Week 5, Term 2 | 27 May 2022

“The Back to School FUNraiser” last Saturday night, I’m sure you will agree, was a very special P&F community event in so many ways.

Mosman Prep is known widely for its warmth and compassion, where relationships and deep connection are intentionally encouraged and highly prized.

Saturday night was a classic example!

The small and large halls were transformed spectacularly into vibrant, exciting spaces; the food superbly delicious; the band provoked plenty of dancing; and the flash mob ‘Mambo’ routine added further excitement and colour to the festivities.

All these elements came together to produce an electrifying buzz of reconnection and a wonderful spirit of community.

We paused briefly during the evening to remind ourselves of how we have benefited at Mosman Prep from the generosity of generations before us, through their provision of spirit, facilities and equipment. We also considered the opportunity and privilege we now have to enrich the lives of our sons and those of future generations, by providing the ‘new Creative Arts facilities'.

I am extremely thankful for the generosity of the parents who attended the FUNraiser, and those who contributed prizes and monetary donations to achieve an incredible $80,000 towards this exciting project - these facilities will inspire and contribute to a further sense of joy in the school and to the development of our boys’ skills in creative arts and learning in general.

Our deep gratitude goes to Myaka Hawkins whose coordination of the event was remarkable indeed! We are extremely thankful for her vision, attention to detail, sense of fun, and commitment of time and energy, which (due to rescheduling) extended over 18 months.

Myaka was supported superbly by the committee including Jane Hawkins, Simone Landers, Anna Donnan, Michelle Charnock, and Liz Fifield, all giving so generously of their time and energy.

Special thanks to staff members Mr Tim Hudson who did a great job as MC, and Rev. Daryl Diener (aka Victor) who entertained us with his pre-dancing warm-up shenanigans.

We are grateful for the additional support provided by Rahul Shaw, Mary Basil, Laura Waddilove, Karen Hopkins, Paul Thomas, and auctioneer Rob Ward.

It truly was a spectacular evening in every regard! Thank you!

Peter Grimes | Headmaster

Wow, what a night! It was so fantastic to have you all ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’, with lines on pockets, big smiles and dancing shoes.  Thank you so much for not only joining us, but putting the FUN into FUN(d)raiser.  

The long COVID lockdown of 2021 determined that we needed to kick up our shoes and bring the Mosman Prep community back together again - and that we did! Despite the social leaning, we still managed to raise a whooping $80,000.

It would not have happened without the generous donations of the school and broader community.  

Once again thank you to the following families for donating our big-ticket auction items. The Rothwell family (for not only donating their boat once, but TWICE), The Marsh Family, McAssey Family and Messara Family.  

A big thanks to Mark and Lynsey Paton for donating all of the wine on the night and Rob Ward, auctioneer extraordinaire.  

A special thank you to the following for your donations: Mosman Cricket Club, Cindy Deng, Kat Li, Tammy Yuan, Jacqui Foord, Randy Park, Tom Giles - Up to Speed, My Curated Life, Tania's Travelling Tadpoles, Gunners Barracks, Hoda Waterhouse, Lagree Fit, Lee Matthews, The Boathouse, Sydney Cooking School, FluidForm Pilates, Classic Cupcake Company, Momentum Physio, NumberWorks'n'Words, Sydney Chocolate School, BX1 Mosman Martial Arts Academy and finally to everyone who donated a bottle of wine to the Chairman's Cellar which raised us a whopping $6,500.  

Please support the local businesses that support our school.  

Congratulations to Craig Marsh and Alexis Wills for being crowned Prom King and Prom Queen.

Well done to our raffle winners - Melissa Hartman taking home first prize and the gorgeous $10,000 diamond necklace from Armans Jewellers, Anna Kennard received The Star overnight package and George Walker who won the Whiskey Package.  

There was some strong competition during the silent and live auctions. Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you for supporting the school with your generous bids.  

Photos of the evening are now available to purchase until 17 June,  Link - Mosman Prep/gallery/Back to School There are some great shots of everyone on the red carpet, AND carving up the dance floor to the fabulous Party Anthem Band.  

Finally, a massive shout out to Rev Diener and Mr Hudson for their absolute commitment to the cause. They got the moves baby.  

…and that, fellow Graduates is a wrap. On behalf of the P&F and the events team, thank you for all of your support. 

Myaka Hawkins

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Last week, staff at Mosman Prep refreshed our First Aid skills by completing a special cardiopulmonary resuscitation course. This training was to equip us with life-saving skills, so that we would be prepared to save a life.

