newsletter - riverstone › content › dam › doe › sws › s… · is beginning to see that...

Issue 12 —Term 3 — Week 4

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Calendar What’s On

Principal’s Message BER Opening Ceremony On Wednesday 10 August we will be holding our Building the Education Revolution Opening Ceremony in our library. We were extremely fortunate to have built the Special Programs Room, two Oudoor Learning Areas and a refurbishment of our library and computer lab through this program. The ceremony will begin at 11.30am and I welcome any parent who wishes to attend. Riverstone Educational Support Team (REST) REST is off to a great start again this year. It is wonderful to see so many students staying after school to participate in activities such as still life drawing, Lego, multimedia, Oz Tag, recorder, cartooning, computers, cooking, drama and even flower arranging. I would like to acknowledge and thank the staff who run these activities—great stuff.

What Do Students Mean When They Say School Is Boring? The adult response to students who say they’re bored is often, “School is not meant to be entertaining. You are there to learn”. But nearly half of students say they are bored every day, and nearly 20% say they are bored in every class! It is worth taking the time to find out what your child really means so that solutions can be found. There are many meanings behind the word boring:

I’m not engaged. I’m not learning. I already know this. This has nothing to do with me. It’s too hard. It’s too easy. I’m dumb. It’s not the real world. I don’t like working alone. I don’t like working with this group. My problems are occupying my mind. I’m worried about … No-one really cares. No-one knows me and how I learn.

Snacking – the new way of eating? A grandmother at a school sports event expressed her amazement at the amount of food and drinks on offer. Parents had packed bags full of biscuits, snacks, dried fruit and bottles of drink and the grandmother observed that some children never seemed to stop eating or drinking. She said her children would have used the school drinking fountains for water when they were thirsty and she always had a meal waiting for them when they got home. There was no between-meal snacking apart from an apple and a glass of milk or the occasional homemade biscuit when they got home from school and before they went outside to play. She never bought bottled drinks for them. How times have changed! Parents now take it for granted that children need supplies of food and drink even for events that last only an hour or so. Snacks seem both mandatory and constant. Have we collectively decided as a culture that it is impossible for children to take part in any activity without simultaneously consuming food and drinks? Children used to come home, change into play clothes and go outside and play with other children. There were no

Newsletter

A vibrant and caring learning community

Elizabeth Street, Riverstone NSW 2765 T: 9627 1517 F: 9838 1131 E: [email protected]

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Term 3 Week 4

Wednesday 10 August B.E.R. Opening Ceremony 11.30am R.E.S.T. 3pm-4pm Friday 12 August K-2 Assembly (KK) Mini Kindy RDA

Week 5

Monday 15 August Mini Kindy Wednesday 17 August Stage 2 & 3 Girls Only

Cricket Clinic 9am R.E.S.T. Friday 19 August K-2 Assembly (1-2K) Mini Kindy RDA

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snack machines, and petrol stations only sold petrol. Now there are many more opportunities to snack and many activities after school to have snacks. Food is everywhere now. Why, for instance, are snacks needed at every event, even those taking place at 10.00am or an hour before lunch? And, more often than not, children are holding snack food in hands that are sweaty and dirty after games without washing them first. Hygiene, health, diet and cost are all factors in snacking. Unsurprisingly, marketers have picked up on the snacking trend and supermarkets are well stocked with snack-size packets of mainly high-fat, sugary and processed foods. These involve more packaging and higher costs than buying similar items in larger packets but are, of course, convenient. They are targeted at parents, who are always looking for something to toss into the schoolbag for after-school time.

