RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE

Newsletter of the Leura Public School Community Volume 6, Issue 14 Term 3, 2018 Week 10

Coming Events

Week 10 28/9 – Stewart House Pickup 28/9 – Last day of term – PBL Values Day - mufti, wear yellow

Term 4 Week 1 15/10 – Students’ first day back 16/10 – Big Day In – for Year 6 KHS 17/10 – UBM Dance Festival rehearsal and Concert – Katoomba HS 18/10 – KJ Woolworths Discovery Tour 18/10 – Swampcare – 1pm to 3pm Week 2 23/10 – P&C Meeting – 7pm Week 3 30/10 – Kindergarten Orientation Parent Info Evening 6-7.30pm 2/11 – Stage 1 Excursion Week 4 6/11 – Kindy Orientation, 2pm-2.45pm 9/11 – Year 6 Fun Day

Values Day

Respect

On Friday 28th September, all children are asked to wear

yellow in recognition of our school value, Respect, which is

represented by the colour yellow and our Mascot, the Skink.

There is no cost for the day just a show of support by

wearing yellow to support our school’s PBL values system.

From the Principal… Term in Review It has been another exciting term for our school with plenty of opportunities for our students

to shine. On the stage, our students have performed at the Opera House and Katoomba High

School for choir, at the Joan Sutherland Centre for dance and in our own hall for the oral

reading competition. Our students have demonstrated great skill and fitness in the basketball

gala day, athletics carnivals and school fun run. We’ve had students tuning their artistic skills

through Operation Art workshops and helping with the beginning

of our Aboriginal mural. Our parents and community have

continued to be fabulous supporters of our school, as shown

through Education Week events, the Father’s Day stall and most

recently, the Clothes Swap. We have also had a wonderful term

of learning, despite the other busy activities. As an example.

Kindergarten have shown great growth in their phonics

understandings and writing skills, and Stage 2 students have

worked hard to develop their understanding of Australian history, particularly in relation to the

first fleet.

I hope the holidays provide a wonderful opportunity for some much needed rest in preparation

for our final term of the year.

Fun Run Update Last week, there were two awards presented recognising some

important fundraising efforts of our students. The highest

fundraising class was 3/4 Wombats. The highest fundraising student

was Antonia in 5/6C who individually raised more than $448.

Congratulations to these students!

We appreciate that this fundraising event demonstrated a superb

team effort from our entire school. I proudly report that the final

amount raised from our Fun Run is $7,542. We have started looking

into using these funds to purchase some new interactive whiteboards

for classrooms. Thank you everyone for helping us to be able to do

this.

We have already started thinking about how we can make this event

even better next year, so if you have any thoughts, please feel free

to email them through to the school:

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

Attendance This term, Year 2 have demonstrated continued outstanding attendance at school, now meeting

the target of 95% for three terms in a row. Well done to these students and their families.

The significant drop in attendance rates for Kindergarten and Stage 3 students is concerning.

Hopefully with the warmer weather next term, we will have more students well enough to be at

school more regularly. Please remember, the NSW Department of Education allows the Principal

to grant leave for ‘justified’ reasons, including being sick or having an infectious disease, having

an unavoidable medical appointment, being required to attend a recognised religious holiday,

exceptional or urgent family circumstance. Any absences taken for travel or holidays during the

school term are considered ‘unjustified’ absences. There are a number of ways for parents to

explain student absences – written note, email to the school, phone call to the office or using

the eforms section of the Skoolbag app.

“If you get tired learn to rest, not to quit.” (Banksy)

Yours in education,

Elise Berwick

Principal

KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS 2019 Our school is still taking enrolments for Kindergarten

in 2019. If your child is turning 5 before 31st July, 2019

he/she is eligible to enrol in school. If you know of

someone in the Leura community with a child who will be

starting school next year, please encourage them to contact the school. Enrolment forms can be

collected from the school office.

