Lidcombe Public School Mills Street Phone: 9649 7576 Lidcombe 2141 Fax: 9749 1197

The

Email:lidcombe-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website:www.lidcombe-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

“A dynamic innovative school always moving forward”.

Issue 1/2018 8 February 2018

DATES TO REMEMBER

TERM 1

30.01.18 First Day back for students. Best Start Testing begins for Kindergarten

6.02.18 Kindergarten students start

2.02.18 Summer PSSA trials at school – preference 1

9.02.18 Summer PSSA trials at school – preference 2

12.02.18 9am-11am Playtime Sessions start – Lidbury Hall Dance2Bfit: S2B, S2C, S2F, S2H, S2L, S2S, 1K, 1W, 1X, 1A, 1E & 1G. P&C meeting – 7pm (Staffroom)

13.02.18 9.15am – 11am – Parent Resource Group – Lidbury Hall Our Spectacular meeting – 4pm

14.02.18 Swimming Carnival / Water Safety Day – Ruth Everuss Pool (Years 3-6) Water Safety / Fun Day at school (K-2)

15.02.18 STEM Workshops begin for: S3F, S3T, S3N & S3Y

16.02.18 9.30-11.00am Auburn Zone Representative team trials – Girls and Boys Soccer, Girls and Boys Softball, Netball, AFL. STEM workshops begin for: 2M, 2C & S3B. Granville Primary Principals meeting – 10.30am

19.02.18 Dance2Bfit: S2B, S2C, S2F, S2H, S2L, S2S, 1K, 1W, 1X, 1A, 1E & 1G.

3.15-4.00pm Meet the Teacher evening for Stage 3 4.00-5.00pm Meet the Teacher evening for Early Stage 1

20.02.18 Digital Technologies workshops for Teachers (Stage 3, Stage 2 and CL/RFF teams)

21.02.18 Digital Technologies workshops for Teachers (Stage 1, Early Stage 1 and EALD/Library teams) 11.45am Parent Library Helper Group – Lidbury Hall 4.00pm – Sydney West PSSA meeting

22.02.18 STEM Workshops begin for: S3F, S3T, S3N & S3Y

23.02.18 Summer PSSA Round 1 STEM workshops begin for: 2M, 2L, 2C & S3B.

5.03.18 Swimming Scheme starts (note to come)

6pm – High School forms meeting - Hall 7.03.18 GRIP leadership conference for the student leaders 8.03.18 Auburn Zone Swimming Carnival – Ruth Everuss Pool

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Welcome Back !

Welcome back to another school year at Lidcombe PS. I am delighted to see so many smiling faces in the playground, on assembly and in the classrooms so far this year. Also, so many fresh uniforms, shiny shoes and lots of smiling faces on the parents as well. The staff are really looking forward to a very successful year for your children.

All students in Years 1 to 6 were placed in their new classes on the first day back, Tuesday 30/1. Kindergarten have also been ushered into their new classes, their first day was Tuesday 6/2 after our teachers had completed all of the Best Start testing with them. The staff and school Executive have worked very hard in placing the students into classes for 2018. A lot of professional time, effort and thought goes into trying to ensure students will be happy in their new class, but also in a class that will be a challenging environment for them as well as matching the student's personalities with that of the teachers, so that we can get the best out of them. All students went to their new classes happily. I need to say that the classes have been finalised as our numbers are healthy and have been submitted to the Department.

On occasion, some students can feel a little upset in their new surroundings, usually because they feel they are not with any of their friends, or they have heard some unfounded gossip about a teacher. I ask you to support your child by talking positively about the new situation, reassuring them and encouraging them to be strong and resilient in dealing with the change. As students move through the years of primary schooling, new challenges face them every day and the best way to cope with change is to make the most of it, embrace and enjoy the challenge. Most of the time, the upset feelings can pass quickly and sometimes, very rarely, the feelings can take a little longer to pass. It is important as parents to keep being positive. Children read their parents very well, if they feel you are worried about them, this will reinforce to them that there is something for them to be worried about too.

The fact is that we have amazing teachers here at Lidcombe PS and every single one of them are very rigorous with their analysis of data and are keen to remedy the weaknesses the students have to raise their results. That is why so many families seek enrolment at our school - it is a high performing school with a great school culture and atmosphere. I feel blessed to be working here, and no doubt as parents, you are also proud of what our school achieves.

Our class teachers for 2018 are: K Bilby = Miss J Zong K Cassowary = Miss J Lee K Dingo = Miss T Siu K Koala = Mrs P Gowling K Possum = Miss G Delis K Quokka = Mrs K Aitken K Wallaby = Miss D Sage (M, Tu) & Mrs S Gatmaitan (W, Th, F) 1 Acacia = Miss H Chan 1 Eucalyptus = MrsJ Chau 1 Grevillea = Mrs C Moir 1 Kangaroo Paw = Ms K Ward 1 Waratah = Miss S Polman 1 Xanthorrhoea = Mrs YJ Kim 2 Bottlebrush = Mrs C Brebner (M, Tu, W) & Mrs K Gow (Th, F) 2 Casuarina = Miss E Herkes 2 Firewheel = Ms M Morgan 2 Lilli Pilli = Miss M Davies 2 Melaleuca = Mr C Minett S2 Bass = Miss S Mo S2 Cook = Mrs R Ranasinghe S2 Flinders = Mr C Windle

