Term 4, Week 4
Friday 6th November 2020 Newsletter
From the Principal
2021 Class Placements and Structure
During Term 4 of each year, the school’s leadership team and grade teams spend a lot of time planning
the class structure, staffing and class allocations for the upcoming school year. We have begun work on
classes for 2021.
We will have a number of composite classes next year due to the fact the school’s staffing allocation is
based on the enrolment numbers from Kindergarten to Year 6. Some grades have more students than
others and we are unable to form whole classes for each year group.
Many factors are considered when grouping children into classes for the next school year and it is never
an easy task to get right for every child. Besides the NSW Department of Education’s guidelines about the
student numbers in each class at different year levels we also consider:
academic achievements levels
special needs considerations ( Gifted and Talented, students requiring Learning and Support as-
sistance, special needs assistance)
EAL/D considerations (how many years a student has been learning English)
medical issues
relationships that should be split or continued, (teacher–child, child-child)
behavioural issues or concerns
any relevant family issues
students receiving funding support
current referrals to the Learning Support Team
teacher allocation
In circumstances where parents have particular concerns about the placement of their child for the next
school year that involve any of the factors identified above, now is the time to have a discussion with my-
self or a member of the school executive by phone or by email.
Coming to discuss these issues and your child’s placement in the first week of next year is too late. We
always undertake to do the very best we can by every student and we require your support to be able to
do this.
By the end of this term, we will have a complete class structure developed but, as always, we will need to
review it in the early weeks of the new school year once all student enrolment information is finalised.
Final Awards Reminder
Can all students remember to bring in any completed sets of Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards which need
to be upgraded so we can make sure that star trophies can be organised for the end of the year.
Presentation Day
New COVID guidelines have been released today, stating that from Nov 12 schools will be able to hold
Presentation Day events and invite parents.
TERM 4 Dance2BFit every
Monday
Week 5
Mon 9 Oct
to Fri 13
Oct
Stage 3 Camp
Week 6
Tues 17
Nov
Stage 1 Science
Incursion
Wed 18
Nov
SRC Black and
white, Crazy hair
day
Week 9
Wed 9 Dec Presentation Day
Fri 11 Dec Stall Day
Week 10
Mon 14 Dec Picnic Day
Tues 15 Dec Year 6 Farewell
Wed 16 Dec Last Day for
Students
Fri 18 Dec Last day 2020
TERM 1 2021
Jan 27 & 28 Staff development
days
Fri Jan 29 Years 1– 6 return
to school
We will have to follow the 1 person to 4 sq metres rule. We will need to deliver the Presentation Day in a slightly different format to enable us
to invite 1 parent or carer for each award winner to attend Presentation day. More information will follow, but this is really exciting news!
Selective High School—Year 7 Placement—2022
Applications for Year 7 entry to a selective high school in 2022 are completed and submitted online. The link to the form is available below
from 13 October 2020 until 16 November 2020. No late applications will be permitted.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7
SRC Black and White Crazy Hair Fundraiser
On Wednesday 18th November the SRC will be running a fundraiser to raise money to support White Ribbon (the world’s largest movement
to end violence against women and girls) and Movember (the leading charity changing the face of men’s health.) The gold coin donation mufti
day theme will be for students and staff to wear black and white as well as having crazy hair. The canteen will be supporting the fundraiser by
offering a meal deal and donating some of the proceeds to support the SRC fundraiser.
School Improvement Plan Survey
We are currently coming to the end of a school planning cycle and evaluating the 2018-2020 school plan. We will then be designing a new 4
year School Improvement Plan. Your feedback and ideas are vital to ensure that the new plan best meets the needs of our whole school com-
munity.
This week I have sent out a survey via skoolbag to obtain feedback from the community about the school. It is only 2 questions and will only
take 5 minutes to complete. The new school plan will be written based on feedback from the staff, students and parents.
Thank you to those parents who have already completed the survey. On Monday I will send out a paper copy for families to complete. If you
have already completed it online there is no need for you to do it again.
Next week I will also be working with groups of students from K-6 to find out what they think about their school and asking them about what
will be important for the next 4 years.
Naidoc Week
National NAIDOC Week 2020 celebrations will be held from the 8-15 November.
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each year to celebrate the history, culture and achieve-
ments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communi-
ties, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities
and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
NAIDOC Theme 2020
Always Was. Always will Be.
