Prestons Post
Term 4, Week 3
Principal's Message
Welcome to our Week 3 newsletter. We have had another busy week of learning. I was super proud to speak with our Stage 1 students who excitedly told me that they had moved up in their spelling list. I love it when our students set themselves learning goals and then work towards achieving them.
Kindergarten Transition
Last Friday we had the great pleasure of meeting our wonderful Kindergarten students for 2021. They were so grown up and brave and we didn't have any tears. We are looking forward to seeing them all again this Friday.
Fun times at Prestons
Last week students at Prestons experienced a fantastic reading incursion. We had authors from Russ the Bus visit our school to read stories and talk to us about being authors. All students will soon be receiving a free book from Russ the Bus. We are so proud of our students and the polite and respectful behaviour they showed. The visiting authors were so impressed and said that our students were among the best that they had ever worked with. Thank you Prestons for making me so proud.
Drop of and Pick up Arrangements
Thank you for all of the parents who support us by using the Kiss and Ride zone. Please remember that these zones operate under the same conditions as no parking zones, which means you must stop to drop off or pick up your child for a maximum of 2 minutes. You are required to remain in, or within 3 metres of, your vehicle. We did have parking rangers come this week and would hate for our families to receive a fine for not complying with these rules.
Public Speaking
Congratulations to our amazing public speakers. We are very impressed with the confident way that our students have presented their speeches.
Wellbeing
We are excited to introduce our new whole school wellbeing program, Grow Your Mind. All classes are learning about brain science and self regulation. Mrs Lloyd and her amazing Grow Your Mind team will be presenting an overview of this program to our families at next weeks P&C meeting. A link to our Zoom P&C meeting is below.
P&C Meeting
Our next P&C meeting will be held next Tuesday 10 November at 6.30pm. We have a vacant Vice President position which will be filled at this meeting. A special presentation of our new wellbeing program will also take place and we will be consulting with our school community about our whole school evaluation process. We would love to see many new faces so please join us.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/65969682867?pwd=RWFsRS9qQzNsYm9HemVqUlYwVjQ1dz09
Meeting ID: 659 6968 2867
Passcode: 872785
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to ask your child what they are learning.
Liz Van Der Meulen
Principal
Dates to Remember
30/10/2020 - Kindergarten 2021 Transition - Enrolled Students Only
6/11/2020 - Kindergarten 2021 Transition - Enrolled Students Only
8-15/11/2020 - NAIDOC Week
16/11/2020 - Yr 7 Selective HS 2022 Applications Close
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
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.
Summer PSSA Refunds
All refunds must be processed by the end of this week, Friday 30th October 2020 and will only be processed between 10am & 1pm.
Please complete the form that was sent home with the parent / guardian name and signature and bring this form with you on the day your refund is to be processed.
If you require any further information please contact the office.
Year 6 Farewell - Save the Date
More information will be sent home soon.
Bushlands Nature Play Program
Prestons Public School has a beautiful natural resource in the bushlands playground area giving students the opportunity to develop an appreciation for their outdoor environment as they explore their senses and connect to their world.
Playing in the outdoors supports student wellbeing and fosters growth with resilience, self-confidence, initiative, and creativity. It encourages the joy of movement, nurtures wild imaginations, experimentation, friendships and social connections.
This term in bushlands, students have weekly challenges to encourage their engagement in nature play. Additional natural resources were added to encourage students to explore and decorate designs in their mandala. Students have also accepted the challenge to make a ‘gunyah’ which is temporary shelter made by Indigenous Australians.
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.
Kindergarten Transition 2021 - Enrolled Students Only
Due to recent changes in NSW Health restrictions, we are now able to hold a Kindergarten Transition program, to be implemented with COVID-safe restrictions and guidelines.
This program is only available to students who have enrolled for Kindergarten 2021 at Prestons PS.
This program will take place in Term 4 from 9:20am -11:00am on:
Friday 30th October
Friday 6th November
Our transition program is an important opportunity for your child to become familiar with our kindergarten environment, meet other children who will be in their year group and to experience some of the routines of school. It is also an opportunity for the kindergarten teachers to meet your child and begin to plan for their learning needs for 2021.
Unfortunately, we are not able to have parents and carers remain on school grounds for the Transition Program. You will need to drop and collect your child according to the following times:
surname begins with the letters A to M – drop off between 9:20 and 9:30am and collect between 10:40 and 10:50am.
surname begins with the letters N to Z- drop-off between 9:30 and 9:40am and collect between 10:50 and 11:00am.
These staggered entry and exit times will help us ensure safe social distancing requirements. We ask that you maintain a 1.5 metre distance from others at all times.
If you have a child who is eligible to enrol for Kindergarten 2021 at Prestons PS please ensure you have completed their enrolment application so they can attend this important program.
If you have any further enquiries, please contact our school office on 9602 7435 or check our facebook page.
Classroom Chat with 3 Dolphins
Three Dolphins have had an amazing semester full of creative learning and fun. We have been lucky enough to have Mr Lucic visit us to show us some amazing ways to use technology when we are doing STEM lessons.
In week two of this term we had book week and celebrated by dressing up as our favourite book characters. We also completed some amazing STEM activities using the Stop Motion app that Mr Lucic had shown us how to use.
We started by choosing our favourite book and created a plan on how we would execute our stop motion video. We then made props using cardboard boxes and Lego. Next we took lots of photos, moving our characters very slowly. When we put all the photos together it looked like our characters were moving!
Classroom Chat with 2 Elephants
2 Elephants absolutely loved sharing their favourite books with one another for the Book Character Parade. We have been learning all about imaginative texts and have been very busy creating some Spooky Stories for Halloween this week!
Elephants have become experts in the area of Technology and have used this knowledge to create difficult mazes for BeeBots and Ooshies to travel through. We extended our learning to transform our mazes into stop motions!
We have also been learning all about how to live sustainably and have recently taken up a gardening experiment to determine the best environments for a variety of plants to live in. We built our own greenhouses, selected our own seeds from our ‘Plant a Seed’ station and have been taking care of our plants all term! So far, the best environments for all of our seedlings are in Prestons Patch! We absolutely cannot wait to harvest some of our school grown vegetables.
PBL Wear your hat
Thank you to all the PBL token recipients that demonstrated the PBL focus “Wear your hat” Congratulations to the award winners who received a Star Award from their stage draw.
Kindergarten: Rachel
Year 1: Enayet
Year 2: Mohamed
Year 3: Kelsey
Year 4 : Jeminsly
Year 5/6 : Saif and Karam
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.