Old Bar Public School Newsletter

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Were you the fortunate recipient of a Mothers’ Day present from our P&C stall? I was! (grandmothers’ special privilege) A huge THANK YOU to the ladies from the P&C who organised the gifts, collated the orders, packed the presents and distributed to children in their classrooms. While the P&C love to raise funds for our school, they also recognise the importance of providing affordable gifts for Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day. Did you know that all the gifts were locally sourced? This ensured local small businesses also benefited from the stall. Watching the children secret away their little brown bags, full of excitement and anticipation was precious. What a wonderful P&C we have!

This week and next, students in years 3 and 5 are completing the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy. (NAPLAN) The data gained from these assessments is valuable in our future planning and provides us with insight into where our teaching focus needs to be. It is however, a ‘snapshot,’ and doesn’t take into account many of the external factors that impact students on any given day. We are mindful of not putting pressure on students and strive to maintain a calm, fuss-free environment in the which the children can complete the tasks. If a child is absent for a test, we have the capacity to ‘make it up’ within the time frame given. If you have any concerns or questions about the testing protocols, please talk to Mrs O’Donnell or Ms Franks, our NAPLAN coordinators.

We are always looking at ways to improve our systems and processes. From your feedback last year, it was evident that some families felt our communication wasn’t always adequate. Not everyone has Facebook and not all teachers use digital platforms like SeeSaw and Dojo. One solution suggested was to use email as a consistent means of communication. Well, I think we’ve done it! Mrs Miller and administration staff have managed to upload all the email contacts you have provided so that class, grade, stage and whole school information can be distributed in one hit. Facebook, Dojo and SeeSaw will all still be available but hopefully this is another means of providing our school community with information and updates in a timely, concise manner. Let us know if this is helpful and keep an eye out for emails over the next couple of weeks.

You may have heard about the Active Learner Awards that are given weekly to students in all classes. Being active participants in their own learning builds confidence and reinforces the idea that making mistakes is a part of learning. Using the terminology of Visible Learning including ‘learning intentions’ and ‘success criteria’ allows students to take greater ownership of their learning and ultimately, set their own learning goals. What is an Active learner? (Image attached)

Have a great week!

Deborah Scanes 

At Old Bar Public School we expect our students to wear the school uniform because it provides them with a sense of pride and purpose. Wearing full school uniform encourages students to develop a sense of belonging and to feel part of the Old Bar Public School community. We believe that our school uniform should reflect our school community standards and expectations. Our uniform was designed to cater for safety, comfort, climate and modesty. 

Recently, we have had a number of students ‘pushing the envelope’ when it comes to correct school uniform. Short, short shorts are not suitable and don’t satisfy our uniform code. Coloured socks are not acceptable – white socks are the prescribed colour for boys and girls.

As the weather is becoming cooler, there have been some enquiries about acceptable school uniform options for girls. Navy shorts, skorts, skirts, track pants or dress pants are acceptable. Navy tights/stockings can be worn with skorts or skirts. School jackets are available from the uniform shop or generic brand navy sweat shirts/hoodies are also acceptable. While we want students to be comfortable, we also need them to be neat and tidy and to look as though they take pride in their appearance and their school. Please talk to us if you are having difficulties accessing correct uniforms.

The Bounce Back Wellbeing and Resilience program teaches children the skills and attitudes to help them build a positive attitude, get along well with others and become more resilient. In the last newsletter, we shared the BOUNCE BACK acronym which is used with our Primary learners. For our Infants learners, the BOUNCE acronym is a little bit shorter, but just as important! Please share the language of the program with learners at home. Consistency is key here.

The OBPS boys and girls soccer teams took on Hallidays Point Public School in round 1 of the PSSA Soccer Knockout Competition. What exciting games they were!

Due to recent events the build up and preparation for the games was limited but you would not have known. Both teams played as if they had been playing together for years and the ability and skill they demonstrated was outstanding!

Through skillful passing and positional play the boys managed to put two goals past Hallidays Point early in the first half. The second half kept everyone on their toes, including the spectators! In the final minutes, a Hallidays Point player scored the winning goal.

The girls played extremely well and had an exciting end to a quality soccer match. They fought very hard throughout the game. With 2 minutes to go Halliday’s Point scored a goal and went on to win 1-0. Congratulations to Eden Harrison was awarded our player of the match!.

We are so proud of the sportsmanship and determination both teams showed on the day.