CLAIRGATE CHRONICLE

Colorado Drive, St Clair NSW 2759 P: 9670 1408 F: 9670 1409 E: clairgate-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Care, Excellence, Innovation, Opportunity

in a positive, dynamic environment

Term3, Week 6 Wednesday, 24th August 2017

Once again Clairgate has shown how we shine with all our extra activities - our students, teachers and community truly are outstanding…read on…

Our Amazing Public Speaker

Last week I had the honour of going to our NSW Parliament House and listening to the “Yarn Up” Showcase. This showcase consisted of Aboriginal students in years 5 or 6 speaking on a range of topics. Liam Ross participated on behalf of Clairgate Public School and his speech was excellent – very clear, concise and humorous. Liam received a certificate for his performance and said he really enjoyed giving his speech here. I am sure he meant this – it isn’t everyone who actually gets to speak in such a prestigious venue. There were many dignitaries from the Education Department listening to these speeches and they were so impressed with Liam’s speech and manner they invited him to say the “Acknowledgement of Country” at the very prestigious Principal’s Annual Conference in front of the Minister of Education! WOW! This is such a wonderful honour for not only Liam and his family, but also for Clairgate – congratulations Liam – we are all very proud of you!

Our Wonderful Volunteer - congratulations

Our teachers and students have been blessed with wonderful volunteers and we thank all parents, grandparents and community members who help and support us in this capacity. One such helper is Helen Williams, who has been a dedicated volunteer at Clairgate for over 10 years. She has worked tirelessly for our children and community and several of our teachers nominated her for the NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year. This Award Ceremony was held last Tuesday and Mrs Williams was invited as one of the 12 finalists for the whole region – a wonderful honour! Mrs McInally and Mrs Camilleri both went to support Mrs Williams and represent Clairgate.

All finalists were presented with their certificates and then Mrs Williams was called to the stage. It was a wonderful surprise when Tania Davies announced that the winner of the Senior Volunteer for the entire Outer West/Blue Mountains Area was Helen Williams! Congratulations Helen – you truly deserve this honour and we thank you so much for all your help. We look

Term 3 - Important Dates to Remember

Term 3

Mon 28th Aug BMN Dance Rehearsal 9-12:30

Tues 29th Aug Wanderers Cup

Wed 30th Aug St Marys District Athletics

Thurs 31st Aug 3-6 Assembly 5/6G presenting 2pm

Fri 1st Sept KO Touch Girls

Mon 4th Sept P&C Meeting 7pm

Tues 5th Sept BMN Dance Matinee & Evening performances

Fri 8th Sept Year 6 Transition to St Clair High

Tues 12th Sept Clairgate On Parade 7pm

Wed 13th Sept Clairgate On Parade 7pm

Thurs 14th Sept Clairgate On Parade Matinee 9:30am

Mon 18th Sept Year 3 Camp Yarramundi Deparingt at 8am

Tues 19th Sept K-2 Athletics Carnival at school

A note from the Principal

CLAIRGATE CHRONICLE

Colorado Drive, St Clair NSW 2759 P: 9670 1408 F: 9670 1409 E: clairgate.p-school@det.nsw.edu.au

Care, Excellence, Innovation, Opportunity

in a positive, dynamic environment

forward to supporting you at the next stage of these awards – the State Finals later in the year.

Book Forum

Last week I also went to Erskine Park High School for the Annual STEPS Book Forum. This was an excellent forum with 2 students from each of the 7 STEPS schools discussing the 6 finalist books for the title “Picture Book of the Year”. Our panellists were Layla and Leilani, with back up support from Mason. Congratulations to you all, you had some interesting and pertinent points to raise about these books.

Debating Success

Last Wednesday Mr Wilkinson took some of our Debating Team to James Erskine PS for a STEPS debate. Congratulations to Liam, Layla, Paige and Jodie for their fine efforts. Clairgate won their section and we will be debating again in a couple of weeks. Read the report later in the newsletter.

