Principal: Mr Stuart Wylie 2nd July 2018

Principal’s Message

This is the last newsletter for the term with the school holidays beginning next week. I would

like to thank all the staff, students and parents who have contributed to a very enjoyable term at

Thornton Public School. I have definitely enjoyed my first term at TPS and have been made to

feel very welcome. I am very impressed with our lovely school, filled with fabulous children,

hard-working and dedicated teachers and some very committed parents who help out with P&C,

Canteen and in class. Next term we will add to our staff when our new Deputy Principal Mr

Nathan Collins starts at TPS and we have a new permanent teacher Mrs Stephanie Clarke

starting as well. The holidays begin Monday 9th July and school resumes for all students on

Tuesday 24th July.

Congratulations to our Thornton Thunder Aerobics team who participated in the State Finals in

Newcastle recently and came first. All students had a great time and did their very best and are

extremely excited about going to the National Final in Queensland next term. Thanks to Nicole

Lubans who organized and trained our students for this event and ensured our students had a

great day and an opportunity to showcase their aerobic prowess. We will be doing some

fundraising early next term to support these students with the costs associated with competing

interstate.

You will receive your child’s Half Yearly Report this week and I would like to thank all

teachers for their efforts in writing these comprehensive and informative documents. If you

would like to discuss your child’s progress and report please contact your child’s teacher and

arrange a suitable time.

Before School Safety - Playground supervision does not commence until 8:30am. Any

student who arrives before this time needs to sit on the silver seats outside of room 3 near

the office. This is to help ensure student safety. Please remind your children of this important

safety rule.

Thornton Public School Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) - Racism has damaging

effects on individuals, school communities and society. Schools play a critical role in developing

understandings of racism, responding to incidents of racism and preparing students for responsible and effective citizenship in Australian society. Our nominated ARCO is Mrs Kath

Brown. Please contact her if you have any concerns about racism in our school.

Bullying - is defined by three key features: it involves a misuse of power in a relationship, it is

ongoing and repeated and it involves behaviours that can cause harm. At Thornton PS we take

bullying very seriously and have an Anti-Bullying Policy and Anti-Bullying Coordinator to ensure

all instances of bullying are investigated and dealt with. If you have concerns about your child

and their wellbeing then you should contact their teacher who will work with you to resolve

the issue or concern.

Have a great week and I hope everyone has a safe and

happy holiday with their children.

Stuart Wylie

Principal

Thornton Public School Government Road

THORNTON NSW 2322 Ph: 02 4964 1369

E: thornton-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Important Dates

Date Time What’s On

Tuesday 3rd July 2.30pm at Canteen Collection of P&C Pie Drive

Wednesday 4th july 9am—3pm NAIDOC Out of Uniform Day, gold coin Donation

Thursday 5th July 1pm in the hall Whole School Assembly

Friday 6th July 9am—11am in the hall Tadpoles Group 1

Final day of Term 2

Monday 23rd July 9am—3pm Staff Development Day

Tuesday 24th July 9am—3pm Students Return to School Term 3

Thursday 2nd August 1pm—1.30pm Years 1&2 Assembly

Thursday 2nd August 2.30pm—3pm Years 3 to 6 Assembly

Wednesday 8th August 6pm—6.30pm start

Woodberry Public School

Education Week Awards Ceremony

Thursday 9th August 1pm—1.30pm Kindergarten Assembly

Thursday 16th August 1pm—1.30pm Years 1&2 Assembly

Thursday 16th August 2.30pm—3pm Years 3 to 6 Assembly

Thursday 23rd August 1pm—1.30pm Whole School Assembly

Thursday 30th August 1pm—1.30pm Years 1&2 Assembly

Thursday 30th August 2.30pm—3pm Years 3 to 6 Assembly

Thursday 6th September 1pm—1.30pm Kindergarten Assembly

Thursday 13th September 1pm—1.30pm Years 1&2 Assembly

Thursday 13th September 2.30pm—3pm Years 3 to 6 Assembly

Thursday 20th September 1pm—1.30pm Kindergarten Assembly

Thursday 27th September 1pm—1.30pm Whole School Assembly

We are in urgent need of spare clothing.

