PACIFIC PALMS PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER · All competitors showed ... It was lovely to hear the beautiful poems written by some of the children and the lovely words from staff members

PACIFIC PALMS PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

14 December 2016

“Quality learning in a safe and happy community”

www.pacificpal‐p.schools.nsw.edu.au

EXCELLENCE - RESPECT - RESPONSIBILITY ISSUE 12 | TERM 4 | WEEK 10

RESPECT IS THE KEY WWW.PACIFICPAL-P.SCHOOLS.NSW.EDU.AU 1

UP AND COMING EVENTS The following events are happening over the coming weeks:

UP AND COMING EVENTS CALENDER Thur, 15 December Family Picnic 1.30pm followed by our Colour Course at 2pm. Fri, 16 December

Last day for students. Talent Quest Grand Finale @ 9.15 am in the hall. Year 6 march out @ 2.15 pm in the COLA - parents invited. MUFTI DAY!! please remember sun protective clothing, covered shoes

Mon, 30 January

Yr1 – Yr6 students return

Frid, 3 February

First day kindergarten (staggered start)

Tues, 7 February

Swimming Carnival

OUR STUDENTS EXCEL

Hunter PSSA Awards Ceremony On Wednesday 14 December, Lewis Koller attended the Hunter PSSA Ceremony in Newcastle to receive an award for recognition of outstanding sporting achievement, commitment and sportsmanship for athletics, cross country and touch football in 2016. Lewis is the first recipient from Pacific Palms to receive this prestigious award. Well done Lewis what a fabulous achievement we are so proud of you and we look forward to following your future success during your high school years.


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SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

Buddy Reading Throughout the year, Ms Punton and Ms Dorfling worked together with 3/4P and selected Year 1 students on a Buddy Reading Program two afternoons a week. 3/4P students displayed wonderful leadership qualities and allowed their Year 1 buddies to feel success and pride in their reading, while having a lot of fun in the process!

K-2 Concert – The Gingerbread Man Thank you to the families and friends who joined us at our performance of the Gingerbread Man. A big thank you to Mrs Tuft, Mrs Masters and the K-2 teachers for their hard work. Well done students!


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SCHOOL HAPPENINGS Cont. Bandana Day Thank you for your generosity with helping to raise funds for CANTEEN. Canteen is an organisation that helps support young people and their families who are living with cancer. Together we raised $1129.65, what an amazing effort! A big thank you to Miss Punton and her team for organising such a worthwhile event. Well done.

Yr 6 Graduation

On Wednesday 7 December our Year 6 students, joined by their parents and staff, celebrated their time at Pacific Palms and attended their Graduation dinner. Thank you to Mrs Wood and Mr Jackson for a wonderful send off, it was really appreciated by the students and their parents. A special thank you to the Year 6 students, it has been a pleasure, we wish you the best of luck in high school, you will be missed.


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SCHOOL HAPPENINGS Cont. Super Sleuth Competition On Thursday 8 December Mrs Perkins and 12 students from Year 5 and Year 6 attended Great Lakes Senior College Campus to participate in a Super Sleuth Maths Challenge. The Super Sleuth Maths Challenge comprises over 100 students from seven primary schools in our area. Teams of four students are challenged throughout the day with a variety of fun and interesting problem solving situations. Our teams performed really well on the day and finished 2nd place. Well done!!

High School Orientation Year 6 students enjoyed an orientation day at Great Lakes Forster Campus. The students were placed in groups and experienced a day in the life of a high school student with timetabled lessons from a variety of faculties. This process is an excellent way to prepare the students for the world of many rooms a day, in many different places. We are very proud of our Year 6 students and wish them all the best for their future endeavours.


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SCHOOL HAPPENINGS Cont. Handball Competition Last week each class in the school played girls and boys doubles handball to advance to the semi-final which was played on Monday. We had an impressive 52 students in the semi-finals

playing in a boys and girls division. We then had 16 boys and girls teams competing in the finals. We also witnessed a fierce battle between the teachers. All competitors showed amazing sportsmanship and fantastic handball skills. Massive congratulations to all of the children that played but also to the amazing audience on the day. Well done!

Choir sings at VIEW Church Service Once every seven years the Pacific Palms Evening VIEW Club hosts a church service in the

area. This year, on 10th December at 10:00am they conducted this at the beautiful Green Cathedral and invited our school choir led by Mrs Amanda Godfree and Mrs Linda Davis to sing. Twenty students delighted the ladies with their lovely singing, actions, smiles and enthusiasm. They sang ‘Let it Play’ and ‘Junkanoo’ for the audience. The parents of the students also enjoyed an opportunity to see their children sing.


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SCHOOL HAPPENINGS Cont. Junior Disco K-2 students had a fabulous time dancing to the tunes of DJ MZM, lots of prizes were won and a special guest appearance from the ‘man in the big red suit’ was a big hit with all of the children. Carrot Car Race On Tuesday we held our Carrot Car Challenge, what a fantastic response, we had great participation and saw some awesome creations. The challenge had three categories with

Jasper Jones breaking all records reaching a whopping 10.4 metres and taking out the stage 2 section. Noah Matheson conquered the stage 3 section with awesome racing and Jembe now holds the title for having the most creative carrot car.