S2 Hume = Ms A Colley S2 Lawson = Ms H Robinson S2 Sturt = Mr G Hulley S2 Wentworth = Mrs N Ortado (M, Tu) & Mrs C Pisano (W, Th, F) S3 Bennelong = Miss R Libro S3 Freeman = Miss A Wong S3 Mabo = Mr E Kucuk S3 Namatjira = Mrs A Pant S3 Truganini = Miss S An S3 Unaipon = Ms A Rovere S3 Yunupingu = Miss R Hendy 3/6 Ruby = Miss N Clift K-6 Sapphire = Mrs L James K-6 Emerald = Mrs S Pinto (M,Tu,W) / Mrs J Smith (Th,F)

See below for a location map of these classes.

You will notice that there are few new names besides some of the classes. We welcome these teachers to our school community. These staff members come highly recommended to our school and we are most confident that they will do an outstanding job with your children. Welcome back to Mrs Rebecca Carlier who is back from maternity leave, as will Mrs Sia Scillitani (coming back from maternity leave in Term 2 – Library RFF) and Mrs Lily Choo (coming back from maternity leave in Term 3 – EALD). It’s a very strong team indeed.

Later in this newsletter, the roles of the other teachers in our school are explained. I ask you to please support the decisions we have made about placing the children into classes for this year, but as always, if you feel there may be a problem, come and have a chat with me.

Support Roles in 2018 Schools can be quite complex environments and quite often all you see is the interventions made with our students via the classroom teachers, but there are several other support personnel who assist the teachers with raising the standards of our students. They are:- Librarian Mrs M Rimmer & Mrs Y Ng (Fridays)

L&ST (Learning and Support Teacher) Ms. R, Scott (L&ST, Reading Recovery) Mrs. J. Ramsay (L&ST, Reading Recovery) Ms. L. Willis (L&ST – 2 days a week, whilst also taking leadership of Student Support with a 3 day administrative role) EALD Mrs H Tu (ES1- 3 days – W, Th, F) Ms S Gatmaitan (ES1 – 2 days – M, Tu) Miss S Ta (Year 1 – 5 days) Miss T Duong (Year 2 – 5 days) Mrs M Whittaker (Stage 2 – 5 days) Mr K Creighton (Stage 3 – 5 days) Mrs R Carlier (SEU – 2 days – M, Tu) RFF Miss S Tran (5 days) Miss G Nguyen (5 days) Miss L Nguyen (5 days) Mrs S Pinto (2 days)

Community Languages Mrs E Park (Korean – 5 days) Mr K Gan (Chinese – 5 days) Mrs J Ji (Chinese – 1 day) Mrs A Tokyurek (Turkish – 5 days) Mrs M Wehbe (Arabic – 3 days)

School Counsellor Mr Andrew Stephens (Monday, Wednesday, Odd Thursdays and Friday) These support teachers are tremendously hard working and add greatly to our school’s culture.

Administration Staff for 2018 We have all of our hard working and very friendly administration staff from the end of last year, back on deck this year as well. No problem is too great for these lovely ladies and like everyone else at our school, they work extremely hard to ensure the service you receive as parents is first class. Our office hours are 8.30am to 3.15pm.

SAM (Rel). Mrs J Rush (5 days) Business Manager Mrs B Persson (M, Tu & F) SAO Mrs B Persson (2 days – W, Th) SAO Mrs. S Lopes (5 days) SAO Mrs S Wood (3 days office, 2 days Library) General Assistant Mr M Rush We also have 7 incredible Student Learning Support Officers – SLSO’s who do an amazing job in assisting our teachers with some of our students who have a disability. SLSO’s Mrs J Teasel, Mr P Sage, Mrs J Ebelt, Ms N Maaliki, Ms R Tunali, Mrs K Argyropoulos and Ms Z Wannous.

Executive Roles in 2018 Our school executive team comprises twelve (12) teachers in school leadership positions. Our school executive team members are as follows: Mr Matt Lewis Principal Mr Michael Duffy Deputy Principal Mrs Nicole Harvey Deputy Principal There are six Assistant Principals with delegated leadership and management of different teachers and students within the school. Mrs Lee Willis – AP Student Support Miss Nerida Clift - Special Education - Relieving Miss Debbie Sage - Early Stage One (Kindergarten – 2 days) Mrs. Pam Gowling - Early Stage One (Kindergarten – 3 days) - Relieving Ms Kylie Ward - Stage One (Year 1 and Year 2) Mr Chris Windle - Stage 2 (Year 3 and Year 4) Mrs Aruna Pant - Stage 3 (Year 5 and Year 6) – Relieving To add to this complexity, is the fact that our school provides L3 training to many teachers across many schools in the Sydney region. These other schools pay for the privilege of being trained by our tremendously competent trainers. Miss Debbie Sage – Deputy Principal L3 Lead Trainer – 3 days. Mrs Kate Gow – Assistant Principal L3 Trainer – 2 days, plus being an Assistant Principal leading Early Career Teachers – 1 day Add Mrs Julie Rush as our Relieving School Administrative Manager and that makes a total of 12 in our Executive team, leading Lidcombe PS into the future and beyond.

