UNANDERRA PUBLIC Principals MessageWe have had a great start to Term 2 with much joy and many smiling faces around school. I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. We can see that students are ready to learn and have begun the new term enthusiastically. Another busy term is ahead of us with many exciting things planned including our Mother’s Day Stall, Kinder Expo, NAPLAN for students in Years 3 and 5, Reconciliation Week, Athletics Carnival, Gold Assembly, Dance Festival, Stage 1 Excursion and B Kinder Day. What an action packed term ahead! Staff Development Day While our students enjoyed one last day of holidays, our staff were hard at work planning for Term 2. Teachers participated in professional learning on writing, Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) and integrating technology. Thank you to the executive team and staff who assisted in preparing for this day of learning and thank you to all teachers for their professionalism and expertise on the day. Check-in Assessments Throughout Weeks 1 & 2 Years 4 and 6 students were involved in check-in assessments. These were online assessments which students undertook last year during the COVID-19 impacted period of learning due to the cancellation of NAPLAN. They were given a shorter version of the NAPLAN type skills and the check-in assessments are the follow up of the assessments they undertook in 2020. National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2021 A reminder that students in Years 3 and 5 will complete the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy from 11 – 21 May 2021. NAPLAN will assess the literacy and numeracy skills of students across Australian schools. The test results provide important information about what each student can do, and will be used to inform school planning and support teaching and learning programs. Parents receive a report indicating their child’s level of achievement against the national minimum standard later in the year. If you wish to discuss any matters relating to NAPLAN testing, please contact Mrs Brennan. Canteen Exciting times at UPS last Monday with the re-opening of the canteen. We welcome Fresh Start Canteens, who provide exciting, healthy and affordable food options for breakfast, recess and lunch. Orders can be made before school at the window or online after registering at quickcliq.com.au. We would like to say a big thank you to the Unanderra Community Centre who, for the last 2 terms, provided breakfast for our students every Monday and Thursday. The Community Centre provide a range of activities to the community. Check their Facebook page for more information. Drop Off and Pick Up Our routines for drop off and pick up are continuing. It is our preference that parents ‘kiss and drop’ at the gates in the morning and pick up in the afternoon as per current routines. The routine for dismissal is:
Staff Changes Mrs Rajendra will continue to take leave but will return in Week 4. We welcome Jane Waddell who will cover RFF on a Wednesday and Thursday. Representative Sport Congratulations to Charlie F who spent the week representing the South Coast at the NSW PSSA Boys Basketball Championships in Terrigal. Playing against thirteen very skilled teams from around the state, Charlie and his team mates did the South Coast proud. Well done Charlie! ANZAC Day Last Friday, there was a solemn and respectful ANZAC ceremony held at school for all students and teachers. Thank you Mrs Lauren Elston and Mrs Michelle Abel for organising this moving ceremony and to our captains and ambassadors for conducting the assembly. A very big thank you also to our wonderful school community who provided the flowers and greenery that enabled our P&C ladies to create the beautiful wreaths and floral arrangements. Parent-Teacher Interviews Teachers spent time last week meeting with parents and carers face-to-face in classrooms and via phone. This was a great opportunity for us to meet families and for families to get to know our teachers. The parent-teacher interview is not the only time you can discuss your child with the teacher, and we understand that not all families had the opportunity to make a booking. Our teachers are always available and can be contacted through the Seesaw app, via email to the school or contacting the front office. We encourage that families stay in touch with the teacher as best they can, and when a concern arises, make contact to discuss the issue. Mother’s Day Stall Thank you to the P&C who spent time last Friday morning preparing for the Mother’s Day Stall next Thursday May 6. A variety of gifts will be available for purchase on the day for those special women in our lives. Communication Getting out correct and timely information to our families is extremely important to us. Currently, we have a number of apps and website we are using for communication which is causing some confusion within the school community. For this reason, commencing Monday 10 May are we streamlining the online communication process to make it easier for everyone. There are 3 main lines of communication we would like our families to use so they can keep up to date with what is happening at UPS: SENTRAL Parent Portal- used for notes, reminders and reporting absences. All correspondence will be posted on the portal and important dates will be added to the calendar. Seesaw- used for communication between teachers and families. Teachers may choose to send reminders through this app. Facebook- used to advertise the wonderful things happening at UPS. This webpage can be seen by the greater community. Paper notes will continue to be sent home for events with spare copies always available from the school office. Notes sent home will be posted on the SENTRAL Parent Portal. Please contact the office if you have any questions regarding logging on to any of the apps and websites. Kindy Expo We will be holding our annual Kindy Expo on Tuesday 11 May. This will be an opportunity for Kindergarten 2022 families to walk around our school and see what fabulous things UPS has to offer. Thank you to Mrs Layton for organising this event. Please share this information with your family, friends and neighbours. Booking through the school office are essential. UPS Central Wollongong PSSA Cross Country Champions Congratulations to all fifty-one students who participated at the District Cross Country last week at Kembla Joggers. It was great to see an event that parents were able to attend after a year of isolation. Thank you to Ms Denham and Mr Walsh for supervising the students on the day. From all reports, a fun day was had by all. Best of luck to the fourteen students who will be attending the South Coast Regional Cross Country Championships in Nowra in June. Natalee Brennan Relieving Principal Upcoming DatesWeek 3 Tuesday 4th May Year 6 FloGirls Thursday 6th May Mother's Day Stall Week 4 Monday 10th May