The Punchbowl Press

As we come to the end of term 1, I think back to this time last year when we were learning from home.  This term has seen us return to greater normality with our parents being permitted to return to the school for drop off and pick up.  The communication and connectedness to our school community is so important to us all here at Punchbowl PS and we look forward to renewing and building these connections as the year progresses.

This term, school staff have been looking at the successes and areas for improvement within our school as we create the Strategic Improvement Plan for the next four years.  This process has involved looking closely at our systems, implementation of evidence based teaching and learning, student performance data and surveys from last year.  This culminated in the presentation of that plan to the P&C last Friday at our first meeting for the year.

The Strategic Improvement plan includes three strategic directions that the school will be working on to improve outcomes for our students and their families.

Strategic Direction 1 - Student growth and attainment

Purpose: Improve student outcomes in reading and numeracy through evidence-informed strategies and embedded evaluative practices.

This strategic direction includes two initiatives: Explicit teaching reading and Explicit teaching numeracy. 

We will aim to personalise learning in reading and numeracy to differentiate teaching for all students and track progress and growth through: 

• Selection of evidence-informed teaching strategies based on student learning needs
• Evaluating the impact of the implemented strategies on student learning
• Ongoing professional learning to build teacher capacity

Strategic Direction 2 - Stronger teaching and learning

Purpose: Data-driven learning underpinned by quality teaching practices and a culture of high expectations.

This strategic direction includes two initiatives: Quality teaching and Enriched learning

We will aim to:

• Increase staff capacity to analyse student performance data to improve teacher effectiveness, target intervention and improve student outcomes
• Create and sustain a culture of high expectations to maximise optimal learning environments.
• Provide challenging learning experiences that enrich the delivery of core curriculum to facilitate engagement and improve learning outcomes.

Strategic Direction 3 – Strong and Connected Community

Purpose: Enhance student wellbeing and community engagement by building a cohesive educational community and fostering positive relationships.

This strategic direction includes two initiatives: Wellbeing and Community

We will aim to:

• Embed a school-wide culture that supports wellbeing through practices that promote social, emotional, behavioural and intellectual engagement, and by fostering positive relationships across the school community.
• Ensure student absences do not impact on learning outcomes through teachers, parents and community working together.
• Embed Inclusion in all aspects of school life, supported by culture, policies and everyday practices.
• Demonstrate responsiveness to community need and priorities through consultative and collaborative practices and activities.

I wish the entire community a restful, safe holiday.  Students return on Tuesday 20 April.

Mrs Donna McGeary

Relieving Principal

Our SaCC supports parents with many classes, some of which are TAFE recognised. These programs bring parents together to learn useful life skills to help support themselves and their children. There have been some great learning opportunities for parents this term:

• Mum2Mum English conversation
• Eat, Move and Healthy eating
• TAFE NSW courses - Floristry and English

The parents attending these classes are finding them very useful to further develop their skills and education.

The Learning Hub is up and running on Tuesday afternoons in the SaCC.  This program has been made possible through our partnership with STARTTS and the students have benefited from the extra help and time to complete their homework. Thank you to STARTTS and the tutors who volunteered their time to support the homework group. 

The school canteen are having a special on Wednesday 31 March to coincide with the Easter Hat parade.

Please see Kathy in the canteen to place your order.

Stage 1 teachers are extremely happy to see parents back on school grounds. Just a few reminders about pick up procedures for Stage 1 students. 

• Year 1 and Year 2 students assemble in stage lines at 3pm every day. 

•  All students are to be picked up by parents/carers or an older sibling.  

• Teachers must sight the person picking up each student before they are allowed to leave. 

• Any students still in lines at 3:10pm will be walked to the office. 

If it is wet weather we ask for the following to happen: 

• Year 1 students are to be collected from their classrooms 

• Year 1 parents are to enter the building via the door closest to Rossmore avenue (see picture) 

• Year 2 students are to be collected from the Stage 1 hall area 

• Year 2 parents are to wait at the door near the girls toilets (see picture) 

3 Flourish and 4 Success are celebrating their uplifting art! We are very proud of our effort, creativity and quality work that is on display in the Stage 2 hallway. Our artworks are inspired by Van Gogh’s famous painting, Sunflowers.

Wow! What a second half of the term have we had!  

So much has gone on in the PBL Space here at Punchbowl. We had our Launch day and boy oh boy did the kids look good in their house colours. 

We also had our Harmony Day Celebrations and it was a day that was fantastic with all of the colours of the rainbow represented in cultural outfits and other sharing of ideas and activities. If you have not seen the video yet go to this link to see it https://youtu.be/ZRNZiZWh2ho .  

