Dear Parents/ Carers,

Our preschool has undergone the assessment and ratings process over the past few days. All early childhood services across Australia are assessed and rated regularly against the National Quality Framework. Margaret Akamatis and Karen Rowe, our preschool staff, do an amazing job ensuring our preschool delivers quality educational practice and building strong relationships with their students and families. Across the two days of the ratings visit Margaret and Karen provided strong and detailed evidence of this practice to the assessment officer. I would like to thank them for their tremendous effort and dedication in building such a quality environment. We will receive a report affirming what the officer has observed over the next few months.

We are resuming more of our regular school activities as COVID restrictions ease somewhat. We will be introducing whole school assemblies once again and can plan activities involving all of our students. We usually hold a hat parade to mark Easter. We will be able to hold the parade with students this year but unfortunately due to difficulty of physically spacing parents, we will not be able to have parents attending. We will post lots of photos on Seesaw and children may parade home in their hats. Thank you to parents for assisting in safe drop off and collection procedures for students.

Please remember to observe physical distancing on site whilst collecting or dropping off students.

Congratulations to our new P&C committee elected recently. The P&C committee are:

President: Erica Pitt

Vice President #1: Kathleen Rollins

Vice President #2: Jamila Adams

Secretary: Darshita Shah

Treasurer: Anu Verma

The P&C support the school in many ways and encourage the involvement of our whole school community. It was great to see more parents attending the recent annual general meeting and offering support in a variety of ways. 

Regards,​

 Students should be at school unless:

• they have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition and the expected timeframe
• they are currently unwell. 

Please Note: Students absent for 3 days or more require a Dr's Certificate when they return to school.

Stay up to date with Opal and ticketing changes for school travel.

See File below.

As parent access to the school grounds is still restricted , orders and payment must be placed in an envelope  and handed to staff at morning or afternoon pick up. These orders will be filled and sent home with children. Please use the attached order form, clearly indicating the students name/class and size required (size range is - 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16).

Unfortunately, orders will not be filled unless accompanied with the correct cash payment, as we are not yet able to accept electronic payments. Orders CANNOT be made through the school website. Should you have any questions, please contact us through our P&C Facebook page - Pendle Hill Public School P&C association.

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions children are currently not able to bring lolly bags or other items to share with their classmates on their birthday.

SRC are holding an Easter Egg guessing competition for K-6.

See the attached note for all the "eggsciting" details!

Students from 3C, 4K and 4/5F attended "The Four Seasons" which was a concert held by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. 

It was at Parramatta Riverside Theatre on Thursday 4th March 2021, a great experience for the students.

There were two disability awareness workshops held in the hall on the 3rd March and the 10th March 2021. 

The workshops were delivered to grades 1-6.

A small number of students competed at the Zone Swimming Carnival earlier this month. 

They performed very well and had a great day.

Preschool have been learning about shapes and recognising the shapes.

They have been creative and using their cutting and pasting skills as they make beautiful pictures with the shapes. ​

Margaret Akamatis

Pendle Hill Public School Preschool

Schools are safe and open for full time face-to-face learning

All schools are returning to full on-campus learning from Monday 25 May.

All school activities and operations will be in line with Australian Health

Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health guidelines

as applicable.

School students do not need to follow physical distancing guidelines, but

should follow good hygiene practices like:

• Regularly washing hands

• Avoiding sharing drinks or food

• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be

discarded immediately.

Studiosity is a 24/7 online study and homework help service, available to all students in primary and high schools. There are two ways students can get help:

●       Connect Live: Students can ask a question and be quickly connected to a qualified Subject Specialist  via live chat, for help with English, Maths, Biology, Physics,Chemistry, Business Studies, and more.

●       Writing Feedback: Students can upload any essay or written draft and receive detailed feedback from a real writing specialist, that helps them think about and improve their own work.

How to get started

Head to the Library website, all you need is your Library member number and password. http://parra.city/studiosity1 

If students are not a library member, they can join for free. They will require a parent/guardian to fill out a registration form and they can start using the library immediately. http://parra.city/join 

Please forward this email to your teaching and support staff to make them aware of this great resource for their students. 

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please find attached a poster for your noticeboards, intranet, and newsletter. 

Issue 2 of Bookclub is out and the closing date is Monday 22nd March 2021.

Payments must be made online through the Scholastic LOOP app.

https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Register.aspx

POSS BOXES

Each class has a box to collect their Penny Possum tickets for following our school expectations: Helpful, Safe, Respectful Learners.  When the box is filled with tickets the class choose a reward that they suggested earlier in the term.

