News, success stories and new programs from Albury West Public School Term 4, Week 4 – 31st October, 2013

Having Fun at Borambola

I certainly saw interesting sights, as well as tasted food that I would not have normally attempted as I made my way through Europe. I had a wonderful trip, but I must say it was nice to come home to friendly faces, a comfortable bed, clean clothes and the familiar sounds of my own three children arguing over who drank the last of the milk and didn’t tell anyone!

A special thanks to our executive team of Ms Johnston and Mrs Grantham for doing a wonderful job in taking over the reins and keeping it all together (and even doing the paperwork!) We are extremely fortunate to have so many teachers who can easily take on the added responsibilities of Principal and Assistant Principal. 3/4 Excursion Leisa Grantham, Christina Klein, Lynne Johnston and I had the great pleasure of going away on the 3/4 excursion to Great Aussie Holiday Park last week. Everyone had a terrific time – we especially loved the jumping pillow. I wish to congratulate the students on their outstanding behaviour whilst we were away – they were a real credit to their mum’s and dad’s and our school.

Thanks are also extended to Barbara Denton who gave up her time to cook the BBQ for everyone. We certainly appreciate your help and support. Thank you also to the ladies in the canteen who made sure there was enough food for morning tea and lunch. Crossing Point Learning Community Launch The Crossing Point Learning Community is made up of schools that feed into Albury High School: Albury, Albury West and Howlong. Last week we sat down and looked at the launch of our learning community which will take place on Wednesday 4th December.

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

Plans for the day are as follows: 9.30am Start with performances from all schools – including 2 from AWPS which will include the 5/6B Hip Hop group. The winner of the logo design will also be announced. Work samples across all stages will be on display in the high school hall.

All of our Year 6 students will be in attendance, along with 5B and our members of the SRC. Parents and members of the community are invited to attend the launch and celebrate with us over morning tea at 10.30am. We hope to see you at the launch. 2014 Additional Funding Local Schools, Local Decisions (LSLD) is a significant education reform putting students at the centre of decision making. To do this more effectively and efficiently principals and schools have been given more local decision making authority. As part of the LSLD reform, the new Resource Allocation Model (RAM) has been developed to allocate funding for public schools in the most equitable way, with more than 70% of the state public school education budget going directly to schools from 2014 – an increase from the 10% of the current model.

Recently, you may have heard on the news or read in the local paper, that we have received additional funding to support our students next year. This substantial allocation will allow us to continue to provide a tremendous range of learning opportunities that will benefit all of our students. The funding will be further discussed at the up-and-coming P&C meeting which will be held on Tuesday 12th November. Further information is also available on the school website. End of Year Presentation Day Book the 9th December into your diaries - we are all looking forward to Presentation Day. We will be trialling a new format for this year with the presentation of awards taking place during the day time (12.00pm) and under the COLA. We will once again be presenting all kindergarten students with a lovely book, selected especially for them by class teachers. Leaders for 2014 will be announced during the presentation ceremony. We hope that with plenty of advanced notice you will be able to attend. More about how we support children with special needs Our school Learning and Support Team (LST) meets every fortnight to discuss, plan and evaluate programs that support students who have a disability or a learning difficulty. The team then works with the classroom teacher, school counsellor and paediatrician (if needed) to adjust learning programs so that the child can be provided with activities and resources that are at their particular level and need. Some adjustments are minimal, whilst some are substantial. If adjustments are made for your child, we will inform you in general conversations, letters sent home inviting your child to participate in special support programs, parent teacher interviews or formal reviews. At the end of each term, the LST review the programs implemented and the success of them for our students. This information is used to plan the following terms focus and where the additional resources need to go. Swim School 25th November - 6th December Each year students in years 2-6 are invited to participate in a Special Swim Scheme Program run by the Department of Sport and Recreation. These special lessons support students in becoming more confident in the water. Individual notes with all the information have been sent home recently – if you would like your child to attend we ask that the note be returned as soon as possible. Sharon Julien Principal

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY November Friday 1st Kinder Orientation in Library 9.00 – 11.00am PSSA Sport - 9.15am – NO cricket tomorrow Assembly – 11.50am – K/1C Monday 4th Active After Schools Program - Athletics Thursday 7th Active After Schools Program - Basketball Friday 8th PSSA Sport – 9.15am Assembly – 11.50am – Council Elections Teddy Bear Picnic – Little Gems Tuesday 12th P & C Meeting – 7.00pm Thursday 14th Year 6 AHS Orientation Day Canteen News Wonderful Wednesday Specials November 6 Meat Pie and Juice Box and Icy Pole/Zing - $4.00 November 13 Ham and Cheese Toastie and Juice Box - $3.50 Please note – Due to increasing costs the Canteen has had to raise the price of Quench drinks to $1.50 each. There are no other price rises this term. Fundraising Report

