Picnic Point Public School

Whole School Information

UPCOMING EVENTS: WHAT’S DUE NOW Harmony Day (Mufti) Wed 24 March High School EOI forms Easter Hat Parade Thu 1 April Stage 3 Gold Excursion Easter Raffle Drawn Thu 1 April Easter Egg donation & raffle tickets K - 6 Cross Country Thu 1 April Statement of Account Interrelate Tue 4 May CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SWIMMERS/AFL PLAYERS/PSSA REPS We are very proud of our PPPS student’s recent sporting achievements! Congratulations to our 18 students who represented our District at the Area Swimming Carnival in Bradbury on Tuesday, 9 March. To finish 6th out of 170 schools is quite an accomplishment! We wish Logan Fischer every success when he represents our Region at the State Carnival. Congratulations to the students who represented our school at the recent Paul Kelly Cup. Thank you to Mr Burdon and parents for your support. Congratulations to our many senior students who have just made PSSA representative teams in AFL, Basketball, and more. We wish you every success!

HARMONY DAY - WED 24 MARCH Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. The message of Harmony Week is everyone belongs. We encourage our students to come dressed in the traditional clothes or flag colours of a country of their heritage or to wear orange clothes. Students are also invited to submit an original artwork in the Harmony Day Poster Competition. Please see your class teacher for details. Entries close Thursday 1 April 2021.

Did you know? · Nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was. · We identify with over 300 ancestries. More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia. · Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia. · 85% of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia. · Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi. These facts are taken from ABS 2016 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics website. ATSI BELONGING DAY Our 2-6 Aboriginal students had a great experience at the recent Belonging Day at East Hills Public School. Thank you to Mrs McNamara for supporting our students.

Kalori 4

March 2021

VALUING OUR CHILDREN’S VOICE – TELL THEM FROM ME STUDENT FEEDBACK SURVEY I am pleased to announce that this term, our students in Years 4-6 will again participate in a Department of Education’s initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey aims to help improve student learning outcomes and measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices. More information about the survey is available at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/tell-them-from-me/information-for-parents-and-carers

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide our school with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help improve how they do things at school. I want to assure you that the survey is confidential and school staff will not be able to identify individual students from their responses. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between Monday 22 March and Friday 26 March. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

An ‘opt-out’ form was emailed home Monday this week. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by Monday 22 March.

BEE INVOLVED This lunchtime initiative supports students with developing social skills through fun, interactive games and activities supported by Mrs Pryde, Mrs O’Donovan or Mrs Deeb. Students receive a ‘pass’ from the teacher which entitles them to bring a friend along and join in on the planned activities such as lego, making bracelets, outdoor games, rock painting and much more.

WORKING BEE Thank you to Kylie Bayley for doing the shopping for the BBQ for the recent Working Bee. Hopefully you have already saved the date for the next Working Bee as we would love to see you there! WORKING BEE #2 - SATURDAY 8 MAY 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. Our focus will be painting and gardening. BYO garden gloves and tools. Paint and brushes supplied.

P&C AGM Congratulations to the parents who accepted positions of responsibility at the recent P&C AGM.

Our P&C is an outstanding support to the school and I encourage all parents to get involved with the P&C. The next meeting is on Tuesday 11 May and we will offer a face to face and Zoom platform to allow for easy access for all parents to attend. Hope to see you there!

Some of the key roles are:

President: Steve Hancock Vice President: Tim Hickey Treasurer: Sheree Smith

Canteen Convenor: Kylie Bayley Canteen Supervisor: Julie Griffiths

Uniform Shop: Catherine Cannon and Joanna Fenik

Band: Maria Musumeci Fundraising: Karen Friend

BUILDING MAINTENANCE We are having the roof of Block H replaced in the school holidays. The toilets in the hall will be fixed after a water leak earlier in the term caused damage to the ceiling. We are looking forward to seeing families at the Easter Hat Parade and the Cross Country Carnival. To enable us to social distance, we are asking families to limit to 2 adult spectators per family, and toddlers are welcome but must be supervised by their parent. We will be capturing highlights of the day for Mrs Chatt to produce a DVD which is on sale now and will go home early Term 2. Thank you for your ongoing support! Karen Sellick, Principal Note: A black cardigan was found near the Thomas Street gates. Please contact the office if you have lost it.

