Principal's MessageIt has certainly been great to see the sunshine a little more than we have in last few weeks. It has been wonderful to see the children playing outside and enjoying the fresh air. Although we continue to adhere to many guidelines in a COVID smart way it was fantastic to be able to host our most recent P & C meeting on site on Monday 7 March 2022 in our school hall. It makes such a positive difference to meet in a more personal way and share in the discussions around making plans for our great school. Classes are fully immersed in the teaching and learning cycle and although we have many teachers and students absent presently the regular school routines continue where possible. Leaders of 2022 This year we participated in the Illawarra Mercury’s School Leaders of 2022special edition. You can check out the full article in the link below. https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7632179/meet-the-illawarras-school-leaders-of-2022/?cs=298 Safety, Respect and Responsibility The staff at Unanderra Public School are proud to be a part of this outstanding school community and continually strive for all students to become self-directed, lifelong learners who can create a positive future for themselves and for the wider society. For this to occur, our school needs to be a place where every student can learn and grow with confidence. Students develop best in schools where teaching and learning occurs in a positive, safe and harmonious learning environment whilst working in partnership with parents and carers. The values of Safety, Responsibility and Respect remain constant and a high priority at Unanderra Public School. Our students are reminded that these values should underpin their actions and decisions each day. Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and learn in an environment free from disruption, intimidation, harassment, and discrimination. Regardless of any variations to a school day all students are expected to treat one another, their teachers and visitors with respect and carry out their day with consideration to their own learning and that of their peers. I have been impressed that nearly all students attend school each day in correct full school uniform leaving brightly coloured socks, shoes and accessories for weekends and special school mufti days. COVID-19 Smart Guidelines We continue to follow the COVID-19 smart guidelines and have been happy to have less restrictions in place during our day-to-day organisations such as being able to mix cohorts. Mask wearing continues to be optional but not mandatory. While we are experiencing an increase in positive cases across the school some staff and students may choose to wear masks indoors. As mentioned, we currently have several staff absent and I anticipate that this may continue for a little while longer. While the executive staff and classroom teachers do their very best to arrange for replacement teachers, this is not always possible. At times classes may need to be split across the school and all students will be provided with learning booklets specific to their stage. We ask families talk with their children about the possibility of a variation that may occur to their class routine sometimes at short notice. Please remind your child that the teachers are always happy to chat and reassure them throughout the school day no matter whose classroom they are in on that day. The safety, wellbeing and academic progress of every student remains at the forefront of the planning and delivery of teaching and learning experiences at Unanderra Public School. Staff are dedicated to ensuring that students are always able to access learning when it is not possible for them to be at school. Parents/carers are encouraged to contact their child’s class teacher if they require additional learning materials or information on how to access the digital learning packs https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/learning-from-home/learning-at-home/2022-digital-learning-packs on the NSW DoE website if their child will be absent for any length of time. I am also sharing this from the NSW Department of Education that offers a toolkit of support for parents and carers during extended home stays and the upcoming school holiday period. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/en/home/parents-and-carers/parent-and-carers-toolkit/documents/parents_and_carers_essentials_toolkit.pdf Building Optimism, Resilience and Self Confidence With the knowledge that our world is experiencing many unexpected challenges including ongoing heavy rain and floods, conflict in other countries and a pandemic it is important that we continue to validate the questions and concerns our children bring to us. In doing so we provide them with age-appropriate information in our responses while also encouraging hope and building in strategies to embrace lifelong learning with optimism. I have found some valuable information on the Raising Children Australia Network that I thought would be useful to share. Please follow this link for further information https://raisingchildren.net.au/ Below are some paragraphs that I found particularly relevant. Challenges are a normal part of life, and young people have to learn to cope with them by themselves. Let your child have a go at sorting out their own problems before you step in. