Follow us on

TwiTTer @FairWestPS

The West Express Fairfield West Public School

Palmerston Rd, Fairfield West. 2165 Phone: 9604 5568

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

Thursday 21 March 2019

Week 7 What’s on… Fri 15/3 PSSA

Week 8 Tues 19/3 All High School Expression of Interest forms to be

returned Thurs 21/3 Harmony Day

Fri 22/3 PSSA

Fri 22/3 K-6 Assembly – 11.45 am Stage 3 performing

Week 9 What’s on… Fri 29/3 PSSA

Week 10 What’s on… Wed 3/4 Autism Day

Week 11 What’s on… Thurs 11/4 Easter Hat Parade

Fri 12/4 ANZAC Day assembly – 10.00am

Be Safe

Be Respectful

Be a Good Learner

School Rules Calendar

SKOOLBAG APP Fairfield West Public School now has a Skoolbag App. Newsletters, dates can now be delivered straight to your smart phone. For instructions on how to download the app visit our School Website.

SCHOOL WEBSITE https://fairfieldw-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Dear parents and caregivers, School Assemblies There is a K-6 assembly in the school hall each term hosted by a different stage. A Shooting Star award will be presented to a student from each class who is achieving their personal learning goals and the recipient will be voted for by their peers. A letter inviting parents/caregivers of the recipients of this award will be issued before the assembly. As excellent attendance is highly valued and encouraged, it is a new school initiative for 2019 to acknowledge students with high attendance. Each assembly will include a performance by the nominated stage group. Tomorrow is our first assembly for 2019 and I look forward to years 5 and 6 students performing for us. Assembly will begin at 11.45am.

Update contact details – phone number and address Sick children and children who are being picked up late, become extremely distressed if you cannot be contacted. It is very important that the school has current contact details for all parents/caregivers in times of need. Please ensure that we have all of your current details so that if we need to contact you we can. In order to update your information you can come to the front office, call the school or return the slip attached to the bottom of this newsletter. Vietnamese storytime Last Thursday, 50 excited students and parents attended Vietnamese Story Time in the library after school. Ms Le and Ms Boyd did an outstanding job of reading the Chinese fairy tale ‘Miss Blackpig’s Charm’ in Vietnamese and English. This was a perfect choice, considering that 2019 is the year of the pig. Everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed it! Afterwards, students had the opportunity to work collaboratively with their parent/caregiver to make their very own pig puppet. Four children won amazing lucky door prizes and afternoon tea was delicious. Thank you to all the staff members and parent volunteers for their contribution in making this event such a success. Tell Them From Me student survey I am delighted that 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. 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. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help improve how they do things at school. I want to assure you that the survey is confidential and is only completed by students in years 4-6. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 25 March and 5 April. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents.

News from the Principal – Genelle Goldfinch

Dropping children to school Recently, parents have been given large fines and lost demerit points because they have parked on Palmerston Rd also known as the Cumberland Highway. There are two zones on this strip: the No Parking area which can be used as a 'kiss and drop' zone, and the Bus Zone which is for buses only. Please see the rules below of the two zones both attract fines and potential loss of points: Below is an extract from the Road Rules 2008;

168 No parking sign (1) The driver of a vehicle must not stop on a length of road or in an area to which a no parking sign applies, unless the driver: (a) is dropping off, or picking up, passengers or goods, and (b) does not leave the vehicle unattended, and (c) completes the dropping off, or picking up, of the passengers or goods, and drives on, as soon as possible and, in any case, within the required time after stopping.

From rule 168 it is important to note that 'required time' means 2 minutes. With respect to leaving a vehicle unattended, a driver is allowed to exit the vehicle to assist passengers but must remain within 3 metres of the vehicle at all times. If the driver is more than 3 metres from the vehicle then they commit an offence. An example would be a parent leaving their vehicle to walk a child into the school and then return (basically if there is no one with the vehicle the driver commits the offence).

183 Stopping in a bus zone A driver must not stop in a bus zone unless the driver is driving a public bus.

I hope this clears things up. Please remember that it is extremely dangerous and illegal to double park when picking up your child.

