8 August 2016

Newsletter Articles

PBL Focus for August

Principal's Message

SIPPS Celebrates

This year's theme 'Shared stories, better learning, stronger communities' acknowledges the important role public schools play in fostering positive relationships between students, staff and the community that can improve learning outcomes for all.

Last Thursday was a chance for SIPPS students to share their learning success stories including an excellent presentation from 3S who used the guided inquiry process to research and tell the story of our school's history in their recently produced book 'Our Place'.

We were also very fortunate to have in attendance Mrs Kang from Dangsang Middle School in Seoul South Korea. This year Stage 3 have been able to share stories and learning with students from Dansang. This is a positive international partnership that promotes authentic engagement in language learning and cultural understanding between students in both schools.

Thank you to all the parents and visitors who attended to share the many success stories presented by students in the band, choir, 3S and reflected in the special student achievement awards. Thank you also to Angela Lau and Sean for their presentation on the upcoming 'Carnival of Cultures'.

The open classrooms activities also showcased the excellent work being done by our teachers and students to inspire and nurture a love of learning that can be sustained now and in the future. Congratulations also to James for achieving his gold medallion for effort and achievement of the schools expectations of Respect, Responsibility and Personal Best.

With the support of our P&C and wider school community we are focussed on improving our capacity to deliver the best future-focused learning environments for our students to grow and succeed as successful lifelong learners. Open Day was a great opportunity to share our stories of better learning for a stronger school community.

ICAS Maths

The ICAS Mathematics Competition will be scheduled for 10:30am on Tuesday 16th August.

This will accommodate students who have already registered their interest and are involved in band practice on this day.

Best Wishes
Gillian Tegg

Inspiring & Nurturing Successful Lifelong Learners

Seed Harvest Spoon

All students have now had their first learning experience with the program delivered by Seed Harvest Spoon. Over the last two weeks all students have the chance to be a 'soil scientist' and discover the importance of healthy soil to the health of all living things. Through the Seed Harvest Spoon program they learnt how to:

• Investigate characteristics of soil: quality, colour, type (composition), texture, pH and amount of organic matter.
• Engage in simple experiments to observe and explore soil type (composition), pH and texture.
• Analyse soil to determine various components of soil and how this may impact plant growth.
• Work in small groups to record soil observations, and then report these findings to peers.
• Understand how environmental factors can affect soil quality, and understand ways that we can regenerate and promote soil health.

Peer Support

The Peer support program encourages stronger peer connections throughout the school and assists students in developing practical skills to enhance social and emotional wellbeing. Through integrated leadership training the program empowers our students to support each other and contribute positively to our school and the community.

This term the program will continue to focus on anti-bullying by helping students develop skills in decision making, problem solving, assertiveness, empathy and relationship building. This is part of a whole school approach to addressing the issue of bullying in a positive way.

Useful links include:

Merit Awards

The beginning of a new semester is a good time to remind all students to continue to work towards the next level of our merit awards. Awards to date reflect the many ways that our students demonstrate Respect, Responsibility and a Personal Best across a variety of settings in their school life. Please encourage your child to value their awards by storing them safely and handing them to their class teacher each time they accumulate three awards at the same level as below:

Notes from Office

LMBR Training

We are now past the half-way point in training for the new finance/staff/student administration systems which are being rolled out shortly. Our "go live" date is 5th September. As part of pre-deployment we would ask that all student invoices are cleared so please finalise outstanding payments to the office as soon as possible.

Canberra Excursion G5 & 6: 29-31 August

All notes, medical forms and payment needed to be lodged with the school by Friday 5th August. This week the teaching staff will be sorting out accommodation and menu choices and final numbers will be forwarded to the travel company.

Sports in Schools K-2 and Non-PSSA students:

We are still following up the last notes and participation fee for this Friday sports activity. If you have not already done so, please send in the permission note and fee to the office immediately.

Zone Athletics Note

A permission note and $2 levy needs to be returned by all participants by Friday 12 August for the Zone Athletics Carnival to be held on Thursday 18th August. We will also need parents to assist with transport of competitors to and from the carnival so please indicate on the form if you can assist on the day. Thank you.

