Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

Principal’s Message

P&C Last night’s P&C meeting provided an opportunity to discuss our school plan. The plan will be for the 2018 – 2020 period. Obviously being a three-year plan, changes will be made at various stages to ensure we meet current expectations. We also discussed a number of fundraising ideas including Colour-Run, Cookie Dough Drive, Mufti-Days, The Entertainment Book and annual Spell-a-thon. It was terrific to see a couple of new faces and we could certainly welcome more new faces if you have the time. Our next P&C meeting is the AGM where executive positions will be up for election. Please consider your availability for Monday 12 March from 7pm in Room 20. Smiles It is very pleasing to be greeted by smiling children as I walk around the playground and classrooms. The number of smiles observed informs me that the vast majority of children have settled into the routine of engaging learning and positive socialising with their peers. A great start to the year! Parent Information Please remember that tomorrow is the start of two days of Parent Information Sessions.

- Stage 2 and Stage 3 will commence in the hall at 3:30pm tomorrow [Wednesday] followed by sessions in individual classrooms.

- Stage One will commence in the hall at 3:30pm on Thursday followed by individual classrooms. - Early Stage One will meet in the KA and KF classrooms from 1:45pm on Thursday.

If you have children with you they must remain within your supervision. As teachers are engaged in the information sessions there will be no playground supervision.

Unanderra Public School

TIMES49 Derribong Drive, Cordeaux Heights, 2526 Phone: (02) 4272 8730 Fax: (02) 4272 8734 E-mail: unanderra-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.unanderra-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

What’s coming up

Wednesday February 14

Parent Sessions-Stage 2-3

Thursday February 15

Parent Sessions-K-1-2

Tuesday February 20

District Swimming Carnival

Thursday March 1

School Photo Day

Tuesday March 20

P&C Mufti Day

Thursday March 29

Easter Raffle

K-2 Easter Hat Parade

Wednesday April 4

Colour Fun Run

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

Information The best staff member to contact for information regarding your child is their classroom teacher. Should the classroom teacher not be able to assist each stage has an assistant principal or stage coordinator. Please discuss all matters with the classroom teacher first, as invariably that is what an assistant principal or stage coordinator will do to ensure they are fully informed of any matter. Life Education We have reached the end of the Life Education program for another year. It is fantastic that all our students get the opportunity to engage with this important health awareness program free of charge thanks to the generosity of South 32. My thanks to Mrs. Dowdell for her organisation and to Mrs. O’Connor who taught the program to all 385 of our students.

Swimming Carnival 2018 Last Thursday, Unanderra P.S. held our Swimming Carnival at Western Suburbs Pool. The weather really turned it on this year and served up a beautiful summer’s morning for us. It was an awesome day of competition and everyone seemed to have a great time. Congratulations to all of the competitors who gave their best in the pool, as well as out of the pool by supporting their fellow students and making the carnival a wonderful experience for all. A very big thank you to all of the parents and teachers who gave their time to help out with timekeeping and other jobs. In particular, Michael, Rebecca, Sandra, Graham, Dominique, Jo and Fleur. The carnival would not happen without your help. Thanks. Matt Batley

Exciting News from the iLab There is an exciting addition to the iLab this year - a bunny. The iLab is a constantly evolving student-centred space and many UPS students over the years have shown interest in having a school pet. So, after much research and consultation, Mr. Redfern has kindly approved our bunny. Mrs. Kyriazis will be its main carer and it will be kept in the iLab during school hours. All classes have been involved in the naming of the bunny through a voting process and we are proud to announce that his name is Honey!

Lost Property Lost Property-will now be downstairs outside Room 17.

Available between 8:45am and 3:10pm daily.

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

School Banking Update It’s encouraging to see more students participating in School Banking, with the number of deposits up from last week to 64 deposits this week. Whilst it is typically the Kindergarten and Stage 1 or Stage 2 classes that have the most bankers, this week 5/6F bucked the trend with 9 deposits. Well done to 5/6F for being this week’s class winners. Thank you to those parents who have changed the labels on their child’s banking wallets to reflect the new classes. Your cooperation in this area makes it more likely that wallets will be returned to students in a timely manner. If a banking wallet takes some time to filter back to your child, please check first with your child’s teacher. Make it Count Due to changes in circumstances, some of our School Banking volunteers will be stepping back from the role this year. If you are keen for School Banking to continue its smooth operation and you have some time available on a Tuesday (UPS School Banking day) morning to count deposits and issue rewards, we would like to hear from you. Simply leave your name and number at the school office, or drop your details into the red banking bin in the office foyer on a Tuesday, and we’ll be in touch! We are also keen to sign up a new School Banking Coordinator or two to share the load. This involves taking turns with other coordinator/s to ensure the money is banked and to process deposit slips online. If you’re available to help out, please call into the old uniform shop at 9am on a Tuesday, or leave your contact details at the school office and we will call you. Rewards Rewards available this term are the Twister Power Handball (new), Secret Scratch Pad (new), colour change markers, tablet case, smiley Emoji keyring, Volt handball, pencil + tech case, Epic earphones and Outback Pat bag tag. Claim cards are being distributed as deposit books are processed and returned. School Banking Coordinators and volunteers, Jenny Evans, Jodien Mortlock, Nicole Martin and Joanne Egan.