Our Fabulous Open Day and Book Parade

Thank you to everyone who came yesterday and celebrated Public Education with us! It was a great day – starting with the beautiful Junior Choir led by Miss Bartlett. The children sang so well without their music – I was very impressed. Our next performance was the awesome Senior Dance Group. They looked so good in their red uniforms and they danced brilliantly – well done to all dancers and particularly to Mrs Thurling and Ms Paulic. We then had Open Classrooms for parents, family and friends to see what the children had been studying. Next was recess - with amazing cakes and treats donated by parents and the P&C. Thank you to all our wonderful helpers at Morning Tea – particularly Tania Warhurst who jumped in very quickly with very little prior warning – great job everyone!

Then … THE BOOK PARADE! What a joyful time this was – all our children looked terrific. The Book Character costumes were wonderful – some indeed were very intricate. Thank you to all those great parents who enabled their children to participate – whether it was helping to come up with a simple idea or helping to make a great costume – it really was a celebration of Books, Reading and Children. Congratulations to Mrs Robinson, Mrs Wiles and Mrs McInally for their organisation – and many thanks to our great teachers who always share their joy with our children by dressing up. Thank you also to all those who purchased books at the Book Fair – I thought there was a good selection this year. The money we raise here will help us restock our beautiful library.

Continuing our Success on the Sporting Field

Both our Girls and Boys Knockout Touch Teams are going very well at present – our Girls won last week against Crestwood PS and our Boys won against Beaumont Hills PS today. We continue to wish them every success – congratulations children and Mr Blanch – super coach!

Parent Survey

I am inviting parents to complete a survey about our lovely school. I encourage you to add any extra information, ideas or concerns at the end of the survey. I will collate these responses and disseminate this information early next term.

Survey Link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9VK6T85

Leave

I will be taking a short amount of leave later next week and the following week. Mrs McInally will be happy to help with any concerns you may have during this time.

Have a great week everyone. Kind regards, Mrs Michelle Lawrow Principal - Clairgate –Building Caring, Creative, Compassionate Citizens

It is that time of the year at Clairgate when your children get to show their talent on stage under the spotlight. There will be 3 performances:

Show 1 - 7pm on Tuesday, 12th September, 2017

Show 2 - 7pm on Wednesday, 13th September, 2017

Show 3 - Matinee – commences at 9:30am on Thursday, 14th September – all classes will perform.

Tickets, now on sales.

On Thursday 7th September all unsold tickets for all performances will be available for purchase outside the front office at 9:15am. Please be advised that because of high demand Tuesday and Wednesday tickets will be limited to two per family on this day.

Clairgate On Parade 2017

Hello everyone,

Today I am very happy to present a photo collage highlighting all the successes Clairgate have had over the last two weeks.

Mrs Lawrow has highlighted many of these amazing events on the front page of this edition.

I was so pleased to be involved and share the achievements and happiness with these individuals, small groups, community

and the whole school body.

It is so exciting to see the learning and enriching experiences that people can attain at all levels of schooling

– whether it be an individual, a team focus, a grandparent or every child in every class .

Go Team Clairgate!

Yours in Education, Mrs Lisa McInally

Liam and Mrs Lawrow at Yarn Up,

State Parliament House, Sydney!

The Clairgate Book Forum Team at

STEPs Book Forum, EPHS hosting !

Mrs Helen Williams at the

NSW Volunteer of the Year

Awards, Nepean Rowing Club,

Overall Senior Winner!

Our beautiful students,

teachers and community

enjoying Open Day and

Book Parade!!

More photos of this event

next newsletter !!

CLAIRGATE CHRONICLE

Colorado Drive, St Clair NSW 2759 P: 9670 1408 F: 9670 1409 E: clairgate.p-school@det.nsw.edu.au

Care, Excellence, Innovation, Opportunity

in a positive, dynamic environment

Debating Team @ James Erskine Public School

On Wednesday the 16th of August, 2017, the Clairgate debating team attended a workshop and debate held at James Erskine Public School. This workshop was attended by other schools in our STEP’s community, and was run by Barbara Partington, the district and state debating adjudicator. It was an excellent and very productive day, where the students continued to develop their speaking and debating skills. They also participated in a debate against another school, and our Clairgate team were declared the winners of their debate – which was very exciting and encouraging for the students. The victory was a real credit to the team and all the hard work and effort they have put into developing their debating skills.

