1

Week 6 Term 2 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

We are now in our second week back from remote learning. Thank you all for the high level of partnership and goodwill

during this time. We appreciate all that you have done to keep your children engaged and motivated to continue their

learning.

Back at School

Please remember the following important points regarding life back at school:

• The Department of Education has provided additional cleaning allocations for all schools as well as supplies to assist us

in maintaining hygiene practices.

• Students should now be at school each day, unless they are unwell or have a medical certificate regarding being

unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition. We are now only providing work for students to

complete at home if they have a medical certificate. Please speak with your classroom teacher if this relates to your

child.

• At this stage we are not able to hold school assemblies, incursions or excursions, inter-school activities or in-school

activities.

• Please send your child to school with a drink bottle each day. Students are currently unable to access the bubblers.

• Only essential visitors should be on school sites. We request that parents and carers minimise visits to the school site

and drop and collect their children from outside the school gates. Please do not walk your child to their classroom or

have contact with any other children in our school whilst on site.

• If you have an enquiry and it can be made via telephone or email, please use this means to communicate rather than

visiting our office. We thank you for your cooperation in promoting the health of all members of our school

community.

2

Ongoing Communication

It has become evident over the last few months how important communication channels are between the school and

home. If you haven’t done so already, can I please encourage you to download the ENews app and subscribe to the

relevant groups? We use ENews as our primary source of communication which means it is very important that you have

access to the app to avoid missing out on any important information. If you need some assistance setting this up, please

contact the school.

Kindergarten 2021

Unfortunately, we were not able to hold our Kindergarten 2021 Information Session last term. We are still hoping to hold

our information session next term. If you have a child commencing school next year, or you are aware of a neighbour or

friend who does, please ensure that we receive a completed Application to Enrol form as soon as possible. Enrolment

numbers will be tight again next year and we would hate for families to miss out. Please contact our office on 67658316 for

further information or to request an enrolment package to be mailed to you.

School Uniform

Students officially move into full winter uniform from next Tuesday. Please help us by ensuring that your child is wearing

the correct uniform to school. If you require assistance with uniforms, please contact Mrs Spinks or myself.

Sports uniforms are worn as follows:

• Early Stage 1 & Stage 1 Tuesdays

• Stage 2 Wednesdays

• Stage 3 Fridays

School Gates and Parking

To support the safety of our students, we are currently installing electronic gates and CCTV cameras as per the

Department’s School Safety and Security protocols. Work on the gates will mean that there are times when each gate will

not be able to be used. The contractors are working with us to make sure this has as minimal impact on students and

families as possible. If by some chance a gate is barricaded at a time when you would normally use it, I do apologise in

advance.

From today, we have reopened the pedestrian gate alongside the canteen. This gate will be open for drop off before school

and pick up at the end of the school day but parents and carers are reminded that this is not an entry point for adults.

Adults are still asked to enter and exit the school grounds through the Bridge Street gate if required.

3

Council has agreed to increase our parking through reclassification of the

school side of William Street. We have contacted council again this week to

check on a timeline for this, but have not as yet heard back. In order to assist

with parking, school staff have also been asked to fill the school car parks

before parking on the streets. I appreciate that parking is limited adjacent to

the school and remind you that the school is not responsible for this. We are

doing our best to address all issues raised, including responding to the initial

complaints that were taken to council and the police by members of our

community.

Virtual P&C Meeting

Our next P&C meeting is scheduled for 5:30 pm on Monday 15 June 2020. As we are currently unable to meet in person, we

are going to meet virtually using Zoom. Everyone is welcome to participate. There are several YouTube clips and articles on

how to download and use Zoom if you are new to this, just Google it!

Once you are set up, please use the following information to join the meeting:

Topic: P & C Meeting

Time: Jun 15, 2020 05:30 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Join Zoom Meeting

https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/63884062426?pwd=ZTFxaTdPKzd2TlIrMTgydmdzNU43QT09

Meeting ID: 638 8406 2426

Password: twpsp&c

Terrie Kay

Principal

4

FROM THE

Deputies

High School Forms—Year 6 students Those families who have not yet returned the Expression of Interest Forms for high school in 2021 please ensure they are handed to Mrs Spinks by Friday 5 June. These forms were due in Term 1, high schools are currently reviewing non—local applications and mailing enrolment forms to families. Sara Spinks Tamworth High School 4C program Year 7 2021 Applications for the Tamworth High School 4C program for Year 7 2021 are due to Mrs Spinks by 17 June. The school is required to write a supporting comment and will then forward all forms to Tamworth High School. Sara Spinks 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. 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 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school. I want to assure you that 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 between 15 June and 19 June. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary. A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey is being sent home with students. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by 12 June. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents. Sara Spinks Opportunity Class placement 2021 The 2021 Year 5 opportunity class placement process was put on hold in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation. We now have a revised and simplified timeline for the OC placement process to ensure that students and families can have certainty about their placement as soon as possible. The changes include: • A new date for online applications. Parents must apply between 9 June 2020 and 26 June 2020. • Late applications cannot be accepted. • A new test date - Wednesday 16 September 2020. • To ensure fair and consistent assessment of students across New South Wales, students will be offered places

based only on their test results this year – there will be no school assessment scores. • There will also be no opportunity for appeals given the tight timeframes. For further detailed information I encourage you to visit (https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5 Mrs Spinks will also be sending home information packs for year 4 families with more detail. Sara Spinks

