Samuel Terry Public School ~ Developing 21st Century Learners ~ Page 1

Samuel Terry Public School Newsletter

Grays Lane, Cranebrook NSW 2749 Ph: 4730 2888

www.samuelterr-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Thursday 21st February 2019

Week 4, Term 1

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

All of our classes have settled in well to the new school year and I have been impressed with the way that our students have adjusted to their new routines and classroom environments.

If there are any issues become a concern please make contact with the classroom teacher in the first instance. A clear line of communication and a positive relationship with your child’s teacher is very important and will result in issues being solved in the vast majority of situations.

If the issue is ongoing or unresolved after communicating with the teacher, please contact the grade supervisor as listed below:

Kindergarten – Mrs Goulden Years 3 and 4—Mrs Palmer

Years 1 and 2 – Mrs Giroud Years 5 and 6—Ms Gray

If the issue is still unresolved then the matter can be referred to the Deputy Principal or Principal. Incidences of a very serious nature may be referred to the Principal or Deputy Principal directly.

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all of the competitors at the swimming carnival which was held last week. A big thank you goes to Mr Sloane and Mrs Miller for their excellent organisation of the event and thank you also to our dedicated parent helpers who ensured the success of the carnival.

Student medical plans and emergency contact details

It is important that the school has up – to –date emergency contact details for every child in the school. If you have changed your address, phone number/s or emergency contact persons, please contact the school office to modify our student details. Below are samples of the medical plans required under Department policy.

Mr S Lockley

Principal

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WK MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

4

18

19

20

21 Book Fair in the Library

22 Book Fair in the Library

5

25 Book Fair Assembly K-2—12.30—1pm 3-6—2pm-3pm Star of the

Month SRC Presen-

tation of badges

26 Book Fair

27 Book Fair

28 District Swim-ming Carnival

1 March

6

4

5

6 Star of the Month Morning Tea

7

8

7

11

12

13

14 Surf Education Year 6

15

8

18 Assembly K-2—12.30—1pm 3-6—2pm-3pm Star of the

Month

19

20

21

22

9

25 Anti-Graffiti Year 5

26

27 Star of Month Morning Tea

28

29

10 1 April

2

3

4

5

11 8 Assembly K-2—12.30—1pm 3-6—2pm-3pm

9 Penrith RSL ANZAC Service Year 6

10

11 Easter Scripture service

12 Last Day of Term

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Help for the Canteen

The canteen is in need of helpers from 8.30 till 9am each morning to assist with breakfast and order rush. If you are able to assist with this please pop in and see Sarah. We would also love help on our bigger days of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. If you are available to assist on either days, please also see Sarah.

Thanking you in advance.

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EARLY STAGE ONE NEWS

Welcome to Week 4! Kindergarten have transitioned so well into the routines of big school! We are all very proud of ow well they are engaged in our classroom learning activities!

Kindergarten are continually encouraged and explicitly taught how to be SAFE, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL learners that follow teacher’s instructions continually.

It would be appreciated if parents could reinforce the ideas that at school we

* Keep our hands, feet and bodies to ourselves

* Follow all teacher’s instructions

* Use kind words to others

* No rough play

CLASSROOM TEACHING AND LEARNING OVERVIEW

Below is an overview of what your children are being exposed to in the classroom for the next 2 weeks.

All Kindergarten classes are focusing on the same content throughout the term.

This ensures that consistency is occurring across the grade.

Sounds – A, T, S

Sight Words – look, at, I, Mum, come, and, too, Dad Math’s Concept – Time , Number and Place Value

News Focus – My favourite sport

My friends at school and at home

HOMEWORK, HOME READING, SIGHT WORDS

Please revise your child’s sight words and read with your children at least every other night.

Completing these homework tasks consolidate learning that occurs in the classroom. If you have not already purchased the Kindergarten homework book, please do so as soon as possible. Pay-ments can be made at the front office

SCHOOL UNIFORM AND JEWELLERY

Please ensure that your child is in full school uniform. This includes school hat, grey socks for boys, white socks for girls and black leather school shoes. Please ensure that your all clothing items are labelled.

We ask that our children ensure their shirts are tucked in.

Due to safety issues that may arise – jewellery is not to be worn to school. Small sleeper type ear-rings / small studs are acceptable.

ILLNESS AND SCHOOL

It seems everyone around us is coughing and sneezing this time of year and kids are often the first to get sick. It can be tough to determine if they are too sick to go to school.

If your child has a fever, it is recommended that he or she should stay home from school until the child is fever free without fever-reducing medicines for at least 24 hours. Your child should also stay home if he or she is vomiting or has diarrhoea. Not only could your child have something con-tagious, but he or she is also prone to dehydration and feeling too poorly to do well in school.

Thank you for all your support throughout the term so far.

Mrs Goulden and Mrs Lowe - Early Stage One Supervisors

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Samuel Terry Public School Newsletter

Stage 1 News

Stage 1 Homework commenced last week. Each week students will bring home spelling words and various activities to consolidate learning that is taking place in the classroom.

Home Reading is an integral part of the class literacy program and it is great to see so many children already changing their books regularly. A small red book was sent home with the readers. This has some useful information about the home reading program as well as ideas for ways in which you are able to help the children practise their reading skills when reading at home. This includes guidance for the types of questions you can ask to ascertain their understanding of the text. Additionally it has pages for you to write the name of the book and record when and what they read so we can track their progress.

