3 April 2023

Newsletter Articles

April PBL Focus

Follow teacher instructions. Be respectful of wildlife.

Catch Card Winners

This fortnight’s catch card winners are:

Kiera O & Olivia L

Principal’s Message

Powering through Term 1!

It has been a very productive term which has flown by and we are looking forward to concluding the term with the Festive and Easter Hat event.

On Thursday, I look forward to welcoming parents and friends to the Festive and Easter Hat parade. Gate 2 will open from 2:00 for a 2:15pm start. Guests arriving or departing between 2:15 and 3:10 pm will need to enter /exit via Gate 1 using the intercom.

Thank you to all our parents who have recently met with your child’s class teacher to discuss their strengths and areas for effort and persistence. I ask families to complete the Parent-teacher Interview survey before the end of term. This will assist the school in planning for reporting to parents.

Over the holidays is a great time to prepare for the Cross-Country carnival, scheduled for Week 1. We are hoping for a dry afternoon for the event at Acron oval on Friday 28th April.

Wishing everyone a very safe and festive Autumn school holiday break with family and friends.

School Uniforms

As student wellbeing and welfare are our highest priorities, I need to let you know about a minor alteration to the available school uniform. This does not require additional expenditure, but the introduction of ties with an elasticised neck fastening is being made to protect students from possible injury and support student safety.

While there is no need for students to change to this tie immediately, the elasticised version will be the only type sold in the P&C Uniform Shop from next May. I thank you for your understanding in this matter, which does not affect the look of our uniform but helps protect students.

Ties have been a part of the Davidson Park / St Ives Park Public School uniform since the school opened in 1969. There have been several additions to the school’s uniform over the 5 plus decades the school has been open. These are all positive changes to meet student learning and safety needs and the Department’s legislative requirements. These changes include hats for sun safety; sports uniforms for access to sporting activities for all students; the addition of the unisex girl’s uniform as required under the Department’s guidelines; PSSA shirts for representative students and elasticated ties for student safety.

The department supports the wearing of school uniforms and schools expect students to wear the uniform during school hours, while travelling to and from school and when engaged in school activities representing the school. The Department’s policy library is available via the school website in Rules and policies

Harmony Day

Harmony Day was celebrated at SIPPS on 21st March 2023. Students at SIPPS were invited to dress in cultural dress or orange for Harmony Day. The message for this year’s Harmony Week is everyone belongs. There were a range of students in their national dress in 2023. This is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.

Zone Swimming

Congratulations to our Zone swimmers who represented SIPPS with such enthusiasm on 21st March. Results were as follows:

Junior Boys relay achieved 4th place overall at the carnival which is a sensational effort.

Hattie achieved 8th in 9 Years 50m Freestyle and 8th in Junior 50m Butterfly
Nian achieved 9th in 50m Freestyle
Mitch achieved 10th in 50m Freestyle and 10th in Junior 50m Butterfly
Marc achieved 7th in 11 Years 50m Breastroke and 8th in 11 Years 50m Butterfly
Rhys achieved 6th in 12 Years 50m breastroke

Well done everyone!

Staff Development Days 2023

Each year all NSW Public School teachers and staff participate in training days. The training days for each term:

Term 1 Two days to commence Term 1
Term 2 One day to commence Term 2
Term 3 One day to commence Term 3
Term 4 One day to conclude Term 4 plus one additional day to support new curriculum implementation.

In lieu of 19th December 2023 SDD, SIPPS and THPS staff will participate in 2 three-hour twilight training sessions in Term 2. These are focussed on Aboriginal Education Policy and Aboriginal History and Cultures. This means that the school will not be open and no staff will be on site for Tuesday 19th December.

Parents who require student supervision on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th December may wish to book into Helping Hands OOSH service.

The Term 2 Staff Development Day is focussed on Aboriginal Education across all NSW Public Schools. The staff will commence an On Country experience with Uncle Laurie, a local elder, in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park before returning to SIPPS to participate in department developed modules of professional learning.

Attendance – How rolls are marked at school

As we head into the Autumn school holidays, I want to remind families it is important for your child to attend school every single day. Being at school is the best place for students to learn as well as to keep social connections and build life-long skills.