Shared Language of Learning

BEE OPTIMISTIC “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and

confidence” Definition Optimism is our student’s ability to embrace and often seek challenges as opportunities for growth. Why Optimism? Evidence suggests that optimism is important in coping with difficult life events… thus, it appears that optimism is uniquely related to positive affect. Being an optimist boils down to the way you talk to yourself. Optimists believe that their own actions result in positive things happening, that they are responsible for their own happiness, and that they can expect more good things to happen in the future. Language of Learning Challenge Pick an event that you are not looking forward to doing and discuss ways you can turn this into a positive. Student Quotes of the Week - 2 Avocado “To me, being optimistic is never giving up and giving it your very best go. Sometimes we need help to be as optimistic as we can be, and that’s OK. It is also having a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset.” Nicole Batty. “Being optimistic means you must believe in yourself. If you can’t do something you need to encourage yourself to achieve the problem. Making mistakes is great because you try again. You don’t think negative, you say in your head ‘I can do this!’. That is positive. You just ‘avo go.” Harper Zogbhi. “Being optimistic means you jump into the Learning Pit and climb up the flower. The flower is your goal and you climb up the stem to achieve your goal.” Angela Zhou.

Early Stage & Stage 1 Information GOLD PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS Congratulations to the following students who have received a Gold Principal’s award at assembly.

● Taiana Vaisima ● Graeme Thai ● Kobe Lyons

AFTERNOON PICK UP Routines for afternoon pick-ups will continue as follows. Teachers will walk students to the following gates:

• Front gate • Back gate • Grass gate • Any parent wanting to come into the school to pick up their child at 3:00 pm must wait at the silver

seats outside the library.

In the event of wet weather, we ask that all parents with students in 2 Rocket, 2 Avocado or Kindy Cactus wait under the shelter between Mrs Austin’s room and Mrs Weissel’s room.

Students from 1 Chilli, 1 Zucchini, Kindy Kale and Kindy Capsicum will be dismissed from the stage. If parents are not waiting in those areas the teachers will then walk the remaining students to their usual gate. Thank you for your support in this matter. EASTER HAT PARADE Our Easter Hat Parade for children in K-2 will be held in Week 10:

Thursday 1 April 9:15am – 10:00am A note came home yesterday with all details and all hats must be in by Week 9 Friday 26 March.

Stage 2 Information GOLD PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS Congratulations to the following student who has received a Gold Principal’s award at assembly.

● George Psomas UPCOMING EVENTS: Opportunity Class Workshops Wed 24 March PUBLIC SPEAKING A note was sent home this week, with details of our Multicultural Public Speaking Competition. This is a compulsory classroom assessment task and all students are required to present their speech in class in Week 3 of next term. Please go through the note with your child and encourage them to talk to their teacher if they need more clarification or support. Each class will also be learning the skills of public speaking and writing a persuasive text. JELLYBEANS We have 2 more sessions of Jellybeans; however, the students are encouraged to continue enjoying the program at home by logging into the Jellybeans website and practising some of the songs by singing, using improvised percussion, playing them on the piano or keyboard if you have one at home, etc. They could even challenge themselves by learning the recorder (all students will have one), which unfortunately we were not allowed to use at school due to COVID restrictions. The login details are: www.MyJellybeansMusic.com and the password is pan3 or pan4. OPPORTUNITY CLASS WORKSHOPS The OC workshops begin next Wednesday 24 March, 8:00 am in Mrs Stawski’s classroom. If participating, please ensure your child is on time - they should arrive no later than 7:55 am. They need to bring a pencil and an eraser. PLANTS FOR OUR GARDEN Mr Robertson asks if anyone has spare plants, we would love them for our school gardens, which still have a few empty spots. Low perennials or small shrubs would be most appreciated.

Stage 3 Information UPCOMING EVENTS: High School EOI Forms due Fri 19 Mar Today

YEAR 6 HIGH SCHOOL EOI’s All Year 6 students' High School Expression of Interest forms were due today. Please make sure that if you haven’t returned your form and haven’t been in contact with the office, that you have the form in by Monday. Any forms returned after Monday 22 March will be submitted as a late return. PUBLIC SPEAKING All Stage 3 students were advised of topics for the Multicultural Public Speaking topics. Some students may opt for topics which will allow them to compete for a place to represent the school in District finals. Students who do not want to be considered for District finals are still expected to present their speech within their own class. This will be assessed and reported as part of the half yearly report. It would be great if families could be the “audience” for students to have a trial run before the class presentation. BEHAVIOUR & ATTITUDE It’s that time of the term when we all are getting tired and looking forward to the Easter holidays. However we still have 2 weeks of quality learning to be done. We are starting to see some inappropriate behaviours and attitudes creeping into our Senior cohort. We are seeing some incorrect choices being made on how to react to different situations, also how we are treating others within our team. I believe this is a very important time for our Seniors in getting ready for High School and learning how to cope and how to handle different situations that may arise in their next journey of learning. We are asking for your help in reinforcing our CARES rules and what to do when someone else does the wrong thing.

