www.kotarasth-p.school.nsw.edu.au

kotarasth-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

(02) 4957 5319

150 Rae Crescent Kotara South 2289

Kotara South Public School

Newsletter A Great Place to Be!

27 February 2019 | Week 5 | Term 1

From the Principal Welcome to Week 5. Our school year is well underway, and students have been at school now for a little over a month. Our Kindergarten students are enjoying full days at school and are really engaged in learning, making friends and having a happy day at school. Learning is our KSPS priority, and for Kinders this comes in all forms: learning to follow a routine, learning to ask for help, learning your numbers. At KSPS we excel in creating Future Focussed Learners. Our students are connected to quality literacy and numeracy opportunities that inspire learning in and beyond the classroom. We grow minds of the future with a professional, caring and dynamic staff that include collaborative teams in and across our school. This statement comes from our School Plan. This plan is a 3-year guide for our school that directs the learning and teaching. To ensure quality learning across literacy and numeracy is achieved for every student, we have restructured our staff to bring in expert teachers in literacy and numeracy in an instructional leader and intervention teachers. These staff members support student learning in class with explicit small group instruction. They also plan, assess and deliver excellent support and instruction to teachers. This is achieved through differentiation in teacher practice, targeted interventions matching need, ongoing monitoring and tracking and explicit and timely feedback. A reminder to all parents if your child is using one of the three OOSH services that support our school, please use the slip at the end of this newsletter, send a handwritten note, email or call the school with the days your child/ren go to OOSH and what service they use. Please understand at 3pm when 340 children leave the premises it can be quite disorientating for children to know where to go to. If teachers are aware of this, they can remind children before they leave the room. This year our school security has been tightened and entry to the school and classrooms is being closely monitored. This is unfortunately due to a case of theft at the end of last year of vital school information. Therefore, the entry of children onto school grounds before there is active supervision is discouraged. School supervision starts from 8:35am. Before this time teachers are preparing for lessons, meeting and organising learning for your child. Regarding entry to classrooms, please do not walk into rooms without a teacher present. Mostly you will find classroom doors locked, but in the teacher has popped next door before class, please do not take it upon yourself to be in the classroom. As a whole school we use the Parent Portal as a tool for parents to access attendance information, student report cards and booking parent teacher interviews. All new Kinder parents will receive a letter home today to register an email address, it then comes to the school to approve. Once approved, please use the ‘unique code, ‘ to make your child’s own parent portal profile. If you are unsure of the process or need assistance, Mrs McMahon will be running workshops in the library Thursday and Friday mornings 28/02/19 and 01/03/19 and next week 7/3/19 and 8/3/19 from 8.35-9.00am. Kinder Parents will need access to the portal for booking interviews at the end of this term, so please take advantage of the help to create this access. Years 1- 6 parent interviews are held at the end of term 2. Congratulations to all our students who competed at the Newcastle City Zone swimming carnival last week. There were over 520 competitors on the day and the organisation of the carnival and events was outstanding. Thank you, Mr John, for your work on this event in your capacity as the President of the Newcastle City PSSA zone, with your team of helpers the carinal was very successful. We had a team of 25 students attend. See photo. I would like to congratulate Tori, Toby and Rosie who made it through to Hunter region level and with representing our school and Newcastle zone at the carnival on the 5 March at Lambton pool. Well done. Last Thursday night students and staff had our sleep over at school. This event is becoming a strong KSPS tradition and provides opportunities for students to be independent, build resilience skills, problem solve and think creatively. Students cook food, plan activities and be together. Can I commend this years’ stage 3 group as ‘outstanding’ role models in their efforts, responsibility and overall behaviour. All the staff were very impressed.