I understand that families are eager to see and reconnect with loved ones and take a well-deserved break, but please remember that holidays should only be booked during scheduled school breaks.

Students should be at school every day during school terms, including until the end of term, unless they are sick or are absent for a justified reason.

All students not in attendance are marked absent. If no note is received, a student’s record is marked with an A.

The roll marking codes are as follows:

A – absent unexplained or unjustified. Unjustified means the reason for the absence is not acceptable within the DoE policy.
S – sick. A medical certificate can be required should a student’s attendance by unsatisfactory.
L – leave for family funeral, specific family events or reasons within the policy.
E – suspension
M – certificate of exemption has been granted
F – flexible, especially in high schools
B – school business; off site from SIPPS eg. at Zone Carnival
H – attending at a juvenile justice or hospital school
PA – partial absence – unexplained A; explained with an above code.

There are instances when student attendance means the Home School Liaison Officer does need to work with families to improve attendance patterns.

Inclusive, Engaging and Respectful Schools

Inclusive, Engaging and Respectful Schools brings together new policies and system-wide supports on inclusive education for students with disability, student behaviour and restrictive practices, to ensure every student can reach their full potential in NSW public schools.

This reform has three policies underpinning its implementation:

• Restrictive Practices Framework
• Inclusive Education Policy for students with disability
• Student Behaviour Policy and Procedures

SIPPS staff continue their training in the new policies. This week staff have been briefed on aspects of each of these policies.

In Term 2 at the P&C Meeting, the SIPPS Student Behaviour and Support Plan will be shared with our families. It will be very similar to current practices and support students to engage in their learning as aligned to the new policy procedures. Parents are most welcome to join the P&C at the meeting on Wednesday 17th May, 2023.

Restrictive Practices Policy

What are restrictive practices? Sometimes, to help keep a child or young person healthy and safe at school, we need to limit or restrict some of their actions. These limits are called restrictive practices. In our schools, restrictive practices include anything we do to keep someone safe that also restricts a child or young person’s rights or freedom of movement.

There are 5 main types of restrictive practices:

• Physical restraint which is physically limiting or stopping a child or young person’s movements, such as by holding their hand to keep them safe when crossing a busy road.
• Mechanical restraint which is using a device that limits movement, such as a wheelchair safety belt that supports a student to use a wheelchair safely.
• Chemical restraint which is using medication prescribed by a doctor to help a student remain regulated, minimise behaviours of concern, and improve their ability to engage in learning.
• Environmental restraint which is a barrier that limits access to an object or area, such as locking a gate to prevent a child from running onto a busy road.
• Seclusion refers to leaving a student alone in a room or area from which they are prevented from leaving, or reasonably believe that they cannot leave, by a barrier or another person, for any length of time. This includes situations where a door is locked as well as where the door is blocked by other objects or held closed by another person. This is never allowed in schools unless there is an immediate risk of harm to a child or someone else.

When used in the right way, restrictive practices can support students to access and engage in their learning and make school safer for the student and others. We have rules about how restrictive practices can be used in schools.

For further information, please read the additional document to support your understanding.

Key dates for your diaries

3 – 6/4 Parent survey - Parent-Teacher Interviews 2023 Survey open
6/4 - 2:15pm – 3pm Festive and Easter hat parade

Term 2

24/4 - SIPPS and THPS Band intensive at THPS
24/4 – Staff Development Day – No students
25/4 - ANZAC Day
26/4 – Students Kindergarten to Year 6 return to school for Term 2
26/4 – Winter School Uniform
28/4 - Cross Country Carnival at Acron Oval (afternoon)
15 – 17/5 - Stage 3 Camp – Mrs Cipollone, Mrs Follows and Mrs Hayllar attending
17/5 - P&C Meeting – Student Behaviour and Support Plan
27/6 - SIPPS Athletics Carnival
28/6 - Semester 1 Reports home to parents and carers
31/7 to 4/8 - Education Week
19/9 - SIPPS Spectacular
27/10 - Grandparents Day

Assistant Principal

Refreshing supplies

Students K-6 will bring their pencil cases home at the end of Week 11. Over the term break, please refresh stationery supplies, especially Bostik glue sticks, ready for the start of Term 2.