If you have any clothes that no longer fit your child, please drop them off to the office.

In particular we are in need of shorts and long pants in sizes 4, 6 & 8.

What’s Due

Our Newsletter will now be published on Mondays of even weeks fortnightly, sent out

via Email. Please make sure your details are up to date.

Date Due What’s Due Amount

Overdue Tuition Group Members $200

Friday 28th September Stage 2 Camp Full payment of the excursion must

be completed ($170)

Friday 28th September Stage 3 Canberra Full payment of the excursion must

be completed ($445))

Hats:

Due to a change in supplier, our school hat style has slighted changed. The hats are now available in smaller sizes and an adjustment toggle is located at the back of the hat.

Hats remain at $15.00 each.

Library Bags:

School Library Bags are available to be purchased at the school office for $15.00

Please ensure all items that come to school are labelled with names.

Office News

Stage 2 & 3 camps are now closed parents are reminded to continue with their pay-

ment schedules to ensure full payment is completed by 28th September 2018

Year 6 students enjoyed an opportunity to experience high school last week with an excursion to

Francis Greenway High School. The social afternoon was enjoyed by 80 of our senior students and

included a chance for them to meet other year 6 students from neighbouring schools and join in

some games, as well as watch the school production of ‘Disconnect’.

Teachers reported the students had a wonderful day and were outstanding representatives of

Thornton Public School.

As we near the end of Semester 1 it is pleasing to see the number of students across stage 3 who are

consistently working hard at being the best they can be every day. There are many exciting opportu-

nities coming up for our senior students next semester and already we can see our students are

ready to challenge themselves and get involved. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and

returns in term 3 ready for another successful semester of learning and fun at Thornton Public

School.

One simple change can make a huge

change to our world.

Did you know that the very first straw you ever used is still somewhere in the environment? We didn’t either.

5/6O have been learning about the environmental effects of plastic straws. Read through some of our writing

to find out how you can help our environment by making a small change to your daily habits.

The fact that straws are getting in our ocean, killing the ma-

rine life, and not able to biodegrade is really horrifying.

Did you know that straws can be wrapped around Earth 4

times a day?

Plastic straws cannot biodegrade, so the first straw that you

have ever used is still somewhere in the world today

Think, at about 2050, people predict that the sea is going to

have more floating rubbish in it then fish, whales, sharks etc.

I think that straws are stupid because you know straws really

do suck, but that's not the point, they’re hurting the environ-

ment and polluting our beautiful country and if they make

an animal that is endangered, extinct, well something could

happen to how earth runs.

Connor

They might seem harmless, but

the humble plastic straw is one of

the worst culprits in environmental

damage.

How would you like to live with a plastic straw stuck in your nose? How would you like to live in an ocean where there’s more plastic than fish? Well you might want to stop using plastic straws! This is why plastic straws should definitely be BANNED. Here are some examples on how to prevent using plastic straws. You can use bamboo, metal, glass or paper straws - just don’t use plastic straws! Next time you go to a fast food place, restaurant or bar if you’re an adult please ask for no straw to prevent polluting our environment. 16 schools in QLD have banned plastic straws from their school, this means there are 3 million less straws being used. The number of straws being used each day could wrap around our earth 4 times if you stuck them together! WOW straws really do suck! By 2050 there is said there will be more plastic straws in the ocean than there is fish. In the Great Barrier Reef there are a lot of the marine life dying from our plastic straw mess and pollution. There are some people how can’t function their arms properly and they need straws. If you don’t need plastic straws then stop! If you really need a straw please make sure to use a reusable straw please. How would you like to live with a plastic straw stuck in your nose? How would you like to live in an ocean where there’s more plastic than fish? Well you might want to stop using plastic straws! I really hope next time you go to use a straw please stop and think about what you are doing to our environment.

