28 February 2023

• Principal's Report
• NAPLAN 2023

• 'Unlocking the Code' the new approach to reading

• General Assistants casual work available
  

• Library News & Premier’s Reading Challenge 2023
• Moments in Maths
• Ethics Teachers Needed At Woonona Public School
• WHSPA Year 7 Audition Applications OPEN now for 2024
  
• MindQuest 2023
  
• 2022/2023 NSW term and vacation dates
  
• Canteen and uniform shop
  
• Community News
• Contact Us

Woonona Public School held its Induction Ceremony on Thursday 23 February. It was an opportunity to unveil the student leaders for 2023, comprising of our School Captains, Vice Captains, Prefects, House Captains and Student Representative Council.

Such an event allows us all as a community to reflect on the values of leadership and the roles our student leaders play within the school. I challenge the leaders of 2023 to be the best they can be and to take all opportunities that come their way. I am confident that when this school year comes to a close, our leaders will be able to look back on their time and reflect on the role they have played and the positive changes they have been able to create.

This week, students are learning how to greet others respectfully.

Teachers are focusing on the following skills:

- Make eye contact and smile.

- Say Hi / Hello and you can say the person’s name if you know it.

- Keep walking if it is not an appropriate time or place to have a conversation.

In Week 7, students will be learning about how to politely get the attention of others.

Teachers will focus on the following skills:

- Decide if it is appropriate to interrupt.

- Walk to the person and wait.

- Say “Excuse me”, then ask what you need to ask.

We encourage families to be discussing these skills at home, to reinforce valuable learning that will assist your child as they are exposed to new and different social situations.

Week 6 – Greeting Others

Week 7 – Politely getting the attention of others

Week 8 – Sharing

Week 9 – Following Directions

Week 10 – Asking for Help

Week 11 – Saying Thank You

Our School Swimming team competed at the District Swimming Carnival last Tuesday and I congratulate all students for their effort on the day. We had some wonderful results, with all students being excellent representatives of Woonona Public School. Thank you to Mr Arrighi and Mr Heffernan who organised the team and attended on the day. Thank you also to the many parents who assisted on the day!

A special congratulations to Zoe, Manoa and Jimmy who were outstanding on the day, collecting ‘age champions’ of the carnival – an amazing achievement! In addition, Zoe actually broke two district records in the 100m and 50m freestyle. Congratulations, Zoe!

With so many outstanding results, it was no surprise that we were announced as the winning school of the carnival. This trophy has been presented for 25 years and our school had never won the trophy. It is a true team effort to achieve this recognition and I congratulate our whole swim team on this achievement.

I would also like to wish a large contingent of students all the best. Many students will head off to the Regional Swimming Carnival on Friday, 10 March where they will compete against the best swimmers in the whole of the South Coast. Good luck!

Next Tuesday, I will head to Sydney with 12 of our school leaders for the Halogen Young Leaders Conference. This conference is an annual highlight for our leaders (and for me!) as we listen to speakers from a diverse range of experiences, share their journey and what they have learnt along the way. Speakers this year include His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley, Nazeem Hussain, Caitlin Bassett, Dr Jordan Nguyen and Chris Green. It will no doubt be a great day for reflection and inspiration for all who attend.

Our next meeting falls on Wednesday, 8 March at 6:30pm and just happens to be our P&C AGM where all positions on the P&C executive will be declared vacant. I encourage those parents thinking about taking on a leadership role on the P&C for 2023-2024 to do so with excitement.

I firmly believe that a productive, positive working relationship between a school and its P&C enhances a school in so many ways. The 2022-2023 P&C executive has done a wonderful job and I look forward to working with a new executive in 2023 and beyond.

This Wednesday (Stage 2 and 3) and Friday (Kindergarten and Stage 1), all teaching staff will spend half a day with their colleagues looking at data and planning for learning. These days are highly valued by our staff, and sets teachers and their classes up for success, as they prepare for upcoming learning opportunities

We are very excited to announce that 2023 will see the return of choir opportunities for students 3-6. Meetings will occur this week – Wednesday for Stage 2 students and Thursday for Stage 3 students, for those interested in what choir will look like this year. We encourage families to speak with their child about this opportunity and look forward to what we can offer our students in 2023.

This Friday is Clean Up Australia Day. Information will be sent out regarding the day, with all students K-6 involved in learning about the importance of this annual event. We ask families to provide your child with a pair of gloves for this Friday, with all students having an opportunity to spend some time in our school grounds, picking up rubbish.

Next Monday at 6:30pm, we have an exciting opportunity for our school community to come together to learn more about unlocking the code to reading. This night has been carefully designed, to assist our community in understanding, as the way in which staff teach reading has shifted this year. If we can share our learning with families, we know this will highly benefit our students and we highly encourage our families to make the time to attend this valuable session.

Register here: https://forms.gle/HhV73izrrn9EBMx49

Our school Cross Country Carnival is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 14 March, with students in Years 2-6 to attend Hollymount Park. Notes for the Cross Country Carnival are going out today on Sentral Parent Portal. Students are encouraged to wear their sports house colours on this day. Students in K-1 will remain at school and have their planned Cross Country organised for early Term 2.

We will again be conducting parent/teacher interviews at the conclusion of Term 1, 2023. These important meetings ensure the lines of communication between school and home are opened early and are spread more consistently across the whole school year. More information, regarding interview times, will become available in the coming weeks, with interviews planned for Tuesday 4 April, Week 11.

