3 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

February PBL Focus

Principal’s Message

2020 Welcome back to St Ives Park Public school

Welcome back to school for 2020!

It was lovely to see all our students who looked so enthusiastic and very happy on their first day back to school last Wednesday. It was wonderful to see and chat with so many of our parents in the playground before school. Renewing friendships and catching up on news after a delightful holiday break can be lots of fun for everyone!

We have an exciting program planned for our students during the weeks and months ahead. Our teachers work incredibly hard to ensure that the learning programs meet the requirements of the NESA curriculum and the learning needs of our students. Thank you for your continued support of our school. Together we can ensure your children believe in their abilities, set their goals and work together towards achieving their potential.

I hope you have a wonderful year of learning, growth and development.

To the families who have joined our school for the very first time in 2020, I offer you a very warm welcome. I’m delighted that you have chosen to send your son or daughter to St Ives Park Public School. To all those who are returning to SIPPS, welcome back.

Our students have started in their classes for 2020 and have met their new teachers. In 2020 we welcome back Mrs Field who is a permanent member of staff returning to SIPPS after taking leave.

Staff and students in 2020 will continue to work on the following areas as per the school’s 2018 – 2020 strategic plan:

• Assessment ‘for’, ‘as’ and ‘of’ learning – Evidence-based approach
• Differentiated and integrated learning
• Learning intentions & success criteria
• Quality teacher feedback including student self-assessment
• Learning goals clearly articulated and developed with students

Welcome to our Kindergarten students and families in 2020:

Our Kindergarten students started on Friday and I can happily report that they were very settled. Their teacher Mrs Woodwell was there to welcome them into big school on their first day. They all looked lovely in their new uniforms.

They were greeted by their Year 6 Buddies. I am not certain which group were more excited about the event: the new Kinders or Year 6 Buddies or our Kinder parents. Thank you to the parents who were able to meet for a cuppa and a chat to start the year and I would like to acknowledge Mrs Sony Robson who organised the event on behalf of our P&C.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our Kindergarten parents, some of whom are experienced members of the school community and some of whom are joining the school for the first time. Welcome one and all!

General Department of Education information about starting school can be found at the following locations:

#Ready2020 – a great year starts here

Classes and staff in 2020

Students have been placed into classes for 2020 and if there is no student movement before 7th February we will have 7 classes this year. As parents it is important that you are positive and excited about your child’s new teacher and class. Help them to understand the importance of positivity and resilience. With your help, your child/ren can settle very quickly in to new routines and very quickly understand that friendships can continue with students who are in a different class. We are very lucky at SIPPS to have a wonderful teaching staff who have the best interests of the students at heart.

Our staff this year will include:

In our Administration we will again be supported by Mrs Fazzolari each week and by Mrs Aylmer. Mrs Millar is joining our Administration team, although her regional responsibilities mean she is on site but not available to complete SIPPS administration requirements.

Miss Mills, Mrs Follows and Miss Emerson will be our Relieving Assistant Principals until Mrs Hayllar returns later in 2020.

Medical Advice regarding Novel Coronavirus

Advice has been provided to SIPPS families as provided by the Department of Education. Current advice, as at 2nd February 2020 from the Australian Government Department of Health for parents in regards to the Novel Coronavirus is:

• Any student and staff arriving in Australia from 1 February 2020 who has been in mainland China or transited through mainland China (not just Hubei province) is excluded from school and child care services for a period of 14 days from the date they left mainland China as the Novel Coronavirus’ incubation period can be as long as two weeks.
• Any confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus will be excluded until they are medically cleared to return
• Close contact of a confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus will be excluded for 14 days since last contact with the confirmed case.
• Any student and staff arriving before 1 February our previous advice remains that students and staff who were in Hubei province are excluded from school or child care services for 14 days, and those who were in the rest of China are requested not to not attend school or child care services for a period of 14 days after leaving China.
• More information can be found at NSW Health.

Local Wildlife

We are especially fortunate in our school setting, located in a bushland locale and having lovely playground areas in which to learn and play. When schools and homes are situated in gorgeous leafy locations we do at times have a range of wildlife who visit our school site and local residences. We have last week had a Green Tree Snake visiting the school amongst other bird life and wildlife generally.

Safety strategies for students were put in place when the reptile was sighted. This week staff will discuss with our students the expected response when we have wildlife on site and staff this term will be working towards risk and response protocols.

Student Leadership Team 2020:

I would like to again extend my congratulations to the 2020 student leadership team. I look forward to working with these talented students this year as they represent all students at SIPPS.

