Prestons Post
Term 4, Week 5
Principal's Message
Welcome to our Week 5 newsletter and to another week of learning at Prestons Public School.
P&C
Last night we had our P&C meeting which was held via Zoom. Thank you to everyone who attended. At our meeting I provided updates on the following:
- New Deputy Principal appointments, Mrs LLoyd and Mrs Beavis
- Assistant Principal panel, the panel will be interviewing next week for three new Assistant Principals
- Permanent Classroom Teacher panel, the panel interviewed today and the successful applicant will be announced shortly.
I would like to thank our P&C for providing such wonderful and dedicated panel members to assist us in our merit selection process.
Mrs LLoyd presented our wonderful new wellbeing program - Grow Your Mind. Grow Your Mind is a wellbeing program that supports positive mental health. We learned about the parts of the brain and the animals that our children are learning about:
- The Wise Owl - our pre frontal cortex. The wise owl helps us to make good decisions.
- The Guard Dog - our amygdala. The guard dog keeps us safe and we are learning to calm our guard dog when we are scared, frightened, worried, upset or angry.
- The Elephant - our hippocampus. The elephant remembers everything and we are working on remembering the good things to help us learn and stay calm.
- The Sifting Sooty - our reticular activating system (RAS). The sifting sooty helps us to focus. We are learning to focus on one thing at a time and not get distracted by things around us. We set goals and work on achieving our goals.
You may hear your child talking about these animals, it would be great if our families used the same language as us at school.
Sporting Schools
Our after school sporting schools program commenced this week. Thank you to our amazing staff who volunteer their time to supervise this after school program for our students. Our K-2 students attend on Tuesday afternoons and 3-6 on Thursday. All places have been filled.
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to ask your child what they are learning.
Liz Van Der Meulen
Principal
Introducing our Grow Your Mind animals
Dates to Remember
16/11/2020 - Yr 7 Selective HS 2022 Applications Close
18/11/2020 - State of Origin Day
20/11/2020 - Issue 8 Book Club orders due
3/12/2020 - Casula High School Orientation 2020
8/12/2020 - Presentation Day
9/12/2020 - Yr 6 Farewell
16/12/2020 - Last day for students
17/12/2020 - Staff Development Day
18/12/2020 - Staff Development Day
Year 6 Farewell & Graduation Night
Prestons Public School would like to farewell Year 6 students at a special graduation and celebration at the end of Term 4. Details of this significant occasion follow:
DATE: Wednesday 9th December, 2020
VENUE: Prestons Public School Hall
COST: $35
DRESS CODE: Smart casual
TRANSPORT: Private transport to be arranged. Due to COVID Parents will need to drop off and pick up students at Gate 1 (Kiss and Drop Zone). Parents must remain in their vehicle.
PROGRAM:
5:45pm - Arrive at school by car
6:00pm – Farewell commences
6.30pm - Dinner
8.00pm - Graduation live stream on facebook
9.00pm – Pick up commences
Please return the permission note to the office with payment enclosed. If paying online, use the “make a Payment tab”at www.prestons-p.school.nsw.edu.au. Please indicate this on the permission note and include the receipt number. The payment description to use online is Year 6 farewell. Notes and payment should be sent to OFFICE by Wednesday 2nd December, 2020. No late permission will be accepted.
Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
2021 Organisation
If your child is not returning to Prestons Public School in 2021 it is requested that you notify the office in writing advising which school your child will be transferring to.
If your child will be late starting back to school for 2021 due to an extended holiday, please notify the office in writing with the expected return date.
Orientation Day Information for 2020
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
All prospective Casula High School students are welcome to attend and take this opportunity to orient themselves to our school, meet some of our staff and other Year 7 students.
Orientation day will take place on Thursday 3rd December, 2020. Students will be at Casula High School from 9.45am to 1.45pm, engaging in structured activities and meeting many of the important faces that will support their transition into High School.
Families will soon receive and information package with information regarding the high school experience for students and some important forms that need to be completed and returned. Forms can be returned on Orientation Day
The most current version of COVID-19 guidelines do require the following steps to be taken:
- All students attending Orientation Day need to have completed the enrolment form
- Students will be kept within school groups where possible and have strategies in place to avoid large groups of other students
- Students need to arrive and depart promptly on the day. Parents will not be invited into the school on this day.