Our school has been through major change over the last 7 years – boosting teachers for better performances in student results and teacher roles, maintaining a high focus on quality teaching, changing the classroom landscapes with technology and furniture, implementing great programs like L3, L3Stage 1, LOL, TENs, Project based learning, Learning Centres, STEM education, but the ethos amongst our leadership continues: “Building the capacity of teachers and leaders through engagement in quality professional learning is the key to improving student learning outcomes.” The combined teaching experience and expertise of our school leadership team exceeds 180 + years.

Throughout 2018 we will be using that combined experience and expertise to focus on the further enhancement of our own leadership capacity and the professional practice of our colleagues with particular emphasis on successful classroom organisation and effective reading strategies and techniques.

How do your children get to and from school ? The start of school term signals the start of the Mills Street, John Street and Doodson Avenue traffic chaos. To ease traffic congestion, improve child safety and lessen parental stress, perhaps your child could walk or catch the bus to school?

While younger kids need to be accompanied, older children are often both willing and able to make their own way to school. Yet many Year 5 and 6 students aren't given the opportunity until high school, when greater distances make it an extremely daunting experience for the uninitiated. Obviously we don't all have the time to walk our kids to school, but perhaps a car-pooling or "walk-pooling” arrangement could be made with parents that live nearby. Whatever works for you, you'll be doing everyone a favour (including the ozone layer) by leaving the car at home. Some good reasons to walk to school: • the weather is with us - make the most of it! • younger kids benefit from the one-on-one time with their parents • older kids enjoy the independence that walking to or from school fosters, not to mention the time to chat and unwind with their friends • all kids (and their parents) benefit from the exercise and the chance to take stock of their surroundings • parents can surreptitiously check out what's going on in their neighbourhood. Perhaps you might get some renovating or gardening ideas along the way • if nothing else, you're bound to be rewarded with a friendly "Good morning" and smile, making your community that much nicer (and safer) for your child to grow up in.

Too far to walk? Perhaps your child can catch the bus: The School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) provides free travel between home and school Monday to Friday on school days. To be eligible for the scheme an applicant must be a resident of NSW, 4 years 6 months of age or older and enrolled as one of the following: • an infant student (K-2), the distance between their home and school being irrelevant • a primary student (Years 3-6) who lives more than 1.6 kms (radial distance) from school, or 2.3 kms or more by the most direct practical walking route to the nearest entry point to the school • a secondary student (Year 7-12) who lives more than 2 kms (radial distance) from school, or 2.9 kms or more by the most direct practical walking route to the nearest entry point to the school Please apply online at https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts. Please note the following: . You will need an email address to compete the form; . the form will take about 5 minutes to complete and needs to be completed in one session. You will not be able to save a partly completed application and return to it later. . When you’ve completed the online application you can track the status of your application using your N or UN number.

Medical Issues As a reminder, we have a few children who have an extreme allergic reaction (which can be life threatening) to peanuts and other nuts. This means that this child cannot come into contact with other people who have eaten nut products (eg. Nutella, peanut butter, any types of nuts or any foods that contain nuts or nut products.) I realise that the school can never really be nut free, but I’m sure that all parents can be very vigilant about this problem and not send their children to school with anything that contains nuts, including home made birthday cakes etc. This way, we will become nut-aware. It is a challenge for us at school as well as our community, but I am confident that everyone will pull together to make our school a safe place for every child. As a rule anyway, if your child does present as ill before they come to school, it is better that you keep them at home, so as not to spread the disease throughout the school. We respectfully request that all children and parents of Lidcombe PS follow these guidelines at all times. If you have any enquiries regarding this, please contact me at the school office.

School Uniforms The parent community of Lidcombe Public School has determined that all students attending Lidcombe PS should wear school uniform. The principal and school staff fully support and endorse this decision and encourage all students to comply with this expectation. All students are expected to exhibit good grooming and personal cleanliness. Offensive slogans on clothing or belongings will not be permitted. At the end of 2011, we officially took over control of the Uniform Shop from Lowes and now parents can buy the uniform from our school. It is located at Lidbury Hall (near Blocks A and C) and you can visit the Uniform Shop on Wednesdays 8.30 to 9.15am or on Friday afternoons 2.30 – 3.15pm. This year I would like to focus on the wearing of our school hat and black school shoes. There seems to be a quite a few students who tend to wear any hat to school, and when I look out over the school population at a morning assembly, it doesn’t look good. The wearing of a hat is especially important during hot weather and we are definitely insisting that our students are wearing their hats outside. As a school, we bought school hats for everyone last year (and did it in 2012 as well), there should be no excuse for not wearing one. With the wearing of black school shoes, these can be black sneakers also, whichever of the two they are more comfortable in, but they must be black. Whilst on the uniform shop, I need to thank our very hard working, friendly and very supportive parents who run the uniform shop. They spend countless hours voluntarily, chasing up or filling orders and providing a wonderful service to our parents. It greatly upsets me when their roles are taken for granted by rude parents who don’t like to wait their turn, who display a lack of manners towards these volunteers or who don’t supervise their children appropriately whilst at the uniform shop. We are very lucky to have a number of ladies working for free to provide this service for the parents and our students

