Guildford West Public School
NEWSLETTER - 2022, Term 1, Week 5
Principal Welcome
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome to Guildford West Public School for 2022. I would like to welcome all of the new families who have joined us at Guildford West Public School. As we begin the year the students have started with a sense of calm and routine ready to learn. Many staff have commented how settled the students are which is such a great way to begin the year.
All families would have now been sent home their additional Rapid Antigen Tests. These are to be used in the event that your child is displaying symptoms of COVID, or if there have been confirmed cases in your child’s cohort and you would like to test. A reminder that PCR tests are also free and available if your child is experiencing symptoms and you do not have access to Rapid Antigen Tests. We need to continue being vigilant with any signs of cold or flu like symptoms, any student or staff member who is unwell and/or displays symptoms of COVID-19 will be asked to go home and stay until they can complete a RAT or PCR test and/or are symptom free.
As you may be aware, there have been some changes over the last week to school procedures in line with easing of covid restrictions in NSW.
Below are the changes which our school will implement:
· Cohorting – Students will no longer be restricted to stage cohorts. We will move back to two break times of 11:00am for recess and 1:30pm for lunch (K-2 on the playground together, 3-6 on playground together).
· Afternoon pickup – From Monday 7th February, students in the Support Unit will leave at 2:45pm and students in Kindergarten-Year 6 will leave at 2:55pm. Pick up will be from the youngest sibling’s gate. Students will be allowed to walk through the school to their youngest sibling’s gate and meet their parents outside. Parents will be required to remain outside the school gates during pick-up time.
Students from Stage 3 who are already in a good routine will be allowed to walk around the outside of the school to their youngest sibling’s gate if they wish.
Kindergarten: Gate C (Palmer St gate near carpark)
Support Unit: Gate C (Palmer St gate near carpark)
Stage 1: Gate D (Edward St)
Stage 2: Gate B (Palmer St main gate)
Stage 3: Gate A (Palmer St near basketball court)
Morning drop off procedures will remain the same with students being dropped off at either Palmer St or Edward St gates.
Welcome new staff
I would like to welcome new staff who have joined us here at Guildford West and I know you will make them feel very welcome.
Executive Staff
Mrs Beede- Assistant Principal Curriculum & Instruction
Classroom Teacher
Miss Pham - Stage 3
Learning Support and RFF
Miss Foley
Miss Karim
Miss Saleh
School Learning Support Officers (SLSO)
Ms Mamozai (Ms Najia)
Mrs Cowell (Ms Kate)
Executive Staff 2022
Principal Ms Kerry Weston
Deputy Principal Miss Stephanie Giles (Sup.Unit & ES1/S1)
Assistant Principal Mrs Mariana El Khoury (S2)
Ms Tara Todesco (S3)
Mrs Flack (Learning Support Team)
Assistant Principal Curriculum & Instruction Miss Jaclyn Wong & Ms Anne Beede
Classes
Our classes this year are named after inspirational Australians so have a discussion with your child over the next few weeks about who their class is named after.
Communication
Individual class communication
We will continue with Seesaw as the main way for you to receive access to your child’s learning with each class creating an individual Seesaw account. All 2021 work samples will continue with your child into their new 2022 class. Teachers will upload your child’s new work and you will receive a notification. A letter has been sent home with the class link to their own class Seesaw account.
Parent Portal
The Parent Portal remains the way the school communicates to parents. Each parent receives a unique code for their child. This enables us to send notes to you, permission notes and announcements. For all new families a code will be sent home along with instructions how to download the App on your phone.
Facebook – continues to be a popular and easy way to share and celebrate student learning at Guildford West. We will continue to use Facebook in 2022, please remember that this is public platform and is not monitored by school staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you have questions regarding school, please use one of the following options:
Telephone: 9632 9942 - during school office hours 8:30am – 3:15pm
Email: guildfordw-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au to the attention of your child’s teacher or person you are contacting.
We are looking forward to continuing and building relationships with you and your family in the exciting year ahead.
Ms Kerry Weston
Principal
Support Unit News
S Farnham
It has been a wonderful start to the term in the support unit, with all students settling into the routines of their new classes, building new friendships and engaging in lots of fantastic learning.
S Farnham has been enjoying visiting the multi-sensory room and engaging their senses while using the equipment. Students have also enjoyed engaging in play sessions focusing on taking turns, communicating, and sharing.
S Paterson
S Paterson has been enjoying borrowing books from the library and learning about non-fiction texts. They have also enjoyed engaging in hands-on mathematics lessons focusing on their number sense.
S Mauboy
S Mauboy has enjoyed participating in Life Skills sessions and learning about different values. One value they have been focusing on is respect. Students have learnt what respect means and how we can be respectful to ourselves and others. They have also been revising their sight words using rainbow rice, play dough and chalk.
S Alcott
S Alcott has been enjoying reading ‘The Witches’ by Roald Dahl. They have used their imagination and creativity to complete a STEM task where they built a bed for the mouse in the story.
