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RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
Time to put the finishing touches on your
children’s Book Character Parade costumes.
Children may wear their costumes to school
if they are easy to move around in
and weather appropriate.
Otherwise they can change into them
during the lunch break.
Enclosed shoes must be worn.
Newsletter of the Leura Public School Community Volume 8, Issue 17 Term 4, 2020 Week 2
Coming Events
Week 3 27/10 Book Character Parade
27/10 After School Cricket program
29/10 Kindergarten 2021 Parent Orientation Zoom
29/10 Fizzics Science Incursion
30/10 Fizzics Science Inursion
30/10 World Teachers Day
Week 4 3/11 After School Cricket program
5/11 Kindergarten 2021 Transition
6/11 Principal’s Assembly
Week 5 – NAIDOC WEEK 10/11 After School Cricket program
11/11 Great Book Swap
11/11 P&C Annual General Meeting Online Zoom
12/11 Kindergarten 2021 Transition
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
From the Principal…
Welcome back to Term 4! I have had a great start and
I am hoping your kids have too!
The ‘Old School Bell’ Project is complete! What an incredible way to return to school this term. The old bell, which is golden and shiny, looks
spectacular hanging from the gorgeous timber structure which houses the old school bell arches. What
brings me joy, is that this project was completely invested with love. All stakeholders, regardless of
their role, demonstrated a deep love for Leura Public School, and this love cannot be bought or
replicated by any other community! That is why I firmly believe that Leura Public School is the best!
THANK YOU to the talented team of community members, parents, and staff from Leura Public School,
who have played a significant role, big or small, in getting this special project undergoing, implemented
and completed. We appreciate the time, money and energy you have put forward to make this project
successful.
I do want to say a special mention to a few people and I hope I do not offend or miss anyone. Coming
into Leura Public School halfway in the year throughout a pandemic has not been easy. Firstly, thank
you to our very own staff, Mrs. Elizabeth Colton and Mr. Peter Van Gemert for playing significant roles
during this project. I understand that Mrs. Colton, our school librarian and school historian, trusted
the committee with the idea for the bell. Mr. Van Gemert has been his usual enthusiastic, helpful, and
passionate self. He has liaised and assisted at all times during this project.
Thank you to the P&C and to Kate Fagan for liaising with me to inform me about the project and to get
me connected to the talented Ms. Niki Martignago who was the artist behind the creative design of
the structure and the hanging of the bell. Ms. Niki Martignago has demonstrated her deep connection
to our community and her close working relationship with the P&C and the school staff on this project.
I don’t believe this project would have been this successful if it was not for the close teamwork
amongst all stakeholders.
Finally, I honestly have never encountered a P&C as excellent as Leura Public School. I have not been
in a school where the P&C operate with such a high standard. They are connected deeply to the
students, school, culture and community. There is a multifaceted approach to their involvement within
our school and I believe the ‘Old School Bell’ project highlights this interconnected approach.
Well done to everyone involved! I know we have a special surprise lined up for our Year 6 students at
the end of the year!
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
Premier’s Debating Competition For those who are beginning to know me, I
value excellence in Public Education. I am a
huge believer of ensuring our students are
always the focus of all our decision making.
Therefore, I get very excited when our
students are able to shine and gain the
spotlight for their learning and achievements.
Mrs. Aldred has been an enthusiastic and
dedicated coach for our school debating
teams. She has been intensely working hard behind the scenes to bring out the best in our students.
Mrs. Aldred is explicit in her teaching and uses guided teaching techniques to help her students gain
new learning. I know firsthand, I have seen this while working in her classroom, 1/2 Agapanthus!
Last week, our school debating team beat Berry Public School! I am so proud of our students and
tremendously excited to see their next debate against the Northern Beaches school, Balgowlah Public
School. The debate will be held on November 4th 2020.
World Teachers’ Day – Friday October 30th 2020 This year our students, community and teachers have had to endure recurring
challenges to teaching and learning. Challenges to changes made to school
operations, new classroom learning and impacts to our additional activities and
programs. Despite the unpredictable circumstances of 2020, our teachers
have ensured that our students have continued to receive a high-quality
education. They have been integral in role modelling and promoting resilience
and fun in the classroom regardless of external influences beyond their control.
Our teachers are committed and hardworking. They are passionate and enthusiastic about their
students and their role within the school. I want to thank each of our teachers and wish them a
fantastic week and I hope that on Friday they have a special day.
Leura Rocks! This fortnight our students will listen to two songs by Neil Diamond. I mentioned Neil Diamond as a
song writer for some of the Monkees songs for last term. This week we will listen to ‘Sweet Caroline’
(first recorded in 1969) and next week we will listen to ‘Crunchy Granola Suite’ (first recorded in 1971).