and of course, having the Uniform Shop back under our control allows us to keep the prices much lower than what the stores used to charge. Now our uniforms are cheaper and on-site, this is obviously easier for our parents. On the issue of supervision, please ensure you have your small children with you. They are not allowed on the equipment outside the uniform shop – we are not covered for any accidents that happen on this equipment without direct supervision and of course, when they are on the equipment, it is mostly during class time which serves as an unnecessary distraction to our students. Also, please don’t leave your child alone in Lidbury Hall as accidents can happen there too. Your children must be kept with you, safe and sound at all times. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Excursions and School Performances During the year the students will be provided with opportunities to participate in excursions, visiting performances and other activities that cost money. These activities are very important to the overall education of your child(ren) and therefore it is expected that all children involved will attend. If parents require assistance with payment for any of these activities, please speak to Mr. Lewis.

Fruit Breaks – Crunch and Sip Like last year, our staff decided they would follow the new program “Crunch and Sip” in their classrooms, to improve the way our students think at crucial periods during our school day.

As our morning session is 2 hours long, and physically, some children have not eaten for 4 hours between breakfast and recess, we are now asking that you provide a small portion of fruit (you determine the size depending on the age of your child(ren)), so they can spend 2 minutes at around 10am having a quick bite of something healthy to recharge them for the rest of the morning. Also we are encouraging the use of a water bottle filled with chilled water only, to sip on at this time. The rules are, however, that it must be a small piece of fruit and water only to take advantage of this break. If you would like more information about this program, see Mr. Lewis, Mrs Rush or visit www.crunchandsip.com.au. I am sure that this will lead to even more success in the classrooms.

For our new Kindergarten parents….. Our new Kindergarten students have settled in well and have begun their great journey for learning in the primary years with great enthusiasm. Just a couple of reminders are below to help you make your child as successful as possible: *All students need to wear closed in shoes – no sandals or thongs ! *All students must be wearing a school hat outside as part of our Sun Safe policy. They are only $15 at our uniform shop. PLEASE make sure you label all hats with your child’s name. *It is summer at the moment, so jumpers are probably not a wise thing to dress your children in. Put the jumper in your child’s bag if you are worried. *We have a program called “Crunch and Sip” happening at 10am in the classrooms. Your child needs a small portion of fruit (bite-sized) and water to drink every day for this activity. Please see further information regards Crunch and Sip in this newsletter. *Please ensure that you pack an appropriate amount of lunch to eat each day. We have witnessed some Kindergarten students take almost the whole of their lunch break to consume what they have for lunch. Play time is important too.

Mobile Phones While it is accepted that mobile phones play an important part in modern life and communications, it is important that all staff, students and parents accept that their use during class time and on various other occasions at school is inappropriate.

If mobile phones are to be brought to school by students, they need to be switched off and left in their bags until 3pm or better still, left at the office. Parents and carers must give written permission for students to bring mobile phones to school. The school will not accept any responsibility for a mobile phone being lost or damaged.

School Swimming Carnival Our swimming carnival will follow the tremendously successful model that has now been in operation for 6 years, the Water Sports Day. All children in Years 3-6 will be attending our swimming carnival down at Ruth Everuss Pool. Year 2 students that turn 8 years old and can swim 50m (one lap of the pool) are also invited. The morning session will focus on the races needed for representatives to go on to our Auburn Zone carnival and then for the rest of the day, focus will shift to students placed in groups to learn aspects of water safety in the pool. We feel this will be of most benefit to all students. Our carnival will take place on Wednesday 14 February 2018 with the note already sent our with students (translated in four 4 major languages which will be put on our website). In reading this note, it is very important that you read all of the information and place your child in the most applicable group that applies to their swimming ability – beginners, intermediate and advanced. Beginner and intermediate groups will still be able to touch the bottom of the pool without going under, but the advanced groups will be learning in the deep water – we will be testing their ability to take part in the advanced group as well as highlighting what group each student is in with a very brightly coloured wristband. Of course, you are more than welcome to attend, even help out on the day. Should you misplace your note please go to our school website and download a replacement note.

Summer PSSA Sport We are also entering into Summer PSSA sport this yea. The sports on offer are: *Junior and Senior Cricket *Junior and Senior AFL (Aussie Rules) *Senior Boys and Girls Softball *Junior Boys and Girls T-ball *Junior Mixed, Senior Boys and Girls Basketball

Trials started last Friday and will conclude on Friday (tomorrow) morning, giving your child in years 3 to 6 two chances of trying out for PSSA Summer Sport teams. If successful, your child will need a permission note signed by you to participate, they will need to sign a code of conduct sheet and pay the PSSA sport fee (one off payment for the term) before the season

commences. Summer PSSA sport will commence on Friday 23 February 2018. There will also be a morning of Auburn PSSA district trials in the following sports – Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Netball, Boys Touch Football, Girls Touch Football and AFL. This morning will take place on Friday 16 February 2018. Please see Mr Kucuk if you are interested in your child attending (years 5 and 6 only).

