25 July 2022

Newsletter Articles

July PBL Focus

Be courteous and polite. Care for your environment. Value yourself and others.

Engage in learning. Make positive choices. Take care of your belongings.

Principal’s Message

Welcome back to Term 3! It has been lovely to catch up on news and events with parents and students at the gate and throughout the first week back at school.

It is going to be a busy term, please keep your eyes glued to the newsletter for important reminders and upcoming events. Please see the Covid Smart settings further in the newsletter.

Healthy Harold

Week 1 we were delighted to visit Harold in his van to continue our life education lessons with Libby. For some of our younger students this was the first time they had met Harold and Libby. Please chat with your child about the key healthy living messages Harold shared with them. Mrs Stone will continue the Life education program of learning throughout the term as part of the PDH program.

Celebrating 101 Days at School!

Our current Kindergarten students will celebrate their 101st day at ‘big school’ on Monday 1st August. Hooray!

Such a special occasion calls for all our Kindergarten students to dress in spots and dots like dalmatians and participate in a range of dotty activities and a party.

Spotty, dotty play clothes and covered shoes are welcome to be worn by all our Kindergarten students on this day.

Education Week 2022 – Creating Futures – education changes lives

On Tuesday 2nd August our families are welcome to join students and staff in a range of activities planned for this morning.

We invite our families to participate in an assembly to open the event and then visit classrooms and hopefully (weather dependant) participate in a picnic morning tea.

9:20 am Gate 2 open
9:30 am Education Week assembly – Choir, Band, K-2 singing
10:00 am Parents visiting classrooms to meet their child/ren
10:45 am Parents are welcome to bring a picnic morning tea to share with students during the extended recess session on the synthetic grass area (if the weather is inclement this session will be cancelled).
10:45 am Tea and Coffee available

Kindergarten 2023 Plans and activities

This term we have a further two more school tours planned. Guests may meet staff at Gate 1 at the indicated times.

New Kindergarten and prospective parents are welcome to join staff as we tour the school on:

Monday 8th August from 9:20am
Thursday 15h September from 9:20 am

The annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic and activity morning is planned to welcome our Kindergarten students for 2023 and will take place on Tuesday 6th September from 9:30am.

Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction (AP C&I)

A key departmental goal is to ensure all young people have a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy and so the five new literacy and numeracy priorities have been developed and describe the critical work of all schools to improve literacy and numeracy.

The five priorities for literacy and numeracy will provide a focus on the areas known to lift the literacy and numeracy growth of students. The Department of Education is focussed on students achieving their potential and improving instruction in schools.

Our school supports the achievement and progress of literacy and numeracy through the contextualised initiatives and system negotiated targets articulated in our School Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP). These are represented in newsletter items I have shared with you in 2022 regarding reading, vocabulary and the work we have undertaken with the MANSW consultant which are part of the SIPPS School Improvement Plan.

In the SIPPS context this means that our school has been provided an allocation of 4 days per week for an additional Assistant Principal commencing 2023. In the next two weeks I will be forming a panel to advertise for, interview and appoint this new member of the executive team. The AP C&I role is different to the role of our existing Assistant Principal’s, who traditionally have a complex and multifaceted teaching role: class teaching, supervision, wellbeing, organisational and leadership role.

The DoE School Success Model complements other school improvement work currently under way such as the curriculum review reforms and will help ensure that every student, teacher, leader and school improves every year.

Athletics Carnival 2022

SIPPS students, staff and parents were delighted to conduct the 2022 Athletics Carnival together at Bannockburn Oval at the end of Term 2. The students were highly engaged and participated in a range of track and field events.

All our students were very vocal in cheering and the House Captains were exemplary in promoting cheers and gaining extra points for their respective houses.

A special thank you to Mr Gilchrist and Mr Wilson who were wonderful in supporting the organisation on the day, especially with starting and time keeping for races. There were parents involved in every aspect of the day and I would sincerely like to thank all our parents who so kindly volunteered their time, enthusiasm and support for the track and field events. Denis from Kuring-gai Little Athletics was a delight to work with.

Our SIPPS community expertise and support of our school was definitely on display!

We look forward to welcoming our parents at 2.15pm to the Week 2 school assembly for ribbon distribution.

Staff Development Day Term 3

18/7/22 – Terrey Hills PS and SIPPS Staff collaborative Professional Learning.

Staff from both schools joined together at Terrey Hills Public School from 8:30am to focus on data to inform teaching and learning in the area of Reading Processes.

