7 December 2015
Newsletter Articles
Principal’s Message
2016 classes
We have an anticipated enrolment of 181 students for next year. This is the minimum number we need to form 8 classes. Should we retain this number for the start of the 2016 school year, this will equate to 4 classes across Years K-2 and 4 classes across Years 3-6. These classes are most likely to be configured in the following way:
Kindergarten class with 19
students
K/1 class with 20 students
Yr1 class with 22 students
Yr2 class with 21 students
Year 3 class with 22 students
3/4 class with 23 students
5/6 class with 27 students
5/6 class with 27 students
All students will benefit from being in classes that are equal to or smaller than the state average and we will continue with our successful configuration of Stage 3 class groups in 2016.
One of our permanent classroom teaching positions has recently been filled and I am pleased to announce that Miss Tahnee Shanahan has been appointed to St Ives Park in this position. The selection process for the two other vacant positions of Assistant Principal 3-6 and classroom teacher will be completed over the next fortnight.
Thank you to staff who will be leaving us at the end of this year. We extend best wishes the following teachers for continuing success in their future careers:
Miss Beaumont-Jones
Miss Black
Miss Muddell
Mrs Swift
Mrs Cipollone will be taking maternity leave in 2016 and Mrs Judy Buckle will be the replacement music teacher next year.
Survey request
It would be greatly appreciated if parents could complete the short survey attached to this addition of The Patter. This is part of our annual school evaluation process and results will be included in the 2015 Annual School Report.
Parent Forum – 2016 coding program
Thank you to those parents who attended last Monday’s special presentation of the proposed coding program ScopeIT. The feedback from those parents who attended was very positive and we have decided to go ahead with this initiative across K-6 in Term 2 2016.
Congratulations!
At this time of year we celebrate the achievement of our students. St Ives Park offers many opportunities for students to excel in academic, sporting and artistic pursuits. At SIPPS we have high expectations for students to achieve their Personal Best in learning and behaviour. Congratulations to those students who received their gold medallion at our Gold Assembly last Wednesday. Special gold presentations were also awarded to those students who have participated in the Premier’s Reaching Challenge for the last 4 years and to students who have excelled in our Korean LOTE program this year.
Election speeches and voting took place last Thursday to select our 2016 student leadership team. Best wishes to all nominees. The successful candidates will be announced at this Thursday’s Presentation Day.
Thank you P&C…
…from all the teachers and school administration staff who enjoyed a special thank you lunch provided by parents. It was a delicious treat to enjoy at the end of a very busy but rewarding year. SIPPS staff really appreciated this magnificent feast.
Final Patter for 2015
Please see the following calendar events for the last two weeks of the school year.
Tuesday 8 December – House Point Heroes Day – winning
house/PBL incursion
Wednesday 9 December – extraordinary P&C meeting at 2pm in
staffroom
Thursday 10 December – Presentation Day K-2 (10 to 11am) and 3-6 (6:30pm to
8pm)
Friday 11 December – Reports sent home
Monday 14 December – Year 6 farewell/graduation
Tuesday 15 December – Class parties
Thursday 17 December – Final day for students – SIPPS factor talent
quest
Friday 18 December – Pupil Free, Staff development Day - OOSH running
program
Thank you to all our students, staff and parents for another wonderful year. Best wishes to all families for the festive season and I hope you all have a safe and relaxing summer holiday. Students in Years 1-6 will return on Thursday 28 January and our new Kindergarten students will start classes on Monday 1 February following Best Start interviews.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Gillian Tegg
http://stivesparkps.schoolzineplus.com/parent-survey-about-learning
Dates to Diary
No Upcoming Events
Inspiring & Nurturing Successful Lifelong Learners
Live Life Well @ School - Healthy Ideas
Notes from Office
Planning for 2016
The school re-opens on Wednesday 27th January – this is a pupil-free Staff Development Day. All students in Grades 1 to 6 start the 2016 year on Thursday 28th January. Kindergarten 2016 will start their schooling on Monday 1st February. Prior to their start on that Monday all Kindergarten students will be allocated an appointment on Thursday 28th January or Friday 29th January to undertake their “Best Start” assessment prior to starting school. A letter of appointment will be sent home shortly.
School Calendar
Unfortunately, the dates listed for November and December on the school website calendar have “dropped out”. Please check the calendar available with all relevant upcoming dates and information on the electronic version of the Schoolzine newsletter which is emailed to you. The calendar is located on the left hand side of the first page.
