Wassup Woonona
Newsletter 31 March 2021
Please view more photos further down in this newsletter.
Woonona Public School
Email: woonona-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: https://woonona-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/
Location: 5a Gray Street, Woonona NSW, Australia
Phone: (02) 42844316
Principal's Corner
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
As this will be the last newsletter for Term 1, I would like to congratulate everyone on a wonderful first term in 2021. It is hard to believe that we are now almost at the end of 10 weeks of learning! Can I especially congratulate our Kindergarten students who, at the end of this week, will have completed their first term of schooling. What a wonderful job they have done in settling into primary school!
It certainly has been a very settled and happy start to the year, which has been reflected in the positive vibe and feel in the school. As a school community, in such a ongoing complex time, this can only be achieved if we are all “Learning and Working Together” and I thank everyone (students, staff, parents and families) for their support of our school in 2021.
I would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday break. The Term 1 holidays are my favourite of the year... the weather is a little cooler, but the days tend to still be warm and perfect for getting out and about. I hope this year is no different!
School resumes for students on Tuesday 20 April 2021. We look forward to seeing everyone return happy, relaxed and ready to learn for what will no doubt be a busy and enjoyable term at Woonona Public School.
COVID UPDATE AND CHANGES
As Covid restrictions continue to ease, we have made the decision that from the beginning of next term, our Kindergarten students (and their siblings) will now depart school at 3:00pm, along with all other students. As our Kindergarten students are still very new to school, they will still be walked to their gate, but this will occur at 3:00pm. Siblings will remain in class until the bell.
This change is very positive and will allow our students more time in class. However, it will also mean that over 100 additional students will depart school at bell time. I ask parents and families to please make sure you speak with your children to ensure a smooth transition to the new times. We also ask for patience and cooperation from our families, especially around traffic congestion, which is sure to be increased. Please ensure we all work together to ensure a quick, but safe departure for our students and their families.
Please also note, as has been evident in recent days in Brisbane, that changes can still occur very quickly, should Covid cases occur. If this is the case, the school will communicate any changes, as soon as decisions have been made.
School CROSS COUNTRY – Wednesday 21 April
Our School Cross Country Day had to be postponed last week, due to the torrential rain that we received. With lots of activities booked for this week, we made the decision to postpone this carnival until next term. As has been communicated, both the K-1 and 2-6 carnivals will now take place on the first Wednesday back at school – Wednesday 21 April 2021. Fingers crossed the sun is shining.
YOUNG LEADERS DAY
On Thursday of Week 9, 12 school leaders and I travelled to Sydney for the Halogen Young Leaders Conference. It was an amazing day of fun, lots of dancing and listening to inspiring speakers who spoke about their lives and how they have achieved success as a leader. I’d like to congratulate the students who attended. What wonderful leaders and representatives of our school they were. I look forward to seeing what they achieve personally and collectively in 2021.
P&C MEETING
Our next P&C meeting will be on Wednesday 12 May, at 6:30pm. The meeting will be held in the school staff room but will also have a Zoom component for those unable to make it face-to-face. We hope to see you there!
EASTER HAT PARADE!!!
Our school will be having our much-anticipated annual Easter Hat Parade this Thursday 1 April, from 9:00am. It will take place under the COLA, with three separate parades to ensure we are abiding by Covid regulations. Communication has already been sent out regarding this event. We are looking forward to a fantastic morning and wonderful way to start our Easter celebrations, a successful first term for 2021 and the upcoming school holidays!
HOT CROSS BUN DRIVE
I want to thank our community for getting behind our hot cross bun drive. Over 400 packs were sent home yesterday! We hope all our families who purchased a pack enjoyed the contents. Thank you to Loren and Bronwyn for co-ordinating what is always a very enthusiastically welcomed event.
I would also like to congratulate Nichol family, who won our prize for the most hot cross buns purchased. Not only does this family get delicious hot cross buns, they also won an Easter hamper that I’m sure will keep the family chocolate filled for many days to come.
