RATHMINES PUBLIC SCHOOL Ph 4975 1229 Fax 4975 4239 Email [email protected]RATHMINES PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Term 1 Week 3 2020 Website: rathmines-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ IN THIS ISSUE Staffing Update Primary Swimming Carnival Parent Information Meetings Staff Development Day School Procedures School Uniform P&C Meeting Library News School Information School Photos Diary Dates Canteen Roster Community Notices From the Principal Dear Parents and Carers, I welcome all parents, students and staff members as we commence a new school year at Rathmines Public and on your behalf I offer a particular welcome to everyone who is new to our school community this year: the 47 young students in the Kindergarten class of 2020, the 23 students who have transferred from other schools, our new members of staff and all of our new parents and carers. One of the agenda items at our first P and C meeting for the year will be the organisation of a special gathering during the next few weeks to welcome all of our new school community members and also to celebrate the start of a new school year. I look forward to working with all parents and carers, staff members and students as we address the challenges associated with the last year of our 2018 to 2020 School Plan. Staffing Update As mentioned at the end of Term 4 last year, the decision has been 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 Vision Statement Rathmines Public School’s vision is to pursue and celebrate excellence in all areas and to ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience success within a supportive, safe and engaging learning environment which embraces the creative and productive use of technology and is free from all forms of discrimination. Our vision is to educate students for life by fostering their sense of wellbeing and developing their personal values of honesty, resilience, empathy, respect and responsibility.
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RATHMINES PUBLIC SCHOOL Ph 4975 1229 Fax 4975 4239 Email [email protected]
RATHMINES PUBLIC SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER Term 1 Week 3 2020
Website: rathmines-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/
IN THIS ISSUE
Staffing Update
Primary Swimming Carnival
Parent Information Meetings
Staff Development Day
School Procedures
School Uniform
P&C Meeting
Library News
School Information
School Photos
Diary Dates
Canteen Roster
Community Notices
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers, I welcome all parents, students and staff members as we commence a new school year at Rathmines Public and on your behalf I offer a particular welcome to everyone who is new to our school community this year: the 47 young students in the Kindergarten class of 2020, the 23 students who have transferred from other schools, our new members of staff and all of our new parents and carers. One of the agenda items at our first P and C meeting for the year will be the organisation of a special gathering during the next few weeks to welcome all of our new school community members and also to celebrate the start of a new school year. I look forward to working with all parents and carers, staff members and students as we address the challenges associated with the last year of our 2018 to 2020 School Plan. Staffing Update As mentioned at the end of Term 4 last year, the decision has been
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Vision Statement Rathmines Public School’s vision is to pursue and celebrate excellence in all areas and to ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience success within a supportive, safe and engaging learning environment which embraces the creative and productive use of technology and is free from all forms of discrimination. Our vision is to educate students for life by fostering their sense of wellbeing and developing their personal values of honesty, resilience, empathy, respect and responsibility.
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made to once again structure our grades around 14 mainstream classes this year. The initial plan was to fund this position out of the school budget but at this stage it seems probable that this class will now be funded as part of our regular fulltime teaching establishment. The teaching arrangements are set out below for your reference: Kinder Nataria Roddom and Kim McNulty (Wednesdays) Kinder Michelle Fragar Kinder/Year 1 Cathie Ruecroft Year 1 Phoebe Watson Year 1 Clare Cawley and Megan Bowron (Fridays) Year 1/Year 2 Melinda Russell and Megan Bowron (Mondays) Year 2 James Fisher Year 2 Rebecca Verschoor Year 3 Jason Ruecroft Year 3/Year 4 Cherylin Seymour and Brooke Gagg Year 4 Troy McNamara Year 5 Neisa Case Year 5 /Year 6 Matt Elston Year 6 Ellouise Boyd Special Education Unit: Lynda Maretich, Tom Bidstrup/Cassie Laughton (Wednesdays), James Picot Learning and Support Teacher: Clare Taylor RFF: Susan Burns, Rachelle Mitchell, Cassie Laughton Teacher Librarian: Rebecca Priest Early Literacy and Primary Intervention Teacher: Kim McNulty Intervention: Brooke Gagg (Wednesdays) Quality Teaching Successful Students (QTSS): Catherine Cronje (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Primary “Swimming Carnival” It was unfortunate that the weather forecast of thunder storms with heavy rain and lightning resulted in the cancellation of our primary swimming carnival for this year but the good news was that the predicted extreme weather conditions did not eventuate and we were able to run selection trials to pick our representative swimming team which will compete at the Westlakes Zone Carnival next week. I have received some indirect and direct feedback from parents and carers questioning the rationale for not going ahead with the full carnival which normally focuses on full participation and the organisation of novelty events for non swimmers. I would like to highlight that this decision was made in an effort to ensure the safety of all our students after we had met at 8:00am with the pool lifeguards, and checked the predicted weather conditions. Once the decision had been made to only take students who considered themselves to be competitive swimmers, a message was sent out on the Skoolbag App notifying parents and carers of the change in plans. I subsequently held a special meeting with all the primary students at 8:50 and explained the plans for just running trials in each age group so that we could pick our representative swimming squad for the zone carnival. I also confirmed that there were no available dates at the pool complex prior to the closing date for zone nominations. I trust this background information helps to allay any concerns regarding the running of this school sporting event. I commend all the students on the very mature manner in which they adjusted to the rather sudden change in plans and offer special thanks to Mr McNamara for all the time and effort he contributed to organisation of the carnival, and then the running of the trials with limited staffing due to the student