Staff learning Not only do the students spend their days learning, but so do all the staff at FWPS. Over the past two weeks staff members have participated in the following professional learning opportunities:

• Two full days State Council – Principal • One full day Fairfield Primary Principal Association - Principal • Full day vocabulary learning – five teachers • Full day Personal Development, Health and Physical Education – two teachers • Full day Consistent Teacher Judgement on writing– three teachers • Half Day Language, Learning and Literacy for stage 1– four teachers and one Assistant Principal • Half Day Language, Learning and Literacy for early stage 1– one teacher • Full Day Netball Professional Learning – one teacher • Full Day Austswim Professional Learning – one teacher • Half Day Literacy Coaching session- seven teachers, two Instructional Leaders and one Assistant

Principal • Half day Literacy Coaching session- five teachers • Two full days Youth Mental Health First Aid – Principal, four Deputy Principals, three Assistant

Principals and two Instructional Leaders.

All staff professional learning ensures that the highest quality of education is provided to all students at FWPS. I respect and acknowledge Aboriginal People as the traditional owners of the land on which I work,live and visit. Have a great fortnight! Genelle Goldfinch

News from the Principal – Genelle Goldfinch

Take a sneak peak into 5/6M

Student Learning

On Thursdays this term we visit Mr Post, our very own music teacher, to

learn how to play the guitar.

Look who made it into the 2019 FWPS Debating Team! We all attended the NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge workshop where we completed a full day training course to strengthen our debating skills

and run for Prime Minister one day!

We have been able to build some new friendships and make a great start to the

new school year. We have settled into class routines and are already working hard to improve our understanding of new concepts that we need to learn. In

years 5 and 6 we are challenging ourselves to always strive to be better.

We’re also lucky enough to have access to all types of technology including Ozobots, laptops,

iPads, Dot and Dash, and many more. Our minds have been buzzing with STEM challenges and

activities, including our electric circuit love hearts, which were inspired by Valentine’s Day.

5K CLASS REPORT

Student Learning

5K has had an exciting and busy Term 1 so far!

5K students enjoy peer

teaching. We love consolidating our learning by explaining our knowledge of a topic as well as helping others.

5K students enjoy working collaboratively and being active. An active mind is a healthy mind! We are also very excited and busy, practising for the stage 3 assembly item which we will

perform this Friday 22 March.

Halogen Conference Our captains and councillors recently attended a National Young Leaders Day known as the Halogen Conference. Our students had an opportunity to listen to prominent leaders from all walks of life share their experience and wisdom. Tim Diamond spoke about the Cotton On Foundation and how one small idea can grow into something big. Tamsin Janu, author of ‘Figgy in the World’, spoke about following our dreams and learning about the world around us. Cate Campbell, Olympic swimmer, spoke about having goals and turning obstacles into opportunities. Holly Ferling, Melbourne Stars cricketer, discussed embracing the ‘scary but exciting’. Our students displayed exemplary behaviour and are now considering how to turn this inspiration into action.

Student News

Academic Challenge On Thursday 7 March, a team of six students represented our school at Fairfield High School’s inaugural Academic Challenge. The students competed against students from neighbouring schools in the areas of Science and Music. The first challenge had the students designing and making a boat that could carry bananas using a large envelope and sticky tape. The boat that our students designed carried 11 bananas which we thought was great, however the winning boat carried 34 bananas!!! Later in the afternoon the students competed in the music challenge where they had to learn a song on keyboard or ukulele and perform as a team. The students were not the winners for the day but there will be a challenge each term and the points will accumulate. Well done to Justin, Angelina, Christy, Sophie, Selina and Melinda!

Frozen Friday Our year 6 students have started fundraising for their end of year farewell by running Frozen Fridays. Every Friday until the end of term, gelato will be sold outside 5K and near the bottom gates. Each gelato costs $2 and there is a choice of four flavours – bubblegum, vanilla, chocolate and mango. Thank you for supporting our fundraising efforts!

Student News

Zone Swimming Carnival 6 March

On Wednesday 6 March a team of 8 students represented Fairfield West PS at the Horsley Zone Swimming Carnival. These students were Emma Chu, Jake McNamara, Chris Aslani, Mirabelle Naaman, Mai Tran, Jessica Pal, Isabelle Nguyen and Annasophia Huynh. Jake, Annasophia, Isabelle & Jessica finished in the top 10 of some of their events. Details can be found on the school website. While none of the students progressed through to the next level, they tried their best and they should be proud of their efforts.

