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Normanhurst News

Term 1 Week 8 20 March 2019

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Relieving Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

Working Bee

We had a large motivated group of families attend our first Working Bee for 2019 on Saturday morning. Despite

the rain they achieved a lot, working on clearing, weeding and distributing mulch. Thank you to the families who

did attend – it was great to see you and we really appreciate your efforts to improve our school grounds.

Special thanks to Ian Air for coordinating the event.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Information will go home this week regarding parent/teacher interviews, which will be held in Week 11.

Teachers are keen to meet with all parents / carers to discuss the progress of their children. Bookings close

Wednesday 3 April.

Harmony Day

This Thursday 21 March we will be celebrating Harmony Day – a day when we celebrate Australia’s cultural

diversity and promote inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. We would love the

students to dress in cultural costume or wear a touch of orange to celebrate the variety of cultural

backgrounds of all our students.

Tell Them From Me: Student Survey

This term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education

initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to

affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student

wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they

think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with

them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4

DATE EVENT

Thursday 21 March K – 2 Assembly Harmony Day

NOTES SENT HOME

Wednesday 13 March Tell Them From Me Student Survey – Years 4 - 6

Monday 18 March Cross Country Carnival – Years K - 6

Email: normanhurs-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.normanhurs-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Phone: 9489 1152 Fax: 9489 3257

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million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school.

The survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to

complete. It will be administered during school hours next week. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

Students in Years 4-6 are invited to participate and a consent form has been sent home with them. If you do

not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by Friday 23 March.

Striver Badges:

Congratulations to the following students who received a Striver badge at our last assembly:

Blue badge – Roman G, Anna N, Jack W, Zoe F

Red badge –Olivia P, Arthur T, Rafael J, Scarlett H

Green badge – Callum A, Patrick R

Yellow badge – Sienna B

Purple badge – Lucy V

Citizen of the Month

Congratulations to the following students who were selected as Citizen of the Month for their class for March:

Merit Certificates

Congratulations to the following students who received a merit certificate at last week’s assembly:

Kind regards,

Jocelyn Williams

Assistant Principal

Natalie S KP Gemma M 2F Pranav N 4L Ashleigh D C 6M Jiahe G KR Andie H 2I Joel F 4M Oliver Z KT Hamish A 2S Atticus H 4/5B Natalie T 1K Isobel C 3G Yool K 5S Juliet E 1V Willow H 3W Caiden F 6D

For Being Responsible Zanna S KP Daniel O 2F Jordan 4L Shanzay A C 6M Aarohi D KR Aurelia Z 2I Josh B 4M Matilda Z KT Vihaan A 2S Shiva R 4/5B William K 1K Ieuan S 3G Sarah A 5S Yolanda Y 1V Mirabelle M 3W Ayam R 6D

For Being Respectful

Luella W KP Nicole N 2F Ray W 4L Arjun C C 6M Sara C KR Leon L 2I Hayley S 4M Jenny P Library Ethan L KT Avneet D 2S Grace M 4/5B Hasti J Music Cameron M 1K Robert L 3G Samuel E 5S Jenny P IV Gianna S 3W Ani K 6D

For Striving for Success Aiden C KP Arielle S 2F Scarlett H 4L Lisa T C 6M Alexander C KR Nathan C 2I Anna N 4M Harrison G Music Shirley S KT Alexander N 2S Lila K 4/5B Theresa S 1K Robert G 3G Annemieke T 5S Sienna L 1V Willow H 3W Grace A 6D

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

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Library News

Parent Information Session

On Monday 25 March at 2 p.m. we will be running an information session for parents about the NSW Premier’s

Reading Challenge. In this session we will run through the rules and procedures for the Reading Challenge,

how to log-in to the challenge, how to access reading lists and add books to your child’s reading log. We will

also show and talk about a selection of popular titles suitable for each grade.

If you are interested in attending, please meet in the school library at 2 p.m. on Monday 25 March 2019.

Carolyn Spender

PRC Coordinator

Technology Screen Time - Ideas for Children and Families Part 2

Most of us are guilty of becoming increasingly reliant on our telephones and computers for communicating,

working, paying bills and even getting from A to B…

But there is a difference between reliance on technology and addiction to technology.

And if you think your child may be in the latter category, the sooner you address it the better.

