28 February 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

Hip hip hooray!

Hip, hip, hooray … Cohorting ceases from today!

There was great excitement as students waited for friends in the K-6 playground under the sails this morning. All our students can play together.

No more will we see students waving from afar as in the photo below (fingers crossed).

Covid Smart end Term 1 Settings

Some of the Covid Smart measures in schools are changing throughout the remainder of this term. These changes include:

• Masks in primary schools are voluntary from Monday 7th March for both staff and students.
• Whole school notifications will replace cohort letters.
• From today we are able to invite parents on site to events and activities.
• All visitors (parents and carers, volunteers and contractors must use the School Visitor Check-in to comply with departmental school sign-in procedures.
• We welcome parents to join us at our fortnightly whole school assemblies from our Week 9 (23/3/22) assembly this term.
• Parent / Teacher Interviews face to face from 21st March to 31st March, 2022.

Access to St Ives Park Public School site

We are excited to enable our parents to walk their children into school again! Please walk in and farewell your child. As we transition into these new Covid Smart times, we will require parents to support the safety and operation of the school.

Parents are not to enter classrooms without an invitation by a teacher.

The gates were installed in 2021 by the Department of Education to ensure the safety of students and staff during school hours. As a result, we are required to keep the gates locked during school hours as part of our risk management planning. As you can imagine both administration and teaching staff have many duties across the school day, and we request that our community continue to support us by ensuring that you are off site by 9:10am each day.

Students are organised and used to parents dropping them at the gates each morning. Parents may continue to drop their children at the gates, and we strongly advise you to continue this practice wherever possible.

As there are still cases of Covid 19 circulating in Northern Sydney, parents are able to enter the playground to farewell their child but are requested not to go onto the verandahs or into classrooms, as these are more confined spaces in the school setting.

To ensure the safe working of the school site and enable staff to complete their daily responsibilities, parents will be required to leave the school grounds by 9:05am each morning. There will be a 9:05am bell to assist parents to know when to leave the school each morning. As you can imagine all staff members and teachers must continue their official duties once the school bell rings for students to go into class. Mornings are very busy times in schools.

Parents who arrive at school after 9:05am bell will not be able to enter the school grounds. Gate 2 will be closed at the 9:05am bell each morning. Gate 1 is the access point for any late arrivals. Please continue to call ahead or use the doorbell should you need to collect your child between 9:10 and 3:10pm.

We strongly recommend parents continue to email or call the school office for support rather than attend in person as our school office is quite small and cannot support more than one parent at a time. If you need to attend the school office, please ensure that you plan your visit close to 8:45am.

Teachers will continue to escort their classes to the gates each afternoon and will unlock the gates as they arrive to dismiss their classes.

Thank you for your understanding as we transition back to our new school settings.

Parent Teacher Interviews Term 1 2022

We are looking forward to welcoming our parents into the school and classrooms for face to face Parent-Teacher Interviews in Term 1.

Interviews are booked online via the SchoolZine App.

Parents will have an opportunity to book a 15 minute interview with teachers to have a conversation about your child’s learning or wellbeing. As this opportunity for parents adds an extra 6 to 8 hours into a teacher’s week, parents are requested to be prompt to interviews and keep to the set times. interviews will need to be at teacher identified times across the week.

Interviews are scheduled between
Monday 21st March and Thursday 31st March.

Bookings will open at 3:10pm Monday 7th March and close on Thursday 17th of March at 3:00 pm.

P&C Meeting Term 1

What a wonderful response to see so many parents and carers at our first P&C meeting of the year. It was a very positive meeting and hopefully welcoming to our new Kindergarten and returning parents. Looking forward to seeing our parents for the next P&C meeting in Week 8 on Wednesday 16th March in the school Library at 7:15pm.

Tell Them From Me 2022

This term, our school is taking part in the Tell Them From Me student survey. The survey will provide us with valuable information on what our students think about school life in 2022, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve. The survey is completed online and is run by an independent research company, The Learning Bar which specialises in school-based surveys.

The Tell Them From Me surveys operate on an opt-out consent model. Parents are provided with a non-consent form. Parents only need to complete and return the form to their school if they do not want their child to participate in the Tell Them From Me student survey.

Please complete and return the form by Friday 4th March if you do not wish for your child to participate. The survey window opens on Monday 7th March, 2022.