School Leaders 2018 With great pleasure I re-introduce to you in this newsletter the school leaders for 2018 who will do an outstanding job in leading our school. They are: School Captains: Fatima Jamshidi & Adam Mhajer Vice Captains: Ela Ozdemir & Enes Durdu Prefects: Amanda Heng, Yakub Demiryurek, Simona Zubkov, Keith Miller, Jenna Jarvis, Noah Farache and Selim Duman.

Our school will be led by a group of students who are full of enthusiasm, reliability and pride in our school. They will not let anyone down and I look forward to seeing how they will work within these roles throughout the year.

Meet the Teacher evenings Meet the Teacher evening is certainly a very worthwhile and important activity for our school community. At these meetings, you will be given an idea into how the classrooms work, what we will be covering regards content during the year in stages, how homework is administered in the different stages, basically a run down of what will happen for your child at school during 2018. It also affords you the opportunity to contribute to their learning if you,

as parents, have a job that may have significant relevance to what we are covering in classes. Please consider this. What a Meet the Teacher evening isn’t, is a chance for you to discuss your child’s progress at this point in time. If would like to do that, please organise a separate interview time, as the teacher’s will not have time to do this informally on the day. You will take away some reading material that will be crucial to the organisation of your child’s class and grade, so please file it in a safe place. Stage 3 students will be moving into BYOD (Bring your own device) – a system that allows students to bring a device from home to further supplement their learning – nothing smaller than a mini iPad and certainly something they already have (you don’t need to buy a brand new device). More information will come from Mrs. Pant at the Stage 3 Meet the Teacher evening. Times and dates for these meetings are: *Stage 2 – Monday 12 February 3.15-4pm Hall *Stage 1 – Monday 12 February 4-5pm Hall *SEU – Monday 12 February – scheduled 10 minute interviews – SEU rooms *Stage 3 – Monday 19 February 3.15-4pm Hall *Kindergarten – Monday 19 February 4-5pm Hall We hope to see a lot of parents attend.

Scripture Scripture lessons won’t start until Tuesday 27 February, 3-6 sessions 1.50-2.20pm and K-2 sessions 2.20-2.50pm.

Closing the main school gate

If you are visiting the school during school hours and coming through the main school gate, please make sure the gate is closed behind you when you enter and when you leave to avoid a quick and easy exit for some of our younger students. We have a student in our school who is a flight risk, so this issue is very important !!! Also, we are keeping the pool gate near the Uniform Shop closed as well – please ensure when you walk through it, you close it behind you !

1 Xanthorrhoea A new year and some new class names, the strangest being 1 Xanthorrhoea, which is actually a grass tree, pictured below.

So last week, I went to 1X and I challenged them with an enoromous task – by this Monday just gone (5/2), I wanted to see at least one person from 1X spell ‘Xanthorrhoea”. To my amazement, 6 students did – Jessica, Stella and Shayaan (back) and William, Philip and

Yusuf (front). Outstanding spelling skills !!!

What is happening at school? The capital works project to redevelop Lidcombe Public School is continuing to be advanced with detailed design to commence imminently. Additionally, the Project Reference Group are providing ongoing input to further develop the best design solution for the permanent homebases, library and administration building. We invite you to attend to hear about the progress of the project and to gather your feedback at the Parent Information Booth to occur Thursday 22nd February 2018, 2:30pm – 3:30pm at Lidcombe Public School. Additionally, the Department of Education’s website for the redevelopment includes frequently updated project information, please visit https://schoolinfrastructure.nsw.gov.au/schools/lidcombe-public-school. If you have any project enquiries you may send them to Lidcombe@johnstaff.com.au. Also, you can now see that the hedge has been removed, we have engaged a plumber to move the water meters. Once this has been done, I will get some artificial turf contractors to quote me on covering the concrete near where the hedge used to be.

Congratulations ! Just in case you weren’t aware or didn’t see the Auburn Review last week, that one of our parents, Lucy Doherty, was awarded the 2018 Australia Day Cumberland Council Citizen of the Year award. A copy of an article from this week’s local paper is below, detailing the great work Lucy has done in advocating for a fair go for children with disabilities. Lucy is very passionate about this topic but moreover, a fair go for all children. Truly a well deserved honour. Congratulations Lucy !

Platinum Awards Being Green suggests that your child is behaving very well and is doing what our teachers expect of them in the classroom and the playground. These awards in its current format have been running for over 3 years now. Our Week 1 & 2 recipients were:- Week 1 – No recipients. Week 2 – Elif Bicak (S2W) & Melanie Lopes (S3B). What a great start to the year girls !