Year 5 Opportunity Class 2024 Applications Open

Applications are now open for parents who would like to consider their child for an Opportunity Class placement in 2024. All applications must be completed online. The closing date for applications will be Monday 15th May 2023. No late applications will be considered. Applications can be completed at:

Selective High School Test

For Year 7 entry in 2024, applications closed on 16 November 2022. The test is on 4 May 2023. Test centre allocation will be available on 20 April.

Assistant Principal C&I

Our Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 team continue to delve into the K-2 reformed English and Mathematics syllabuses for Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Students are enjoying the quality texts and hands on activities during English and Mathematic lessons and continue embedding our foundation programs such as Read, Write Inc and Heggerty Phonological and Phonemic Awareness programs.

Stage 2 and Stage 3 teams are continuing with the current 3-6 syllabus with our ongoing focus of modelled reading, numbers talks, and rich tasks. Our pathway over the last 2 years has been in the direction of the new curriculum reform which will make for an easy transition to the new syllabus next year.

My role is to work closely with the Executive Team and to guide, model and support staff along with our students. Across the school, we continue to maintain and develop our knowledge and skills of what works best to support our students. This term has seen further refinement and skill for teachers in number talks and rich, challenging tasks. We continue to work closely with Fiona Foley, our Mathematics Association NSW consultant who supports us in this journey, sharing her expert knowledge.

Our English focus has been on Guided Reading Groups. I have been working closely with teachers to refine programming based on student needs as well as sharing knowledge and strategies amongst our talented, dedicated teachers.

I look forward to continuing our Literacy and Numeracy focuses with staff and student’s next term.

Kylie Follows
Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction

Stage 3 Highlight

Stage 3 Excursion to C.A.R.E.S

Last week students in Yrs 5 & 6 had the privilege of attending the Community and Road Education Scheme (C.A.R.E.S) in St Ives. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their road safety and awareness. Through the day the students took part in a range of theory and practical activities that tested their knowledge and developed their understanding of road and traffic awareness. Students also had great fun navigating and applying their road knowledge on the bikes during the practical sessions.

Stage 3 Excursion to Brigidine College's Production of Footloose the Musical

On Thursday 30th March, Stage 3 walked to Brigidine College to see their musical production of Footloose. It was a fantastic experience for our Stage 3 students to visit a high school and see the different opportunities and activities they can be involved in.

Students gained an understanding of the different roles involved in a musical production and were an engaged audience throughout the show. SIPPS students were able to chat with some of the high school students, meet the cast, musicians and backstage crew.

Art

Term 1 in the art room has flown by with lots of beautiful artwork being created by our wonderful students. All classes have been working hard and they have been inspired by a range of artists, which is our focus for this year.

• Kindy students have been enjoying their weekly visits to the art room and have been working hard to create some lovely artwork. They have developed their knowledge of colour theory by producing a colour wheel turtle, they mixed the secondary colours themselves and this artwork is currently up on display in the Kindy classroom. They are currently focusing on collage, shapes and continuing to develop their fine motor skills by creating a shape robot collage.
• Year 1 and 2 students have been inspired by Australian artist Pete Cromer. We have been looking at his books during lessons and decided to focus on his bird collection. The students have created one of his bird collages and made it their own. This artwork has developed their fine motor skills by using gluing and cutting, as well as their understanding of layering paper to create a final image.

• Year 3 students have been inspired by the work of American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. They created a drawing of a fruit bowl and cut it up to make it an abstract artwork. They are now working in pairs or trios to create a cardboard construction painted fruit bowl artwork.

• 4/5 Emerald students have been inspired by Australian artist Linda Kruger's still life paintings. They have drawn a range of bottles, jugs and cups to come up with a suitable composition, they have then been creating a range of colour tones to show light and shade by mixing a coloured paint with white.
• 5/6 Sapphire students have been developing their understanding of still life cubism inspired by the artist Pablo Picasso. They have used a range of materials such as mixed papers, charcoal, oil pastel, newspaper, coffee and tea to create a layered cubist artwork. This artwork was a challenge to create, however, all students gave it a really good try and developed their understanding of how layering papers and images can create a final outcome. This artwork will inspire the students to create a three dimensional still life cubist sculpture.