School Times

8:40am – Students may arrive at school. Teacher on duty from 8:45am.
9:05 am – bell rings, parents depart from school grounds
9:10am – Lessons begin and site is secured for safety
11:10am – Recess begins (30 min break)
1:10pm – Eating break
1:20pm – Lunch break (30min break)
3:10pm – School concludes

Key dates to start 2022

• 14/3 – 18/3 Check-in Assessments Year 4 and Year 6
• 14/3 – 18/3 Yrs 4-6 Tell them from Me
• 21/3 – 1/4 Parent Teacher Interviews – format to be advised (DoE to advise).
• 23/3 2:30pm Assembly – parents welcome to attend. Enter via Gate 2 only from 2:20pm.
• 8/4 2pm – 3pm Festive and Easter hat parade
• Term 2: 3/5 to 12/5 National Assessment Program: Literacy And Numeracy 2022

Kind regards
Caroline English

Assistant Principal’s Message

Selective High School Test

For parents who have applied for their child to be a part of the Selective High School program in 2023, the test date, location and time has been finalised. You should have received information from the Selective High School Unit. The test will be held at school for our SIPPS students on Thursday 10th March. Students will need to be at school by 8.50am in preparation for a 9.00am start. Students need to ensure they bring a copy of their Test Authority letter.

Check-in Assessments

Students in year 4 and 6 will be participating in the DOE online Check in assessment program during week 8 of this term. This is an online assessment that students complete during school time. There are two assessments, one literacy and one numeracy. With this information our teachers are able to plan and develop or adapt programs of learning to ensure they cater to the individual needs of our students. Students will need to supply their own headphones. 

NAPLAN Practice Tests

In week 9, students in yr 3 and 5 will be take part in the NAPLAN practice tests. These are designed to allow students to become familiar with the online test environment and ensure the school meets the technical requirements.

Leanne Hayllar
Assistant Principal
Leanne.Jarrett3@det.nsw.edu.au

Learning & Support

My role as the Learning and Support Teacher is to provide direct and timely specialist assistance to students in mainstream classes. Assistance is provided to students with disability, students with additional learning and support needs, and their teachers.

My work emphasises:

• the needs of individual students;
• school priorities; and
• evidence-based programs to assist students with additional learning and support needs.

Learning Support uses a collaborative and consultative approach. The parent or class teacher often initiate a conversation around a child needing extra support. Sometimes the Learning Support Teacher or Principal might also start this conversation based on data from formal tests. At this initial level, concerns are discussed with the Assistant Principal of the stage and strategies of support are identified and employed in the classroom.

If, however, after a period of time the class teacher and Assistant Principal believe that further modifications or adjustments need to be made, they will put a request in for the Learning and Support Team to consider the learning needs of your child. The Learning Support Teacher sends home requests for background information for your child and a formal statement of your concerns. The same documents are completed by the class teacher. This information then goes to the Learning and Support Team for further consideration.

If you have concerns with the learning, social or behavioural needs of your child, your first port of call is to speak with your child’s classroom teacher. They will treat your concerns with respect and confidentiality and will collect relevant data through assessment, observations, and active monitoring of your child in the classroom or playground. The classroom teacher will also discuss your concerns with the Assistant Principal and together they will form a plan to support your child.

Warm regards,
Adrienne Reid
Learning and Support Teacher

Art

Term 1 in the art room is all about paper plate group projects, weaving and Cubism.

Kindergarten - Kindy students have been getting used to coming up to the art classroom and have started to look at the elements of art such as pattern, line and colour. They will be working on their pencil grip, scissor and gluing skills and understanding of art during the first term. They will be creating a fish themed group project and when it's finished I will share a photograph.

Stage 1 - The 1/2 students have created a wonderful group project using paper plates to create flowers, these are now displayed in the art classroom and all students have been very excited to see it up on display. The work is eye-catching and a real focal point of the classroom. These students will be experimenting with paper weaving in the upcoming weeks and will be continuing to develop their drawing, painting and cutting skills throughout the term.

Stage 2 & 3 - The year 3 - 6 students have created their own wonderful group project. Again, using paper plates they have created a colourful, eye-catching display outside the art classroom. Every student has created a piece of work for the display, and I feel this is a lovely way to bring together the classes and stages at the beginning of the new year. The students are all very pleased and proud of the result and it will be on display for the rest of the year. The 3 - 6 students will be looking at Cubism this term, with a focus on Picasso portraits. They will be creating a range of artwork with all classes creating different outcomes, these will be clay faces, cardboard hanging mobiles and layered cardboard faces. I look forward to showing you their outcomes later in the term.

Band

General information for families

Cyber safe families

The following resources are available to support families and their children in being responsible online users:

• Cyber safe families – an overview of cyber safety
• Technology and wellbeing – useful tips and tools
• Digital citizenship External link – a collection of articles and resources to maximise students’ use of technology.