The children must have a plastic folder to keep their home reader in so it is protected.

Stage 1 Sight Word Program has begun and as the children master the words sent home they are given a new set. The children can practice writing words in many ways eg. using magnetic letters on the fridge, writing words in sand or flour ( Use a small plastic tray or flat container with sand or flour covering the bottom- mistakes can easily be shaken away), painting them, writing on blackboard or typing on the computer or iPad.

Classroom helpers: It is always wonderful to have parents helping in the classroom and your child’s teacher may send a note home inviting you to assist for a particular purpose. If you are able to do so, your assistance will be most appreciated. Classroom helpers are required to sign in at the office and get a “Helper” lanyard before coming to the classroom. Thank you to those parents already helping! Your help is invaluable.

Stage 1 Sport day is Tuesday and the children will be com-pleting a skills based program this term. They are reminded to ensure they fill up their drink bottles before we begin each week. There is also a bottle of sunscreen in each classroom for them to use.

Software: This year we will be using the Mathletics software program in mathematics together with Reading Eggs and Soundwaves programs in literacy. These are integrated into our classroom les-sons as well as providing the children with activities to complete as part of their homework. A separate note providing payment details has been sent home with each child. Once paid, your child will receive their passwords. These programs are used daily so it is important that the payment for this package is made as soon as possible.

Our Library is such a valuable resource with an enormous number of books for the children to borrow. Please encourage the children to bring a library bag on their borrowing day so they can join the other borrowers in their class. We always try to encourage a love of reading and it is wonderful to see the children reading for pleasure.

Nicola Giroud

Stage 1 Supervisor

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Samuel Terry Public School Newsletter

Stage 2 Report Week 4

Congratulations to all the Stage 2 children who participated so enthusiastically in our Swimming Carnival. It was such a good day! As well as the competitive races we saw lots of children taking part in the novelty events. We are looking forward to finding out the winning house!

MATHS GROUPS

Groups started this week for maths and will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9am – 10 am.

The children will line up at their maths class when the 9am bell rings.

BOOK FAIR

Notes were sent home this week regarding the upcoming Book Fair. I commend this fair to you as there are always great books to choose from and the children love it.

SOFTWARE PACKAGE

Thank you to the families who have already paid for the software package which includes Soundwaves, Reading Eggs and Mathletics. Tasks will be set for home-work using Mathletics soon and the children will have easy access to Reading Eggs and Soundwaves for both class and home usage.

UNIFORM

Our students wear their uniforms proudly and always attract positive comments for their appearance when representing the school or on an excursion. Each day the children are expected to be in full school uniform and this includes a hat. Jewellery should not be worn to school.

Please label all items of uniform carefully. The Lost Property Box at school is overflowing at the mo-ment. You are welcome to come and search for any lost items of clothing.

MATHS MENTALS CHALLENGE

Each Friday, beginning this week, the children do a mental maths challenge and the class scores are recorded. This is a completion where the children try to achieve the highest results as a class.

For this challenge each week there is a particular times table for the children to practise.

Regards

Stage 2 Teachers

Tables for the term. Year 3 Year 4, 5, 6

Term 1

Week 4-6 x2 x3

Week 7-9 x10 x4

Week 10 x2 and x10 x3 and x4

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STAGE 3 NEWS!

It was fabulous to see the Stage 3 students participating in and enjoying our swimming carnival.

Congratulations to all the competitors who have gained selection in our school team to represent

Samuel Terry at the Penrith P.S.S.A. District Swimming Carnival. An information/permission note was

sent home on Tuesday this week.

Year 5 will be visiting Hill End next term (Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th May) for an overnight

excursion. Information and notes were sent home this week. The deposit of $100.00 is due by

Wednesday 3rd April with the final payment of $85.00 being due on 8th May. If you have any concerns or

would like further information please speak to your child’s teacher.

Our first formal assembly for the year is being held this Monday (25th February) at 2pm. During this

assembly we will introduce and induct our House Captains, SRC members and Library Monitors. We

kindly invite you to attend.

If you have not done so already, would you please return the Software package note and money as

soon as possible. Once received your child will then be given their username and password. This then

allows your child to access activities which are used in class to complement lessons and programs as

well as those activities set for homework. If paying online please ensure you return the note with your

receipt number recorded.

Our lost property container is overflowing with an assortment of clothing items. If your child has lost any

item of clothing it will more than likely be in there. The container will be cleared out in the next few

weeks and any unclaimed items will be donated to charity.

Year 6 received a note this week with purchase information for their Year 6 Hoodie. Samples will be on

display during eating time on the verandah of 6W. It is highly recommended your child try on a jumper

for correct sizing. Please note payment is due by Friday 5th April. We are unable to accept late payment.

Our Year 6 students will be holding a cake stall on Friday 8th March to raise money for their Year 6

farewell. We ask all Year 6 students to provide food items that can be sold during recess.

I congratulate all Stage 3 students on how well they have returned to school this year. All classrooms

are settled and students are engaged in a variety of learning activities. As always, if you would like to

speak to your child’s teacher please call the school office to arrange a mutually convenient time.

Miss Vanessa Gray

Stage Supervisor

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Samuel Terry Public School Newsletter Samuel Terry Public School Newsletter