4 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

Term 4 PBL Focus

PBL Focus Week 4 & 5

Responsibility in the Gardens & on the Oval
- Be water wise
- Look after school equipment

Personal Best in the Gardens and on the Oval
- Look after the environment
- Stay in bounds and where the teacher can see you.

Principal’s Message

Term 4
Week 4

Junior Choir – Festival of Children’s Music

Last Tuesday evening our Junior Choir participated as part of the 420 student strong choir at the festival to delight their families and friends at the Chatswood Concourse Concert Hall. It was a wonderful evening with our students performing a range of traditional and modern pieces. Congratulations to our choir and Mrs Cipollone for all their hard work throughout the year which culminated in such a lovely musical evening.

Living Positively – Peer Support

All students K-6 are participating in our Peer Support program focusing on Living Positively. These lessons are designed to support students to explore the concept of optimism. Students are developing co-operative learning skills during these sessions as they learn in their K-6 group with their Year 6 leaders. Topics covered include: happiness, activities we enjoy, personal strengths, positive self-talk, gratitude, challenges resilience and optimism. These topics build on classroom learning which focuses on trying in challenging situations to develop resilience and optimism for life-long learning skills and positive habits of mind.

At the end of the program students will be able to share their thoughts and experiences of the program in 2019. We will also ask parents for their feedback in relation to the program in the next newsletter.

Expanding opportunities for learning

Students from SIPPS have been accepted to attend extension learning opportunities to expand their learning and talents. Invited students will be attending the Sydney North Public Schools Dance Workshop and the Year 5 Maths Challenge Camp this week.

2020 Enrolments

SIPPS is accepting enrolments for 2020. If you have a child who will be attending our school in 2020 and they are not yet enrolled, please contact the office to arrange enrolment. Kindergarten Orientation days for 2020 students are fast approaching.

P&C AGM - Come along and be a part of the SIPPS school community.

Next P & C Meeting is on the 20th of November, 2019 – Annual General Meeting.

We welcome all our parents to the upcoming P&C meeting which will be the final meeting for 2019. As it is the Annual General Meeting, there will be many opportunities for parents to participate in the P&C for 2020. I look forward to meeting with our community and creating plans for the new year.

SIPPS Leaders to Parliament House

Our school leaders were invited to spend the afternoon with the Speaker of the House, Mr Jonathon O’Dea, the local member of parliament for Davidson. Mr O’Dea provided a guided tour with a range of staff explaining how both the upper and lower chambers of parliament were organised. Students were able to ask and answer questions regarding the two houses.

Congratulations to Lana,Finn, Sebastian and Millie on their leadership throughout 2019.

Stage 3 BYOD Information session

Thank you to our parents who came to the information session and to Mrs Hayllar for hosting the afternoon. A flyer was subsequently sent home to all Year 4 and Year 5 parents in readiness for 2020. Current research links were provided in the flyer and prove interesting reading considering Australia has one of the highest take-up levels of technology amongst OECD countries.

In 2020 the BYODD will cease and students will access technology when at school through the range of school based devices available. As mentioned at the meeting, a second bank of laptops will be available for the Stage 3 2020 classes. These laptops have been sourced through the DET technology budget and through school funds. In 2020 there will be two laptop trolleys for Stage 3 and one trolley for Stage 2 to share and one for K-2 students to share as tools to enhance the teaching and learning programs at SIPPS.

Dates for your diary -

Term 4

Regards,
Caroline English
Principal

Principal

Celebrating Student Success

Congratulations to the following students who received wristbands for Personal Best, Respect or Responsibility

Library

Library News

Term 4 is a busy one for the Library. We complete a stocktake of all our library resources. This allows us the opportunity to:

• Ensure the database reflects the actual collection
• Ensure that items are labelled correctly and housed in the appropriate location to assist accessibility
• Produce figures and statistics that identify areas that have had losses in stock
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses in the collection for ongoing collection development
• Allow each resource to be handled and checked for relevance and physical condition

The master due date for all student resources to be returned to the Library is:
Friday 22 November 2019.

Student borrowing will stop at the end of Week 5 of the Term (Friday 15 November).

Reminder notices will be issued and sent home on a regular basis as this date draws near. If you have any queries or questions please visit the Library on a Thursday or Friday for clarification.

Virginia Allman
Teacher librarian

Notes from the Office

Monday 18th November - Donation for Farmers Day - 5er for a Farmer !

The drought situation in Australia is getting worse. 100% of NSW is drought affected and farmers are struggling to feed and water themselves, their livestock and their crops. To feed one cow for a week can cost up to $100 and to deliver 11,500 litres of much needed water costs $250. SIPPS wants to help as many farmers as we can this year so on Monday the 18th of November the SRC are hosting another '5er for a Farmer Day'. Students are asked to dress up as a farmer or a farm animal and donate $5 (or more) dollars.

SMITH FAMILY TOY AND BOOK APPEAL

This Christmas the Smith Family have a huge need to deliver 75,000 toys and 50,000 books to over 27,000 Learning for Life students and their families. Our school is hosting a collection towards making a big contribution to thousands of children in need this Christmas.

Donations can be left at the school office. Last day for donations is the 5th Dec 2019. Thank you.

This year The Smith Family hopes to deliver 27,000 brand new toy & book packs to children living in disadvantage across Australia. Each year thousands of children go without the joy of opening a present on Christmas morning, simply because their family finds themselves in a situation where they are unable to provide this experience for their children.