Back to School Snack Solutions

On average children eat 2-3 snacks every day so it’s important to make them as healthy as possible. Download this Back to School Snack Solutions Guide for snacks that will power kids brains and fuel their muscles throughout the day.

Notes from the school office

All school tours are on hold during lockdown restrictions.

Schoolzine app – Please download the Schoolzine app. The school uses this app for school alerts, payment of fees, viewing of school newsletters and absentee notes.

Qkr! app – Please download the Qkr! app – this app is used by the P & C for the ordering and payment of school uniform items and for Canteen ordering and payment of items.

Canteen

Parents working in the canteen are required to have a voluntary WWCC obtained through Service NSW. A copy is to be provided to the P&C for verification prior to working. There is no charge to get this, and it can be used if you are involved in your child's extra curricula activity as a coach or volunteer.

If you’d like to help out, please sign up for a shift here:

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop will be packing orders from Qkr! on Fridays, once a fortnight (odd term weeks).

We welcome donations of good quality, used school uniforms.

We have limited stock of second hand items, if you would like to order second hand items, please email sippsuniform@gmail.com

With the help of Mrs Took, we have paired up with the council’s Worn Up program for recycling second hand uniforms that are not in good enough condition to sell. If you have any uniforms that fit this description (from any school), please place in a bag marked for recycling/ Worn Up.

P & C

Communication Channels

The P&C hopes everyone is settling well into 2022. It was great to see so many faces at our first P&C meeting for the year. Here’s a rundown on the various communication channels and groups to keep you up to date:

The Patter is the school newsletter, please ensure the school has your up-to-date email to receive this and other vital school information. The P&C website is below where you can also sign up for our newsletters focused on social, fundraising and other events and activities run by the P&C.

Hopefully you are now all on a class WhatsApp group. If not, reach out to others in your class to get added.

There is also a whole school Facebook message group called The Pencil Squad, a Dad’s social WhatsApp group and a Tennis WhatsApp group (for after school lessons with Mark Geffan). If you would like to be included in any of these groups, please email stivesparkpc@gmail.com with your details.

Canteen Reopen

Exciting news for kids and their lunch-making parents, the canteen reopens Mon 28 Feb. The canteen is open Monday lunchtimes only, all orders are via the Qkr! app. The wonderful Claire is managing the canteen again this year and needs one volunteer (vaccinated with Working with Children certificate) each week from 10:30am-1pm. If you’d like to help out, please sign up for a shift here:

Note, you will be asked to update your profile in Qkr! at the start of each year so we have the correct class details for your child for Canteen and Uniform deliveries, and phone number to reach you if there are any order issues.

We sell very handy, reusable lunch bags which make it much easier for the Canteen to get your child’s lunch order back to their classroom, these can also be purchased via the Qkr! app in the Extra’s section. It will last years.

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop is processing online orders only until further notice. Orders are again made via Qkr! and are packed every second Friday (odd weeks only) and delivered to your child’s classroom. Please ensure your child’s class details are correct for 2022. We stock all new uniform items, and a selection of 2nd hand items. Email sippsuniform@gmail.com if you need to change any sizing (items must be unworn with tags).

Where have your fundraiser dollars been spent?

We trust your child is enjoying the freshly renovated toilets which the P&C generously contributed to last year. New bubbler refill stations will also be installed shortly. We have just approved budget to purchase a suite of new classroom readers and library books and funded the second sports teacher so the school can operate the second PSSA sports rep team. We look forward to aligning on our next projects and refilling the coffers with new fundraising contributions and initiatives this year.

Stationery pack – Headphones

If you purchased a stationery pack through the P&C and the headphones were too small, there are larger ones available at the school office if you’d like to exchange them.

Name Labels Offer

Do you need name labels for the return to school and inevitable lost property hunt? SIPPS families get 5% off at My Name Label and 15% goes towards our school as fundraising. Order name tags and labels online and take advantage of this saving.

Use this unique code SIPPS0515 at checkout to receive 5% off your order.

Tennis Courts

They are now open for group lessons with Mark Geffan after school. We are working on a plan to reopen for private hire.

Next P&C Meeting

Wed 16 March, 2022. 7:15pm.

Community

If you wish to RSVP to Narrabeen Sports High School Open Night, please click on the link below:

St Ives AFL

Ever dreamed of playing on the SCG or MCG, kicking a ball 50m or winning a flag?

Come and play AFL for St Ives AFL.

We need girls and boys U10s - U12s

Contact Malinda Gardner 0468 827 823 or malnathisy@hotmail.com for training details
or
Come and try Family Day Sunday March 13th at Acron Oval

St Ives Football Club

SIFC (Soccer) Registrations are now open for 2022, open to boys and girls.