Many classes are close to achieving their reward, so keep on going Pendle Hill!

Congratulations! You have worked hard as a team to fill your Penny Possum box. We look forward to hearing about your class reward. 

Have you changed your Phone Numbers or Address? If so please complete the slip below and return to the office. Only changed details need to be included. (One slip per family is fine.)

Our preferred method of payment is online. You can do this easily by clicking the button below.You can do this easily by clicking the button below.

School attendance

All students should be at school unless:

• They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition

• They are currently unwell.

Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported to learn from home in line with regular procedures if they are

able to. These regular procedures are different to what was offered during the learning from home period. If you require work to be provided

to your child whilst they are at home due to an underlying health condition, you should contact the school for assistance.

Please note, students who live with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk by the AHPPC, should

attend school unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise in writing.

If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they are unwell at school you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect them immediately. Please make sure your contact details are up to date.

If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by

the school.

Students absent for 3 days or more require a Dr's Certificate when they return to school.

If you need any support to get your child back to school, please contact your school.

Remember, the school needs to be notified of any absences. You can do this by:

1. Skoolbag - this is the best way to contact the school 

2. Writing a note

3. Speaking to your child's teacher

4. Calling the school

I am sure you are all looking forward to a well-earned break after a huge term 1.

Please see below a link to Cumberland City Councils FREE school holiday clinics which will be held over the two weeks.

Registrations open on Monday 29th March at 7.00pm

Can you please add this to your newsletter or promote on your digital platforms for all your families to take advantage of these great free programs.

 https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist/healthandwellbeing

Yesterday, Tuesday 9th March, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Emergency Department moved to the Westmead Health Precinct’s newest building on Hawkesbury Road.

To ensure families and schools coming to our Hospital in an emergency know where to go, we have prepared the following and attached:

• A poster for you to print and display in your office, noticeboard and anywhere with high traffic. You can also include this in your school newsletter.
• Some content below you could share with families through your online portal or newsletter:

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead’s Emergency Department has moved into the Westmead Health Precinct’s newest building. Don’t worry though, it’s still accessible via the main Hospital building, or you can park underneath. The Hospital has created some FAQs (provided below) in case you want to know more.

Where is the new building located?

• Block K is located between The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Westmead Hospital. The main entrance is off Hawkesbury Road - look for the 'Westmead Health Precinct' sign on the side of the building.
• The building is just a few minutes’ walk from our existing main entry, back up Hawkesbury Road, in the direction of Westmead Station. 

Which Children’s departments are moving into Block K?

• Emergency Department
• Children’s Short Stay Unit
• Additional Medical Imaging service
• Additional Pharmacy service
• Additional digital operating theatres – operating theatres are part of the staged approach to opening services and will not open on day one

Are the Children’s services open in the new building?

• The Children’s services in Block K, including our Emergency Department, Children’s Short Stay Unit, Medical imaging and Pharmacy services, is now open to patients.

How do visitors access Block K?

• Stay indoors: From the Hospital main entrance, follow the red signs to our two main lifts. Take the lift to level three and travel left along the linkway. Once you reach the multi-coloured windows, continue on until you reach the Children's Emergency on your right.
• Get some fresh air: Exit the existing hospital building and turn right down Hawkesbury Road. Block K's green plaza and main entry is on your right - look for the 'Entrance 10' sign.

Where can visitors accessing Block K park?

• Additional parking can be found directly underneath the new Children's Emergency Department, in P5. Enter via the new building's main entry driveway and take the ramp down. P5 has 250 parking spaces for visitors.

Is there a dedicated drop-off zone at the Children’s Emergency entrance for parents and visitors?

• There is a 15-minute drop-off and pick-up zone outside the Children’s Emergency Department entrance.
• There is also a dedicated drop-off and pick-up zone for patients with Mobility Parking Scheme permits in the same location.

Download Poster Below For More Information

We are holding a Lego® STEM & Coding holiday camp in the second week of the school holidays. 

See Link and Flyer below.

http://www.iwsydney.young-engineers.com.au/

The Parliament of NSW is holding a free, fun educational event, the Festival of Democracy, for children up to 12 years and their families on 16 April 2021. From 9 am – 3 pm, visitors, families and friends are all welcome to come in and experience democracy through a range of family-friendly activities such as democracy hopscotch, craft, mystery object guessing competition, and more.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact us on 9230 2047.

https://education.parliament.nsw.gov.au/

See Flyer Below