Gloucester Public School Newsletter Opportunity - Innovation - Excellence

Find us at: 45 Hume Street, Gloucester 2422 Tel: 65581303 Fax: 65581655 www.gloucester-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Term 2 Week 5 Tuesday 26th May 2020

Dates to Remember 14/09 School Photos (change of date) 16/09 Susan McLean – Cyber

Safety Expert visiting GPS – all day and parent information session in the evening

Year 6 Shirts: Could all Year 6 students please see Mrs Green or come to the office to pay for and collect their Year 6 shirts. Excursions Stage 3 Canberra 24-27/8

5/6M are so happy to be back at school!

Reconciliation Week National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June 2020) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Our theme for 2020 – In this together – is now resonating in ways we could not have foreseen when it was announced last year, but it reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation we are all in this together.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.

National Sorry Day Today is National Sorry Day. Today we pay our respects to The Stolen Generations. We remember the hurt, suffering and injustice suffered. We hope it will continue to be a day that increases awareness and understanding of not only the pain endured, but the continued steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.

Welcome back everyone Welcome back and thank you everyone for your patience as we return to school full time. We missed all the smiling faces of our students during the remote/home learning period and had a great day yesterday. Thank you for your support and understanding, we appreciate it. Please ensure you keep up-to-date by looking at our skoolbag app. As we return to full time teaching and learning, all students are expected to attend school unless they are unwell. Please refer to the guide to NSW school students returning to school face-to-face, included in this newsletter and on our skoolbag app.

Stage 3 Excursion to Canberra As of this week, excursions are still on the back burner for the foreseeable future. It may take a while for the Department of Education to lift restrictions regarding interschool activities and allow excursions to go ahead. We still have our bookings for travel, accommodation and venues in place for the planned excursion from 24 to 27 August and, while no changes to the tour company’s cancellation policy impact us further, we will continue to hold our booking. We are cautiously optimistic

that the restrictions may ease to allow us to go, but only time and future COVID-19 data will tell. As has been the case throughout this pandemic, everything continues to be very uncertain. We will continue to keep our fingers crossed. Please continue to put some money aside to allow your child to attend this excursion. Our school admin office is still accepting payments from parents on a regular basis. This is a highlight of their time at school and presents many opportunities for them, both socially and academically. When further information comes to light, we will keep you informed. We thank you for your ongoing patience and support as we work through this challenging time. Rod Maggs, Assistant Principal – Stage 3

Library News It’s so exciting to see everyone back in the library again! While we are cleaning all the books as they return to keep everyone safe, library borrowing is back in full swing. Please make sure you child returns any books they may still have from last term (hopefully well read by now!) and they will be able to borrow new books to take home this week.

National Simultaneous Storytime Tomorrow at 11am students from Gloucester Public will join millions of other children around Australia in participating in National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). NSS is held annually and every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres and many other places around the country. The aim of NSS is to promote the value of reading and literacy. This year the story chosen to be read to the children is Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas. Look forward to some photos in the newsletter next week.

Book Club Brochures are currently going home for our second Book Club for the year. This is a chance for you to boost your child’s home reading library as well as helping our library purchase books through points that we earn. The easiest way to order is online in Book Club Loop (all the information is in the brochure) but orders must be received by Friday 5th June 2020 as that is the day that the order will be placed. No late orders will be accepted.

Premiers Reading Challenge Don’t forget the Premier’s Reading Challenge continues. Hopefully your child has used this time to read lots of books and are well on the way to completing the challenge. The good news is that for this year only, children are allowed to read 10 of their own choice books, so 10 books that aren’t on the PRC list. The system will recognise that when you enter your books at https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html Happy reading! Kim Macdonald, Teacher Librarian