This week, Medic Mike from our Easter Service visited Senior CRU and spoke about the connection between first aid and what Jesus did for us. We learned that Jesus is the ultimate First Aid Saver. In fact, Jesus sacrificed his very own life, so that we could receive eternal life!! 

• Interview with Medic Mike

There are only 46 spaces left at our Cool CRU Day Camp!

This year we are going all out! We will spend two days onsite, two days at our Terrey Hills Outdoor Education Campus and a day excursion to Taronga Zoo. Activities include jumping castle, scooter ball, laser tag, nerf tag, funbox creation, plus much more!

I look forward to seeing many boys (and their siblings) at this great week-long Day Camp.

Registration details - https://crudaycamps.com.au/cool-cru

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Carl St Jacques who had been working at Mosman Prep as a strings peripatetic music tutor for a number of years. Carl lost his battle with lung cancer earlier this week. He was an inspiration to so many of our boys, teaching violin and viola.

The School was thankful to speak with Carl and his wife Jackie over the past weeks, and to let them know how much people loved Carl and the positive impact he has had on others. They were very grateful and overwhelmed by people’s generosity and care in raising money to support them.

If you missed the opportunity to contribute, and would like to do so, please see the Link to Donate - GoFundMe

We continue to keep Jackie in our prayers and sincerely thank you for your support.

Kind regards,

Peter Grimes | Headmaster

Just a little reminder to all families in the Mosman Prep community. We are fortunate enough to be a school who is partnering with Dr Justin Coulson and his Happy Families podcast. As such you have access to his Webinars and resources, and the best part is, it is FREE. 

Justin is a father of 6 children, an expert in psychology and a very gifted communicator. He has a variety of webinars, books, podcasts, and was recently co-host on the TV series, Parental Guidance. 

Some of his well known wise quotes include, “Mistakes lead to mastery.”

“Be curious, not furious.” & “Your children will be excellent if they know they are loved.” He shares his knowledge and experience with warmth, humour and compassion. His resources are made for the time-poor parent who just needs answers now!  

Don't miss out on this amazing resource, sign up here. 

Link - Happy Families/Mosman Prep

If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to contact Merel or myself, at schoolcounsellor@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au or sadams@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au 

Be kind to yourselves,

Ms Merel Dekkers / Ms Skye Adams | School Counsellors

Gifted Awareness Week

It has been Gifted Awareness Week, which presents the opportunity to focus on the needs of gifted students.

On Monday, Queenwood staff joined us for a presentation by guest speaker, Dr Minh Ngyuen Hoan, a psychologist well known for his work with gifted children and their families. He addressed the topic of the social and emotional needs of gifted students and offered strategies for helping with these in the educational setting.

Guest Speaker Social and Emotional Needs

Sydney Writers’ Festival

On Tuesday 24 May, the Year 5 and 6 English Challenge boys attended the Sydney Writers’ Festival and had the pleasure of being addressed by Nat Amoore, Remy Lai, Matt Stanton and Corey Tutt. 

On the same day, we also had Mrs Suzanne Plume, a guest speaker, conduct a workshop with our parents about the social/ emotional aspects of giftedness. She was well received, and many insightful conversations were had. Thank you to those parents who attended.

Year 5 and 6 attended the Sydney Writers' Festival on Tuesday 24th May. 

We arrived at the Chatswood Concourse brimming with excitement and anticipation. We were allowed in and were able to eat our recess, as we were all very hungry after the long bus ride. We then entered the theatre with rows and rows of seats and a stage at the front. We were able to see all the other children from different schools. As we got into our seats, Mick Elliot burst into the room getting us all ready for the excitement ahead. Cory Tutt was the first author, he was a specialist in Aboriginal science and history, he taught us many things and showed us his new book ‘The First Scientist’.

After 45 minutes, he left the stage with all the children feeling smarter than before. The second speaker was Nat Amoore, she came skipping into the room with all the children screaming her name. After they settled down she started talking to us about her books. They were based on her childhood when she was younger. She had released a new book which everyone seemed pretty excited about. She was very funny and did a play with Mick Elliot about her favourite movies by acting them out. After she had left we had lunch. 

Many people were queued up to buy all the books by the authors. Especially Nat’s new one. We played handball and burnt off all of our energy. After a while we went back into the theatre and enjoyed the next author, Remy Lai. She was a graphic novel writer and artist. She showed us how to draw different emotions on different animals. All the boys at Mosman Prep were telling her to draw a mole. She didn’t really know how to draw the mole, but did her best. All the boys were laughing and very surprised she did it. 

