forster public school · welcome to our new deputy principal we welcome our new deputy principal,...

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY (please see Skoolbag for further details and copy of notes)

Term 4 – 2017

Week 4

31 Oct Yr 6 Koori Transition to High School

P & C Cupcake Day

Week 5

13 Nov Remembrance Day Service 9.00 am

Week 6

14 Nov Band Tryouts

15 Nov Girls School Leader Elections

16 Nov Boys School Leader Elections

Week 7

21 Nov School Spectacular Week

Week 8

27 Nov K-2 Gold Principal Award Assembly

Wahroonga PS Band Performance

Yr 3 Intensive Swimming for 10 Days

28 Nov Yr 6 Parent Information Night at the

Forster Campus 6pm, Students Welcome

29 Nov Yr 6 Play Rehearsal

30 Nov Yr 6 Play Performance for Parents

1 Dec 3-6 Gold Principal Award Assembly

Week 9

4 Dec Yr 3 Intensive Swimming cont.

5 Dec Yr 6 High School Orientation

6 Dec Choir/Band Tour

7 Dec K-2 Concert Rehearsal

8 Dec K-2 Concert for Parents 10am-12pm

Week 10

11 Dec Presentation Assembly

Yr 6 Farewell

13 Dec P & C Christmas Raffle Drawn

15 Dec Yr 6 End of Year Excursion and Farewell

Arch

Last Day of School

Term 1 – 2018

30 Jan Students Return to School

12 Feb P & C Meeting 5.30pm Staffroom

Principal’s / Deputy Principals’ Report

Term 4

Term 4 is always a very busy term at Forster PS. It

is a term when we enjoy celebrating the

achievements of our students in 2017 and

showcasing their talents through various

performances. The calendar at the start of this

newsletter has many key dates for your diary.

Sportsathon 2017

Finally, a year when Sportsathon did not need to be

postponed due to rain! The week leading up to the

day had us all worried, but the sun shone and fun

was had by all. Teachers have all commented on the

beautiful and cooperative behaviour of students

taking part in the events, and teachers themselves

enjoyed a day out on the town.

All grades showed fantastic enthusiasm for fund

raising, with most grades raising about $1200.00.

Year 4 topped the fundraising charts with the

grade raising nearly $1400.00. All up, the students

have managed to raise a total of more than

$8200.00 with the top fundraisers for the grades

raising $904.50 between them. What an amazing

effort, especially given the relatively short period

of time we had to generate sponsorships – well done

everyone!

We had some great prizes, and they were awarded

to:

Skateboard (Ghanda) Chloe – 4/12

Bodyboard (Drawform) Jemma– 4/14

Backpack (Forster Surf & Sport) Deanna – K25

Forster Public School A vibrant, caring and successful learning community

Respect Personal Best Safety

Find us at: Head Street, Forster Tel: 6555 6766 Fax: 65556374 Email: [email protected]

Term 4 Week 3 Friday, 27 October 2017

mailto:[email protected]

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Major Prize Winners Elizabeth – 5-6/7 & Kai –

1-2/19

The students who managed to raise the highest

amount for their grades, receiving a bag of goodies

and vounchers dontated by a range of local

businesses were:

Cooper 3-4/11, Dallas 5/3, Lucas 4/14, &

Paul – 3-6/5(absent)

Charlotte 1/17, Billy K22 & Blayke 2/30

Thanks goes to those business who supported the

day by offering their sports facilities at no cost or

reduced rates on the Sportsathon day and we would

like to acknowledge their contribution:

Lion’s Club for the use of the trampolines & mini

golf

Forster Ten Pin Bowling

Forster Tuncurry Golf Driving Range

And a massive thanks goes to the businesses who

sponsored the event by donating goods or vouchers

to offer as incentive prizes: Forster Photos & Frames Manning Shoes

Forster Cycles Zen Candles Village News Forster Ten Pin Bowling Gloria Jeans Lion's Club Drawform Just Cuts Hot Bargains

Occasions Jewellers Priceline Pharmacy

Stash House Great Lakes Dental Clinic Amcal Max Forster

Salty Empire Forster Surf & Sport

Howard Cinemas Ghanda

Stormriders Hog's Breath Café

Sinners & Saints Ice Creamery

Suesse's Natural Raw Honey

Wharf Street Gourmet Butchery

Forster Tuncurry Golf Driving Range

We appreciate their support for our event and

their interest in making sure sports and the skills

of social team games are a part of our local youth’s

lives. Without their huge contribution, we would not

be able to offer such great prizes.

