2021 June 10 … Issue #9

AT A GLANCE!

2021 TERM 2 DATES

Monday June 14 Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday 16 June 7pm

P&C General Meeting on Zoom

18-24 June Parent/Teacher Interviews See “Important 2Know” page for details/days Have you booked a time?

Forward Planning

Monday 12 July – T3 Staff Dev. Day: No students attend

Stage 3 Canberra Overnight Excursion Term 3 – 14-16 July

Stage 2 Narrabeen Excursion Term 3 – 25-27 August

Education Week July 26-30 – Theme “Lifelong Learners”

Education Week Open Day at NPS Tuesday 27 July Stay tuned for Open Classroom times and extra-curricular showcase of Band, Dance, Artwalk and why not picnic on the

EvEry minutE counts EvEry child counts EvEry childhood counts Kailash Satyarthi

Dear Northmead P.S. Community: Congratulations to Mr Hawkins and the Sport team for their organisation of a fantastic Athletics Carnival on Tuesday - and how wonderful that we could host this event and also invite families to join us! I thoroughly enjoyed being a witness to students striving to excel in track and field as well as students enjoying the opportunity to participate, be active and have fun! Our students’ behaviour was just a credit to them and congratulations to those students who will now progress to compete at the Zone level. I have so enjoyed reading many reports already from K-6 that applaud student academic and life-learning achievements, learning areas of strength and also what would be “even better if!”. Afterall everyone of us can always strive to improve, which is our individual and shared journey to TRUE NORTH! Thank you to all our teachers who have meticulously gathered daily, weekly and point-in-time data through observations, conversations, feedback discussions and formal assessments to learn what each student knows, what they need to improve upon and how to provide feedback to students on “where to next” in their learning outcomes. I am saying “see you soon” as tomorrow is my last day for Term 2. I am taking Long Service Leave and am excited to be travelling to the Apple Isle to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Mrs Baumann will be Relieving Principal 15-25 June and Ms Preiss will replace Mrs Baumann as Relieving Deputy Principal. I wish you all a safe and happy Winter holiday!

Breakfast Club – How wonderful! Thanks to the wonderful Anne Carmichael as our Community Engagement Officer along with executive and many teachers to get our Breakfast Club up and running – including the sponsorship by local businesses that Anne has acknowledged who have supplied bread, milk, cereal, condiments, margarine/butter. There is no cost involved for students. Many of our students are already showing they are hospitality stars who help with serving students cereal, logging orders with teachers, serving MILO milk and helping with clean-up! I’m so pleased to see many of our School Band students access this valuable morning breakfast when they arrive so early for practice. Teachers are noticing the students that often came to school hungry due to busy morning routines are now so much more settled and happier in the morning session. It’s a great opportunity for students to have something to eat before school and also just have a chat/mingle with students and teachers who are assisting.

Reconciliation week art walk – so meaningful! I had an email from a principal colleague who lives nearby and took at Saturday walk past our school. They were kind enough to send an email to me which I shared with the staff: I walked past Northmead PS on my Saturday morning walk and was blown away by the power – the messages and artwork of the Reconciliation Project displayed on your fence. Absolutely loved it! Thanks so much for sharing in such a public way. Congratulations to our students, staff and a big thank you Mrs Fletcher for organising this amazing Kleins Road Artwalk where our students shared their art, ideas and impact about what Reconciliation is and what it means to them. Powerful connections indeed! Go NPS! As we head to Semester 2 it’s a time to think, reflect and make decisions on making the most of every learning and life opportunity you are offered at NPS. So I leave you with a short poem by one of my very favourite poets. Here is something for our students and probably I think for us all!

“Listen to the mustn’ts child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves then listen close to me...Anything can happen child. Anything can be!”

Shel Silverstein I look forward to chatting with you soon in Northmead Newsbreak … Anne Ezzy (Principal)

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS … INTERVIEW BOOKINGS … HAVE YOU BOOKED?

Semester 1 reports will be emailed to families on Wednesday 16 June. During 18-24 June the school will be inviting parents to register for a face-to-face interview with their child’s teacher. However parents will also be offered the opportunity to use ZOOM or have a phone interview if due to work/family commitments this is more convenient. Mrs Baumann will be sending home a note shortly with the details of the dates/times class teachers have interview times available. In order to offer a time for every child’s parent/carer, your teacher may also offer some alternate days other than the date below before school (8:30am) or after school (3:15-5:00), but this is at each teacher’s individual availability. On the days listed below during the day, interviews will be held in the Library until 3:30pm. Interview times after 3:30pm will be in your child’s classroom. Please keep in mind the main day teachers in each Stage will be released from class to conduct interviews at the school between 8:30am – 5:15pm:

Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten)

Year 1 and 1/2JL

Year 2 and 1/2M

Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)

Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6)

Monday 21 June Friday 18 June Thursday 24 June Wednesday 23 June Tuesday 22 June Uniform Survey – Parent/Community Feedback invited We are reviewing our current uniform and the school is asking for our students, families and staff to undertake a short survey on possible future directions for our uniform. We will be putting the following QR code on the fence near the entry gates on Kleins and Moxhams Roads. The code will also be located at the Canteen and NOOSH. Thank you for your input so we can ensure our uniform serves our students and community. We will keep it open until the end of Education Week next term (Friday 30 July). Here is the link to the on-line Survey Monkey survey – or you can capture the QR code below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NPSUniformSurvey

Email: northmead-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: https://northmead-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Dear Northmead Families, Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete this online student school uniform survey. We would really appreciate your feedback on how to make our uniform simple, easy-to-wear and easy-care for all our students. You can access the survey via the QR code below: Thank you for your assistance on behalf of our students, staff and N.P.S. school community. Mrs Anne Ezzy Principal.

School Uniform Survey

Education Day

@ Northmead

TUESDAY 27TH JULY 2021

SAVE THE DATE

Celebrating

'Life Long Learners '

Community Morning TeaKindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2

Parents

9am Tuesday 15th June

Here at Northmead, we are very fortunate to have many families that have aLanguage Background Other than English.

We would really like to form connections between our school and the differentcultural communities that make up NPS.

If you would like to share your cultural background with us, please join us for acuppa and morning tea (we will be providing some delicious treats!) at 9amTuesday 15th June. Toddlers and babies are also welcome.

Please indicate below if you are able to attend and return to school by Friday 11thJune. In order to keep within Covid 19 guidelines, please check in with the QR code atthe office and you will be directed to the venue.

Melanie Fletcher Gail WheatleyEAL/D Teacher Learning Success Teacher

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I __________________________________ will be attending the Community morningtea on Tuesday 15th June.

Child/Children’s names: _________________________ Class:_______________

☐⬜ I would like to bring along some food from my cultural background to share.(Nothing with nuts please)

Learning Success

Over the last two weeks, teachers have been learning about some of the latest re-search around Dyslexia.

What is Dyslexia?

Popular belief would be that students with dyslexia reverse letters and numbers and have trouble “seeing” and decoding words. However, dyslexia is far more than this. It is actually neurobiological in nature, which means that students with dys-lexia have brains which process language differently. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

Current research tells us that up to 1 in 5 students have dyslexia and that it may be hereditary. It may range from mild to more severe and has no relationship to a child’s intelligence. Dyslexia can be diagnosed in students as young as 5 or 6 instead of the previously thought age of 8.

Could my child have dyslexia?

There are a number of indicators that a student may have dyslexia. Some of the most common are:

• difficulty learning days of the week, the alphabet, home phone number etc.

• difficulty rhyming

• difficulty retrieving names of items

• trouble following multi step directions

• inability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words i.e. identifying the initial, medial or final sounds in words, determining a new word when one sound is swapped for another e.g. take the word “mat” and make the last sound a “p” what do you have?

• poor spelling and handwriting

• persistent letter and number reversal after Year 1

• difficulty with memorisation of “sight” words and tables facts

• aversion to reading and work avoidance tactics in literacy sessions

• difficulty with writing

What can I do for my child?

• seek the advice of your child’s classroom teacher if you have any concerns

• work on rhyming and word games such as “I Spy” and read lots of story books

which have rhyming words

• use decodable readers to reinforce the synthetic phonics being taught at school

• talk to your child about famous dyslexics who also struggled with reading

• encourage a growth mindset of putting in hard work in order to reap rewards.... reward hard work rather than just results

• talk about the power of YET - you can’t read as well as you would like …. YET,

you can’t identify the sounds in words …..YET and so on

• use alternative methods for completing homework - record answers on an iPad or make a mind map of your child’s ideas about a set topic

• allow your child to type responses rather than hand writing responses

• use speech to text software

• praise your child’s efforts in other areas such as sport, art etc and encourage them to develop these talents

Want to know more? Attend a Reading Workshop here at school.

As we have currently only had four families express an interest in our Reading Workshops at school it seems unlikely that we will run a workshop this term but will be looking at running workshops next term.

Workshops will give parents information about the way reading is being taught at Northmead. We will discuss phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabu-lary and comprehension and give lots of practical ways you can help your child become a reader. Come and join in the hands on fun.

Please ring Mrs Wheatley (9630-3133) to express your interest in attending a reading workshop.