Later on, Matt Stanton came in and started telling us lots of different stories from exploding whales to conspiracy theories, he was showing us his different inspirations that got him started. He was very funny but also very admirable. He told us many things like not giving up and just because you may not like a book, doesn’t mean you hate reading, it just means you have different interests. 

After a long day of listening to authors, we all got onto the bus ready to head back to school. It was definitely a worthwhile experience!

Tyler Clark 6H

Please join us on Thursday 16 June at our annual Learning Celebration. 

Along with classroom visits, during the evening you will be able to experience music and drama performances; view visual arts, Mandarin, sport, library and learning enhancement displays; explore our Terrey Hills Outdoor Learning Centre program, Camps and Enrichment Programs; and learn more about our Wellbeing and Foundations Programs.

There will be live performances, demonstrations, audio-visual presentations, static displays and interactive opportunities.

Food and drinks will be provided on the night.

Please click Here for more information, and Here to register to assist us with catering.

Our next Kindy Discovery Morning will be held on Friday 10 June at our Terrey Hills campus. 

If you have friends, neighbours or colleagues who have preschool aged children (3-5 years) who are looking for a fun and relaxed introduction to ‘big school’, please pass on the information. We would love to welcome them to these special mornings!

More information and booking details are available here, or you are welcome to pass along the flyer to anyone who is interested. 

We are pleased to inform you that we are offering a range of scholarships for the 2023 school year.

These scholarships will allow for remission of part tuition fees (up to 50%) throughout a student’s primary education through to Year 6. They are available for internal and external applicants, and are subject to satisfactory progress and review.

Academic Scholarships for students entering Years 3, 4, and 5 in 2023 will be awarded on the performance of the student in the scholarship examination to be held on Tuesday 21 June at the School. Applicants are also assessed on a portfolio of achievements.

Music Scholarships for students entering Years 1 and 2 in 2023 are offered to acknowledge the School’s commitment to and excellence in Creative Arts. There are two Music Scholarships on offer:

• Aspiring musicians with a strong musical aptitude.
• Musicians who have the ability to read music and have commenced playing either a String or Wind instrument. 

An interview with the Headmaster for short-listed candidates is an integral part of the process of awarding all scholarships.

Applications close: Friday 17 June                

Applications after this date will attract a $50.00 late fee.

Examination date: Tuesday 21 June

We would appreciate you forwarding this information onto any friends you believe may be interested.

Peter Grimes | Headmaster 

Mosman Prep’s Vacation Care program will be offered again! We will be holding Vacation Care for the first week of the June/July school holidays: June 27-July 1. Please see our program below. 

Our Vacation Care program operates between 8:00am–4:00pm for children 4 to 12 years old who are currently enrolled in Early Entry or in primary school. Siblings from other schools, both boys and girls within this age range, are most welcome to attend. We can only take a maximum of 40 children per day, so we encourage you to book early.

How do I make a booking? Please book via the Trybooking link HERE. You will also need to complete an enrolment form via HubWorks, if your child is not already enrolled for ASC through Hubworks. Here is the link to enrol in ASC: https://mosmanchurchprep.hubworks.com.au/ 

You can use your $500 Service NSW BASC Vouchers at Mosman Prep Vacation Care. The voucher can be claimed via the Service NSW app on a smartphone, or by following the verification steps as outlined on the Service NSW website: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/basc-voucher

You can redeem your voucher by either scanning your voucher from your phone with one of our ASC staff when signing children in/out of sessions, or emailing the voucher or single use code beneath the QR code on your voucher to lwestenberg@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au

Cancellation policy: All bookings are final as workshops are booked according to numbers. For any COVID related cancellations please contact lwestenberg@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au

Workshops run for two hours each morning, and afternoons are reserved for organised sport, planned games and free play. Workshops may change due to COVID restrictions and another workshop may replace the planned workshop.

MONDAY 27 JUNE

Excursion $105

TREETOPS ADVENTURE TREE ROPES COURSE
St Ives is the newest Tree Ropes Course Park, hosting junior (under 8) and 8-12 year olds rope courses, all suspended between platforms to create a maze of activities in the treetops. Courses start at 1m for little climbers and jump up for bigger adventurers! Safety is ensured with our supervision and the supervision of trained ropes instructors.

TUESDAY 28 JUNE

Workshop $80

BRICKS 4 KIDZ LEGO WORKSHOP
Children will be constructing amazing technical models with motors and batteries to make their creations come to life! 

They will design intricate mosaic builds and let their imaginations soar with our LEGO creative free play. Children will be divided into three groups based on age and will work through stations ranging from Amusement Park Mayhem to Winter Wonderland and Adventures in Space.