Thanks to all staff, students and parents who

shared in the fantastic day, and to all those who

helped out in the organisation and planning process

of Sportathon 2017.

Mrs Melanie Ward.

Sid Award Winners

Congratulations Murphy, Katie, Ecko, Lashara,

Annabelle and Jacob

Students not returning in 2018

Our staffing allocation is based on our enrolment, it

is extremely important that you let the school

know, in writing before Friday 17 November 2017, if

your child will not be continuing their education at

Forster Public School in 2018 (2017 Year 6

excluded). Please disregard this notice if you have

already made contact with the school. If you are

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taking an extended vacation please inform the

school in writing of the date your children will be

returning to school in 2018.

Attendance

Some students and parents do not see that regular

and punctual attendance at school is important.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Besides

missing out on valuable content, students miss out

on information, discussion and skill development

that are the pathway to success and the

development of high self- esteem.

The following chart highlights the impact of non-

attendance and partial attendance over time.

Viewed in this context, the implications of regular

absenteeism is startling. This chart shows the

cumulative effect of persistent non-attendance

over the period of compulsory schooling from

Kindergarten to the end of Year 10.

Days Absent Total

Days

Number

of

Terms

Number of

Years Missed

1 per week 451 9 2 years 1 term

1.5 per week 676.5 13.5 3 years 1.5 terms

2 per week 902 18 4 years 2 terms

3 per week 1353 27 6 years 3 terms

5 weeks per term 1127.5 22 5 years 2 terms

Ave 5 days per term 220 5.5 1 year 1.5 terms

Ave 10 days per term 440 8.8 2 years 1 term

Partial Absences

1 hour late per week 75 days 1.5 terms

½ hour late per day 188 days 3.75 terms Almost 1 year

1 hour late per day 376 days 7.5 terms 1 year 3 terms

It is also a legal requirement that ALL absences

from school be explained. Each week letters are

generated for unexplained absences for the week

before. If your child is absent please inform your

child’s teacher as quickly as possible with the

reason for the absence. This can be done by letter,

phone call to the school or by accessing the e-form

on the Skoolbag app.

Extended Leave for Travel

The Department of Education and Communities has

a policy regarding Student Attendance in

Government Schools. This policy states that if you

are intending to take a family holiday during the

school year, you need to apply to the Principal for

approval before you leave on the vacation. Once

the Principal has approved the period of leave, your

child will be marked as “leave” on the roll and you

will be issued with a Certificate of Extended Leave

– Travel. You need to carry the Certificate of

Extended Leave – Travel with you as you may be

asked to present it. Application for Extended Leave

– Travel forms are available in the front office. A

sample of the form can be viewed on Skoolbag.

As we approach the end of the year, you may be

making plans for a family vacation during school

time. As mentioned above, if this is at the beginning

of the 2018 school year, please make sure you have

informed the school in writing of the date that

your child / children will be returning to school and

complete the Application for Extended Leave –

Travel form.

Student Invoices - Urgent

I would ask that any outstanding amounts be

cleared as a matter of urgency. We have sent home

two reminder notices to date.

Students Tell Them From Me survey

Recently 297 students from Year 4, 5 & 6

participated in the Tell Them From Me survey

designed to provide an insight to guide school

planning and identify school improvement initiatives.

On average our students’ responses are comparative

to the State norms;

The survey indicated that;

72% of students had a positive sense of

belonging compared to the state norm of

81%.