House Captains/Vice Captains Joining our School Leaders are these fine students who will lead our sporting houses at our Major Carnivals. Their badges will be presented at next week’s K-6 assembly. Congratulations to:

Nulla Nulla Captains: Jamie Lee and Tarik Demiryurek Vice Captains: Uhdana Hewawasam and Anthony Mylonas Boomerang Captains: Melanie Lopes and Arkie Hawkins Vice Captains: Yasemin Kadayifci and Hassan El Chami Didgeridoo Captains: Ceylin Karagoz and Samet Dilsizoglu Vice Captains: Esen Candemir and Ibrahim Konak Woomera Captains: Ji Woo Nam and Adam Bardouh Vice Captains: Atticus D'Adam and Ceylin Tokyurek

Flag Bearers Every year, we look for a few respectful, organised, serious and careful students to take control of our flags as flag bearers. There is a definite procedure for unfurling and packing away our flags and it is certainly an honour to undertake such an important task to maintain the respect and integrity of our flags. Congratulations to: Steffie Chau, Xinlong Wu and Vilimaina Kagi

Canteen Tender Congratulations to Healthy Kids Cucina Canteen for being successful in our recent canteen tender. Their submission was fantastic in every way and their menu in particular looks very healthy. Welcome to our school community.

Website & School App We encourage you to keep an eye on our school website www.lidcombe-p.schools.nsw.edu.au and to become involved in our school and work with us in the interests of your child’s education. We have also purchased a “School App”. All you need is an iPhone, iPod Touch, any smartphone android device (eg Samsung) or an iPad, and then download the free “School App” to your device. Having a school app will revolutionise our communications with our community. It will be a notification type service, that will allow you to get updates, reminders and even our school newsletter ! Get into the App store on your phone or device, put into the search engine “Lidcombe Public School”. Our school logo will come up straight away, so press the button to install. Once it is installed, you will need the username and password to get into the information provided on our school app. User Web Portal, iPhone App and Android App username: community password: lidcombeps We have also launched a Facebook page called “Lidcombe Public School”. Many of you have already liked our page which means of course, you will get all of our messages and updates. If you haven’t liked our page yet, just put into the search engine “Lidcombe Public School” and it should be the first item that comes up, select it and you be on the Facebook page to like it.

Newsletter All newsletters are emailed to our families each fortnight. Electronic distribution is a much better method of communication with families as it allows the school community to enjoy great images of students in full colour without the environmental impact of substantial paper usage.

EMAIL ADDRESS UPDATE NEWSLETTER

My email address has changed. Please update your records. Name of Child: ____________________ Class: ______________ Name of Parents: ___________________ Email address:-__________________________ Please hand in to Mrs Rush in the office as soon as possible.

Principal

SCHOOL TIMES

Students MUST NOT arrive at school before 8:30 am and must leave promptly at 3:00 pm Parents are reminded that school supervision exists between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm. A Before and After School Care facility is provided on the school site for parents needing child minding. Contact 9749 2817 after school hours for further details.

Leaving students unsupervised on school grounds has legal implications for both the school and parents.

Access to the school is only possible via the pedestrian gate near the sandpit (Mills Street) during school hours. All visitors must report to the school office. Unauthorised persons on school premises are considered to be trespassing and will be reported to the police.

SMOKING IS PROHIBITED ON SCHOOL PREMISES

Did you know???

For the safety of all students, toddlers, babies and adults, please do not bring dogs into the school grounds, even on leashes. Some children have a genuine fear and it can be quite distressing for them as well as for parents, particularly those with very young children. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Under the Companion Animals Act

1998 No 87 (14.1.e), dogs are

prohibited in school grounds,

(whether or not they are leashed

or otherwise controlled).

Hello, my name is Hansi Hello to all the students, parents and

staff, my name is Yvonne Ng.

Hi my name is Yvonne Ng. Some of you may recognise me as a parent at Lidcombe Public School (LPS). I am also a casual teacher who has been teaching at various local primary schools since Term 1 of last year.

Some things I enjoy are the occasional catch-up with friends, doing craft activities, organising my home (yes, the tidying-up, rearranging, decluttering, cleaning) and I always look forward to family day with my husband and kids.

I'm a parent of 2 daughters, aged 3 and 6 so I consider myself a new parent with lots more to learn about parenting. The one thing I value most as a parent and teacher is the ability to provide a positive learning environment for my children to freely express themselves and not worry about judgement. This is something I can see Lidcombe Public School being able to provide hence why I am very excited to be part of this school.

I'm very grateful to take the librarian role on a part-time basis as I know I'll learn many new skills to enhance my experience and knowledge as an educator. You'll be seeing me around the school on Wednesdays and Thursdays of Term 1. I look forward to being more involved with the school and the wider community. Hi, I'm Miss Tran and I will be teaching Science, History and Geography this year at Lidcombe Public School. I am a beginning teacher as this is my second year of teaching. My background is Chinese even though my surname is of Vietnamese decent. My favourite food is watermelon and least favourite is licorice. I love being in the classroom and school environment where all the learning happens! I have a deep passion for directing young minds towards reaching their full potential - that is why I chose to become a teacher. I hope to the best educator I can be to help my students be on the way to reaching their goals. If you see me around, don't be afraid to come and say hi!

