Primary
@ Reddam
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It is with open arms that I welcome you all back to school for 2016. I don’t think
that anyone could have imagined a start to a school year filled with such happi-
ness, positivity and excitement as we have had this year. This is due, mostly, to the
wonderful teachers and students that we have at Reddam House who have wel-
comed our new students with warmth and friendliness. I would like to extend a
very warm welcome myself to the new families joining our school. I know that
everyone, teachers, students and parents alike, will go out of their way to make
your time at Reddam very special and memorable.
Of course, this week was a very important and significant week for the Kindergar-
ten students who began their primary school careers with us on Thursday. Every
year, the kindergarten students arrive with a wide range of emotions. We see the
excited student, who is bouncing around ready to tackle every challenge in front
of them; we see the timid student who tentatively explores the classroom, lightly
touching everything new; we see the shy student (or at least that part of them vis-
ible from behind their mum or dad’s legs); and we see the very frightened child
who is feeling completely out of their comfort zone. This year, I have been truly
amazed at how the very youngest members of our school have settled over two
days. Taking the new routines in their stride, the students have already impressed
their teachers who are looking forward to seeing the leaps and bounds that will
be taken throughout the year.
Joining our school this year are a number of new staff members, too. With the ad-
dition of two new academic subjects in Years 3 – 6 – Media Art and Public Speak-
ing – and the addition of two new class groups – Year 1 and Year 2 – I am
pleased to welcome Amanda William, Rikki Markson, Amy McNally and Christo-
pher Stone to our staff. I am also pleased to welcome Belinda Tomarchio, Nicole
Caplan, Helen Chadwick and Anabelle Carter to our Reddam teaching staff.
In administration, Tara Featon joins Reddam House in the role of PA. Working
closely with Amber, Tara will provide an invaluable link between parents and the
school. We also formally welcome Gina de Freitas to our administration staff. Gina
takes over our reception and will assist you with general school related queries.
This year sees a significant change to the school timetable for Year 3 -6 students
who will be finishing school at 3.20 from Monday to Thursday. This change to the
timetable allows for the inclusion of our two new, enriching and extending
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 1
IN THIS ISSUE:
Term 1 Calendar
Birthdays
First day of school
subjects, Media Art and Public Speaking with weekly lessons and also staggers the dis-
missal time of the students across the school making pick-ups easier and less congest-
ed. K – 2 students sill finish at 3pm Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, ready for a week-
end, all students finish at 2.07, as in the past.
As new families familiarise themselves with the school procedures, I would like to re-
mind all parents and caregivers that we place the pastoral care of your children as a
high priority. For Year K – 4 students, the class teacher plays the integral role of nurturer
and is there to support children across all Key Learning Areas and in their emotional
and social growth and development. In Year 5 and 6, the tutor teacher holds this role
and is the port of call for parents and caregivers requiring assistance with the emo-
tional, social or organisational needs of their child. However, with the importance that
Reddam places on specialist teaching, parents and caregivers are reminded that
any subject based query should be directed to the subject teacher directly. Subject
teachers will respond and make arrangements to meet if a meeting is required. This
distinction between roles is important as it ensures that students know there is a differ-
ence between a subject concern and a need for social and emotional support.
Next week, the Year 4, 5 and 6 students will attend their annual friendship, teambuild-
ing and leadership camps. Teachers have worked hard to allocate students to cabins
with their friends to ensure that every students feels happy and supported while away
from home. I know that every year the students return from camp tired, and happy,
with a range of new memories and the foundations of many new friendships. I wish all
the students attending camps a wonderful time away and am looking forward to
hearing about the camps on their return. Thank you in advance to the teachers who
are leaving their own families to joining the students on camp.
As I end our fist newsletter of 2016, I am very pleased to announce some wonderful
news. During the school holidays, two of our very special teachers celebrated im-
portant events. Congratulations to Matthew Carter who tied the knot in early January.
We wish him and his beautiful wife Yvette a lifetime of happiness. We also heard the
wonderful news of the safe arrival of Zoe Curtis’ baby, Francesco, who was born on 27
December. I know that the students will love meeting little Francesco when she brings
him in for a visit soon.
Finally, I am happy to announce that Amber Greenhalgh is expecting her first child
this year. Amber has been part of Reddam House for over 10 years and while the
school will tremendously miss her presence when she takes maternity leave, we are
naturally very happy for her and her partner, Marcus.
I wish you a fantastic weekend after a very short, busy week.
Dee Pitcairn
Principal
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 2
Reddam House
would like to wish a very happy birthday to
Jordan Davis, Sam Fox, George Vucic, Lachlan Hobbs., Karen Kim, Jackson Shep-
herd, Sofia Ohlsson Aranquiz, Jack Lam-Po-Tang, Jackson McGuire-Tattersall,
Gideon Jaque, Morgan Ratner, Jordan Rubinstein, Oliver Pires, Noah Paver, Eva
Frost. Sienna Donato, Calvin DeBellis, Tyler Baird, Matteo Trocherie-Rey, Noah
Shelest, Samuel Pribut, Louis Pattison, Charlie Pattison, Finnegan O’Mahoney, Ga-
briel Greenfield-Jerez, Madeline Buckley, Luca Then, Daniel Shields, Anthony
Chuang, Ashton Child, Lucia Vasington, Sam Marjoribanks, William Maccormick,
Finn Garbett, Maddison Bartholomew, Tahlia Alexiou, Hollie Corcoran, Eli
Benmayor, Frankie Barry, Joshua Gellert, Michael Zeritis and Jack Bond
who celebrated their special day during the holidays or this week!
