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1 Jul 2019 Ref: TNPS/P1/2019/16

From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back to Term 3. This term we will focus on the school value of ‘Integrity’. As I reflected

on this value, the story of the “The Emperor and the Seed” by Carl Sommer came to mind. This story is about an aging emperor who begins the search for his successor. The emperor wisely listened to an elderly advisor and created a test to find a courageous boy of character and integrity. To choose a worthy successor, he gathered seven of the best students in the land and gave them each a seed to cultivate and return to the palace. Even with careful research and tending, Ming's seed did not grow. While many urged him to use another seed, he refused to be dishonest. When it was time to return the pots, six students displayed vibrant plants but Ming's pot was barren. When the emperor saw Ming's plant, he summoned him to the front and announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! He has the courage and integrity, for all the seeds I gave them were boiled and useless. He was the only one who did not cheat. He will be a wise ruler over you all”.

This fable shares the qualities of honesty, courage, and integrity. Many a times, our children are

torn over a right-wrong decision that requires them to make the right decision especially when no one is

watching over them or guiding them. There are many temptations around them which at times blur their

judgement. At school, we find opportunities to share with our students the importance of this value and

guide them in keeping away the distractions and assisting them to make the right decisions. Our assembly

programmes on our school values followed by the reinforcement of these values during our Character First

lessons provide opportunities to encourage the use of these values within and beyond the classroom.

Teachers translate the knowledge into actionable characteristics for the students to demonstrate. We

encourage you to speak to your child about these values and use teachable moments within the home to

inculcate these values together with us.

In conjunction with the 25th Anniversary celebrations, the students will be involved in the wall mural

and the time capsule projects. These projects are some of the activities that our students can look forward

to in the coming months of our celebrations themed “Celebrating Our Past, Soaring Into the Future”. You

can use this as a conversation piece with your child to find out about their aspirations for the future and

their part in the celebrations. To commemorate our 25th Anniversary, we have also designed our very own

pair of TNPS bears which would be sold as a memorabilia. Our students are invited to participate in a

competition to ‘Name the TNPS Bears” in Term 3. Shortlisted names would be put to a vote by the student

population to select the most suitable name for this pair of male and female bears. Do join us in this activity

together with your child.

Finally, I would like to wish all our students and parents a great start to Term 3! Thank you parents

for walking this mile together with your children and us. We do appreciate your support!

Your Partner-in-Education,

Mrs Ratna Elangovan Principal, Tampines North Primary School)

TAMPINES NORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL 30 TAMPINES AVENUE 9, SINGAPORE 529565

Tel: 67854329 Fax: 67863117

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1. Staff Updates We would like to warmly welcome the following teachers to our Tampines North family; Teachers

• Mdm Siti Suhana Binte Alias (Malay Language) • Miss Maisarah Binte Ahmad Zohry ( English, Social Studies)

We would like to congratulate Mrs Angelina Chia who has recently been promoted to Senior Teacher, Art. We would also like to thank Mdm Siti Salamah, who has left the school, for her years of contribution to the school and education service. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

2. Staff Achievements

Our very own Mrs Angelina Chia has been featured in the latest initiative by STAR (Singapore Teachers' Academy for the aRts) called ‘Arthacks!’ Her video entitled, #ARThacks Ep 1 - Setting Expectations & Empowering Learners, provides useful tips on creating a positive classroom culture through choice. Mrs Chia’s video will be shared with Art teachers at various professional development platforms.