So what are the signs of a technology addiction, in children in particular?

It’s another blurry line that can be hard to assess, but consider the following signs of a possible ‘digital

dependency’.

1. Lack of interest in other activities.

Have they stopped enjoying or seeking out the other things they used to enjoy?

Would they always choose screen time over any other leisure activity?

2. Constant distraction by technology.

Are you unable to communicate with them or get their attention when they’re using digital devices?

Are they always anxiously waiting until they can next get online?

3. Problematic behaviour when unable to access digital devices.

Are there excessive tantrums or bad behaviour when they’re not able to access their phones or tablets?

Do they become aggressive or act out of character?

4. Constant talking about ‘screen time’.

On occasions when they’re not using screens, are they frequently referring to them, in one way or another?

(Such as discussing things they have seen or done online.)

5. Withdrawal symptoms.

Do they seem anxious, distressed or upset when they can’t access their devices?

And then calmer once they can?

If your child is exhibiting any or most of these symptoms, an Internet intervention may be in order!

Just like any other addiction, these things are best and most successfully dealt with ASAP, and there’s no

better time for that when they’re still kids — and you’re still the boss.

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By setting up healthy habits for screen time while they’re young, your kids will be much more likely to transfer

these habits into their adulthood, and navigate the digital world in a more mindful and productive way.

So, in trying to wean your child off their online obsession, consider the following factors:

Don’t get them to go cold turkey! This will make the transition seem much more difficult and more like

a punishment, rather than working towards their best interests. Work on slowly reducing their screen

time, rather than eliminating it.

If there were no boundaries before — set some. Such as a daily screen-time limit and ‘no screen-

time zones’ (like during family time or before bed).

Make a hierarchy of priorities. Set guidelines for what must be done before they can have screen

time, such as homework, cleaning, preparing for school, and family time.

Make a hierarchy of screen time. Allow communal, interactive screen time before individual screen

time, and educational content before simple games.

Start by changing the content, rather than usage. Replace pure entertainment or mindless games

with apps or programs with some educational grounding.

Replace screen time with other enjoyable activities. Drawing, reading, playing games, outdoor

activities, or even some extra dessert.

Slowly implementing some of these ideas will reduce your child’s screen time without them even noticing.

But it’s also important to note the distinction in approach between adolescents and children:

The former need strict boundaries, and you can make them.

The latter need to feel some autonomy and control, so compromise is best. Work on negotiating the

terms of their screen time, rather than dictating them.

And among all these changes, make sure you keep your own best interests in mind, too…

Utilise screen time hours for when you most need your own time to get things done.

This will benefit both you and your children, because the more you can spend quality time together, the less

they’ll be preoccupied with picking up their phones or tablets.

Good luck — and if you feel that you may be too technology-dependant as well, try some of these guidelines for

yourself!

Further Reading:

https://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/childrens-smart-phone-and-tablet-use-linked-with-

weaker-literacy-skills/

https://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/can-video-games-really-improve-academic-

performance/

References:

Deutrom, R, ‘Australian children well and truly over recommended daily screen time’, The Courier

Mail (2016)

Wells, P, ‘iPad screen time can be good for kids if parents get involved too, experts say’, The Sydney

Morning Herald (2016)

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

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Art at Normanhurst

The Young Archie competition 2019

Each year the Art Gallery of New South Wales invites budding artists between the ages of 5 and 18 to submit a

portrait for the Young Archie competition.

This year we had 18 students submit a portrait. Please join us in congratulating all these young artists

Kate Clarke Brisot

Coordinator

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Scholastic Book Club

All Scholastic Book Club orders must be in by 24 March 2019. The only form of payment for ordering is Credit Card through the Scholastic website. Please see below for further details.

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PSSA News 2019 Knockout Softball Auditions.

This year, Normanhurst will have two teams competing in the NSWPSSA Softball Knockout Competition. We

are looking for students to try out for one girls’ team and one boys’ team. Tryouts will be held at lunchtime on

Thursday 21 March.

Please meet Miss Mafi on the top oval after eating time.

Looking forward to being a part of this awesome competition!

Vaianna Mafi

Softball Knockout Coordinator

2019 Harmony Day Poster Competition

Normanhurst Public School will again be participating in the “Harmony Day” Poster competition.

