Plattsburg Public School Newsletter

Welcome back to Term 3! Well, it's pretty soggy at the moment and we're hoping it clears up for our Education Day and Book Week celebrations next week. Just a reminder that due to covid parents and carers cannot physically participate on site but you certainly can enjoy the videos each class have produced for you. As usual we will take photographs of Book Week activities and post them both in our Facebook page and our newsletter.

My thanks to the parents and carers that took the time to complete the survey sent out last term. The comments were uplifting and greatly appreciated. There were multiple suggestions for the school to use Google Classroom for homework and we have taken that on board. Poor kids though, I heard a comment from a year 5 students, "now my mum will really know I have homework." The other positive comment was around the 'Sumdog' App and we have extended our subscription - some of our new online homework will be in Sumdog.

Breakfast Club started up again this week and we had some pretty happy faces. We hope this will help some of our families that have those hectic mornings where getting our future generation out of bed and off to school is akin to abseiling a rock face with cacti tufts all over it. Breakfast Club opens at 8:30 am and is closed at 8:50 am.

Latest COVID-19 Information from the Department of Education and NSW Health for parents can be found at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

Some current advice at this stage include:

• All students should be learning on-campus unless they are unwell or have a medical certificate to support their absence.
• Existing infection control protocols at schools, and new health and safety measures put in place will help maintain the health and safety of students and staff.
• All activities permitted at school are safe and appropriate in living with COVID-19.
• Schools continue to monitor and plan for any changes in local circumstances that may arise, including changes in health advice or local restrictions.
• Non-essential adults are still not permitted on school grounds or at school events. This includes parents and carers except for face-to-face parent/teacher meetings that are essential (e.g. to discuss disciplinary or other welfare matters).
• P&C meetings should continue on-line where possible. P&C run activities involving gatherings should continue to be discouraged to minimise the number of non-essential adults on the school site.

• Kindergarten orientation
• School camps
• Excursions 

• Parent and carer attendance at assemblies and other school events (Further advice will be issued if restrictions are relaxed later in the term)
• Parent and carer volunteers – e.g. parent reading helpers
• School-based activities that involve large gathering of adults. These include parent/community gatherings such as parent functions, working bees, fundraisers, school BBQs, large parent information evenings, and large on-site cultural events.
• Certain large arts and sports events are cancelled or delayed. Many large-scale arts events and sports tournaments rely upon feeder activities and have long-lead time organisational arrangements. As a consequence, a number of annual activities are planned to be delayed or cancelled (refer to Impacts on arts and sports events programs).

As you would be aware the border between NSW and Victoria closed as of 12:01am 8 July 2020.Any NSW Department of Education staff and students returning from Victoria after this time must have a permit to enter NSW and are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days.With the exception of staff and students who reside in a border town, all other staff and students who have been in Victoria in the 14 days before the commencement of school should not attend school until they complete the 14 days self-isolation period since they left Victoria.NSW Health has requested anyone who has been in Victoria and is unwell or has flu like symptoms arrange to be tested through their local medical practitioner or one of the COVID-19 clinics.Find more details of the current advice for people who have recently visited Victoria on the NSW Health border restrictions website.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3_dOPFYiUKyG4gMY11EZkHNDZxLKnWF0h6_e4Vca5lIYWtcdaIXOHNeNw

The Department of Education COVID-19 advice is that students should continue to bring water bottles from home to fill at water bubblers rather than drink directly from the bubbler. Please ensure your child brings a water bottle to school or orders a bottle of water from our online canteen. https://quickcliq.com.au/

EDUCATION WEEK CELEBRATIONS ARE STILL ON

When: Wednesday 5th August

What:  Each class has prepared a video that you can stream

(more details to follow) 

WAIT THERE’S MORE

We're also celebrating Book Week on WEDNESDAY 5th August.

Book Week 2020

Curious Creatures and Wild Minds

Students are invited to dress as a book character. Please keep it simple - pirate costumes can be recycled. Our book fair will operate throughout the day with all classes visiting and students given the opportunity to buy books. Students will be required to make purchases on their own with their class at the book fair.

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 guidelines, parents and carers will not be permitted onsite. 