Gifts most needed

This year there is have a shortage of gifts for children between 8 and 12 years of age. By donating a gift suitable for a child in this age group, you will help us meet the needs of many more families. Gifts such as board games, STEM and activity-based toys are always well-received.

Gift requirements:

• Donations of new toys and books help us ensure that they are of good quality and usable when they are opened on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to accept second-hand, handmade or damaged items.
• Your gift should be ready to read or play with as soon as it’s opened on Christmas morning. When you’re deciding what to give, remember to include batteries if needed and colouring pencils for colouring-in books.
• No gift wrapping, please. While it may seem helpful to wrap your gift, this often creates problems in the sorting and packing process. It also means that parents don’t get to see or wrap the gift for their child. Unwrapped gifts only please!

Items we can’t accept

Unfortunately, there are some items that are difficult to sort and pack. Others may not be appropriate for a wide range of children. Repurposing these items costs money that we’d prefer to spend on getting more toys and books to more children. You can help us reach more children by avoiding the sorts of items listed below.

• Breakable items such as glass or porcelain
• Calendars and diaries
• Candles and lamps
• CDs and video games
• Clothing including shoes, costumes and pyjamas
• Food or drinks
• Games suitable for adults (16+ years)
• Toys that look like weapons such as guns and swords
• Items that contain liquid
• Promotional Marketing or branded items (items with company logos)
• Religious items
• Second-hand or handmade items
• Sheets and towels
• Toiletries, perfume and makeup
• Large items such as bikes, hula hoops, ride-ons etc. Try to keep your gift smaller than a school backpack.

Please see below for the Smith Family appeal Flyer

Parents and Citizens Association

Last 2019 P&C Meeting + AGM

7:15pm, Wed 20 November in the staff room.

Please join us for the last P&C meeting of the year, where we'll also be voting in new members for 2020. A few of our wonderful committee members will be moving on next year, so we do need new recruits. Regardless of your skill set and availabilities, we value everyone's input and contribution. There are a variety of roles on the committee, as well as general members who contribute in a more informal way. This is the best way to get closer to the school, the principal, and other parents. Without more members, the P&C committee could fold - and with it all the social events and fundraising dollars we put into the school. Please do come along and find out what we are all about.

P&C Voluntary Contribution

A sincere thank you to those who have paid their annual P&C Contribution. However contributions have been low this year. This is the P&C annual voluntary contribution ask and is different to the school term fees. This is our major fundraiser each year and funds projects such as the playground last year, shade structure for the playground this year, and we have further projects on the wish list such as an outdoor sound system and a new front entrance landscaping. We have included suggested amounts in the letter below, however please contribute whatever amount you can.

Keep up to date

To keep up to date with P&C social events, please make sure you have subscribed to receive P&C emails from our website at

If you have any queries or would like to get involved with the P&C, you can email us at: stivesparkpc@gmail.com

Personalised Brick Paving

As many of you would have seen at the wonderful SIPPS 50th Display yesterday, as part of the 50th birthday we are offering the opportunity to have a named paver at SIPPS. There is plans to create a lovely new path /garden up the centre of the school (where the old climbing frame was) and for the flagpole to be moved. The plan is to place the named pavers either around the flagpole or along the path – depending on the number of engraved pavers we have. There are 2 options – formal or a free style style. If you look closely at the pavers on the picture you can see both. For freestyle – the children can write there names and draw a little picture – for those interested I will furnish more details of the process.

We are selling these pavers at $30 each or $50 for 2. Each paver allows for 48 characters. The display paver is at the office if you would like to have a closer look.

Typically pavers will either have the invididual childs name “Cora Lily Reaper” maybe with the year they started at school “Cora Lily Reaper 2016” or just the family name “The Reaper Family 2015 ” or “Declan, Braedon & Cora Reaper 2015” etc.

This is open to anyone that attended this school – past or present – so please feel free to forward on to any of you friends who previously attended SlPPS.

Please feel free to mail bricks4sipps@gmail.com with any questions or to further your order. We will create the facility to buy a paver via QKR or via EFT.

Tennis Court Hire

Contact if problems:

Stewart Duncan
e: sippstennis@gmail.com
p. 0408 649 464

Uniform Shop

sippsuniform@gmail.com

Helping Hands OOSH & Vacation Care

Please have a look at our school website for information regarding our

Community

We’d love to let you know about the St Ives High School production of “Matilda the Musical”, which will be performed from Wednesday 27 November till Sunday 1 December 2019 at St Ives High School Hall, Yarrabung Avenue, St Ives.

There are 6 performances including a Saturday 1pm Matinee and Sunday early evening performance.

Matilda The Musical is the award winning musical, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl.

This is a hugely family friendly show – well…. There might be some cheeky bits…. It is Roald Dahl!!

We hope you might be able to promote this amazing show amongst your staff, students and their families. For our feeder schools many of your alumni are participating in our production.

For primary school children who are intending to attend St Ives High School in the future, this would be a great way to come and see the amazing opportunities available!

Tickets are on sale now and can be accessed via the link below which is also displayed on the poster

Child/School Student from $30
Adult tickets from $35
Family of 4 (2+2) $120
VIP tickets including popcorn, a drink and a program $50

Event at St Ives Showground November 23 and November 24 2019.

100% of profits are for Bear Cottage and Cure Brain Cancer charities.