81% of students had developed positive

relationships compared to the state norm of

85%.

95% of students believe that schooling is

useful in their everyday life and will have a

strong bearing on their future compared to

the state norm of 96%.

51% of students do homework for their

class with a positive attitude and in a timely

manner compared to the state norm on 63%.

86% of students believe that they display

positive behavior at school compare to the

state norm of 83%.

89% of students believe that they try hard

to succeed at school compare to the state

norm of 88%.

8 out of 10 students find the classroom

instructions relevant to their lives

compared to the state norm 7.9 out of 10.

7.9 out of 10 students feel classroom

instruction is well organized, with a clear

purpose, and with immediate feedback that

helps them to learn compared to the state

norm 8.2 out of 10.

8.1 out of 10 students feel teachers are

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responsive to their needs, and encourage

independence with a democratic approach

compared to the state norm 8.4 out of 10.

32% of students believed that at some

stage they were subjected to physical,

social, or verbal bullying, or were bullied

over the internet compared to the state

norm of 36%.

86% of students believe that they display

positive behavior at school compare to the

state norm of 83%.

Student’s perceived participation in sports

and extra-curricular activities however

were significantly below state average. 44%

of students felt they had a high level of

participation in sport compared to the state

mean of 83%. 30% of students reported

that they participated in extra-curricular

activities or school committees compared to

the state norm of 55%.

Communicating and Engaging with Our Community

Next week (week 4) you may notice some students

and teachers with clip boards, both in the mornings

and afternoons. The purpose is to gather

information about our school and welcome feedback

from you. The focus questions should only take a

few minutes and we would greatly appreciate your

support to gather this information. Information

from the focus questions will assist us in planning

for our next three year school plan.

Mathematics Champion

Congratulations to Jordan Blake in Year 6 on

receiving a special award for his outstanding

achievement in the Newcastle Permanent Primary

Mathematics Competition. This is a wonderful

achievement and we are extremely proud of Jordan.

Jordan will be presented with his award by a

member of Newcastle Permanent at a date to be

advised.

Welcome to our new Deputy Principal

We welcome our new Deputy Principal, Mrs Lorelle

O’Brien. Mrs O’Brien joins our team with a wealth of

expertise and has been an Instructional leader at

Tenterfield. Mrs O’Brien replaced Mr Dave Graham.

We are very pleased to have her.

Rick Clissold Principal

Karen Austin Deputy Principal

Lorelle O’Brien Deputy Principal

Katrina Pettet Instructional Leader

Keryn Stone Instructional Leader

Support Unit State Athletics Championships

Olympic Park was the venue for the NSW schools

state athletics championships. The championships

were held over two days and students from across

NSW public, Private and Independent schools

attended.

With nine students coming from Forster Public

school, our school was one of the few schools across

NSW to have such a large representation. Our

Hunter region representative were Matthew, Izac,

Geoff, Wiley, Tahlia, Nikkita, Shayanne, Kaitlyn and

Crystal.

All the students who represented their school and

region did so with pride and respect. The

championships were an outstanding success for all

those who competed.

In the junior events Matthew competed in the

Finals of the Boys 8-10years 100, 200 and 800m

track events. Nikkita had two podium finished with

third place in both the 100 and 200m finals. Kaitlyn

had an outstanding event with finals in the Long

Jump, 100 and 200m finals. Tahli competed in her

first ever representative track carnival and

achieved a great result, making the final of the

100m.

In the senior events Shayanne competed in the

Final of the 100m. Crystal competed in the 200m

Final. Wiley and Geoff also ran well in the senior

boys track events. Wiley competing in the 100 and

20m finals. Geoffrey competing in the 200m final.

The championships were a huge success for our

students and a massive congratulations to Nikkita,

Geoff, Crystal and Wiley who were all selected in

the NSW Athletics Team for the Pacific School

games in Adelaide later this year.

Happy Hallidays Camp

“This is excellent, this is just very perfect!”

This was Nait’s observation, moments after

stepping off the bus at Happy Hallidays and how

prophetic these words were. Our camp was

absolutely brilliant.