The Principal’s from the two school led staff in analysis of the data from Check-in assessments and triangulation of data practices.

In each school an Assistant Principal is leading English professional learning for staff. Our Assistant Principal’s Alison Wright and Julie Hill led the staff in developing their knowledge and practices to enhance student learning in reading processes.

Trauma Informed Practice - Professional Learning

At the end of Term 2, SIPPS staff participated in intensive Trauma Informed Practice twilight professional learning on June 22 and 29 to end Term 2. These sessions were 6 hours in total and were scheduled ‘in lieu’ of the Staff Development Day on 20th December 2022. Please note, no staff will be on site on December 20th 2022.

These two 3-hour sessions provided opportunities for the staff to collaboratively develop and expand their knowledge of trauma informed teaching and behaviour strategies.

SIPPS Parents

SIPPS Parents are welcome on site under the current guidelines and masks are strongly recommended in Weeks 1-4.

SIPPS parents are welcome on site prior to the 9:05am school bell. You may escort your child/ren to their classroom or visit the school office to seek assistance. After school if you are collecting your child/ren from an activity you may enter the school grounds, however, you are not able to wait in the synthetic grass, play equipment or Hall COLA areas as these are utilised by the Helping Hands service each day.

Please make appointments to see your child’s class teacher for face-to-face meetings. All class teachers are still escorting classes to the gates each afternoon.

Take care,
Caroline English

Reminders and Dates for your Diary

Semester 2 - Parent/ Teacher Interviews are available throughout Semester 2 for parents at mutually convenient times. Contact the office or your child’s class teacher to make an appointment time.

Term 3

18th July Staff Development Day – no students in attendance – staff at THPS.
1st – 5th August 2022 – Education Week
1st August – Kindergarten’s 101st Day at Big School
2nd August – Education Week assembly and open classrooms from 9:20 am
25th Aug Book Parade and Fair T3 W6 2:15pm
31st Aug Father’s Day Stall
2nd Sept Father’s Day Breakfast
6th September Kindergarten Teddy Bear’s Picnic for students
7th to 9th September Canberra Stage 3 Excursion
15th September School Tour 9:20 – 9:50am
19th September – SRC Talk Like a Pirate Day
20th September SIPPS Spectacular

Regards,
Caroline English

COVID 19 2022 – Term 3 Updates

Covid Settings to start Term 3

This provides you with an overview of how the DoE is working with schools to continue to ensure schools remain COVID-safe throughout this term.

As we continue to prioritise student and staff learning and wellbeing while at school, our layered COVID-smart measures will continue for Term 3. These ‘baseline measures’ are aligned to the NSW Government’s general community settings and include:

• students staying home and getting tested if unwell, and only attending school when symptom free
• strongly encouraging mask-wearing for all staff and students, particularly in the first 4 weeks of term
• rapid antigen testing for symptomatic students and staff, and close contacts attending school to learn and work
• strongly encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations for students, staff and their families, including a booster shot (when eligible)
• strongly encouraging students, staff and their families to get a flu vaccination
• strict requirements for close contacts attending school - you must notify the school if your child is attending school as a close contact.
• good hygiene practices
• maximising natural ventilation
• boosted cleaning during the day, with particular attention given to high touch surface areas
• responding to local COVID-19 conditions when necessary, by working with the department’s Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing team.

Continuing these baseline COVID-smart measures allows us to prioritise student and staff wellbeing while giving our learners a consistent and productive learning environment this term.

What’s new in Term 3?

As winter continues, our COVID-smart measures have been updated in consultation with NSW Health to provide appropriate protection to our school community.

• Vaccinations. The department has updated its policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination for employees following an independent risk assessment of school (and corporate) settings and consultation with unions and relevant stakeholders. While vaccination will no longer be a requirement for our staff from 1 August 2022, it is pleasing to see that a recent survey highlighted that more than 99% of the department’s active school-based workforce have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. We will continue to strongly encourage all our staff to keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations as a way of protecting themselves, students, and our school community.
• Boosted day cleaning. The department has made a slight change to its cleaning process. Cleaning of school sites will now be more concentrated during the day, with an increase in cleaning in school hours, and a subsequent reduction out of hours. Boosted day cleaning will continue to focus on high-touch areas and other hard surfaces, door handles, lockers, light switches and handrails in stairways and movement areas.

What’s continuing for Term 3?