Fast-food restaurants are in on the act, and have begun to introduce their own mini-meals. Of course parents don’t want their child to go hungry but it may be time to think about the long-term outlook for the child who has every request for food met, whatever the time of day. Many nutritionists believe the key is to end grazing. The parents’ job is to do the what, when and where of feeding. The children do the how much and whether of eating. In order to have successful family meals, snacks have to be structured. Children who have been snacking before dinner won’t want to eat the meal and will be hungry again before going to bed. Snacks tend to provide less nutrition than a balanced meal of meat and vegetables. Snacks between meals can quickly start to supplant the meals themselves. Is this the way of the future – small amounts of food consumed throughout the day rather than sitting down to what our mothers used to call a ‘proper meal’? Or should we bring up our children to enjoy fresh water and fruit and to wait for their next meal rather than having to stuff food down all the time? And what example is being set for them by the adults in their lives? Are we as guilty of constant snacking and sipping? Reading Checklists Pre-school My child: listens carefully to books read aloud. knows the shapes and names for the letters of the alphabet and can write many letters.

knows that spoken words are made of separate sounds. recognises and makes rhymes and can tell when words begin with the same sound. knows that the order of letters in a written word stands for the order of sounds in a spoken word. knows some common words such as a, the, I, and you, on sight. knows how to hold a book, and follows print from left to right and from top to bottom of a page when read to. asks and answers questions about stories and uses what is already known to understand a story. knows the parts of a book and understands that authors write words and illustrators create pictures. knows that in most books the main message is in the print, not the pictures. predicts what will happen in a story and retells or acts out stories. knows the difference between ‘made up’ fiction and ‘real’ non-fiction books and the difference between stories and poems. writes some letters and words as they are said aloud and begins to spell some words correctly. writes his/her own first and last name and the first names of some friends and family. knows words that are important to school work, such as the names for colours, shapes, and numbers. knows words from daily life, such as street names and the names for people in the community like shopkeepers. First years My child: knows all the letters of the alphabet. knows the difference between letters and words, and knows there are spaces between words in print. knows some punctuation marks and where sentences and paragraphs begin and end. can put together and break apart the sounds of most one-syllable words and can count the number of syllables in a word. can sound out words s/he doesn't know, and recognise some irregularly spelled words, such as have, said, you, and are. reads books aloud, and can tell when s/he cannot understand what s/he is reading. reads and understands simple written instructions. predicts what will happen next in a story asks questions (how, why, what if?) about books s/he is reading and can describe what s/he has learned from a book. uses invented spelling in writing and also understands that there is a correct way to spell words. uses simple punctuation marks and capital letters. writes for different purposes - stories, explanations, lists, letters - and reads and revises writing. speaks in complete sentences, and uses more formal language at school than at home and with friends. is curious about words and uses new words when s/he speaks and writes. is beginning to see that some words mean the same thing (synonyms) and some mean the opposite (antonyms). Second years My child: reads and understands second grade fiction and non-

Tuesday 9 August 2011 Issue 12 —Term 3 — Week 4


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fiction, and compares and connects information from different sources. reads for specific purposes and specific questions, and explores topics of interest on his/her own. answers ‘how’, ‘why’, and ‘what-if’ questions, and recalls information, main ideas, and details after reading. interprets information from diagrams, charts, and graphs. takes part in creative responses to stories, such as dramatisations and oral presentations. pays attention to how words are spelled and correctly spells words s/he has studied. spells a word the way it sounds if s/he doesn't know its spelling. writes for many different purposes and writes different types of compositions (for example, stories, reports, and letters). makes thoughtful choices about what to include in their writing. takes part in writing conferences, revises and edits what s/he has written, and attends to the mechanics of writing (spelling, capitalisation, and punctuation) in final versions. learns new words and shares them at school and at home. uses clues from the context and their knowledge of word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes) to figure out what words mean. is increasing their vocabulary with synonyms and antonyms. uses parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) correctly. learns new words through independent reading. Third years My child: uses what s/he knows of phonics and word parts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) to sound out unfamiliar words. reads third year level texts (stories, non-fiction, magazine articles, computer screens) with fluency and comprehension. explores topics of interest and reads longer stories and chapter books independently. can explain the major points in fiction and non-fiction books. identifies and discusses words or phrases s/he does not understand. asks questions and discusses the themes or messages of stories. uses information s/he has gathered and his/her own reasoning to judge explanations and opinions and distinguishes cause from effect, fact from opinion, and main ideas from supporting details. understands and reads graphs and charts. uses context to gain meaning from what s/he reads. correctly spells words s/he has studied. gathers information from a variety of sources, including books, articles, and computers, and uses it in his/her writing. reviews his/her own written work for errors and works with teachers and classmates to edit and revise. is starting to use metaphors and other literary forms. discusses writing with other children and responds helpfully to their writing.

develops vocabulary and knowledge through independent reading. builds vocabulary through synonyms and antonyms. uses parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) correctly.

