The term has progressed very quickly and we are glad to have managed all the normal activities expected at this time of year. 

Thank you to the parents who zoomed in to P&C Meeting on Monday night.  A big thank you to Quetzal Bell who prepared a presentation for us on the Child Development and Child Protection syllabus which is part of the Australian Curriculum Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Syllabus. Lauren Sten who presented this also outlined the extent of the Interrelate Program which P&C sponsors for Year 5 and 6 specifically around puberty and sexual development. As explained, these programs have at their core, developing respectful relationships from K-6, recognising safe and unsafe feelings and touching and learning to say no when uncomfortable. This is a great skill to practise at home with siblings - expressing and respecting feelings in clear ways, along with knowing clearly who to tell if this is not respected.

For parents of older students the following information may be of use:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/hard-to-have-conversations#talking-about-sex-and-pornography

English as a Second Language or Dialect - Parent Representatives

Patrick Madden, our new EALD teacher, also presented information on the diversity of our community with 43% of our students coming from one of 60 other language groups. Patrick is keen to get a variety of Parent Language Representatives to keep their language community informed and to engage the rest of the school in key cultural celebrations. If you would like to know more please email the school and it will be passed onto Patrick.

Parent Teacher Check-ins: We thank staff for the enormous amount of work involved in the check-ins, both in preparation and time. If you calculate 20 minutes per child in preparation and contact, that can be up an additional 10 hours in addition to the 6 hour teaching day plus normal lesson preparation and meetings. 

We appreciated any feedback from parents on the helpfulness of these meetings. Teachers themselves found the timing better (earlier in the term) as it was good to hear from parents what worked best for their child. Between 40 -80 % of parents attended in person while other parents chose to connect by phone. For some parents it is good to have this option. 

During the remainder of the year there will be written reports, Terms 2 and 4, as well as a general wellbeing phone check in the second half of Term 3. Parents are always welcome to request interview times with teachers to support learning and wellbeing.

Sport is underway both at school and PSSA and students are actively engaged. This week saw the selection for winter teams with all students Y3-6 having the opportunity to try out. The school fields as many teams as allowed by the PSSA and this is governed by the grounds available. A quality skills and games based program is also conducted at school for all other students.  A reminder that the new school sports shirt should be worn on Fridays by all students Years3-6.

Early in Term 2, 27th April, we will also have our Cross Country for Y2-6 at Centennial Park. This is an event that requires a lot of parent helpers to ensure students are safe around the entire course so please let our Parent Sports Coordinator, Eleanor Marr know or  teacher Michael Nemeth, if you are available.

Excursions have started now with Year 2 completing a History Walk of the Neighbourhood and Year 1, a Sustainability visit to Centennial Parklands. Year 6 head to Canberra in Week 9.

Class helpers are gradually coming back to help with excursions and class programs. Remember to complete your 100point check with the office in advance and sign in both on the school's check in as well as Service NSW before entering a classroom. To date we have had a terrific response to parent helpers for Kindergarten with other grades to follow in Term 2.

Drop off and pick up changes have progressed well. We really appreciate parents maintaining the quick drop off in the mornings so that children continue to meet up with their friends and settle quickly into the learning day. When you come on site in the afternoons could you please remember to maintain a 1.5m distance from other adults and leave the school grounds by 3.15pm.  We have many children at OOSH and in other programs and hence the school needs to be secure in the afternoon for those not being picked up by parents.

Concert performances will commence in Term 2, with Year 4 being the first, starting the week of 24th May.  It is planned that each grade will present two matinee and two evening performances!

Tickets prices are; Matinee - $5 & Evening - $10.  We can only accommodate 150 people seated for each performance, regardless of age.  Evenings ticket sales are strictly limited to 2 per student, (over the two evening performances).  Other family members are encouraged to purchase tickets for the matinee performances.  There is no cap on matinee tickets and these will be available until sold out.

Avoca Street Carpark Entry on Avoca St will be restricted from this week as Centennial Park School have added additional gates to keep their students secure. RPS is negotiating with the Department to have the dual entry at the northern end of the carpark marked to show both Entry and Exit however parents will be unable to use this as a drop off point as there will be no drive through. Parents seeking to enter through the office from Avoca Street during the school day are advised to park on the appropriate side of Avoca St.

Check-ins and NAPLAN

In the absence of NAPLAN in 2020 the DOE implemented an optional online check in a basic Numeracy and Reading skills. Schools were provided with an informative report of school and individual student progress within a couple of days. These are planned to be continued as an option for schools in 2021 and expanded. In Term 2 our Year 4 and 6 will complete the check in and in Term 3 and 4 other grades will also have this opportunity. If continued by DOE this will provide the school with an additional data source to ensure student growth remains on track through the critical later primary years when so often other priorities take over for students and a state wide decline is evident. The diagnostics from the check-ins are also linked to specific teaching materials.  NAPLAN this year will be undertaken by all Year 3 and 5 students between 11th and 14th May, so please ensure your child is at school regularly and on time during this period.

Regards Susan Allen

Principal

Randwick Public School

If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams" Roald Dahl

We celebrated Harmony Day on Thursday 18 March.  This is a day when everyone in the school dresses up in clothing from their cultural background.  We ate delicious food and celebrated peoples’ culture. Unfortunately this year we couldn’t share our food, but it was a time to talk to and listen to others about their heritage and cultural backgrounds. We hope everyone enjoyed Harmony Day and we loved to see you all dressed up!

Bullying is an issue that we take very seriously at RPS.  It is so important to be kind and friendly to others both in person and online. Mean and aggressive behaviour can cause people to become stressed, depressed and angry.  If you are getting bullied, you shouldn't keep it to yourself, make sure you tell a trusted adult like a teacher or your parents as they are there to help.  On Friday 19 March there is a National Day of Action against Bullying to spark conversation about this very important issue and encourage young people to add their voices and be heard.

Last week’s PBL focus was to be a learner in the playground. Our playground is a place we spend lots of time in, and it often presents us with lots of opportunities to be a learner.  One way to be a learner is to learn how to show leadership and resolve arguments.  For example if someone is arguing in the playground you can learn to solve it and move on, because our playground is really for everyone to have fun, do the right thing and have fantastic breaks!

Year 6 have been learning about the Australian Government, leading up to our upcoming excursion to Canberra.  We are looking forward to this wonderful learning opportunity to visit many of the Canberra sites such as Parliament House, The Australian War Memorial and Questacon.  It promises to be three days of learning and fun.  We are grateful to the school for the opportunity and we can’t wait to go!

Our playground is a vibrant area where students of different ages get to mingle and meet each other.  We love talking to them and hearing about what they are learning in class.  We’ve heard how much Year 1 students enjoyed their excursion to the Ian Potter Wild Play Garden at Centennial Park.  There has also been lots of excitement around the upcoming plays and musicals for each year group.

Henry and Ash

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