The Clairgate debating team on the day was: Liam Ross, Layla Nikua, Jodie Borg and Paige Morrison.

The next debate will be held at Blackwell Public School on the 18th of September, 2017.

Athletics Carnival Assembly Our Athletics Carnival Assembly was held in the School Hall on Tuesday 22nd August (2pm). All place ribbons and major trophies were presented at this assembly! A summary of all the main athletics award winners will be published in our next newsletter!

District Athletics Carnival

This year’s St Marys District Athletics Carnival will be held at Blacktown Olympic Park (Eastern Creek) on Wednesday 30th August. Permission notes have been sent home to all of our Clairgate competitors!

Area Athletics Carnival

The 2017 Area (Regional) Athletics Carnival will be held on Wednesday 13th September at Blacktown Olympic Park, Eastern Creek.

Superstar Record Breaker!

Look up! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! Its Billy!! Congratulations to Billy Higgins who set a new School Record in the Junior Boys High Jump at our school Athletics carnival! Billy’s jump of 1.40m broke the old record by 3cm. Well done Billy and good luck at the upcoming District Athletics Carnival.

State Knockout Touch Footy

Well done to both our Boys and Girls State Knockout Touch teams who remain undefeated so far this year! The Girls Touch team have made it to Round 5 after a bye, a forfeit and excellent wins against Emerton PS and Crestwood PS. Our Boys Touch team will be playing a Round 4 match against Beaumont Hills PS this Thursday (24th August).

Sport Stars!

Congratulations to Jada Taylor on her selection in the 12 Years Penrith Representative Netball Squad. What a great all rounder! A huge well done also to Mitchell Perry and Nathan Jenkins who both gained selection in the 10 Years Penrith District Cricket Development Squad. Good luck boys with the rest of your cricket careers!

Winter Sport Update

Our current Winter PSSA Sport program (as well as Gymnastics) ended last Friday 18th August! Summer Sport (same as in Term 1) will recommence first week back in next term!

A Huge Thank You!

Our school is very fortunate to have such helpful and generous parents and carers. Mr Cowens, (Jemma and Skye Horton’s grandfather) has generously donated twelve safety barrier bars to our school. This equipment will be very useful in partitioning off areas at our school and keeping our students safe. Thank you very much Mr Cowens.

Sport Report by Mr Blanch

KA 1S 2K

Riley .T Zahra A Jake.W

Xavier.B Morgan A Beau.L

Alexis.M Jap Leen S Kyle.TA

Tirzah.S Julian G Emily.V

Aleena.T Phoenix S Alexis.V

Mason P Brielle.C

KL Mason.B

Cooper.B 1W

Ryan.R Aiden.A

1/2T

Luca.K Rachel.F

Zachary.R

Indiana-Rose. D Lachlan.S

Daniel.B

Melinda.J William.B

Zarah.T

Indi.B Mia.B

Melita.D

Jacinta.M Gabriela.H

KM Valencia.O

Jack.H

Levi.G

Charlotte.M

Euyra.A 2C

Michelle.S Aidan A

Cody-Lee.B Lennon P

Emma.T Jacob P

Steve.I Lillian O

Destiny S

Marwa A

CLAIRGATE SUPER SPELLERS 2017

Recently, Stages 2 and 3 have taken part in the Premier’s Spelling Bee.

Congratulations to these super spellers for being clever enough to make their

stage final.

Stage 2

Amerie Resonable, Madison Fox and Jonas San Juan – 3T

Ella Ida, Matilda Saunders and Ben Selfe – 3CG

Marcus San Juan, Mia Salter and Layla-Rose Battah – 3/4G

Zane Ulberg, Morgan Tomayo and Jessey Bektas – 4M

Stage 3

Daniel Fava, Jodie Borg and Kendrik Lim – 5/6A

Bianca Lemos, Isabel Manning and Liam Ross – 5/6G

Kai Pratt, Yada Bokany and Shaylee Pardey – 5/6T

Ahmed Alsaad, Jesse Dibou and Jace Morris-Lardner – 5/6H

A special mention also goes to Darius Pratt - 1/2T

The winners of the stage 2 final were MARCUS SAN JUAN and LAYLA-ROSE

BATTAH and the stage 3 winners were JODIE BORG and ISABEL MANNING.