Meet the Teacher Evening – Partnering in your child’s learning

Parents/carers are partners in their child/ren’s education. Our staff would like to share their teaching and learning expectations, the curriculum requirements and advise you how you can assist in the learning process.

Meet the teacher evening is on Tuesday 18th February.

This is a fabulous opportunity for you to meet your child/ren’s new class teacher and learn about NSW curriculum, important school/class routines, opportunities and expectations.

Meet the Teacher Evening –

5:00 – 5:45 pm K-2 classrooms
5:45 – 6:15 pm Mingle with staff and community
(in the new playground area).
6:15 – 7:00 pm 3- 6 classrooms

The Meet the teacher sessions are not suitable for students to attend. Parents are responsible for the care of any children on site.

Parents and Citizens

Being an active member of the SIPPS Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) is also a great way to contribute to our school in a positive way. I am looking forward to the P&C’s first meeting on Wednesday evening 26th of February from 7:15 pm in the school staffroom. New Kindergarten parents are most welcome to come along to listen or join the P&C.

Thank you!

It’s lovely to hear that all the little choices we as members of the school community make really do make a genuine difference for people in need. Thank you to Mrs Sonya Acton for co-ordinating this on behalf of SIPPS in 2019. Mrs Acton will be greatly missed as a member of the SIPPS parent community as she was very active in supporting community initiatives and bringing these to the attention of the Student Representative Council (SRC).

Swimming Carnival

Our school swimming carnival is scheduled for Monday 17 February at Kuring-gai Aquatic Centre, West Pymble. The swimming carnival note will be sent out to parents/carers of grades 3-6 and eligible students in grade 2 this week.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Following is a lot of important information about school for 2020. Please take the time to read through it so that you are aware of how you can help make 2020 an amazing year at SIPPS!

Communication

The school’s newsletter (The Patter) is the main form of communication to parents. Please read it regularly. It will be emailed to each family every alternate Monday. You will also be able to access it on the school website below.

Please also download the Schoolzine mobile app. Click the link for instructions:

Social Media:

SIPPS has a Facebook page (St Ives Park Public School), and an Instagram account (@stivesparkps).

Please join us on the Facebook and Instagram pages to keep informed about all the wonderful things happening at SIPPS.

SchoolZine App and SIPPS School Calendar

While the school Newsletter is the formal means of communication each fortnight with our community, The SchoolZine App is an additional important communication tool. It is strongly recommended for parents to download the app. Short communication messages are communicated through this app to our families. For example if changes to an anticipated event need to occur, the school will send brief messages through the SchoolZine App to inform parents.

The school calendar is available via the Schoolzine SZapp. The calendar provides parents with the key events scheduled for students at the school.

School Times

Supervision of students commences at 8:40 am. Parents are asked to ensure that their children arrive at school between 8:40 and 9:05 am. Staff are required on site by 8:40 am each morning. School commences at 9:10am. School concludes at 3:10pm for all students. All children must be collected by 3.10pm as staff supervision ceases at this time.

Our ‘Helping Hands’ OOSH facility can take students on a casual basis who are not collected after 3:10pm if they have been registered. Registration is free and we encourage all parents to register their child.

For safety reasons, students are not permitted to be on the premises prior to 8:40am unless they are booked into OOSH or have sports, music or dance training/practice.

Playground Equipment

The playground equipment cannot be used by students before school or after the 3:10 pm bell on school days, or on weekends or during school vacation periods. This is a Department of Education safety regulation.

Update to Parent Contact Information

The office needs to be notified of any changes to your personal details immediately so that prompt contact can be made in emergencies. Please let the office know if you have changed any contact details. Parents are kindly requested to send all correspondence for students through the school office during school hours. Students are not permitted to use mobile phones during school hours and while on site at school. Further information will be provided to parents as the Department of Education is currently updating this information for schools.

School Crossing and Road Safety

Please familiarise yourself with the parking rules around the Acron Road pedestrian crossing to prevent parking infringement notices. The council rangers do patrol the area intermittently.

If your child needs to cross Acron Road they must go via the school pedestrian crossing. Children have been hit by cars when responding to parents who have called them across the road. Please park your car, come to school and walk with your child across the road via the school pedestrian crossing rather than taking the risk.

Please remember that our main priority is to ensure our students are safe coming to and leaving school. Taking an extra couple of minutes to wait, to slow down, or to drive around the block instead of performing dangerous manoeuvers is much better than the potential disaster that could occur to one of our precious students.