The 2020 National NAIDOC Week theme has been developed to shine a focus on the length of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander occupation of Australia. In our narratives Aboriginal people talk of continuous occupation of being here when time be-
gan, we are part of the Dreaming – past, present and future. Anthropologists and archaeologists have dated our sites to being hundreds of
thousands years old, in fact recording some of these sites as being the oldest on this planet.
Additionally, the NAIDOC theme seeks to get teachers, students and community to explore and learn about, and appreciate the wealth and
breadth of Indigenous Nations, languages and knowledge of this continent. Exploring and learning about Indigenous understandings of the
environment, plants, animals, greater astronomy and cosmology, waters, land use and protection, Indigenous sciences and maths.
Kind regards,
Mrs R. Ingram
Principal
BOOK WEEK @ PWPS Despite the recent rain we were able to hold a very
successful Book Week character parade. It was a
colourful event with creative costumes worn by
students and teachers. This year the theme was—
Curious creatures, wild minds. There were grade
and class prizes for the most creative characters
from books and there were also prizes for the book
poster competition. Each class took a turn at
parading their costumes around the cola to music, cheers and claps and
at the culmination of the event our Senior Dance Group performed a
routine they’d been practising. A special thanks must go to Mrs Meoli
for organising such a wonderful event and highlighting the magic and
wonder of books—THANK YOU MRS. MEOLI.
From the Easel
This term Stage 3 has commenced a geography topic on Antarctica. They have
been examining the physical features of this harsh continent and the difficulties
faced by the exploration of the coldest, windiest, driest and most remote place on
Earth. In 1929 American, Richard Byrd, and his crew became the first people
to fly over the South Pole.
Edward
Maya Geffery
Tyler
The students used palette knives to create the sunrise and a printing technique to add
the mountain peaks.
From the Easel
Some students in Stage 3 like to create extension projects after their class art
lessons. (Below top line) Lara created her own Antarctic scene depicting aspects
of exploration . (Below bottom line left) Ariel’s interest in novels about dragons
inspired her monochrome and (Below bottom line right) Nour used collage to create
her piece entitled, I Made It!
Lara Mannell
Nour Reslan Ariel Burns
Lara Mannell
Dance2Bfit Week 2 was the start of our Dance2Bfit program. Students
enjoyed taking part in the energetic and fun dance lessons
which aim to improve fitness levels and coordination
while having a great time. Here are some pictures of our
Year 1 students taking part in the dance program!
Mr R. Fisher
Act- ing
Prin- cipal
Kindergarten visit Symbio On Tuesday, our excited Kindergarten students had their very first
excursion to Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh. Kindergarten have
been learning about living and non-living things in their science unit of
work. The students enjoyed getting up close and personal with some
reptiles, feeding the kangaroos, having a play on the equipment and
enjoying lunch with their friends. Thank you Kindergarten for
representing PWPS. It looks like it was such a fun day!
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“I saw the koala eating
eucalyptus leaves” -
Savanah KJ
“The koala jumped across
to another tree” -- Chloe
KJ
“The goat was so cute.
It had floppy ears” —
Andy KA
“And it had two big
horns” — Danny KA
“I saw an emu. It
was quite big and it
had feathers on it’s
body” — Max KA
“We saw a baby
echidna and some big
echidnas” — Valentina
KJ
“This is a ring tail
possum” — Ivy KA
“It was eating a carrot
and corn. It was so cute.
This was my favourite” —
Willow KA
We have been studying Antarctica and
wrote poems to describe the
frozen desert at the bottom of the
globe! Khyra Douglas Siena Smith
Ariel Burns
Erin Seymour
Amina Varjan
Lara Mannell
Celina Dahar
Writers’ Corner Stage Three has started a unit of writing for different purposes. Their
current focus is descriptive writing and poetry. Featured this week is
Ariel’s descriptive orientation—Graveyard. It has been illustrated by
her friend Lara.
Graveyard By Ariel Burns. Illustrated by Lara Mannell
Iris walked through the village streets. They’d been burnt and damaged after the
Queen’s troops had raided. Debris floated through the air, like snowflakes. Traces
of the bombing peeked out from every corner. The buildings themselves had
shattered windows, the roofs and walls torn open as if by a savage giant. Railings
had fingers of rust eating up the metal, like mould on bread. Iris’ cloak fluttered in
the soft wind, her midnight blue hair lashing about her face. Her home had been
destroyed, a ghost of what it had once been. The Queen would pay. She wouldn’t
get away with this. It seemed as if her cruel laughter echoed through the alleys,
teasing and taunting the cobblestones. Jacaranda flowers lay scattered on the
path, as was the tradition of the village. The village was like a bird that couldn’t
fly, a flower that couldn’t grow, a dragon without power, a human without a
heart. It was lonely and defeated, its pride whipped away by the cruel wind. It
almost seemed as if the buildings themselves were on their knees. This village
was a graveyard.
