Prestons Post
Term 4, Week 1
Principal's Message
Welcome back to Term 4. We have a very busy term full of fun and learning planned for all of our students.
Staffing
I am pleased to announce that we have finalised our recent merit selection process for our two new Deputy Principals. Congratulations to Mrs Beavis and Mrs LLoyd who were both successful in their applications. I am confident that both of these ladies will continue to be an asset to our school and that together, we have an amazing team to build upon the already wonderful things that are happening and truely make a difference. Their dedication and commitment to ensuring that all children at Prestons receive the best education in a caring and nurturing environment will certainly be an asset to our school. Given both of these new appointments, we now have vacant Assistant Principal positions. A merit selection panel has been formed and will be meeting in the coming weeks to review applications and select three new Assistant Principals to our school. We also will be holding merit selection panels to appoint a new teacher librarian and a new classroom teacher.
Returning to School
Please remember that all students should be attending school this term unless they are unwell. If your child has cold or flu like symptoms they should stay home and be tested, not returning to school until they have a negative test result and are symptom free. Thank you for continuing to keep our students and staff safe at school.
Drop off and Pick up
All drop off and pick up arrangements remain the same as in Term 3. Thank you for continuing to adhere to social distancing requirements while collecting your children at each of our gates. Our Kiss and Ride zone remains the preferred and safest way to drop off and collect your child and we thank everyone for your support.
Assemblies
Due to COVID restrictions, we are still holding virtual whole school assemblies and our grades will continue to have small celebrations to present learning awards each week. Keep an eye out on our facebook page for videos and photos of our wonderful award winners each week.
Recycling Award Winners
I was honoured this week to have a special lunch with our recycling award winner and her friend. We had a wonderful lunch from our canteen and the girls were very interested in seeing how our front office works. They were amazing helpers and helped Mrs Racco to print off our Book Parade notes. Don't forget to bring your recycling in each Friday and go into the lucky draw.
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to ask your child what they are learning. We also love seeing our families engage with classes and their learning through Seesaw.
Liz Van Der Meulen
Principal
Recycling reward luncheon
Our wonderful office helpers
Our wonderful office helpers
Our wonderful office helpers
Our wonderful office helpers
Our wonderful office helpers
Dates to Remember
13/10/2020 - Yr 7 Selective HS 2022 Applications Open
20/10/2020 - Book Character Parade
21-22/10/2020 - Sydney Writers Festival23/10/2020 - Kindergarten 2021 Transition - Enrolled Students Only
29/10/2020 - Book Club orders due
30/10/2020 - Kindergarten 2021 Transition - Enrolled Students Only
6/11/2020 - Kindergarten 2021 Transition - Enrolled Students Only
8-15/11/2020 - NAIDOC Week
16/11/2020 - Yr 7 Selective HS 2022 Applications Close
16/12/2020 - Last day for students
17/12/2020 - Staff Development Day
18/12/2020 - Staff Development Day
Book Club - Issue 7
Orders are due by Thursday 29th October, 2020.
Summer PSSA Refunds
Due to visitor restrictions, refunds will ONLY be processed Term 4, Week 2 between 10am and 1pm on the following days:
Tuesday 20th October, 2020
Wednesday 21st October, 2020
Thursday 22nd October, 2020.
Please complete the form that was sent home with the parent / guardian name and signature and bring this form with you on the day your refund is to be processed.
If you require any further information please contact the office.
NBN Installation - Update
Should there be any phone outage and you need to contact the school please do so via email, Skoolbag or Facebook.
Student Absent Notes
Parents are requested to notify the school of their child's absence on the first day they return to school after their absence.
Notification can be made by sending a signed note to the office, medical certificate, submitting a notification via the Skoolbag App or by telephoning the office.
Absent notification via seesaw will not be accepted.
Year 7 Placement in a Selective High School in 2022 (Year 5 Students 2020)
Selective high schools cater for academically gifted students with high potential who may otherwise be without sufficient classmates at their own academic standard. Selective high schools help these students to learn by grouping them with students of similar ability, and by using specialised teaching methods.
Applications for selective high school placement are considered mainly on the basis of the Selective High School Placement Test results and school assessment scores. The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on Thursday 11 March 2021.
If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2022, you need to apply on the internet using a valid email address (not the student’s email address).
Detailed instructions on how to apply online are available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7.
The application website opens at that link on 13 October 2020 and closes on 16 November 2020. You must apply before the closing date.
There are no paper application forms. If you do not have internet access, you could apply at a public library. If you have a disability that prevents you from using a computer, you can contact the Team for assistance after 13 October 2020 on 1300 880 367.
TO APPLY YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER AND THEN APPLY THROUGH THE HIGH PERFORMING STUDENTS WEBSITE:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes
You must submit only ONE application for each student.
Kindergarten 2021
We are now accepting enrolments for Kindergarten 2021.
Children who turn 5 by the 31st July 2021 are eligible to enrol for Kindergarten 2021.
Enrolment forms can be collected from the administration office.