Both songs are off the double live album ‘Hot August Night’. The album was recorded at the Greek
Theatre in Los Angeles in August of 1972 and was released in December of 1972. Although Neil
Diamond was already established as a song writer (from the
early 1960s where he was part of the “Brill Building” cohort
of pop song writers) and pop performer (Diamond’s first
chart reaching recording was Solitary Man from 1966), it
wasn’t until the success of the Hot August Night album that
Diamond was considered a star of worldwide renown. The
album was especially popular outside of the US. In
Australia, it spent 29 weeks at #1 on the album charts and
was still in the top 50 charting albums until late 1976. The
album sold in excess of 100 million copies across the world
and established Neil Diamond as a performing icon.
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
COVID-19 Our current procedures regarding locking gates at 9:15am will continue this term. We are still not
allowed to have parents, volunteers and visitors on school grounds. Anyone who has been given
permission to come on site, must fill out a COVID-19 acknowledgement form and comply with necessary
covid safe practices.
There has been some clarification provided to us by the Department of Education regarding our
traditional end of year events. We are monitoring the advice regularly and will keep our community
informed as we are updated.
Kindergarten Orientation 2021 will go ahead however, parents and visitors are not permitted on school
grounds. The Year 6 Farewell is also going ahead with a range of restrictions on the night relating to
visitors on school grounds, food handling and dancing. We want our students to have a memorable
evening and one that will bring some cheer to a crazy year. I know, as a parent who has a daughter in
Year 6 this year, how hard it has been on our students and understand the impact that Covid has had
on our kids. I would like to thank our parents who have been liaising with our school during this time
and Mr. Atkinson for his leadership. The behind the scenes work is incredible and I feel at ease
knowing there is an exceptional team of people working hard to make this night spectacular! I would
also like to let the community know that I look forward to attending my first Leura Public School Year
6 Farewell and Graduation Evening. However, I will be late because Winmalee Public School have
advised that the Year 6 Farewell is on the same night.
Health and Safety After the recent holidays, we noticed that we had a significant number of students return with broken
limbs. I want to take this opportunity to let parents and caregivers know that if a student, staff
member or volunteer has hurt or injured themselves in a significant manner and requires a cast, boot
or specialised care, then as a school we are required to implement a WHS risk management plan to
reduce the risk of aggravating the injury any further. We thank you in advance for assisting us in this
process.
Last week we had a slithery visitor in our school grounds. This caused a lockdown and required us to
contact local snake catchers to come on school grounds. During the warmer weather, we will be
sweeping the school grounds to ensure our playground is safe. We will be taking extra precautions to
ensure that our students are safe and providing lessons to our students so that they know what to do
if they see a snake.
Our school will be having a Bushfire Evacuation Drill in the next couple of weeks. We will keep you
posted on Skoolbag of a date for this event.
Staffing This week we welcome back Mrs. Field who was on leave. We also welcomed back our School Learning
and Support Officer, Mrs. Rebecca Pike.
Ms. Mc Mahon is still on unplanned leave and Ms. Eves is doing a wonderful job on 3/4M.
We have a new day cleaner – Mr. Andreas Antalis. He will be assisting us by completing the enhanced
day cleaning as a result of COVID-19.
In the next few weeks, we will be hosting two panels. The first panel is to permanently fill the School
Administration Manager position that Mrs. Lyn Vidler vacated early this year. The second position is
to fill our temporary teaching positions for 2021. I would like to thank our P&C for their support in
helping us implement these important recruitment processes.
School Photos 2020 Our school has proofed our recent school photos and we are hoping they will arrive
soon. I want to thank Miss. Di Kipp in the office. She has been an absolute dynamite
getting this process completed.
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
Tell Them from Me Survey – Parents and Situational Analysis for School Planning I want to thank our parents and community members for participating in the Tell Them from Me Survey
2020. Your feedback is appreciated and valuable in ensuring we are meeting the needs of students.
We are a student focused school and we want to know how we are going with our service delivery! Our
Situation Analysis for the new Strategic Improvement Plan is nearly complete. We are just evaluating
and analysing our internal and external data sources. A s soon as we are complete in that process, I
will provide our parents and caregivers with some key points which we will be working on for school
improvement. We want to ensure we are the best school in the Blue Mountains!
Presentation Day 2020 On Wednesday 9th December 2020 (Wednesday, Week 9), our school will be hosting its Annual
Presentation Day Assembly to recognise student achievement. It will be no surprise that we will be
altering the format for this event to ensure we are Covid safe. Over the coming weeks, we will keep
you posted on the event so that you are able to share in the success of your child being recognised by
our school community.
Creative Arts Showcase 2020 This year, our students will showcase their achievements in Performing and Creative Arts online!