Peter D’Ermilio Principal Positive Behaviour For Learning Awards (PBL) Dakota Manuel 1-2K Dustin Aricheta 1-2L Alannah Pedialis 2-3WA Georgia Stephenson 2-3WA Brian Wong 2-3WA Brayden Colussi 2-6E Luke Dunn 2-6E Ratul Wadhwa 2-6E Louise Bond 3-4C Melanie Crowley 3-4WB Ethan Ivory 3-4WB Riley McIntyre 3-4WB Jordan Tracey 3-4WB Jordan Truswell 3-4WB Congratulations to all the winners! Preschool Report The staff in the Preschool attended Professional Development at the beginning of Term 3 regarding the Early Years Learning Framework they have been actively implementing in the Preschool program. This term the Preschool are exploring other cultures with an excursion planned to the Chinese Restaurant in Riverstone in Week 6. The students have been exploring music and band concepts in creative play, as well as picnic and gardening in outdoor play sessions. We also have new student teachers working in the Preschool with the staff and students for Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy. The Preschool students have been enjoying Craig from Reading Bugs through Riverstone Connect Project. The students have been enjoying singing and drama activities with him. Please look at the school website and see all the wonderful things happening in the Preschool. Mrs Karen Holman Supervisor Early Stage One Report Kindergarten have been very busy since returning to school this term. We celebrated 100 days of being at school. Loved having our parents and friends join us for Maths activities for Open Day, performed Der Gloop the Little Green Frog for Open Day, participated in the Athletics Carnival and KH hosted the assembly last week and performed a song Driving Around Australia. In class we have been actively counting to 100 and making patterns with numbers. We have also been learning about places we know in the community for Human Society and



Its Environment. KK will be hosting the assembly this Friday. We also have had Mrs Redman working with the students on her school practicum experience. Please visit the school website to see many photos of the students in Kindergarten on excursions, in class and other activities we have been involved in. Mrs Karen Holman Supervisor Stage Two Report Stage Two attended an excursion to Brewongle Environmental Education Centre on Friday. They also participated in dip netting, bug catching and experiments in the field. A wonderful day was had by all. Stage Two camp is fast approaching and more students are encouraged to attend as this will be a great opportunity to participate in activities, like canoeing and hiking with their peers. There are still a number of places available and if these are not filled it would be disappointing to have to cancel the camp. The Stage Two Science Enrichment Day has been rescheduled and those students who are attending will receive their notes this week. Sue Finn Stage 2 Supervisor Stage Three Report The Term has started with a bang. We have participated in many activities over the past few weeks. Year Six students have been returning their money for the sale of their chocolates which was very successful .The final amount raised will be in the next big newsletter. All Year Six students participated in two days of Peer Support training and they are currently leading their peers in activities and games on Friendship. Stage Three students attended an excursion at Brewongle Environmental Education Centre and had an exciting day trying to solve the ‘Mystery of the Mopoke’. They participated in dip netting, looking at qualities of water and soil and made some leaf rubbings trying to solve the crime. Education week saw our students performing “Gotta Keep Reading” and Isaac and Kaitlin did a fantastic job writing and reciting their poetry. Sue Finn Stage Three Supervisor Support Unit The students in 5-6G, 1-4R and 2-6E have been studying a Unit of work on the environment and last week they joined other Stage 2 and 3 students in a visit to Brewongle Field Studies Centre. The teachers said it was very well organized and the students really enjoyed all the walking and discovery experience. Mrs Elliott is unable to return this term due to family commitments so we are pleased to have Mrs Willis to continue the learning program for the students in 2-6E. We welcome Ms Robertson back as the School Learning Support Officer in this class.

