BILPIN PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Excellence in Learning 2517 Bells Line of Road, BILPIN 2758 Telephone: 4567 1154 Fax: 4567 1388 Email: bilpin-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

www.bilpin-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 23rd August, 2016

TERM 3 2016

Mon 29th August - Dance 2bfit

Mon 29th - Fri 2nd - SASS Week

Wed 31st August - Choir rehearsal at Hawkesbury HS

Wed 31st August - Last day for Father’s Day orders

Mon 5th Sept - Dance 2bfit

Wed 7th Sept - Last day for Book Club orders

via “The Loop”

Sun 11th Sept - Working Bee

Tues 13th Sept - Kindergarten 2017 Transition

Day

Wed 14th Sept - Yr 6 Transition Day - Colo HS

Dates to Remember

Visit from the Acting Secretary of the Department of Education

On Monday 15th August, Mr Peter Riordan the Acting Secretary for the Department of Education visited our school. Mr Riordan was accompanied by Ms Tamara Daniels, the Director of Corporate Services. Ms Brickley, the Director for NSW Public Schools - Hawkesbury also joined us for the special visit.

P & C Meeting

Tuesday 6th September

The Staff Room 3.40pm

Mr Riordan, Ms Daniels and Ms Brickley were given a tour of the school by our leaders Clara, Mali and Patrick. Firstly, they spent time in K/1 observing L3 and writing activities. The students presented wonderful recounts of their weekend. Next, they visited the library to watch 3 - 6 dancing in the library.

After this the leaders took Mr Riordan and Ms Daniels to visit the chook enclosure to collect eggs and nurse some chickens! Luckily the chickens were on their best behaviour!

The leaders then took our guests on a tour of the vegie garden, the new habitat island and then to see the new nesting boxes and our Open Day display.

Our guests concluded their visit with a morning tea of apple pie and local fruits. The leaders presented Mr Riordan with a hamper of goodies that are locally made in Bilpin. Thank you Michelle Coe, Tessa and Shane McLaughlin and Julie and Bill Shields for your donations of goodies.

Our leaders were respectful, thoughtful and exemplified the mature and friendly manner we expect at Bilpin PS.

Our guests greatly enjoyed their visit and we hope their visit to Bilpin is a long lasting memory.

Bilpin Bush Run On Saturday 20th August our school hosted a barbeque for the Bilpin Bush Run. It was a very busy day with a large turn out for the event. Congratulations to Penny McKinlay and Cathy Wilson for organising such a worthwhile event.

I would like to thank Angie Pirie and April Vigurs for all their organisation and running around in the lead up to the event. I would like to thank Michelle Leer, Matt Pirie, Jono Ingersole, Dave McCloy, Tessa McLaughlin, Amy Hale, Sue Croumbie-Brown, Sam Craigie and all of the teachers for their time and effort in manning the barbeque and serving the hungry runners. It was great to have such an abundance of helpers!

Thanks must also go to Jack H, Jack I, Lily I and Clara for manning the daffodil stand, helping with set up and pack up and selling calendars on behalf of the Bilpin RFS.

I would also like to offer a sincere thank you to the following:-

Hillbilly Cider for donating 6 cases of non-alcoholic cider in

support of our barbeque fundraiser

Bilpin Rural Fire Brigade for supporting our school and

allowing the school to run our stall

Hawkesbury Bakehouse, Kurrajong for providing the rolls and

buns

Bilpin Public School P & C Committee are as follows

President Darryl Carle 4567 1018 Please feel free to contact any of Vice President Angie Pirie 4567 7469 these representatives if you have Treasurer April Vigurs 0404 476 806 any concerns you wish to discuss Secretary Nikki Wheen 4567 1154

Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 23rd August, 2016

Matt and Angie Pirie - donation of drinks

Thank you to Angie Pirie, April Vigurs, and Michelle Leer and

staff members for making slices and cakes

Munro’s Quality Meats, Wilberforce for the very tasty meat

Sponsored by O’Connell Earthworks (Darryn and April Vigurs)

Jones Brothers Family Farm for the supply of eggs

Sue Croumbie-Brown - organisation and preparation of the

Flowering Bulb pots

The school raised approximately $2300.00 from the barbeque. A big thank you to everyone who supported us on the day through their purchases.

Spring Garden Competition Working Bee On Sunday 11th September we will be holding a Working Bee from 9:30am, in preparation for the judging of the ‘Best School Gardens’. We would love to see any volunteers who might be able to assist on the day, particularly if you have a keen green thumb! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Refreshments and morning tea will be provided. If you are able to assist, please let Mrs Chapman know by Thursday 8th September for catering purposes.

District Athletics We would like to congratulate Jack and Abby for their excellent efforts at the District Athletics Carnivals. Year 6 Colo High Transition Our Year 6 will be attending Colo High School for their final Transition Day on Wednesday 14th September. They will participate in 5 lessons during the day. They will also have the opportunity to meet students from some other local schools and catch up with Bilpin students now in Year 7. A note will go home the week before.

