Willoughby Public School Newsletter

Term 3, Week 4 - Friday 6 August 2021

Please keep up to date with the latest advice for families. 

The NSW Department of Education is working closely with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), NSW Health and other agencies to ensure our schools continue to operate in the safest ways possible in the COVID-19 environment.

OUR SCHOOL VISION

At Willoughby Public School we aim to cultivate socially-aware learners who are critical and creative thinkers, within a safe, respectful and responsible learning community.

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Dear Parents/Carers,

I want to acknowledge the awesome job you are doing supporting your children with online learning. I hope you are also taking some time out each day to look after your own wellbeing.

Thank you for your recent feedback, which we have used to make adjustments to the online learning packages. The adjustments to the learning program are reviewed and updated as we evaluate and receive feedback including changes from the Department of Education. It was overwhelmingly positive and each stage team leader has followed up with their teams during meeting times to be responsive to this feedback. 

(See attached PDF of survey results below)

Many parents also reported that their children required support ‘always’ or ‘often’. When students and teachers are working together in class, there are numerous scaffolds being used to differentiate the learning to support a ranging ability of students. While teachers are constantly working collaboratively to improve the learning packs, we also want to acknowledge that parents are not trained professionals with the ability to do these on the spot adjustments. When teachers see the student learning they are able to provide feedback for the students to allow the children to review where they have made a mistake or where to next, or provide a prompt to expand thinking. Please know that help is here and students will always have their questions answered if they post them online. Or please feel free to follow up with a phone call. Please know that we understand this is a difficult time and we are doing our absolute best to support every student and family. Our teachers are phoning families on a fortnightly basis, so you may have an unidentified caller appear on your phone. Teachers have reported that some of their calls are not being answered, our teachers are using their own mobile phones for the majority of these calls to check in with families and answer any concerns. If you have a missed call – it maybe your child’s teacher. The online learning activities reflect our WPS scope and sequences in each key learning area for Term 3 so learning is moving forward.

I also want to thank the teachers for their hard work and dedication, which is demonstrated by them constantly working to improve their practices throughout remote/ online learning. We have recently surveyed teachers to gain their feedback (as a leadership team, we are also constantly trying to learn!). Teachers working from home spend their days answering questions and giving feedback to students, meetings with their teams, lesson planning and programming, undergoing professional learning, phoning families as well as coming in to school for on-site supervision. For example; teachers can receive up to 100 questions, comments or work submissions per hour in Seesaw or Google classroom. So, they may not be able to respond to your concern immediately but they will respond.

Thank you for supporting Education Week last week by sending in photos of your children learning from home. The theme of being a lifelong learner is something that resonates with me especially as I am always looking to learn new information myself. I know the teacher’s loved sharing their favourite books with all of the students! We have been receiving many positive comments about the strong partnership between teachers and families, and from all of us at WPS, we want to thank you for all of your hard work during remote learning. We know it’s not easy and we appreciate you supporting your children with their learning.


SRC fundraising success

We received this lovely email from the Bowel Cancer Charity association. Thank you to our SRC for nominating to support this important health charity.

 Dear Willoughby Public School

We just want to convey a sincere THANK YOU for the generous gift you made to our Red Apple Annual Giving Day campaign in June. We very much appreciate you choosing to support Bowel Cancer Australia.  Your amazing gift is helping to save lives and improve the health and wellbeing of people living with bowel cancer.  Bowel Cancer Australia's vision is to have an everlasting impact on our health future - where no Australian dies from bowel cancer and all those diagnosed receive the support they need. As a 100% community-funded charity, we rely on public support to continue our work.   On behalf of all the team at Bowel Cancer Australia, thank you again for your generosity. With best wishes and kind regards

Rose Vacher | Donor Care & Charity Services


Canteen News

Willoughby PS and Willoughby Girls High School worked together through the tender process to select a new canteen provider servicing both schools. We are excited to announce that Vanilla Blue Catering will be running our school canteen from Term 4. Vanilla Blue Catering is committed to sustainability. Both schools support Vanilla Blue Catering to significantly reduce packaging with the introduction of the Ruzi system of recycling. We plan to incorporate sustainability lessons to generate understanding of the new system being implemented at Willoughby PS in Term 4.

Stay safe.

Jennifer Simmonds

Parent Survey Results

Thank you for your time completing the first of our surveys. We appreciate your feedback and strive to continually adjust our online program to best meet the needs of our students. 
Download

Learn at Home packs ready for download

Thank you for your support this week as we continue online learning. 

