- Ironbark Ridge PS Cnr. Ironbark Ridge Road and Withers Road, Rouse Hill, 2155 Ph: 8814 5687 Fax: 8814 5698 Email: ironbarkrg-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Webpage: www.ironbarkrg-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Nurturing personal growth through inspired learning…

Newsletter 2016

Term 4 Week 9 9th December, 2016 Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful

DATES FOR THE DIARY

DECEMBER

12th – Wizard of Oz matinee performance (RHHS) 13th - Talent Quest 14th - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 Party Day 15th – Early Stage 1 Party Day 16th – Last day for students

JANUARY 27th – Staff Return 30th – Group 1 – Best Start, Kindergarten - 1st day for returning students 31st – Group 2 – Best Start Kindergarten, -1st day for new students Yr 1 to 6

FEBRUARY 2nd – “Staggered” start times for Kindergarten

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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Celebrating a wonderful year of learning and growth Monday morning was a particularly hot, humid morning in the Rouse Hill High School hall however our students sat and listened, encouraging and congratulating their peers in an extremely impressive way. We unfortunately can’t recognise the work of every student in the school on such a big, formal occasion so it makes me extremely proud to see the attitude of our ‘unawarded’ students. They truly displayed strength of character and respect for their classmates. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to those of you who could join us for morning tea in Ms Shorten’s Kindy classroom after the Celebration Day assembly. The aircon was a great relief but the smaller, intimate atmosphere was pleasant and gave us all a chance to enjoy each other’s company for a short time during this rushed end of year. Reports Next Tuesday we will be sending home Semester Two Progress Reports with all students. Please take the time to read them and discuss areas of growth and future areas for improvement with your children. Teachers spend considerable amounts of time observing student skills, behaviours and competencies as well as compiling assessment scores and information to produce the achievement checklists, content descriptors, subject grades, effort ratings and final general comments. Reading these reports gives me great pleasure to hear from teachers about the amazing growth your children are making. At the beginning of each new year, teachers read previous reports as well as analysing a range of assessment work samples to start off with a good understanding of where each individual in their new class is in their learning journey, so these reports are really valuable for us, too!

Canteen Our school canteen will be open all of the final week of school, taking orders and selling over the counter at lunch and recess, even on Friday 16th – the last day of school. We are selling items out however, and as a result some lunch order options have been temporarily removed from the FlexiSchools ordering system. This is to minimise stock going out of date over the holiday break. Doris, our canteen manager, is unfortunately extremely rushed each morning due to a lack of parent helpers volunteering, and as a result is unable to continue to offer students over-the-counter sales such as breakfast items and milkshakes, etc. If you need to call Doris to enquire about a lunch order, please wait until after 9.30am as alterations and additions can still be made and she will be more available to answer the phone between 9.30 and 10.30am. More importantly, if you can volunteer once a month to assist Doris during the ‘manic’ 8.30 – 9.15am morning timeslot, perhaps while you are dropping your children into the playground, please consider doing so for 2017. We will be setting up an online roster to register on so please stay tuned for details. Teachers Learning Ms Barton recently completed two years of rigorous professional learning in Reading Recovery and was awarded ‘registration’ at an exciting ceremony held in Wentworthville. Another member of our school community, Ms Bernardi, also received her ‘stripes’ in Reading Recovery at this ceremony and it was a proud moment for both outstanding teachers. Congratulations! Your teaching skills and knowledge will benefit your students greatly Endings and beginning Our 2016 Year 6 students will next Friday afternoon celebrate the end of a 7 year long learning adventure at Ironbark Ridge. We will be holding a whole-school assembly in our Hall at 2pm to farewell them and to give them each a chance to farewell us, followed by the usual ‘tunnel of students’ as they complete their final lap of our playground together. All parents are encouraged to join us for this fun celebration! Joining our Year 6 students through the ‘Farewell Student Tunnel’ on Friday afternoon will be several wonderful teachers who are headed off to new beginnings at other schools. Ms Seward, Ms Glendenning, Ms James and Ms Black have all contributed wonderful energy and skills into the staff team at Ironbark Ridge over the past years and we will miss them all. I spoke briefly with students on Wednesday afternoon while we recognised our leaving teachers and I emphasised the importance of both remembering the past and celebrating achievements and endings when they occur in our lives, as well as looking forward to new beginnings, challenges and learning opportunities. Although we are celebrating the ending of 2016, the new year, 2017, promises to be a fantastic new beginning for us all! See you all then! Nick Thomson Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Parent Thank You Morning Tea Thank you to everyone for supporting our school, staff and students. Your ongoing support and collaborative approach is greatly appreciated. We couldn’t provide the diversity of opportunities to our students without parental assistance – thank you to all parents for supporting the work we do and for being involved in the Ironbark Ridge Public School Community.

