ACPS Blue & White Newsletter 1 16/09/2020

■ Address: 142-152 Faulkner St, Armidale NSW 2350 ■ Phone: 02 6772 3420 ■ Fax: 02 6771 2262 ■ Email: armidalec-p.admin@det.nsw.edu.au ■ Website: www.armidalec-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

The Blue and White Armidale City Public

School

the heart of Armidale

Quality teaching since 1861

Stage One Thalgarrah Visit

16 September 2020

ACPS Blue & White Newsletter 2 16/09/2020

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Our enrolment panel met today to discuss non-local applications for enrolment. Letters will be sent to the families of all students where a local or non-local application has been received within the next week. While local applications will be accepted, non-local applications need to meet criteria to be accepted.

Online enrolment We are excited to announce we will be are rolling out the new Online Enrolment System from Monday, 14 September 2020

The Online Enrolment System is designed to provide flexibility for our parents to submit an enrolment application online and at the time that best suits you. The application can be accessed on all browsers and mobile devices including iOS and Android.

The online application process is currently restricted to:

Enrolments into local schools only 

Children who are Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens or permanent residents Children who live in NSW. 

We offer our support and encourage you to complete your application to enrol online. If, however, you do not feel comfortable completing an application online, a paper copy will be available for collection from the front office or can be downloaded from the Department’s going to a public school site. Further information about online enrolment can be found on our website here.

This year we have found enrolment applications to be slow in being submitted. With COVID-19 restrictions, parents may not have realised that enrolment applications are required. We will not be able to provide virtual orientation information to families who have not completed an enrolment.

If you or someone you know has not provided an enrolment application for a child starting Kindergarten in 2021 you now have the option of completing an enrolment application online if living within the Armidale City Public School Zone. Non-local applications must still be completed using a paper application. Parents will still need to bring in original copies of birth certificates, proof of address and immunisation to the school to finalise enrolment.

Parent survey As we begin to plan for the next four years at Armidale City Public School, we would like to hear from parents and carers. Your feedback will be invaluable in identifying what is working and what needs modification. A simple two question Google Forms survey is available at https://forms.gle/QiY4iZsyQ78i6x7J8. Please take the time to respond by the end of next week.

As we approach the end of term, please consider how you will be COVID-safe during the holidays. In order for schools to be able to access some of the currently restricted activities there will need to be a reduction in the spread of the virus.

Take care, Ms Deborah Nay

Principal

18 September 1.30pm Stage 3 Leisure Sports 25 September 1.30pm Stage 3 Leisure Sports 25 September Last Day for Term 3 12 October First Day of Term 4 for Staff and Students

KINDERGARTEN 2021 Have you submitted your Kindergarten

enrolment application? We are asking that all applications to enrol in Kindergarten in 2021 are provided to the school as soon as possible to ensure that you are advised of information relating to starting school next year. Applications for non-local placements are welcome, but are not a guarantee of acceptance.

ACPS Blue & White Newsletter 3 16/09/2020

ACPS Blue & White Newsletter 4 16/09/2020

Strong families develop their own traditions and rituals that define them and bind members together. Birthdays, Christmas, Diwali, bar mitzvahs, and Ramadan are some traditions and rituals that families enjoy. They are the coat hooks upon which we hang our family memories. By definition, they are permanent and not set aside when life gets busy. Rituals can be as simple as a parent saying to a child ‘I love you’ each day as they go to school, a weekly game of cricket or another sport, or the bedtime-story routine that so many children love. The permanence and uniqueness of rituals give them their significance. My own family, for example, has developed a very strong food culture that is shown through the traditions and rituals that we maintain. A meal takes time and effort to prepare and there’s an expectation that everyone contributes in some way. When the children were young the contribution was in preparation, table-setting or post meal clean up. The tradition of contribution continues as a new generation of children visit and do their bit to assist. Like most traditions this mealtime ritual was nurtured as a result of past parental experiences and gradually became refined over time to reflect our own family’s unique identity.

Develop traditions early Family traditions are best developed when children are pre-school or primary school aged. Parent approval is important so kids will generally comply when enjoyable family traditions engender a relaxed, calm atmosphere. Adolescents are likely to challenge many of their family’s traditions and rituals, which is often difficult for parents to encounter. It helps to establish the traditions that are negotiable and those that are non-negotiable so you can approach adolescent challenges with some flexibility. Defend them fiercely When a child tells you that ‘everyone at school is allowed to do….” you can reply by saying, “In our we family we do it this way.” Leaning against family tradition in this way gives you a strength to resist children’s pester power. Family traditions and rituals need to be fiercely defended by parents. Make family meals non-negotiable This writer recommends that shared mealtimes should be non-negotiable in families. It’s no coincidence that countries with strong food cultures are also known for their strong family cultures. Shared mealtimes build connection, are great tools for developing children’s manners and respectful actions. They’ve also been linked to the maintenance of good mental health in children and young people, presumably due to the opportunity it provides parents to stay in touch with their children. Healthy families are built around traditions and rituals. It’s useful to approach the concept of family traditions with a mix of firmness to insist that children adhere to family rituals but also flexibility to accommodate growing independence as children move into the next stage of development.