3. Student Achievements

We would like to congratulate the following students for their achievements in the recent events/competitions; Art Club - SYF 2019 Category C

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Gwenn Tan 6.3

2 Tang Hou Yin 6.3

3 Ke Yu Xuan 6.3

4 Lim Zhenru 6.5

5 Livni Chong 5.4

2019 SPSSC Taekwondo (Poomsae) Senior Division Girls (Yellow 8) Chia Yee Cen (P6.4) - 1st Senior Division Girls Blue 3 (Red Stripe) Chia Xin Jie, Janelle (P6.4) – 6th

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2019 Singapore Press Holdings Foundation Primary Schools Tchoukball National Championships

Senior Division (Girls) – 3rd place in Nationals

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1. Chong Woon Ling, Lynn 6.1

2. Nur Marsyah Erienna Bte Abdullah 6.1

3. Candy Le 6.2

4. Sarah Syazwina Binte A. Rahman 6.2

5. Isha Elliqa Binte Hiryandy 6.4

6. Angela Ong 6.4

7. Zarra Evarynna Binte Sharuddin 6.4

8. Aiko Kotta Veesuda 6.5

9. Carisha Rea Khan 6.5

10. Tan Yu Han, Celeste 6.5

Senior Division (Boys) - 2nd Place in the Bowl division

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Ethan Tan 4.1

2 Evin Lau Yong Liang 5.1

3 Foo Weng Kang Kendrick 5.1

4 Jeffrin Jenson Jeyasingh 5.2

5 Julius Chua Zong Ren 5.5

6 Irfan Haziq Bin Hamidon 6.2

7 Ryan Ong Shi Jie 6.2

8 Marcus Lee Kar Soon 6.5

9 Muhammad Aqil Bin Nasron 6.5

10 Teo Jeyren 6.5

National School Games Wushu Junior Division Girls Tan Xin Manasseh (P4.2) Short Weapon 5-Duan Sword – 5th Lee Pei Ying, Jenna (P5.1) Long Weapon 1st International Nan Gun – 3rd

Quanshu 5-Duan Nanquan (Southern Fist) – 3rd Chlovel Ng Shi Xuan (P5.1) Quanshu 5-Duan Changquan – 8th Ong Ling Xin (P5.3) Quanshu 1st International Changquan – 5th Short Weapon 1st International Broadsword – 3rd Xiao WenLin (P6.2) Short Weapon 1st International Sword – 5th

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Scouts The following students have been appointed as sixers,

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Xavier Ng Yan Xun 5.3

2 Mohamad Sahrin Bin Mohd Razib 5.3

3 Jayavardhan Harihar Prasad 5.3

4 Leyton Tan Si Kai 5.3

5 Dharun Logesh 5.4

6 Muhammad Aden Bin Md Nor Harriths 5.4

7 Justin Low Wee Hian 5.5

8 Ko Andrei Rowell Sta 6.3

9 Guang Tong Goh 6.4

10 Mohd Danial Mikail Bin Mohd Hazmi 6.4

11 Ryan Ko 6.5

The following students achieved the Scouts - Gold Arrow

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Ko Andrei Rowell Sta 6.3

2 Mohd Danial Mikail Bin Mohd Hazmi 6.4

3 Guang Tong Goh 6.4

4 Ryan Ko 6.5

Brownies The school was awarded the Puan Noor Aishah - Bronze Award for our 2018 achievements. They also participated in the East Division Day @ Changkat Changi Secondary School and achieved for the following: Snack Making Competition - 3rd placing

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Maizatul ‘Aina 5.5

2 Yuen Yi Yan 5.1

3 Nur Syazrina Alisya 4.5

Captain’s Ball - 3rd placing

S/n Name of Student(s) Class

1 Sharleez 3.2

2 Nurin Shaqilah 3.2

3 Marsya 5.2

4 Nur Dalifah 5.2

5 Zeta Dafinah 5.2

6 Kerrine Koh 6.2

7 Nurin Shafiqah 6.1

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4. LEARNING DISPOSITIONS – P1 & P2 As communicated during our Meet-the-Parent session in the beginning of the year, with the changes in the assessment model for Pri 1 and 2 students, there will be revisions made to the criteria for the Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB) and Good Progress Awards (GPA). EMB would recognize students who consistently demonstrate positive learning dispositions while GPA would recognize students who have shown the greatest improvement in the learning dispositions in the course of the year. Teachers will observe the students’ learning dispositions through daily lessons and learning activities. These awards celebrate a child’s learning milestones and encourage progress and effort. It also recognises the importance of cultivating the right learning dispositions from a young age. As such, the school has identified the following domains, provided below for your information : Joy of learning