Parents of Year 6 students in Support Classes have had Student Review meetings with their child’s teacher in Term 1 as part of their planning for High School and several students have already been offered places in High School. All other Support Class students will be reviewed this term. This involves a meeting between you as parents with the class teacher to share progress, to look at class placement and plan for future learning experiences. You will receive a letter soon to arrange a time for you to meet with the class teacher to discuss these issues. This meeting should replace the normal parent/teacher meeting at the end of the term. Patricia Gummerson Support Unit Supervisor Support Unit Dance Report All the students in the Support Unit Dance Group have been practising hard, three times a week at lunch, in preparation for the Riverstone Showcase Concert to be held at Riverstone High School at the end of August. The group consists of Aidan Rojas, Emma Manwaring, William Walker, Dorothy Wong, Jessica Jones, Charlee Coutis, and Gabriel Amiscaray. They will also be performing at the Blacktown Music Festival later this year and we look forward to the S u p p o r t U n i t Dancers making their debut at both these events. Mrs Govender Support Unit Dance Teacher Literacy Report The staff in K-2 are engaged in a Literacy project currently focusing on Guided Reading. Staff have been involved in Professional Development activities before school looking at different reading activities and practises they can use in their Guided Reading sessions. The K-6 staff have some upcoming Professional Development in conducting running records to improve and look at students fluency and accuracy rates in reading, at the K-6 English continuum as well as grammar workshop. Please encourage your child to read to you at home as it is important for them to practice reading aloud and develop a positive relationship about reading with familiar adults. Mrs Karen Holman Literacy Coordinator



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Athletics Carnival Last Thursday, we held our annual Athletics Carnival at Riverstone Park. We were very fortunate to have beautiful weather throughout the day. The day got off to a terrific start with the running races and it was pleasing to see so many parents and family members at the carnival to cheer the students on. The students on the sideline also did a fantastic job of encouraging their friends. The K-2 students had fun participating in sack races, games, relays and 50m races, while the older children completed their events. It was great to see so many students participating and having fun. Congratulations to all the children who competed in events, did their best and perhaps even won a race or two! Selected students will go on to represent our school at the District Carnival next month. Marc Lewis Sports Organiser

Captains Report The last few weeks everything has been going smoothly. We have been doing our usual jobs, such as raising and taking down the flags, setting up the morning assemblies and running the Monday morning assemblies. On Monday 8 August Michelle Rowland came to our school and met with the captains. We had photos taken that will be going in the Rouse Hill Times. The Gazette is coming out to take pictures of the captains and the Kindergarten classes for their papers. Ethan Corfield Vice Captain SRC Report Jeans for Genes Day was held on Friday 5 August. This was a great success raising much needed funds for medical research. Both students and staff of Riverstone Public School raised $180.00 for this cause. Please stayed tuned for the next fundraiser. Sally Wesley SRC Coordinator Education Tax Refund From 1 July 2011 the Federal Government changed the education Tax Refund to include the cost of school uniforms and school shoes. Eligible parents can claim 50% of eligible education expenses up to maximum amounts of: $794 for each primary school child, that is a refund

of up to $397; and $1,588 for each secondary school child, that is a

refund of up to $794 Eligible expenses include the cost of buying or repairing computers, laptops, printers and home internet connections, as well as the purchase of school textbooks, study guides and stationery. First National Curriculum This year will see the first step in the implementation of the new National Curriculum after all the education ministers endorsed the curriculum content late last year with a view to substantial implementation by 2013. The Australian Government is committed to making every Australian school a great school. This will help to ensure our kids get a world-class education and the best start in life. Front Office Report This year our school will be collecting the vouchers from Woolworths to gain points for new sports equipment and resources. Dockets can be put in the box that is located on the front counter at the office.



