OUR VALUES AT ALFORDS POINT PUBLIC SCHOOL ARE AS SOLID AS A ROCK

Newsletter of Alfords Point Public School

Phone 9543 0185 Fax 9543 2817 email alfordspt-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au web www.alfordspt-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Excellence, Innovation & Success in a Caring Environment

Friday 26 June 2020 Term 2 Week 9 Dear Parents, Staff & Students Next Friday marks the end of Term 2. It is hard to believe that we are half way through the school year already! The students have worked extremely hard and should feel very pleased with themselves. Likewise, parents/carers should be proud of their children and their success. I congratulate all students on their efforts! I would like to thank my staff for their dedication and commitment throughout the term and you, the parents/carers for your continued support and cooperation and our wonderful students who are growing and maturing into responsible reflective learners. Semester 1 2020 has certainly presented us with some challenges; however, as a school community we have at all times maintained our focus on student learning and wellbeing. The holidays are a great opportunity to restock stationary in preparation for next term as well as giving us a chance to rest, relax and recharge. I would like to wish our whole community a safe and relaxing break. I look forward to seeing you all next term. Staff will be participating in professional learning on Monday 20 July. Students will return on Tuesday 21 July 2020. 2021 Opportunity Class Today Friday 26 June 2020, is the final day for parents to apply online for the 2021 Opportunity Classes. All information on applying online can be found at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5 Tissues and paper towel classroom supplies The school is well stocked with hygiene supplies of soap and sanitiser; however, with the increased frequency of handwashing and tissue usage classrooms are quickly depleting their supplies. The class teachers would greatly appreciate if students could bring in a box of tissues and a packet of paper towels in preparation for Term 3. Thank you for your generosity and helping us to maintain good hygiene at the school. Student reports Student reports will be issued to parents/carers in Term 3 week 1. The reports will be modified according to NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) guidelines for reporting during the

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY July 3 Last day of school for Term 2 July 20 Staff Development Day Term 3 July 21 All students return Term 3

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5

Respect & Responsibility, Care & Compassion, Cooperation & Fairness

COVID-19 period, and in line with these requirements there will be no five-point achievement scale this semester. Student reports for Semester 1 will focus on the areas of English and mathematics with a general comment. The teachers will provide information on student’s strengths and areas for improvement. This format will provide you with very specific information about your child’s learning. As learning takes place along a progression, information regarding further development should be viewed as learning goals for your child to work towards, rather than deficits in their learning. Parent Teacher Interviews Parent teacher interviews have been rescheduled to occur in Term 3 week 2. The school will be holding telephone interviews only to discuss student progress for Semester 1 as opposed to our usual method of face-to-face interviews. This is due to COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions. Further information will be sent home so that parents/carers can book an interview time with their child’s class teacher. All bookings will be made via an online platform. Before and After School care Jubilee Community Services have left enrolment packs in the school office for any parent/carer wanting to access the service from Term 3. Jubilee Community Services will take over before and after school care and vacation care at Alfords Point Public School from Monday 20 July 2020. Any family requiring an enrolment pack is encouraged to either telephone or email the school and an enrolment pack will be sent home with your child. Canteen The canteen will be open next week on Monday 29 June 2020 only. Students will be able to purchase over the counter at recess and lunch in addition to ordering their lunch as per usual. Please submit your orders online and place lunch satchels in the lunch order box located on the administration building veranda outside the Learning and Support room. Please note gluten free mac and cheese and homemade fried rice is not available next week. Thank you to our parent helpers who are giving their time to provide this service to our school community. Kindergarten 2021 If you have a child who is enrolling for Kindergarten in 2021 we ask that you submit an enrolment form. Applications can be accessed online at: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/translated-documents/enrolmentapplication Out of area applicants will need to also submit the Out of Area form with their enrolment. All out of Area applications will be reviewed by the Enrolment Panel as per the Department of Education Enrolment Policy. Please remind friends, neighbours or relatives that they can commence the enrolment process. Kindergarten enrolment interviews will be held in Term 3 and the transition program for 2021 kindergarten will be held in Term 4. Virtual P&C Meeting Last week, I had the opportunity to catch up with parents and community members in our first P&C virtual meeting via Zoom. It was great to touch base with our families and to chat about school life during COVID and how this has impacted on their child’s education. In June the P&C submitted a grant application, which if successful, will provide funds to assist with the refurbishment of the seating area utilised by the year 6 students. Thank you