Students are encouraged to visually articulate their interpretation of the 2019 theme: ‘Harmony – it’s up to

us’.

Entries should reflect one or more of the following principles:

Our society is made up of different people from different backgrounds.

While we are unique, we all share the goal of wanting to live together in harmony, peace and

understanding. We must respect others religion, gender and race.

We must not accept hate, violence or unfair treatment of any person or group.

We must strive to give all Australians equal opportunities and assist those who are less fortunate than

ourselves. We are proud to be Australian.

Design

All entries MUST be A3 poster size and any medium is acceptable.

Our closing date is Friday 29 March 2019. Please have your entries to Mrs Brisot by this date. Any late

entries will not be accepted.

Please provide the following information on the back of your entry: Student’s name, Class, Home

address, Parent’s name, Parent’s phone, Parent’s email. Please FOLLOW all design instructions to ensure

your entry is eligible.

For further information: http://movingforwardtogether.org.au/

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P&C News

www.npspandc.com

http://www.facebook.com/NormanhurstPublicPC Dates for your diary:

Election Day BBQ/Cake Stall Saturday 23 March 2019

Bush Dance/Country Fair Saturday 6 April 2019 3 p.m. onwards

In the rain on Saturday, we had a record 35 families attend our Working bee. They ripped through the

jobs, moving soft fall to the seniors playground and mulching many garden beds on the top and oval side of the

school. The leaves and sticks were raked from the front grass and weeding made easy by the soft soil. We

had a sausage sizzle at lunch and life was good. Thank you to Ian for coordinating the day and to A&A Arbour

Tree Services who delivered us free mulch at very short notice. A fun day had by all, thank you to all who

came to help.

Our Election Day Cake Stall & BBQ is this Saturday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Please encourage your neighbours

to pop along to vote, have a sausage sandwich for lunch, cake for dessert and support our school. Thank you

to everyone who is giving their time to help manage our stands or donate cakes for us to sell to benefit our

school. I believe there may still be a couple of spaces left on the roster to fill, please reach out to Pam at

fundraising if you have a little time to spare.

Tickets are now on sale for our Bush Dance on 6 April. This is one of our major fundraisers this year,

proudly sponsored by Anna Cavill of Ray White Real Estate. Family and friends are welcomed along to

enjoy an evening of music, dance, good food and laughter. If you’re not into bush dancing, don’t let it put you

off, there will be something for everyone at this great family night. All funds raised go directly to benefit facilities

at the school and I look forward to discussing the allocation further at next term’s Week 3 P&C meeting.

Melissa Logan

P&C President

president@npspandc.com ________________________________________________________________________________________

NPS Band News Many children in the band program participate in the AMEB process.

Here is an interesting aticle about what this involves:

https://www.ameb.edu.au/why-take-an-exam

Have a chat to your child’s tutor, if you are interested in this route.

Term 1 Parent Band Roster for Weeks 8 and 9:

Thursday 21 Mar Concert Band 7.15 – 8.40 Caroline Mulligan

Thursday 21 Mar Training Band 12.50 – 2.00 Sun hee Hong

Monday 25 Mar Training Band 7.20 – 8.40 Kamani Katapodi

Monday 25 Mar Concert Band 12.50 – 2.00 Kyra Ramirez

Thursday 28 Mar Concert Band 7.15 – 8.40 Kirralie Fogarty

Thursday 28 Mar Training Band 12.50 – 2.00 Shin Li

Please like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/npsbands/ Are you receiving the band emails? If not, please Email: npsbandinfo@gmail.com

Lisa Manton

P&C Band Coordinator

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P&C Social and Fundraising News

Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall – Saturday 23 March

A big thank you to all the people who have rostered themselves on for the Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall.

If you can spare an hour we still require help on the BBQ on the day. Please follow the link below.

http://signup.com/go/BUqiUqV

Bush Dance – Saturday 6 April

TICKETS ON SALE!

The lovely Anna Cavill from Ray White Real Estate is sponsoring our Bush Dance. Please show your

appreciation and support our school by joining us on Saturday 6 of April from 3 p.m. for an afternoon filled of

fun!