WEDNESDAY 29 JUNE

Workshop $80

KIDS LOVE TO COOK!
A fun, hands-on and interactive cooking workshop. Children will be making KOFTA MEATBALLS and TABBOULEH, experimenting with recipes and eating their final product.

THURSDAY 30 JUNE 

Workshop $80

BUBBLE SOCCER

Bubble Soccer is an action-packed and fun activity/sports experience that can be tailored safely to different ages. 

Participants are made invincible as they bounce around the court in inflatable bubbles, colliding with each other, trying not to fall and all the while attempting to score. Don’t let the permanent smiles and belly laughs fool you, bubble soccer works up a sweat! Like regular soccer and futsal, games are fast moving and great exercise for little kids and big kids.

FRIDAY 31 JUNE 

Excursion $105

MARITIME MUSEUM
An excursion to the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour will have the children involved in a session in the ‘Kids on Deck’ creative activity space and visits inside HMAS Vampire, the submarine HMAS Onslow, Tall Ship James Craig and HMB Endeavour (subject to vessel capacity and current safety restrictions).

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.

Congratulations to Xavier Simmonds (6M) who this week represented NSWCIS at the State AFL Championships held in Coffs Harbour. Xavier’s CIS team…. report to come.   

Well done to the below boys in Year 6, who attended the CIS Rugby Trials this week. All the boys performed well with special congratulations to Henry Crookes who has been selected in CIS Rugby team to compete at the State (NSWPSSA) Rugby Championships being held in Mudgee from 23-25 August.

CIS Rugby Trialists: Henry Crookes, Eddie Godfrey, Hugo Boorman.

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 and those who enter in the Year 3-6 race will need to meet at the Balmoral Beach Rotunda wearing their School PE Uniform (navy blue polo) or athletics uniform at 8:45am. 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 (Link - Mini-Mos/2022 Registration - 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.

The Junior Primary Athletics Carnival will be held at Terrey Hills on Tuesday 7 June. 

Arrival and Dismissal arrangements 

• Students need to arrive at school as normal. Boys will then be transported to Terrey Hills by mini bus in their respective year groups (Please ensure they have a named face mask).
• The carnival will take place from 11:00am-1:30pm including all running races and novelty events.
• There will be a parents race at the end of the day. If you are interested in participating, please email Mr Lespierre to let him know you would like to take part. dlespierre@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au 
• At the conclusion of the carnival, students are permitted to go home with parents who are in attendance. All other boys will be returned to school by minibus to be collected as normal. 

Spectators 

• Parents are welcome to attend the carnival. We look forward to having your support for the boys! 

What to wear and bring 

• All boys are to wear their House sports uniform, including sun hat. As this is an inter-house Carnival, all boys must compete in their House shirt. Shoes with extra grip are recommended for the grass surface.
• Bring a packed recess, lunch and drinks in a bag.
• It is recommended that boys apply sunscreen at home. Sunscreen will also be available throughout the day.
• If any boy requires daily medication they are to bring it in a labeled bag.
• All boys will require a named face mask from home for bus travel.

Events 

• All boys will compete in 50m and 100m races, with the 200m only for those boys who are 8 years old.
• At the end of the running races, all boys will be involved in novelty events.
• These will be three different stations that the class groups will complete on a rotation, in relay form. 

 Hygiene Measures

In order to provide a safe and hygienic environment, the following measures will take place: 

• Boys will sit and be supervised by teachers within year groups.
• Sanitiser will be provided to the students throughout the day.
• Students will be instructed to wash their hands prior to eating and are not to share food or drinks.
• Parents are reminded to be vigilant in keeping children at home with colds, flu-like symptoms or an elevated temperature. If you have administered Paracetamol/Nurofen for a cold or sore throat do not send your son to school. 

In the event of wet weather, the carnival will be postponed until Term 3.

For those parents who will be attending, we look forward to seeing you there!

Dominic Lespierre | PDHPE Teacher 

Term 2 

• Sunday 29 May: Balmoral Burn Fun Run, Balmoral.
• 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).
• 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.

ClimateClever has recently partnered with Mosman Council and is soon to be hosting a free event on the Tuesday 14 June, which you can book by following the link here. 

This is the opportunity to learn more about our sustainability program and ways to reduce impacts at home and school.

Additionally, for a quick overview of ClimateClever, check out this 1-minute video. 

Ella Cottee
Schools Community Engagement Manager 
ClimateClever

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. 

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 is open 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.