Sarah

Plastic Straws Should Be Banned

You know the thing that you use to drink liquids like water, soft drink etc? Well they are sucking the life from our oceans, our land, in fact our whole world and us and if you haven’t already figured out what I’m talking about, I’m talking about plastic straws. Plastic straws suck and everyone should know it because even though they may seem harmless and a good idea they can actually hurt us in many different ways. If you don’t want that to happen you can use straws made of bamboo, metal, pa-per or you could just say no to straws altogether. How would you like it if you were swimming in an ocean full of plastic or you died from eating the harmful plastic? Did you know that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish! Many turtles confuse plastic straws for food and I’m sure that you’ve all seen the poor turtle with the plastic straw up its nose. Did you know that if we tied all of the straws that the world uses in just one day it would wrap around the world 4 times! Not only that, Australia alone used 10 million plastic straws a day! Many animals like turtles, birds, fish even whales are eating the plastic we put there and are dying. So maybe you can think twice about using a plas-tic straw and take consideration of the animals you could kill.

Yasmine

Would you like it if plastic straws were destroying your

precious life? Then listen up people we have to stop using plas-tic straws. Straws are killing and badly hurting our sea creatures: turtles, fish, seabirds and so much more! Now if we stop using plastic straws there will be 3 million less plastic straws each day. The number of straws we use each day can go around the world 4 times! Wow that may seem amazing but it really isn’t. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Just imagine swimming in the water surrounded by plastic ra-ther then being surrounded by beautiful marine life. How awful is that? It makes me want to puke. Did you know that all the plastic straws you have ever used is still on the planet somewhere? So if you go to a take away shop or a cafe simply ask for no plastic straw and tell them why. See simple. I understand that some people need to use straws but most of us don’t. In Australia we use 10 million plastic straws a day. If you use a plastic straw one of those 10 million people is you. Know if you don’t want to be a part of those 10 million people all you have to do is stop using plastic straws. So simple right. If you have friends and family simply tell them not to use them and tell them why. Know that is helping the environment. I don’t care how long it takes to get rid of plastic straws I just want them gone for good. If we all stop using plastic straws we then have saved the world. If you desperately need to use a straw simply us a paper straw, bamboo straw and more. Now they were reasons why I think straws suck. Anisha

Welcome to 3/4H

Thank you to Mrs Leggett for helping us

create these amazing peacock artworks while

Miss Harvey was at Star Struck.

Congratulations to Neve and Siera for

receiving their pen licence!

In Geography, we have been learning about Australia’s neighbouring countries. This week we travelled

to different parts of Indonesia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Timor-

Leste using Google Earth. It was amazing to see the landforms, satellite images and street views of all

our neighbouring countries.

What a fantastic term stage 2 have had. They have been working hard to achieve

their goals. This term has been very busy with many exciting things happening

including Mother’s Day, Farmers Day, Star Struck and finishing the term off with

NAIDOC week.

I wish everyone has a fantastic and safe holiday and I look forward to seeing

everyone in term 3.

Regards,

Brian Gaffney Assistant Principal (Relieving)

Well done to all stage one students for a successful term of learning at TPS. There

have been many exciting events with a few more to come. NAIDOC week will be an

interesting time exploring many powerful female Indigenous role models such as

Cathy Freeman. Students are welcome to dress in the colours of the Aboriginal or

Torres Strait Islands flags to support her charitable foundation.

Thank you to the students who have been involved in the structured games on the

grass during lunch and afternoon tea. During these games we can demonstrate our

resilience and sports person ship. All students are welcome to attend the games and

have a great time.

Keep up with your home reading over the holidays. It is an important time to ensure

you keep your fluency clear and reading sharp. Ask your teacher for an extra home

reader if needed. Please return any overdue library books lying around at home.

Stay safe and have a great break.

Regards

Mr Gaffney

Welcome to Week 10!

It’s hard to believe term 2 is nearly over and we are halfway through the

school year!!

This term has been action packed with Mother’s Day celebrations, our

Hunter Valley zoo excursion, Farmers Day, the public speaking competition,

regular kindergarten assemblies and this week, NAIDOC week.

Next term is shaping up to be just as busy with Education Week, the K-2

sport carnival, MAD (Music and Drama) night, Father’s Day and of course,

more Kindy assemblies. We understand that parents/carers are not always

able to join us at these events but we value your input wherever possible,

and thank you for your ongoing support.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) was re-launched at TPS this term.