Cookie dough sampling Currently the P & C is looking at fundraising ideas for 2014 and have been provided with a sample of some cookie dough. We will be baking some cookies at the next meeting to see how they taste and

Merit Certificates Citizen Awards Gotchas

K/1B Seth Breedin-Gardner, Kobie Maher,

Stephanie McNair-Eade, Mia Chandler

Bryce Bormann Jonny Hine

Chevy Parker Jayden Shoemark

Charli Nugent Lara Breedin-Cheney

K/1C Isabelle Nicol, Thomas Stevens,

Rory Manley, Billy Taylor

Danna Cannon Ella Evans

2/3G Chantelle Stevens, Samson Delavaris,

Iziaha Johnson, Kenny Deal

Kenny Deal Searn Maher

Student of the Week Narjic Lacey-Bird

Jake Campbell 3/4/5 K

Oscar Cameron

Jake Campbell

Tidy Bee

2/3G 5/6B

5/6B Nivetha Pathmanathan, Isabelle Williams,

Tyrese Campbell, Harry Cameron, Ben Jorgensen

Narjic Lacey-Bird Ashlea Hayes

Picnic with the Principal Stephanie McNair-Eade

Isabelle Nicol Charli Nugent Talon Peatey Zharlia Parker

Tyrese Campbell

Little Gems Stella Murphy, Abbey Fraser, Blake Heeman

Zeik McKellar

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

discussing whether we think they may make a good fundraiser next year. Come along and have a cookie and a cuppa and tell us what you think. The meeting is at the school starting at 7pm on Tuesday, November 12th. Hope to see you there! Christmas Hamper Raffle Our final fundraising event of the year is fast approaching, and we are asking families to make donations to ensure the Christmas hampers are bigger and better than ever! Starting from Monday, November 4th you can bring your donations into the front office. We are looking for non-perishable food items (must be within their use-by date) such as cans and packets, as well as games, toys and Christmas items. The last day for donating will be Friday, December 6th.

Raffle tickets will be sent home with the students in the coming weeks and will sell for $1 each. The raffle will be drawn at the assembly on Friday, December 13th. There will be a prize for the student who sells the most tickets. Thank-you for your ongoing support Sports News Cricket – Round 1 The senior team played Albury Public School in round 1. We scored 7 for 36 but this was not quite enough for a win. The highest run scorers were Harris, Oscar & CJ. The junior team also played Albury Public School. We scored 11 for 29 but APS was too strong on the day. Our best run scorers were Pacey and Logan. The highlight was Jordyn nearly taking a hat trick. Cricket -Round 2 The senior team had their first win; against Lavington Brown. We scored 5 for 76. Alex was the highest run scorer and our bowlers all bowled very well. The junior team also had a win against Lavington Brown. Our final score was 8 for34. Praveen and Vincent were highest run scorers. This week (Round 3) there is a Bye for our teams. NO BOYS CRICKET. SOFTBALL/TEEBALL NEWS

Round Two Tee Ball The tee ball team had a pleasing win against Albury North by a score of 18-14. Everyone batted very well and made it home several times each. Zharlia, Searn and Georgia hit the ball strongly and Evie hit a home run. Claire fielded well in centre field and everyone tried hard when fielding. Soft Ball The soft ball team had a very strong win against St Pats Yellow by a score of 23-2. Jessica at first base, Abby as pitcher and Tiarna as catcher combined very well in the field to force several outs. Everybody batted well with Sarah, Isabelle, Jessica, Bailey and Tiarna making it home three times each. Nivetha fielded well as short stop. Our base sneaking was a feature of the game.

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

Look at some of the fun we had at Borambola

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

Our time at the Great Aussie

Resort

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

Community News Flippa Ball water polo skills program “come and try day” is Saturday 2 November 12-1pm for children aged between 8-12 years at the Albury pool. Must be able to swim 25metres. For more details phone Shaz Boyle 0408 218 274. A Posh Affair Party & Events - "Keep your kids entertained during the school holidays with Children's discos and other fun activities at Smarty Party Funhouse! Our school holiday program will be available shortly and we will start taking bookings from the 4th of November. Follow us, Smarty Party Funhouse on Facebook to be kept informed." A Posh Affair - (02) 6025 9660 - www.aposhaffair.com.au

Ph: 60212288 FAX: 6041 3783 Email: alburywest-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

www.alburywest-p.school.nsw.edu.au

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.

Proud member of The Crossing Point Learning Community – Creating our Future.