Happy Hallidays has great facilities for kids, indoor

and outdoor pools with water fountains, a giant

jumping pillow, a movie room and train rides. The

friendly staff were warm and generous in making

sure we enjoyed our stay.

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The kids enjoyed the camp on so many levels. The

activities were exciting of course, but more than

anything, I think they enjoyed spending time with

each other. The conversations were wonderful,

especially from the bunk beds as they drifted off

to sleep at night. It was a real bonding experience

and for the most part, the kids retained their good

humour, even on Friday when they were tired and

ready to go home. They were wonderful and a credit

to their parents.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are already

looking forward to next year’s camp.

Sincere thanks to our Learning Support staff who

generously gave their time to organise and attend

camp.

Thanks also to our parents for supporting us and

trusting their children to our care.

Scott Machon

Assistant Principal Support – Relieving

Early Stage 1 Principal Award Winners

At our school we have Principal Award Winners, who

are students who make the right choices regarding

their behaviour at School.

Principal Gold Award Winners are announced once a

term and are rewarded with special awards, ribbons

and presented at a Special Assembly to which their

parents have been invited.

Students K-2 being congratulated by Principal,

Mr Rick Clissold on their Principal Gold Award

Achievements

Khan, Rhys, Brierley, Willow, Latisha, Mia Belle,

Eddie, Lily-Belle, Shontae, Lara & Libby

Saving Water

Whizzy the Waterdrop from Mid Coast Water

visited K-2 students during water awareness week

to share some tips on the importance of saving

water.

Did you know that it takes between 450-1000 years

for a single use water bottle to break down?

Liam K24 wins a water bottle!

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Chase and Kealeigh K23 meet Whizzy

Out and about

Kindergarten explored the local area during the

annual Sports-a-thon! We climbed the sand hill,

enjoyed a picnic in the park and rotated around

activities, fixed equipment and sand modelling at

Palm Grove Park.

Students have been congratulated on their

outstanding behaviour.

Addition and Subtraction

Kindergarten students are using concrete materials

to add and subtract numbers. You can support your

child at home by playing games involving numbers.

Snakes and ladders, trouble and card games are a

great place to start.

K23 walk along the headland and even spotted

two whales!

Students wear themselves out on the sand hill!

Students show their creativity through sand

modelling.

Tianne Buderus

Assistant Principal – Relieving

Stage 1 School Swimming Scheme for Year 2

The School Swimming Scheme for all Year 2

students will be commencing in Week 6 and continue

during Week 7 of this Term, at the Great Lakes

Aquatic Centre. It will run from 13 November until

the 24 November.

The program is a learn to swim program that

develops water confidence and provides students

with basic skills in water safety and survival. The

program provides opportunities for students in Year

2 to attend daily lessons of 45 minutes over 10

consecutive days. More competent swimmers will

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have the opportunity to complete the Royal Life

Saving Society Swim and Survive Awards.

Please note: Pool entry will cost $3.40 per day,

unless your family is a Gold Card Member when

costs will be NIL. Total cost for the 10 days will be

$34.00. There is no cost for the lessons, only the

entry to the Aquatic Centre. All Year 2 Students

will be invoiced for pool entry so if you have a

membership number merely return the invoice with

your member number.

Please ensure your child avails themselves of this

opportunity and takes advantage of these lessons to

acquire this important life skill. We find it is the

really frightened child and/or the less experienced

swimmer that convinces their parent they do not

wish to participate so I am hoping all Year 2

students will attend.

Please remember to return medical information,

grading level and permission notes promptly.

Anne Evans

Assistant Principal

Stage 2 School Swimming & Water Safety Program

Students in Year 3 will be commencing the School

Swimming Scheme in weeks 8 and 9 this term. The

program is a learn to swim program that develops

water confidence and provides students with basic

skills in water safety and survival. The program

provides opportunities for students in Year 3 to

attend daily lessons of 45 minutes over 10

consecutive days.