We will be utilising the school website to launch our videos and work. This will be accessible during
Week 8. I know that our teachers are working hard to ensure our Creative and Performing Arts is
celebrated within our community. We value our music and visual arts program and recognise the
importance that this curriculum area has in engaging our students and providing them an opportunity
to be expressive and appreciative of all art forms.
May Ptolemy Principal
Statement of Account Each term families receive a Statement of Account for money owed for
various activities etc. This Statement is a gentle reminder to families but
does not necessarily indicate the balance is overdue. This letter is to simply
assist families to plan and budget for upcoming activities that your child will
have the opportunity to participate in.
Student Mobile Phones and Communication Devices,
including smart watches.
The policy regarding students with communication devices and mobile phones is that
students are expected to bring their phone or device to the office in the morning when
they arrive at school. Students will sign their device in the register.
Students need to remember to come to the office in the afternoon to collect their device
and sign it out before heading home.
We ask families to please assist us by also reminding your child of this procedure.
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
This year the Voluntary School Contribution charged to school families is $50.
These funds will be used to contribute to the cost of purchasing
literacy resources for Year 3-6 classes.
Total so far for 2020: $2744
THANK YOU!
We have adapted our Kindergarten Transition program this year to comply with Covid and Department
of Education guidelines and will be holding our orientation evening online. We will be holding a Zoom on
Thursday 29th October at 3.30pm for our new and prospective Kindergarten families. We would love
to see as many families as possible to say hello and introduce you to our school for 2021.
Zoom Details are as follows:
Topic: Kindergarten 2021 - Orientation
Time: October 29th 2020 - 3:30pm
To join the Online Orientation – Zoom Meeting please contact the school office and we can provide
you with the relevant details.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR FOR LEARNING – Term 4
VALUE OF THE WEEK
Week 3: Assemblies
A Responsible student enters & leaves the hall quietly, sits without
talking & walks sensibly to the stage.
A Respectful student listens to presenters without interrupting & sings
& responds with pride.
A Resilient student sits sensibly for the duration.
Week 4: Bridge/Bus
A Responsible student walks to the lining up area & remains on the footpath.
A Respectful student waits quietly for the duty teacher.
A Resilient student reports problems to staff.
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
Dear parents and carers,
During Term 3 and 4, some students in 3-6 have been involved in Code Club where they are
learning computer science. We have made games and animations including the Chrome
Dinosaur Game, a Balloon Shooter. and senior code club are currently making a Mario style
platformer.
Students from senior code club are developing a webpage where students work that they
submitted can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/37yrWFy
You will need a keyboard for the games, and some will require that you have the sound turned
down!
Mr Angel
LEARNING in 3/4Magnolia
Stage 3 – The Great Race Design Challenge
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESILIENCE
The dates for our remaining Term 4 meetings are listed below. All meetings will be held via Zoom (details will be provided closer to the meeting date). We’d love to see you at any of our meetings!
Wednesday, 11 Nov AGM
6:00pm – 7:00PM
Tuesday, 1 Dec General Meeting 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Our next meeting on Wednesday, 11 November will be the P&C Annual General Meeting (AGM). All P&C Executive positions will be vacated and we would love to see some new people join the team. New people means fresh ideas and re-energises the P&C, which is really important for the school. Roles include President, Vice-President (x2), Treasurer, Secretary, Publicity Officer and Fundraising Co-ordinator. Positions also exist for Assistant Treasurer, Uniform Shop Manager, Social Media Coordinator and the Canteen Committee. If you're interested in any of these positions, please contact the current President via email at [email protected]. Position descriptions are available on our website:
http://leurapandc.weebly.com/pc-position-descriptions.html
If you’re not interested in a position on the P&C, you are still more than welcome to join in on the meeting. We’d love to meet you!
The new Term 4 Canteen Summer Menu is out now. We have brought back some summer favourites such as Sushi and burgers, and added other favourite hot meals such as Fried Rice and Pasta. We also have some new snacks for Recess, such as Anzac Bikkies and Pikelets.
Sadly, due to supply issues, we have had to say goodbye to the ever popular Sipaah Straws. From Week 2, students will have the option to flavour their milk with Nesquik (Chocolate or Strawberry) or Milo.
Pick up your copy of the Term 4 menu from the office or from Skoolbag.
We are looking for volunteers to teach Ethics in order that we can ensure that ethics classes are available for all families who have requested them.
Ethics teachers receive full training by Primary Ethics. Training consists of a two day workshop and short online modules. Lesson materials are provided. Suitable volunteers have an interest in children’s education and development of critical thinking skills and must be available at 2.00pm Thursday each week to teach a half hour class. A small amount of weekly preparation (such as printing and reading through lesson materials) is also required.
If you, or someone you know, wants the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to our school, please visit:
www.primaryethics.com.au/volunteer/ethics-teacher/ or contact Petra Braat: [email protected]