End of Year 2015 – Changes for 2016
It has been a very busy year in the office – the major change being the office/administration refurbishment. The lay-out and reception area is working well and we are sure it enables a more welcoming environment for students and visitors and a more efficient work place for staff. We thank our General Assistant, Ian Gilkes, who had a major role in this refurbishment: assisting with the planning and implementation of the changes and co-ordinating the builders, painters and carpet layers so most of the work was done in the winter school holidays which limited the disruption to the office.
We are also delighted to report that students and staff have enjoyed the benefits of the completed airconditioning project in all classes and the library.
The next challenge to office administration will be the major changes to the operating and financial systems which are being rolled out in 2016. We will keep you informed as the changes occur and hopefully we can minimise any disruptions to the school operations.
The last day of school for students this year is Thursday 17th December. Helping Hands are open on the Staff Development Day, Friday 18th December – please see below for further information. To the Year 6 students and other families who are moving on we wish you all the best for the future and hope you retain many happy memories of your time at St Ives Park. We wish all families a safe and restful Christmas/New Year break.
Kindergarten Excursion to Kimbriki Resource Recovery Centre
Kindergarten visited the Eco House at Kimbriki on Tuesday 1st December. They learnt how to reduce, reuse and recycle. They experienced a worm farm first hand and learnt how important it is to look after our world.
The Children toured behind the scenes on the bus and enjoyed seeing the big trucks, graders, bulldozers and bobcats in action doing different recycling jobs at the tip.
Eco Garden
We would like to start by sending out a big thank you to all the parents and teachers and our academic partners from Macquarie University who were involved in the extensive process of attaining funding, planning, ordering and installing our new garden beds.
The garden beds have stimulated lots of class discussions and work based around sustainability, where our food comes from and growing food. This has also lead to conversations and writing based around the importance of looking after both our immediate environment and our planet.
A few of our specific activities have included: Year 1 students using Isabella’s Garden and the Jackie French book ‘The Tomorrow Book’. Our Early Stage 1 classes have enjoyed an excursion to Kimbriki which is an excellent source of knowledge, inspiration and experiences. Children have specifically learned about sustainability and how to ‘Reduce, Reuse Recycle’. Year 2 students have loved planting zucchini, shallots and strawberries. We have discussed seed and plant types and how crops grow at different times of the year as well as eagerly watching the seedlings grow. The first of the strawberry and blueberry crop is coming in and the children have never been so excited about eating fruit!
We are currently looking into several programs to run in the school next year and will select the one most appropriate to our school population needs.
Melissa Field and Kerry Cameron
Music
Performance is a very important aspect of Music education and the children at SIPPS have had many opportunities in 2015 including performing at school assemblies, the Opera House and Chatswood Concourse. Both of our choirs performed at the Gold Assembly last Wednesday 2 December, and they will perform on Thursday 10th Presentation Day which will have a range of performances including a K-2 song, Year 2 recorder, the Junior and Arts Alive Choirs and Recorder Ensemble. We hope you are able to enjoy their performance!
In class music this term Kindergarten has been doing a unit on Music and Celebrations. Stage 1 has done a unit on Music from other cultures where they have had opportunities to appreciate the music from various cultures through singing, playing instruments and performing simple dances. Stage 2 have been designing and making instruments using recycled materials and Stage 3 have been developing their skills in reading musical notation and playing as an ensemble. All students in Stage 2 and 3 have also had opportunities to use their creativity in composition tasks, both using technology (Garage Band) and also tuned and percussion instruments.
Last week we had a parent from our school come to do a presentation for our students on a very unique Indian instrument called a Veena. Thank you very much to Amutha Ramesh for giving up your time to prepare such an educational and inspiring presentation. I know it was thoroughly enjoyed by all of our staff and students!
Canteen
Thursday 10th December 2015—Last day of canteen for 2015
Monday 1st February 2016 - Canteen Opens for the school year
If you are able to volunteer for 1 or 2 shifts (or more!) during term 1 2016 Melissa and Sony would love your support in the canteen.
The shift times are Mondays 10-2pm OR Thursday 10-12noon. It’s a lot of fun, a great way to help your school and delightful to serve our lovely SIPPS students!!
Contact Sony at sony55@hotmail.com
Melissa Hick & Sony Robson are the new canteen co-ordinators following the recent P&C AGM. We both have children in year 2 and Kindy.
We wish SUSIE BRIGHT and family all the best and thank her for her magnificent handover and training in the canteen—Susie you will be a tough act to follow!
We look forward to some new volunteer faces in 2016 and to keeping our canteen running smoothly!
Parents and Citizens Association Canteen
Tennis Courts
|
SIPPS Tennis Courts available for permanent
and casual hire. |
Uniform Shop
The uniform shop will be open on the Wednesday 27 January 2016 - 9 am to 11am. After this date the uniform shop will be opening fortnightly – the next date being 10th February.