• Masks. Masks are an effective way of minimising the transmission of respiratory viruses and infections, and protecting our community, especially those who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and flu. We strongly encourage all students and staff wear a mask for the first 4 weeks of Term 3, particularly in indoor settings or when distancing is not possible.
• The latest NSW Health advice also recommends wearing a mask for people who have recovered from COVID-19 and recently completed their 7-day isolation period for an additional 3 days (from days 8 to 10 after receiving a positive COVID-19 result).
• Additionally, as outlined in the below section on close contacts, mask wearing is mandatory for staff and high school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 school days and strongly recommended for primary school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 school days.
• Rapid antigen tests (RATs). The department will send another round of RATs to our school early this term, which we will provide to you in the form of 1 multipack of 5 RAT kits per student. These RATs can be used as required for symptomatic testing, such as if your child is displaying even mild symptoms. Once these department-supplied RATs are exhausted, please continue to access store-purchased RATs which are now readily available in the community or PCR tests. Alternatively, let the school know that you need more and we will try and assist if possible. Additionally, our school will be maintaining a reserve stock of RATs onsite to support symptomatic testing in the event of an outbreak in our school community. Please also remember that positive RAT results must be registered with ServiceNSW, and students who test positive to COVID-19 must not attend school until their isolation period ends and they are symptom free.
• Close contacts. Students identified as close contacts remain able to attend school providing:
    o   they are symptom free,
    o   notify the school and
    o   return a negative COVID-19 test result daily for 5 consecutive school days.
• Additionally, secondary students are required to wear a mask for 5 consecutive school days (except when eating/drinking or exercising). Primary students, while not required, are strongly encouraged to wear a mask for 5 consecutive school days (except when eating/drinking or exercising). Please note that students identified as close contacts are still unable to attend overnight excursions, including camps. Visitors identified as close contacts who are engaging directly with students are required to return a negative COVID-19 test result before attending our school and wear a mask.
• Responding to our local situation. We will continue to liaise with NSW Health and the department’s Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing Case Management team to ensure our COVID-smart settings keep up with the latest developments. If local conditions require it, this may mean reintroducing temporary additional COVID-smart measures to act as a ‘circuit breaker’, including:
    o  mandating mask wearing for all staff and students in Year 7 and above (high school settings)
    o  mandating mask wearing for all staff (primary school settings)
    o  postponing or limiting non-essential activities like excursions, indoor assemblies and visitors to the school
    o  directing cohorts to learn remotely for short periods of time.
• Maximising natural ventilation. The department has reviewed environmental differences across NSW as part of their winter ventilation planning to ensure that local climatic conditions at each school are considered. The department will continue to provide local guidance to schools, including advice on maximising natural ventilation while balancing thermal comfort and the use of indoor and outdoor learning areas for school activities to support schools to adapt to local climate conditions throughout the winter months.
• Reducing the risk of illness this winter. Finally, it is important to note NSW Health’s advice to reduce our risk of not only COVID-19, but other illnesses that may affect our school at this time of year such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), both of which can be serious in younger people. We can all protect our loved ones and our community by:
    o  staying home and getting tested if unwell or displaying any symptoms
    o  keeping up to date with our vaccinations – including the flu vaccine, which is available from your local GP, pharmacy or Aboriginal Medical Service now
    o  flu vaccines are free for all children aged 6 months to under 5 years, or for a small charge for those aged 5 years and older
    o  getting tested immediately for COVID-19 if you become symptomatic and isolating until you receive a negative result and are symptom free
    o  practicing good hand hygiene by washing regularly with soap and water
    o  taking a RAT before visiting vulnerable loved ones or going to large gatherings and events.

With these updated settings in place, we hope to have a happy and healthy Term 3.

Assistant Principal’s Message

Opportunity Class Test

This Thursday some of our year 4 students will be sitting the Opportunity Class test for 2023. Students need to ensure they meet at the office at 9am on the morning of the test. Good luck to our students!

Scope IT

Students have already recommenced their Scope IT lessons. This term the students will continue to develop their creative and computational thinking through a range of programming and sequencing activities.

GotGame

This term our GotGame Physical Education (PE) program will focus on Dance. Our students will work throughout the term to hone their movement skills and work together to create their class performance in preparation for the SIPPS Spectacular.

Kindergarten 2023 Events

Do you know any families with a child starting school next year?

Please let them know that SIPPS are conducting tours for our Kindergarten 2023 students this term. Of special interest, is our Teddy Bear’s Picnic on Tuesday 6th September. Our future Kindergarten students can come along and experience fun learning activities on site and bring their teddy bear along to join in the fun. This is a fantastic way for younger children to experience our wonderful learning environment. Flyers are available and on the website.

