Kotara South Public School Newsletter

10 March 2021 | Week 7 | Term 1

From the Principal

Welcome to week 7 of term 1,

The past fortnight has been a busy time at KSPS. Students are well-settled into class routines and are becoming accustomed to their teachers, the classroom and our high expectations. Daily quality literacy and numeracy lessons are taking place in each classroom. Students are working well during literacy sessions. Daily reading sessions take place in each classroom with teachers spending time with small groups of students working on developing their knowledge of the sounds of English, matching sounds to letters (phonics), developing their vocabulary through explicit modelling of sophisticated language, modelling fluent reading and developing their comprehension strategies. This week, we have included an overview of learning for the term in Stage 1, 2 and 3. Please see these items in the newsletter below.

Calendar items coming up: sport is back on with the easing of COVID restrictions. Please mark the following dates in your calendars:

Athletics Carnival 26 March at Alder Park, $5 each child for bus, cut off Wed 24 8pm, parents welcome to attend. See all the information on the Skoolbag notification sent home. A link via Google forms will allow you to pay and submit permission.

Cross country: Tuesday 30 March, at school, no cost parents welcome to attend. More details next week.

Easter Hat parade Thursday 1 April, K-2 will parade whilst our 3-6 students watch on. We invite 1 adult only of K-2 students welcome to attend due to space and 1.5m rule.  P&C supporting with Eater Raffle, please donate. More information to come in the coming fortnight on Skoolbag.

As noted in our Skoolbag notification on Sunday evening, when parents are onsite, we ask you to follow the following procedures. • Performs a COVID QR check-in on the Service NSW app upon entering the school. Show the front office staff. • Sanitize your hands upon entering the school. • Please check in and out for your visit onsite using the SITE CHECK-IN ipad beside the front office window and follow the H&S procedures for our school. • All parents are strongly encouraged to continue the practice of ‘kiss and go’ at the gate. This has been working so well for students and parents alike. This independent practice enables your child to be resilient and confident. Kotara South Public School 2 • Appointments for face-to-face interviews with class teachers, Assistant Principal for each stage and Principal to be made through the front office for a mutually convenient time. • Please refrain from gathering and standing chatting inside the school, especially outside a classroom door where there is a lot of traffic and movement. • Payments can be made in the front office for various school activities. • Only gate 1 will be accessible between the hours of 9am and 3pm. This gate will be closed, but unlocked if a visiting adult needs to visit the school during the day. • Current procedures for Canteen volunteer/Uniform shop purchasing will stay in place.

Attending school every day is vital for your child’s learning. Let me commend and thank our KSPS Parents and Carers for your common-sense approach to your child’s health and wellbeing.

It has been observed that parents/carers are: ✓ Keeping children at home if they display cold/flu symptoms, sore throat, temperature, ✓ Seeking a COVID test within the day ✓ Keeping their child at home until they are not displaying any further symptoms’ ✓ Sending s copy (usually a screen shot) of the negative COVID-19 test to school. ✓ Communicating with school and replaying to the SMS for absences. ✓ Being specific and truthful with recording their child’s absences.

Enjoy this issue of the newsletter with articles from different stages.

Thank everyone for making #KSPSagreatplacetobe

Mrs Maxworthy

Principal 

HARMONY DAY

Harmony Day is an Australian Government program that centres on the message that “Everyone belongs”, reinforcing the importance of inclusiveness to all Australians. Since 1999, thousands of Harmony Day events have been staged in childcare centres, schools, community groups, churches, businesses and federal, state and local government agencies across Australia

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. Australians can choose to wear something orange during Harmony Week to show their support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

There are posters displayed throughout our school this week with words relating to Harmony Week. Students will be encouraged to read these words and discuss what they mean and how they can be implemented into their everyday lives.

Staff and students will be encouraged to wear orange on Friday 19 March.

Leila & Phoebe  – Welfare Ministers

 

BULLYING. NO WAY!

During week 8 of this Term, KSPS will be focusing on discussions and questions such as What is bullying? What is Cyber bullying? How do I respond to bullying? What are my rights and what are my responsibilities? Please take some time to talk to your child about the following information and any questions they may have.

The national definition of bullying for Australian schools says:

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Bullying can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records).

Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

Behaviours that do not constitute bullying include:

·         mutual arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)

·         not liking someone or a single act of social rejection

·         one-off acts of meanness or spite

·         isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.

