Relieving Principal: Meleesa Smith Phone: 02 6337 1205 Fax: 02 6337 1394 Email: eglinton-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.eglinton-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Term 3 Week 6 Date: 24th August 2017

“Our School...Your Children...Their Future”

Dear Parents & Carers,

Kindergarten 2018

A reminder that if you have a child eligible for

Kindergarten enrolment in 2018 then now is the

time to register them with us. Transition to school

activities begin next term.

School uniform Parents are asked to please support our uniform policy. Students should only be wearing the official school jumper, the school polar fleece or a plain royal blue jumper. Year Six are of course allowed to wear their Year Six Jumpers and Western Representative apparel is allowed on sports day. Jumpers from soccer, netball and football are not school uniform and students should not wear them at school. Your cooperation in maintaining our high standard is appreciated.

NAPLAN The individual student reports (Years 3 and 5) have been released to schools for distribution to parents and will go home this week. If you have any queries in regards to your child’s results please contact your class teacher for further discussion. Eglinton’s results are very pleasing with significant growth showing. We will be analysing our results to assist with future planning in Literacy and Numeracy for all our students.

Dates to remember

Be sure to keep an eye on the school calendar as there is a lot happening in the last 4 weeks of term.

Meleesa Smith Relieving Principal

Week 6 Friday 25th August PSSA Girls Basketball - Bathurst 10am-2:30pm Kindergarten Excursion to Bathurst Library Assembly: Junior 12:30pm, Senior 1:30pm Week 7 Friday 1st September Western Athletics Kindergarten - Featherdale Wildlife Park Excursion Assembly: Junior 12:30pm, Senior 1:30pm Week 8 Wednesday 6th September Year 6 Field Trip Thursday 7th September Dance Eisteddfod Friday 8th September Assembly: Junior 12:30pm, Senior 1:30pm Week 9 Monday 11th September Band Eisteddfod Tuesday 12th September P&C Meeting 7:00pm in staffroom Thursday 14th September Bike Check Day Friday 15th September NAIDOC Day Assembly: Junior 12:30pm, Senior 1:30pm Week 10 Tuesday 19th September EOOSH Meeting 6:00pm Hall Wednesday 20th September I-Explore Year 5 Stage 1 - 3 Pedal Push Social Friday 22nd September Pedal Push

Steadfastness

Steadfastness is being steady, dependable , sticking with something no matter what.

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at last week’s assembly:

Gold Awards Evelyn Stead, Gus McMahon, Hamish Scott, Billy Osborne, Beau Osborne.

Yellow Awards Adrian Goudge, Tristan Wood, Mica Dunstall, Lacey Williams, Georgia Rennie, Riley Bell, Sammi Morgan, Archie Stafford, Bethany Chapman, Joshua Jackson, Baydon-James Hanckel, Blake McDonald, Lila Williams, Hannah Young, Fergus Taylor, Aliana Dunstall, Swathi Somasekhar, Jacob Baillie.

Principal Awards Kaleb Newham, Shreya Somasekhar, Max Healey,

Jacquie Callen, Ella Taylor, Wilme Maree.

Virtue Awards - Self-discipline Oisin McNamara, Meagan Justin, Jordan Chapman, Lily Kovac.

We ask that parent’s be vigilant and regularly check your children’s hair for the presence of head lice as infestations are particularly common in primary schools.

Please help break the cycle by; checking your children’s hair and treating if

lice are present. There are two main treatment options for lice removal, chemical and mechanical.

tying back and braiding long hair as lice move from one person’s head to another via hair. Further information on treatment options can be found at

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/ headlice/Pages/treatment.aspx

We have lots of vacant spots for helpers in the canteen for the last few weeks of term. I you would love to help out, please feel free to call in or drop into the canteen.