* Bush Dance caller

* Games for all ages

* Free Face Painting

* Sausage in a bun with coleslaw & drink combo

* Corn on a cob

* Apple Pie with cream

* Fairy Floss

Pre-Ordering food is important to ensure we have enough food for everyone on the day and to eliminate

unnecessary expenses.

Please follow the link below;

https://www.school24.net.au

Please note:

You will need to:

1. 'Login' on the front page

2. Go into 'order lunch'

3. Go in 'Events' and proceed to 'Bush Dance'

** You will need to sign up if you don't already have an account.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate in contacting me. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Entertainment Book

The Entertainment Book is back - 25th Year Anniversary - More great offers and still only $70.

Not only will you get some good bargains you will also support Normanhurst Public School. For every one

purchased the school receives $14. Purchase your copy now by clicking on the link below. You will also get

some great early bird offers if you purchase before April 1.

https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/205p842

Pam Gins

P&C Fundraising Coordinator

fundraising@npspandc.com

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Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

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Canteen News

Harmony Day is on tomorrow on Thursday 21 March. I hope the children all enjoy the choices of multicultural

cuisine offered with their “Aussie” Lamington Finger and remember to embrace their friends who all come from

different parts of the World. :) If you are free we may need some extra hands to serve so please email Lisa

today on canteen@npspandc.com.au, or pop your head into the Canteen and ask.

The Canteen will be open for usual counter service at Recess and Lunch with the usual items for sale.

Could parents kindly please also remind their children (especially in the younger years K-2) that money and

food should NOT be shared amongst one another. We have some children with food allergies and anaphylaxis

and it is extremely important that they do not share food just in case of cross-contamination, and not to share

money (nor buy each other items from the canteen) because it can cause some discord amongst their friends.

{Reminder} Instructions for Registering and Lunch ordering on School 24:

Type in School24 to your web browser: https://www.school24.net.au/ Click on “Register” to begin. Type in the

School registration ID: 2567963. Complete the fields (as requested) and hit “Create Account”. Begin ordering

from the side Menu options. Once the food has been ordered, go to Checkout to complete the order.

{Reminder} Missed Lunch procedure:

If a Student presents with no lunch, the Teacher should be notified and a note will be sent to the Canteen.

Some food will be provided to that student and a note will be sent home with the child (that day) to notify the

Parents of the cost of the food supplied. If/when this happens, we kindly request you please return the payment

to the Canteen as soon as possible. If the note is lost (in transit) Lisa will follow up via email to request this

money; because we are a non-profit organization we want to keep our Canteen prices as low as possible for

our families. Thank you.

Canteen Volunteer Vacancies

Thank you all so much for all the help so far… If you can spare an hour (or two) here and there WE NEED

YOU! :) Log into www.school24.net.au to Register yourself if you can help out on any Canteen shifts. We

cannot run it without you! For quick reference, over the next three weeks we would love help on any of of these

days:

Wednesday 20 March 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

Thursday 21 March HARMONY DAY - EVENT MENU

Wednesday 27 March 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

Wednesday 27 March 11.00 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Thursday 28 March 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

Friday 29 March 9.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Wednesday 3 Apr 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

Thursday 4 Apr 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

Thursday 4 Apr 11.00 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Friday 5 Apr 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.

N.B: Please Email Lisa canteen@npspandc.com or text 0414 505 800 to be removed from a shift if you cannot

make it, thank you. Each shift you do enters you into a mini-draw to win a $20 Canteen top-up to your School24

account. :) Also, if you want to comment or offer any suggestions, feel free to contact me anytime.

Bonita Chan

P&C Canteen Co-ordinator

Email: canteencommittee@npspandc.com

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

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Working Bee Update

After a night of substantial rainfall and a not too favourable forecast, it was heart-warming to see so many of our

NPS community turn up to make a difference to the school grounds.

We had 35 families sign in, and a few that turned up but didn’t manage to sign in. With that large turnout, we

got a huge amount of work done.

It was especially great to see the high representation of the Kindy parents. You have been with us the shortest

amount of time but will also be with us the longest so I hope you can feel that we will make the school grounds

a bit better off every time.

Due to the wet weather, the work was limited to general tidying up, but we did this on an industrial scale. We

had softfall completed in the playground within the first hour. The front of the school was all raked twig & leaf

free to help rejuvenate the grass areas. We had convoys of wheelbarrows, trailer loads behind the ride-on, and

two cars with trailer loads all moving the green waste down the green waste skip. Due to the enthusiasm of the

army of workers, the skip was filled by 11a.m. but the debris kept on being delivered until the end of the day.