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Issue 12 —Term 3 — Week 4 Tuesday 9 August 2011


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Kindergarten Kindergarten Kindergarten Celebrates 100 Days Celebrates 100 Days Celebrates 100 Days

On Tuesday 26th July 2011, Kindergarten celebrated being at school for 100 days. We started the day with a parade. The students dressed up and spoke about what they want to be when they grow up. We had activities in our classroom all to do with the number 100. We had fun making fairy bread with 100’ s and 1000 ’s, making crazy 100 sunglasses, counting groups of 10 to make 100 and making fruit loop necklaces sequencing numbers to 100. We ended our activities with a pizza party. We all had so much fun.



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The REST (Riverstone Education Support Team) program, which commenced in Week 2 this term, is proving to be a great learning experience for the students in the flower arranging group. Students are afforded the opportunity to develop their creative skills as they already instinctively know what is most pleasing to the eye. They are acquiring tips on the use of the correct equipment to trim and prepare stems, flower food for the blooms to last longer and floral foam to secure the arrangements. They have been gaining knowledge on how to accent the flowers with greens, foliage and filler flowers to create exquisite arrangements beginning with simple buttonholes and advancing to more complicated techniques in bowls and vases. The students have had lots of fun and are proud of their achievements thus far. They are looking forward to impressing their family and friends with their newly acquired skills.



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The students of 5/6G participated in an exciting excursion, along with their fellow Stage 3 peers, to the Bre-wongle Environmental Education Centre in Week 2. The day was filled with organised and informative activi-ties, where students were engaged in group experiments, led by two experienced bush rangers, which in-volved taking soil samples to assess the suitability of the soil for the trees in the area to thrive; collecting vari-ous species of water bugs and making observations and recording their findings; as well as doing illustrations of the footprints of feral animals that may possibly inhabit the site. The activities culminated when students had the privilege of visiting a classroom that was established in the late 1800’s, complete with antique desks and tables and all the original classroom equipment and artefacts. Once again the students of the Support Unit thoroughly enjoyed their integration with their fellow Stage 3 peers in an unforgettable learning experi-ence. Mrs Govender Class Teacher



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5/6G enjoyed involving their parents and other family members in interactive and hands-on Mathematics games in last Wednesday’s celebration of Education Week. The students were actively engaged in a warm and friendly classroom environment. This was followed by their performance of “Under The Sea” in the hall along with performances from all other Stage groups. Mrs Govender Class Teacher



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Source Material: http://converyoptometrists.com/facts.aspx

The ‘Eyes’ Have It!

What happens when our eyes don't

work the way they’re meant to?

In an earlier Newsletter we said that some children’s eyes don't always work properly. They may struggle to see what is written on the board (problems with distance - short sighted) and for others it may be reading up close (problems with near vision - long sighted). Some students may have problems with both their near and far vision. However, for most children, wearing a pair of prescription glasses will help solve the problem. As with all medical conditions, early detection of any vision related condition is the key. Unfortunately, there are some students who can not be assisted by wearing glasses. These students have a more complicated vision related problem and need the assistance of specialist doctors and a Vision Education Support Team. The Blacktown Area Vision Support Team is based at Riverstone Public School. The Team provides support to students in our area with more complicated vision related conditions. They work with students who have a moderate to severe vision loss, as well as students who are blind. Their role is to ensure that any student with a vision condition remains in a mainstream class and can complete all the mainstream class work. They support students by providing a variety of low vision aids including - magnifiers, large print books and modified computers, just to name a few. For the students with no vision they are specialists in providing all work in Braille and in a form that we call “tactile”. This means the student can feel the work with their fingertips and this works really well with maps and diagrams. We hope you never have to use the Team’s services but should the need arise, you can be rest assured, your child will be in good hands. Until next time …..look after your eyes!

Did your know?

Blinking helps to wash tears over

our eyeballs. That keeps them clean and moist.

In most cases, if something is about

to hit our eye, we will blink automati-cally.

The eyeball of a human weighs ap-

proximately 28 grams. The most common injury caused by

cosmetics is to the eye by a mas-cara wand.

