Principal's MessageWelcome to Week 10! Dance2Bfit Concert Congratulations to everyone for contributing to the great success of the Dance2Bfit concert! The feedback has been positive and the energy during both the shows was electric! For the students and teachers who went outside of their comfort zone to dance on stage I commend you and thank you for giving it a go. A big thank you as well to our SLSO and administration staff who also went above and beyond to make this work. I acknowledge the work that went into the day and evening and really appreciate the extra time required to make this work for our kids and their families. The P & C were incredibly supportive during the day and evening and I particularly thank Lisa J and her executive team. Overall whether you danced, supervised, planned, decorated, recorded, cooked and/or everything plus more I am very grateful and I know the children and the whole school community is too! Thank you! Stage Planning Week During week 10, the teachers worked together in teams off class to plan for term four teaching and learning activities. These collaborative planning sessions for teachers are critical to inform decision making and resource allocation for the term ahead. Where possible we utilised familiar staff on site to replace the classroom teacher and any necessary adjustments for individual students have been considered. School Carpet Cleaning and end of term clean up. This happened Tuesday afternoon after school in all classrooms. Students are reminded to take all unnecessary items from their desk home so they can refresh and rest for term four. School Crossing The school crossing supervisors have been experiencing some concerning behaviours in the mornings and afternoons with children running across the crossing before or just after they have stopped traffic. As you can imagine this is very dangerous. We have had transport officers come out from Wollongong Council to observe the afternoon traffic. As yet we do not have a resolution to the traffic congestion during this time but are working on some ideas. Please remind your children that they are not allowed to cross the road without permission from the crossing supervisor and under no circumstances are they to run across the road. I have also been informed that some students are crossing the road at the shops rather than at the crossing area which is very dangerous. The safety of our students is paramount and I once again ask that families discuss the safe ways to walk home with their children. I do acknowledge and thank all parents and teachers who work hard each afternoon and morning to assist all of our students to depart our school grounds safely. Queen Elizabeth II (21 April 1926- 8 September 2022)- Public Holiday, Thursday 22/9/2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96. The NSW Government, on behalf of the people of NSW, has respectfully offered its sympathies to the Royal Family at this time. To recognise her passing a public holiday has been announced for Thursday 22 September 2022 and our school will be non-operational on this day. Princess Elizabeth became Queen of England at the age of 25 after the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. Her Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II went on to become the longest-reigning British monarch, Australian sovereign and leader of the Commonwealth of Nations, which she navigated for more than seven decades. Check in assessments 2022 Check-in assessments are online assessment for students in Years 3 to 9. Students in year 6 have recently completed these two assessments which are reading and numeracy. Years 3, 4 and 5 will be completing these assessments during the first part of term 4. Each assessment is designed to be quick and easy to administer, consisting of between 40 to 50 multiple choice questions. The feedback from these assessments supplement our current school practices to identify how students are performing in literacy and numeracy and further assist teachers to tailor their teaching more specifically to student needs. NAPLAN NAPLAN is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests cover skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken every year. From 2023, the NAPLAN test window will move to mid-March. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is responsible for the overall management of the Australian National Assessment Program, in collaboration with representatives from all states and territories and non-government school sectors. Families of students in years 3 and 5 will have all received their NAPLAN results. Overall Year 3 achieved state average or above in reading, writing and spelling. We will now need to work more on grammar and punctuation and numeracy. Overall, Year 5 achieved well above state in spelling and we will continue to work on improving in the areas of reading and grammar and punctuation. We acknowledge that these tests are a window in time rather than the full picture of each child’s learning achievements. Reviewing our morning routine procedures, dedicating each morning as uninterrupted learning time and further professional learning, later this year and into 2023, will be part of our whole school focus to address the improvement required. The teachers look forward to using this data, along with all the other forms of data being collected with the support of Mr Hosler (Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction) and the other Assistant Principals, to continue to support positive student learning and growth kindergarten through to year 6. Colour Explosion The UPS Colour Explosion will be held on Friday 14 October. Students will have an early lunch 12:30pm-1:15pm. Parents will be invited to watch the run from 1pm and will be organised to remain on the grass areas behind the stage 2 classes. Teachers and students only will be involved in the race. Children will be able to leave early with their family once they have signed out via the front office. We will have six colour stations that will be headed by SLSO staff and SRC representatives. We are most appreciative of the support and work done behind the scenes from the P & C committee. Ice-blocks will be provided to students once they have completed the running course. UPS Spellathon reminder Students will have until Friday 21 October to collect sponsors and learn their spelling words. While the children will be practicing the words at school, your encouragement at home would be great! Students will participate in the written spelling test on Friday 21 October in class. Sponsor sheets should also be returned on this day for the teacher to sign off. Completed sponsor sheets will be returned to students, ready for them to collect money from their sponsors. If you would like to submit funds raised electronically please email the sponsor form/s to [email protected] and make a direct debit payment to: Gymnastics Program reminder to pay During Term 4 all students from K-6 will be participating in a Gymnastics program as part of the mandatory Department of Education PDHPE K-10 syllabus. The program is being delivered by a team of specialist PE instructors from Got Game, who bring all of their own equipment and activities to our school throughout Term 4. The program has been split across the term with Stage 2 and Stage 3 classes participating between weeks 1-5 and Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 classes participating between weeks 6-10. Classes have been allocated a time slot each to participate in this program. Please complete the permission note and return it to the office, along with your $20.00 payment by Friday 23 September 2022 Kindergarten Orientation- Change of Date letter By now you will have received your letter in the mail, inviting you and your child/ren to our three Kindergarten Orientation sessions and the Parent/Carer Information session. We are still very excited to run all of these sessions, however, due to unexpected scheduling conflicts that have only just arisen, we now need to change the date of our Parent/Carer Information session and one of our student sessions. The change in student session does allow us to also invite families to come and check out our school ‘Book Fair’ in the library. The new dates for all of the sessions are as follows, with the changes highlighted: Student Sessions: 1. Wednesday 19th October, 9.15am to 10.30am 2. Wednesday 26th October, 9.15am to 10.30am 3. Wednesday 2nd November, 9.15am to 10.30am- You are invited to bring your child/ren to have a look at the books and resources we have on sale in our school library space from 8.55am until 9.15am when the student session begins. Parent/Carer Information Session: • Wednesday 19th October, 6.00pm to 7.00pm Please still refer to the previous note posted to each of you for the organisation details. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and we look forward to seeing you all during these orientation days and parent information session. Smart Start Wrap up We have just successfully completed our Smart Start program, transition to school program supporting all children in our local community intending to start Kindergarten in 2023 with the skills and experiences required to have the best start to school. The five sessions this term included both student and parent sessions with a focus on social skills development and sharing what literacy, numeracy and technology integration looks like at our school. It was wonderful to be able to wrap up the sessions with a joint ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ and celebrate all of the learning and connections that have been made throughout the program. This worthwhile school initiative is something you will continue to see at Unanderra Public School in the future so please spread the positive news. PBL Rewards day After the mammoth task of collecting 25 000 bees this term, the whole school was rewarded with a ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ reward. From Kindergarten to Year 6, students participated in a wide range of activities such as playdough making, dance parties, art activities, technology sessions, movie watching, board games and Burroinjin. Buster Bee had a wonderful time visiting the different activities around the school, and congratulating the students on being safe, responsible and respectful throughout the term. We look forward to Term 4 being full of Positive Behaviours for Learning, and our end of year rewards day. This term 3/4J have engaged in learning experiences based around our integrated unit ‘Australia, This Is Us’. The students have been following the Alison Lester book, Are We There Yet?, and have been learning about all of the Australian States that they visit in the story as they make their way around Australia. For each state they have investigated and learned about some of the iconic natural and human made landmarks that make each state unique. They have then used this information to create a range of presentations including written information reports, brochures and Powerpoints. The students have enjoyed sharing their knowledge of Australia through reading, writing and artworks. 1M enjoyed some time in the Yarning Circle singing an aboriginal lullaby called Inanay Capuana. K-6 AssemblyKB Merit: Jasper W & Skylar-Rose Student of the week: Amaleah B KS Merit: Savannah V & Ahmad O Student of the week: Jett W KN Merit: Austin W & Brooklyn J Student of the week: Luna W 1/2AP Merit: Natalya J & Allya D 1M Merit: Caius J Student of the week: Millie B 1P Merit: Taj T & Caige J Student of the week: Daisy 2L Merit: Allira P Student of the week: 3/4D Merit: Memphis H & Kayleigh H Student of the week: 3/4S Merit: KJ T-S & Hayley C. Student of the week: Memphis W-W 3/4J Merit: Zoey C & Khatiya M Student of the week: 3/4R Merit: Brock D-W & Jeremy A Student of the week: Caylee J 5/6K Merit: Ruby H & Finn M Student of the week: Yerremurra W 5/6D Merit: Ebony C & Phoenix I Student of the week: Ella R 5/6M Merit: Sophie G & Aya S Student of the week: Braxton Z 5/6S Merit: Pearce W & Aliesha F Student of the week: Nevaya T Bronze & Silver AwardsCongratulations to the following students for receiving a bronze & silver award: Bronze Awards: Kayla C Chase K Savannah V Annabelle C Ashton P Penny H Charlotte A Marcel M Elijah L Abby D Chase N Kayla C Miranda J Keyara W Jaylen L Jayden S Latia J Isabella H Leanne O Lucy L Stefan V Branden N Silver Awards: Aliesha F Aiden M Ashton P Lexii T Jake F Ryan H Lexi C Mylah K Lekeisha S William P Jemma C Premier's Spelling Bee FinalDuring term 3 students in years 3 - 6 were busy learning words in anticipation of the Premier’s Spelling Bee Finals. All classes held amazing spelling competitions in their own classrooms, with the best 2 students from each class being chosen to represent their stage in the schools finals. Stage 2’s top eight were: Sam C, Chase C, Haley H, Mason H, Ollie, Aliye, and Emily P. Stage 3’s top 8 were: Angus.J, Charlotte.W, Shari.J-P, Zoe.M, Isabella.H, Sophie.G, Jasmine.D and Caleb.P. The atmosphere in the hall was filled with excitement, nervousness, and amazement as the students all did their personal best with the spelling words, as their peers watched on. The UPS PSB finalist for stage 2 was Emily. P and for Stage 3 it was Emily’s brother Caleb.P. In week 8 Emily and Caleb represented Unanderra PS in the first ever on-line regional finals of the Premier’s Spelling Bee. Caleb worked hard and reached round three. Emily made it all the way to round seven in a lengthy nail biting spell off with a student from another school. Emily came in second place, what a wonderful achievement, all her studying paid off. A big congratulations to both Emily and Caleb on the wonderful effort they put into the Premier’s Spelling bee experience. Regional Athletics CarnivalOn Friday 2nd September 10 of our finest athletes from Unanderra Public School, along with their families, traveled to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for the South Coast Regional Athletics Carnival. The day started off very frosty but ended up being very pleasant and even quite warm at times. As always, the competition was extremely strong with all of our students giving their best and representing our school and district with distinction. Congratulations to the following students for their excellent efforts for making it to the regional carnival: Amy S Braxton S Emily P Gemma C Lachlan C Matilda C Rhydian J Ryan H Samuel F Xaviar L Renae Scruby Sports Co-Organiser Multicultural Public SpeakingWell done to the following students who represented Unanderra Public School at the Multicultural Public Speaking local finals. This year, the students had to film their speeches and send them in to be judged.
Well done to Brodie K and Shari JP for making it to the finals. A big congratulations to Sophie G and Serena R for getting a highly commended award for their speeches.
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