Kindergarten 2017 Transition Days

On Tuesday 13th September many of the children who will be part of our Kindergarten class in 2017 will be joining us to participate in their first Kindy transition day. Parents will be receiving an invitation pack which outlines details of the planned activities,

dates and times, and we know many preschool children have been very excited about the prospect of visiting our school.

We are also currently planning an additional day on Tuesday 25th October Term 4, culminating in our Kindergarten Orientation Day on Tuesday 15th November 2016.

SASS Week - Thank You Next week we are celebrating our fabulous administrative staff, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Hulbert. Bilpin is incredibly lucky to have two such dedicated staff who always go above and beyond what is required of them in their respective positions. We would like to acknowledge their hard work and commitment and thank them for all they do to make Bilpin Public School the wonderful place it is. We would also like to thank Mrs Robyn Vaha and Ms Michelle Leer for the fantastic work they do with our students in their roles as Learning and Support Officers. Our students are greatly benefitting from the extra time spent reinforcing important skills and knowledge to assist them with their work in class. Thank you ladies!

NAPLAN Results Yesterday the students in Year 3 and Year 5 received their NAPLAN results. We were very pleased with the results of all of our students. Many students in Year 5 displayed excellent growth since sitting the exam in Year 3. Well done boys and girls!

If you did not receive your child’s results or you wish to discuss them, please contact the office.

Staff Professional Learning This afternoon the teaching staff are attending a Fieldwork session at Brewongle Environmental Education Centre. At this session we will be:- * Habitat assessments * Nest box surveys using mobile cameras * Setting up wildlife cameras * Atlas of Living Australia - data upload/citizen science This Saturday, 27th August all teaching staff will be attending our alternate staff development day in place of term 4 end of year day. The topic is “Creative and Critical Thinking and 21st Century Learning Strategies”. We will be joining with Comleroy Road, Kurrajong East, Kurrajong North, Vineyard and Wiseman’s Ferry Public Schools.

Father’s Day Badge Making Each family received a note to order badges, key rings or fridge magnets for dads and grandpas for Father’s Day. They need to be in by Wednesday 31st August and will be returned by Friday 2nd September. Money raised will go towards Year 6 activities at the end of the year.

Bilpin Flower Show During Open Day each student in the school decorated a flower pot to enter into the Bilpin Flower Show. In a few weeks time our students will be planting plants in their pots ready for judging. The Flower Show will be held on 8th and 9th October. The students’ entries will be taken up to the hall for them to be judged.

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*

LMBR update

As of next week the Pay Pop payment link will temporarily be

removed from the school’s website whilst the Department of

Education conducts a transaction freeze . During this time our

school account will be closed and all school funds will be signed

over to the Department of Education.

There will be no money accepted by the school for the next 3

weeks.

The school will ‘Go Live’ under the new systems on Monday 5th

September. This is a very complex and time consuming process

and we thank you for your patience and understanding in the

lead up to and implementation of this system.

Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 23rd August, 2016

Students are welcome to enter the other competitions as follows:- Junior Section: Overall size not exceeding 25cm x 25cm. En-tries must be on a firm base, dried flowers allowed. N.B. MUMS AND DADS - HANDS OFF PLEASE! 9 Years and under - Flowers in a Boot - Vegetable Vehicle 15 Years and under - Miniature House and Garden - Posy

Bus Safety A reminder that the Bus Bay should be kept clear between 8:30 and 9:30am and 3:15 - 3:45pm each day. For the safety of our students we have a waiting area on the blue seats for students to be collected from each afternoon. Please ensure that you have parked on the correct side of the road, that you collect your children and walk them safely across the road. As a community, we are all responsible for the safety of all of our students. Thank you for following the directions of the sign posted areas.

Library News What a great day we had last Thursday at the Book Fair. Everyone looked wonderful in their costumes and we had a huge variety of different “Australia” related outfits. Well done everyone!

We did great business at the Book Fair and as a result of the sales have received over $500 books for the library. Thank you to everyone who bought books at the Fair. Thank you also to the Vigurs family who donated a book to the school from the Book Fair.

Congratulations to our colouring in competition winners.

K/1 - Bailey and Mia

2/3 - Aliza and Joel B

4/5/6 - Laura and Eli

Congratulations also to Kylie the winner of the guessing competition. There were 647 lollies in the jar!

Finally, don’t forget that the Premier’s Reading Challenge finished on 19th August so all folders need to be back at school this week. Well done to everyone who participated this year and particularly to those children who completed the challenge. Your certificates will arrive

next Term.

Choir News

Next Wednesday 31st August, students in Years 1-6 will be attending a rehearsal at Hawkesbury High School in preparation for the Hawkesbury Music Festival. If you are able to transport students to the rehearsal, please indicate on the note and return it as soon as possible. This is the final rehearsal before the festival and you will be receiving information soon on how to purchase tickets for the concert. The students have been spending a lot of time learning all of the songs and are looking forward to performing them.