Across the school, we have had many lessons and discussions about our

core values of Resilience, Respect and Responsibility. It would be great if

you and your child can talk about what these values mean and the various

ways they can be demonstrated at home, school and within the communi-

ty.

On behalf of the kindergarten teachers, I wish you an enjoyable and safe

holiday period. We look forward to starting term 3 refreshed and ener-

gised! As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if

you have any questions or concerns.

Victoria Dillon

Assistant Principal (Rel)

KJ has been doing a lot of hard work this term! In maths, we have been learning about

surface area and volume and capacity. We do lots of hands-on activities during maths

which we learn to compare and discuss our findings with our classmates. We also love

to count! We have some amazing mathematicians in KJ!

We love to play with our friends outside and when it is raining, we like to play dress-

ups inside. We like to express ourselves through artworks and have fun learning about

different styles of art.

Miss Jackson

SCHOOL DISCO...... LET'S SEND THE AEROBICS TEAM TO THE NATIONAL AEROBIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

On Tuesday 7th August, week 3, term 3, there will be a school disco. All funds raised from the disco will help the Aerobics Team to travel to Brisbane to compete in the FISAF National Aerobic Championships in August. The disco will cost $5. We will have a DJ and all children will receive a packet of chips and a drink. Infants disco from 5pm-5:45pm and Primary Disco from 6:00pm-7:00pm.

Dress theme: dress in your favourite sports colours or your favourite sport or

athlete.

Students in KO with their art after the visit from REX the dog.

Be sure to be on the look out for our new signage around the school in our focus areas.

The new signs provide guidelines for students on how to interact and play while on the

grass. Lizzie helps to provide support in many different areas of the school. If you are un-

sure about what to do, keep your eyes out for a Lizzie poster for assistance.

Our new look 'Lizzie 5' are also on display in all classrooms. Now featuring Lizzie art work

the 'Lizzie 5' provide direct, explicit guidance for students on how to conduct them

selves in class.

Our new PBL Respectful, Responsible, Resilient ribbons are at school ready to give out to

students who have collected 5 Lizzie merit awards. Keep the merits safe and return them

to school to show a teacher. Your teacher will prepare a ribbon for you to receive at the

next assembly.

The Cancer Council is passionate about helping families eat more healthly. Their "Eat It to Beat It" Program aims to help parents and children understand why fruit and vegetables are so important. Our newsletter will be providing recipes and simple, practical advice that will help Thornton families to eat more healthily. I hope you enjoy and find this new addition to our fortnightly newsletter informative. Mrs Sok

On Saturday the school aerobics team “Thornton Thunder “ competed at the FISAF state aerobic championships and were awarded 1st place. The girls have trained very hard all year for this and it was a wonderful reward. The team now qualifies for the National Championships in Brisbane in August. Poor Phoenix who has been a part of the team since the start was unlucky enough to break her finger last Friday and had to withdraw from the team for the competition. We all hope she can recover in time to join the team and compete at the Nationals. A huge thank you to our sponsors GAC shipping and Safe n Sound Storage who helped to provide the team costumes. We will be doing some school fundraising to help the girls with costs to get to Brisbane for the Nationals and we hope to get the school community behind us.

Congratulations to the team and best wishes for the Nationals: Shae M, Josie T, Jamie F, Abbey D Hayley B, Ella H, Keira H and Phoenix M

MUNCH N EAT NEWS

We will be having a LIMITED MENU on the last day of term Friday 6th July.

No nuggets, No chicken burgers, No salads.

Pies, Sausage Rolls, Mac Cheese, Spag Bol, Lasagne, Carbonara, Pizza Muffins, Basic

sandwiches with no salad and Cheese and bacon Rolls only.

The roster for next week is as follows:

Tuesday 3.7.18 Christine

Wednesday 4.7.18 Fiona

Thursday 5.7.18 HELP NEEDED PLEASE

Friday 6.7.18 Helen, Jill, Elaine, Steph

Term 3

Monday 23.7.18 Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 24.7.18 Melissa

Wednesday 25.7.18 Fiona

Thursday 26.7.18 Maree

Friday 27.7.18 Jenny, Ann

Thanks for all your help throughout the term, have a safe and relaxing break

Thanks

Cheryl & Ann