YEAR 7, 2020 – SELECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

Students currently in Year 5 are invited to apply for placement in a selective high school for

Year 7 2020. If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school

entry in 2020, you need to apply on the internet at this

address https:// education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-

classes/year-7. The application website opens during the school holidays from 9 October

2018 and closes on 12 November 2018. You must apply before the closing date and there are

no paper application forms. Applications for selective high school placement are considered

mainly on the basis of the Selective High School Placement Test results and school assessment

scores. The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on Thursday 14 March 2019.

Parents can refer to notes sent home this week with year 5 students for more details. See Mrs

Field for any further enquiries.

SPORTING SCHOOLS PROGRAM Nicole Arendt, a former Wimbledon finalist and professional tennis player ranked 3 in doubles

and 49 in singles in the world, has been at Leura Public School for the last 5 weeks coaching

Stage 2 and 3 tennis. Using the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots outline and schedule, the students

developed basic skills and differences between forehand, backhand, volley and the basic service

motion. The children partnered together to develop rallies over a mini net and learn to

understand the basic rules. The last two weeks were used to compete and gain points for their

teams.

If any children are interested to continue tennis outside of school, here are

Nicole’s details. She coaches at Wentworth Falls Tennis Club and Katoomba

Tennis Club. Ph: 0400 948 250, email: nicole-arendt@bigpond.com, website:

gamefaces.net

CORE VALUES – Term 3, Week 9

Class Respectful Responsible Resilient

KA Luca Tilly Connor

KJ Griffin Dhola Frankie

1C Avi Noah Charlie

1/2B Kasiah Harry Eva

2A Juliet Silas Ella

MURAL UPDATE

Over the last 2 weeks many students have participated in painting a school mural on the wall

near the art room. The mural will highlight the local flora and fauna that students have

researched over the past term. Students have begun to paint the background, which includes

large boulders, tree trunks and outlines of the mountains. Some year 5 and 6 students

completed the background whilst Kindergarten students have completed a section of wattle.

Students across other years will also be participating on Friday this week and possibly after the

school holidays (weather permitting). Our leading artist - Leanne Tobin - has worked with

a selection of local artists and Leura students to create the mural. If you would like to see the

progress of the mural, head down to the wall near the art room and enjoy!

Mrs Field & Elka 5/6C

POETRY ITEM

Nature does not have

a lost and found table

for summer feathers

and so

the woodpecker

who dropped

this black and white

piece of himself

has let go forever

A bit of beauty

A spotted charm

on the sidewalk

for free

Found a feather

finders keepers

lucky me.

By Shelby, 6M

Community Announcements: Blue Mountains Women’s Health and Resource Centre – Term 4 event program available to view at the

office.

Kids Flix at Blue Mountains Theatre (106 Macquarie Road, Springwood) these holidays: 3rd Oct. Tiny Peep’s

Triple Bill; 4th Oct. Early Man; 8th Oct. Paddington 2; 11th Oct. A Wrinkle in Time – at 11am each day,

tickets $7. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, via phone 4723 5050 or online at

www.bluemountainstheatre.com

Gateway Family Services Parenting Group Programs for Term 4 – program available to view at the office.

For more info www.gatewayfamilyservices.org.au or www.facebook.com/GatewayFS

NOTES/PAYMENT REMINDER To assist families, the following is a list of activities and associated costs, for which permission slips and/or monies are to be

returned to the school. If there are any difficult circumstances in regard to any payments by the due date, for

incursions/excursions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

EXCURSION/ACTIVITY AMOUNT DATE/PAYMENT DUE

Tuition and/or Instrument Hire Term 3 $150/$200 Overdue

Voluntary Technology Levy $48.00

Tuition and/or Instrument Hire Term 4 $150/$200 Beginning of Term 4

Continued next page…

NEXT P&C MEETING Tuesday 23 October 7:00-8:30pm

Learning Support Room (adjacent to School Office)

Stewart House is essentially a “halfway house” or a temporary safe haven for neglected or abused children. Each year, 1,800 children from NSW & ACT Public Schools attend a 12-day program where they are provided with dental, optical, hearing, and medical screening and treatment.