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

Each newsletter get to know a little bit more about our amazing staff

SUMMER PSSA – Term 1

PSSA (Public Schools Sporting Association) sport is divided into Summer (terms 1 and 4) and Winter (Term 2 and 3) sports. All students in years 3-6 are eligible to try out for these teams. This term all the usual sports are there – Cricket, T-ball, Newcombe Ball and AFL – Basketball has also been added. Trials were held recently and teams are being finalised. Students will be notified if they were successful and will be given permission notes in the next day or so. Fees are $30 per term ($35 for AFL) which need to be paid by Friday 23 February. Signed notes and money should be placed in the envelope provided and returned to the marked letterbox outside the office.

DANCE2BFIT ALL students at Lidcombe Public School take part in a dance/fitness program called Dance2bfit. Different classes participate in the 9 week program each term. In Term 1 these classes will be taking part - S2B, S2C, S2F, S2H, S2L, S2S, 1K, 1W, 1X, 1A, 1E and 1G. Permission Notes will go out in the next day or so – payment of $25 and signed permission slip should be placed in the envelope provided and handed to the class teacher by Friday 23 February.

STEM - SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHS Last year we started our very exciting STEM program across the school. Due to the success of this program we are continuing same this year. In Term 1 the following classes will be taking part – S3T, S3N, S3Y, S3F, S3B, 2C, 2M and 1K. The cost for this is $25 per student (this has been subsidised by the P & C by $15 a head). Permission Notes will go out in the next day or so – payment of $25 and signed permission slip should be placed in the envelope provided and handed to the class teacher by Friday 23 February.

REPLACEMENT NOTES If you should lose a note you can download a new one from http://www.lidcombe-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/school-notes . If the money envelope is lost please send money in any sealed packet. It is important that money and notes are handed in to the correct person/place – money envelopes will always have where they are to go to printed on them. Your help in sending them to the right place will help minimise the risk of notes/money being misplaced.

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

Basketball Mixed Juniors

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term

1 Week 2

DISABLED PARKING SPOT Please be aware that we have two students in wheelchairs this year and it is very

important that the Disabled Parking spot at the diagonal parking in Mills Street is not

used by anyone who does not have a permit to park in this spot.

Cost of the fines for parking without a permit range from $549 and one demerit point to $659.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Don’t forget our Swimming Carnival to be held this Wednesday, 14 February at Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre Wyatt Park, Church Street, Lidcombe for all students in Years 3-6. We hope that many of our parents will come and cheer their children on. All students will take part in the water safety activities and will be placed in groups dependant on their swimming abilities. If you know of any parents who would prefer a translated note in either Turkish, Korean, Chinese or Arabic please let them know these are available on the website. Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 and K-6E will take part in a Water Safety/Fun day at school on the day.

UNIFORM SHOP

Welcome back to 2018 – it’s certainly been a busy start to the year for our volunteers in the Uniform Shop. A huge thank you to all our volunteers who give up their free time to help run the Uniform Shop. We did open additional hours in the first week but we are now back to normal: Wednesday mornings – 8.30am to 9.15am; and Friday afternoons – 2.30pm to 3.15pm Most of our lines are in stock at the moment. There are a few house t-shirts in the smaller sizes that are out of stock and won’t be in for a few weeks. We also have a supply of dresses and culottes in the office in the following sizes which are almost brand new but need zippers replaced. If you are handy with a sewing machine we are happy to give these away free of charge (one per child). Dresses: Sizes 6(4) / 8(2) / 10 (10) / 12(6) / 14(3) Culottes: Sizes 12(2) / 10(6) Please ask at the office.

CANTEEN NEWS

We would like to extend our gratitude to all the staff, students and community of Lidcombe Public School for allowing Healthy Kids Cucina Canteen to provide a nutritiously healthy canteen at your school. We are a family run business that operates on the love of food! We have worked in various food service positions from Cafes, Restaurants to School Canteens. Our menu has been designed to provide students and staff with homemade food that is culturally diverse, tasty and appropriate for varied dietary needs. We offer gluten free, Halal and vegetarian options. Please see our friendly staff for any requests, comments or feedback to support Lidcombe PS further. Helpful Hints and Tips: ● Orders can be completed at the canteen at 8:30 am for Break 1 and Break 2 or bought in To be submitted every morning. We make and cook our lunches fresh daily and do not reheat or use leftovers. ● Ice blocks or ice creams can only be purchased at the canteen at the time of ordering at Break 1 or Break 2. This will ensure children are eating their treat at the correct temperature as to not harm their tummies. ● Please speak to your child as you place the lunch order so they are aware they are receiving a delicious lunch from the canteen that day, we wouldn’t want any child Missing out. ● At times we will add new and exciting treats for loose change, we understand what it’s like to be young and want to spend 20c at the ‘tuckshop’ ● Breakfast options are available from 8:30am four days a week Our staff are dedicated to making our canteen clean, healthy and affordable for all. Please feel free to pop in and introduce yourself.

GET ACTIVE EACH DAY Did you know?

In NSW, less than half of primary and just over half of secondary school students do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.

