Principal's ReportIncredibly we are at the end of a long eleven week, term one with a four-day weekend sprinkled in the middle. We will begin a well-deserved two week school holiday break from the end of this week for all staff and students. Term 2 for all students will begin on Tuesday 30 April. The staff will return to school on the Monday 29 April to participate in a whole day of professional learning that will focus on; assessment of writing, spelling, and place value. This will involve all teachers on this day and our SLSO and SASS staff will participate in a individually tailored professional learning session as a variation to their day. Extreme Weather last Friday I am extremely grateful to all staff, students and families for the huge effort made to assist in getting students to their families safely last Friday afternoon during the heavy rain and craziness of 3 o’clock pick up! I realise that it takes a little longer during these times, but we prefer to ensure that each student has safely exited the school rather than leaving them to navigate their way through extreme weather conditions. Thank you all! As you would be aware, both 1P and 1A classrooms were impacted by the recent heavy rain. In addition, parts of our school playground have also been affected and require further assessment before being deemed safe to play in. The staff have been navigating their way through the organisation of the playground roster to meet the play time needs as best as possible for all students. We have been advised that the carpets and vinyl in the classrooms in 1A and 1P will be replaced in the upcoming school holidays. Hopefully we can achieve the clean-up efficiently and without too many interruptions moving into term 2 and sooner rather than later. I extend my thanks to all students and staff for their patience and flexibility during this time. Cross Country Thank you to Mrs Ellsmore and her team for running an excellent Cross Country (3-6 + 8-year-olds) and to Mr Synott and Mrs Abel for an excellent Cross Country activities day for K-2. I know that this requires lots of organisation and we have received some feedback which we will take onboard, but it was a great experience and I know that the children really enjoyed the day. Thankyou! Friday Ice-Blocks A big thank you to Mrs Gale who has been selling ice blocks each Friday. I thank, her and all the SLSO staff for the ongoing contribution they make to keep our students engaged and happy to come to school. Parent Phonics Session Thank you to Mrs Newman for organising and hosting the parent information session in week 8 focusing on phonics and supporting parents to teach reading in the early years. The feedback was positive, and I know that those who came along learnt so much. It was great to have so many parents interested, and we look forward to the next information session on a different topic in Term 2. Scripture Assembly Thank you to Miss Photiou and the scripture teachers for organising the combined scripture assemblies last Tuesday. The children seemed to really enjoy it although it seems that we will return to one big assembly rather than dividing it into K-2 and 3-6. The feedback was that it seemed to take too much time settling the different groups which took a little too much time away from the session. School Photos Thank you to Mrs Brennan for organising the school photos last Thursday. Overall, the day ran smoothly, and all children presented well in their correct uniforms. Thank you to the parents/carers for assisting in this organisation. The children were great and looked great! Easter Hat Parade Congratulations to Miss Photiou and her team for the excellent Easter Hat parade. It was so much fun, and the P & C were very generous with their time and efforts to create the baskets and raffle. Everyone worked so well together it made the day run super smoothly and the rain held off!! A huge thank you to the P & C for their hard work in preparing for the Easter baskets and raffle. I also acknowledge the office administration staff who housed all the Easter baskets in addition to the guessing competition jar etc. Thank you so much everyone! Hot Cross Buns A big thank you to Mrs Brennan, Miss Brooker, Mrs Robinson and the SRC students who assisted in selling hot cross buns last week. They were a hit! It really made the week even more fun! Meet the Teacher- for KC and 3/4WE Thank you both Mrs Williams and Miss Buckmaster for hosting a ‘Meet the teacher’ last Monday afternoon. The transition has been positive, and I am appreciative to the executive and to all teachers, parents and students involved. The work that has gone into making these changes possible and successful only happens with the commitment of everyone at school and this has certainly happened. Harmony Day Harmony Day promotes inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. It is a week for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity and to share what we have in common. This year’s theme continues with the central message that ‘everyone belongs’ to reinforce the importance of inclusiveness for all Australians. To celebrate our rich multicultural heritage, on Thursday 21 March 2024, we had a mufti day. Students were encouraged to wear multiple items of orange clothing and accessories where possible. The teachers organised