EAL/D Learning at Northmead

EAL/D stands for English as an Additional Language or Dialect. Speaking and listening tasks are an important precursor to writing for all students. For those students who are learning English as an additional language, they are essential in supporting their English development.

In Stage 1, we have been learning about procedures: the aim, steps involved, action verbs and adverbs. During these lessons all students in the class played speaking and listening games which developed their vocabulary and supported their understanding of text structure.

Students wrote a variety of procedures but by far the post popular was ‘How to make toast’. They especially enjoyed the part where they all were able to enjoy a hot, buttery piece themselves!

National Reconciliation Week 27th May – 3rd June 2021

National Reconciliation Week is a time when Australia, as a nation, reflects upon the past injustices that were inflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, in particular the Stolen Generations.

At Northmead, students participated in a range of activities that developed their understanding of the Stolen Generations, taught about First Nations’ history and their connection to country.

Lucas and his mum, Lynette, spoke to 1/2M during Reconciliation Week. Lucas, who is from Waanyi Country, told his class about the turtle that he painted with his dad and family in Mount Isa. The turtle was caught and prepared by his family and then became bush tucker.

KL created their own Acknowledgement of

Country

Student Reflections

Reconciliation means…..

• to be together and to share stories and dances, to say sorry if you have done something wrong. Elan 5/6N

• to connect and learn about, and with First Nations people. Lucy 4/5F

• apologising for the past. Cathrine 3/4M • to come together, speak, share and communicate.

Brooke 4/5F • sharing. Trisha 5/6S

Respect….

Yindyamurra means respect in Wiradjuri language. This is a traditional word that the First Nations People use. It means a lot to me because I myself am Aboriginal. This one word has built my respect for the First Nations people even more. Brody 5/6H

First Nations people were the first people in Australia and have a deep connection to the land. I pledge to continue to learn about Aboriginal culture. Abigail 4/5F

Last Tuesday, our Stage 1 Show

Group and the Lyrical Ensemble

performed as part of the

Synergy Dance Festival at

Penrith Panthers. After a

COVID-induced hiatus from live

performance in 2020, to say

the students were excited for

this opportunity was an

understatement! This was the

first of two performances, with

the second this Thursday night!

Congratulations to all the

dancers on their amazing

performances! The confidence,

technique and grace they brought

to the stage was amazing to

witness. Family and friends who

watched the performance were

blown away by how talented our

Northmead students are! Well

done dancers!

Just a quick reminder: Please ensure that you pack or order sufficient food for the school day. We are currently having many students arriving without food for the day.

They will need to have the following for each day:

Crunch and Sip

Morning Tea

Lunch

Below are some ideas for what you could send

Recess and lunch ideas

• Cut fruit into pieces and put them in a small container. Squeeze some lemon juice on apples or pears to stop them from going brown.

• Cut up vegetables such as carrots, celery and cucumber and put them in a resealable plastic bag. Put dips or yoghurt in a separate container.

• Make wholemeal muffins and freeze them.

• Try different breads, such as rolls, pita, wholegrain or tortilla wraps.

• If using tomato in a sandwich, slice it thinly and place the slices between other fillings to stop the sandwich from going soggy.

• Cook a little extra dinner and save some for lunch the next day. You could make quiche, homemade pizza slices, salmon patties, roast vegetables, noodle salads or sausages. A freezer brick or frozen drink can help keep this food fresh.

STUDENT SUCCESS Eloise recently entered the Women in STEM Ambassador - Create Your Future You Competition which is an Australian Government Initiative. The competition required entrants to draw a picture of themselves working in their chosen field in STEM and using 50 words write about how they would change the world with science, technology, engineering or maths. Winners were announced last week at Questacon and this week Eloise received a highly commended certificate and prize pack including signed copies of books written by two of the judges Women in STEM Ambassador Prof. Lisa Harvey Smith and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Eloise’s dream is to become an entomologist and along with her drawing she detailed how she would research insects to find out if parts of their makeup could be used in engineering to build technologies that humans can benefit from and also for their use as a food source. Congratulations Eloise

Northmead Public School Band News

Don’t forget- Sydney Eisteddfod recording session for Performing Band is this Friday, 11 June

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Band Camp Wrap Up: What an

amazing weekend of music- surrounded

by glorious bushland, and ending in a

wonderful family concert. It was an

absolute treat to hear all our bands play

in person- Training Band and Concert

Band for the first time ever!

Many thanks to all the parent volunteers

who made the weekend possible- We

couldn't do it without you! Special thanks to

Timea McGuire and the Band Committee

for their work in organising camp

Hello from Band Camp!

Training Band getting ready to perform

Performing Band

Concert Band