Berala News
Term 1 - Week 10 - 2021
Updates from BPS
Sheree Heness
It is with great happiness, and some sadness, that we are announcing that Ms Sheree Heness will be leaving us at the end of this term. Ms Heness has been successful at gaining a permanent Assistant Principal role at Hampton Park PS. Ms Heness has been a great asset to our school and she has had such a positive impact on the lives of many students and on the wider whole school community. We wish Ms Heness all the very best at her new school.
Mr Tommy Lam will be taking over as classroom teacher on 4 Hill and Miss Georgina Lykoudis will relieving as Assistant Principal for Year 4.
Cherry (6R)
We have many fantastic and kind students at Berala PS but at times there are some students that really stand out and shine. Cherry in 6R is one of these students this term. Cherry has been noticed by our canteen staff who have seen her kindness firsthand. Thank you to Cherry for always being a kind and friendly student to your peers. Kindness does not go unnoticed!
School Photos
School photos will be on Tuesday this week (30 March 2021). Please send your child to school in full school uniform on the day. If you have any questions, please call the front office. The school uniform shop will be open this afternoon (29.03.21) if parents require any items.
Holidays
Just a reminder that Term 1 will finish on Thursday this week (1 April 2021) and Term 2 will start on Tuesday 20 April for our students. We wish our whole school community a safe and enjoyable break.
Easter Hat Parade
This week we will be holding our Easter Hat Parade on Thursday (1 April 2021). Students of Berala are invited to create an original Easter Hat creation for our annual Easter Hat Parade. The parade starts at 9.30am. There will be prizes for the most original hat for each grade made at home. Don't forget to buy your raffle tickets and send the money for them back to the canteen by Wednesday. Unfortunately parents are unable to attend this event due to COVID restrictions. Pictures from the day will be uploaded onto Seesaw for everyone to view. We are hoping that with the latest easing of restrictions, we will be able to have parents involved with school activities next term.
A MASSIVE thank you to our P&C for organising the prizes for the parade and also for organising the Easter raffle. There are many Easter Egg hampers and baskets to be won so remember to hand in your sold tickets to the canteen.
We look forward to seeing the amazing hats that the students bring on the day.
Parent Support Group
We are very pleased to announce that we are able to start up our parent support group next term in partnership with Accessible Diversity Services. The group will start again on Tuesday 27 April. Zumba sessions will also start again the following Tuesday. If you have any questions please do not hesitate in asking at the front office or calling Accessible Diversity Services on 02 87375500. We look forward to seeing lots of parents at each session.
0-3 Year Old Playgroup
Starting in Week 2 next term, we will be starting our 0-3 Year old playgroup in conjunction with Accessible Diversity Services. The group will be held from 9:00am - 11:00am on Fridays in the After School Care Building starting on 30 April 2021. We encourage all parents with children of this age to attend as it is a great opportunity to meet other families. The playgroup organisers also invite many guest speakers along to the sessions so that parents can develop a strong understanding of the different organisations that exists across our wonderful community that can support families. If you have any questions please do not hesitate in asking at the front office or calling Accessible Diversity Services on 02 8737 5500.
4-5 Year Old Playgroup
Starting in Week 2 next term, we will be starting our 4-5 Year old transition to school playgroup in conjunction with Accessible Diversity Services. The group will be held from 9:00am - 11:00am on Wednesdays in the After School Care Building starting on 28 April 2021. We encourage all parents with children of this age to attend as it is a great opportunity to meet other families and to set your child up for success in kindergarten. The playgroup organisers also invite many guest speakers along to the sessions so that parents can develop a strong understanding of the different organisations that exists across our wonderful community that can support families. If you have any questions please do not hesitate in asking at the front office or calling Accessible Diversity Services on 02 8737 5500.
Facebook and School App
The vast majority of information regarding school events is advertised via Facebook and the School App. If you need support accessing the School App, please contact the office. Facebook is the best way to get last minute notifications so please ‘like’ the Berala Public School Facebook Page.
Check-in Assessment
Next term, all Year 4 and 6 students will be involved in the reading and numeracy Check-in Assessment. This is a NSW Department of Education initiative that assesses students' reading and numeracy abilities through two online assessments. The data gathered from these two assessments will support existing school practices to identify how students are performing in reading and numeracy, and assist teachers to respond to student needs in these areas.
Students in Year 3 and 5 will also complete this assessment during Term 4. More information regarding will be provided in Term 3 for these grades.
NAPLAN Online for Years 3 & 5 Students
Our Years 3 and Year 5 students will be sitting the NAPLAN Online assessments between Tuesday 11 May and Friday 21 May. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.
NAPLAN Online is a tailored test that adapts to student responses, providing better assessment and more precise results.
Parents can read more information about NAPLAN Online by clicking on the link below:
https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support
Brad Lanham
Principal
Calendar Updates
31 March - Catch up photo day if photographers do not get through all classes
1 April - Easter Hat Parade (No parents on site due to COVID-19 restrictions)
1 April - Last day of Term 1
2 April - First day of school holidays
19 April - School Development Day
20 April - First day of Term 2
23 April - ANZAC Ceremony at school
25 April - ANZAC Day
Extracurricular activities at Berala PS - Gardening
This week we would like to showcase our Gardening Club run by our fabulous teachers, Mrs Colleen Hayward, Mrs Rafida Aniz, Mr Hamza Karakocoglu and Miss Georgina Lykoudis. These teachers use many of their lunch breaks to provide additional opportunities for our students. Gardening gives many of our students an opportunity to develop an understanding of how we can grow fresh vegetables and plants.
We are so lucky that may of our teachers give up their break times to provide these opportunities for your children. We would like to thank all of the teachers involved for providing this opportunity for our students at Berala PS.
Writing at BPS
Debating Team
On Thursday Adam, Aiesha, Aaliyah and Kyan attended a Gala Day Program at Guildford Public School as part of the Granville, Strathfield, Holroyd Debating Competition. During the day students learnt tips on debating and the roles of each speaker. It was a informative and interesting day.
Harmony Day at BPS!
About Berala PS
Email: berala-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: berala-p.schools.nsw.gov.au
Location: 216 Harrow Road, Berala NSW, Australia
Phone: 02 9649 7146
Facebook: facebook.com/BeralaPublicSchool
School, Families and Learning Project Survey
Did you complete the School, Families and Learning Project Survey at the end of last year?
If not, you have another chance to do so. This survey, conducted by Western Sydney University and the University of Technology Sydney, will provide important information to the school and the NSW Education Department on aspects of learning at home and school. We ask you to spend 10 minutes to do this by using the link below or you can request a hard copy available in English, Chinese, Arabic or Dari from the office.
https://surveyswesternsydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ddu7f8jvVrUWh6t
The survey is anonymous and all information is confidential. Parents of Year 5 children may also complete an expression of interest to be involved in other stages of the research.
If you have any questions regarding the project, please contact Professor Megan Watkins, Western Sydney University at m.watkins@westernsydney.edu.au.
We thank you for your support with this.
Holiday Activities
We do have an excellent relationship with Camp Australia who run our OoSH services and we encourage you to reach out to their team should you require holiday care for your child.