From the Principal cont’d
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population being split between the school and the pool. Special congratulations are extended to the following age champions and to the members of Kingfisher, the Champion Swimming team for 2020. Junior Boy Kaizen Junior Girl Aurora 11ys Boy Ben M 11yrs Girl Charli E Senior Boy Harrison Senior Girl Dakota M Parent Information Meetings All parents and carers received a special letter on Tuesday setting out the times for this year’s Parent Information meetings which are being held next week. While I urge all parents and carers to attend these important meetings I appreciate that work commitments may prevent some parents from attending. There may also be some clashes of times for parents with a number of children at the school and with this in mind all class teachers will be providing parents with detailed documentation setting out all the points covered during their class sessions. Staff Development Day During our Term 1 Staff Development Day, RPS staff were involved in a number of professional learning opportunities. The first session involved delving into the new PDHPE Syllabus to be implemented this year. Miss Case upskilled staff on the similarities and differences between the new and old syllabus and supported staff in the development of shared Scope and Sequences. After team meetings and initial Term 1 organisation the staff confidently took part in a practical session learning about the teaching of gymnastics and in particular the safety guidelines, building of different skills and balances, warm up activities and lesson implementation. School Procedures The organisational procedures we follow before and after school are particularly important in relation to the safety and welfare of students. I think it is appropriate to outline the expectations once again as we start a new year; this will assist our new families but will also act as a refresher for current students. When students leave their classrooms at 3:00pm: · Students catching buses go to their designated area in the COLA and wait
for Mr Elston to escort them to the bus stop
From the Principal cont’d
Any school notes that are
sent home can also be found
on the Skoolbag App. On
the home screen, click on
the Rathmines Public School
link.
On the next screen
click on Notes Sent Home.
You can then scroll through
to find the information you
need.
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· Children who are being picked up by their parents must wait in the COLA until their parents arrive. Students do not walk out of the grounds to meet their parents. Children need to be regularly reminded that if their parent does not come to pick them up they must speak to the teacher on duty and/or go to the front office. It is critically important for parents and carers to ensure that their children do not go ahead of them when they are leaving the school grounds. There have been a number of “close calls” in recent years and unfortunately there are many motorists who completely ignore the School Zone speed restrictions.
· A teacher will be on duty at the school crossing in Secret Corner Road each afternoon to escort children across the road. However, it is important for all children to be aware of the safety procedures to follow when crossing any road.
The safety of students is put at risk whenever parents and carers do not follow the parking regulations in the streets adjacent to the school. Your attention is drawn particularly to dangers arising when cars waiting to use the “kiss and ride” space park illegally near the crossing. If there is a queue to use this space I suggest the best and safest option is to take a few minutes to drive around the block while the traffic jam clears. As an added incentive to comply with these requests, please see pages 10 and 11 for a summary of the fines associated with parking and traffic infringements.
The before school procedures are equally important. Parents are asked to note that teachers are not on duty till 8:35am and with this in mind parents are asked to ensure that their children do not arrive at school before that time. Any students who do arrive early must sit on the steps in the COLA until the supervising teacher arrives. The bell which rings at 8:50am is a “teacher’s bell” and should be ignored by the students. When the calming Dire Straits music plays at 9:00am all students are asked to walk and line up outside their classrooms or sit in the place allocated by their class teachers. School Uniform I have been very pleased with the efforts children are making to wear the complete and correct school uniform during the first weeks of term. Having everybody in uniform sets a very positive tone for the school and sends a clear message regarding the sense of school spirit which exists within our community. I encourage all students to maintain this standard throughout the year. I have asked students to pay particular attention to wearing the correct school hat and plain black school shoes. The school uniform shop is open in the school hall each Monday morning between 8:30am and 10:00am.
P & C Meeting Finally I invite all parents to come to the monthly meeting of our school’s Parents and Citizen’s Association which will be held next Monday evening (17th February) in the school staff room at 7:00pm. The election of the new executive will not take place until the Annual General Meeting which will be held next month, so the meeting on Monday will be a great opportunity for our many new parents and carers to come along and develop an understanding of the contribution made by the association to the ongoing development of our school. The P and C serves as an excellent forum for discussion of general school issues, facilitates the purchase of teaching resources through fundraising activities, and helps to build up the sense of community within our school. I take this opportunity to sincerely thank Joanna Mantle, Jo Bracken and Jenn Clarke for their wonderful contributions to our school as President, Secretary and Treasurer during the past three years. Joanna, Jo and Jenn will not be standing for election at the AGM due to family and work commitments.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Walker
Principal
From the Principal cont’d
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LIBRARY NEWS
Library News
Welcome back to another wonderful year of reading! The theme amongst libraries this year is
Curious Creatures, Wild Minds — which I think is a great way for kids to be! I hope over the
year our students will have plenty of opportunities to be curious, ask questions, learn, explore
and use their imaginations.
