Belair Public School Newsletter Take Just Pride 34 Carolyn Street, Adamstown Heights NSW 2289 Phone: 4952 1735

Email: belair-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 2 Week 10 July 3rd 2018

Principal’s Message

Greetings Everyone, As we come to the end of a very busy term, I would like to highlight an area we are seeing great improvement in our students. Ms Colley has been leading teachers in the development of enhanced writing techniques for students K-6. This process is providing students a range of highly effective strategies for planning writing that is engaging, well-structured and interesting. Students have a new language to think about and discuss their writing and the work being produced is already showing a marked improvement. Reports come home today. Reports are based on the learning demonstrated this semester by students. There are two types of grades indicated on the report, one being an achievement grade and the other an application grade. I encourage you to look first at the application grade. A consistent grade means your child is putting an acceptable level of work into their education. Grades above that show greater level of focus, engagement and desire to learn. With the performance grades, a “C” indicates your child is meeting average grade expectations and demonstrating a sound level of proficiency. Most students receive a “C” grade. Whilst we value high achievement, we celebrate all student’s learning and a “C” for one student can be just as impressive as an “A” for another student. As mentioned earlier in the year, parents are always welcome to contact teachers throughout the year to discuss student progress. Parents wishing to discuss their child’s Semester One report are invited to contact their

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JULY

3rd Knights Chess Competition

3rd Movie Day Stage 2&3

4th NAIDOC Celebrations

4th Responsible Pet Program- K-2

5th The Magic Words-

Cyber Safety Production

5th Selected ATSI

students to attend dance performance

5th Basketball Gala Day

6th Multicultural Speaking Comp.

6th Last Day of Term

23rd School Staff Development Day

24th Students return to school

31st ICAS-English

31st Early Stage 1 Public Speaking Final

August

1st Opportunity Class Placement Test

2nd Early Stage 1 Wetlands Excursion

6th-10th Education Week

10th Whole School Assembly

10th Zone Athletics Carnival

14th ICAS-Mathematics

15th Welcome to Kinder 2018 Transition

child’s teacher to make an appointment. Parents are also reminded that teachers are happy to have a chat over the phone if that is an easier option for parents. I hope our families have a lovely holiday. School starts back on Tuesday 24 July for students. Regards Warwick Beard Principal

New walking option for students heading to Kotara High after school An additional strategy to increase student safety of an afternoon is being put in place. Many students walk to the Kotara High crossing to catch buses or walk beyond. The plan is to offer a walking group that will assemble near the bus line at the Terrence St gate. The teacher on bus duty will send the group off at 3.05pm to walk down Terrence Street to Lexington Parade and along to the crossing. Senior students will be encouraged to keep an eye on younger students. This will not be a formal arrangement and there will not be the possibility of lists of students to be checked off etc. Students who arrive late will have to make their own way to the high school. Parents wishing their child to be a part of this group are invited to send a note into classroom teachers informing them of this so teachers can remind students as they leave the classroom.

Time to step up- 50 Years Celebration Our organising team is working away planning a wonderful celebration for Saturday 22 September with an old-fashioned school fete. Whilst the organisation is progressing well, we need some people to help out for part of the day. How to get involved:

• Help with the BBQ • Help out on your child’s class stall taking money • Host your own food stall- Are you in the food business or just a great cook? It could be as

simple as pikelets or hot dogs or as fancy as crepes or a Malaysian satay - the committee will pay for ingredients and serving ware if needed- you will need to provide your own cooking gear.

• Run some games from the past- Grandparents welcome to get involved too! Were you the marbles champion, a yoyo whiz or the best rounders player in your school? What other games do you remember from the past? Are you prepared to help out teaching some games from the past to children for an hour on the day?

• Spend half an hour on the chocolate wheel • Sell some raffle tickets • Man the “Buy a Brick” stall • Sell program and history publications at entry points

Please jump on the link below to indicate the way you would like to be involved. https://goo.gl/forms/oA7aoQ8NsNok6mlJ2

You are invited to attend a special assembly to celebrate NAIDOC Week at Belair Public School. The assembly has been organised for Wednesday 4th July 2018 at 10.15am and will take place in the hall. This year’s theme is Because Of Her We Can which will honour the contributions which the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have made - and continue to make on a daily basis throughout our communities, families, rich history and nation. Aboriginal students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will lead the assembly that will feature performances by both Belair Junior and Senior Choirs. We hope that you are able to come along and join us in our celebrations.

Last Wednesday K-2 children had an exciting visit from the Lambton Fire Station fire fighters. The students were reminded of some very important fire safety messages and were given a show bag with a workbook, sticker and other fun activities. The students toured the fire trucks and everyone had a turn using the fire hose. If your child (K-2) would like to enter the colouring in competition (page 18 of the activity book), please return this page to your child’s teacher by Thursday 5th July. Thank you to Mr Forster for organising the visit.

Family Support A big thank you to all our lovely families and friends for your kind donations over the last few weeks in supporting one of our families over this difficult time. We will be finalising this today, so please cease any further donations. Once again, thank you again for all your love and support.

STEAM Volunteers at Belair Public School We are so lucky at our school to have a community engaged in learning who is willing to share their skills and expertise with students and teachers. We sincerely thank all the parents and carers who have volunteered their time to share their knowledge these last two terms. This semester we have had workshops, presentations and learning activities in the following areas:

• Chinese culture and language • French culture and language • Engineering and surveying • Gardening • 3D printing • ANZAC Day • Yoga • Percussion • Visual Arts • Fire- safety • Neuroscience (Professional Learning for Teachers)

We look forward to future presentations and workshops next semester. Stage teachers will contact parent volunteers that have skills related to units of work being studied. It’s exciting too for students to see their mum or dad presenting to their class and reinforcing the message that learning is a lifelong skill.