Kind regards,
Leanne Hayllar and Alison Wright

Library

To celebrate Book Week and all things related to books and reading there are some exciting events and activities planned for Term 3 including a Book Fair, Book Week Musical, Author visits and a Book Parade. More details and information will be communicated about each event closer to the date.

Deborah Abela Book Launch and Visit: Stage 2 and 3

This is a free promotional tour organised by The Children’s Bookshop to launch Deborah’s new middle grade novel The Book of Wonderous Possibilities. We are one of only nine schools across Sydney involved in this event. Stage 2 and 3 met Deb last Friday 22 July at 2pm.

Nat Amoore Author Visit - Stage 2 and 3

Nat would have to be one of the most sought-after children’s authors in Australia at the moment. We are so lucky to have her visiting on Thursday 11 August. I can guarantee that her books will be in hot demand and the students will remember her visit and performance for years to come.

Story Quest Incursion: K-2

Join Marley on her new STORY QUEST adventure as part of CBCA Book Week 2022 and celebrating the CBCA Book Week 2022 theme: "Dreaming With Eyes Open..." .

Students will be immersed into the storytelling and interaction with the books featured from the CBCA 2022 shortlist woven into an engaging, original narrative filled with music, adventure and intrigue!

This fantastic Book Week musical will take place on Thursday 1st September at 9:30 in the school hall for all K-2 students.

Book week events

Book Fair

We will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair in Book Week. The Book Fair is an opportunity for students and their families and carers to purchase books and associated materials for themselves from the wide range of resources that will be on display in the Library. The SIPPS Library will benefit from sales made by the school community with a percentage of total sales being returned to the SIPPS Library to purchase books for the students.

Book Parade

Start planning your child’s Book Week costume in readiness for the Book Parade that will be held on Thursday 25th August at 2pm.

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2022: Stage 2 and 3

The 2022 PRC Challenge finishes for students on Friday 19th August. Many students have not logged on to the website and entered the books they have read. They need to do this as soon as possible. Please see me if you have any questions or issues with the website or the PRC.

Link to the PRC website is here

Note: All students in K-2 complete the PRC at school as part of their literacy program. Their books are entered online by the teachers. There is nothing that needs to be done at home.

Issue 5 of Scholastic Book Club has been handed out to your child via their classroom teacher.

If you would like to order any books from this Issue, please place your order online by Monday 1st August at the latest.

If you are unsure with placing an order, please visit the website or ring Scholastic 1800 021 233

Virigina Allman
Teacher Librarian

Band

What an amazing commencement to see band members at school bright and early on Tuesday morning.

Senior Band

The band is currently learning:

• Jurassic Park
• Baby Shark
• Geronimo

Junior Band

The band is currently learning:

• Essential Elements: Mozart Melody, Jingle bells, Old Macdonald had a band, Hard Rock Blues
• Power Rock

Instrument Maintenance

This is a great time of year to sit down and give your instruments a little TLC! Grab a cloth and wipe down any grubby finger marks, wash your mouthpiece in warm water, empty out your instrument case, wash your rags/cloths, etc.

Flutes - use a flute rod with a cloth to dry out the inside of your flute; use a cloth to wipe down any marks on the outside; check for any loose screws or wobbly keys.

Clarinet/Saxophones - throw out mouldy reeds; wash your mouthpiece with a soft brush in water; wipe down the inside and outside; check for any loose screws or bent keys.

Brass - wipe off any old grease and oil; if needed give your slides and valves a wash; wash your mouthpiece; re-apply fresh slide grease and valve oil.

With the flu season particularly bad this year, it is SUPER important that we keep our instruments clean!

Kate Habkouk
Band Conveynor
Action Music

Mobile 0419 630 511
kate@actionmusic.com.au

Notes from the school office

Term 3 Fees

Term 3 fees are currently being prepared and will be emailed out shortly.

P & C

The Kids Disco is back by popular demand!

Fri 26 Aug
$10 per child. Please pay on Qkr!.

Father Day Stall – Wed 31 Aug

$10 per child to purchase a special gift for Dad. Please pay on Qkr! before 30 Aug

Father Day Breakfast – Fri 2 Sep

7:30-8:30am
A lovely morning for kids to spend with Dad or special loved one before school.
$5 per adult, please pay on Qkr!

Next P&C meeting

Wed 10 Aug 2022, 7:15pm. In the School Library

Community