Week 3, Term 2 | 13 May 2022

I believe with all my heart that what we do for our boys here at Mosman Prep, through the provision of a specialist primary school opportunity, is both unique and outstanding. 

What we have on offer is a ‘journey’, exciting and fulfilling - a truly great educational and life experience and foundation.  

I love attending our Old Boys annual social events and hearing old boys, who have recently completed their secondary schooling, share stories of their Mosman Prep adventure, particularly in Years 5 and 6. 

During our strategy forums last year, the Old Boys Committee unanimously highlighted how special it was to attend a different primary school in its entirety, than the secondary school that followed. (They had all finished at Mosman Prep in Year 6, some 10 years ago, some 50+ years ago). 

They also felt they were better prepared than most of their secondary school peers, even than those who had attended the primary school attached to that secondary school.  

The Old Boys spoke about the power of having the individual strengths of their primary school and secondary school, and the full appreciation they had for the uniqueness of each experience.  

Completing their primary school journey in Year 6 at Mosman Prep allows our boys to: 

• Benefit from the complete sequential learning and character journeys.
• Experience the increased and full opportunities for student leadership.
• Benefit from the rich experiences of the Year 5 Coffs Harbour trip, including connecting with the Aboriginal people of that area.
• Grow immensely through the highly unique Year 6 ‘pack and paddle’ on the Shoalhaven River (2 days of walking, canoeing and camping), and Central Australian Trip, where challenges lead to incredible personal growth.
• Time and maturity to reinforce friendships and network connections which will last a lifetime. 
• Celebrate the significant ‘end of journey’ milestone with the friends they have travelled alongside, at the ‘Valedictory Dinner’. Here each boy speaks about his journey at Mosman Prep, often leaving parents stirred to tears by the depth of reflection, and by pride in their son’s achievements along the way.

It is a significant milestone for our boys to finish their primary school journey in Year 6 at Mosman Prep. I haven’t seen a graduation quite so special in any school, and I believe those who graduate here are better prepared for their secondary school transition.

I am blessed to liaise with Old Boys in their 90s. A common reflection from them is that Mosman Prep helped develop in them, the character foundations of their life, more than their hectic secondary or tertiary years. Such foundations are formed best through the richness of a complete Mosman Prep journey.

As the need arises, I am committed to assisting you in choosing the best Secondary School for your son. It would be my pleasure to meet with you to discuss potential pathways, as you plan for the future. Please don’t hesitate to contact my EA, Julie Shortland (ea@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au), should you like to make an appointment with me.

Peter Grimes | Headmaster 

LINK - Raffle Tickets
LINK - Volunteer Sign Up

Our school has such a wonderful connection with St Clement’s Anglican Church. If you’ve come along and enjoyed our Easter and Christmas Services, I’m sure you will enjoy the following events which they are hosting.

Men and Machines

For the Dads, they have 'Men and Machines' on Saturday 14 May from 6:00pm - explore cars from 1960 to today at a 'man cave' in Artarmon, enjoy food and drink and hear from Andrew Fisher, founder of 'Jesus Racing'. Gather a group of Dads from your year and book tickets at https://www.trybooking.com/BZAQZ

Super Sunday - 15 May

This Sunday at their 10:00am service, bring your family to the Super Sunday service where I will be a special guest along with D-Diddy and Kiama Kev!

Christianity Explored

Finally if you'd like to explore more on who Jesus is, St Clement's is running Christianity Explored for 4 weeks beginning Tuesday 17th May from 8pm. Please email me (ddiener@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au) if you are considering attending. 

Non Nobis Solum - Not for Ourselves Alone

As you might be aware, next week from 16-22 May 2022, Australia is celebrating National Volunteer Week. The theme for this year is ‘BETTER TOGETHER’. Volunteering brings people together, it builds communities and creates a better society for everyone. 

Volunteering as a family is not only a great way to connect with your own family, but also with the wider community. Teaching your kids to give back to the community can be the foundation for life-long habits of serving and helping others and living a purposeful life. 

And did you know that research has shown that helping others is one of the most effective ways to increase your own well-being and happiness? Some other proven benefits of volunteering include a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, better satisfaction with life, higher self-esteem, more positivity and less symptoms of anxiety and depression. It can even help you live longer!

If you would like some further information or ideas for volunteering, please see the links below

Link - Volunteering Australia / get-involved
Link - Kids Giving Back
Link - pbs / parents / thrive/ tips-for-volunteering-with-kids

If you would like to talk further about this topic, or you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email Ms Merel and Ms Skye at schoolcounsellor@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au 

Be kind to yourself and others. 

Ms Merel Dekkers | Ms Skye Adams | School Counsellors

We are excited that Mosman Prep is participating in the Junior New South Wales inter-school chess competition for the first time in several years! Being a new activity, it is taking some time to establish our club, but we have some strong leaders in the group. 