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Our first P&C meeting was held a fortnight ago in the library with many new parents coming along and getting involved. The meeting discussed various events that our P&C support within our school. I strongly urge all parents to become a member for $2 per year and help out where you can. You don’t have to attend meetings, just support our school. Be sure to check out the P&C Facebook page for all the action of the KSPS P&C news and upcoming events. Our first school student Parliament was held last Thursday in week 4 due the swimming carnival being week 3. Student Parliament provides a forum for students to be involved in the decision making of student-related items across the school, through the democratic process we enjoy as citizens of Australia. The year 6 student Ministers run Parliament and take questions from the floor. The process is very empowering to students and I encourage parents to come along and watch Parliament. It is conducted every 3 weeks (weeks 3, 6, 9 of term) Thursday from 2.20-3.00pm. Next week we will be hosting staff from New Lambton South PS as they deserve our model of student leadership. This Friday, we will host a special whole school assembly form 9.00am for the Student Badge Induction Ceremony. All classes will join the assembly for the induction. Afterwards the K-2 students will move back to class and the seniors will have their assembly. This will include the presentation of the swimming carnival ribbons. Scripture and Ethics lessons started yesterday. If you intend to change your child’s attendance in a particular class, please advise the school in writing. Scripture and Ethics take place on a Tuesday afternoon form 2.25-3.00pm. Often children are sick and are not able to attend school. The link below details school/child related illnesses with information for parents to access. This link is worth bookmarking. Too sick to go to school KSPS School Photos are coming up on Tuesday 12 March. The school photo order envelopes for each child have been sent home. Please hold onto these envelopes until the day of the school photos. Online ordering and recording the reference /receipt number is one of the easiest ways to pay for photos. Sibling photos are available on the day. If you order a red, blue or green pack there is a free sibling’s pack included in the price, envelopes are in the front office. Reminder that the newsletter is every fortnight (odd weeks) with “What’s On” Sunday evening on Skoolbag. Have a great week and thanks for making #KSPSagreatplacetobe

Susan Maxworthy – PRINCIPAL

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1st March

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School News ZONE SWIMMING CARNIVAL A wonderful day of sportsmanship, competition and achieving personal goals was had by all who attended the Newcastle City PSSA Zone Swimming Carnival at Lambton Pool on Tuesday. Mr John and Mrs Fear were so impressed by the spirit in which the students participated in the day and even more so by the support and positive attitude displayed by our outstanding KSPS parents. Thank you to all the parents and family who supported their child on the day. We are very excited to advise that three of our students will be representing Newcastle City at the Hunter regional Carnival to be held at Lambton pool on the 5th of March, 2019. Congratulations Rosie, Toby and Tori and we wish you lots of luck!

Mrs Regina Fear – KSPS SWIMMING TEAM MANAGER

OOSH SERVICE Please complete the slip below if your child uses an OOSH service. Write the name of the service in the box on the day the child goes to OOSH. The three services that service our school are : Belair OOSH (based at KSPS), St James YMCA OOSH (based at St James Catholic School Kotara), Victory OOSH (based at Kahibah) This in formation assist the teacher to help your child know after school arrangements. If there are any changes to this arrangement, please notify the school immediately. Child’s name: _____________________________________________ Class: __________________ Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Before school

After School

WIZARD OF OZ ARENA SPECTACULAR In the upcoming holidays, KSPS students Josie M and Amber W will be performing in the Wizard of Oz Arena Spectacular at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. Josie and Amber both auditioned last year and were selected as part of the ensemble.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic 1940’s movie about Dorothy, who was swept up by a tornado all the way to the Land of Oz. Dorothy builds independence and confidence along her journey and makes many interesting friends along the way.

We encourage you to buy tickets to this performance and see our KSPS students shine.

To purchase tickets, go to: https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=WIZARDOF19&v=NEC

Amber Watt and Josie McMahon – CAST MEMBERS

Above: the new KSPS swim caps worn by students on the day.