We hope you had a fabulous day!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 3
BIRTHDAYS
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 4
CALENDAR
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1
25 Jan 26 Jan 27 Jan
Staff Development Day
28 Jan
Students’ First Day of Term
29 Jan
2
1 Feb
Camp: Year 5
Kincumber
Camp: Year 6
Aussie Bush
2 Feb
Camp: Year 4
Taronga Zoo
Camp: Year 5
Kincumber
Camp: Year 6
Aussie Bush
Year 3 Excursion:
Centennial Park
3 Feb
Camp: Year 4
Taronga Zoo
Camp: Year 5
Kincumber
Camp: Year 6
Aussie Bush
4 Feb
K – 2 Assembly – 2R
Year K - 2: Parent Teacher
information cocktail even-
ing
Time: 7pm
5 Feb
3 - 6 Assembly – 6R
3
8 Feb
Year 5: Parent Teacher
information cocktail
evening
Time: 7pm
9 Feb 10 Feb
Year 5: Cycle test
English Reading
Year 6: Leadership Induc-
tion
Venue: Adelaide Hall
Time: 7.00pm
11 Feb
Year 3 & 4: Cycle Test
English
Year 6: Cycle test
English Reading
K – 2 Assembly – 1E
Year 6 – 11 Gathering of
the Tribes Information Even-
ing
Time: 7pm
Venue: Adelaide Hall
12 Feb
K – 6 School Photographs
3 - 6 Assembly – 5E
4
15 Feb
Year 3 & 4: Parent
Teacher information
cocktail evening
Time: 7pm
16 Feb
Year 2 Excursion:
Schoolhouse Museum
17 Feb
Year 5: Cycle test:-
Mathematics
Year 3-6: Incursion Raising
Body Confident kids work-
shops
Year 6: Parent Teacher
information cocktail even-
ing
Time: 7pm
18 Feb
Year 3 & 4: Cycle test:-
Mathematics
Year 6: Cycle test:-
Mathematics
K – 2 Assembly – KD
19 Feb
3 - 6 Assembly – 4R
5
22 Feb 23 Feb 24 Feb
Year 5: Cycle test:-
Science
25 Feb
Year 3 & 4: Cycle Test
English
Year 6: Cycle test:-
Science
K – 2 Assembly – 2E
26 Feb
3 - 6 Assembly – 3D
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 5
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
6
29 Feb K – 6 Elite Musicians recit-
al Time: 7:00pm Venue: Adelaide Hall
1 Mar K – 6 Swimming Carnival
2 Mar Year 5: Cycle test:- History Year 1 Excursion: Taronga
Zoo
3 Mar Year 3 & 4: Cycle test:- Mathematics Year 6: Cycle test:- History K – 2 Assembly – 1R
4 Mar 3 - 6 Assembly – 6E
5 Mar 6 Mar Open Day TBC
7
7 Mar K – 12 Piano Competition Time: 7:00pm Venue: Adelaide Hall
8 Mar
9 Mar Year 5: Cycle test:- Languages
10 Mar Year 3 & 4: Cycle Test English Year 6: Cycle test:- Languages K – 2 Assembly – KE
11 Mar 3 - 6 Assembly – 5R
12 Mar 13 Mar Scholarship
Day
8
14 Mar K – 12 String Competition Time: 7:00pm Venue: Adelaide Hall
15 Mar K – 6 Book Fair
16 Mar Year 5: Cycle test: PDH K – 6 Book Fair
17 Mar K – 6 Book Fair Year 3 & 4: Cycle test:- Mathematics Year 6: Cycle test: PDH K – 2 Assembly – KR
18 Mar K – 6 Book Fair 3 - 6 Assembly – 3R
19 Mar
20 Mar
9
21 Mar Easter Presentation Venue: Adelaide Hall Time: 7pm
22 Mar
23 Mar Year 5: Cycle test:- English Writing
24 Mar Year 3 & 4: Cycle Test English Year 6: Cycle test:- English Writing K – 2 Assembly – 1D
25 Mar Good Friday Public Holiday
26 Mar
27 Mar Easter Sunday
1
0
28 Mar Easter Monday Public Holiday
29 Mar
30 Mar Year 5: Cycle test:- Mathematics Pesach Sedar
31 Mar Year 3 & 4: Cycle test:- Mathematics Year 6: Cycle test:- Mathematics K – 2 Music Assembly
1 Apr 3 – 6 Music Assembly – Soloists
2 Apr
3 Apr
1
1
4 Apr 5 Apr K – 6: Spellathon
6 Apr Year 5: Cycle test:- English
7 Apr Year 6: Cycle test:- English K – 2 Assembly – 2D
8 Apr Students last day – Term 1
ends at 1pm 3 – 6 Music Assembly –
Choir
CALENDAR
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The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 7
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 8
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 9
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 1 Friday 29 January 2016 Page 10
GATHERING OF THE TRIBES