Friday 6 May brought with it the first match of the tournament. Students were excited and well prepared. Our A team played Neutral Bay, with some students having to step in at the last minute. The students fared very well and represented Mosman Prep with wonderful sportsmanship. Our B team, who were raring to go, had a last-minute cancellation by the opposing school, but will be involved in the matches at Northbridge Public School this Friday. 

We wish both teams well for the season and thank parents in advance for their support and assistance with transport.

Ms Colleen Elkins | Director of K - 6 Gifted & Talented Education

On Wednesday, Year 4 went on an excursion to the Hyde Park Barracks to learn about life as a convict in the early 1800s. This was a great way for the boys to consolidate their understanding of concepts learned within their Integrated unit this term. 

The boys visited the museum section of the Barracks, which houses old tools and artefacts used by convicts to build and make various things. Understanding the role of manual labour was important as the boys heard about how the buildings were built by convicts, by hand, using tools that required a lot of strength and skill. The lack of technology was evident to the boys who recognised the contrast between now and the past. 

During the visit, the boys were able to experience the sleeping conditions of a convict – spending some time in the hammocks and learning about some of the convicts that had passed through the doors. Whilst the experience was a novelty for the boys, they gained a good understanding of how the environment would’ve impacted those who were sent there. 

The boys were able to replicate a solitary confinement cell and discuss the idea of secondary punishment for the convicts, before viewing more artefacts discovered on site hundreds of years ago. Despite the wet weather dampening the end of our excursion, the boys had a wonderful time and absorbed a great deal of knowledge to continue their learning about convicts and Australian history. 

Special thanks to Ash Connellan and Kate Williams for being our parent volunteers and joining us for a great morning out!

Jo Browne and Annie Hope | Year 4 teachers

Gifted Awareness Week is in May. We would love to have a parent evening with a guest speaker, focusing on the characteristics of Gifted children and their Socio/Emotional needs. This would be a relaxed session allowing for audience participation throughout.

Date: Tuesday 24 May

Time: 5:00pm

Venue: Senior Primary Challenge Room

Light Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to celkins@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au if you would like to attend.

A huge THANK YOU to all our Kindy parents and Liz Fifield for setting up the Mother's Day Stall and having all the boys beautiful designs ready. Pictures below.

Here is a recording of the persuasive text Matthew Thomas in Year 3 wrote, for Mother's Day, to convince us that his mum is the best mum in the world! And a photo below from the class persuasive writing.

Dear Mosman Prep Community,

Many of you will know Carl St Jacques, has been working at Mosman Prep as a strings peripatetic music tutor for a number of years. He has been an inspiration to so many of our boys, teaching violin and viola.

You will be saddened to know that Carl has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, and is undergoing treatment at present. He is unable to work and earn, and would benefit from any help or assistance our community could give. 

On behalf of Carl and his wife, we would like to reach out to our parent community to support our ‘GoFundMe’ campaign to raise money for Carl. 

Link to Donate - GoFundMe

He wishes to keep this information away from social media. Thank you for respecting this request.

Thank you for your support and prayers. 

Kind regards,

Mosman Preparatory School

Change of Pick up Arrangements and Forgotten Items

While there will be times where changes in pick up arrangements are required, and subsequent contact with the Office made, this should only occur on very rare occasions, as arrangements should be made and communicated with boys clearly in the morning.

Parents should avoid making special trips to the School to deliver forgotten clothing, equipment, or school work. Making such trips doesn’t support a child’s growth in the areas of responsibility, resilience and resourcefulness.

Although there will be emergencies and exceptions, class learning can also be disrupted by the delivery of messages and items throughout the day.

Thank you for joining us last Wednesday evening for our Empowering Parents seminar with parenting expert, Dr Justin Coulson, who presented 3 Secrets to a Happier Family. We hope you found the session helpful in informing and equipping you to build a happier family and better connections with your children.

We would be grateful to receive your feedback on the session. Please click here to complete a short survey.

If you registered but weren’t able to attend, you can watch a recording of the session here.

Michelle Terry | Marketing and Communications Manager 

Mosman Prep families are invited to join The King’s School registrar and Mr Peter Grimes for a guided tour of The King’s School on Tuesday 21 June.

Click on the button below for more information and register here - https://enrol.kings.edu.au/community-event

It will be a wonderful opportunity to experience all King’s has to offer your son in High School.

Well done to Year 6 boys, Hugo Boorman, Harry Childs and Toby Foote who on Monday attended the CIS (Combined Independent Schools) Rugby League trials. All boys performed admirably but special congratulations to Hugo who was selected in the CIS team!