The second in our series on allied health care professionals who can assist

children is the speech pathologist. We are not advocating that all children will

need to or should use the services of a “speechie”.

About speech pathologists A speech pathologist is a university-trained health professional who works with anyone who has trouble communicating. This could be trouble with:

• speech

• language, including reading and writing • fluency – for example, stuttering

• voice. Speech pathologists help people find the best way to communicate to meet their needs. This could include signs, symbols, gestures and other forms of assisted communication as well as verbal speech exercises.

Speech pathologists also help people who have trouble swallowing food and drink.

Speech pathologists work in kindergartens and schools, hospitals, early intervention programs, community health centres, mental health services and private practice. Speech pathologists often work one on one with children but might also work with groups.

Speech pathologists often have special interests in areas of complex need like hearing impairment, autism, cerebral palsy or intellectual disability. They might work in specialist intervention services for children with these disabilities.

Why your child might see a speech pathologist Your child might see a speech pathologist if he has speech and language problems including:

• problems being understood by other people

• problems understanding what people say • frustration because he can’t say what he wants to say or can’t be understood by others

• a husky voice that’s hard to hear

• stuttering. If your child has a speech or language problem, a speech pathologist will assess your child’s level of ability and design a program to help your child develop the skills and abilities she needs.

During the assessment, the speech pathologist will talk with you about what your child has trouble with. The speech pathologist will also ask you about your child’s development, including medical history, and whether anyone else in your family has speech or language problems.

The speech pathologist might look at how well your child understands instructions and questions. The speech pathologist might also listen to your child talking to get a good idea of the words and sounds your child uses.

Speech pathologists can work in public and private settings.

Public services are provided by government or not for profit organisations. The service is usually free of charge though sometimes a small fee may be charged. There is often a waiting list for public services.

Private services are provided by speech pathologists working in a sole practice, with other speech pathologists or in multi-disciplinary practices. There is a fee for these services though rebates through Medicare and private health insurance may be available. Usually, you do not need a referral to see a speech pathologist. You will need to visit a GP if you need to be assessed for eligibility for Medicare rebates.

Environment News-

Waste Free Wednesdays We have seen a huge reduction in the amount of waste in lunchboxes at our school. Please continue to pack and encourage foods that have minimal or no packaging. Ways that we can achieve this are:

• Buying bulk packs of foods e.g. popcorn or chips and putting it into smaller reusable containers each day

• Using reusable wrap or washable material pouches • Packing more fruit and vegetables in their own natural packaging! • Reducing use of squeeze pouches, cling wrap and other products that are non-recyclable • Encouraging your children to pack their own lunchboxes and think about food and

packaging choices • Encouraging children to bring uneaten food home to eat in the afternoon instead of wasting

it

Garden Our garden has some lovely herbs and produce growing. Please come and help any lunchtime or before or after school with weeding or watering. Speak to Mrs Allars if you would like to become involved in the gardening with students at lunch times. Plastic Free July The challenge is quite simple...attempt to refuse single-use plastic during July. Plastic Free July aims to raise awareness of the amount of single-use disposable plastic in our lives and challenges people to do something about it. You can sign up for a day, a week or the whole month and try to refuse ALL single-use plastic or try the TOP 4: plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and straws. Last year over 36,000 people from 85 countries joined the challenge and we hope to spread the word even further this year. Sign-up today and be part of the solution to the growing problem of plastic pollution in our environment. Families can register and join in here: http://www.plasticfreejuly.org/

Fossil Fuel Free Hour Last Friday in the last hour of school we made the challenge to use no electricity in order to help the environment. It was quite difficult at first because teachers are accustomed to using technology in lessons. We got used to it after a bit and soon forgot about the challenge. Many students did sport or played outside with toys. We completed our challenge and it was fun to see what it was like without electricity. -Bailey Stone 5/6

Student Awards

KA

Lulu H, Neive P, Thomas W, Emmett W, Kai T, Olivia G

2B

Cooper S, Caden T, Tiana B, Lily C

4R

Atticus B, Bridene W

KM

Joshua G, Lulu E, Ivy C, Sawyer

VDW, Thomas N

2C

Billy M, Ruby A

5G

Charlotte M, Justine M

KZ

Cleo M, Jake H, Sophie R, Lexi M,

Bronte S, Amelia E

2L

Liam C, Lacy A

5K

Bronson B, Oliver O

1B

Matilda L, Jai W, Oliver C, Liam F

3H

Joshua B, Marley R

5/6F

Jamie L, Eden L

1T

Indi B, Samuel R, Maddison M,

Benjamin H

3M

Liza CW, Lachlan R

6P Angus F, Ella J

1S

Maesey U, Izaac S

3/4J

6W

Lucas W, Kiara G

1/2M

Summer T, Sundae L, Noah B

4B

Taj A

Choir- Dylan B, Ameila T Dance- Charlotte M, Bella S

Canteen Roster and News ~ Canteen Supervisor Sonja

0438 684 401

The Green Tree Kitchen A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped out with our pie day today. We hope everyone enjoyed their yummy pies and ice-creams!

4 July 18

Wednesday

5 July 18 Thursday

Amy O

6 July 18

Friday Danielle W, Robyn S