Dear Parents and Community Members…. Happy Holidays

This is the last newsletter for 2013. It has been

wonderful having the opportunity to work with Staff,

Students, Parents and Community Members in a different

capacity. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Relieving

Principal; however, I very much look forward to 2014

where I will be back to my normal position as Assistant

Principal and teaching on class.

I warmly welcome Sue Coleman to the Principal

position and look forward to working with her next year.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe holiday and

look I forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Sausage Sizzle

We will be having a Sausage Sizzle this Thursday,

December 12th. Money raised will go towards supporting

the Rainbow Room Breakfast Club.

$1 per sausage sandwich

and

$1 for a popper.

Kik messenger

Does your child use Kik? Police have described it

as ''the No.1 social media problem involving teenagers'',

but most parents would barely have heard of messaging

app Kik before last week.

Find out what it is: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/

t e c h n o l o g y / t e c h n o l o g y - a z / - /

technology_glossary/7w0F/5353/Kik+messenger

SHPMPS Girraween Excursion

A group of students from Yr’s 2, 3 & 4,

participated in an excursion to the Girraween National

Park last Wednesday. The students have been learning

about Wet and Dry Environments and State and National

Parks in Human Society and its Environment (HSIE) this

semester. The students were accompanied by their

classroom teachers, support staff and 14 volunteer

parents.

The students participated in four different

activities whilst out at the park. One activity was working

with Mr Mark Thomas (Landcare), who taught the students

about biodiversity in our water ways. The students were

able to take samples of water as well as collect creatures

in order to take a closer look at. These were released back

into the water. The most unique item caught was a small

fresh water jelly fish, about the size of a green pea.

The students also attempted an orienteering

exercise where they were given a map of a marked area.

The students had to work with a partner to find nine tags

which had a coordinate labelled on them. These coordinates

then had to be found in an atlas which led to a country or

island name. The first group to have all nine countries

found correctly won.

The third activity involved designing a landscape

artwork of the national park with the Pyramid rock in the

background. The students used water colours to show depth

and texture. The students produced some amazing

artworks.

The final activity was a bushwalk with Jo, the Park

Ranger. Jo taught the students about the history of the

park, flora and fauna, and primarily about wind and water

erosion and the effects this has on the granite rocks.

The students had an amazing time on the excursion

to this outdoor classroom. The excursion would not have

been as successful without the support of our parent

helpers, Mr Thomas and Jo. The students and teachers

sincerely appreciate your efforts.

The students then participated in a trivia show on

Monday as a revision exercise where ten groups put their

knowledge and skills to the test to answer questions and

attempt hands-on games to gain points. The students

demonstrated a clear knowledge of what they had learnt

from the excursion and the teachers hope that the

students take their families out to the National Parks,

especially Girraween, and pass on this knowledge to their

brothers, sisters, mums and dads.

Infants Club Raffle

Thank you to those people who have already

returned tickets and made donations for the raffle. We

are going to have some great prizes including an Angel

Grinder valued at $120 which has been kindly donated by

Tom and Denise Herbert from Toowoomba Fasteners and a

gift voucher from Yancee and Lisa O’Brien at Tenterfield

Homemakers. There will be multiple prizes with winners

being able to choose their own prize.

Please return all tickets and donations by Thursday,

December 12th .Winners will be announced after

Presentation Day.

Infants Social

Next Tuesday, December 17th, will be the Infants

Christmas Social. This social will be held during the day at

school. Children can come out of uniform and the theme is

Christmas. Please make sure that clothing is sunsafe and

suitable for dancing and playing.

The Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School

Attachments

*Christmas Safety Tips

Website: www.sirhparkes-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Email: sirhparkes-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Facebook: The Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School

Phone: 6736 1401 Canteen: 6736 1732

Assemblies

*Presentation Day, Thursday, Dec. 12th 10am

Term 4, Week 10, 2013

Crunch and Sip

‘Tis the season to put on a few kilos while

eating lots of sugary treats, but why not try some

healthy, tasty options instead.

For example:

Swap the crackers for carrot and cucumber

sticks to dip into low fat dips;

Try having a fruit platter for nibbles or make

fruit or vegetable kebabs;

Have lots of salads (avoid dressing or choose a

low fat dressing such as a vinaigrette).

Desert – try having fruit salad or freeze some of

your favourite fruit.

Drinks – try a punch with soft drink with no

sugar or have freshly squeezed juice or try a fruit

smoothie.

If eating turkey, duck or chicken avoid the skin.

Christmas is a great time to spend with your

children teaching them some basic cooking

techniques and having them help you prepare meals.

Visit https://healthy-kids.com.au/category/58/

d i n n e r - r e c i p e s o r h t t p : / /

www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/recipes.aspx or http://

www.heartfoundation .org.au/recipes/Pages/

default.aspx for some tasty, affordable, simple,

family friendly recipes. You can have the sugary

foods, just remember they are “treats” or

“sometimes foods” (eg. once a week) and be careful

of your portion size (you don’t have to eat the whole

chocolate bar or box of chocolates or packet of

chips in one sitting/day).