Left: the KSPS zone swimming team for 2019

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Assembly Awards

WEEKS 3 & 4 K’OR Eva Bencke

Danielle Creamer Harper Hudson Bobby McKee Joshua Pinchen Alexander Postol

2C Maya O’Brien Lucy Holmes Thomas McClymont Connor Dwyer Jasmine Breen Mia Ivor

5/6J Josh Hutchison Bryson Gallagher Cooper Holmes Poppy Martyn Elissa O’Conner Charlie Hodgson

KR Scarlett Migus Maxwell Castagna Isla Simpson Elle Crispin Hadley Cook Leonardo Stormon

2E Alex Vincent Hugo Bourke Lia Sheldon Mia Clarke Leona Jackson Chloe Maddern-

Richards

5/6M Jack Blissett Bodie Fenwick-

Mulcahy Jasper Toyne Charlotte Jackson Sophia Hall Stela Vyslysel

K1/P Edward King Ashton Moss Sage Roberts Eva Moylan Sophia Askew Boston Watters

3/4F Lexi Michalitsis Jessica Kelly Will Outram Kayla Konjarski Shelley Price Mitchell Jago

5/6P Cooper Main Ben Belcher Imogen Fazzari Thomas West-

Sooby Cooper Donnelly Sophia Hannan

1A Christopher Outram Jed Alexander Madeline Smith Gabriela Vyslysel Abigail Cousins Cameron Menzies

3/4M Bella Vaughan Xavier Cowie Nicholas Harland Chase Hain Eve Hutchison Sunny Hulsman

HSUB Bailey Briggs-Mason

1/2G Breanne Allado Bronte Rippon Chilli Rippon Ivy Owens Blake Mitchison Lexi Sullivan

3/4W Liam Buchanan Molly Hamence Liam Sharpe Rhiannan Hall Isaac Smith Sophie Oliver

Important Dates: Follow Skoolbag for update on ‘What’s On’ posted each Sunday evening. Also check the website for all KSPS events.

MERIT AWARDS

Gold No recipients

Silver No recipients

Bronze

Henry Thompson Jack Engelman Vivienne Bencke Amber Sharpe

EXECUTIVE AWARDS

No recipients

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P&C Association THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – NOT AS SCARY AS IT SOUNDS! The KSPS P&C Annual General Meeting (or AGM) is held each year in March. During the meeting the President and Treasurer present reports summarising our activities for the previous year, then we vote on who will form our Executive team for the year. We’d love to encourage all members, new and old, to attend the AGM and stay for the regular meeting afterwards. Please don’t stay away because you don’t want to be voted in! The majority of positions already have nominations submitted, and no-one will be asked to do something that they don’t want to do.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else for a position, please fill out the attached form and hand it in to the school office. Please note that you need to be a paid-up member of the P&C to nominate someone, hold a position or vote at P&C meetings, so please complete the membership form as well if you haven’t already done so. Return completed membership forms to the office with the membership fee of $2.

BUNNINGS BBQ – SATURDAY 9 MARCH We have a Bunnings BBQ coming up in less than 2 weeks, on Saturday 9 March. We need volunteers for one hour shifts between 9am and 4pm to help cook or serve sausage sandwiches. There are still plenty of spots available - if you are able to help please fill out the online sign up form. We really appreciate your support.

CANTEEN Mrs Best sources the freshest produce at the best price, and may therefore occasionally have special deals at short notice, as well as regular weekly specials. We don’t want you to miss out on any of these great offers, so please keep an eye on our P&C Facebook page and the Skoolbag app for details of canteen specials. The full canteen menu is attached for your convenience. The canteen menu is always available for download from the KSPS website in the Notes & Forms section under Parent Information.

UNIFORM SHOP The regular uniform shop opening hours are:

• Wednesdays from 2.30pm to 3.00pm; and

• Fridays from 8.45am to 9.15am. If these times are not suitable you are welcome to leave an order (with the correct amount owing in cash) in an envelope at the school office. The order will be fulfilled the next time the uniform shop is open and will be returned home with your child. Order forms may be found here: Uniform Shop order form.

Next Meeting: 13 March

AGM at 6.30pm, followed by regular meeting at 7pm in the school library

kspspandc@gmail.com

Kotara South Public School P&C

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