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Feeling confident, capable and ready to get things done are big parts of resilience. Important skills in this area are goal-setting, planning, being organised and self-disciplined, being prepared to work hard and being resourceful. You can foster these skills in your child by helping your child work out their specific strengths. Then you can encourage your child to set goals that put their strengths into action, and that help your child to focus on what they’re good at. Positive thinking habits for resilience Resilience is about being realistic, thinking rationally, looking on the bright side, finding the positives, expecting things to go well and moving forward, even when things seem bad. By helping your child practise positive thinking habits and strategies, you can help them build resilience too. Here are some ideas. When your child is upset, you can help them keep things in perspective by focusing on facts and reality. For example, you could try gently asking, ‘I know you must be feeling disappointed, but does this really matter as much as you think it does? On a scale from 1-10, how bad is it really?’ You can also help your child understand that a bad thing in one part of their life doesn’t mean everything is bad. For example, if your child gets a poor exam result, you could point out that it won’t stop them from playing weekend sport or going out with friends. Working with your child on problem-solving strategies can help your child feel they have the power to deal with difficult situations and get through challenging times. It’s also important for your child to feel, talk through and calm down after difficult emotions like anxiety, fear and anger. Working through difficult emotions will help your child realise that these feelings don’t last forever. And it’s good for your child to have simple strategies for turning low moods into better ones. Here are some ideas:
Attendance Regular attendance at school is essential to assist students to maximise their potential and students are required to attend school each day it is open unless they are unwell. The health and wellbeing of our students and staff remain our priority, and there are several COVID-smart measures designed to help keep our school open and our students learning in the classroom. These measures have been developed in partnership with NSW Health to help minimise transmissions at school. If you have any concerns about your child returning to school, please contact us for support and advice as we are here to help. Below is the flyer for minutes of learning lost when children are absent or late to school. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/student-wellbeing/attendance/Attendance_flyer_Minutes_Lost_-_Primary.pdf Harmony Day Unanderra Public School will be celebrating Harmony Day at school on Monday 21st March 2022. Harmony Day promotes inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. It is a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity and to share what we have in common. This year’s theme is ‘Celebrating Harmony’ and the central message that ‘everyone belongs’ continues to reinforce the importance of inclusiveness for all Australians. To celebrate Harmony Day, we will have a mufti day. Students are encouraged to wear multiple items of orange clothing and accessories where possible. The teachers will be organising a range of activities for students to do in classes across their stage groups, to promote the values of this celebration. Let’s celebrate diversity together. Mrs Newman & Mrs Brecely Di Noro Reporting positive cases When staff and families report confirmed cases to the school, it is necessary they also have reported the positive result to Service NSW. If they have not, direct them to the Testing section of Advice for families. The advice on our website outlines that if a student or staff member receives a positive RAT test, they need to:
Reminder of COVID-19 symptoms NSW Health and the Department of Education would like to remind our schools of the full list of COVID-19 symptoms that your communities should continue to look out for. Symptoms include:
If anyone develops any of these symptoms they should get tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result. COVID-19 symptoms to look out for. Parents, carers and community members should refer to the NSW Government’s COVID-19 symptoms and how it spreads page for further information and Getting tested for COVID-19 for advice on getting testing if they or their children develop symptoms. Road Safety during Pick up and Drop Off at UPS A big thank you to all drivers and pedestrians who follow the safety pick up and drop off procedures each morning and afternoon. Unfortunately, we had had a number of phone calls from local residents unable to access their drive ways due to cars blocking the traffic by waiting behind cars in the drop zone. To ensure that the safety of students, staff and the whole the community we ask that all families follow the school safety drop off and pick up road rules. Further information has been provided below. Thank you for your support. Drop-off and pick-up by car Make sure your children are in appropriate child car seats that are fitted and used correctly. Stick to the 40km/h speed limit in a school zone as children are about