Staff have been working hard to develop work for next week and this is available from the hub on the library website: https://www.librarywps.com/learning-at-home

If you are unable to print at home, printed copies of the workbooks will again be available on Monday morning from the usual tables at the following gates around the school:

Kindergarten:  Gate 6 – gate at laneway near high school oval

Year 1: Gate 1 – Rose Garden gate

Year 2: Gate 2 – Rose Garden gate

Year 3: Gate 5 – Keary Street gate

Year 4: Gate 5 – Keary Street gate

Year 5: Gate 3 – Oakville Road main gate

Year 6: Gate 3 – Oakville Road main gate

A map is attached showing gate numbers and locations.

The school has a limited number of iPads and Chromebooks available to loan to families who do not have access to a tech device. Requests for a loan device can be made via this link: https://bit.ly/3wIdlR4

Create a daily or weekly schedule

By providing a visual chart outlining the day, you and your children can create routines and a structure to get through challenging times.

Having this sense of normalcy can help reduce anxiety in both children and adults and will ensure that important assignments and tasks don’t get overlooked. Additionally, if you have more than one child, it will help you to keep their individual schedules, assignments, and needs organised.  

Many parents are working remotely, and many of us are wondering how to structure our days. Teachers have been tasked with developing remote learning plans and using them to keep students on track. The organisational challenges we are facing at home and in our schools are unprecedented.

Creating a daily or weekly schedule for at-home learning will help. It might include:

  • Daily checklists that incorporate the completion of online / remote learning activities
  • Some active and creative activities
  • Emotional support conversations
  • Reflection activites
  • FUN!

There are many searchable examples of daily schedules online, and you will be able to find or create one that suits your family.

We’ve included a list of 100 example activities that could be woven into the day. This list is by no means extensive and there are many other ideas you might think of. 

100 fun activities

100 fun activities

Download

Smiling Mind

What is Smiling Mind?

Smiling Mind is a not for profit organisation that offers a range of programs and resources designed to make mindfulness accessible and easy to practise.

Their mission is to provide accessible, lifelong tools to support healthy minds.

“Keeping children happy and healthy not only involves taking care of their physical health but also their mental health.”  

Watch the following Youtube clip for more information. https://youtu.be/_CkJYxbSyF8

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a state of being fully awake to life, being aware and undistracted in the present moment. It is about focusing attention on the here and now rather than thinking about the past or worrying about the future.

Why are we doing Smiling Mind at WPS?

Evidence shows that mindfulness can be beneficial for learning. It can reduce emotional distress, settle and calm students and reduce behavioural challenges. Mindfulness can also enhance and strengthen the areas of the brain that are involved in learning, thinking and memory.

The Smiling Mind App can be used for regular 10 min meditation session each day or throughout the week.

The free App is available through the App Store or Google Play and can be downloaded on your phone, iPad or computer.

https://www.smilingmind.com.au

From the Australian Parents Council: These are challenging times, with kids home from school, learning remotely and family routines disrupted, but here we aim to provide you with some useful advice, support and resources to help you navigate the disruption and keep your kids learning and safe. We will update these resources as we go ...
Some useful information from the Black Dog Institute about how to speak with and reassure your child about Coronavirus.  

With all that’s happening in the world with coronavirus (COVID-19), there is a lot of uncertainty. It’s important to check in with yourself and it’s helpful to practice self-care. Using our resources might help you during this unusual time and give you a sense of control.

Education Week Picture Books

We hope you enjoyed the Education Week picture books (& favourite books) our teachers read or showed.

If you haven't seen them yet, be sure to visit the Education Week hub on the WPS Library website:  https://www.librarywps.com/educationweek

Thank you to all the staff who shared a story, or who showed us their favourite book. 

We love that WPS has such an embedded culture of reading! 

Stay tuned for some exciting things happening later this month as part of Book Week 2021... 

School map with gate numbers

Download

LIBRARY NEWS

CBCA BOOK WEEK

Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators.

Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.

You will often see parades with students dressed as their favourite book character.

This year, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, Book Week will look a little different ... BUT Willoughby Public School has lots of exciting things in the pipeline.