I look forward to seeing what fabulous artwork can be created next term!

Yvonne Stone
Art Teacher

Sport

Zone Swimming Carnival

The Ku-ring-gai Zone Swimming Carnival was held on Tuesday 21st March at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre. We sent a team of 14 students who all demonstrated their personal best across all events. SIPPS was represented in 8 finals by:

Hattie for 9 Years 50m Freestyle and Junior 50m Butterfly
Nian for 9 Years 50m Freestyle
Mitch for 10 Years 50 Freestyle and Junior 50m Butterfly
Marc for 11 Years 50m Breaststroke and 11 Years 50m Butterfly
Rhys for 12 Years 50m Breaststroke

The carnival concluded with the relays where our Junior Boys team consisting of Lachie, Mitch, Nian and Ben did a fantastic job and finished 7th overall.

A huge thank you is to be extended to Monica B who once again was our team manager. We are very grateful for the expertise and organisation she brings to the role. Thank you also to all the parents who made the early start to accompany their children to the carnival and provide them the opportunity to compete.

Cross Country Carnival

Our Cross Country Carnival will be held on Friday 28th April at Acron Oval from 1pm. Our backup date for the carnival will be Friday 5th May in the event of rain. All students from K to 6 will have the opportunity to participate in the carnival.

A permission note will be sent home next week.

Below are the age distances for your child:

8/9 Years Girls and Boys = 2 km
10 Years Girls and Boys = 2 km
11 Years Girls and Boys = 3 km
12/13 Years Girls and Boys = 3 km
K-2 students will be given a shorter course to run.

All students will walk to the venue, accompanied by the teachers. They must wear their full sports uniform on this day, including a hat.

Harmony Day

The school was a sea of orange and cultural outfits on Tuesday 21st March to celebrate Harmony Day. The theme of Harmony Day this year was 'Everyone Belongs' which was about celebrating inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Students have been learning about how every person is unique and different, but also how we are all similar.

Group artwork was created in PDH lessons with students adding information about their culture and background. We had a wide range of flags and interesting information which led to exciting class discussions about how Australia is such a multicultural country.

Festive and Easter Hat Parade

Festive and Easter Hat Parade
Thursday 6th April
2:15pm Start

We look forward to celebrating this occasion with you, as we welcome families to come along and join us!

Easter cookies will be available for purchase and the P+C will be running a raffle.

Students are encouraged to create a festive or Easter hat at home, in preparation to wear for the parade.

We are excited to see your creations at the parade!

Band

Save the Date

Band Intensive at Terrey Hills Public School - Monday 24th April

Details to be emailed directly to band parents.

Band Conveynor
Kate Habkouk - Action Music

kate@actionmusic.com.au
Mobile 0419 630 511

Administration Office

Online permission notes

The following permission notes are available online for signing:

• Stage 3 Camp
• Cross Country Carnival
• Winter PSSA

Parent Portal

Have you downloaded The Parent Portal by School Bytes? This is a great place for you to see everything about your child. If you have child/ren at St Ives High School, it is the same app for all of your children. You can select by child and see your child’s attendance, what notes need to be signed and what fees are outstanding. You can send absentee notifications and pay your fees.

Service NSW Back to School Vouchers.

St Ives Park PS is set up to take the $50 vouchers towards your excursion/incursion. The rules around the use of the vouchers are quite clear:

• The students name on the voucher, dictates who we need to allocate the $50 to for an excursion they are attending.
• We cannot take the voucher unless you have an excursion to apply it to.
• Vouchers cannot be used for Voluntary contributions.
• You will not receive change (ie, if the excursion costs $47 the school will only receive $47, the $3 is lost). We cannot put the balance into Fees in Advance.
• You will need to present your voucher to school for processing before paying your account. Multiple vouchers can be accepted, particularly if you are paying for a camp.
• We will apply the voucher against the excursion. Any balance owing on the excursion can then be paid using the payment portal.