Hugo will now go on to represent CIS at NSWPSSA (State) Rugby League Championships from 21-23 June in Kiama.

Congratulations to Year 6 boys Hugo Boorman, Henry Crookes, Toby Foote, Eddie Godfrey and Monty Hartman who attended the IPSHA Rugby trials on Tuesday this week. All boys performed extremely well with Hugo, Henry and Eddie now invited to attend the NSWCIS Rugby trials later in the term. Well done, boys!

We will be attending the NSW Primary Schools 7's Tournament taking place at Hassall Park, St Ives on Wednesday 25 May, entering two sides, a Junior (Years 3/4 combined) and a Senior (Years 5/6 combined). 

Parents of boys selected, will be notified with further details on Monday 16 May.

The Balmoral Burn takes place up Awaba Street on Sunday 29 May.

We are entering a MCEPS team (all welcome) into one of the many races taking place, the Year 3-6 Primary Schools Challenge: 9:25am race start. There is also a K-2 Race at 9:20am for younger boys.

All boys are welcome to take part. Those who enter in the Year 3-6 race will need to meet Mr Lespierre at 8:45am at the Balmoral Beach Rotunda wearing their School PE Uniform (navy blue polo) or athletics uniform. Please allow time prior to this to collect registration packs, timing devices etc if need be. REGISTRATION (link HERE) - For Years K-2 & 3-6 (including Primary School Challenge) races, parents should register their children in 'Individual or Family 2022', and then select Mosman Prep as their child's school. This will ensure their entry is also part of the Primary School Challenge.

We will again also be entering school teams in the ‘Primary Schools Challenge’ event at the: 

• Mini-Mos Marathon (https://www.mini-mos.com/2022-.../ - 2km race) on Sunday 19 June. 

Parents enter their child's details, as their age determines which races they can enter. During the registration, they just select "Mosman Church of England Preparatory School” from the list of schools in the participant questions. Parents need to register their sons and all Mosman Prep boys are welcome to enter.

Term 2

• Friday 6 May: Friday Sport Recommences for Year 5/6.
• Wednesday 25 May: Sydney North NSW Rugby 7’s Competition (selected Y3/4 and Y5/6 teams).
• Sunday 29 May: Balmoral Burn Fun Run, Balmoral - TBC.
• Tuesday 7 June: Junior Primary Athletics Carnival, Terrey Hills. All day.
• Saturday 11 June: No Saturday Sport (Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend).
• Sunday 19 June: Mini-Mos Marathon (2km Fun Run) - TBC.
• Saturday 18 June: IPSHA Winter Sport (Rd 7) finishes for Term 2

Saturdays: On Saturdays the MCEPS Information Line will be updated between 6:30am and 7:00am. This number has the most up-to-date information the School can provide regarding matters of sport and excursions. Parents are to call this number and not the School
Office. After heavy rain Mosman Council often closes its grounds, so please check with this number for all school sport and excursion cancellations.

Weekdays: In case of inclement weather, please ring the Prep Information Line, which will be updated from 1.00pm. Ovals might be closed by Mosman Council on fine days, if the preceding days have been wet. It is therefore advised that parents should ring the School’s Information Line on training days if there has been rain. 

PLEASE NOTE:  if the message has not been updated, Sport is ON as scheduled.

For the schedule of school events, please refer to the online calendar, which can be found HERE. Government decisions due to COVID restrictions may require us to alter our scheduled events at short notice. The calendar will be updated accordingly. 

The P&F and BACK TO SCHOOL events team are looking for a small number of totally awesome volunteers. 

If you are in a position to donate 30-120 mins of your time that would be wicked. 

Please 'sign up' on the roster link below. 'Set up' shifts are available on Friday 20 May, in addition to lending a hand on the night. YES, you can sign up for more than one shift, in fact that would be rad. Thank you!

Link - Sign up - BACK TO SCHOOL Volunteers

In response to recent food price increases, the Canteen will be making adjustments to some menu prices commencing in Term 2, 2022. 

The Canteen is run by the P&F and has always aimed to provide high quality healthy options for the boys and is operated with a view to being a service offering rather than a fundraising source.

The price changes will allow us to continue to offer high quality produce for the boys to enjoy. If you have any queries, please get in touch at pandf@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au

If you have any questions for the P&F or would like to volunteer please do not hesitate to get in touch at pandf@mosman.prep.nsw.edu.au.

The secondhand Uniform shop has now reopened on Tuesdays (7.45-8.30am) and Thursdays (2.45-3.30pm). 

Online ordering has been paused whilst the backlog of orders is collected from the School office.

The P&F cannot guarantee the availability of items (especially larger sizes) but will fulfil orders twice a week, with delivery via the School Office.

Payment is via bank transfer on receipt.