Library

Premier's Reading Challenge 2016

This is a reminder to students in Years 3-6 completing the challenge that all books need to be entered online by 19/8/16. This is the date that the PRC closes for students for 2016.

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 5 was distributed last week to the students and orders must be entered online via the LOOP payment system by Friday 5/8/16.

All families and friends are invited to join us on Thursday 25 August to celebrate Book Week.

We will be having a Book Parade at 12.15pm with our friends from Sir Eric Woodward school.

All students are asked to dress as their favourite book character: human, animal or other! Students can wear their costume to school on the day, but may need to bring any props or extras that they need to carry for the Parade. As the weather can be cold in August please send along warm clothing if the costume is "summery" in nature. This is a fun event which does not require a hired or expensive costume. Students will need to carry a copy of their book or a sign stating who they are. If you need any inspiration please see your class teacher or myself as we are only too happy to make some suggestions. Often it is easier to find a book character that matches a costume you already own rather than try to make a complicated costume of a particular character. No onesies please.

Following the parade, families are invited to share a picnic with their children in our school grounds. The canteen will be selling some special Book Week treats. A note will be sent home closer to the day listing items and prices.

The SRC will be running a Great Book Swap with the funds raised donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Prior to this day, students will be encouraged to bring in a gold coin donation and a book that they have finished reading. The book must be in excellent condition and at a suitable reading level for a student in their class. Students will be able to swap their book for another book on the day of the swap. The SRC will be updating students in the lead up to this event.

So mark the date in your diary, charge up your camera, plan your picnic lunch and join us on 25/8/16 to celebrate Book Week.

Virginia Allman

Parents and Citizens Association

Tennis Courts

Bush Classroom Working Bee

Thankyou to everyone who volunteered for the Bush Classroom Working Bee last term. Unfortunately, the Working Bee was cancelled due to rain but the good news is that we have rescheduled for Sunday 28 August.

Please join us for a great morning regenerating our Bush Classroom for our children and then enjoy a FREE Sausage Sizzle lunch!

Linda Croft

Parents & Citizens Association

Did You Miss Out On the School Assembly last Thursday?

There was an exciting presentation by Sean Simunovic (our school captain) and Angela Lau (our P&C president) on the upcoming Ku-ring-gai Carnival of Cultures. If you missed out on the presentation, you can still get the information contained by clicking on the document below.

Please visit the "Fundraising" page on the SIPPS P&C website to find out more about our fundraising goals and how you can help.

Next P&C Meeting

Wednesday August 17th
7.15pm – 8.30pm
SIPPS Staff Room (Now Heated! Thanks to funding from the P&C)

BARE CREEK TRAIL RUN IS BACK…WITH A NEW ORGANISER AND A NEW EVENT!

Dust off your running shoes and start limbering up for the Bare Creek Trail Run on Sunday 27th November!

10KM, 6KM and NEW 2KM DASH!

This year the event will include the 10KM Run, 6KM Run/Walk for anyone over 5 and will introduce a new 2KM DASH so that families with children under 5 can also hit the trail! The 2KM event will be held after the 10K and 6K events so that parents can run their own race and then take the kids on the fun and easy 2K DASH.

BENEFITS FOR SIPPS

No cost to the school! The Bare Creek Trail Run will no longer cost our school as ex-SIPPS parent and founder of the event Lisa Murphy has agreed to take on the run from now on via her company Bare Events.

Fund Raising Opportunities!

• Payment to the School - Bare Events has paid to use the school facilities.
• Early Bird Registration Rebate – If we can get 200 SIPPS runners to register before 15th October, SIPPS P&C will receive a donation for every single SIPPS registration so make sure you spread the word to your family and friends!
• SIPPS Sausage Sizzle – The P&C has the opportunity to run a sausage sizzle on the day to raise funds for our school.

Great PR!

The Bare Creek Trail Run is a positive, healthy, family event that attracts local residents, businesses, other schools, runners, and the media to our school. This raises awareness about our school and showcase its many great assets.

Enter now and tick the SIPPS BOX on the registration form to get the best entry price, support our school, and have your name printed on your running bib!

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop will be open fortnightly – the next date being August 18.

Community Notices