Stage 3 Premiers Sporting Challenge Tuesday 11th May Year 6 FloGirls NAPLAN Kindy Expo @3:30 Wednesday 12th May NAPLAN Thursday 13th May NAPLAN Friday 14th May National Walk Safely to School Day 5/6LA have had a busy and enjoyable start to Term 2. This has included reading and writing about multiculturalism, working mathematically, identifying significant individuals and developments in Australia and discovering different forms of producing electricity. Students have also had opportunities to reflect on and practice skills to establish and maintain caring and respectful relationships. Yullunga Mudiingaals or Welcome Friends! KB has been exploring who we are and what are characteristics. We have been lucky enough to have Mrs Talbott and her daughter Olivia via video teach KB Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Dharawal language. We also have been learning about different family structures and read a fantastic book called ‘A is for Aunty’ by Elaine Russell, this teaches KB about the importance of Aunties in Aboriginal families. Easter Hat ParadeIt was great to be able to welcome so many parents and visitors to our school to watch the K-2 children parade and dance in their Easter hats. The children had fun showing off their colourful hats and performing their dances. A big thank you to the P&C for a very successful Easter raffle fundraiser and congratulations to all the winners! Take a look at the photos from the day! P&C Easter RaffleThank you to our awesome UPS students, staff and community for supporting our Huge Easter Raffle. We raised $1929 in total which is going towards some essential classrooms items for our Teachers and students to use. Congratulations to all of our winners. From Your P&C AssemblyCongratulations to the following students who received a merit award and student of the week awards; KB Merit: Harlee G Arlo M Student of the week: Ruby-Rose S KL Merit: Annabelle C Jackson C Student of the week: Glory P KS Merit: Evie B Archer B Student of the week: Hailey N 1S/C Merit: Moriah Noah I Student of the week: Lindzee C 1M Merit: Cameron K Ayah S Kayla S Student of the week: Bronte W 1/2N Merit: Alliana C Student of the week: Axel C 2L Merit: Brock D-W Nabiha M Student of the week: Diesel W-W 2B: Merit: Amelia H Corey A Student of the week: Adalyne L 3W Merit: Student of the week: Cooper E 3A Merit: Jackson K Charlotte S Student of the week: Caleb W 3/4J Merit: Sam F Student of the week: Lexxi T 4S Merit: Evie D Max T Student of the week: Charlotte W 4W Merit: Luca R Sofie W Student of the week: Aliesha 5/6BA Merit: Nevaya T Brandan N Student of the week: Baylee S 5/6D Merit: Emerald J Lucy L Student of the week: Rhydian J 5/6M Merit: Xaviar L Gabrielle G Student of the week: Aya S 5/6S Merit: Gemma C Noah F Indiana H Oliver C Student of the week: Shaylah A Bronze & Silver AwardsBronze: Asher G Chase L Chayse N Jasmine R Sedra S SIlver: Jordi O Eden W Lola R-V Jackson K Zara W Ella H Decklyn H Matilda C Jacob M Hayden W Anastasia W Cross CountryCongratulations to all the students who participated in the district cross country on Monday 26th of April. All students ran extremely well, and Unanderra Public School were the campions for the event! Walk Safely to SchoolWE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY 14 MAY 2021 Well it’s that time of year again when our school seriously starts talking about walking! Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine. You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:
Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 14 May 2021! For more information, visit www.walk.com.au School Banking UpdateThere has been a consistent number of bankers since getting back into school banking after quite a long break in 2020. We have noticed that there are still a few students who haven’t returned to banking in 2021. Have you lost your banking wallet? Do you keep forgetting to go to the bank to pick up a new one? We can help! Just put a note into the red banking bin on Tuesday morning with what you require and our co-ordinator and wonderful volunteers will be able to get you back on track. An update on the class winners to date: Term 1: Week 9 - 3A Week 10 - 1/2/N Term 2: Week 1 - 1/2N Week 2 - 1/2N Thank You to our volunteers that have put their hand up to help process the deposits, without this support the banking would be able to continue. Happy saving. Banking coordinators and volunteers Pie DrivePie Drive is on again this year. Thank you to our wonderful school and community for supporting this fundraiser. Order forms and payment can be placed in the office payment box or alternatively, orders can be placed electronically via email at [email protected] and payments can be made using direct deposit. Closing date for return of forms and cash is Tuesday 11th May at 9am please. Collection of yummy pies and goodies is set for Friday 28th May. Thankyou again for your continued support for our school and our children. P & C Mother ’s Day Stall 2021Our Mother’s Day stall will be held on Thursday the 6th of May starting at 9.30am. All children will be given the opportunity to purchase a special gift for their Mother and/or Grandmother. We will also have a small range of gifts for Fathers for those that require them. All gifts are $5 in value and cash payment is required on the day. There will be plenty of items on our second chance table, for children that require more than one Mother’s Day gift. Please send your child to school with a reusable bag to take their gifts home in. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Lisa Jones at [email protected]. The Fathering ProjectMaking memories and bonding with your son by planning a ‘dad trip’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iECz-6-owBo Planning a ‘dad trip’ is a great way to spend some one-on-one quality time with your son. It also helps to improve his self worth when you make the time to plan something for just the two of you. These trips don’t have to be expensive, keep it simple. Plan a weekend away trip; camping, fishing, or something you’ll know he will enjoy doing. Dr Bruce Robinson’s tips for planning a ‘dad trip’ 1. Plan ahead. Make it something you can both look forward to. 2. Make it simple. The trip doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Camping, fishing, or a weekend away visiting the local attractions or doing something you know he’ll enjoy. 3. Remember, he’s your companion. Ask for his input on activities and places to visit. 4. Keep a record. Write in a journal, take photos and videos. When you have the time, set aside a date and make it happen. It might not seem like a big deal, but your son will remember it and provide him with fond memories for years to come! For more information check out:
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Unanderra Public School
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