and can be unpredictable. Look out for buses pulling out – watch for wig-wag lights. Always park and turn legally around schools and avoid dangerous manoeuvres like U-turns and three-point turns. Always give way to pedestrians, especially when entering and leaving driveways. Drop the kids off and pick them up on the school side of the road in your school's designated drop-off and pick-up area. Calling out to them from across the road is dangerous because they may run to you without checking traffic. It's safest for the kids to get out of the car on the kerb side of the road to be away from passing traffic. Walking together to and from school Plan your trip to school so you are using pedestrian crossing areas where possible. Always hold your child's hand up until the age of eight. Young children need your help to spot danger like vehicles coming out of driveways. They can also be easily distracted and wander into traffic. Drop off and pick up your child near the school gate and avoid calling them from across the road. Talk to your children about Stop, Look, Listen and Think every time they cross the road:
Young children can learn these safe pedestrian habits from you and use them when they are old enough to travel alone. Keeping our kids safe around schools (PDF 1.5Mb) I wish to extend my huge appreciation to all of our amazing students and staff who have been managing numerous changes to timetables in recent weeks. We are a great team and I am certainly proud of the effort that our teachers go to in order to ensure that school routines run as seamlessly as possible. The students are really demonstrating that they can manage unexpected changes to situations while continuing to follow the values of Safety, Respect and Responsibility. Keep working hard! Have a great fortnight ahead! Anissa Rajendra Upcoming EventsWeek 9: Monday 21st March: Harmony Day Tuesday 22nd March: PSSA Girls basketball and boys/girls cricket Friday 25th March: Colour Explosion + Easter egg mufti donation Week 10 Wednesday 30th March: Cross Country Thursday 31st March: Selective High School Test Vege Crunch Friday 1st April: Healthy Harold Starts Clean up Australia Day Afternoon Week 11: Tuesday 5th April: Easter Scripture Assembly Wednesday 6th April: PBL Rewards Day Friday 8th April: Easter Hat Parade Last Day of Term Term 1 is off to a flying start in 2022. A stocktake of the junior fiction, fiction and non fiction collections has taken place and the library is feeling spick and span with all the shelves scrubbed and every book on shelf scanned. For those students with outstanding overdues, please feel free to donate a flat fee of $8 per book via the school website, marking the payment as ‘Library donation’. Students have also been excited to get their hands on all the new books purchased last year that are now available as borrowing starts up again. Take a look at Kindergarten borrowing for the first time last week! Please ask your child/ren what day their library day is and ensure they return their old books each week in their library bag so that they can borrow again. When they get home, ask them what treasure they have found and read with them before they go to bed. Reading together is a bonding activity that children remember, always. It is still a nice thing to do even as they get bigger. In addition, every class has received a tub of books for reading in class and these books can be swapped at the library at anytime or students can swap with each other building talk around books, further building a reading culture at UPS. The first Book Club orders were due on Friday (4 March) last week, and I am hoping to have the first delivery in early next week. I will deliver ordered books to students in class. Remember, every Book Club purchase gains Scholastic points for our school library allowing us to buy the latest books for our students to borrow. My goal, as Teacher Librarian, is to support your children to discover a love of reading for pleasure. Studies have shown that children with the reading bug do better at school and have increased empathy as they learn through reading how others feel and experience different ways of being. With your support, we can help our kids gain a love of reading that can become a lifelong habit. If you have any questions, just contact me via SeeSaw, as I am attached to all classes. Rachel Prior Teacher Librarian Yalunga from the Science Lab!This term during release from face to face time students have been studying Science and Technology. Students across all grades have been studying living things in various capacities and learning about how we live and interact with our environment. In Early Stage 1 students have been learning about the weather, studying and learning about the symbols we use and how the weather can change. They were very excited to create their own clouds this week showing how we classify cloud cover. In Stage 1, students have been growing their own flowers to learn about how living things change and/or stay the same over time. Students have studied meal worms and themselves alongside their flowers to compare growth cycles. Stage 2 students have been looking at categorising plants and animals and have been acting as explorers. Apologies if any rock specimens have grown legs and have been added to the classroom science museum (they will walk themselves