All classes are busily settling into their new routines and sorting their library day. I encourage
all students to borrow on a weekly basis and bring their library bag. We will be running our
‘borrowing race’ again this year due to popular demand. Congratulations again to 2V last year
who won the race with 641 books borrowed for 2019. I wonder if we can break the record this
year.
Book Club
Our school uses Scholastic Book Club as a way of promoting quality books at a reasonable
price. Issue 1 was sent home last week and is due back to school no later than February 14th
.
Book Club is a fabulous way of supporting our library; 20% of all sales come back to our
school and allow us to purchase quality reading resources.
If you would like to place an order, you can do this online via LOOP through scholastic’s
website. NO CASH orders are accepted at RPS. Please ask if you would like any more
information regarding book club and ordering.
As always, happy reading!
Mrs Priest
We are holding a special competition for all new KINDERGARTEN students for issue
1.
If you are a new Kindergarten student and order from issue one Book Club your name will go in the
draw to win a fabulous prize!
Remember, Rathmines PS accepts online orders only. NO CASH.
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SCHOOL INFORMATION
MAKING A PAYMENT?
To pay by card simply go online to
https://rathmines-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/
In the MAKE A PAYMENT tab enter
your child’s name and date of birth to
begin the process.
Cash and EFTPOS are accepted at
the school office before 3pm.
STUDENT ABSENCES
Parents will receive a
message via SMS if their
child is marked absent at
roll call. Please reply to
the message to explain
the absence.
STUDENTS ARRIVING
LATE OR LEAVING
EARLY
must be signed in or out at the office
by a responsible adult. Parents will
receive an email notification if their
child has arrived late to school
unaccompanied by an adult. Please
reply with an explanation.
SCHOOL OFFICE 8.30am—3.00pm
Cash payments can be left in the payments
slot after hours (right hand side of counter).
EFTPOS only available before 3pm.
FRIDAY
KINDER AND YEAR 1 PARENTS
Please pack spare undies and pants in your child’s bag.
School supplies of spare clothing are very limited and if we have nothing suitable, we will need to
contact you to bring a change of clothes to school.
Thank you.
For the safety and well-being of
all our students, please ensure
NO NUTS
OF ANY KIND
are brought to school. This
includes any type of nut butter,
chocolate nut spread like
Nutella and any snack foods
containing nuts.
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PHOTO DAY IS
TUESDAY 31ST MARCH
Order envelopes will be sent home in Week 8
SCHOOL PHOTOS
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DATE EVENT
Monday 17th February
Parent Information Sessions for KR, KF, 1C 3.05pm
Parent Information Sessions 5C, 5/6E, 6W 3.40pm
P&C Meeting 7pm
Tuesday 18th February Zone Swimming Carnival
Wednesday 19th February Parent Information Sessions 1W, K/1C, 2F, 2V 3.05pm
Parent Information Sessions 3R,3/4GS,4M 3.40pm
Friday 21st February Parent Information Session 2/3R 3.05pm
Tuesday 25th February Parent Information Session Special Ed 3.15pm
Thursday 27th February Paul Harrigon Cup
Monday 2nd March Elizabeth Beach excursion -Year 6 only
Tuesday 3rd March Regional Swimming Carnival
Tuesday 31st March School photos
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 14th February J.Sharp, K.Grant, M.Breith
Monday 17th February A.Lillis, A.Telfer
Wednesday 19th February J.Sharp, K.Grant, M.Breith
Friday 21st February L.Feint, L.Johnstone, N.Hinchcliffe, B.Abrahams
Monday 24th February J.Bracken, A.Alley
Wednesday 26th February M.Breith, L.McAllister, M.Casey-Villis
UNIFORM SHOP OPEN MONDAYS
8.30—10.00 IN THE HALL
At other times order forms and payment can be left at the school office. These will be
processed the following Monday and can be collected after 10.30am from the office.
CANTEEN ROSTER
Bank books should be handed to the class teacher at roll
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COMMUNITY NOTICES
Disclaimer: Rathmines Public School does not necessarily endorse the
services or products which may be included in or attached to this newsletter
and is in no way responsible for any issues arising from use of the services or
products offered. No responsibility is accepted for errors or omissions.
RATHMINES NETBALL CLUB
Rathmines Netball Club have registrations open online now. To
register please go to http://rathminesnc.nsw.netball.com.au.
The competition commences with a compulsory round robin day on