Library PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE Congratulations to the following students who have already completed their Premier’s Reading Challenge: Sonny Yang - 3 Sage Zoe Hancock - 5/6 Gwianga Mai Tran - 5/6 Acacia

Band AGM MEETING It was encouraging to see a better response last Tuesday - we had a number of people come in person, while others joined by Zoom. The meeting was quite productive and we were able to sort out some plans for the future. Many thanks to Maria for accepting the position of convenor (and a few others!) and Carolyn for agreeing to type up Mrs Stawski’s messy scribble. The minutes from the meeting will be coming home soon - please contact the office or Mrs Stawski if you don’t receive them or you are not receiving other correspondence. OPTIMISTIC PLANS FOR 2021 We made some great plans for this year, including performances at Band Jam, Engadine Fest, Schools Band and Orchestra Festival and a number of in-school performances. We all look forward to a happy 2021! EASTER RAFFLE DONATIONS Many thanks to the huge number of parents who have donated Easter eggs, pamper packages and suitable plush toys so far - they are much appreciated. We have had to print more tickets, so hopefully there will be many happy winners! All proceeds go back to your children’s school!

ATTENDING BAND PRACTICE AND TUTORIALS The band timetable has now been finalised and all students were emailed a copy, as well as a copy being on display in every classroom. It is important that they attend their band practice and tutorials each week. If for some reason your son/daughter can’t attend due to a clash with another activity (or even if they forgot), they need to see Mrs McIlwaine, so she can give them a make up time.

HOME PRACTICE Due to our big break from routines last year, the band is at all kinds of levels. A few students were diligent in practising during lockdown, but most have forgotten a lot of the music and are out of practice. Mrs McIlwaine is working hard to rectify this and help them catch up, but in order to be able to participate in some of our planned events, we need the students to practise at home, more than ever. Parents please encourage them to do so and help them make it a pleasant experience by taking an interest in their music.

Chess

JUNIOR CHESS LEAGUE COMPETITION The JCL Chess Competition will begin in Week 2, Term 2. We have registered 2 teams and some students may put their name down to be a reserve. Thank you to the parents who offered to help on Fridays - we will organise a roster so we can share the load.

I would like to express my thanks to Mr Mark Burdon, who has run the Friday comp for the past couple of years and has again agreed to supervise the events.

SRC

HARMONY DAY 2021 On Wednesday, 24 March 2021 we are celebrating Harmony Day by holding a Mufti Day. We celebrate Harmony Day to acknowledge all the cultures within our school community. Each student will be asked to come dressed in clothes from their country of origin, the colours of the flag from their country of origin, or orange. There will be no gold coin donation necessary.

NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT The SRC have completed the final consultatory step, building on the work of last year’s SRC to finalise the design and colour scheme for the new playground equipment. Once the order is finalised, we have an 8 week wait till installation. We are all excited to see it available for use asap.

BE MOTIVATED LAUNCH DAY SRC have also been working on the ‘Be Motivated’ launch day which will occur early next term. ‘Be Motivated’ will replace ‘Be Zesty’ after student and staff consultation in 2020. Watch this space for more information.

Gardening Club

PLANTING TIME We have been busy planting some new crops as we are approaching a change of season. Thank you to all of the families who sent in Woolworths seeds. Most have either been planted or stored for use later in the year. Some have gone into the new mini-greenhouse so that they can sprout and grow stronger before planting.

Our garden club meets every Wednesday morning. If there are any interested parents who would like to help out with Garden Club, we would love to see you from 8:15 am, at the mindful vegetable garden. BYO garden gloves and tools.

Sport Report UPCOMING EVENTS: SSW Boys and Girls Basketball Mon 22 Mar District Girls Football Trials Mon 29 March District Open Rugby League Trials Wed 31 Mar State Swimming Wed 31 Mar AREA SWIMMING Last Tuesday, 18 students competed at the Sydney South West Area Swimming carnival at Bradbury. There were students from over 170 schools from Bankstown to Campbelltown and some very talented swimmers. We had some excellent relay results and great individual performances. A special congratulations to Logan Fischer who will now compete at the State Swimming Championships on Wednesday 31 March at Homebush. Congratulations to all competitors on your excellent results. Picnic Point finished 6th school overall and East Hills district finished 2nd out of 9 districts. A fantastic achievement for such a small district! Good luck, Logan, at State! Logan Fischer 2nd 11 Years Freestyle 33.95

4th 11 Years Backstroke 42.63 5th Open 100m Freestyle 1.19.92

5th Senior Relay 2.44.17 Kacper Fenik 6th 10 Years Freestyle 41.16

7th Junior Relay 3.20.40 8th Junior Backstroke 53.90 10th Junior Breaststroke 58.56