Congratulations to these four students. They will now go on to compete in the

regional final in September. Keep practising those tricky words and good luck

at the final!

Miss E. Grace

Spelling Bee Co-ordinator

Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District

ABN 31 910 677 424

Entrance via Derby Street, Kingswood PO Box 63, Penrith NSW 2751

Tel 4734 2120 Fax 4734 3737

Providing health services to the communities of Hawkesbury Penrith Blue Mountains Greater Lithgow

Tuning in to Kids Emotionally Intelligent Parenting A six session parenting program for parents of children aged 3-12 years Would you like to learn how to:

• be better at talking with your child? • be better at understanding your child? • help your child learn to manage their emotions? • help to prevent behaviour problems in your child? • teach your child to deal with conflict? Tuning in to Kids shows you how to help your child develop emotional intelligence. Children with higher emotional intelligence: • have greater success with making and keeping friends • have better concentration at school • are more able to calm down when upset or angry • tend to have fewer childhood illnesses. Where: North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre, Corner of Debrincat Ave and Oleander Rd, North St Marys. When: 6 weeks on Tuesdays starting 24th October 2017

10:30am-12:30pm Contact: Kathy 9834 0500 or Virginia on 9833 6800 Cost: Free Register by contacting The Central Referral Service on 1800 222 608

Date: 2 September

Event name: Going walkabout with the Murchison Widefield Array

Event details:

Dr Emil Lenc

Mid-2016 marked the third year of science operations of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) - a radio telescope situated

in the Western Australian desert. Despite its humble beginnings and relatively low build cost, it has aided astronomers to

perform a wealth of scientific research to date. While specifically designed for an ambitious program to look back at the early

Universe and to find evidence of the first stars, it has instead turned out to be an incredibly powerful and versatile

instrument. I will highlight some of the science performed over the past three years, discuss upcoming upgrades to the MWA,

and how it fits in with the even more ambitious Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

Includes presentation, short 3D movie and viewing of the night sky through a range of telescopes (weather permitting).

$18.00 Adult

$12.00 Child/Concession

$50.00 Family (2 adults + 2 children)

Children under 3 years of age free.

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Time: 7pm – 9pm

Venue Address: Penrith Observatory (Building AO), Western Sydney University, Werrington North campus, Great Western

Highway, Werrington

Contact phone or website for public enquiries and bookings:

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_on

Date: 16 September

Event name: Overcoming Engineering Challenges in Space

Event details:

Mr Nicholas Ralph

When we first ventured into space, engineering and physics was turned on its head. Battling extreme temperatures, micro

gravity and radiation, the harsh reality of the true challenges behind space travel became clear. The unbound hostility of

space takes no prisoners. Join us and learn how everyday devices we take for granted become deadly weapons, or totally

useless, in the cold expanse of space.

Includes presentation, short 3D movie and viewing of the night sky through a range of telescopes (weather permitting).

$18.00 Adult

$12.00 Child/Concession

$50.00 Family (2 adults + 2 children)

Children under 3 years of age free.

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Time: 7pm – 9pm

Venue Address: Penrith Observatory (Building AO), Western Sydney University, Werrington North campus, Great Western

Highway, Werrington

Contact phone or website for public enquiries and bookings:

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_on

Date: 29 September Event name: Hands On Workshop - Rockets Event details: Build and launch paper rockets using compressed air, watch a model rocket launch. Includes presentation, short 3D movie and viewing of the Sun SAFELY through a telescope (weather permitting) $15.00 per person (children and accompanying adults) for hands-on workshops BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL Time: 10am – 12pm Venue Address: Penrith Observatory (Building AO), Western Sydney University, Werrington North campus, Great Western Highway, Werrington Contact phone or website for public enquiries and bookings: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/observatorypenrith/penrith_observatory/whats_on

Observatory Penrith