STATE SWIMMING CARNIVAL
The final two days of Term 1 will coincide with the State Swimming Championships at Homebush in Sydney. I would like to wish Maddison and Zoe all the best as they compete against the best swimmers in NSW and in many cases, Australia. It takes great commitment to reach such an outstanding level of competition and I’m sure our whole school community is very proud of what they have achieved and will achieve.
In addition, I would like to wish our junior girls relay team good luck at the State Swimming Championships. Maddison, Zoe, Lucy and Cleo will be great representatives of the South Coast Region, Wollongong North District and of course Woonona Public School – do us proud girls!
BIKE SAFETY
Throughout this term we have had a number of issues raised by parents and community members regarding safety of students as they ride to and from school each day. It has been reported that some students may not be riding the correct track to school and that many are riding in an unsafe way, along busy roads, and around community members. We as a school will continue to reinforce safe bike riding, as we want our students riding to school. Can we ask that parents of those students who ride reinforce that their children are making safe and sensible choices as they ride to and from school each day?
Mr Tim Fisher
Principal
What's on in Stage 2 and 3 Technology?
Mrs Vella
Stage Three
Stage 3 students have been working hard to plan a short film. They have been coming up with their own unique film ideas including characters, costumes, plots and storyboards to bring their film to life. At the end of this Semester, these films will be presented privately within classes at our very own 'Woonona Film Festival'. Not only will these films be enjoyed within our school but for a lucky few groups, voted on by the students and teachers, their films will be entered into a NSW Department of Education showcase called 'Film By... Invitation' which highlights schools from across the state (separate permission will be required for selected groups).
So far, this experience has been an amazing opportunity for Stage 3 students to collaborate and get creative, planning incredible, meaningful and often hilarious films within their classes. This unit will carry across into Term 2, as students are yet to finish their planning components. We have also just received our film production kit, on loan from stem T4L, which will assist us in producing quality audio, bringing greenscreens to life and learning much more about how films are made using cloud based video editing software. A note will be sent out early Term 2 providing more detail about how groups can prepare themselves for the filming component.
Miss Peters
STEM Enrichment class
Mrs Vella
Library News
End of term overdue notices for books borrowed have been sent out this week. Can parents please help your children locate any overdue books and return to the Library as soon as possible. If a book has been lost, parents can pay for a replacement at the office. Book prices are listed on the overdue notice form. Thank you for your cooperation.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing Easter break and look forward to seeing students back in the Library next term. Remember even though students are on holidays encourage them to continue to read for enjoyment over the holiday break.
Mrs Carroll
Librarian
3-4B celebrating Harmony Day
WIDE WORLD OF WOONONA SPORTS
South Coast Football (soccer)
Last week we had 6 students from Woonona PS trialing for the South Coast Football (soccer) regional team. It is a huge achievement to make it through two previous trials to be selected at these trials and the students are to be congratulated on their success.
Jacinta, Courtney and Aleah represented WPS in the girls while Lachlan, Henry and Zac participated in the boys trials. We had one student selected in each team, with Zac and Courtney selected to now attend the NSW PSSA trials. What a great achievement for these students!
Touch Football
Well done to the students who trialed for the North Wollongong Touch Football team. We had two boys who gained selection and will progress to the next round of trials. Congratulations to Beau R and Levi E for their success and good luck at the next trial.
Yours in sport,
Declan McMullen
Classroom Teacher
Woonona Public School
North Wollongong PSSA Secretary
Star Jump Challenge Event Tuesday 13 April
Please find below information from Sergeant Dave Stewart of the Police NSW - Youth Command regarding a fun event you may be interested in to promote fundraising for our Youth Mental Health program - GRIT.
https://www.starjumpchallenge.org.au/
We would love to hear from you if you are willing to join the Seacliff Bridge event or participate as part of the PCYC Wollongong team at https://www.starjumpchallenge.org.au/fundraisers/pcycwollongong
Please feel free to contact me directly for any enquiries.
Kind Regards,
Matt Bourne – Club Manager Wollongong
Canteen Quickcliq Orders
School Canteen
Uniform Shop
- Download the uniform price list and order form (PDF 204.7KB)
- Online orders can be placed on the QuickCliq website