Toongabbie West Public School
Term 1, Week 4 2024
Term 1 Calendar
2024
Meet the Teacher - 20 February
Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) 3:30pm - 4pm and Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) 4pm - 4:30 pm
Meet the Teacher - 21 February
Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) 3:30pm - 4pm and Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6) 4pm - 4:30 pm
School Photo day- Wednesday 6 March
Zone Swimming Carnival - 7 March
NAPLAN - Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March
Easter Hat Parade - Thursday 28 March
P&C Easter Raffle draw - Thursday 28 March
Easter Friday - Friday 29 March
Easter Monday - Monday 1 April
Last day of Term 1 - Friday 12 April
Principal Report
Uniforms
Uniforms give students a sense of belonging and enhance pride in our school. Wearing a uniform builds a sense of community. It is pleasing to see the students wearing full school uniform with the school emblem and expect it to continue throughout the year.
Thank you to all our parents/carers for your support in ensuring your child wears their Toongabbie West PS uniform every day.
Our Summer uniform for the girls consists of:
- Summer dress
- White socks that are above the ankle
- Black shoes
- School bottle green hat
- School bottle green jumper or jacket (for the cooler days)
Our Summer uniform for the boys consists of:
- School white short sleeve polo top
- Bottle green shorts
- White socks that are above the ankle
- Black shoes
- School bottle green hat
- School bottle green jumper or jacket (for the cooler days)
Sport Uniform for both boys and girls on Fridays consists of:
- House coloured sport polo top (red, blue or yellow)
- Sport shorts with the white piping on the side (these shorts to be worn on Fridays only)
- White socks that are above the ankle
- Sport shoes
Please make sure hats and jackets are clearly labelled with your child’s full name.
A huge thank you to the P&C for their effort and time they put in weekly for our school’s uniform shop. I know this is appreciated by all our parents/carers.
NAPLAN INFORMATION
This year, NAPLAN dates are from 13 March to 25 March, 2024. Parents/carers can go to the NAP website www.nap.edu.au/naplan for further information regarding the tests.
I have included in this newsletter a NAPLAN parent information brochure and an infographic for useful information on NAPLAN tests and benefits.
Healthy Lifestyle
Toongabbie West Public School encourages a healthy lifestyles that includes:
• Crunch & Sip – piece of fresh fruit or vegetable and water
• Recess & Lunch - healthy food, snacks, and water
• Physical Activity – daily
• Wear a hat in the sun during recess, lunchtime and sport
Extended Leave
Under the Department’s Student Attendance procedures, to ensure your child’s leave is not counted as an absence, family holidays and travel are encouraged to be considered during the school holidays. I understand that in some cases this is not possible due to family situations. Please ensure you complete an Extended Leave form (from the school office) for Principal approval prior to your travels.
Attendance
Regular attendance at school for every student is very important for students to achieve their potential.
The importance of arriving at school and class on time:
• Ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
• Helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
• Give students time to greet their friends before class
• Reduces classroom disruption
Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents/carers.
On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:
• being sick, or having an infectious disease
• having an unavoidable medical appointment
• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
• exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g. attending a funeral)
Following an absence from school, you will receive an SMS to provide an explanation for the absence. Please reply to the SMS to justify your child’s attendance.
For further information, please visit: https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/student-wellbeing/attendance-behaviour-and-engagement/media/documents/attendance/attendance_parents.pdf
PBL – Positive Behaviour for Learning
At Toongabbie West Public School, we use a whole school Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) system to encourage positive behaviour in all aspects of schooling. PBL is an evidence-based approach, providing a framework to assist schools to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for all students.
Our PBL school rules are Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Resilient.
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Toongabbie West Public School Facebook page
Our school’s official Facebook page is set up by the NSW Department of Education. The school’s Facebook page is to facilitate and enhance communication, learning and connections with the school community.
Toongabbie West Public School’s official Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ToongabbieWestPS
Our main form of communication to all parents/carers remains via School Bytes. Please ensure that you have updated your contact details to receive all our communication.
Wonderful Work By The Students
It is my absolute pleasure to see students achieving their learning goals.
I love having them visit me in my office.
Look at the amazing work that the students have shared with me this fortnight.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any matters that you may wish to discuss regarding your child’s learning or wellbeing, by either calling the school office on 9631 3610 or emailing me at wendy.kayello@det.nsw.edu.au
Wendy Kayello
Principal
2024 Swimming Carnival
On Tuesday 6th February, a group of swimmers went with Ms Katz to join Toongabbie PS in their 2024 swimming carnival at Wentworthville Aquatic Centre. It was fun day for all, especially when we got to go in the pool. Everyone tried there best and swam the full length of the pool. We were all proud of ourselves and Ms Katz was proud of us as well. We met up with some of our friends who go to Toongabbie which was a lot of fun.
By Raam 5/6K
The swimming carnival was absolutely amazing, I’m so happy that I signed up for it. We made up cheers and dances to support each other as we swam. This year there were eight of us; Blake, Paula, Clemencio, Elizabeth, Shiva, Samaia, Raam and myself, Evie. Overall, the carnival was a really great day and I look forward to finding out our results.