a range of activities for students to do in classes and across their stage groups throughout the week to promote the values of this celebration. This was a wonderful success and so much fun! Autism Support Class Update We are yet to have confirmation on the establishment of our second Autism Support Class. I have been advised that there is much to consider from the point of view of infrastructure. I have advised the NSW DoE that our school has the classroom space and the students with identified needs to ensure the establishment of this class is meeting the demands of our school community. Additionally, we have had families make inquiries about how our school is supporting students with additional learning needs in the mainstream classroom. I am delighted to be able to tell them of our staff expertise and that the needs of all our children are front and centre of our decision making. I thank all of you for your support with this as the year progresses. I look forward to updating you very soon. Staff Professional Learning Mrs Chaseling has begun her curriculum focus groups and Mrs Rajendra, Mr Hosler and Mrs Newman will be attended professional learning in Goulburn this week to support this whole school initiative. Mrs Chaseling has accepted a variation to her teaching role at Unanderra Public School that will involve supporting students explicitly in literacy and numeracy in classes from kindergarten through to Year 6 across each school week. Mrs Chaseling has previously participated in extensive professional learning delivered by Dr Lyn Sharratt who is a highly accomplished researcher. Together with the teachers, Mrs Chaseling will be using her knowledge to develop strategies to increase student achievement and growth in an ongoing and sustainable way. I believe that we can utilise the knowledge that Mrs Chaseling has with the expertise of Mr Hosler (Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction) and Mrs Newman (Assistant Principal K-6) to actively drive the professional and academic student growth of our school. Our school focus will continue to be on building skills for lifelong wellbeing for all students and to work hand in hand with our school community. We embrace the shared belief that all children can learn, given the right support with high expectations and early and ongoing intervention so that they grow and achieve beyond their potential academically, socially, and emotionally. Congratulations to Mrs McCabe and Mr Hosler for their outstanding presentation on Formative assessment and Consistent Teacher Judgement at Friday’s AP C & I network meeting. Thank you to Mr Lloyd who went along to participate and provide strong moral support. From all accounts it was super impressive and a great opportunity to showcase the great work our staff do in this area and in implementing the new curriculum. The Reading Project The Parent Reading Project, an initiative where parent/carer volunteers will come into the school and read with students has begun. This program is fully supported and supervised by classroom teachers. The reading project continues to be a great success and we appreciate the time our volunteers give to our great school. Thank you. Reading Club. Each Tuesday morning Miss Prior hosts a morning book reading club. Students are invited to grab some toast and read a book in the library. Thank you to Miss Prior. This has been a great success as usual the children love this time each week. Breakfast Club Mrs Assunta Brennan hosts breakfast club each Thursday morning and the following companies are supporting our school through donations. A huge thank you to everyone involved. Bakers Delight Figtree - Mick the owner kindly donates 10 loaves of sliced bread a week which is used for both Reading Club and Breakfast Club. Woolworths Unanderra - Judith(manager) supplies a $30 gift voucher each week which supports the Breakfast Club with the purchase of milk, milo, vegemite, cheese, butter, paper cups and paper napkins. Strategic Improvement Plan 2024-2027 Please follow the link to see our new school plan. . My thanks is extended to all who contributed to this document. https://reports.sparo.schools.nsw.gov.au/plan-report/2024/3308/2024-2027_Unanderra_Public_School_SIP.pdf School annual school report. Please follow the link to see our annual school report 2023. My thanks is extended to all who contributed to this document. https://reports.sparo.schools.nsw.gov.au/annual-report/2023/3308/2023_Unanderra_Public_School_Annual_Report.pdf Meet the Teacher A big thank you to everyone who attended these sessions a few weeks ago. The feedback was positive, and the teachers were excited to meet with the families. Parents are always welcome to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss progress. Once again, thank you for a great term and I wish our students and families a happy and safe two week holiday break. Kind Regards, Anissa Rajendra In 2S we have been reading and loving a text called “Sophie Scott Goes South” by Allison Lester. We have been learning all about Antarctica, the southern lights, seals, penguins and icebreaker ships, like the Aurora Australis. This text is a wonderful mix of a diary and a fictional story, inspired by Allison Lester’s own trip to Antarctica. In 2S we have been visualising a lot of the descriptions that