- Eager to learn, - Enjoys problem solving - Derives satisfaction from learning new skills or discovering new ideas

Resilience

- Not giving up easily when the problem is difficult

Open-mindedness

- Willing to try out ideas or solutions offered by peers, willing to explore possibilities or consider other viewpoints

5. SCHOOL GATE OPENING HOURS

As shared during the Meet-The-Parent sessions, we take the safety & security of our students when they are in school as our upmost priority. We have reviewed our processes and will be making the following changes to the opening hours of the school gates from 8 July onwards:

Rear/Back Gate, HDB car park at Block 496F

7.00 to 7.40 am (new time)

2.20 to 3.00 pm

12.30 to 1.00 pm (only on Fri)

Side Gate, (Along Tampines Ave 9)

6.30 to 7.45 am

2.20 to 3.00 pm

3.30 to 4.00 pm (except on Wed)

12.30 to 1.00 pm (only on Fri)

CCA days (Mon & Thurs): 5.00 to 5.45 pm

Main Gate (Along Tampines Ave 9)

6.30 to 8.00 am

5.30 pm onwards ( Mon & Thurs)

4.00 pm onwards (Tues, Wed, Fri)

Please be reminded that parents would not be allowed into the school premises to pick-up

your child at all times. In order not to hinder traffic flow along Tampines Ave 9 and

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compromise on the safety of our students, parents who are driving are not to park alongside

Tampines Ave 9 during dismissal. Alternatively, you can use the HDB car park at Block 496F

when picking-up your child/ward during school dismissal time between 2.20 to 3.15 pm. We

also seek your cooperation to adhere to the instructions of our security officers with these

changes in managing the safety of our students.

6. LATE-COMING TO SCHOOL

Our school believes in providing a holistic education for our students and to inspire our

students to be their best. It is therefore important that all students report punctually and

regularly to school. While most of our students are punctual for school and arrive before

7.45 a.m., we have observed that there are some students who often have been arriving late

for school. Henceforth, students who are not within the school premises by 7.45 am will be

considered late.

The school will continue to educate our students on the importance of responsibility and

punctuality. The school will tighten its process to monitor and, where necessary, provide

additional support and guidance to students to be punctual for school. The school will also

be working closely with parents to reinforce these messages with their children. We seek

your support to work with us to develop the self-management skills of your child.

7. ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL Attendance is a critical factor for student learning, development and well-being. Hence, all

students are expected to attend school on all school days. When your child is absent from

school, we seek your cooperation to ensure that a Medical Certificate (MC) or letter stating

the reason for your child’s absence is produced to the form teacher once your child returns

back to school after their absence.

Let’s work together to provide your child, who are our students, the opportunity of an

education that would equip them with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to lead a

meaningful life in the future. We cannot do this without your support and seek your

understanding to work together with us.

8. PURCHASE OF NAME TAGS (see attached form at the back)

Students are required to have name tags sewn onto each shirt/pinafore and PE t-shirt. The

school has arranged for the vendor to come down to the school on the following days :

Day Time

10 Jul 9.00 to 10.00 am

11 Jul 9.00 to 10.00 am

12 Jul 12.00 to 1.30 pm

The vendor would be located at the school foyer during the stated times shown above. Parents/Guardians who need to purchase name tags are to fill up the attached form and

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present the money to your child/ward which will be handed to the vendor directly. For convenience, do ensure that you give your child/ward the exact amount. A receipt will be provided by the vendor thereafter to acknowledge the payment for the purchase.

Alternatively, you can order them directly at the address and contact number provided below.

9. ROAD SAFETY MATTERS We have had a number of accidents outside the school in the past few months and we would

like to remind all parents to observe the following road safety practices when driving into and

leaving the school compound.

