Prestons Post
Term 3, Week 5
Principal's Message
Welcome to our Week 5 newsletter. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our families for your support as we navigate our way through these challenging times. The NSW Department of Education on advice from NSW Health have put in place some new guidelines for schools. We thank you for your support as we implement these guidelines to help keep everyone safe.
Student Attendance
Students should be at school unless:
- they have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition and expected timeframe.
- They are currently unwell
In accordance with advice from NSW Health, parents and carers are reminded NOT to send children to school if they are unwell, even if they have the mildest flu-like symptoms. Schools will make arrangements for students who present as unwell or have flu like symptoms to be sent home.
NSW Health have requested that schools encourage anyone who is unwell or has even mild flu-like symptoms, to arrange to be tested through their local medical practitioner or one of the COVID-19 clinics.
Students and staff with flu like symptoms will need to provide a copy of a negative COVID-19 test result before being permitted to return to school.
Hygiene
We will remain extra vigilance with social distancing and personal hygiene protocols to protect the health and safety of students and staff.
- Regularly washing hands
- Avoiding sharing drinks or food
- Coughing or sneezing into your elbow or a tissue which should be discarded immediately into a bin
- Using water bottles and not using the bubblers at school.
All students and staff who have visited Victoria must have a permission to enter NSW and are required to comply with health restrictions.
School Activities
- We are limiting the mixing of student groups during learning. Students will remain with their grade or stage for all learning activities.
- Singing and choir are no longer permitted at school
- We are continuing to hold virtual assemblies
- PSSA and other interschool sport is not permitted to go ahead. We will advise parents shortly of the procedures to reimburse/roll over funds paid for PSSA this year.
Visitors
Only essential adults are permitted onsite.
All visitors must complete a COVID declaration form and indicate which areas of the school they are visiting.
Kindergarten Transition
Kindergarten transition programs are on hold until further notice. Please still continue to enrol if you have a child starting school next year as we are planning some virtual transition activities.
Social Distancing
We will have students sitting in grade or stage groups for afternoon dismissal. We remind all families of the need to social distance and ask that where ever possible you use our kiss and ride service. This will reduce the amount of adult interaction and help to keep our parents and staff safe. Thank you for supporting us with this as the advice strongly suggests that adults should social distance at all times. If for any reason you are unable to use Kiss and Ride, you must social distance.
Cleaning
We continue to have an additional cleaner onsite at all times, all high touch surfaces are cleaned regularly throughout the day. Soap and hand sanitiser are available in all classrooms and toilets.
Thank you once again for always supporting us to keep everyone safe. We are truly grateful for our amazing community.
Driving and Parking around our School
Please be mindful of our local residents and do not park across or park in driveways. We also ask that you be mindful of not lingering on or around our neighbours property or playing music while waiting to collect your child/children. Again, it is important that all adults practice social distancing.
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to ask your child what they are learning.
Liz Van Der Meulen
Principal
Dates to Remember
2/9/2020 - School Photos
17--22/9/2020 - Book Fair
25/9/2020 - Last day of term
School Photos - Wednesday 2nd September
Say Cheese - MSP Photography
School Photo Day will be held Wednesday 2nd September, 2020.
All payments are to be made online. No cheques or cash will be accepted.
Parents can order online through website. All credit cards are accepted:
Orders will be accepted until: Wednesday 2nd September, 2020.
Orders received after 2nd September will incur an archive fee of $20.00
Photo Packages range from $28.00 to $50.00.
Family envelopes will be available from office.
Student`s who did not receive photo information or envelope can collect paperwork from the office.
Payments
Parent Online Payments (POP)
We will have a new online payment method linked to the schools website to make it easier for you to pay for school related payments.
The POP payment method will go live on 4th September 2020. This is a secure payment page hosted by Westpac.
Expenses such as excursions ,sport, voluntary school contributions and others will be able to be paid using POP.
More information will be sent in the following weeks.
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.