5

On behalf of all the teachers, I would like to say a very big thank you to all our parents and carers for your support during the time of online learning. It was wonderful to see photos and videos of work that were placed onto Google Classroom, Seesaw and Dojo. Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) Over the next few weeks, teachers will be assessing children from their class using online and classroom-based assessments. The school will be using the Online Progressive Assessment Test package produced by ACER to look at children’s learning. Information from the ACER website can be found at: https://www.acer.org/au/pat After the students have completed the assessment, teachers will be able to analyse data and provide a measure of student achievement. Reports will be analysed to provide overall descriptions of the types of skills mastered and those still to be developed based on test performance. The data collected will be used to inform teaching and learning and to assist in planning effective targeted learning programs. Year 4—Information Reports Year 4 have been busy learning about Information Reports. Students were given information and watched videos about various animals in which they had to make notes in their own words. They had to sort the information under headings such as food they eat, where they live, what they look like. Children got to choose how they would present their reports, digitally or on paper. Below are some examples from 4L students. I think they have done an amazing job!

Jody Welsh Instructional Leader

6

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgement.

Just as we teach kids to eat well and stay fit to keep their bodies healthy, teaching children how to proactively care for their mind is equally important.

Teachers report that mindfulness shows:

• improvements in sleep quality

• improved concentration

• enhanced wellbeing

• enhanced ability to manage and describe emotions

• significant reductions in distress and tension. Students report:

• improvements in their sleep

• reductions in the experience of bullying and classroom disruptions. Students more at-risk of emotional difficulties also report:

• improvements in emotional wellbeing

• reduced psychological distress

• enhanced positive wellbeing

• enhanced ability to manage emotions

• improvements in concentration. The Smiling Mind Education Program has the potential to change lives, build resilience and enhance learning.

Coming to TWPS

Term 3!

7

P&C News I would like to thank the parents and carers who have generously donated to our clothing pool. With the current situation it is the only fundraising the P&C have at present along with the sale of school hats. So a big thank you to one and all. If you are looking for winter uniforms just keep an eye on the West Tamworth Public School Parents and Carers Facebook page as I regularly advertise these there. If you do not use Facebook please contact the school and they will pass on my number. Please abide by the road safety rules as distributed by the school. Especially at pickup time, the school surrounds are very congested. Everyone is in the same predicament so please be safe and park legally and protect the safety of our children. Regards Jacki Galvin

URGENT ! Updated Health Care Plans

We are requesting families to update all asthma, epilepsy, allergy/anaphylaxis and other health plans on a yearly basis. Below are COLOURED health care proformas that are accepted by the Department of Education. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Georgie Wilson or Katrina Masters to discuss your child’s plan.

Georgie Wilson and Karen Wise will be in contact with families over the coming weeks to discuss health care plans.

8

BEST AT WEST: Savannah Ford, Lilly Potter, Airlee Syron, Elijah White, Eva Wrigley, A’Sha Welsh Eva Flick, Sophie Cullen.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK: AlteaFiore Aiassa, Scarlett Coates, Cohen Wilcox, Rosalie-Mae Hutton, Carter Radford, McKagan Rutherford, Joshua Hart-Jones, Mackenzy Goodchild, Tabitha Pritchard, Blayde White, Declan Williams, Lachlan Snape, Abbighael Burkett, Dakoda Ferguson.

CLASS AWARDS KN (Mrs Nuske) Class Award Georgia Gardner Book Work Award Myles Carrigan PBL Award Abigail Jamieson KM (Miss McSwan) Class Award Aabarna Ramalingam Karthika Book Work Award Mirdhula Ravikumar PBL Award Jaycee Mackenzie KC (Miss Cunneen) Class Award Ryder Wise Book Work Award Izaac Williams PBL Award Brooklyn Unger 1M (Miss Massey) Class Award Kailen Dwyer Book Work Award Scarlet Stewart PBL Award Brooklyn Terry 1S (Mrs Spicer) Class Award Evie Glyde Book Work Award Keiane Lingat PBL Award Charlotte Thompson 1/2D (Mrs Dean) Book Work Award Tilly Crelley PBL Award Cameron Roberts 2F (Mrs Fletcher) Class Award Cooper Maudlin Book Work Award Austin Rodd PBL Award Conner Murden 2R (Mrs Rankmore) Class Award Campbell Johnson Book Work Award Isabella McKnight PBL Award Chloe Carey

K3M (Mrs McEnerny) Class Award Riley Webster Blair Hottes Book Work Award Jacob Abra PBL Award Charlie Gardner 3/6S (Mrs Sinclair) Class Award Malikai Bailey Chelsea Cochrane Book Word Award Isabelle Baskerville Vander Mountain PBL Award Phoebe Elton Paiton Nicholls 5/6W (Mr Willis) Class Award Layne Walford Book Work Award Jacob Paterson PBL Award Meah Welsh 5/6M (Mrs Milton) Class Award Zoe Adams Emily Innes Book Work Award Joshua Thompson PBL Award Mason Mackenzie 5/6F (Mrs Flick) Class Award Racquel Ford Book Work Award Holly Marsh PBL Award Lilly Faulkner

HOME READING DIARIES Congratulations to the following students who have completed FIVE diary pages: Lyric Maru, Yenu Adlao, Austin Rodd, Elleanor McKnight, Scarlett Coates. Well done to all those students who continued their Home Reading during Remote Learning. Remember to bring your diary to your classroom teacher, who will then let me know when you reach a major award. Keep reading Jo Sheedy