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

P & C News:

Welcome back to all our students and welcome to all the new families that have joined our school.

We hope to see lots of new faces getting involved with the P&C this year.

P & C meeting: Our next meeting will be our AGM and will be held on Monday 12th March at 7pm. All new members

and new ideas are always welcome. With several of our executive committee now undertaking full time work, there will

be positions being declared vacant at the next meeting, including President, Treasurer and Secretary. If you’re interested

and would like some more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us. My email is birchy05.kb@gmail.com. Voting

for these positions will be held at the AGM. To be eligible to vote, you must be a financial member prior to the meeting. To

do this, you will need to pay a small $1 fee and fill out a form which can be located at the front office.

Upcoming Events for Term 1:

Mufti Day: On Tuesday March 20, the P & C will be holding a mufti day for egg donations to fill our raffle baskets.

Notes regarding this will be sent home closer to the event.

Easter Raffle: We will be holding an Easter Raffle again this year at the K-2 hat parade on Thursday 29 March. If

anyone has any baskets they can donate for the raffle, this would be greatly appreciated & can be dropped into

the front office. We will be sending home raffle tickets to each family soon

School Colour Run: A fresh spin to our FUN run this year with the launch of our 1st Colour Run. This event will be

held on Wednesday 4 April, a great way to welcome the start of our Commonwealth Games 2018. Sponsorship

forms will be sent home shortly. There will be great prizes up for grabs, so start spreading the word to get as many

sponsors as possible. There will even be the chance for parents and friends to get involved……..more information

to come.

Entertainment Book: The 2018/2019 edition will soon be available. We are looking at alternative ways to

showcase this amazing book other than sending a book home to each family. More information to follow.

School Hats: If your child needs a new hat, these are available in the canteen for $11.

Katrina Birch, P & C President

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 13 February 2018

Volunteer Ethics Teachers Required for Unanderra Public School

Dear Parents and Carers,

Ethics classes are available at Unanderra Public School as an option for children who don’t attend Special Religious Education (SRE/scripture).

Ethics classes support children in developing skills in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, collaborative enquiry and how to support their arguments with evidence. The lesson materials have been approved by the Department of Education.

We do not have enough volunteer ethics teachers at Unanderra Public School to meet the demand for classes in 2018. The more children and stages we have

requests for, the more teachers are needed.

Volunteering is a great way to engage with the school. Volunteer ethics teachers do not need a background in teaching or ethics, just a willingness to learn how to deliver classes. They must complete a two day workshop and other online training and accreditation requirements. The approved lesson materials are

provided. Ethics teachers must commit to conduct classes each week at the school during school terms for at least one year.

For more information about Primary Ethics, the curriculum or to volunteer as an ethics teacher, please visit www.primaryethics.com.au where you can complete an on-line application or contact Joanne Egan, volunteer ethics coordinator on 0437 404 758 or via email at j.egan.ethics.coord.ups@gmail.com.

Macedonian School Council of New South Wales PO. BOX 164 Rockdale NSW 2216

Macedonian language school at Coniston Public School

Dear parents of Macedonian background students,

The Macedonian School Council of NSW (MSC) is the umbrella organisation for Macedonian community

language schools and is supported by the NSW Federation of Community Languages Schools. We have been

operating for 39 years and have schools in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Queanbeyan.

Our schools are primarily funded by the NSW Department of Education and operate in line with their

guidelines and protocols. All of our teachers have pedagogical qualifications and are employed via a merit-

based recruitment process. They must hold current first aid and emergency care certificates as well as child

protection checks.

Our Macedonian language school is at Coniston Public School, Coniston. We have a teacher Dragica Miteva,

who teach the classes. Classes would commence from Saturday 03/02/2018 from 9:00am until 12:00 pm.

If you are interested in enrolling your child in Macedonian language classes, please contact Dragica Miteva on

0413 141 009.

Yours faithfully,

The Macedonian School Council of NSW

Unanderra Public School will, as a service to parents, advertise community news for not for profit organisations and charities, which may be of interest. UPS does not necessarily endorse or sponsor the events and accepts no responsibility to the management or organisation of these events.