PSSA Results

Friday 8.3.19

Rd 4 Results

Friday 15.3.19 Rd 5

Results

Friday 22 Rd 6

Fixtures All games are scheduled to begin at

9:30am. Cricket V Fairfield Heights Jnrs- WON 100-70 Snrs- WON 108- 20

Cricket V Cecil Hills Jnrs- WON 72-63 Snrs- WON 81-41

Cricket V Cabramatta West @ Brenan

Softball V Fairfield Heights Boys-Lost 2-3 Girls- Lost 4-9

Softball V Cecil Hills Boys- WON 9-2 Girls- WON 9-1

Softball V Smithfield @ Brenan

T-Ball V Fairfield Heights Boys- WON 14-11 Girls- Lost 7-9

T-Ball V Cecil Hills Boys- Lost 9-11 Girls- WON 18-13

T-Ball V Prairievale @ Brenan

AFL- BYE AFL V Bossley Park Jnrs- Lost 0-28 Snrs- Lost 18-21

AFL V Cecil Hills @ Endeavour

Touch V Fairfield Heights Boys- Losy 3-2 Girls- WON 5-0

Touch V Cecil Hills Boys- WON 6-0 Girls- DREW 2-2

Touch V Cabramatta West @ Endeavour

Newcombe Ball V Prairievale Jnrs- Lost 12-15 8-15 Snrs- WON 15-10 15-3

Newcombe Ball V Smithfield Jnrs- Lost 0-15 8-15 Snrs- WON 15-11 15-6

Newcombe Ball V King Park @ Endeavour

Sporting News

The Smith Family The Smith Family offers financial educational programs for parents/caregivers in 2019. They are currently undergoing a new intake of participants to be matched $500 of savings to put towards educational items such as, laptops, or excursions, etc.

Fairvale HS

Applications are now available for students entering Year 7 in 2020 who would like placement in the Fairvale Gifted and Talented Class. Successful applicants will experience a class taught by staff with qualifications in Gifted and Talented Education, as well as receive a tuition scholarship to the value of $300. Applications are now available from Mrs Mah Chut.

English classes

FREE English classes every Tuesday from 12:30pm to 2:45pm in the Community Cottage. This class will be run by a TAFE teacher and free childcare is provided. Please contact Gisele for more information.

Book Club

Book Club catalogues, were distributed to students last week. Orders and payments must be made online at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP. There is also the option of downloading the LOOP app for mobile devices from the App Store for iPhones or Google Play for smartphones. Orders are due in by Monday 25 March 2019.

Community News

Help Needed for a Community Garden

There is a garden next to the Community Cottage that was used in the past by the gardening club as a vegetable garden. It is the perfect space for a community garden to be established. If you have a love of gardening, please see Ms Funnell or call the office on 9604 5568 to speak to her.

Fairfield West Public School Community Hub 2019 term 1 timetable

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Breakfast club Breakfast club Breakfast club Breakfast club Breakfast club

Sip and Social

Facilitator - Gisele 9:00am

Sewing Class Teacher - Nahrain

9:30am Free Child minding

Walking/Exercise Facilitator - Gisele

9:30am to 10:30am starting 12/2/2019

Playgroup and

story time Facilitator - Kardonia 9:00am

starting 7/2/2019

Walking/Exercise Facilitator - Gisele

9:30am to 10:30am

Teachers Aid

Facilitator – Louise Fortnightly at

9:30am to 2:30pm starting 22/2/2019

Cost: TBA

English

Conversation class

Facilitator- TAFE teacher

12:30pm to 2:45pm

Hub drop in - 11.00am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

FREE Child minding Bookings essential call Gisele: 0478 660 620

Paperless newsletter

In an attempt to be environmentally friendly, we would like to minimise the paper copies made of the school newsletter. If you would prefer to receive your newsletter via the skoolbag app or access it via the website, please complete the form below and return it to the office. If you do not return the form, a paper copy will continue to be sent home with your youngest child for you.

Paperless newsletter request

I would like to access the newsletter via the school website or the skoolbag app. Student name:_____________________________________________ Class:_________________ Signature: ________________________________________________ Date: _________________

Change of Details

Student’s name:______________________________________________________ Class:_____________________________ Mother’s name and contact: _______________________________________________________________________________ Father’s name and contact: _______________________________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Please return to the front office)

Community News