Friday, 31st July 2020

Junk Sculptures Due

Wednesday, 5th August 2020

Education Week/Book Week Celebrations

Come dressed up!

Tuesday 27th October 2020  

Kindergarten 2021 Information Session 4 p.m - 5 p.m

Wednesday, 4th November 2020 

Kindergarten Orientation 2 p.m - 3 p.m

Monday, 9th November to Friday 20th November 2020

School Swimming Scheme for Year 2 Students

Tuesday, 17th November 2020  

Kindergarten Orientation 9:30 a.m - 10:45 a.m

Wednesday, 18th November 2020  

Kindergarten Orientation 9:30 a.m - 10:45 a.m

Tuesday, 8th September 2020  

School Photos

Semester one reports have been uploaded to Sentral and can be accessed via the Parent Portal. Due to COVID-19 and it's impact on students learning, there are no grades on the reports. If you have any enquiries or problems accessing the portal, please email plattsburg-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au or call the office. 

An amended timeline for transition from Year 6 to Year 7 2021 has been released. Please see Callaghan College Wallsend Campus website for further information. https://wallsend-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/enrolment/year-6-transition.html

In response to recent Parent/Carer feedback, the teaching staff at Plattsburg PS would like to offer Homework Online as an additional option to current Homework arrangements. This will mean that you will be able to access your child’s homework through Google Classrooms. Of course, at Plattsburg PS, parents/carers have the flexibility to decide whether or not their child/children commit to class homework activities.  

As with Distance Learning, students will be able to log in to their Google Classroom, complete and submit completed work.  

If you are interested in opting in to Homework Online please complete the note below. Paper copy homework will be available as usual and will be similar work as that contained online. 

If you elect to participate in homework activities (online or paper)  it is important to understand that all tasks need to be completed independently by the student. If your child is unable to complete the homework without assistance please ensure you communicate this to the class teacher. 

A full copy of the Homework Policy can be found on the school’s webpage: 

www.plattsburg-p.schools.nsw.gov.au 

Please fill out and return the note attached to this newsletter to "opt-in" to Homework Online. 

The P&C were very pleased to hold their first online meeting on Monday evening. Since COVID restrictions came into place, we had not been able to meet face to face. It was exciting to see everyone again and especially welcoming some new members to our Zoom meeting.

We were able to discuss how we can continue to offer all the services the P&C organise and operate ensuring the health and safety of all. We are doing things a little differently at the moment and we thank everyone for embracing this.

The P&C are unable to plan any major fundraising events at this stage but we are looking forward to getting back into organising some fun fundraisers for the whole school to enjoy when COVID restrictions ease. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and Skoolbag app for the link to join our next P&C Zoom meeting.

The uniform shop will continue ONLINE ONLY for Term 3. Uniforms can be ordered online at https://quickcliq.com.au/. If you would like a staff member to check the sizing on your child, ie. if a jacket is too big or small, please request this in the comments section.

Canteen will continue to operate for recess and lunch orders ONLINE ONLY. However, the canteen will open at RECESS for 30 minutes and iceblocks, sno-cones, drinks and select hot food will be available to be purchased by the students with cash or EFTPOS. The canteen will close at 1pm with no counter sales available during the lunch break. Thank you for your continued support of the canteen during this time. Orders can be placed up to a week in advanced at https://quickcliq.com.au/

Breakfast Club resumed this week. As soon as our Learning Support Officers opened the doors, the students rushed up for some toast and milk and were very excited to see Breakfast Club back. Breakfast Club runs from 8:30 a.m. until 8:50 a.m. every day. 

Due to COVID-19 guidelines, we are not permitted to have volunteers on site at this time. 

What a great way to end the term! Our Plattsy pirates have worked really hard since returning to school after Covid isolation and to celebrate the last day of term, they were treated to a delicious sausage sizzle and can of drink courtesy of our P&C. Ms Bax has been so proud of how well every student has embraced the new school routine and way of learning, after lunch, she treated them all with chocolate. From everyone at Plattsy, thank you for your incredible support during these last few months. Enjoy your school holidays and we are all looking forward to another fruitful term of learning.

Click the buttons below the photos to flick through the gallery of photos taken on the day.