However, these conflicts still need to be addressed and resolved. Likewise not all online issues are bullying. (Online bullying is sometimes referred to as cyberbullying and refers to bullying that is carried out through information and communication technologies.)

Please visit the following site for more information, support and advice.

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/

Regina Fear - Learning & Support Officer

LEARNING & SUPPORT AT KSPS

This term, the Learning & Support Team have refined the process for parents/carers requesting support from external providers, in adherence with the Department of Education’s policy. We have created a step by step flow chart to communicate this process to our school community. By following this procedure - teachers, parents and support providers can assist in ensuring equity of access to support for all of our students and adequate communication with the learning and support team. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Regina Fear – Learning & Support Coordinator 

INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER NEWS

As mentioned in the last newsletter, I am currently working closely with all K-2 classes.  Our focus is on using quality texts to model reading, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and also on writing. Through closely analysing a picture book, we have connected with the text and are creating our own quality writing. 

In 1/2A we are using the text Macca the Alpaca to model this process.  We identified the beginning (character and setting), middle (problem) and end (solution) of the story and created detailed character profiles of the main characters in the text.  We have also begun to transform the story into our writing – even using rhyme to engage the audience! We look forward to sharing some of our completed writing  later this term.

Catherine Ward – instructional Leader/K-2 Assistant Principal

STAGE 1 NEWS

Stage 1 students have had a fantastic start to the term.  Students have been engaged in explicit daily phonemic awareness and phonics lessons as well as engaging with a number of quality texts by Australian authors.  They have also been looking at the structure of narrative texts in writing and are creating some excellent stories of their own. During maths, Stage 1 students have been engaged in a variety of hands on and written tasks and are being given daily opportunities to communicate their ideas with their peers.  Our Stage 1 students have loved opportunities to connect with their peers from the other Stage 1 classes.  This is happening throughout the week during daily PE, assembly, buddy reading, school sport, singing and structured play activities.  Congratulations Stage 1 on a great start to 2021!

Catherine ward – Instructional Leader/K-2 Assistant Principal 

LITERACY AND NUMERACY

This term I have been working with identified students in Stage 2 and 3 during small group intervention lessons. We have been using quality literature and decodable texts designed for older readers to develop comprehension and language convention skills. Students have been using clues from the text to infer what will happen next in the Talisman series we are reading and have been using the rich vocabulary in the text to identify syllables, sounds, suffixes and digraphs in words. We’ve also focused on rereading parts of the text to improve fluency and attending to punctuation to develop expression when reading aloud.

 Kara Brailey – Yrs3–6 Literacy and Numeracy Intervention Teacher 

STAGE 2 SUPERSTARS

Stage 2 students have been busy summarising Greek myths, writing descriptions about Greek gods and reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief during English. Our Greek myths have been the inspiration for many of our artworks, too!

In Maths, we are learning to use a variety of strategies to add and subtract two and three-digit numbers. We are also discovering why it’s best to use a ruler to measure the length of objects rather than your hand or a piece of ribbon.

We are looking forward to the next two weeks of learning in Stage 2!

Mrs Cox, Mrs Bird, Miss Martin, Mr Warren – Stage 2 teachers

TERM 1 FUN IN KINDERGARTEN

Our clever kindergarten kids have had a fantastic start to school.

Students have been learning about letters and the sounds they make. They are beginning to read and write words using the sounds that have been taught. Students have been exposed to quality texts and are learning about the characters, setting and events. Our favourites are ‘Belinda’ written by Pamela Allen and ‘Pig the Pug’ written by Aaron Blabey. Students have been practising their counting skills, understanding how numbers can be represented in different ways and sorting objects into groups. They have shown persistence during physical education activities and have shown us their amazing artistic flair.

We are so proud of how well they have settled into routines and the beautiful friendships they have made in this first term of Kindergarten. Keep shining bright superstars!

Miss O’Reilly, Miss Partridge and Ms Gibson – Kindergarten Classroom Teachers

 

LIBRARY NEWS

Premier’s Reading Challenge begins now for 2021. The books can be read by the student or be read to the students. Students from K-2 must read or have the books read to them or share in the reading of 30 books. That includes at least 25 PRC books and a maximum of 5 free choice books. Students from years 3-6 must read 20 books, at least 15 from the PRC list and 5 books from personal choice. You may continue to use the current PRC booklist and read your own personal choice. The 2021 booklist will have new books added and will appear on the following website: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/logon.html The students can log on to this website, using their school username and password, and record their reading.