Wizard of Oz- Thank You! The Wizard of Oz was our first ever musical, and judging by the reaction from audience members, it won’t be our last! Events like this at this very busy time of year do not just happen – thank you to all our amazing organising teachers for giving up so much of their own time to ensure the success of the performances. Special mentions to Mrs Kop, Mrs Pryzrembel, Mrs McCarthy, Mrs Sayer, Mrs Paton, Mrs Seward, Miss Stewart, Miss Lewis, Mrs Barton, Mrs Laws, Mrs Walker, Mrs Black and Miss Antoniazzi. It truly has been a team effort! Thank you also to our dance group teachers Mrs Shorten, Mrs Turner, Miss Furnell, Mrs Sexton, and Mrs Pratt for ensuring our Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 dance groups were performance ready. To our wonderful team of parents who assisted with set design, construction, make-up and hair: Mr and Mrs Steiner, Ms Burnham, Mrs Pupo, Mrs Wright, Mrs Critchley – thank you!!

Salvation Army Christmas Appeal What a fantastic response to our Salvation Army Christmas Appeal. Sam and Topher from Rouse Hill Salvation Army branch were overwhelmed with the generosity of our school community. Special thanks to Donna Wright and Chelsea for their co-ordination and organisation of the collection.

Stage 3 – it’s all happening! Wow – what a fortnight Stage 3 have had! Camp was a great success. The students were a delight to take away and many positive reports of their behaviour came not just from the teachers, but the Broken Bay staff as well. The Year 6 Farewell at Novotel Norwest was another very successful evening. It was wonderful to be there to celebrate the end of primary school for this impressive group of students. Again, we have received wonderful reports of their behaviour and just what delightful group of students they are. Year 6 are a credit to their families and the school. Many students were involved in Wizard of Oz, and finally this week will see their party day activities and final day celebrations. Thank you to the teachers, students and parents for all the support and hard work these events entail. Congratulations Congratulations to Sharon from 1J who won 1st prize in the Globalart National competition for her age group in Oct 2016. Globalart Australia (Rouse Hill) sponsored her to attend the Globalart Annual International Art Competition in Guang Zhou, China on 3rd December. She represented Australia to compete with contestants from around 15 countries. She came 4th runner up, which is sensational achievement. Well done Sharon! Congratulations also to Amelie in 5H for placing 3rd at the National Championships in figure skating. Well done Amelie! Her mum has made a video of her performance. https://vimeo.com/194643702 We love hearing about the achievements of our students. Community spirit is alive and well at Ironbark Well done to four of our Year 6 boys- Freddy, Mitchell, Zac and Max - who assisted a member of our local community to catch her runaway dog last week. She was so impressed she rang the school to let us know how helpful and courteous they were. Well done boys, we are very proud of you! Wishing all our students, families and community a restful and joyous break. Kerrie Pho Deputy Principal