Emergency Procedures Throughout the year schools are required to undertake emergency evacuation and lockdown practices to ensure their school

procedures are effective. During the last few weeks we have been conducting the practice drills. Sometimes we conduct our drills with forewarning to staff and students, at other times surprise drills take place to enable us to determine the effectiveness of our procedures and whether or not any adjustments are required.

Scholastic Book Club As from the next issue (Issue 6) of Scholastic Book Club, the school will not be accepting orders and payments by cash/cheques from parents. With the new school finance system orders will need to be placed online with Scholastic Book Club via what is known as “The Loop”. The link to this is https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/ClubManagement.aspx Via this site parents will be able to order and pay for the books and they will be delivered to school. The school will still receive bonus points that the school can use for teachers resource books/equipment. If you have any questions about this new way of ordering, please speak to Mrs Chapman in the school office.

Mrs M Mackie Principal

CLASS NEWS

KINDERGARTEN/YEAR 1 - Mrs Oram and Mrs McCloy

This term the students have been learning how to write persuasive texts. The students have been using words like ‘should’ and ‘must’. We will soon be going to the computer room to type up our persua-sive letters, so be expecting a letter soon! Please make sure your children are continuing to swap their readers at least once a week. If you are able to attend reading groups, we would love your help!

CLASS 2/3 - Mrs Mackie

Students have been learning about the Olympics during class. We have been following the medal tally, looking at the History of the Olympics, learning facts about Brazil and playing a child friendly ver-sion. Students should be bringing home, Home Readers, which they are able to rotate from their reading box. Home Readers can only be borrowed when students return their books in their reading folders with their diaries. For the past 2 weeks and for the next few weeks, Homework will be Olympic themed. Reading groups this term will take place at the following times; Monday and Tuesday: 12—12:40pm Wednesday: 10:45—11:25am We hope you have time to come and join us. The boys and girls are having a great time during dance and learning many new moves!

CLASS 4/5/6 - Mr Hynds

In Maths over the next 2 weeks we will be covering the topics Frac-tions, Multiplication/Division, Subtraction, Volume, Length, Area, 3D and Angles. The students have been making wonderful progress with their speed in completing subtraction and division algorisms, which we are practising every morning. In the next 2 weeks we will be focussing on multiplication facts up to 4 digits.

Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 23rd August, 2016

We have completed our biography research and will be publishing these on the computer. Our next text type will be descriptive writing. Our first task for each student will be to write a short description of a mystery object from home. They will then be presenting this to the class for other students to guess. The object needs to be small enough to conceal in a small box or bag to show at the end of their talk. In our Science unit we will be completing experiments in small groups to see how long it takes for different types of matter to freeze and melt. Students will decide the best way to record their results and present this information to the class. In Geography Miss Wheen will be commencing a unit on Antarctica. Congratulations to all the debaters and public speakers in my class who were so successful at Maraylya Public School last week and thanks to Miss Wheen for all her hard work in preparing them to present their topics.

Book Week At Bilpin Public School

P & C NEWS

Canteen News Our Canteen helpers for the remainder of this term are as follows:-

Thursday 25th August - CLOSED

Monday 29th August - Rebecca Tadrosse and

Margaret Tadrosse

Thursday 1st September - CLOSED

Monday 5th September - Nikki Wheen

Thursday 8th September - CLOSED Monday 12th September - Kelly Haines

Thursday 15th September - CLOSED Monday 19th September - Rachael McKinlay and

April Vigurs

Thursday 22nd September - CLOSED

P & C

Many thanks to Shane Muir for looking at and assessing our aging pie oven. We really appreciate his time. At the next P & C meeting we will be discussing the replacement of the pie oven or similar for our canteen.l

Safe Food Handling Seminar for Canteen helpers

Please let the school know if there are any parents interested in undertaking a ‘Safe Food Handling Seminar’ at Windsor RSL on Wednesday 26th October (10.00 am - 1.00 pm). As part of the Hawkesbury City Council inspection of the canteen, it has been advised that a few of our volunteers have this training. The cost of $51.50 would be paid by the P & C.

P & C Meeting - 6th September The next P & C Meeting will be held at 3.40pm on Tuesday 6th September. If you have any items your would like discussed, please notify Nikki Wheen (P & C Secretary) so items can be placed on the agenda. Items listed on the agenda will be discussed on the day, and any new items raised at the meeting will be put on the agenda for the following meeting.

Blake’s Music Tuition

Is now offering

The following services:

* All instrument sales

* All instrument repairs and service

* Sales and advice on all accessories

We aim to provide the best service and prices on both sales

and repairs, so if you would like to support a local business

that has been servicing the Hawkesbury’s musical needs for

more than 30 years please give us a call.