Sue Harvey– Teacher Librarian

COUNSELLOR CORNER

Good Sleep Habits

The length of time we sleep and the quality of rest we get have a huge effect on how we feel. If your child is staying up till 3am playing video games, they’re probably also struggling to drag themselves out of bed – and falling asleep by mid-afternoon.

Encourage your child to develop a regular sleeping routine by:

·         getting up at the same time each morning, even at the weekend

·         avoiding caffeine after lunchtime

·         winding down 30 minutes before going to bed

·         avoiding watching TV or playing video games late at night

·         writing any worries down before going to bed so they can deal with them the next day

·         getting up after 15-20 minutes if they can’t sleep rather than staying in bed feeling restless, returning to bed when they feel more relaxed and sleepy

·         avoiding naps in the day.

Source: https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/healthy-homes/supporting-healthy-habits

Sleep Guidelines for Children and Adolescents

The exact amount of sleep needed varies from person to person and also within individuals according to age and daily variations in physical activity, illness and recent sleep patterns. Guidelines therefore provide maximum and minimum ranges for the number of hours of uninterrupted sleep in each 24-hour period as indicated in the table below.

https://growingupinaustralia.gov.au/research-findings/annual-statistical-reports-2018/are-children-and-adolescents-getting-enough-sleep

Belinda Robinson – School Counsellor/Registered Psychologist 

Life Stage

Age (Years)

Recommended hours of sleep

Children

5-13

9-11

Adolescents

14-17

8-10

Assembly Awards

Week 5 & 6

K O'R  

Bodhi Hain
Wangchen Dolma
Beckett Crowe
Jeronimo Gentle-Torres
Luke Kinsela
Isabel Smith

1/2 A 

Harry Ferris
Luca Gasparini-Ito
Maxwell Castagna
Scarlett Morrison
Skylor Crowe
Josephine Horvath
3/4 B 
Henry Thomson
Jed Alexander
Sienna Hain
Peter Jago
Cienna Perry
Connor Dwyer
5/6 J 
Oliver Grant
Will Cheery
Nina Thomson
Ahlesy Googe
Wes Martin
Sophie Willis

K P

Eli Moylan
Connor Mitchison
Mallory Wall
Brandon Moyle
Jaxson Johnston
Elsie Wilson

1/2 E 

Millicent Wall
Isla Simpson
Alex Bruton
Rosie Nikolic
Sofia Konjarski
Danielle Creamer
3/4 C 
Natalia O'Donnell
Agatha Joya
Angus Playdon
Hugo Bourke
Jacob Gundry
Riley Cross
5/6 P 
Rhys Hirneth
Nicholas McCallum
Chelsea ward
Rasbani Kaur
Ben Love
Bella Vaughan

K/1G 

Toby Allard
Blair Farrow
Henry Brooks
Lila Brockwell
Matilda Sharp
Savannah Vizer

1/2 M  

Eva Bencke
Lexi Clarke 
Jaxon Coleman
Caius Pendlebury
Sage Roberts 
Pheobe Westacott
3/4 M 
Rory Abel
Patrick Steel
Nyle Green
Ava Buchannan
Alex Vincent
Austin Spencer
5/6 S 
Milliana Bourke
Xavier Cowie
Jai Donnelly
Alexandria O'Donnell
Haylee Kokkin
Zoe Cutro

HSU  

Kian Thompson 
Edie Kavanagh

1/2 Mc 

Theo Beeton
Ava Ryan
Rio Michalitsis
William Maddern-Richards
Ariana Vizer
Hadley Cook
3/4 W 
Chilli Rippon
Chloe Madden-Richards
Isabella Rice
Christian Moyle
Caleb Sturgeon
Hugo Evans

Upcoming Events

Keep track of school events by signing up for notifications on the Skoolbag app. ‘What’s On’ reminders are posted each Sunday evening. Or, please check the Events page of the KSPS Website for upcoming dates and details.

Contact information

Kotara South Public School provides a supportive learning community where students are valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.