Kindergarten News
Welcome to Term 1 2022! Kindergarten students are settling into school and class routines with enthusiasm and are ready for a busy term.
This year we have three kindergarten classes that are taught by a teacher and supported by a School Learning Support Officer (SLSO):
K Fox - Miss Gambacorta (teacher) and Ms Najia (SLSO)
K Thorpe - Miss Dillon (teacher) and Miss Kate (SLSO)
K Barty - Mrs Bibinoglu ‘Mrs B’ (teacher) and Mrs Issa (SLSO)
In mathematics, students are learning to count to ten and represent numbers using hands-on materials. In English, students are practicing writing their names independently and developing their fine motor skills with activities such as cutting. We are learning to recognise the sound a letter makes.In developmental play we are improving our skills to work as a team, share and take turns. In PDHPE we are participating in the Lifeskills program where we learn values such as respect, resilience and strength as well as doing exercise and relaxation activities.
Stage 1 News
It has been a marvellous start to the school year for Year 1 and 2 students in Stage 1. Students have been so excited to get back to learning after the school holidays and have impressed all the teachers by showing how 'On Track' they are both in classrooms and on the playground.
This term, students have been busy learning about what it means to be unique and why this is something to be celebrated and respected. They also worked with peers to identify their individual strengths and are creating portraits to showcase this. As part of our history unit, students are learning about families and how they have changed over time. Literacy and Maths groups are well underway, too. Students are building on their skills in these areas while also learning the value of working collaboratively with classmates to achieve their learning goals together. Classes have also started Walker Learning Investigations to provide students with quality experiences where they can relate all their learning across different areas in a fun, hands-on way!
It has been so good to see all students settled and ready to learn at the beginning of our new school year. We cannot wait to see the amazing growth in our Stage 1 students and look forward to sharing the learning journey here with you!
Stage 2 News
Stage 2 has had an amazing start to 2022 as teachers welcomed students back for another year of fun and learning. Welcoming our students officially to Stage 2 are Mrs. El Khoury, Assistant Principal and Year 3 Classroom Teacher on S2 Lidwell and Ms. Hussain, Year 3 Classroom Teacher on S2 Barton. Ms H. continues with another year on Stage 2 with S2 Taylor and Ms. Tran on S2 Gillard.
This year, our classes are named after famous Australians who have left their own unique mark on our country and the world. As we embark on this year, we aspire to be like them and one day, leave our own unique mark on our community. To celebrate our uniqueness, students have been learning about their own personal identity and how we all come together as a school community.
This term, students have returned to enjoy lots of activities including STEM where they have planned, designed, and created maps and obstacle courses to code their BeeBots through. Students have enjoyed Number Talks where they have been exploring numbers and place value. Classes have also begun learning about Kandinsky, the inventor of abstract art. Students have particularly enjoyed their fun filled art lessons with Mrs. Yousif exploring the uniqueness of Kandinsky’s work. Students have been enjoying Physical Education and Health and Personal Development lessons this term including Life Skills Yoga.
It has been a settled start to the year, and we cannot wait to see the amazing growth in our Stage 2 students. We look forward to sharing the learning journey with you all.
Stage 3 News
Welcome to Stage 3 2022! We are so excited to learn so much together. This term has started with a BANG! We have been learning all about what makes a person unique. This year our classes are named after some unique Australians.
Let me introduce you to our wonderful teachers and classes for this year.
S3 Goolagong with Miss Rifai.
S3 Goolagong are named after Evonne Goolagong - Australian former world No. 1 tennis player.
S3 Hakim with Miss Huynh.
S3 Hakim are named after Yalda Hakim – an Australian broadcast journalist, news presenter, and documentary maker.
S3 Lingiari with Mr Robinson.
S3 Lingiari are named after Vincent Lingiari - Australian Aboriginal rights activist and member of the Gurindji people.
S3 Pitt with Ms Todesco. (Assistant Principal)
S3 Pitt are named after Turia Pitt - an Australian mining engineer, athlete, motivational speaker, and author. Known for: Surviving severe burns during an ultramarathon.
S3 Wood with Miss Pham.
S3 Wood are named after Fiona Wood - an English-born Australian plastic surgeon working in Perth, Western Australia. She is the director of the Royal Perth Hospital burns unit and the Western Australia Burns Service.
We have really enjoyed learning about the inspiring Australians our classes are named after and cannot wait to share a compilation of our learning with you via Seesaw.
We have also settled right back into our favourite things like Daily 5, Soundwaves, Life Skills and Sport.
Be sure to connect to your child’s seesaw to receive regular updates on what is happening in their learning.
Guildford West Public School
Email: guildfordw-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: www.guildfordw-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
Location: 23-51 Palmer Street, Guildford West NSW, Australia
Phone: (02) 9632-9942
Facebook: guildfordwestps