The children participate in educational programs and excursions designed to develop their social and emotional skills, build self-esteem and improve their overall well-being.

Stewart House partners with the Smith Family who generously provide the clothing bags and run the clothing collections, then pays Stewart House for each kilogram of clothing received. The clothes are then sold in the Smith Family stores.

To find out more about Stewart House, head to their website at www.stewarthouse.org.au.

Therefore, our Clothes Swap does not only benefit the school community, but also benefits the local community, Stewart House, the Smith Family AND the environment – how awesome is that?!

Thank you for helping to make Clothes Swap 2018 such a big success! There was lots of fun and frivolity at the Friday night event - even without the drinks! Saturday was a little quieter, but we had a good turn out from the general public. We managed to raise around $1,500, which is a fantastic effort!

At the end of Clothes Swap, we bagged up all the leftover clothing, shoes and accessories, ready for the Smith Family to pick up at the end of the week.

OUR NEW INITIATIVE!

Leura Public School has a new Breakfast Club Program running on a Wednesday morning from 8.45am-9.05am near the school canteen starting in Term 4, Week 2. We will be offering fresh fruit, toast with jams, honey and vegemite, and a range of cereals (on rotation).

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day; particularly for growing children. Studies suggest the memory function of children (e.g. attention span, recall and concentration) is benefitted by the consistent consumption of breakfast. Every child needs to eat a healthy nutritious breakfast every day, but we understand it can sometimes be difficult to get your child to eat in the morning! We are here to help.

If you are interested in helping for half an hour to prepare and serve food or to help clean up at the end, please contact Rachelle Matthewson in person or send an email to rachelle.matthewson2@det.nsw.edu.au.

Stay tuned for more information coming your way next term.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The 1Echindnas (1C) will be visiting the bushcare

site on that day. All school parents/families are

most welcome to join in and lend a hand to care

for the bushland surrounding the endangered

swamp behind the school. All tools will be

provided. All we ask is that you wear long sleeves

and pants, sturdy shoes and bring some water.

We look forward to having you join us next

month!

On Thursday, 20th September, the Swampcare Group celebrated its

10th Anniversary. Our new council Bushcare Officer, Nathan (left),

kindly brought along some afternoon tea – including a cake and

non-alcoholic champagne – to celebrate! Thank you to budding

Bushcarers Elsie and Jasmine and to Vikki and Winnie for sharing a

perfect afternoon with us!

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, 18 October from 1-3pm.

Meet us at the Sculpture gates near the Infants playground.

We are looking for volunteers to teach Ethics as our teacher numbers will decrease in Term 4. Ideally we would like to ensure that ethics classes are available for all families who have requested them.

Ethics teachers receive full training by Primary Ethics. Training consists of a two day workshop and short online modules. Lesson materials are provided. Suitable volunteers have an interest in children’s education and development of critical thinking skills and must be available at 2.00pm Thursday each week to teach a half hour class. A small amount of weekly preparation (such as printing and reading through lesson materials) is also required.

If you, or someone you know, wants the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to our school, please visit:

www.primaryethics.com.au/volunteer/ ethics-teacher/.

A huge THANK YOU to so many people who helped out with the Clothes Swap - Caroline, Belinda, Kellie, Kate & Peter, Tina, Kylie, Vikki, Rebecca, Amanda, Jaqueline, Nicole, Cressida, Conor, Michelle T., Kirsty, Melissa & Ben, Laura, Winnie, Sue G., Brooke, Michelle A., and Peter VG! Thank you all so much for your time and assistance in making Clothes Swap 2018 such a great success!

Keep an eye out for the

exciting new Term 4

Canteen Menu coming

soon to a school bag

near you!