Strive to Achieve

STAGE 1 TERM 1 OVERVIEW

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STAGE 2 TERM 1 OVERVIEW

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STAGE 3 TERM 1 OVERVIEW

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P&C Association

The Annual General Meeting – on tonight!

We’d love to encourage all members, new and old, to attend the AGM tonight and stay for the regular meeting afterwards. Please don’t stay away because you don’t want to be voted in! The majority of positions already have nominations submitted, and no-one will be asked to do something that they don’t want to do. If no-one is nominated for a position, it will remain vacant.

Please note that you need to be a paid-up member of the P&C to nominate someone, hold a position or vote at P&C meetings, so please join (or re-join) the P&C if you haven’t already done so by purchasing a $2 membership via the Uniform Shop online store.

EASTER RAFFLE!

Our online Easter Raffle is now LIVE! We are excited to be trialling an online raffle for the first time. We have some amazing prizes on offer – first prize includes a family pass to see “Pete the Sheep” in November, kindly donated by the Civic Theatre. We also have gift vouchers donated from Kotara Coles and Kmart, chocolate eggs from Bibina, and special chocolate Bilbys from the Wildlife Conservation Co. Tickets are $1 each, and may be purchased here: https://www.rafflelink.com.au/kspseaster2021.

Share the link with your local family and friends, and remember that all proceeds come back to the school to fund a new nature play and sensory garden space for all students.

The raffle will be drawn on Thursday 1 April. You can choose to give your child’s name and class for them to bring home any prizes won (if you trust that the chocolate will make it home!) or opt to pick it up from the school office.

If you have any questions or feedback about the new raffle format, please email the P&C.

Donations needed

Along with prizes generously donated by businesses in our local community, we rely on the generosity of our school community to make the Easter Raffle a big success! Donations of chocolate eggs, bunnies, or other packaged Easter treats will be gratefully received, as well as Easter décor, soft toys or craft items. Please bring your donations to the school office from Monday 15 March (next week). Thank you for your support!

Canteen

The BEST school canteen managed by the fantastic Mrs Fiona Best is open five days a week, but this can only happen with the help of volunteers. Your support is greatly appreciated, whether it is once a year, once a month or every week.

You can find the online roster here: Online Canteen Roster. Mrs Best is still in need of helpers to fill out the roster for this term. Each shift is from school drop off (around 8.30-8.50am) until approximately midday. Fiona will send you home with a delicious lunch as a thank you for your assistance. Please note that no children are allowed in the canteen while you are helping. Thank you so much for supporting the BEST canteen!

Uniform Shop

Uniform shop orders will be filled on Friday this week (12 March) as well as next Tuesday 16 March. Don’t forget school photos are 18 March – if you need a new shirt for photos you must have your order in before 8.30am on Tuesday. Please order and pay using our online store: https://kotara-south-public-school-pc-association.square.site/. Orders received before 8.30am on Tuesday will go home with your child that day. It is important to include your child’s name and class in the “Notes to Seller” part of the online checkout so we can send the orders to your child’s class to take home with them.

In-person visits to the uniform shop are available by appointment only. Please email the P&C or the uniform shop (kspsuniforms@gmail.com) if you need to make an appointment.

Grounds and Gardens Working Bee – Sunday 14 march

Our first working bee of the year will be held this Sunday 14 March (weather permitting) from 9am to 11am. We hope to see you this weekend and of course your family and friends are most welcome! Please make sure to bring a hat, gloves, water bottle and wear enclosed footwear. Please keep an eye on Facebook / Skoolbag in case we need to cancel due to the weather.

Bunnings BBQ – Sunday 21 March

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to help at our Bunnings BBQ at the Kotara store on Sunday 21 March. We still need a couple volunteers to help cook and serve between 8.30am and 4.00pm. If you are able to help please fill out the online sign up form. If you can’t make it to help, call by for a sausage sandwich!

Athletics Carnival – Friday 26 March

The Athletics carnival is on Friday, 26 March at Alder Park New Lambton. During the athletics carnival, the P&C runs a canteen selling sausage sandwiches, snack food items and drinks. If you are able to help during the day, we need volunteers for one hour time slots during the carnival, or to help set up / pack up. We’d like to have enough helpers available that parents are able to get away to see their children participate in the carnival. If you can help, please email the P&C or fill out the online sign up form.

Thank you for supporting KSPS P&C!