Stephen Faulder 5th Senior Relay 2.44.17 6th 11 Years Breaststroke 50.48 8th 11 Years Freestyle 37.72 9th 11 Years Individual Medley 3.38.94

Kayla Bentley 4th 12 Years Breaststroke 48.08 7th 12 Years Butterfly 44.51 10th Senior Relay 2.50.37

Levi Haggett 5th Senior Relay 2.44.17 13th 12 Years Backstroke 52.42

Suriya Royal 7th Junior Relay 3:26.76 9th Junior Breaststroke 1:01.39

Flynn McGuigan 7th Junior Relay 3.20.40 10th 9 Years Freestyle 49.03

Arun Kumar 5th Senior Relay 2.44.17 Olivia Friend 7th Junior Relay 3:26.76 Ethan Lui 7th Junior Relay 3.20.40 Zoe Hancock 7th Junior Relay 3:26.76 Lewis Sinclair 7th Junior Relay 3.20.40 Lexus Tamati 7th Junior Relay 3:26.76 Sarah Cannon 10th Senior Relay 2.50.37 Emily Fisher 10th Senior Relay 2.50.37 Grace Mitchell 10th Senior Relay 2.50.37 Dean Afungia 11th 9 Years Freestyle 49.23 Ve’a Tavita 11th 8 Years Freestyle 1.03.87

Apologies to those students and their families who were accidently not acknowledged correctly for their progression to the Area Swimming Carnival. It has now been corrected and it is available on Sentral and the school’s website. AREA AFL Congratulations to Ky McKeown who has been selected to represent the Sydney South West Area at the State AFL Carnival in Byron Bay in Week 3 next term. We wish him all the best for a successful and enjoyable week. Good luck, Ky! DISTRICT BOYS AND GIRLS BASKETBALL Congratulations to Daniel Pevec, Jacob Poole, Celine Alawieh, Kayla Bentley, Sarah Cannon, Emily Fisher, Tilly Fuz and Ava Hounslow who were selected in our East Hills District Basketball teams. We wish them all the best when they compete at the Sydney South West Championships on Monday 22 March. Congratulations also to Gracie Curtis, Grace Mitchell, Damon Beard, Jake Dodd, Blake Petrovski, Stephen Oloapu for their selection in the Convener’s team. We wish them all the best when they compete at the tournament on Monday. DISTRICT 11 YEARS RUGBY LEAGUE Congratulations to Stephen Oloapu who has been selected to represent our East Hills District at the Sydney South West Area 11 years Rugby League Carnival on Thursday 22 April. We wish him the best for a successful and enjoyable day. Good luck, Stephen! K-6 SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY Notes went home yesterday with details regarding our School Cross Country. This will be held on Thursday 1 April (last day of term) straight after our K-2 Easter Hat Parade. Training for Years 2-6 will begin on Tuesday 23 March at 8:10 am. If it is wet weather training will not be on. PSSA PAYMENT NOW DUE Our Season 1 PSSA is now in Week 4 and final payment for Boys Touch and Girls Netball was due last week. Thank you to those families who have already paid. For those who still need to pay, please pay the full amount to the office by Monday 22 March. Any student who has not paid their fees will not be able to participate in PSSA next Friday and will remain at school. Thank you. PAUL KELLY CUP AFL Picnic Point entered a senior boys and senior girls team to represent the school at the District Paul Kelly Cup gala day. The weather stayed fine and allowed all our games to go ahead. The girl’s competition only had 2 teams enter, with our girls convincingly winning their games to progress to the regional finals. The boys had a few tough games, but won through to the final. They played with excellent teamwork and determination, winning 1-0 and also progressing to the regional finals. Congratulations to both teams on their efforts and participation, with many not having played AFL before. Both teams will now participate in the regional finals in Blacktown. Further information to come. Thanks to those parents who helped transport students and it was great to see parents back watching the students during the day.

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

9230 2047 or E: communityengagement@parliament.nsw.gov.au

FREE ENTRY (timed) Activities 9 am to 3 pm

LOCATION Parliament of New South Wales, 6 Macquarie Street Opposite Martin Place

The public café will be open.

• Vote in an election

• Make a speech in the historic Parliamentary chamber

• Play democracy hopscotch

• Listen to storytellers

• Make craft animals and objects

• Enter the mystery object competition

• Visit the historic rooms

• Chat with Henry Parkes

This is a COVID-safe event.

Friday 16 April 9 am – 10.20 am 10.30 am – 11.50 am 12 pm – 1.20 pm 1.30 pm – 3 pm (book for an 80 minute session)

FREE EVENT

Festival of Democracy at the Parliament of NSW these April school holidays

Celebrate democracy in Australia’s oldest Parliament with free, fun activities for children and their families from 4 to 12 years.