Kindergarten Transition 2021 - Enrolled Students Only
Due to recent changes in NSW Health restrictions, we are now able to hold a Kindergarten Transition program, to be implemented with COVID-safe restrictions and guidelines.
This program is only available to students who have enrolled for Kindergarten 2021 at Prestons PS.
This program will take place in Term 4 from 9:20am -11:00am on:
Friday 23rd October
Friday 30th October
Friday 6th November
Our transition program is an important opportunity for your child to become familiar with our kindergarten environment, meet other children who will be in their year group and to experience some of the routines of school. It is also an opportunity for the kindergarten teachers to meet your child and begin to plan for their learning needs for 2021.
Unfortunately, we are not able to have parents and carers remain on school grounds for the Transition Program. You will need to drop and collect your child according to the following times:
surname begins with the letters A to M – drop off between 9:20 and 9:30am and collect between 10:40 and 10:50am.
surname begins with the letters N to Z- drop-off between 9:30 and 9:40am and collect between 10:50 and 11:00am.
These staggered entry and exit times will help us ensure safe social distancing requirements. We ask that you maintain a 1.5 metre distance from others at all times.
If you have a child who is eligible to enrol for Kindergarten 2021 at Prestons PS please ensure you have completed their enrolment application so they can attend this important program.
If you have any further enquiries, please contact our school office on 9602 7435 or check our facebook page.
Classroom Chat with 1 Tree Frogs
This week, 1 Tree Frogs have returned to school refreshed and ready to welcome their last term of Year 1!
Term 3 was full of fun learning opportunities and we had a blast! We had our very own butterfly and stick insect enclosure in our classroom as a part of our English unit. We were able to see these beautiful creatures eat, sleep and grow everyday!
We ended the term as technological wizards as we explored robotics and started our stop motion film projects that we will be continuing this term.
We are so excited for what Term 4 will bring and we have wasted no time getting into the swing of things this week! We have already engaged in an awesome STEM lesson with Mrs Claydon this week where we solved a practical problem by using our design thinking skills.
We are also enjoying learning about place value in mathematics as we learn so many quick and effective ways to order and partition two, three and even four digit numbers!
1 Tree Frogs are leaping into Term 4 ready to learn, play and laugh!
Classroom Chat with 4 Starfish
4 Starfish are thrilled to be back at school from a wonderful and deserved break. We have been working on a Stop Motion Animation for the book, ‘Who sank the boat?’. Students worked in pairs to create characters, props and backdrops for each scene. Students thoroughly enjoyed working together as a class to reflect on the story line, and are excited to share the finished piece. This term in literacy, students will be focusing on imaginative writing, with a focus on structure and vocabulary. We are looking forward to seeing how our imagination grows over the term.
Have a great first week!
4 Starfish with Mrs Linus
PBL Sit down in lines
Thank you to all the PBL token recipients that demonstrated the PBL focus “Sit down in lines” Congratulations to the award winners who received a Star Award from their stage draw.
Kindergarten: Armani
Year 1: Ryan
Year 2: Prachi
Year 3: Saleh
Year 4 : Jana
Year 5/6 : Kate. H and Maria
Spotlight on Learning
NSW School Updates app
The app will complement the other means of communication available to parents and carers from schools and the Department of Education to ensure families receive timely, accurate information in a crisis.
The app is free and available now for iOS and Android users.
You can opt in for notifications about the operational status of as many NSW public schools as you choose.
Privacy information
The app doesn't store any personal or identifiable information. When using the app, it communicates with the department's servers storing a unique identifier for your device; the schools that you wish to receive updates for; and if you've opted into receive push notifications information to send notifications to that device.
School Travel 2021
2021 school travel applications are now open
Applications for student travel in 2021 opened on Monday 12 October 2020.
Students who require a School Opal card or travel pass for 2021 can now apply online. A new application should be submitted if a student is applying for a school travel pass for the first time or requesting an additional pass as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (e.g. joint custody).
Students who have changed school/campus, changed address, repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for their school travel entitlement should re-apply or update their details.
*Applications must be completed by the student's parent or legal guardian if the student is aged under 16 years. Students 16 years and over must complete the application form themselves.
Where there is a change of distance eligibility based on a student’s grade, the system will automatically update a student’s entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, they will receive an expiry notification via email.
Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.
Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.
If a student needs to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails
Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2020 to ensure that current student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card remains valid. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2020, the system will automatically cancel an entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.
Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2021.
Students residing in Rural and Regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the commencement of the new school year from their nominated operator, this may be distributed via the school or sent direct to their address. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/Parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.
New Concession Entitlement Cards
Transport for NSW will be replacing the below cards with Transport Concession Entitlement Cards (TCEC) from October 2020:
Senior Secondary Student Concession Card (16 years and over) – also used by Mature Secondary Students (18 years and over), Distance Education Students and Home School Students
Proof of Age card (when a student under 16 years of age looks older)
Boarder Rail Pass.
All previous cards will be valid until they expire. Students who require a Transport Concession Entitlement Card should speak with their school administration staff.
Enquiries regarding school student travel can be submitted to Transport for NSW at: https://transportnsw.info/contact-us/feedback/passes-concessions-feedback