We would have needed three skips to manage the results of the work.

Paths were swept, the top entrance behind NOOSH cleared out, the hall lost a few cobwebs, drains unblocked,

bins filled, tennis balls found, just about everywhere was weeded and quite a bit of mulch was spread around.

For those around at lunchtime, we put on some sausages to keep the energy levels up.

A super big thank you to the families listed below – and those that did not leave their names- for finding the

time in busy weekends to do volunteer work for our school: Porter, Love, Waters, Goodwin, Boyce, Grzech,

Halcrow, Monardo, Kemmis / Ives, Jorquera, Ramsey, Shepherd, Rule, De Silva, Thorp, Hawatmah, Penrose,

Oh, Alfonso, Lan, Smith, Rankin, Gill, Gay, Ukovoc, Cowan, Yang, Walburn, Wickenden, Wong, Adams,

Ketteridge, Logan. If you missed the attendance sheet please contact the school office with your children’s

details so they can be awarded their house points.

Again, my sincere thanks to all who turned out – you left our school looking much nicer.

There is one Working Bee per term so please keep an eye out for the next one!

If you have any suggestions or comments for grounds improvements please put a note in the P&C box in the

office or get in contact with me. Let’s see what we can do together…

Ian Air

P&C Grounds Coordinator

0439 629 822

Ian.air@munters.com.au

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Be Responsible. Be Respectful. Strive for Success.

Normanhurst Public School Term 1 Calendar - 2019

MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN

WEEK 1

AUSTRALIA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

28 JAN

Staff Development Day

29 JAN

Kindergarten Best Start Years 1-6 commence

30 JAN

Kindergarten Best Start

31 JAN

Kindergarten commences

1 FEB

2 FEB

3 FEB

WEEK 2

4 FEB

5 FEB

Leadership Camp (C & VC)

6 FEB

K-2 Assembly Leadership Camp (C & VC)

7 FEB

Leadership Camp (C & VC)

8 FEB

9 FEB

WEEK 3

P&C Meeting 7.30 p.m.

11 FEB

12 FEB

School Tour 9.15 a.m.

13 Feb

3-6 Assembly

14 FEB

15 FEB

16 FEB

17 FEB

WEEK 4

Brainstorm Production

18 FEB

School Photos Parent Info Evening Life Education

19 FEB

SRE/SEE Commences

20 FEB

K-6 Assembly

21 FEB

22 FEB

23 FEB

24 FEB

WEEK 5

25 FEB

Life Education concludes

26 FEB

27 FEB

School Swimming Carnival K-1 Assembly

28 FEB

1 MAR

2 MAR

Band Workshop 1 – 4 p.m

3 MAR

WEEK 6

4 MAR

5 MAR

6 MAR

3-6 Assembly

7 MAR

Zone Swimming Carnival

8 MAR

9 MAR

10 MAR

WEEK 7

11 MAR

12 MAR

13 MAR

K-6 Assembly Selective High School Test

14 MAR

15 MAR

Working Bee 8am-3pm

16 MAR

17 MAR

WEEK 8

P&C Meeting 7.30 p.m.

18 MAR

19 MAR

School Tour 9.15 a.m.

20 MAR

K-2 Assembly Harmony Day

21 MAR

22 MAR

STATE ELECTION POLLING PLACE

23 MAR

24 MAR

WEEK 9

25 MAR

26 MAR

27 MAR

3-6 Assembly Area Swimming Carnival

28 MAR

29 MAR

30 MAR

31 MAR

WEEK 10

1 APR

2 APR

3 APR

K-6 Assembly

4 APR

5 APR

Bush Dance 3pm-6pm

6 APR

7 APR

WEEK 11

Parent/Teacher Interviews

8 APR

Parent/Teacher Interviews

9 APR

Parent/Teacher Interviews

10 APR

Parent/Teacher Interviews ANZAC Day Assembly State Swimming Carnival

11 APR

Parent/Teacher Interviews Last Day Term 1 School Cross Country State Swimming Carnival

12 APR

13 APR

14 APR