Some people start to sneeze if they

are exposed to sunlight or have a light shined into their eye.

The highest recorded speed of a

sneeze is 165 km per hour. It is impossible to sneeze with your

eyes open. Your eyes blinks over 10,000,000

times a year!



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P&C NEWS Thank you for your generous support so far this year. We would love to invite you, your family and friends to our TRIVIA NIGHT! We are planning for a fun night full of games and raffle give-a-ways including a Stocked Bar Fridge, iPods, Meat trays and loads more. Where: Riverstone Bowling Club When: Friday 12 August (Not too far away so book your tickets quickly) Time: 7.30pm Cost: Tickets $10 per person, (Up to ten people at a table) Bring: Snacks for your table For tickets just fill out the order form below, and return it to the front office or call Catherine:0401 251 822 or Janelle:0403 088 543

Cake Stall at the Book Parade The P&C will be holding a cake stall on Wednesday 24 August as part of this years Book Parade, and are asking for donations for the stall. Please leave any donations of cakes/slices/biscuits etc at the school office on the morning of the parade. If you would like to help with the stall please leave your name and contact details at the office and someone from the P&C will contact you.

Riverstone Public School P&C

TRIVIA NIGHT TICKET – ORDER

Name:_______________________________ Tickets required ______ @ $10each

Contact Ph:______________________ Total Enclosed $_______

I would like to collect the tickets by: (please circle one)

Pick them from the school office OR Send them home with my child

Name: ______________________________________ Class: ________

Office use only

Rec date: Order filled by: Order sent/collected date:

Richmond Players Inc. Proudly Presents

August 6th 13th & 20th

Richmond School of Arts, West Market St, Richmond

For times and ticket sales

phone 9671 7249



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These are a few photos of Edward Fishburn and his pony Sam. First is at Glouchester Junior Rodeo. The 2nd is his trophy's from roping club, 3rd is his poddy ride last Sunday, 4th is the cut out and 5th is Edward and Sam relaxing. Edward also has his picture in the ABCRA Camp Draught and Rodeo magazine this month.



Community Noticeboard

Riverstone Public School, as a service to parents, will advertise community events that may be of interest. Riverstone Public School does not necessarily endorse or sponsor the events and accepts no responsibility for the management or organisation of these events.

Riverstone Public School, as a service to parents, will advertise community events that may be of interest. Riverstone Public School does not necessarily endorse or sponsor the events and accepts no responsibility for the management or organisation of these events.

Riverstone Families Connect BREAKFAST

CLUB Thursday Morning 8.15am—8.50am

All students are welcome to come along.

Students must leave the Breakfast Club to line up for class when the bell goes.

REGISTRATION NIGHTS Friday 26th August and

Friday 2nd September, 2011 at Riverstone Park.

Cnr Creek St & Garfield Rd West

Between 6.30 and 8.00pm.

Tots – Under 17’s (Child must be 4 by the

30 September 2011 to join) Tot numbers are limited.

Proof of age required if not registered with the centre

last season.

For further enquiries call: Debbie 4573 6987 Vicki 9837 2281 or Vernon 9627 2658

www.riverstonelittleathletics.com

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In January 2012, students aged 14 – 19 years from Japan, Europe, the USA and Latin America will be arriving in Australia to study at local schools for 2-10 months. Opportunities are available to act as a host family in a volunteer/unpaid capacity. Hosting can be on a temporary, short or long term basis. Host families help provide each student with the chance to study and experience life in Australia. This is a great way to practice another language, share your stories, learn about another country and culture, establish a lifelong link to a family in another country and contribute to international goodwill. Our students bring with them their own spending money, health insurance and a wonderful attitude and desire to learn about their new host country. Your whole fam-ily….and your relatives and friends….will grow and learn as you all get to know your new ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ from another land. If your family can offer a friendly, supportive and caring home environment, contact us today. To learn more about this opportunity call Student Exchange Australia New Zealand on 1300 135 331 or visit our website. http://studentexchange.org.au/host-a-student

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