A reminder that NAPLAN commences in a little over 2 weeks and runs from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March 2023. All students in Years 3 and 5 will complete the writing assessment on Wednesday 15. They will then sit the reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy assessments in the days that follow. All assessments will be conducted online in our two computer labs, except for Year 3 writing, which will be paper-based and conducted in classrooms.

It is important that your child attends school during the testing window. If your child is unwell on a day of testing, we will do our best to arrange for an alternative session. However, all tests must be completed within this 9-day test window.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of our school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ progress. You can support your child by reiterating the message we are giving at school; that students are just expected to do their best and that this test is only one tool in amongst many others that teachers use to make decisions regarding next steps in learning.

Students have had the opportunity to complete practise questions on the NAPLAN platform at school. Parents and students may also wish to visit the public demonstration site (below), to view the types of questions students will answer: Public Demonstration Site

For further information, visit: https://nap.edu.au/ or please contact Rachel Brown through the office.

Rachel Brown

Relieving Deputy Principal

Local schools are looking at employing people to work casually in the role of a General Assistant at their schools.

General Assistants perform a range of tasks relating to the routine maintenance and upkeep of a Departmental school/grounds.

If you are interested or would like to know more details, please contact Karina Curry on 4284 4316 or email woonona-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Lunchtimes in the library have been very busy this term with students making use of the quiet activities and games available for use. Students have been enjoying card games, chess, origami, reading and a variety of other quiet play activities.

The 2023 Library monitors have been chosen for the year. We have a great group of enthusiastic Stage 3 students who have been willing to volunteer half their recess or lunchtimes to help in the Library. Library monitors have participated in lunchtime training sessions and are now helping in the Library on a weekly roster.

Weekly borrowing has begun for all students in K-6 classes. Please remember that K-2 students need to have a library bag to borrow a book each week. Many students are forgetting their library bags each week, particularly those classes on a Monday. Please help students to remember to return their books each week. Weekly borrowing is part of student’s library lessons. Students are encouraged to store their library books in their school bags after reading each night, so they always have their books ready to return to the Library.

The Term 1 Library timetable and class Library days are:

Monday

KB 3/4R 3/4S 3/4L 2B 2C 2L 3/4B

Tuesday

5/6A 5/6H 5/6P 5/6L 5/6N 1C 5/6M 5/6T

Wednesday

1B 3/4M 3/4A KG KS 1S

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Mrs Carroll

Librarian

The NSW Premier’s Reading challenge has officially begun. All students at Woonona Public School are participating in the challenge as part of their Library lesson.

The reading requirements are:

Years K-2: 25 PRC books and 5 Personal Choice books. (This will be completed as a class with their teacher)

Years 3-6: 15 PRC books and 5 Personal Choice books.

Access further information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, including the rules, book lists and PRC numbers can be accessed via this website

It has been a hive of activity in all classes as we dive deeper into our maths journey for 2023! Kinder students have been continuing to learn all about numbers and how to quickly recognise numbers on a dice. Year 1 and 2 have been brushing up on their addition and subtraction strategies, learning how to skip count on a number line. Year 3 and 4 students have been busy measuring and converting units, whilst still practising those all important addition and subtraction strategies. Years 5 and 6 have also been measuring everything in sight, paying special attention to recording decimal places when measuring.

Primary Ethics was started in 2010 to offer NSW primary school students philosophical ethics as an alternative to attending non-scripture classes. Ethics classes are now offered in 500 schools around the state, all taught by volunteers. Classes teach children how to think logically, disagree respectfully, support arguments with evidence and think about decisions that affect them and people around them.

The program has been very successful at Woonona Public School with all year groups having Ethics classes from Kindy to Year 6, teaching more than 100 students. Due to increasing demand each year, new volunteer teachers are always needed. We are looking for new Ethics teachers who will be able to commit to 30 minutes or 60 minutes of teaching each Wednesday morning (during term time) in 2023. Woonona’s ethics teachers include school parents, grandparents and local community members.

It's a great way to be part of the school community and do something enjoyable and meaningful. You don't need previous experience teaching or working with children as all ethics teachers are fully trained to deliver the highly structured, age-appropriate Primary Ethics curriculum.

If you're interested in becoming an ethics teacher, or if you know anyone that might be interested, please get in touch, or go to www.primaryethics.com.au to learn more. Alternatively feel free to contact Kate Quinlivan on kateq@qulture.com.au or 0432 385 450 if you have any questions.

Click above image for further information.

This enrichment initiative is open once again for all students interested in attending. The program is very similar to the Learning Labs offered by Wollongong University and designed to challenge gifted and high potential students. Held at St George Girls High School on the weekend of 1 and 2 of April, students have the opportunity to participate in over 33 exciting, fast paced courses in the areas of chemistry, earth sciences, drama, LEGO robotics, art and many more. The cost of the weekend is $240. The closing date for bookings is Friday 10 March. If you or your child are interested in finding out more information, please contact Mrs Brown.

Onsite uniform shop closed until further notice.

Online orders can be placed on the QuickCliq website

Please be aware that there are students in our school with allergies to nuts. We ask that you give consideration to voluntarily agreeing not to send nut products, in particular peanuts and peanut butter to school.

Click above image for further information.

Click above image for further information.