ADMINISTRATION NEWS There are a number of items in lost property ranging from jewellery, children’s glasses, wallets, watches etc., including a child’s gold ring (see picture). If your child has misplaced any item, please come into the office and see if we have it. All unclaimed items will be discarded at the end of the school term. Just a reminder to let us know now if your child/children will not be returning to Ironbark in 2017 or they will be returning late. Best wishes for the holidays. See you next year. KINDY CAPERS With the onset of silly season it’s easy to let well established routines and habits fall by the wayside. Never underestimate the power of good conversation. With so many wonderful digital technologies available to our families, it’s easy to forget the age old benefits of spending some time each day having a good chat to our children. As well as imparting pearls of wisdom to our little ones, good conversation and scaffolded language provides the foundations for all future learning. Conversations around books and stories are even more empowering. Reading and good quality chats each day make really good sense. Reading Eggs can be used during the Christmas break.

Also please keep sending water bottles to school with all students so that they continue to drink water when the days are hot. Many thanks to all the Mums and Dads who every day provide healthy lunches and snacks. Borrowing has finished at school. Any library books should be returned as soon as possible so that we can pass them on to Mrs Paton. Please continue to send along a packet of chips to class teachers for our end of year Party Day on December 15th 2016. Remember to send students dressed as their favourite fantasy character. Please ensure closed toed shoes and sun safe hats are worn.

Congratulations to all Kindy students who received certificates and awards at Celebration Day this week. Many thanks to Zac from KD and Selina from KS who did a fantastic job of hosting our recent Kindy Parent Information Night. It was also great to see Kindy 2016 welcome Play Days Dragonflies when they came for classroom visits this week. A huge thanks to all Kindy Mums and Dads who have helped out in Kindy classrooms this year.

We wish Miss Glendenning all the best for her move to the country. She will be missed! Have a happy and safe festive season! The Early Stage 1 Team

STAGE 1 SNIPPETS What a wonderful year we have had on Stage One! It has been very exciting and rewarding for us to see the growth in your children both academically and socially. Each and every one of them is amazing and it has been a privilege to be their teachers. We would also like to thank you, the parents, who have worked with us to ensure the best possible experience for your children this year. We wish you a wonderful holiday with time to recharge the batteries and spend time with family. Stage 1 Teachers STAGE 2 SNIPPETS What a busy time we have had this term! It’s hard to believe that the end of the year is almost upon us.

Over the last 2 weeks Year 3 children have been taking part in Swim Scheme at Annangrove Aquatic & Leisure Centre. More than 55 students have been had a great time while learning valuable skills in water safety and survival as well as improving their stroke technique.

Students in Stage 2 who did not attend have been completing collaborative team work, designing a product and creating advertising for it. We have seen some very interesting inventions! A reminder to those taking part in the Talent Quest on Tuesday 13th December to bring your costumes and any props (instruments etc) to school on the day. We look forward to seeing some amazing talent. Don’t forget about our Wizard of Oz production on Friday 9th December at Rouse Hill High School. The students and staff have been working exceptionally hard to prepare an amazing show for you all. Tickets are still available on the night (adults $15, children $5). Doors open at 6pm and the performance starts at 6.30pm. If you miss it there’s a matinee on Monday 12th at 12.30pm. Come along for some fantastic entertainment! The first day of school for students in 2017 is Monday 30th January. On that day we ask all students to line up in their 2016 class lines. Stage 2 staff wish to thank you for your support throughout the year. We hope you have a restful, happy and safe holiday and look forward to seeing many smiling and enthusiastic faces back at school on Monday 30th January.