Year 4 swimming for sport will commence this term.

This will be each Friday with 4/14 going first for

three weeks. 4/15 will be starting their three

weeks on Friday 3 November between recess and

lunch and 4/14 will be going on the same day for

their last day of swimming.

Sportsathon

This was a fulfilling and enjoyable day. Stage 2

students put on their walking shoes and walked by

the beach to the trampolines and minigolf.

A top day had by all!

The sand modelling on the beach was fabulous with

creative ideas from the students and a backdrop of

whales breaching and splashing. The walk over the

bridge to the park was also a highlight as a dolphin

came to the surface and had a good look at the

students as they were crossing.

The winning sand model

Lynelle Patterson

Assistant Principal

Stage 3 Stage 3 have come back refreshed and ready for an

action-packed Term 4.

Sportsathon

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The whole-school Sportsathon was a huge success.

The Year 5 group bowled up a storm at Forster

Entertainment Centre and the Year 6 had a soccer

gala at school followed by a long, fast-paced walk to

Tuncurry and back. Needless to say, they all arrived

back at school exhausted, but grinning from ear to

ear! On the whole, the students were beautifully

behaved out in the community and we had quite a

few members of the public comment on how lovely

they were.

Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition

Every year, all of the Year 5 and Year 6 students

from across regional NSW have the opportunity to

test their numeracy and problem-solving skills in

one of Australia’s longest running annual

mathematics competitions, the Newcastle

Permanent Mathematics Competition. The

competition attracts 19,000 students.

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Last week Jordan Blake of 6/4 received a great

honour when he was announced the overall winner of

the Great Lakes District. This is a huge

achievement and we are all very proud of Jordan!

Jordan and his family are invited to attend the

annual awards presentation on 1st November.

High School Transition

Year 6 have begun their High School transition

program, with our Koori kids attending the high

school for the first time last Tuesday. Their nerves

soon turned to excitement as they got to meet the

newly hatched chicks and feed “Mitchell” the sheep.

They learned about the fantastic cultural programs

they will have access to through the High School.

Year 6 Farewell

Year 6 students are also preparing for their

farewell and we are still waiting on quite a few

photos to come in for the slideshow. Each child

needs to bring in a baby photo and a photo of

themselves now. The students love that part of the

evening and it would be such a shame for any of

them to miss out, so please get them in!

Election

Year 5 are also preparing for their year ahead as

they begin the election process for School Captains

and School Leaders. If your child is interested in

becoming a part of this prestigious team, they need

to begin preparing their speech and election

campaign now. The competition is fierce, but it is a

very worthwhile process for the children to

participate in: they grow as leaders and grow in

confidence just by partaking. More information will

be forthcoming as it draws nearer.

2019 Selective School

Year 5 students who are interested in attending a

selective school in Year 7, 2019 need to begin the

application process now. Letters have been sent

home to fill out as an intention to apply. The

intention to apply needs to be returned to the

school as soon as possible. The application process

then takes place online as explained in the letter.

Susan Gonzalez

Assistant Principal – Relieving

Sport Australian Netballer

Abbey McCulloch, an Australian netball

representative and current Captain of the Sydney

Swifts in the national Suncorp Super Netball

competition, visited during the last week of term 3.

Abbey came as part of the NSW Premier's

Sporting Challenge to present an inspirational talk

to the students about striving to achieve sporting

goals. Sharing her journey left the students

spellbound and excited to learn more about her

achievements. Abbey shared her success, both on

and off the netball court, including details of her

rise through the ranks in netball and of her

educational preparation for life when her

representative careers comes to a close. Following

her presentation, questions came thick and fast

from the students.