Health Message Christmas holidays - a brilliant time to come

together as a family and be active, while exploring

the outdoors. Some ideas include:

Walking around the streets as a family to see

the Christmas lights

Bush walking

Bike riding

Swimming

Play in the park (kick a ball around, play on the

equipment, throw a Frisbee)

Going for a walk

Walking pets

Play backyard cricket or other

games

HOLIDAY SAFETY TIPS

Slip, slop, slap, wrap and seek shade between

10am-2pm

Wear helmets when riding bikes, scooters,

skateboards, horses

“Click, clack, front and back” - Wear seatbelts

Be road safe – look, listen, follow the rules/laws,

wear bright clothes

Take care around strangers

Let parents know when and where you are going and

returning AND obey your parents

Drink lots of water

Eat lots of fruit, vegetables and grains

Be cyber safe and smart (internet, phones)

Hunt safely/use equipment wisely.

Summer Reading Challenge Scholastic is holding a Summer Reading Challenge in

which children are being encouraged to read and log their

reading minutes. The reading minutes are recorded for our

school and our country as the Challenge is also between

Australia and New Zealand. Students just have to lodge their

summer reading minutes at: www.scholastic.com.au/summer

to win some great prizes for themselves and the school.

Reading for at least 10 minutes a day during the

school holidays sets your child up for a great start in the

new school year, keeps their mind active during the break

and develops overall reading skills and a love of reading.

Boy’s Shed Circus Performance

Last Thursday, the students in Boy’s Shed presented

their circus performance to the school. All term, the boys

have been learning and practising a variety of circus skills.

Carolyn Hall taught the boys how to spin plates,

juggle, use the diablo, throw rings and even ride a very mini

bike! It was great to see the boys display their new skills

with such confidence and persistence.

Miss Coats would like to congratulate all of the

students in Boy’s Shed for displaying positive attitudes and

behaviour all year. Well done to Thomas Newman, Anthony

Luxford, Andrew Townsend, Shaun Brodie, Jordan Petrie,

Alex Butler, Mathew Carpenter, Talen Kelly, Nikkea Graham

and Cory Harding. Also a big thank you to Carolyn Hall for

sharing her circus skills with our students.

Home Reading

The last day of home reading is today so can all books

(read or unread) please be returned to the class teachers so

that we can do a stocktake of our books. Any lost books

need to be paid for at a cost of $8.

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD Santa Photos

Visit Taylor’s Sweets and Treats and have your child’s photo

taken with Santa on

December 11th,12th,13th and 18th

between 3.30pm to 5pm

and on the 19th, 20th between 2.00pm-3.30pm

and the 21st between 10.00pm-12.00pm

Out of this world Pool Party

Pool Party December 20th .

5:30pm-9:00pm.

At The Tenterfield Pool.

$3.00 each. Accompanying adult free.

Prices for best dressed

and there will be the large inflatable.

2014 show dates

The Tenterfield show dates for 2014 are

Friday, February 7th & Saturday, February 8th.

MTH WK MON TUES WED THUR FRI S / S

DEC 10 9 10 11 * Reports sent home.

.

12 * Presentation Day assembly 10.00am

* Infants raffle drawn

13 * Sausage sizzle

14/15

DEC 11 16 * Rewards Day

17 * K/2 Social

18 * LAST DAY for

students

19 * Staff Development Day

20 * Staff Development Day

21/22

CANTEEN ROSTER

Wed 11th Kim Cox, Help needed please

Thur 12th Help needed please

Fri 13th Jayne Harvey

Mon 16th Help needed please

Tue 17th Sue Clarke

Wed 18th Kim Cox, Help needed please

MEAL DEAL THIS WEEK-”Lets Party”

Our last meal deal for 2013. Treat yourself to a delicious fresh sandwich (ham & cheese or egg & lettuce) your choice with a popper and a mug of green and red jelly topped with a scoop of ice

cream and a chocolate treat $5.00

Other choices: 6 chicken nuggets $2.20

UP COMING DATES

*Reports Home - December 11th

*Presentation Day - December 12th

* Sausage Sizzle - December 12th

*Rewards Day - December 16th

*K/2 Social - December 17th

*LAST DAY FOR STUDENTS - December 18th

PB ASSEMBLY TERM 4

Infants: Elly Petrie, Lani Pedersen, Kirstie Cowin,

Georgia Hollis, Jed McCowen

Primary: Anika Rossington, Hayley Carpenter, Kori

Eaton, Nicole Cowin, Georgie Keep, Liana Meneguzzi

GOLD PENNANTS

Infants: Olivia Bates, Jordan Duroux, Taylor

Morris-Airs, Monifah Brown, Nessa Butler, Sarah

Harvey, Amelia Wishart, Rosie Cross, Adam Thomas,

Jed McCowen

Primary: Rachel Cowin, Bonnie Zappa, Fletcher Koch,

Michael Cutmore, Katie Eaton, Will Holley, Renee

Jenkins Zephyr Horan, Grace Butler, Bayley Daniels,

Jemma Sutcliffe, Liana Meneguzzi, Nicole Cowin,

Declynd Morris

Thanks from Vicki

Thankyou to all the parents, students and staff for your hard work and support during the year. Enjoy the holidays and I look forward to working with you

all in 2014.

Planning for 2014

We are currently looking at enrolments for next

year and possible class structures. If there are going to

be any changes to your child/children’s enrolments please

contact the school as soon as possible. If you are going to

enrol a child or know someone who is, please contact the

school as soon as possible

2014 School Swimming Carnival

The school’s annual swimming will be held on

Thursday, February 6th. 2014 – plenty of time to train.

Library Books

All Library books are to be back by the end of

this week.