It is great looking into so many classrooms around the school to see that the children have nearly settled into class routines, seeing great learning everywhere.  

With all of these major events going on we have not forgotten about the little things and respect for each other and as we head into term two, we will be spending some time looking at the respect to our school grounds. Especially with rubbish on the fields and other areas of the school.   

This recent wet weather has been challenging and watching the students be resilient and making new ways to have their breaks indoors really shows what incredible children we have here at Punchbowl!! 

Punchbowl Public School – PBL Team  

• Make sure your children are in appropriate child car seats that are fitted and used correctly.
• Stick to the 40km/h speed limit in a school zone as children are about and can be unpredictable.
• Always park and turn legally around schools and avoid dangerous manoeuvres like U-turns and three-point turns.
• Always give way to pedestrians, especially when entering and leaving driveways.
• Drop the kids off and pick them up on the school side of the road on Rossmore Ave or Viola St drop-off and pick-up area. Calling out to them from across the road is dangerous because they may run to you without checking traffic.
• It's safest for the kids to get out of the car on the kerb side of the road to be away from passing traffic. 

• Plan your trip to school so you are using pedestrian crossing areas. There are 2 located on Rossmore Ave, both with school crossing supervisors in the morning and afternoon. 

Young children can learn these safe pedestrian habits from you and use them when they are old enough to travel alone.

The Police and rangers will be patrolling our school regularly throughout the year. This includes Rossmore Ave and Viola St entries. 

Your child's safety depends on us. Road safety around our school is everyone's responsibility. 

Wishing our community members who celebrate a wonderful Easter. 

The last day for Term 1 is Thursday 1 April. 

Have a safe school holiday break.

All students from P-6 return to school for Term 2 on Tuesday 20 April.

eBooks

Our library has access to ebooks through the eWheelers platform. To access popular titles follow the step by step guide provided. If you have any questions please call Mrs Faiza Matthews between 3-3:30pm every day except Wednesdays. The school number is 9750 5055.

1.       Click on the web link https://librarypunchbowlpublicschool.wheelers.co/

2.       Click on the sign in button which is on the top right hand side of the screen.

3.       You will be asked to sign in again. The sign in button will be on the lower left of the screen.

4.       You’ll be prompted to provide a user name and ID. This is the same user name and ID that your child uses to log on to computers at school.

Alternatively you may wish to download the app.

To download the app:

1.       Go to your app store.

2.       Search for the ePlatform app.

3.       Find your library by typing in Punchbowl Public School.

4.       Sign in by using the student user ID and password.

5.       Enjoy a different reading experience!

We are delighted to continue the MyOn online reading experience with our students. MyOn is a fantastic reading and learning tool that our students are engaging with. This term students are using it for research topics, using the online journal feature which allows them to reflect on what they have learnt, what is puzzling them and what they would like to know more about. All students were issued with their login details. Providing your child with the opportunity to use MyOn for 20 minutes a day would improve their overall learning outcomes. Click on the link to visit the site. https://www.myon.com/login/index.html

Register with Punchbowl United FC  for season 2021.

*FREE registration in below age groups with 2 x valid Active kids vouchers:

Under 6-7 (mixed) Born 2014-2016

Under 11 boys Born 2010-2012

Under 12 Girls Born 2009-2011

REGISTER ONLINE

 https://registration.playfootball.com.au/.../WelcomeRegPl...The one off LOW registration fee includes playing jersey, shorts & socks as well as weekly training and games. SAVE by applying for the ACTIVE KIDS VOUCHER here  https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/.../apply-active-kids-voucher Any player that registers from today has a chance to win a dinner for six people Eighteen22 Casual Dining 

The Conservatorium High School is the secondary arm of the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, and the State’s only specialist music high school. Applications to audition for students entering high school in 2022 are now open. Closing date for registration is June 25th. Follow the link to register your interest. 

https://conhigh.nsw.edu.au/2022-entry-application/

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. Download the flyer below for more information. 

The P&C have registered an online fundraiser with Bright Star Kids. Bright Star Kids is a family-owned business that designs and produces top quality personalised products for kids. For every order you place our school will receive up to 20% in commission. 

All you need to do is visit their webpage, create an account, place an order and select LINK A FUNDRAISING ACCOUNT in the checkout and enter our school name PUNCHBOWL PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

Label it and never lose a thing! Get ready with your labels and personalised products for 2021. 

Happy Shopping. 

If you have any questions please phone the office on 9750 5055 and leave a message and one of the friendly P&C members will contact you. 

Punchbowl Public School P&C Committee