By Evie 5/6N
3/4K
3/4K kicked off the new school year with a burst of energy and a genuine love for learning! In particular, 3/4K have demonstrated exceptional effort in our Creative Arts unit where we have been learning about different artists and exploring their lives to better understand their work and what makes it special.
This week, we have been exploring Pete Cromer, a contemporary Australian artist based in the Colac Otway region of Victoria. Inspired by the optimistic personalities of Australian wildlife, Pete’s work is renowned for his signature bursts of glowing colour and beautiful textures, all reflected in his bold collages, paintings and sculptures.
Here are our mini artists holding up their Pete Cromer inspired budgies loud and proud!
School Bytes finance and Parent Portal
Toongabbie West Public School uses the School Bytes finance and parent portal system, we need you to create a School Bytes account.
To access our new School Bytes Parent Portal, please Create a New Account for the Parent Portal via the following link: https://portal.schoolbytes.education
Once you have completed the account you will be able to see your statement of account, payment history and activities your child is participating in or needs permission for.
The Parent App is also available on your phone, please click on the link below:
· App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/school-bytes/id6463097826
· Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=education.schoolbytes
Emails are sent from noreply@mail.schoolbytes.education. If you are not receiving these emails, please check your spam/junk mail folder and add the email address to your safe senders list.
Both parents can access the account linked to their child. If you have children at other schools and that school uses School Bytes, you will be able to see all your children linked from both schools.
If you are having any difficulty with this process, please don't hesitate to call the School Office on 02 96313610. We will organise a code to link you to your child.
Hello from the School Chaplain
Welcome to all our new parents this year, especially if you have children just starting Kindy. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with them, ensuring they are happy, making friends and having fun in their new school environment. It’s been great to see our children settling in so well to their classes this year, particularly our fantastic Kindergarten students!
However, for some children (and parents!), separating from each other can be challenging. Some children may still be finding it hard to separate and say goodbye in the mornings, as the everyday realities set in.
As parents, it is important that we remain calm, happy and relaxed about their school day (even when we actually feel nervous and like crying ourselves!). Here are some tips that may be helpful towards separating well. They are adapted from the Kids Matter and Raising Children network links (see below) – both excellent resources:
Always clearly say “goodbye”, even if you must go while your child is upset. This builds trust. Sneaking out or trying to get away may make a child feel that you can't be trusted. Once you have said "goodbye", try not to drag out your departure as this is unlikely to be helpful.
· It’s like taking off a band-aid – do it calmly and QUICKLY!😊
· Show that you understand their feelings before or after school, but limit this discussion when you’re at the point of saying goodbye.
· Make the morning fun, talk calmly about things other than school, and have some laughs. Try not to make it a rushed, sad and serious experience. Get up 15 minutes earlier and have a race to get dressed, tell jokes on the way to school, and play music together in the car to lighten the mood.
· Perhaps let the child mind something of yours (such as a hankie or hair tie), to give back to you in the afternoon.
· Reassure them that you will be coming back, when and where, and then make sure you’re there on time! Tell them this in ways they can understand, e.g. "After lunchtime activities, when the home time bell rings etc…”
· Sometimes if children are finding it hard to be away from parents during the day, they seem to want to make up time in the afternoon and evening. Try to give them extra time with you, without too many after-school activities.
· If you are feeling distressed during the day and worried about your child, always feel free to ring the school and check how they’re going – most of the time your child has forgotten the difficult separation settled down, and is happily running around with their friends!
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/separation_anxiety.html
I look forward to meeting you as your school chaplain and to connecting with you. We have organised a Morning Tea on Friday 22nd March from 9:00-9:30 am in the school hall. Please come and say hi or chat if you have any questions. I would love to see you there.
I am available on Thursdays/ Fridays at school and appointments can be made through the office.
Kind regards,
Agnes Anandaraj
P&C NEWSLETTER
CANTEEN NEWS…
Due to a decline in the number of volunteers available, the canteen will only be open on Mondays and Wednesdays for Term 1, 2024. If you are able to spare anytime between the hours of 9am-12pm on Fridays, please contact us via email. If we can increase volunteer numbers we may be able to re-open in Terms 2-4, otherwise we will have to make permanent changes to the canteen operating hours.
A reminder that while we are still waiting for our entrance door to be replaced students are to be lined up in one straight line on the right hand side and wait at the top of the stairs at the exit door to be called over to the counter and be served.
PBL and school rules must be followed in the canteen at all times.
We have had to make some price changes this year and our over the counter special treat cookies will now be .70c with a limit of 1 cookie per person per day.
Our updated price list can be found here- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NHUh5DTp18AHognRwMnHQlofKLj0OVMIglhyorQF40Q/edit
UNIFORM SHOP…
The uniform shop will be open on Thursday mornings 8:45-9:00 am.
From January 1st 2024 there will be a price increase.
Our new uniform shop price list can be found here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zb_81AdXmddCRvL7AwRIfmnL5rs0tsG/view?usp=drivesdk
Second hand or preloved donations are always welcome. Please drop any items you wish to donate to the uniform shop on Thursday morning or to the canteen on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Need to get in touch with the P&C?
Contact us via Facebook @ Toongabbie West Public School P&C | Sydney NSW | Facebook
OR Email us @ twpandc@gmail.com