Stage 2 Teachers

STAGE 3 SNIPPETS

Camp I can’t believe this is our last newsletter for the year. What another fantastic year 2016 has been. Last week we attended camp at Broken Bay. Although it sounds a little crazy to say that taking 171 students away was fun, we had a ball. Our trip began with a lovely ride on a private boat (ferry) and it took us to an island retreat. I have to say we had the island all to ourselves. The sun was shining and the water was perfect. What more could we ask for? Our activities included raft building, kayaking, abseiling, archery, high ropes and the flying fox. Our students were amazing and each and every leader commented on their kindness towards each other as well their respectful behaviour and growth mindset. To say the teachers were proud of our students is an understatement. On the second night it was indeed a lot quieter as energy was expended and students were tired. By day three they were exhausted. The bus ride home was very quiet indeed. Feedback from students: “The activities were amazing and the food was great.” Bronte. “The abseiling, kayaking and archery was awesome. I loved it.” Skye. “Archery was so much fun because you had to work in teams. Being on the island was great because it had bush, tracks and a beach.” Lateisha. “The people who worked at Broken Bay were so encouraging and helped me to get over my fears. They pushed me gently to achieve my best. I’m so glad I did it. ” Tara M. “The best thing about camp was the high ropes and the flying fox because it was exciting and very different from our normal activities.” Will and Kyle. “Most of the camp activities had partner work and this taught us how to work together.” Jaden.

Photos from the camp and farewell photos have been included in the Year 6 Yearbook

Year 6 Farewell Evening What an amazing evening we had on Tuesday 6th December at the Novotel at Norwest. The ballroom was arranged beautifully through the shared creativity of our Stage 3 teachers and our wonderful parent helpers. Everyone who attended had a wonderful night filled with great food, dance and celebration. The staff at the Novotel commented on how respectful and well-mannered out students are at Ironbark Ridge.

Awards

As I reflect back and think of the milestones achieved, I am amazed by the talent and creativity of our students both within and outside the classroom. This has been clearly evident in the number of students who have been recognised for outstanding achievement throughout the year. Shine Hills Schools Excellence Awards is an annual event hosted by Castle Hill RSL, recognising the exceptional achievements of students. Once again, our 4 nominees were accepted as finalists – Claire for Academic Achievement, Owen in the Leadership & Community Service, Arden for Music and Arts and Lucy in the Sports category. We are very proud of Arden and Owen for receiving a scholarship and Lucy for receiving a commendation in their categories. Congratulations to Claire on not only winning her category, but being awarded Primary School Overall Shining Star. This week, the new 2017 OC students and their parents were invited to attend an orientation afternoon. Our confident, articulate students proudly showed them around and chatted about some of the projects and ventures in which Stage 3 students get involved. The students and their parents left with a strong sense of community spirit, dedication to high standards, and commented on the lovely ‘feel’ of the school. To our remarkable students of 2016, we wish you the very best. It has been heart-warming to see the skills you have gained, how you have grown and matured and are now ready for what I hope will be your life long pursuit of education and learning. It indeed has been an honour and a privilege being part of your journey. To everyone we wish you a happy holiday and a safe return in 2017. Stage 3 look forward to another fantastic and exciting year ahead. To Mrs Black you will be truly missed by all at Ironbark. You are most loved by all. We wish you all the joy in your new adventure. Stage 3 Team

CHINESE NEWS Nǐmen hǎo! 你们好！ As another busy year comes to an end, I would like to thank you all for your support of the Chinese program and for encouraging your children to practise their language skills with you at home. Each year the children amaze me with how much they learn and how brave they can be when it comes to trying new things. We have participated in lots of interesting activities this year – we celebrated Chinese New Year by learning how to make dumplings, Stage 3 went shopping at the Chinese Markets at the high school and above all we travelled for the first time to China to visit our sister-school. It has been an extraordinary year and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such extraordinary students. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday, and I look forward to celebrating Chinese New Year with you in 2017. 祝你们圣诞节快乐！ Mrs Linda Przyrembel Chinese Teacher K-6

CANTEEN The last day for ordering from the canteen will be Friday 16th December, however, there will be limited supplies. Please check the Flexischool website for availability.

I’m sure you will understand that as we need to run down our supplies over the holidays, no cupcake orders will be taken after Friday 9th December. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Dear Parents / Carers, Could you please send all Library Books back into school so we can start preparing for end of year book stocktake. Many thanks

Judy Paton Alison Brewster Nicole Cameron

P & C NEWS

COMMUNITY NOTICES

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