Stage 3 Child Protection Lessons
As part of the Personal Development/Health/Physical Education curriculum all children will participate in child protection lessons. These lessons will help children to identify dangerous or uncomfortable situations and to seek help from trustworthy adults. Some lessons may involve the naming of parts of the body. The child protection lessons have been developed by the Department of Education and they are an important priority for schools.
If you have any concerns or questions please contact your classroom teacher.
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.
Saturday School of Community Languages - Enrolment Applications
Applications are now open for students who wish to enrol in their background language. Saturday School of Community Languages (SSCL) is a NSW Department of Education co-educational secondary school. SSCL operates in centres located at 14 high school sites - 12 located in metropolitan Sydney and one each in Wollongong and Newcastle.
There are no fees charged for enrolment. All applications must be made through the student's own school Principal and meet certain enrolment criteria established by the NSW Department of Education.
Applications should be submitted by 11 December 2020 to ensure students can begin course work at the commencement of the 2021 school year.
For an application form and how to enrol visit our School website.
For enrolment enquiries please contact the SSCL head office on 7814 2115 or email us at saturdaycl-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Meet our wonderful Stage 3 Teachers
Mrs Balazs
Q1- What do you love about Prestons Public School?
A- I love all of the amazing students.
Q1-Tell us about yourself
A- I have a bunny named Lola and I love to travel.
Q3-What do you love most about your job?
A- Working with the awesome Blackbirds every day.
Q4- What is your favourite book?
A- Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling.
Mrs Patton
Q1- What do you love about Prestons Public School?
A- I like the new outdoor learning areas that we can use on a warm sunny day. We often head outside to read and do our lessons.
Q2- Tell us about yourself
A- I have 2 boys, Hayden and Ryan, who keep me busy playing and refereeing basketball. In the holidays we visit my Mum and Dad and spend our time on the beach.
Q3-What do you love most about your job?
A-I love when my students make me laugh and when they are proud of their achievements
Q4- What is your favourite book?
A- Wonder is my favourite book by R.J. Palacio
Mr Meoni
Q1- What do you love about Prestons Public School?
A- I love all the outdoor learning areas.
Q2- Tell us about yourself
A- I love playing sport and computer games.
Q3-What do you love most about your job?
A-The excitement on the face of a student that learns something new.
Q4- What is your favourite book?
A-Ant Matthew Reilly novel.
Ms Kane
Q1-What do you love most about your job?
A- I love how friendly and welcoming all of the families, students and staff have been.
Q2- Tell us about yourself
A- I really enjoy sport and have a French bulldog named Sebastian
Q3- What do you love most about your job?
A- Teaching student's new things that they might not have learnt otherwise.
Q4- What is your favourite book?
A- Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Miss Rialas
Q1-What do you love most about your job?
A- The happy faces on all our students faces.
Q2- Tell us about yourself
A-I have a dog named Maxx and enjoy being outside in the sun.
Q3- What do you love most about your job?
A-Seeing my class get excited about their learning, and playing sport.
Q4- What is your favourite book?
A- Any book from the Harry Potter series
PBL Focus Respect all Teachers
Kindergarten - Zaynah
Year 1 - Aaryash
Year 2 - Hamzah
Year 3 - Jana
Year 4 - Husain
Year 5 - Michael
Year 6 - AndrewLost Property
Kinder to Year 2
Classroom Chat with 1 Giraffes
you might see them at the Australian Open one day! Fabulous job 1 Giraffes and Tree Frogs!
Classroom Chat with K Koalas
K Koalas have been extremely busy and learning lots over the term. They have participated in a great deal of fun and engaging learning tasks.
In English, K Koalas have been learning about “Dinosaurs”. Kindergarten began the dinosaur unit with a dinosaur dig, where they found many dinosaur bones and fossils. K Koalas have also been completing STEM challenges based on the theme of “Dinosaurs” with Mrs Claydon.
In mathematics, we have been learning about 3 dimensional shapes and patterns. The children have enjoyed creating 3D shapes such as cubes and pyramids and making patterns using concrete material.
K Koalas and Mrs Boyd have been enjoying being at school and learning together.