she writes and putting ourselves into the shoes of an Antarctic explorer. Over Term 1, 5S has been reading through Peter Brown’s Science Fiction Novel The Wild Robot. With this text as our inspiration, we have been able to create some incredible pieces of work! For example, in Creative Art, everyone utilised water colours, oil pastels, pencils, and different styles of paper to create their own Wild Robot book cover. In another Creative Arts lesson, we discussed how to express the Science Fiction genre with a variety of lines (e.g., curved and straight lines) and colours (e.g., warm and cool). This discussion led to students implementing their knowledge to show the differences between robots and humans. In creative writing sessions, 5S has been working hard to create their own Science Fiction texts, based on the Protagonist Roz from The Wild Robot, and the lost robot character from the short film Origins. Over the term, students have been experimenting Science Fiction vocabulary to engage the reader, along with a number of creative writing techniques, such as onomatopoeia, similes, the power of three and using ellipses to create suspense. I am so proud of the effort that 5S has put into their work this term, and cannot wait to see what else these legends can achieve! Mr Scotland ☺ In 3/4M we begin each day with a Yarning Circle. We begin with our class Acknowledgement of Country. Each day we take turns to lead the circle. First we select a question form the yarning cards, then we share our answers in response by passing around the yarning stick and speaking one at a time. After this, we share what we are grateful for. This is a time to connect with Aboriginal culture and our classmates, and set ourselves up for a great day of learning. Some thoughts from our class: Natalya: I enjoy reading the acknowledgment of country to understand Aboriginal history. Lucy: I enjoy sharing my opinion and hearing the ideas of others. Lola: I like that we can share what we have done and our dreams for the future. Kaimia: I like the ideas of my friends and hear what they are thinking. Lani: I like that we get to yarn together, see what we have in common and share what we are grateful for. Ella: I like connecting with country and sharing our cultures present and past. Atticus: I love hearing other people's ideas and knowing what they are thinking. Callum: I like that we can connect without friends before learning in the morning. Jett: I like that we can make up random ideas, share them and laugh. Paxton: I like that I get to learning something new about everyone every day. Week 11 AssemblyKA Merit: Charlotte-Rose.B & Riley.T Student of the week: Thomas. W KN Merit: Jameson G & Kloee W. Student of the week: Rayyan H. KC Merit: Charlotte J & Maxwell P Student of the week: Sasha H K/2R Merit: Junior K Student of the week: Iluka R 1A Merit: Kai B & Dominic Y Student of the week: Jaida L 1P Merit: Tamija S. & Jude Student of the week: Mia M. 2L Merit: Student of the week: 2S: Merit: Mmuti T & Amelia D Student of the week: Wren A-R 3/4S Merit: Dom, W & Bentley, C Student of the week: Willow W 3/4WE Merit: Eddie C & Kieran E Student of the week: Allira P 3/4D Merit: Brianna J & Nate W Student of the week: Lilly H 3/4M Merit: Oliver Y Student of the week: Atticus F 5S Merit: Abby D & Amelia H. Student of the week: Keira G. 5E Merit: Levi F & Hayley C Student of the week: Zoey C 6L Merit: Jackson K & Chloe O Student of the week: Anastasia W 6S Merit: Emily P & Addison C Student of the week: Eliott S Harmony WeekDuring Week 8, UPS commemorated Harmony Week with a series of engaging activities designed to foster cultural appreciation and understanding among students. From discussions on the significance of Harmony Week to experiences like writing postcards to individuals across the globe, our students embraced diversity and unity. Highlights included yarning circles, where students celebrated their unique cultural heritage, and the 'around the world' rotations on Thursday. Through these rotations, students embarked on a journey to various countries, participating in cultural activities and stamping their passports as they explored the global traditions. Harmony Week at UPS was a great celebration of cultural diversity and fostering a harmonious community. Spelling BeeCalling all students to participate in the prestigious 2024 NSW Premier's Spelling Bee! Next term at UPS we will be running the annual spelling bee. If you would like to be one of our school spelling champions then start practicing NOW! Word lists can be found at https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program/nsw-premiers-spelling-bee#wordlists They are password protect, so contact the office or your class teacher via Seesaw to get the password. Free fun with the Parliament of NSW in the April school holidaysParents and children can join the Festival of Democracy at NSW Parliament House these April school holidays. Celebrate democracy in Australia’s oldest Parliament with free, fun activities for children and their families from 4 to 12 years. Activities:
Bookings via Eventbrite. Please see attached flyer for details or visit our website: Free Event: Festival of Democracy 2024 – Parliament of New South Wales (nsw.gov.au) Disability Sports Australia
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