Guildford West Public School
NEWSLETTER - 2024, Term 1, Week 6
Great News
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a great and busy start to 2024 here at GWPS, which you will read about in each of the stage newsletter articles. I have some exciting news to share with you all, that Guildford West Public School has been selected for one of 100 new public preschools in NSW. It is expected that the new preschool will open by 2027, pending building and regulatory approvals.
Our school was considered for a new public preschool based on; child development and socioeconomic data, projected demand for preschool, an infrastructure analysis and valuable insights gained through local feedback. The department made decisions through a clear process with independent oversight.
A high-quality early childhood education helps give children the best start in life by providing important opportunities to learn and develop. Research shows a positive transition to school is important for a child’s long-term academic, social and wellbeing outcomes. Having a public preschool on our school site will help children prepare for this change and help our school staff to support the individual needs of children as they move from the preschool to the Kindergarten classroom.
This is a long-term project, with the preschool due to be built by 2027, and we will provide further information as the project progresses.
For more information, please visit the department’s website
Everyone deserves to feel safe at school
Dear Parents and Carers,
This term, you will notice new posters around the school that aim to help support a safe and respectful culture at our school.
These posters are part of an initiative to remind everybody to treat our hard-working school staff with kindness and respect. Every school community around the state is very different. While most schools are respectful and harmonious, violence and unsafe behaviour in any form is not acceptable in schools. School staff and students have the right to learn and work in safe and respectful learning environments.
With that in mind, I encourage you to join everyone at our school in getting behind this important work to make a positive change.
We value our partnerships with you to support our students to learn, grow, and belong. It is up to us – the school and the parent-body - to be good respectful role models to our students. Together, we can create a safe and harmonious environment for our students and staff.
I hope you will support this initiative. What do you need to do? It is easy: Please treat our students and staff with kindness and respect, at all times. We are here to help you.
I invite you to contact me if you have any questions.
Kind regards
Ms Kerry Weston
Making communication easier, timely and orgnaising your calendar
We know you are all busy and trying to remember to organise what is on at school, notes to sign, things to bring, upcoming events.
To make this easer we are linking with a new APP that will do all of this.
How:
Follow the instructions on this sheet below.
Support Unit News
The Support Unit has had a very calm and exciting start to 2024. Students have been busy settling into their new classes, learning new routines and building relationships with their new peers.
S Hay, S Tamworth, S Katoomba and S Newcastle students have all been busy engaging in a range of learning experiences in the classroom, including phonics games and activities, team-building challenges and holiday recounts and writing. All classes have also enjoyed getting outside and exploring our school environment to play team games, practising fundamental movement skills, visiting the chickens and engaging our senses in the multi-sensory room.
Early Stage 1 News
Kindergarten has had an amazing start to the school year! We would like to thank our parents and caregivers for supporting us in the smooth transition to school for our Kindy students. Students are settling in their classes and learning the class and school routines.
Our Kindergarten students have been busy practising early writing skills and developing their fine motor skills. Early writing activities include practising handwriting and writing their own names, responding to texts or songs by drawing pictures about themselves and attempting to label and write sentences about their illustrations.
Kindergarten students have been enjoying gymnastics lessons while developing their fundamental movement skills and basic stretching exercises.
Stage 1 News
What a busy and great start to the term! To begin the term, students in Stage 1 visited our new school mural and learnt about the significance and purpose of Acknowledgement of Country. Classes across Stage 1 have now embedded the Acknowledgment of Country in our daily routines and some Stage 1 classes have created their own Acknowledgement of Country. S1 Orange also created a gecko artwork inspired by the mural which symbolises patience and adaptability.
We are also learning about the importance of accepting ourselves and celebrating our ‘uniqueness’. Our literacy lessons focused on students describing characters in different texts using descriptive language such as adjectives. Our creative art lessons have also focused on being unique where students learnt how to create self-portraits and include things that make them different from others. It has been great seeing students learning to embrace who they are!
Stage 2 News
Stage 2 have had a fantastic start to the year! Welcoming our students to Stage 2 are Ms Todesco (Assistant Principal), Mrs Yousif, Mr Kay, Miss Pham and Miss Bui.