- Students who are suffering from flu-like symptoms should not be in attendance on the day.
Whilst parents will not be invited to attend for an information session this year, we will create additional resources, including an Orientation Day website. The site will give you all of the necessary information regarding your child's transition into high school and an opportunity to ask questions you may have.
We look forward to meeting you on Orientation Day and welcome you and your child to our school community at Casula High School.
Please contact the school immediately if your circumstances change and you need to alter your enrolment.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Gareth Smith, Principal, Casula High School.
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.
Year 7 Placement in a Selective High School in 2022 (Year 5 Students 2020)
Selective high schools cater for academically gifted students with high potential who may otherwise be without sufficient classmates at their own academic standard. Selective high schools help these students to learn by grouping them with students of similar ability, and by using specialised teaching methods.
Applications for selective high school placement are considered mainly on the basis of the Selective High School Placement Test results and school assessment scores. The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on Thursday 11 March 2021.
If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2022, you need to apply on the internet using a valid email address (not the student’s email address).
Detailed instructions on how to apply online are available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7.
The application website opens at that link on 13 October 2020 and closes on 16 November 2020. You must apply before the closing date.
There are no paper application forms. If you do not have internet access, you could apply at a public library. If you have a disability that prevents you from using a computer, you can contact the Team for assistance after 13 October 2020 on 1300 880 367.
TO APPLY YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER AND THEN APPLY THROUGH THE HIGH PERFORMING STUDENTS WEBSITE:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes
You must submit only ONE application for each student.
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.
Spotlight on Learning
Spotlight on Learning
Classroom Chat with 3 Jellyfish
For Literacy, we are learning to write a persuasive text with high modality words. The students have been very convincing when explaining their reasons for their topics. For Maths, we have been learning to apply mental strategies to help us solve all operations. As part of the 'Grow your mind' program, we have been learning about the parts of our brain and the things we can do to keep our brain and mind healthy. 3 Jellyfish have been working collaboratively to share strategies to keep them happy, calm and ready for learning in the classroom.
Classroom Chat with 2 Leopards
Term 4 has definitely been flying by! 2 Leopards have been extremely busy getting ready for year 3 and have been producing quality work. We have been busy focusing on our learning goals in all areas of our learning and have been pushing ourselves to achieve them. We celebrate all of our successes with our classmates and are always up for a challenge. In maths, we have been busy learning a range of strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems, as well using inverse operations with a different strategy to check our answers. 2 Leopards have had fun making their Stop Motion videos where they recreated ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. As we look back over the course of a year, I can see the growth and confidence that each class member has made. We have had a ball joining with 2 Monkeys all year and have become one big, supportive family and together we have become 2 Leokeys. We have danced, laughed, learnt, taken risks and grown into such beautiful, caring, kind and considerate people. We have enjoyed learning in our amazing new classrooms and have taken ownership of our learning, to become lifelong, independent learners. I couldn’t be prouder to be the teacher of such an amazing group of students and have had the most enjoyable year with you all!
PBL Focus Speak nicely to each other
Thank you to all the PBL token recipients that demonstrated the PBL focus “Speak nicely to each other”. Congratulations to the award winners who received a Star Award from their stage draw.
Kindergarten : Brandan
Year 1: Isaac
Year 2: Luka
Year 3: Mohammad S
Year 4: Ray Jabakhanji
Year 5: Ashley
Year 6: Ryan
School Travel 2021
2021 school travel applications are now open
Applications for student travel in 2021 opened on Monday 12 October 2020.
Students who require a School Opal card or travel pass for 2021 can now apply online. A new application should be submitted if a student is applying for a school travel pass for the first time or requesting an additional pass as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (e.g. joint custody).
Students who have changed school/campus, changed address, repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for their school travel entitlement should re-apply or update their details.
*Applications must be completed by the student's parent or legal guardian if the student is aged under 16 years. Students 16 years and over must complete the application form themselves.
Where there is a change of distance eligibility based on a student’s grade, the system will automatically update a student’s entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, they will receive an expiry notification via email.
Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.
Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.
If a student needs to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails
Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2020 to ensure that current student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card remains valid. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2020, the system will automatically cancel an entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.
Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2021.
Students residing in Rural and Regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the commencement of the new school year from their nominated operator, this may be distributed via the school or sent direct to their address. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/Parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.