Thank you. Amanda Lewis 0429 951 665

NAME DATE

Amanda & Help Friday 25/08/2017

HELP NEEDED Monday 28/08/2017

Vanessa Tuesday 29/08/2017

HELP NEEDED Wednesday 30/08/2017

Jordan & Help Thursday 31/08/2017

HELP, HELP !! Friday 01/09/2017

Jaiden Muldoon

Last week year six travelled to Canberra and the Snowy Mountains for a three day excursion. This excursion culminated our focus on Australia’s history, culture and heritage as treated in the units of work students have been learning and engaging with this year. Once again the students of Eglinton Public were complimented on their knowledge and understanding of the develop-ment of democracy in Australia and their positive behaviour at the attractions visited. At the War Memorial the students were invited to be part of a solemn ceremony of remembrance at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Members of the public were moved to comment on the outstanding respect shown and public speaking ability of the students. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian government contributes funding of $20 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. This rebate was included in the excursion costs paid by families. A big thank you to our school community who supported this worthwhile educational experience, the staff who worked tirelessly before and during the excursion, Mrs Cluff, Mrs Michael and Mr Thornton and of course to the 68 students who proudly represented our school through the maturity and focus they displayed over the three days. Cal Abbott

We have some extra NEW Polar Fleece Jumpers in stock, not many, all sizes except size 10. Get in quick before they are all gone.

Lost Property is overflowing. Please if you have lost anything have a look as it will be sorted soon. Thank you for all your donations of preloved clothing. Thank you for supporting your own P & C uniform shop.

Reminder: if you cannot get in on a Monday you can always fill in order form at office or on the website. We will put it together for you and leave in office. (Office can only take correct cash for us, no change is given).

We are interested in some feedback for a girl’s Sport Skort. We have a sample of the fabric at the front office and a picture of the Skort (also pictured below) for you to look at. These will be $20.00 but will not be available until early December. If you are interested in having a look and giving me some feedback, please just pop into the office to have a look and fill out the feedback form.

See you Mondays Denise

Eglinton War Memorial Hall and Park Inc Committee AGM followed by General Meeting will be held Thursday 31st August, 2017 at 7pm at the Eglinton War Memorial (across the road from the school). All welcome.

Dealing with Feelings of Anxiety

Everyone experiences anxious feelings at times e.g. Trying something for the first time, exams, meeting new people etc. These worrying feelings normally pass after the event. In some cases, anxious feelings can persist and impair a person’s ability to live their normal life. In such cases, it is best to consult psychiatrists and psychologists because professional guidance is required in order to understand and treat the anxiety. Left untreated, severe anxiety may lead to even greater mental health issues. General Tips From an early age expose your child to the

care of trusted adults – starting with 10 minutes and gradually working up to sessions at pre-school. They need to gradually become accustomed to different people and different locations.

If you are an anxious person, try not to let it show. Children easily pick up when a parent is anxious and may mirror similar feelings.

If your child is anxious about a particular event e.g. starting school, try to gradually in-crease their exposure to the school, the play-ground, the classroom, the teachers etc. Take him/her to school when it is quiet, then in small areas within the school. Transition to school sessions is helpful. Getting your child to the point where they are familiar and com-fortable at school will mean that on day one, you can give him/her a kiss on the head, say ‘have a great day’, turn and GO.

If you are trying to lessen your child’s anxiety, get them used to new challenges in SMALL steps. When they are comfortable, move on to the next small step. Working from their re-stricted comfort zone, gradually introduce each step and expand their comfort zone. Many people use deep, slow breathing, relax-ation and positive self-advice to help cement new behaviours into their comfort zone.

Check ‘beyondblue’ on the internet. They have self-help, free, computer based pro-grams for anxiety in 8 to 12 year olds and for teenagers.

Colin Hogg – School Counsellor

We are seeking Expressions of Interest in our retired school computers from 2006. These computers are all IBM branded ThinkCentres with 2.8GHz – 3.0GHz Pentium 4 CPU’s and 1GB of DDR RAM. These computers were designed to be used with Windows XP and Vista, they are now no longer fast enough to connect to our Server and run Windows 10 successfully (however, this is still possible). They have had LinuxMINT installed on them, which is a modern operating system similar to Windows. It has a fast internet browser to access all student online learning, including Microsoft Office 365, Google’s G-Suite or Youtube, and a full Office suite compatible with Microsoft Office. You can even in-stall games from the online collection. Please send in a note or see Mr Peters in the Library with your expression of interest. There is a limited number of computers, which will be sold on a first in first sold basis.

