CLARENCE TOWN PUBLIC SCHOOL

82 Queen Street, Clarence Town NSW 2321 Phone: 4996 4156 Fax: 4996 4392 Email: clarenceto-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.clarenceto-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Kindness Honesty Effort

Term 1, Week 9 Student of the Week: Lewis Wade ES1E Lewis is a polite, reliable and popular student who is always willing to help out in the classroom. He is a conscientious student who completes all tasks efficiently. Lewis is a very capable student and is keen to take on more challenging tasks in class. He is able to show respect for the ideas and opinions of others. Lewis is extremely courteous and thoughtful and his gentle nature is a wonderful example for all children. Lewis demonstrates our school PBL values of: Respect, Safety and Learning. He is a wonderful friend and an excellent role model in our school. Congratulations Lewis!!

Diary Dates 2020

Thursday 9 April Last Day Of Term

Clarence Town Public School Postonements to date: The following are postponed until further notice: Swimming for Sport - Fridays Cricket Training – Mondays Soccer Training – Wednesdays Reg Kelly Cricket Parent Teacher Interviews Naplan School Photos

Canteen Closed for the remainder of Term 1 Due to the current Covid-19 situation, our school canteen will be closed for the remainder of Term 1. We would appreciate it if each student could bring their Recess, lunch, fruit and a drink bottle with water from home each day.

P&C Urgent Update Uniform shop is closed for the remainder of Term 1 2020. For any urgent orders, please see the office. Easter Egg Raffle for 2020 has been cancelled. Anyone that has returned tickets and money can collect from the office

Clarence Town Public School Newsletter Term 1 Week 9

From the Relieving Principal, Mr. David McGaw. As we go to print on Tuesday 24th March, the school has received instructions from the New South Wales Department of Education as to exact guidelines for schools remaining operational at this time. Our school remains OPEN and the Department also states that children should stay home if possible. The school will not turn away any student and remains open and operational to perform its duties to the community of Clarence Town. We will continue to send out any additional information to our community immediately after receiving direction from state office and our Secretary, Mr. Mark Scott. Our school like so many others is currently facing unknown territory with a national and international health emergency and the spreading of COVID-19. Our school is doing all it can to keep our community in Clarence Town and surrounding localities updated with factual information. This information will come from just a few selected sources, namely the New South Wales Department of Education and NSW Health. In the last week we have released to our community some vital information, including public statements from both government departments, messages on Skoolbag, Twitter, Facebook and our newsletter along with important messages home to try and keep our community informed and safe. On Friday we sent home a survey for continuity of education in our Clarence Town community as a precautionary measure should the Department of Education ask us to teach content online or use distance education procedures. We will continue where necessary to communicate with our families at every opportunity. Assembly Awards are now being presented on Thursday mornings in classrooms, including student of the week, Tawny awards, special prizes and book awards until further notice. Photographs will continue to be published in the newsletter for your enjoyment. One of the casualties of the current situation is NAPLAN which is cancelled for 2020 along with school assemblies, carnivals and excursions until further notice. Thank you Clarence Town for supporting our dedicated staff and the school in general. The stage three sustainability study making multi-purpose bees wax wraps has been a huge success in our classrooms with these magnificent designs and completed products. A great idea with collaborative teaching by Miss Bunn and Mrs. Grieg with Mrs. Ferguson the expert using the iron to assist producing these fantastic creations. HOT OFF THE PRESS As of Tuesday 24th March, the following cancellations have been forced upon due to the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency and new restrictions placed on NSW public schools. CANTEEN – closed for remainder of term 1 UNIFORM SHOP – closed for remainder of term 1 EASTER MUFTI DAY RAFFLE - cancelled WEEKLY ASSEMBLIES – cancelled for the remainder of term 1 SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS – postponed until term 3

NAPLAN testing and assessment 2020

NAPLAN testing is not proceeding in 2020 to help principals, teachers and school staff focus on student learning during the outbreak of COVID-19. The nation’s education Ministers met on the 20th of March 2020 deciding to cancel NAPLAN for 2020. The decision was made to provide teachers and principals as much time as possible to focus on the continuation of their students’ education. This includes cancellation of:

• NAPLAN Online practice testing, 23 March – 9 April 2020 • NAPLAN Online tests, 12 May – 22 May 2020 • NAPLAN paper tests, 12 May – 15 May 2020.