Lara Mannell
Stg
3
Poet’s Corner The recent storms at the end of October brought torrential rain,
gale force winds and thunder and lightning. This inspired Celina
to write the following poem.
OCTOBER STORMS
A sprinkler in the sky,
Sheds its tears,
Roaring and crying—
Warning people,
Showing its true potential.
Ripping the sky,
With silver blades—
Wrestling the clouds.
Deafening the world with
its;
Grumble!
Rumble!
Roar and growl!
by Celina Daher Yr 6
Stg
3
Poet’s Corner Continued
Antarctica
As cold as a freezer,
The ferocious winds blow.
Weddell seals and penguins,
Meet the orca’s malicious eyes.
They dive into the freezing water,
But for some there’s no escape.
A forest of white peaks,
Loom above the sea—
Like proud soldiers.
Sharp stalactites point down,
Like long, giant, icy fingers.
But as the climate warms,
They are constantly melting,
Cracking,
And breaking apart.
by Yu Lin
As mentioned in, Writers’ Corner, our current focus in writing is
poetry and descriptive writing. Here are some poems about
Antarctica, the current Geography topic for Stage 3.
Antarctica
Cold,
Cracked,
Dry.
Colossal sheets of pale ice,
Whiter than pieces of paper,
Blanket the rocky continent,
And form ice caves and crevices.
Freezing, unforgiving temperatures,
Violent, brutal winds,
Howl—
As they skirt the edges of icebergs.
Largest desert in the world.
Smooth, slippery, glossy surfaces—
Icy,
Crumbling,
Snow cones—
Antarctica.
by Jessica Kong
Inner Strength
We fall and get back up, we lose and we win.
It’s discovering who we are that matters.
Inner strength brings to light your purpose in life
And who and what you want to feel like.
Confidence, bravery and your personality are all Inner
strength.
We
Break,
Crack,
Fall
and crumble
but we will always succeed in our inner strength.
This is where I feel like myself, I can express my feelings
And there is hope.
By Amira Kabalan
Poet’s Corner Continued Here are some poems written by students in 5K about the rich text being
studied by Stage 3, Tintinnabulla.
Inner Strength
The gloomy days.
The dark monsters scary and big in their own ways.
The hills tall and sharp.
Big and raised.
This is turmoil.
A journey I must take.
As my journey goes on.
I stop to hear a sound a symphony, a song.
As I’m walking I follow along.
Inner strength.
By Ava Jacobsen
Inner Strength
Scary times
Dark gloomy nights
Sharp jagged hills as tall as buildings
Forest as dark as the night sky
Cold but now warm
I have to go through this to get to the other side.
By Diogo Moreira Coelho
Poet’s Corner Continued Here are some poems written by students in 5K about the rich text being
studied by Stage 3, Tintinnabulla.
Inner strength
Irritations, itches, anger.
Here there is none.
Here inner strength lays with the
soft, silver, gentle rains and the
cooling breeze.
No more beasts, droughts and
rushing winds.
Now it is warm and cooling, calm
and peaceful.
By Nick Illes
Inner strength
In times of drought and wind,
In times of fear, frightening, ugly and difficult.
From the uncomfortable, sunny hot world,
I go to the comfortable and peaceful place to find my inner strength.
In the comfortable and peaceful place,
There is no anger and no itches.
Only calm and happiness.
By Joe Lin
Poet’s Corner Continued Here are some poems written by students in 5K about the rich text being
studied by Stage 3, Tintinnabulla.
A Walk Around Our School Take the time to look & appreciate the wonder of nature
(Above) When the agapanthus burst open the aphids moved in. (Below right) Stella Rouge.
On the day of our Book Week character parade our school was invaded by dozens of wild
and curious creatures and we even had two dinosaurs running amok
Everything has its own beauty but not everyone sees it
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR
FOR LEARNING (PBL)
The expectation for the coming fortnight is:
I am responsible for my own behaviour.
(Be RESPONSIBLE)
Pics with Peaky
(left) Our Gotcha draw
winners for Wk3.
(right) Our Gotcha draw
winners for Wk2.
Each student wins a canteen voucher.
SUMMER UNIFORM CHALLENGE Students proudly wore their full school uniform during weeks 3 and
4 , participating enthusiastically in the Uniform Challenge. Well done
to all students who made an effort to wear full uniform. Keep it up!