For Drivers We have noticed that a number of cars make illegal U-

turns at the traffic lights, posing a danger to our students

who are waiting at the traffic light to cross the road. In

addition,please be advised not to violate traffic rules by

driving recklessly or making illegal manoeuvres such as

turning into the school from the outer lane(s) of the road.

We have also noticed that students take a long time to

alight the car, hence causing a traffic congestion along

Tampines Ave 9. Remind your child to alight from the left

side of the car as quickly as possible while being alert to

the traffic around them. Your considerate act will help to

reduce the congestion and provide a pleasant experience

to other parents who are waiting in the queue to alight their

children

For Cyclist

If your child must cycle to school, parents are to ensure that

he/she is a competent cyclist and is very clear of the safe

cycling rules. From Semester 2 onwards, bicycle stands have

been designated in the school compound next to the side

gate. Students who are cycling to school are advised to park

their bicycles within the school compound rather than outside

the school gate which poses a safety risk to students and

EMB3 Pte Ltd

Blk 10130, Geylang East Ave 3 #04-154 (Paya

Lebar MRT)

Tel: 67435000

Operating Hours: 9 am to 6 pm (Mon to Fri)

Email Address: nametag@embroidery.com.sg

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parents crossing/dropping their children during the peak period as well as members of the

public.

For Pedestrians Advise your child/ward on the following:

Keep a safe distance from the kerb when awaiting to

cross the road at the traffic light.

Cooperate with the teachers and parent volunteers to

ensure the overall safety of your child and our TNPS

students.

Be advised of moving bicycles and PMDs while

waiting at the traffic lights as well.

Wait patiently at the traffic light when the ‘green man’

is flashing.

We seek your support to reiterate these key messages to

your children and seek your kind understanding in working

together with the school in ensuring the safety of all our

students coming to and leaving from school.

10. SCHOOL SAFETY We maintain strict procedures to ensure the security of the school and safety of our students

in school. Please note that parents are not allowed at any time in the classrooms nor in the

canteen. If you are waiting for your child, please proceed to the designated areas. We also

seek your cooperation to adhere to the instructions of our security officers if you need to enter

the school for official reasons during school hours. Please display your visitor’s pass

prominently when you are in the school premises.

11. HEALTH MATTERS The school will be conducting the temperature-taking exercise on Thursday, 4 July 2019

(Term 3, Week 1). Please ensure that your child brings a working Oral Digital Thermometer

(ODT). If your child is unwell, we seek your cooperation to exercise social responsibility by

seeking medical attention for your child and ensuring that your child is well before returning

to school.

We would also like to seek your co-operation as we maintain vigilance in keeping infectious

diseases at bay. If your child is not feeling well, please do seek medical attention and not

send him/her to school. In a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) or Chickenpox,

please send your child back to school only when the doctor has certified him/her fit. We would

also appreciate it if you could keep the Form Teacher informed of the situation.

We look forward to your support, understanding and co-operation in managing the traffic

situation.

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12. ENGLISH WEEK

The English Week will be held in Term 3 Week 5, from 29 July to 2 August. A love for reading forms the foundation and catalyst for language acquisition. Through the activities centred around the theme ‘Celebrate Stories’, students will be exposed to a wide genre of books and given opportunities to share about their favourite books with their peers. Sharing their favourite books through craft, oral presentations and skits is a good way to get students interested and excited about books. It also allows them to hone the key areas of language learning (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in an authentic context. The highlights of ‘Celebrate Stories’ include

Walking Book Billboards (Primary 1 & 2) P1 & P2 students will design gigantic covers of their favourite book. They will wear the billboard as a costume on 30 July (Tue) and share about the book with their peers during class and recess. This activity also allows the students to share about their favourite book with their parents and at the same time, promote parent-and-child bonding as they co-create the billboard book cover together. More details about the activity will be shared by the subject teacher in T3 Week 2.

(Samples done by Primary 2.6)

Book Trailers for Primary 1 to 5 P1 to P5 Students will act out excerpts of a book that they have read as a class.