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/translated-documents/enrolmentapplicationhttps://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/translated-documents/enrolmentapplication

to Danielle Meggos for giving her time to complete the grant. Fingers crossed our application will be successful. Thank you to our uniform shop coordinators Kate Davis and Sarah Walker who have generously given their time to ensure all our students have winter uniforms. The online ordering system has been utilised by many families with great success. The Uniform shop is collecting second hand uniforms for our families. Parent/Carers are asked to leave donations at the front office. The next P&C meeting will be held on Monday 17 August 2020. School Banking School banking will not be resuming at Alford Point Public School until Term 4. Parent/Carers are able to make deposits at a Commonwealth Bank for their child during this time. PSSA Schools in the Engadine Zone will participate in a fun and non competitive season next term. The fun rounds will begin week 3 and will conclude in week 10. Soccer and netball will be the two sports that students will be able to participate in. Students representing our school will follow current school safety guidelines that include no shaking hands, bringing their own drink bottle and not sharing equipment. Local PSSA games will be for students and staff only as currently the Department is allowing inter-school sport to return if the AHPPC safety and hygiene guidelines are implemented. Currently, to maintain social distancing, spectators are not permitted at school sport. If this changes next term, we will notify parents and warmly welcome them back to all sporting events to cheer on and support our students. Team selection has been completed from those students who returned the parent/carer expression of interest indicating permission to participate. Notes will be sent home next week to those students regarding payment Annette Wein Principal

We Belong Together- Mufti Day The SRC would like to end this term with the message ‘We belong together.’ As we all have experienced a very different lifestyle earlier this term, many changes were brought upon us all so quickly due to COVID-19. Our students at Alfords Point Public School have felt safe and happy upon their return back to school and have understood the significance of belonging to a group where they are valued and are always welcomed. To highlight this message, the SRC have decided to have a mufti day on Friday 3 July 2020. Students may come to school dressed in the colours of a team that they belong to. They may wear their scout uniform, dance/gymnastics uniform, sports team jersey, colours of their favourite football team, or any piece of clothing that resembles a group that they belong to, they may even just wear coloured clothing that resembles one of their favourite teams. It is important for students to wear enclosed shoes, warm clothing and a hat on the day. Students will not be required to bring in a gold coin donation for this event. We look forward to seeing everyone's team colours on this day. A Big Thank you to our SRC Congratulations to all Semester 1 SRC. You have all done a great job in supporting our school community, attending our meetings, looking after our environment and being part of our School Representative Council. It has certainly been a little different this semester; however, you have all been very proactive. Next term, we will be voting for our new Semester 2 SRC. This is an exciting time for kindergarten as they will also be able to join the SRC team in Semester 2. More information about when elections will be held will be available in our next newsletter.

SRC NEWS

GOLD MEDALS

BANNERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK - Term 2 Week 9

KD Ava S KT Hayley R 1-2P Bebe F 1-2M Eden S 1-2J Emily M 3-4R Sophie T 3-4P Joshua C 4-5M Gabriel W 5-6B Simone R 5-6D Joshua B

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

It’s almost that time of year again for our Annual Public Speaking Competition. Public speaking is taught to students to help them develop the skills necessary to become confident, clear and focused speakers and it is part of the English Syllabus. It allows students to develop the skills necessary to be able to speak and communicate with class members, teachers, peers and other individuals about a topic of personal interest. In addition it assists with building greater self-esteem. The public speaking challenge instills confidence, encourages the reluctant speakers and recognises the talented ones. Impromptu speeches also demonstrate a student’s ability to organise information, create and logically structure a speech to suit the topic and the audience and to convey an opinion convincingly. The prepared speeches for Kindergarten, Years 1 and 2 are to last for 2 minutes, Years 3 and 4 for 3 minutes and Years 5 and 6 for 4 minutes. Impromptu speeches for Kindergarten, Years, 1, 2, 3 and 4 are to last for 1 minute and for Years 5 and 6 for 1.5 minutes. Students are given 5 minutes preparation time. All class competitions will commence in early Term 3. Your child’s teacher will advise you when your child’s speech is to be delivered. The holidays may be an opportune time to start creating, organising and practising students’ prepared speeches. Debbie Burke, Kim Dobson & Nick John Stage 1—Amelia F. Stage 2—Rihanna H, Ashleigh M, Eva K, Jayden K, Soukayna Z, Tyson M, Isla W, Lina K, Hannah K. Stage 3—Anastasia M, Bethany R, Elijah K, Jessica M. Stage 1—Sarah R, Kosta K, Caleb W. Stage 2—Rihanna H, Ashleigh M, Jayden K, Soukayna Z, Tyson M, Isla W, Archie S. Stage 3—Bethany R x 2, Elijah K, Jessica M.

Stage 2—Gabriel W, Soukayna Z, Tyson M. Stage 3—Jessica M. Stage 3—Elijah K

Respect and Responsibility KD—Sophie H and Lance H. KT—Serene D and Mason F. 1-2P—Gabriella T and Cameron V 1-2M—Caleb W and Piper D 1-2J—Rhett T and Sophia S 3-4R—Sienna S and Melaia T 3-4P—Isla W and Zain D 4-5M—Ashleigh M and Abdulrahman B 5-6B—Marcela R and Luca W 5-6D—Alexis G and Lucas P

PUBLIC SPEAKING

BRONZE MEDALS

ROCK AWARDS

A silver signet ring was handed into the front office. If you have lost a ring please see the office staff so you can describe the ring. Denese Adderley