Please use the following link if you would like any further information on the vouchers:

P & C

SIPPS will soon be powered by the sun!

It is with great excitement that the P&C can confirm that we have submitted the final paperwork for the installation of Solar Panels on the school roofs. The project which we hope will be completed before the end of the year, once completed, will mean that SIPPS is 100% powered by the sun.

Election Fundraising Success

A HUGE thank you to everyone who took part in our Election day fundraising events. Whether baking cakes, laminating signs, putting up gazebos or turning up to take a shift on the BBQ - every little bit helps. We successfully raised over $2,600 which will go towards our 2023 fundraising goals.

A massive thank you to Jess (year 2 parent) for coordinating the whole event and creating such a stunning cake stall. Also thank you to Melanie (Kindy parent) who supplied the most incredible selection of cakes and treats for our stall. Melanie runs Delicious Designs Studio so we highly recommend you reach out if you need any cakes, cookies or desserts.

Special Sausage Sizzle Lunch

Special thanks to Claire who organised the Special Sausage Sizzle Lunch last Wednesday. It was great to see all the kids enjoying an additional mid-week treat from the canteen.

Easter Hat Parade

6 April 2023

EASTER COOKIES - Two cookie pack for $6. These will be delivered to classrooms on the day of the parade. Orders close 8.30am Tues 4th April, on Qkr!
RAFFLE for the children - Tickets $2 each or 3 for $5. The chocolate Easter Bunnies prizes will be drawn at the Easter Hat Parade. Please purchase via Qkr!
RAFFLE for the grown ups - Tickets are $5 each or 3 for $10. The prize is a hamper of goodies including cheese board with knife, artisan crackers, plum paste, Easter chocolates, Bath bomb set, plus more. To be drawn at the Easter Hat Parade event. Purchase via Qkr!

TEA AND COFFEE - will be available on the day for a gold coin donation.

Mother’s Day Stall – Wed 10 May
$10 per gift for your child to purchase Mum a gift at the special stall during school on Wed 10 May. Please pay on Qkr! by Sun 7 May.

Mother’s Day Breakfast - 12 May 2023 7.30am – 8.30am
Enjoy a Mother’s Day breakfast at SIPPS. Mum, Grandma, Aunt and other female adults are invited too.

$15 per adult. Please purchase on Qkr!

Tennis Courts

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of our community, the P&C have now enabled access to our SIPPS tennis courts for community use. Courts are available to book on weekends and school holidays via the P&C. Parents receive a reduced rate on the hourly hire. To hire or make an enquiry SMS or call 0422 928 220. Thanks to David (parent y4, y6) for taking on the role of P&C tennis court coordinator.

Next P&C Meeting

17 May at 7.15pm in the school staff room.

Everyone is welcome and we hope to see as many parents as possible.

P&C Dates for your diary

Helping Hands - OSHC

Community

Northern Beaches Secondary College – Manly Campus

NBSC Manly Campus is a selective co-educational high school for students from year 7 - 12.

NBSC Manly Campus Open Day
Monday 1st May
9.30-11.30 am
Ceremony and School Tour, followed by morning tea hosted by the P & C

Bricks 4 Kidz – Term 2 After School classes

St Ives Park Public School | After School Term 2

Age: K-2
Date: Tue 2 May – Tue 27 June, 9 weeks
Time: 3.15pm – 4.15pm
Capacity: 14 students
Cost: $180/student / term

Booking link:

St Ives Park Public School | After School Term 2 Junior Robotics

Age: Y2 – Y6
Date: Tue 2 May – Tue 27 June, 9 weeks
Time: 3.15pm – 4.15pm
Capacity: 6 students
Cost: $207/student/term

Booking link:

Theme:

World of Science

Calling all future scientists! Come learn, build and experiment with us! Our budding astronomers, meteorologists, zoologists, and inventors will learn about space, weather, animals, and more! We’ll build all sorts of awesome scientific models and gadgets that are sure to spark both imagination and intellect. If you just can’t get enough of hands-on science fun, then you won’t want to miss out on our World of Science unit!