CARRAMAR PUBLIC SCHOOL Term 2 Week 6 2020

Learning to Live The Horsley Drive & Denison Street, CARRAMAR NSW 2163

www.carramar-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Dear Parents/Caregivers, You can see from the front page photos that day one of back to face-to-face teaching was a “celebration”. As I said in the parent information note last week: thank you to all of the amazing parents/caregivers who supported us to ensure students were able to engage in remote learning. Your efforts to step outside your comfort zone was nothing short of admirable and I again want to thank you for the amazing job. Our beautiful students were equally amazing as they grasped the new challenge to work remotely. The challenges of remote learning proved to me just how resilient, resourceful and caring the Carramar PS staff are. We can stand proud of what we achieved as a community.

Staff news: I would like to inform you that Mrs Charalambous and Mrs Ergos are both on maternity leave. Thank you to both of these dedicated teachers for their outstanding contribution to Carramar PS in 2020. We wish them well and look forward to the exciting news to come. Miss Perry is replacing Mrs Ergos on KD and Miss Elzmeter is replacing Mrs Charalambous on 3/4O on Mondays and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays support role.

Reminders that I would like to bring to your attention:

• All students should be at school 5 days a week unless they are unwell. • All students should follow good hygiene practices. • The semester 1 mid year report will be sent home mid term 3 and it will be a simplified version

of the report you normally receive; it will not have the A-E Academic Scale for the subject areas.

• There will be no 3-Way-Reporting process this term. It may be offered later in the year. • There are no assemblies, incursions, excursions or PSSA until further notice. • Our canteen remains closed until further notice, so ensure your child has food for both

breaks, including a drink bottle. • No visitors (including parents) to enter the school unless it is essential. • Parents/caregivers are encouraged to drop/pickup children outside the school gates (where

possible/practical/safe). • Kindergarten students and siblings are to be collected at the back gate along the shared

fence line of the preschool. This will occur at 2:50pm for this term. • Please make an appointment with administration staff for uniform purchases.

Information for current Year 4 Parents/caregivers regarding placement procedures for Year 5 entry to an opportunity class in 2021.

Opportunity classes cater for high potential and academically gifted Year 5 and Year 6 students. Opportunity classes are offered at 76 government primary schools in NSW. This means you will not attend Carramar PS if you are successful. Any parent considering such a placement and application is encouraged to discuss their child’s suitability with Miss Holland or Mr Mazzitelli. An information booklet is available from the office.

These classes help high potential and gifted students to learn by grouping them with other students of similar ability, using specialised teaching methods and materials.

Students who are placed attend the opportunity class full time in Years 5 and 6.

Parents apply online at the following link: https:// education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5

• Applications are open between Tuesday 9 June and Friday 26 June 2020. • All candidates are required to take the Opportunity Class Placement Test on Wednesday

16 September 2020.

Return this to your class teacher by 9 June 2020

School Uniform. With the cold weather arriving it is important to ensure your child’s clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name and class. Students often remove jumpers and jackets when the day warms up and if these items are misplaced, returning them to their owner is impossible if they do not have a name on them.

REMINDER: The school has enlisted the services of third parties to provide educational support. Agencies such as Sentral (used to produce academic reports) require student and parent (including address and contact details) information to establish data bases and programs. Sentral store the information in a secure cloud location. If you are concerned about this transfer and storage of information please contact the school office staff to discuss the matter and view the privacy policy of the relevant agency. Parents should be aware that when information is published on public websites and social media channels, it can be discoverable online for a number of years, if not permanently. Search engines may also cache or retain copies of published information. If you would like further information or wish to change your status please contact the school to make a time to discuss your questions or concerns.

ARE YOU THINKING OF BUYING YOUR CHILD A SMART PHONE, TABLET, E-SITE MEMBERSHIP OR SOMETHING SIMILAR ? Children and teenagers are going online and using social media with increasing frequency. While many enjoy their online experiences, there are risks involved. Parents, schools and the broader community need to work together to help keep children’s online experiences safe. The Commonwealth Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner has developed a resource for parents – iPARENT – which helps parents deal with the connected devices in their children’s lives. iPARENT – found at https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent - provides facts and statistics about Australian children online, managing technology in the home and strategies that can be used by parents to keep children safe online. A parent’s guide to online safety can be downloaded from this site. A range of other useful information is also available from the website. For example parents can access information about cyberbullying including:

• how to talk to their child about cyberbullying;: • what to do if their child is being cyber bullied or is engaging in cyberbullying behaviour

themselves; and • sources of professional support and help.

The website also provides information about how parents and children can report unwanted online contact and/or inappropriate, offensive or illegal content online.

If you are thinking of buying smart toys, smart phones, tablets, drones, e-gift cards or membership in an e-gaming site you may like to check out the e-Safety Commissioner’s eSafety Christmas Gift Guide at - https://www.esafety.gov.au/giftguide - so you can be savvy and secure when you pick out tech gifts this Christmas. Finally, if someone you know is adversely affected by an online experience, free and confidential advice, assistance and support is available from:

• the Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25) on 1800 55 1800; and/or • eheadspace (ages 12 to 25) on 1800 650 890; and/or • Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Of course if you need urgent assistance ring 000.

KEEPING OUR STUDENTS SAFE MEANS PARKING AND STOPPING IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

All students should be at school 5 days a week 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. • If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be

recorded as an unjustified absence and followed up by the school. Notify the school with a reason for each absence via the usual methods of a note, phone call and/or absentee slip from the newsletter.

Mr Anthony Mazzitelli Proud Principal

School Hours: 8:55am to 3:00pm

Monday to Friday 9728 3616 or 9724 2553

Office Hours: 8:30am to 3:00pm TERM 1 – 2020 First Day Wednesday 29 January Last Day Thursday 9 April SDD Tuesday 28 January TERM 2 – 2020 First Day Tuesday 28 April Last Day Friday 3 July SDD Monday 27 April TERM 3 – 2020 First Day Tuesday 21 July Last Day Friday 25 September SDD Monday 20 July TERM 4 - 2020 First Day Monday 12 October Last Day Wednesday 16 December SDD Thursday 17 December SDD Friday 18 December

From the Office Welcome back one and all!! It certainly is fantastic to have our wonderful students back at school!

There are a few changes to our usual routine but things seem to be running smoothly. We have a few reminders for our new Kindergarten parents and our existing parents as well. Please remember the following;

• The office opens at 8.30am and closes at 3.00pm each day.

• We are asking parents to make appointments for uniform purchases and returns so we can adhere to the social distancing regulations. Please call ahead to make an appointment. We are able to make appointments 8.30 – 2.15 daily.

• Parents are also asked to make an appointment for any enrolments including Kindergarten 2021 enrolments.

• If you change any of your contact details please send the details to the school in writing or call at the office to complete a change of details form.

• If your child is unwell please keep them home from school until they recover.

• Be sure to notify the school of the reason for any absence. By phone, on the website, APP or Facebook page or by written note. If your child is absent for more than a day or two it is a good idea to call us and let us know of the reason.

• If you unable to be at school by 3.00pm to collect your child (we know this happens occasionally) please call the administration staff well before 3.00pm so we can get a message to your child’s teacher well before the bell goes.

Julie, Megan & Anna