home). Students have been recording and classifying plants and animals as well as learning how we need categories for classifying animals to better allow us to talk about and examine specimens. In Stage 3 we have been studying how living things have adapted to live in unique environments by studying desert plants and animals. We have looked at how plants survive through the process of desiccation and how animals can survive on limited water through the process of heat exchange. Try Year 7 for a day at Figtree HighStudents had a great day at Figtree High school on Monday. Students had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their 'soon to be' secondary school. The day consisted of an orientation to the grounds and facilities of the school and an opportunity to get to know the staff and students of Figtree High. Students also got to participate in a range of activities that they will do in year 7, such as Drama, Woodwork, PDHPE, Science, Visual Arts, Music and Food Technology. K-6 AwardsCongratulations to the following students who received an award; KB Merit: Evie A Student of the week: Ariella G & Luke W KS Merit: Aria K Student of the week: Ashlee A & Harlem F KN Merit: Ava D Student of the week: Hugo D & Lara V 1/2AP Merit: Cody J & Austin D-W Student of the week: Alya D 1M Merit: Student of the week: 1P Merit: Oakland H & Matilda H Student of the week: Jax T. 2L Merit: Student of the week: 2B: Merit: Bronte W & Lola R Student of the week: Emrah S 3/4D Merit: Bridget B & Memphis H Student of the week: Caleb W 3/4S Merit: Student of the week: 3/4J Merit: Stefan.J & Keira.G Student of the week: Audrey.Y Silver: Lucas.M & Keira.G 3/4R Merit: Caylee J & Diesel W-W Student of the week: Ryley N-S Silver Awards: Loralee H & Arinya L 5/6K Merit: Leanne. O & Layla. H Student of the week: Decklyn H 5/6D Merit: Student of the week: 5/6M Merit: Student of the week: 5/6S Merit: Shari J-P & Mandela M Student of the week: Sofie W Bronze Awards: Gemma C & Sofie W Silver Awards: Matilda C Colour ExplosionGreat effort! We can see that lots of students have already started fundraising for our Colour Explosion School Run 4 Fun! 🤩 Way to go! We still have two weeks to go and need lots more donations to reach our goal of $9000 and purchase outside playground equipment and school athletics carnival hire and ribbons. Can you help us? Most importantly, visit www.australianfundraising.com.au to create your profile page and share with family and friends to spread the word! 💳 There are lots of interactive features, and plenty of rewards up for grabs, like free incentive prize credit! There is still time to collect all your badges on the My Profile Page, and become a Fundraising MonSTAR! ⭐ Obtain all the virtual badges before the fun run and your child will receive a ✨FREE✨ Monty the Monstar bag tag! 🏆 // WIN WIN WIN // 🏆 Does your child want to win a Razor Prize Pack worth $3,000? 😱 The highest individual national fundraiser for an Australian Fundraising School Run 4 Fun will be the winner of this amazing prize 🎁 Do you think you can top our leader board by the end of the year? 🤔 The Fathering ProjectSix ways a father can help to build strength, confidence and ambition in his daughterFather’s play a significant part in the way their daughter shows strength, self-worth, confidence and their future ambitions. The example you set now will determine whether your daughter believes she can be powerful, strong and succeed in anything she puts her mind to. Teaching this starts in the home, from a young age and continues through out her life until she reaches adulthood. In a society that still makes it hard for women to feel confident, seen and heard, you can help make a difference by what you model and teach your daughter through out her life. 1. Use your words to build her confidence: Did you know that majority of girls aged eight to seventeen are insecure and unsure of themselves? As a father, the words you speak to your daughter have an impact on her self-worth and confidence. When you speak to her, use positive and encouraging words and remind her of all the great qualities she has and the value she brings to the world. 2. Encourage her to take safe calculated risks: Help her to make decisions and work some things out for herself. Encourage her to take calculated risks to help her move out of her comfort zone and conquer things she puts her mind to, when she didn’t think it was possible. For example, taking part in a play at school or succeeding in riding her bike down that really steep hill she was scared of trying. Illawarra Sport High SchoolIllawarra Sports High School is hosting its Open Night on Monday March 14th, you must register online through the school website or Facebook to book a spot in a session. A Zoom Information Session about the Talented Sports & Development Program will be held on Monday March 21st . Year 6 Trials will be held at here school on Wednesday March 30th, must register online through the school website or Facebook. https://illawaspor-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/news/2022/2/2022-open-night-and-sport-trials.html Go4FunGo4Fun will be running a free children's program at Dapto during term 2 on Thursdays from 4-6pm, at the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre. April Vacation Care
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