This term, Stage 2 students have been exploring numbers and place value in mathematics. They have been learning to share their reasoning in number talks and use manipulatives to deepen their understanding. Students have enjoyed applying their learnt knowledge to solve addition and subtraction problems.
Students in Stage 2 have also enjoyed participating in Physical Education and Health and Personal Development lessons this term. They have been learning to build relationships with others by showing empathy, respect and kindness. Students have been practising these values through class games such as silent ball and knots. In our Life Skills Go lessons with Ms Mandy, they have also been playing the tongue drums while meditating. This has been something students look forward to every week!
Stage 3 News
Stage 3 have had a great start to 2024! The teachers of Stage 3 and our Assistant Principal, Ms Todesco, welcome the families of our students to the year!
Students in Stage 3 have delved into the history of Australian colonies in the 1800s. They have been learning about what life was like for different groups in the colonial period. Students have started to examine significant events and people, political and economic developments, social structures and settlement patterns. This opportunity has provided students with a deeper understanding of our rich history in Australia.
Year 5 and 6 students have been participating in Lifeskills Go with our weekly visitor Ms Mandy. During our workshops, students explore different values such as kindness and empathy and learn how they assist when interacting with others. In addition to this, students have been deepening their understanding of the brain and how being aware of the different parts can support our wellbeing.
PBL
Guildford West Public School is a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) school. This is a framework which aims to promote a whole-school approach to wellbeing. PBL uses
the establishment of clear behaviour expectations
explicit teaching of those behaviours and positive reinforcement for demonstrating the expected behaviours.
our four core On Track values of being safe, respectful, responsible and active learners.
Awarding points
At 2:45pm every day, PBL daily points are awarded to students:
being safe, respectful, responsible and active learners throughout the day.
who are present at school that day.
Wrist bands
At the end of each term, students who have received 80% or more of their daily PBL points, will receive an ‘On Track Wristband’. Parents will be notified by class teachers at the end of every term whether a wristband has been achieved for that term.
On Track Badge
In order for a student to receive their ‘On Track Badge’ at the end of the year, they must receive all four On Track Wristbands throughout the year.
When a student has earned two badges they are awarded a PBL Bronze Badge, a further two badges results in a PBL Silver Badge, and a further two badges results in a PBL Gold Badge.
An ‘On Track Rewards Day’ is held at the end of each year for students who have demonstrated consistent On Track behaviour.
Swim Scheme 2024
Over the last week, selected students across 3-6 and support unit had the opportunity to participate in our School Swimming Scheme at Guildford Pools.
The NSW Department of Education School Swimming Scheme is an intensive learn to swim program, which develops water confidence and provides students with basic skills in water safety and survival. Our students displayed respect, confidence and perseverance in their ability groups each day.
Parramatta Eels Visit
On Tuesday the 13th of February, players from the Parramatta Eels arrived at our school to do a brief training session with some of our students as a part of the Parra Schools Blitz campaign. Students from stage 2 and stage 3 were able to take part in some really rigorous training drills alongside Joe Ofahengaue and Ky Rodwell. The students really appreciated the opportunity to train with these players, as well as the chance for some questions and prizes at the end of the visit. The Parra Eels were also kind enough to present a jersey at the end of the day that will be mounted and displayed in the school.
Working together for student attendance and to maximise learning
We want to do all we can to be sure your child achieves their potential and enjoys being in school.
We know that school is the best place to learn. By attending school every day your child will get the most out of their learning and improve their career and life options.
When your child is absent it is important you let the school know, including the reason why, on the day or the day before. This helps make sure we know where our students are and offer support for you and your family if needed.
If you are having trouble getting your child to school every day or on time, please talk to our school staff so we can work together, because every day counts.
Missing a day here or there may not seem like much, but absences add up and can negatively impact your child’s learning and wellbeing. When your child misses one day per fortnight, that's 4 weeks of missed learning in one year. Over an entire school journey this adds up to 1 year of lost learning.
COVID-19 is still circulating in the community. We can all minimise the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases by maintaining good hygiene practices at home and school.
Please contact the school if your child needs to miss school for any reason, so we can plan continued support for your child’s learning and wellbeing.
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