More coming via SkoolBag soon. ​​

LIBRARY BOOKS AT HOME

I have had a few people ask if they can return their Library books from the last holidays, worried that they are overdue during lockdown. My advice is don't worry - everyone is in the same boat. We will request that they are returned once school fully re-opens and all students are coming back on site. For now - please keep them all together in a safe and undisturbed spot at home.

CAN I STILL BORROW DURING LOCKDOWN?

The exciting news is that yes - your children can still borrow, safely from your own home -  from our new E-books collection. 

Our Library has purchased access to an E-Book platform with Wheelers to make it easier for students to access free reading material during our learning from home period this year.  There are chapter books, novels,  and some picture books to choose from.

To find an e-book:

Go to https://willoughbyps.eplatform.co You will see tabs at the top to choose from. Hit 'Start browsing'. You can search at the top for titles, authors etc. Hitting advanced search to the right of the search box, allows you to search for 'Adventure stories" and get themed results, for example. You can also search by PRC category if you use the Library tab.

To borrow, students click on the title they want, then sign in using their normal username and password. Click on borrow. To return, log back  in and hit return. Or it will automatically return at the end of the 2 weeks. Returning it yourself is best as it then allows others to borrow it. There is a limit of 2 books out at any one time.

*Important - to be able to read books on any device, and to be able to read them when not connected to the internet, you need to download the E-Platform by Wheelers app (blue and white) search for our school, and you're right to go! All info for different devices can be found at this link Help: Step by Step Guides - Willoughby Public School (eplatform.co)

Have a question or something isn't working for you? Please contact Mrs de Silva on Contact Us | wpslibrary (librarywps.com) 

WHAT ABOUT THE PRC? 

PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE IMPORTANT UPDATE - RULES CHANGES EFFECTIVE 4 AUGUST 2021 With parts of NSW in lockdown due to the current COVID-19 outbreaks, the Premier's Reading Challenge will be extended for a further two weeks. 

The 2021 Challenge dates are as follows: 

Challenge opened: Monday March 1, 2021

Challenge closes for students: Friday September 3, 2021

Students are now able to include up to 10 Choice Books on their reading records. All students are able to include books on their reading records that they read collaboratively as a class, in person or online with their teacher or at home with their parents/carers.

You can find more information about these adjustments on our Rules page.  Yes - reading E Books still count. Just add the title to your online list as you normally would.

Mrs Debbie de Silva

Teacher Librarian

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

·         year of schooling

·         category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional

·         level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

·         formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools

·         consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools

·         develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school. 

NCCD fact sheet

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Learning From Home Resources for Parents

Download

Parent Guide to NSW Syllabuses

Download

School Community Charter - Collaborative. Respectful. Communication.

The attached School Community Charter outlines the responsibilities of parents, carers, educators and school staff in NSW public schools to ensure our learning environments are collaborative, supportive and cohesive.
Download

NUT & PEANUT ALLERGY (ANAPHYLAXIS)

At Willoughby Public School we have a number of students with a

LIFE THREATENING NUT / PEANUT ALLERGY.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Even a small trace of nut, peanut or nut/peanut product may trigger a severe allergic reaction called Anaphylaxis, which attacks the immune system leading potentially to death within minutes.

This reaction can happen by taste, touch and sometimes can be airborne. All of these students have access to an adrenaline injection in the form of an Epipen, which can save lives. Photo posters are displayed in the classrooms, canteen, staffroom, playground bags and sick bay for easy identification of these children.

Willoughby PS works with parents/carers to support students in developing an awareness of their allergies and what foods to avoid. Students are encouraged not to share food and to always check with a parent/adult/teacher if unsure at any time. 

HOW CAN YOU HELP TO KEEP WPS STUDENTS SAFE? 

Please help us by not including peanut or any nut products in your child’s lunchbox. This includes peanut butter and Nutella. 

Please avoid products with any nuts/peanuts listed as an ingredient. 

Explain about nut/peanut allergy to your child and encourage the ‘no food sharing’ rule. 

Please consider what you are sending for birthday treats to share with the class, checking there are no nut products included. 

The school canteen does not serve products containing nuts. 

It is only with the continued support of all parents and staff that we can effectively maintain a safe school environment for these children.  

Thank you for your understanding. We know you will want to support the school and these children.

Put safety ahead of convenience. Always.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Northern Sydney Youth & Family Health and Wellbeing events

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How to install the SkoolBag App

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HOW TO APPLY FOR SCHOOL OPAL CARD

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FOLLOW WPS SCHOOL INSTAGRAM