Parents and Citizens Association Annual General Meeting 2020 The members of our P&C gathered in the staffroom last Tuesday evening and held the annual general meeting of our school parent body with all positions eagerly filled by our enthusiastic community volunteers. Congratulations to the following members; President: Lisa Ziliotto Vice President: Samantha Booth Secretary: Kershia Jones Clarke Treasurer: Sarah Benyon Uniform Coordinator: Kellie Ryan Sport Coordinator: Samantha Booth Canteen Convenor: Rebecca Auer Auditor: Addison Partners, Dungog At the general meeting which followed the AGM, it was unanimously decided to change the recess and lunch time breaks effective from term two with a potential longer break allowing Fruito to be absorbed into classroom time to enable a longer playground experience at the first break. The P&C have purchased new football goals and voted to reward regional sporting representatives with a higher level of recognition. Our community is also asking for semester one reports to be sent home earlier and for parent teacher interviews cancelled due to recent COVID-19 restrictions to be rescheduled in term two. If any parent wish to contact their classroom teacher, please do so before the end of term via telephone or make an appointment at the school office.

Back to School Disco Survey Thank you to the 66 families who responded to this important data gathering process which took place at the Back to School Disco in February and the collated results were both interesting and insightful. The P&C and staff have been assigned a copy to read and scrutinise. If any community member seeks their own copy, they should enquire at the school office during business hours and we will print one.

Key measures and takeaway data from back to school survey A measure of parents feeling welcomed at the school (66 responses) 81.81% of survey respondents feel welcomed when attending events or coming to Clarence Town Public School A measure of parents being informed regarding school matters (69 responses) 65.21% of survey respondents feel informed and well communicated to by Clarence Town Public School A measure of parents supporting learning at home (40 responses) 62.50% of survey respondents feel they support learning at home A measure of parental participation in school business (69 responses) 53.62% of survey respondents feel they participate in school business A measure of school supporting positive behaviour (67 responses) 67.16% of survey respondents feel the school supports positive behaviour A measure of the school supporting safety (62 responses) 85.48% of survey respondents feel the school is a safe place A measure of the school being inclusive (66 responses) 78.78% of survey respondents feel the school is inclusive A measure of the school supporting learning (65 responses) 82.53% of survey respondents feel the school supports learning A measure of satisfaction with sporting activities (66 responses) 72.72% of survey respondents feel the satisfied with sport at CTPS A measure of satisfaction with cultural activities (70 responses) 62.85% of survey respondents are satisfied with cultural activities at CTPS A measure of satisfaction with music activities (63 responses) 50.00% of survey respondents are satisfied with musical activities at CTPS Overall satisfaction with Clarence Town Public School (66 responses) 65.15% of survey respondents are satisfied with Clarence Town Public School Song Room Held every Friday, Clarence Town is one of only four Hunter schools selected to host Song Room with the eventual goal of a 2021 school choir now achievable. Every student in the school will send time each week for three years leaning beat, tempo, musical composition, choral performance and general singing skills. Our kids are loving this program coordinated by Miss Bunn and Mrs. Ellis.

Farewell MrsTerry Sue Terry, the manager of our OOHSC facility who arrives at school at 6.30am, makes breakfast for our students and then returns in the afternoon, staying on the premises until 6.00pm has decided to retire. Sue has given her heart and soul to this valuable before and after school care service in conjunction with the Maitland Baptist Church. Our students bid farewell to Sue last Friday and Captains Emily and Will presented her with some beautiful gifts from our P&C. We will miss you Sue.

National Chaplaincy Program Families of Clarence Town Public School would be well aware that our school chaplain, Mrs. Jody Ferguson plays a pivotal role in our school and at times is the very shoulder our families need to lean on to discuss issues within the school and out in the community. During these uncertain times, Mrs. Ferguson is available to our families whenever convenient to you by emailing her at Jody.Ferguson@det.nsw.edu.au Other contact numbers to be aware of: Lifeline Crisis 13 11 14 Careline Australia 1300 302 170 Kids Helpline Australia 1800 551 800

Pics from the playground……..

Assembly award recipients – Term 1 Week 8

National Day of Action against Bullying Miss Bunn should be congratulated for preparing a number of engaging activities to recognize the importance of removing bullying and harassment from our schools to ensure the safety and well-being of every student is at the forefront of school planning, teaching and learning. Our classes enjoyed creating an anti-bullying wall of hands after watching some insightful videos on this all important topic.

Good Hygiene and Health Practises

Maintaining good hygiene standards is an important way to reduce the risk of acquiring and spreading respiratory infections. Parents and caregivers are asked to promote good hygiene, including handwashing with soap as handwashing is the single most effective way to reduce the spread of germs that cause respiratory disease. Soap is provided in our school toilets and hand sanitiser is available in classrooms.