School Netball Team Maya, Sarah, Willa, Laren,

Katie, Hayley, Lily, Crystal, Yasman, Zara,

Paige, , Indi, Kym, Mikayla, Kaitlin and Aimee

with Abbey

Premier's Sporting Challenge Award winners with

Abbey - Kye, Ngarangi, Hayden, Riley, Travis

Godby, Tommy, Geoff, Leroy, Crystal, Jzye,

Kai, Tim, Jessica, Zarli, Darren, Jay, Tagolao,

Weston, Lauren, Jae and Carlyiel

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Organising Teacher of The Premier's Sporting

Challenge, Ms Jacqui Riley, has her Year 1-2

Class with Abbey

Paula Drew

Sport Organiser

Library Well, where has the year gone? We are starting our

end of year stocktake in Week 6, with preparations

for stocktake being made in week 5. This means

that borrowing will finish up at the end of week 4

and ALL library books MUST BE RETURNED by the

end of week 5. The first 6 classes to have no books

left at home by the end of week 5 will receive

something special.

If a book is unable to be returned because it has

been damaged or lost, please see Miss Eggins to

find out what you need to do. Keep an eye out for

reminders that will be coming home about books

borrowed.

Premier's Reading Challenge certificates will be

distributed over the next few weeks.

Congratulations to those students who completed

the Challenge this year. It's never too early to

start reading for your next Premier's Reading

Challenge. Make sure you record the title and

author of any books you read over the holidays and

Miss Eggins will add those to your list next year.

Library lunchtimes have been very vibrant and

happy this year, especially since starting our Chess

Club. The library will only be open at lunchtimes up

until we start our stocktake preparations, but we

would like to welcome everyone back to our library

at lunchtimes next year where we will be bringing in

some more exciting activities for each day.

Thanks to all our wonderful borrowers for this year.

Kellie Eggins & the Library Team

Band News In Week 1, interested members from the Forster

Primary School Bands attended a workshop with the

Hunter Wind Ensemble. Organised by Tanya from

Bass’n’Blues, Taree, the workshop was held at

Tuncurry Bowling Club. It was an exciting

opportunity for students from different schools in

the Great Lakes area to receive expert tuition from

experienced conductors and gifted musicians.

All students had a good day and were inspired to

keep persevering on their musical journey. It is

hoped that this will be an annual event but this can

only happen if there is enough interest from

students. Thanks to the families who supported

this musical experience.

In other news, band tryouts will be happening on

Tuesday 14 November. A note will be going home

with interested students. Please ask at the office if

your child does not receive a note or refer to

SkoolBag.

Leah Pasierbek and Marissa Holland

Band Co-ordinators

Kitchen/ Garden Program Well it is that time of year again that the Kitchen

Garden Program has their annual fundraiser to keep

our wonderful program chugging along. This year we

are going to have our own stall at the Blackhead

Bazaar on Sunday the 5 November. If the weather

is not favourable and the market is cancelled the

stall will be held on the December market day.

The children have been busy making preserves and

saleable items to sell at our stall over the last

months. In the Kitchen we have made Balsamic

Beetroot Relish, Tomato Relish, Orange Marmalade,

Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam, Rosemary and Sage

Salts, Choko Pickles, Preserved Lemons and

Flavoured Oils. We will also be making beeswax

wraps which can replace gladwrap in your kitchen!

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In the garden the children have been making plants

and funky succulent mugs. Great for Christmas

presents!

We hope to see you out there to support us in our

endeavours.

Trina Smith

Kitchen Specialist

P & C News Movie Night was held on Thursday 21 September

and was a great success. We raised $750-. Thank

you for your support. If anyone would like to help us

with our fundraising, please contact Lesley on

0427 548 957.

We will be having a Cupcake Day Tuesday 31

October 2017. If you can help by making cupcakes,

please leave them at the canteen in the morning.

We have given a donation of $10,000 to the school.

This would not be possible without the support of

our students, parents & families. Thank you for all

your contributions, small or large. Any help is

greatly appreciated.

Our next P & C Meeting will be held Monday 12

February 2018 in the staffroom at 5.30pm. We

have decided to have our meetings earlier to allow

more people to attend. Feel free to come along.

Uniform Shop is open Tuesday & Thursday 8.30am

to 9.30am. You can collect an order form from the

front office.

Lesley Campbell

P & C President

Community News

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