Staff Car Park

This is strictly a no parking area for parents and the community. Please park outside the school grounds where there is plenty of street parking in Acron Rd and Woodbury Rd. Please observe ‘no stopping’ and bus zones to ensure that you are not fined when the police or rangers make their patrols. There is no pedestrian access to the school via the staff car park. We have two school gates on Acron Road that provide safe access for students and parents.

Medical Plans and Conditions

If your child is on a medical plan these need to be updated annually and signed by your doctor. Please make an appointment with your doctor to update your plan and provide the signed and dated copy to the school during February.

The Department of Education requires all students diagnosed with asthma to have a current Asthma Management Plan lodged with the school on an annual basis. Students with asthma should always carry or have available at Sick Bay appropriate medication, for example, reliever puffers. The same applies for Anaphylaxis and other Medical Conditions.

Anaphylaxis

This is a severe and sudden allergic reaction to foods, insect bites, medications and or latex products, which is life threatening. We have students at SIPPS who are allergic to peanuts and / or nuts. To assist us to manage their environment as safely as possible, we ask that you do not send your child to school with Peanut butter or Nutella and refrain from supplying snack bars or foods with nuts. Please reinforce our school policy about not sharing food with friends at school.

At SIPPS, we have some students who have allergies which are severe enough to warrant the use of an EpiPen (the emergency response) if they come into contact with the wrong foods. The safety of all St Ives Park Public School students is paramount and we ask that you please follow our request to not send nut based products to school with your child.

Sun smart

I have was very impressed to see 100% of students wearing their hat on the first day this year. I would love to see this trend continue. All school students are required to bring and wear a school hat during outdoor activities including sport and playtime. No hat, play in the shade! All students need to protect themselves from UV radiation. Until around May UV levels in NSW are high. Protecting skin and eyes from UV in the first 15 years of life significantly reduces skin cancer risk in later years. For more info about UV and protecting your skin, visit the link below.

Uniforms

SIPPS students proudly wear the red and green. Our Uniform Shop is run by parent volunteers and is located in the School Hall. Opening times are every second Wednesday in odd numbered weeks (i.e. 1, 3, 5 etc.) from 8.30am-9.30am. Further details about the school uniform are available from the school’s website.

Students are requested to wear full school uniform at all times which includes black leather school shoes and school hat.

Sport uniforms K – 2 are worn on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Sport uniforms 3 - 6 are worn on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Out Of School Hours (OOSH) Care

St Ives Park Public School has ‘Helping Hands’ which is an external service which provides a before and after school service to the SIPPS families. This important service is offered to you. If you require this service please contact them on:

Phone: 0475 838 226 or Email: stivespark@helpinghandsnetwork.com.au

Approaching the school

Please find attached the St Ives Park Public School Community Code of Conduct and the Department’s School Community Charter. These documents will advise parents and community members regarding how to approach members of staff in all Departmental schools.

It is important that we are all proactive in ensuring that our students and staff enjoy a safe and harmonious school environment. It is up to all of us to model behaviour that is consistent with the school’s expectations of Respect, Responsibility and Personal Best. Please click here to see the SIPPS Community Code of Conduct.

Parent Volunteers

We welcome assistance from parent volunteers for various activities and events during the year. If you wish to be involved in this way you must ensure that you have lodged a completed Declaration for Volunteers form with the school office. Please contact the office if you need assistance with this.

Attendance Requirements

Education for your child is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational potential and increase their career and life options. NSW public schools work in partnership with parents to encourage regular attendance of children and young people. When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain relationships with other children.

What if my child has to be away from school?

On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:

• being sick, or having an infectious disease
• having an unavoidable medical appointment with a specialist
• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
• exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g. attending a funeral)

Following an absence from school you must ensure that within 3 days you provide your child’s school with a written explanation for the absence. However, if the school has not received an explanation from you within 2 days, the school may contact you to discuss the absence. Absences which are not as listed above will be recorded as ‘unjustified’. Attendance is monitored within the school and where necessary, absences are referred to the Home School Liaison Officer, who will meet with the family and develop an attendance plan.

If your child is late arriving at school or you need to take your child out of school before 3:10 please proceed to the office before going to the classroom. You will need to obtain a slip to give to the class teacher. This is to ensure that we are always aware of where our students are in case of emergency.

Kind regards,
Caroline English

Celebrating Student Success

Recognising Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

Watch this space for our weekly SIPPS STARS and winners of wristbands to celebrate student achievement of School Expectations – Respect, Responsibility and Personal Best.