13. MATHS & SCIENCE LEARNING FESTIVAL

The Maths and Science Learning Festival will be held in Term 3 Week 4, on 24 July (P1 & P2) and 25 July (P5 & P6). During the two day event, students from the various levels will showcase their respective Maths and Science projects that aim to either

Present the concepts that they have learnt in class in a new manner

Show how the concepts that they have learnt at the primary level can be extended into more complex forms.

By sharing their projects with fellow peers, we hope to get students to improve their language skills while showcasing the plethora of knowledge that they have gained whilst completing their respective projects.

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14. P1 LEARNING JOURNEY TO SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS P1 students will be going to the Singapore Botanic Gardens (Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden) as part of their Social Studies field-based learning. This experiential learning journey will provide opportunities for students to relate to nature and develop an understanding of how trees, plants and fruits native to tropical countries like Singapore, influence the way of life of people living in Singapore.

Time: 9.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (curriculum hours)

Students are to put on their P.E. attire for the learning journey

Students are to bring along a small bag to put his/her water bottle, packed food, a

pencil box, a cap and an umbrella.

Date/Day Class

23 July 2019 Tuesday 1.2, 1.3

24 July 2019 Wednesday 1.5, 1.6, 1.7

26 July 2019 Friday 1.1 and 1.4

15. PARENTS GATEWAY: UPDATES AND GETTING PUSH NOTIFICATIONS We are also glad to share that there are some new features made available via the Parents

Gateway (PG) app (ver 3.0.0). These will be automatically updated on the parents’ devices

if you have enabled the auto-update feature. Otherwise, parents can also update their app

through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to enjoy these new features.

We have received feedback that some parents do not receive alerts via PG app. We would

like to share that you are able to get notification alerts whenever there are new messages.

In order to do so, after you are done with browsing the app, you can just close the app as per

normal. However, you need not log out from the app. This will enable you to receive the

notifications alerts in the future.

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16. REVIEW OF SCHOOL HOURS FOR 2020 At the start of 2019, the school adjusted its school hours as part of the implementation of the

lunch break. The lunch break was introduced as we wanted to ensure our students’ well-

being through the provision of timely and adequate meal breaks before they are dismissed

from school.

Since then, we have been gathering feedback from our students, teachers and parents on

the new school hours. We would like to explore other possible changes to our school hours

in 2020 and would like to gather your input before we make any decision.

The options are provided below for your information:

1 7.40am to 2.20pm (on 4 days) [Current arrangement] 7.40am to 12.40pm (on Fridays)

2 7.30am to 1.30pm (on all 5 days)

3(a) 7.40am to 2.20pm (on 2 days)

7.40am to 1.30pm (on 3 days)

3(b) 7.30am to 2.10pm (on 2 days)

7.30am to 1.20pm (on 3 days)

Please indicate your preference via go.gov.sg/tnps-schhr-survey or the QR code provided below.

The last date for the submission of your option is Fri, 12 Jul 2019.

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Tampines North Primary School

School Events and Holidays

2019 Term 3 (Student Copy)

Week Date Day Event/Activity/ Holiday

Level Remarks

1 2, 4 July Tue, Thur

Science Learning Journey to Botanical Gardens

P3

1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Students will participate on one of the scheduled dates only. More details will be made available via Form Teachers.

2 8 July Mon Youth Day All School Holiday

2 & 3 9-19 July

Mon-Fri MT Fortnight Activities P1-P6

Pls refer to CL/ML/TL programme details given by level/subject teacher

2-5 11, 18 July & 1 Aug

Thur

Learning Journey to Asian Civilisation Museum

P5

2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Students will participate on one of the scheduled dates only. More details will be made available via Form Teachers.

3 15, 16 July

Mon & Tue

Learning Journey to Chinatown

P4

2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Students will participate on one of the scheduled dates only. More details will be made available via Form Teachers.

3 19 July Fri Racial Harmony Day

P1-P6 Activities will be conducted during school hours.

3 20 July Sat NE Show P5 Confirmed timing and other details will be made available via Form Teachers.