We have the following items available.

Will your child be starting Kindergarten next year?

Please call into the front office and complete an anticipated enrolment form and pick up your enrolment pack.

Kindergarten orientation will be taking place in October 2017.

If you have any queries please call the office on 6337 1205 and we will be happy to help.

P&C Update

P&C Meeting Report - Held Tues 8th August. The Eglinton Country Fair Committee

and the P&C delivered a cheque for $25,000 to our Principal, Mrs Smith. EPS will use these funds to purchase a bank of laptops and accompanying charging station along with paying for the pedal push traffic control, additional home readers amongst other resources.

An update was given about the land

development to the west of EPS, it appears the development process is currently halted however the P&C will continue to advocate for improvements to benefit EPS.

The P&C decided to subsidise the

purchase of special thermos cups for Early Bus Students for a free milo on chilly mornings - more info to come!

The Garden Club is starting back up!

There will be lunchtime session(s) . Info to come.

We welcomed 3 new members! The meeting was done and dusted at

8:40pm. Next P&C meeting is 12th September.

Thumbs up to the 2017 Eglinton Country Fair Committee;

this years team created a HUGE profit which has now been passed on to the School to use for our children!!!! A great result for all!

P&C Membership Explained…

All parents and the community are welcome to become members of the EPS P&C! Mem-bers are able to have a formal vote in meet-ings are emailed agendas/minutes/additional information.

Here is how the process works:

Contact us with your name and email address via

eglintonpandc@hotmail.com or domplete a membership form at the EPS front office.

Pay a $3 membership fee.

At the end of the next P&C general meeting your membership will be “ratified” or confirmed.

You can then vote!

Membership lasts until the P&C AGM held in April of each year.

Non-members are very welcome to attend meetings and voice their opinion(s).

Hello EPS Horse Riders…… The Eglinton Country Fair in 2018 will have a horse riding display. If you would like to be involved please contact Cassie on 0409071652. Please note, riders must be a member of a riding club for insurance purposes.

As has been a tradition at Eglinton Public School for many years, at the end of this term we hold our annual Pedal Push activities. This year we will hold our Pedal Push on Friday 22nd September 2017.

Now is a great time to start thinking about our children’s bikes and their current condition. In accordance with NSW Road Regulations, ALL bikes must be fitted with

a red rear reflector

a bell and at least one working brake Please check your child’s bike has these important safety items as they will not be able to take part in our Pedal Push without them. It is also essential that your child has a well-fitting bicycle helmet that meets Australian Standards, tyres are inflated and in good condition and chains are well lubricated.

Children (Years 3-6) will be asked to bring their bikes and helmets to school during Week 9 to have their bikes ‘safety checked’ in readiness for the ‘on-road’ ride on the last day of term. Just a reminder that this year, no repairs will be done on bikes on the Bike Check Day on Thursday 14th September 2017, only a roadworthy check performed. If your child’s bike is deemed to not be roadworthy, then your child may miss out on participating in the Pedal Push, so now is the time to have your child’s bike serviced. We’d like to thank Mr Stephen Brydon, from Cog ‘n’ Spoke for generously offering to come and check all the children’s bikes on Bike Check Day. Give him a call on 0402 256 823 to book in a service on your child’s bike if you know there are repairs or maintenance that is required!

If your Year 3 child is only 8 years old on Pedal Push Day, a parent/carer or another adult nominated by their parent/carer will need to accompany their child in the Pedal Push.

Children in Kindergarten - Year 2 will participate in Pedal Push activities within the school grounds on the last day of Term 3; they do not participate in the Bike Check Day.

Our Pedal Push Social for Stages 1-3 will also be held in the last week of term (Wednesday 20th September, more details to follow).

More information and permission notes will be sent home in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing plenty of parent helpers again this year!

Thank you,

Mrs Arnold

Pedal Push Co-Ordinator