Scotts Head Public School Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

Well what an interesting crazy week of wild weather, hopefully everyone is holding up and staying safe and dry. For any of our families adversely affected by flooding there is support available via the New South Wales Floods, March 2021 - Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment. Information and application can be found at:  
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/new-south-wales-floods-march-2021-australian-government-disaster-recovery-payment

There has been an unprecedented amount of rainfall creating scenes never seen by long term locals such as the flooding between Scotts Head and Grassy Head turn off and the Buz Brazel Lake. There are still major safety concerns along Grassy Head road and when water recedes Scotts Head Road will be an on-going problem. Thank you to all the families who were able to keep students’ home on Monday or came to collect their children last week when it was getting hairy.

On a more positive note we are excited to announce the birth of Pak Adam and his wife Lexie’s beautiful baby girl “Elodie”. Pak Adam is enjoying his new role as a first-time parent and Mum and baby are doing well. Pak Adam will be taking Paternity leave for the remainder of this term and Bu Rebecca will be on the 4/5 class until the holidays.

An important and valued tradition of Scotts Head Public School has been the student led Anzac Day Dawn Service overlooking little beach. Unfortunately, due to Covid last year, the Service was unable to go ahead. For a small community this Dawn Service is well patronised and is an excellent community leadership opportunity for Year 6 students in the school to run the event. All SHPS students are invited to attend and we encourage student participation K-6 in the form of a student body choir to sing “Lest We Forget”. Attending the dawn service is a decision your family will make. Could students please let Mrs B know this week if you intend to attend the Service so that these students can rehearse the song. We encourage all students who do attend to wear full school uniform. Past feedback has been outstanding and our students have surprised themselves with their own abilities. The service is followed by a community BBQ run by the RFS down in the park.

We are looking forward to our Easter Activities day on Thursday 1 April 2021. Thanks to all the families who have already contributed raffle prizes, don’t forget to get your family thinking caps on planning, designing and constructing an indestructible egg drop for our Easter Activities. 

Mrs B - Relieving Principal

Harmony Day celebrates Australia's cultural diversity. It's about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. In the lead up to Harmony Day, students in Years 3-6 learnt Indonesian phrases to talk about their identity and family backgrounds. Each class then put together a short video showcasing the diversity among students, such as their appearance, family, hobbies and cultural backgrounds. These videos were then shared online with our sister schools in Indonesia and also screened at a special whole school Harmony Day assembly on Monday 22nd March. To view these videos, go to the Indonesian Playlist in our school YouTube Channel or click here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1WjflAY-hH9caJ4JqKOnzg9hAggKcCi​

For over 18 years, the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) has been supporting students in NSW schools to develop a love of reading for pleasure and leisure. The program also provides them with further opportunities to experience quality literature. Reading is meant to be enjoyable!

Teacher Brendan Gillis will be co-ordinating the PRC at Scotts Head PS this year. He will work closely with the classroom teachers, so any queries you have regarding your child’s reading in the PRC program can be directed to Brendan or your child’s teacher.

Students in Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 are required to read 30 books: 25 from the PRC list and 5 of their own choice. K-2 students can either read their books on their own, read with someone else or have the book read to them. Many K-2 books on the PRC will be available to be read in class.

Students in Years 3-6 are required to read 20 books for their Challenge: 15 from the PRC list and 5 of their own choice. If students are reading a series of books, only 3 from each series can be part of their PRC Challenge total (eg: 3 Geronimo Stilton books, 3 Animorphs books etc).

We encourage parents to access the PRC Student website at home at the following link: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html or just google Premier’s Reading Challenge NSW 2021. On this site you can search for information on booklists, reading tips, rules and how to log-on and list your books that your child has read. Please contact your child’s teacher or PRC co-ordinator if your child has difficulty gaining access to the PRC website.

Please listen to your child read, and help your child log on and record their books regularly. Books can be borrowed from either the School Library or Town Library. Membership of the Town Library is free. The Challenge started on Monday March 1st and will close for students Friday August 20, 2021. 

As a special end-of-term treat, we are holding an Indonesian Lunch for all students K-6. Pak Mur has offered to make his famous "Bakso" (a kind of meat-ball noodle soup). Most students will be familiar with the Bakso song which we will sing together before we eat. Students will also get a spring roll "Lumpia" which is vegetarian and gluten-free. (Those who can't eat Bakso, will get two spring rolls instead). To help cover costs, we are asking for a donation of $4 per student. Please send correct money on the day. 

Now that restrictions have eased slightly we are able to have a visiting performance come to the school, we have one organised for each term this year. These performances provide opportunities for students to engage in learning experiences through music, drama and dance as part of their natural growth and development. However, learning in each of the art forms does not occur automatically. Regular learning experiences that are thoughtfully planned, sequenced and related are essential for developing students’ skills and knowledge and understanding within the art forms. These experiences contribute to the development of the whole child.

This term “Cyber Wiser” from School Performance Tours will be coming to school on Friday 26 March at 2.00pm. The cost is $6.00 per student. Please send in note and money by Tuesday 23 March 2021.

Our students really enjoy participating in the Commonwealth Bank School Banking program and to keep this program running we need your help.

The program requires a volunteer School Banking Co-ordinator to facilitate the banking and distribution of School Banking rewards. The School Banking is processed at the same time each week and will only take a small amount of your time .The Commonwealth Bank will provide support in how to run the program. Your help with the program will greatly benefit students as they practice saving skills and also help our school with fundraising.

As part of volunteering you are eligible to receive a Certificate of Attainment that details the activities that you are involved in. For example: cash handling, program facilitation, account reconciliation and more.

Currently, School Banking day is Tuesday. If you are interested in volunteering for this great program, please contact the P&C on scottsheadpandc@hotmail.com.