Inspiring & Nurturing Successful Lifelong Learners

Kindergarten

What a fabulous start to the year! The students have met their teacher and their buddies. Kindergarten have settled into school well and are meeting new friends. This week we are practising writing our name using a capital letter and creating our colour walls. Mrs Woodwell is already so impressed with Kindergarten and how kind they are being to each other.

Stage 1

Hello Parents and Caregivers, welcome to Stage 1. Mrs Took, Mrs Cipollone and I are very much looking forward to meeting with you all at the Parent Information evening in Week 4.

You’ll be pleased to know that the students have settled in incredibly well and I just know it will be a great year for all of us.

Thank you to those of you who have already provided stationery for your child. If you need a stationery list, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Student books may come home over the next week to be covered. It would be greatly appreciated if you could cover them and return them as soon as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Looking forward to meeting up with you all.

Kind Regards,
Narelle Mills
K-2 Assistant Principal

Stage 2

Welcome back, we hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday. Mr Dimmers and Mrs Follows are looking forward to a productive and exciting semester. Stage 2 Library day is Thursday. Sport is Tuesday and Friday, students are required to wear their sports uniform. If you have any enquiries please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Stage 3

Welcome back to school!

Mrs Field and I are very excited for a wonderful year in 5/6 this year.

During this week we will be setting classroom expectations, putting procedures in place and getting know our new classes.

Our History focus this semester is Australia as a Nation and in Science we will be looking at how sudden geological changes and extreme weather events affect the Earth’s surface.

Homework will begin after the Meet the Teacher evening on Tuesday the 18th of February, we look forward to seeing you all there.

Stephanie Emerson
Relieving Assistant Principal
St Ives Park Public School

Band

Band is starting soon for 2020

There are still places available in the Training Band for 2020 on most instruments. If you need to return your enrolment forms, please do so as soon as possible. If you’re interested in joining the band, please contact Bandemonium. Creative Kids Vouchers can be used with the program.

Band will be commencing soon so don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!

Email: band@bandemonium.com.au Phone: 0490 338 860

Notes from the Office

Please make sure all school uniforms, lunch boxes – lids and containers, bags, drink bottles are labelled with your child/children’s name.

Parents and Citizens Association

Get your Personalised Pavers

There has been a huge interest in the personalized pavers and this is the last week for ordering so if you are interested please email to the address below.

Be a part of SIPPS history and get your family names paved into our new garden path! As part of our 50th birthday, there are plans to create a lovely new garden and path including personalised pavers of our school community. There are 2 design options – formal or a free 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 we 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 individual child's 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. You can now pay on QKR! – Payment App

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 the link below.

Click here to subscribe online

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

Tennis Court Hire

Book in the link below:

Contact if problems:

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 the link below.

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

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform Shop is run by parent volunteers and is located in the School Hall.

Opening times are every second Wednesday in odd numbered weeks (i.e. 1, 3, 5 etc.) from 8.30am-9.30am. Further details about the school uniform are available from the school’s website.

sippsuniform@gmail.com

Helping Hands OOSH & Vacation Care

Helping Hands Network are the company who provide before and after school care at St Ives Park Public School.

All information about Before and After school care can be located on their website. Please click on the link below.

Community Notices

Kite Flying Festival

About the Event
Date: 16/02/2020
Time: 10:00am - 05:00 pm
Place: St Ives Showgrounds, St Ives,NSW

Held as part of the City’s Summer Series of Free Entry, family-friendly, smoke-free and alcohol-free events, the Kite Flying Festival will give people the chance to experience a sea of colour as kites of all shapes and sizes fly above the foreshore.

The Kite Flying Festival event is a great chance to spend some quality time with family – you can get out of the house, into the sunshine and enjoy the weekend flying kites. It gives you and your family the chance to make some wonderful memories together, while flying colourful kites up in the air.

Kites featuring mermaids , Batman, superheroes, flying Fish, Dragons, Aliens, Lady Bug, elephants, Parrots, Butterflies and Lions will all take flight during the festival. The event will include a varieties of fun and entertainment activities for all age groups.

It is quintessential family event with much to see and do, such as beautiful showcase of colourful sky full of varieties of shapes and colours of kites, varieties of kids activities on the ground, delicious food stalls, rides, jumping Castle and Live DJ, merchandise stalls.

Facebook Page:

About the Organising Committee

Kite Flying Festival team is dedicated to enhancing community spirit by bringing joy and entertainment to families. Our motto is to create an atmosphere of fun and belonging within our community. We are working together with council events team to make this event a great experience for all our attendees.