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INFORMATION FOR OUR PARENTS Talent Quest – Last day of Term 4

We are excited to announce our annual Talent Quest will be held again this year on the last day of Term 4. The Talent Quest Finale will be held on our last school day - Friday, 16 December at 9.15 am. Parents are invited to come along and watch our talented students. Don’t miss our special guest judges.

Final message from Kerry Tulloch

Dear Parents,

Last week I had a very special time at my farewell assembly with your children. It was lovely to hear the beautiful poems written by some of the children and the lovely words from staff members.

When I spoke I commented that I felt sad/happy at the same time and it is certainly a time of very mixed feelings to be finally saying goodbye after all these years. I know our school is held in high regard locally but also in the wider area and as a staff we often talk about why that is so. It is certainly not one or even just a few people. I believe it is about the culture that has grown over many years which has developed from the contribution of many, many different people. Parents, community members, staff members and our beautiful students have all had a part to play.

I have experienced so many connections with parents and community members who have always been focused on making our school the best it can be-the amazing tutoring program with so many volunteers, the morning teas that just seem to appear at special assemblies, the bbq


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that is always manned, book fair, the art festival, raffles at the Recky, costumes, the band, the many different P and C teams who have each brought something different to the school-it has truly been a pleasure to work with so many of you over the years.

Staff members-I have great admiration for the way they go beyond what is expected every day. I could write a very long list of all the additional things they take on to make this the best place for your children to be. Overwhelmingly though it comes down to wellbeing and the fact that every staff member in our school is focused on ensuring that every child feels cared for and cared about. I’m sure, above all that is what we all want for our children.

I feel very grateful and fortunate to have had some different leadership opportunities over the past few years but I also acknowledge that this may have seemed inconsistent for you at times. Having said that it is very clear to me that the school has continued to grow and thrive during this time.

So I am sad to be closing this door after so many years as our school

has been a part of me for a very long time. But I am also happy-leadership is very much about enabling others to make their mark and I am so happy to see others continuing to take the school forward.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas.


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P & C NEWS

Thank you to our wonderful 2016 P&C Committee and 2016 Canteen Committee for all their hard work throughout the year and to everyone else who volunteered and helped out to make our school a better place. Many hands make light work and this is where Pacific Palms Public School all pull together and clearly demonstrate true community spirit. We look forward to a fun and productive year ahead and welcome all ideas and suggestions. We, as your P&C, are excited and motivated to assist the children and our school in any way we can. Bring on 2017!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

On Monday we held our Celebration of Success Assembly. This was an opportunity for our school community to congratulate students on their wonderful achievements throughout the year. Thank you to the parents, carers, family, friends and special guests who attended and made the night special. 2017 Classes Based on the information that we have to date regarding continuing enrolments and new enrolments, we have begun the process of allocating students to class groups for 2017. This is a lengthy process and takes considerable time to ensure that students are placed in the most appropriate class grouping. As per 2016, we anticipate that there will be a number of composite classes and anticipate 13 classes. Staffing

Mr Mark Jackson has worked at our school for the past 2 years. In that time he has worked as a class teacher in Stage 3. He has been a huge contributor to our school sport, coaching the boys soccer and many other sporting teams. Mr J is well known for his

contribution to school life, school community and helping out any time it is needed. His role as ‘Elvis’ in the school musical will long be remembered and his portrayal of the ‘Texan BBQ King’ as a judge at the talent quest was hilarious. I know we will miss him and wish him the very best.


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Mrs Virginia Healey has finished working in her role as CLO (Community Liaison Officer). She has been an integral part of our school community and has ensured that home-school communication is a priority. Thankfully Virginia will continue to work in our school as learning support officer – good news for us! Thank you. I am very pleased to announce that Mrs Sue Cunich has been appointed as a temporary teacher for 2017. She joins us from Cootamundra Public School. She will take up her appointment at the beginning of 2017. I am sure you will join with me in welcoming her to our school. Ex-Students success Congratulations to ex-student Sam Furney who will be the School Captain in 2017 at Hunter Performing Arts School. Well done to ex-Palms students Joey Taylor and Eryn Gabrielle who have been elected to the 2017 Leadership Team at Great Lakes College Forster Campus (Year 10). We are very proud of them and know they will do a great job. After holding a competition for students to design a CARE logo for the school back in Term 2, Kia Valli Designs have been working on a final version for us. It looks great, you will see it around the school next year. As you are all aware students finish school on Friday 16th December. Normally staff would attend school on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th December for staff development days, however, staff has already completed professional learning sessions after school, throughout the year. Therefore there will be no staff at school on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th December. As another year draws to an end and how fast has it gone? I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I hope you have a restful break. Safe travels everyone! Mel Merchant Principal (Rel)

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PACIFIC PALMS PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER · All competitors showed ... It was lovely to hear the beautiful poems written by some of the children and the lovely words from staff members