4 22, 23 July

Mon & Tue

Prelim Oral (English Language & Mother Tongue Languages)

P6 More details will be made available via the Subject teachers.

4 24, 25 July

Wed &Thur

Math and Science Learning Festival

P5 - P6 P1 - P2

Activities will be conducted during school hours.

4 23,24,26

July Tue,

Wed,Fri

Learning Journey to Singapore Botanical Gardens (Jacob Ballas Children's Garden)

P1

9.30 a.m. - 12 p.m. Learning journey will be conducted during school hours. More details will be made available via the Form Teachers.

5 29 Jul – 2 Aug

Mon-Fri English Week P1-P6

6 6-Aug Tue

Prelim Listening Comprehension (English Language & Mother Tongue)

P6

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Week Date Day Event/Activity/ Holiday Level

Remarks

6 8-Aug Thur National Day Celebration

All Levels

School ends at 10.45 a.m.

6 9-Aug Fri National Day All

Levels Public Holiday

7 12-Aug Mon Hari Raya Haji All

Levels Public Holiday

7 14-Aug Wed

CPES-Cultural Performace Exposure Scheme-Chinese

P4 CL 2.25 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

More details will be made available via Chinese subject teachers.

7 15 & 16

Aug Thur &

Fri PSLE Oral P6

P1-P5 students do not need to report to school.

8 19 - 23

Aug Mon-Fri

Cyberwellness Week

All Activities will be conducted during school

hours.

8 19-Aug Mon Prelim English Language Paper 1 & 2

P6 School Hours

8 20-Aug Tue Prelim Mathematics

P6 School Hours

8 21-Aug Wed

Prelim Mother Tongue Languages Paper 1 & 2

P6 School Hours

8 22-Aug Thur Prelim Science P6 School Hours

8 23-Aug Fri

Prelim Higher Mother Tongue Languages Paper 1 & 2

P6 School Hours

8 23-Aug Fri GEP Screening Test

P3 Screening exercise will be conducted

during school hours. More details will be made available via the Form Teachers.

9 30-Aug Fri

MT Language & Cultural Camp (Part of MT fortnight prog)

P3 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

More details will be made available via MT teachers.

10 3-Sep Tue Meet Parent Session

P6

10 4-Sep Wed Lantern Festival Celebration

All Details will be given later

10 5-Sep Thur Teachers' Day Celebration

All Activities will be conducted during school

hours.

10 6-Sep Fri Teachers' Day School Holiday

7 to 15

Sep September School

Holidays All

12-13 Sept

Thurs-Fri

P6 Shine Programme

P6 8.00 am to 12.30 pm

16-Sep Mon School reopens for Term 4

All

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30, TAMPINES AVENUE 9, SINGAPORE 529565

Tel: 67854329 Fax: 67863117

Dear Parent/Guardian, Please note that the name tag is part of the school’s uniform. It is compulsory for you to make orders for the name tags.

2019 ORDER FORM FOR STUDENTS’ IRON-ON NAME TAGS (To be completed and submitted with payment to the vendor who will be stationed in the canteen)

Name of Student : _________________________ Class: P __ / __ Colour: Blue Name of Parent/Guardian : ________________________ Contact No: _____________

Fill in the name of the student in the boxes below (14 characters in Capital Letters including spacing).

Correct Way of filling Name –Mohammed Farhan

M O H D F A R H A N

Incorrect Way of filling Name –Mohammed Farhan

M O H A M M E D F A R H A

Please select the order:

Embroidery Iron-on Name Tag, 6 pieces at $5.00.

I hereby enclose

cash of _____ _____________________________ __________________________ Name of Parent/Guardian Signature and Date

*********************** Please Detach for Parent’s Retention ***********************

Acknowledgement Slip

Name of Student: _________________ Class: P ___ / ___ This is to acknowledge order and payment as follows:

Embroidery Iron-on Name Tag, 6 pieces at $5.00. _________________________ ________________________________ Name of Staff Signature and Date

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