices and have been supported unanimously by the P&C who attended our March meeting. Please read the attached letter for all the details. 14/03/2013 Term 2 Lunch & Break Times (pdf 378 KB)... Read more

Writing essays is a skill many of us have forgotten. But don't worry – here are a few tips to help you and your child, even if you're not familiar with the essay topic. Key points: Determine 'what is the question asking?' Essays follow a specific formula Introduction – state your response to the question and mention the points to be made in the body of the essay. Body – expand on the points introduced in the introduction. Don't introduce new thoughts at this stage. Conclusion – summarise the points discussed in the body. One idea per... Read more

Wednesday March 6 (during K-2 disco) 5pm – 6.25pm 5H classroom (room closest to office) The TEN program provides support for K-2 teachers to assist children in the development of addition and subtraction numeracy skills. It specifically helps teachers to identify and support children who may be at risk in numeracy. K-2 teachers at Merimbula PS were formally trained in the program in the second half of 2012 and the program continues to be successfully implemented in all K-2 classes this year. Due to the success of the program, the school is... Read more

Last Friday (February 22) over 30 Merimbula Public School students travelled to Candelo Pool to take part in the Far South Coast Primary School Sports Association (PSSA) Zone Carnival. All students did extremely well, with many students achieving personal best times on the day. The school's Senior Boys Relay Team came second overall on the day and will now be travelling to Dapto for the Illawarra South East Region Carnival on Tuesday, March 5. The team consists of: George Schweitzer, Angus Tarpey, Charlie McGuire and Joel Dunkin. The Senior... Read more

Recently at Merimbula Public School, parents, caregivers and teachers met to discuss kindergarten programs, activities and the positive start to the 2013 school year. During this information session, students participated in a range of games and fun activities. The evening was a huge success with families and staff celebrating the quality start with a friendly BBQ. "Our 58 kindergarten students are a great group of children" shared Principal Michelle Hulme. "They have had a great start to the year, being engaged and ready to learn. Our... Read more

After playing in the NRL All Stars vs Indigenous All Stars match recently, Jack Wighton visited Merimbula Public School! With him were his Canberra Raiders team-mates Mitch Cronin and Sami Sauiluma, NRL Development Officer Daniel York and Canberra Raiders Community Relations Manager Jake Roarty. While at Merimbula Public School they showed a DVD titled "Tackle Bullying", which explained to students what bullying is, that bullying is unacceptable and what some anti-bullying strategies are. The players shared stories about how bullying has... Read more

We are currently taking orders for the school spray jackets for delivery toward the end of Term 2. Please fill in the attached order form and return to the office with the money as soon as possible. Jacket Order Form (pdf 382 KB)... Read more

A panel of experts answers the most common questions parents have about how they can best support their kids' school life, study, wellbeing and development. In five brief segments, the experts share their tips on how parents can: help their kids reach their full potential at school and motivate them for learning support their child's social development and handle schoolyard conflict support kids through the teenage years. keep up with the technology their kids are using and how to keep them safe online. Watch the Great start videos... Read more

This year the school is running the popular group tea towel project to help raise funds for reading resources. The unique souvenir tea towels contain pictures drawn by all the students and staff of each Stage (therefore there will be a Kindergarten tea towel, a Years 1 and 2 towel, a Years 3 and 4 towel and a Years 5 and 6 towel so that your child's design is large enough to be seen!). The pictures will be arranged into the Stage's commemorative design and will be screen printed in blue onto high quality white tea towels. We chose this project... Read more

Congratulations to all students who were voted as School Leaders, House Captains / Vice Captains, Technology Monitors, Library Monitors, Flag Monitors, Bus Monitors and Class Student Representative Council (SRC) Representatives. Your continued dedication to demonstrating the school values of 'Care', 'Respect', 'Responsibility' and 'Fairness' has been recognised by your peers, resulting in you being chosen to represent them at meetings and when coordinating special activities and events. The school is very proud of you! The presentation... Read more

Welcome to 2013 at Merimbula Public School! As in previous years exercise books, activity booklets and on-line educational site subscriptions are paid for by the school. We all know how children love to have their own pencil cases and belongings though, therefore the school has put together some lists to help you support your child in getting ready for the 2013 school year. You will find these lists in your child's 'stage' section under 'DOWNLOADS' (They were also sent home with last year's Semester 2 reports). All students should have a... Read more

Merimbula Public School would like to welcome new families and students to the area. Enrolments for 2013 will be taken from 8.30am on Tuesday, January 29 in the Administration Office (entry located on Randolph Street). To book a school tour and an interview with the Principal, Mrs Michelle Hulme, please contact the office on (02)64951266 from 8.15am on Tuesday.... Read more

School staff have been getting classrooms and facilities ready for 2013 over the past few weeks! Staff are very excited to welcome children, parents and caregivers back and meet new families starting at the school. Staff will be on duty from 8.30am on Wednesday, January 30 to welcome students back. Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6) students are to place their bags in the Canteen Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA), Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) students should place their bags upstairs along the library wall and Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) students should place... Read more