Primary and secondary school boys are more active than primary and secondary school girls. Why get active? Regular physical activity is an important part of getting healthy and staying healthy. Encouraging kids and teens to be active from a young age sets good habits early on and helps them develop the skills they need to stay active throughout their lives. Regular physical activity helps kids and teens to: . grow and develop healthily . build strong bones and muscles . improve balance and develop skills . maintain and develop flexibility achieve and maintain a healthy weight . improve cardiovascular fitness reduce stress and feel more relaxed . improve posture boost confidence and self-esteem . have fun with their friends and make new ones. From www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

Learning about the Digital World

Primary school4-12 years

Technology is constantly developing and changing the way we live and work. As the world continues to become more digitised and automated, digital literacy skills are going to become more and more important. But what is digital literacy and what can you do to support your child to develop their digital literacy skills?

What is digital literacy?

Digital literacy is the knowledge and ability to use technology critically and creatively to find information, solve problems or complete tasks. It is also about knowing how to act safely and respectfully online.

Even though children today are ‘digital natives’ (they were born into a technological world), digital literacy doesn’t necessarily come naturally to them. Children may find it easy to locate information online, but do they have the skills to examine it critically, to know whether it is trustworthy and accurate? They may regularly see ads on the TV, but are they aware that advertising is intended to manipulate the audience into buying a product? They may easily upload photos to social media sites, but do they know how to act responsibly and safely while online?

What is happening in schools?

Digital literacy is already a focus in schools. Digital Technologies has been developed as one of the learning areas of the Australian Curriculum, and digital literacy skills are taught in English, alongside other, more traditional forms of literacy. Schools are recognising that digital technologies impact all areas of our lives and are using technology across all subject areas in new ways. Students are able to use a wide range of technologies to gather information, solve problems, be creative and collaborate with their peers, while also thinking critically.

What can you do at home?

There are many things that you can do at home to support your child’s digital literacy skills:

Use technology together.

This is a great way for your child to understand how to use media positively – and they will enjoy spending time with you! It can also help you to monitor the content that your child is accessing, both online and on TV.

Talk about technology and the media.

Talk to your child about the ads you see together and what the advertisers have done to try to convince you to buy their product. If you’re watching or reading the news together, talk to them about how the media can sometimes present only one side of a story. This will help them to think critically when they consume messages through technology.

Learning through play.

Try to encourage your child to develop their digital literacy skills through games and other activities. There are some great digital literacy activities and resources your child can try on the National Literacy

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

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and Numeracy Week Video games such as Minecraft can also be great for developing your child’s digital literacy skills – as they encourage players to creatively design cities, collaborate with others and practise problem solving skills. Talking to your child about the games they play gives them an opportunity to share their learning with you.

Balance technology use.

Try to make sure your child balances their technology use as well – set limits for screen time, and make sure they spend plenty of time playing outdoors and doing non-screen activities, like playing sport and music and reading books. Try to model this positive behaviour too, by enjoying technology on occasion, but letting your child see you enjoy other activities as well.

Talk about online safety.

Talk to your child about the information they share about themselves online. Make sure your child knows that when they upload something to the internet, it is nearly impossible to remove it again. Talk to your child about choosing safe usernames and passwords and keeping them secure; and set up the privacy settings of any online accounts together. Most social media platforms have an age restriction, so always check this before your child sets up an online account. For more information about e-safety and ways that you can make sure your child is safe online, check out the e-safety website.

* 40% off Skincare (excluding The Ordinary and Ego), Suncare (including lip

care) * Up to 50% off fragrance, including gift

sets * 40% off bath toiletries (excluding 2

Litre Palmolive body wash) * 40% off deodorants (excluding gift sets,

twin packs and travel size) * 40% off Colgate oral health

* 40% off Old Spice * 40% off Swisspers Cotton

List of materials for classroom use 2018 Kindergarten – Early Stage 1 2 family size box tissues each semester 1 old shirt 1 roll of paper towels or wet wipes

Years 1 and 2 – Stage 1 2 glue sticks (solid type) per term 2 whiteboard markers per term 4 lead pencils per term 2 family size box tissues each semester Homework book (A4 size book) 2 highlighters Pencil case Sharpener Ruler (30cm length) Eraser Scissors I roll of paper towels or wet wipes 1 old shirt Whiteboard markers Earphones (available from the office for a gold coin) * Library bag

Years 3 and 4 – Stage 2 Pencil Case 10 lead pencils per term 4 red pens per term Pencil Sharpener (with room for shavings) 2 glue sticks (solid type) per term 30cm ruler - with mm Eraser and scissors 2 family size box of tissues each semester A4 Homework Book A4 Plastic Folder with plastic sleeves Whiteboard markers Headphones/earphones Library bag 1 pack of wet wipes NB: Library bags are provided for Kindergarten and available from the Uniform Shop ($12-00 each) for all other years.

Years 5 and 6 – Stage 3 Pencil case Coloured pencils 6 HB lead pencils per term (Staedtler or similar) 3 blue & 2 red biro pens (bic brand or similar) Highlighters 30cm Ruler (showing millimetres) Pencil sharpener (with room for shavings) 2 glue sticks (solid type) per term Eraser and scissors 2 family size box tissues each semester A4 Homework book Whiteboard markers Textas Whiteboard markers x 2 Geometry Set * Library bag Optional: Calculator BYOD

LIDCOMBE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER – Term 1 Week 2

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