Seven Hills North Public School
NEWSLETTER A quality education in a caring environment
Issue 2 21.02.2019
Term 1—Week 4
DATES FOR DIARY
TERM 1 FEBRUARY 22 Zone Trials Leadership Induction Assembly 26 Meet the Teacher 29 PSSA MARCH 7 Zone Swimming Carnival 8 PSSA 12 Regional Swimming 15 PSSA 18 Longneck Leadership Day 22 PSSA 29 PSSA APRIL 5 PSSA 12 PSSA Grand Parents Day Book Fair Easter Hat Parade Last Day of Term 1
TERM 2 APRIL 29 Staff Development Day 30 Term 2 Begins All
Students Return to School
MAY 3 Winter PSSA Trials 10 Winter PSSA Trials 14 NAPLAN 15 NAPLAN 16 NAPLAN 17 PSSA 23 School Photos 24 PSSA 31 PSSA
From the Principals Desk
Meet the Teacher Afternoon
On Tuesday 26 February we will be holding Meet the Teacher information sessions for parents. At these
sessions, teachers will provide details of class routines, homework, student expectations and general
curriculum information relevant to their class. This year, information sessions will be held in classrooms.
The afternoon will begin at 3.15pm, where parents will move to classrooms and teachers will provide a
brief overview of general school procedures and routines and information specific to their class.
Teachers will be providing two identical information sessions, from 3.15-3.45pm and 3.50-4.20pm,
allowing parents to visit two different classrooms if they have more than one child at school.
Both sessions will run for 30 minutes and will deliver the same information, so parents will only need to
attend one session for each class. Teachers are not available on this night for individual parent
interviews. If you wish to discuss your child in detail, you will need to make an appointment for another
time. Please also be aware, that parents are encouraged not to bring their children with them to the
classroom sessions. If there is no other option and parents need to bring students with them on the
afternoon, students are asked to go to the Library, where a member of staff will provide supervision. We
appreciate your understanding in this matter. We look forward to welcoming you into our classrooms to
meet the wonderful staff who will be supporting your child throughout the year.
Swimming Carnival
Yesterday, staff had the pleasure of taking our school representative competitors to the annual
Swimming Carnival at Blacktown Aquatic Centre. We were very proud of our competitors, who tried their
best in all events! All our students demonstrated positive sportsmanship as they cheered on their peers
throughout the day. The behaviour of our students was exceptional and demonstrates how respectful
friends are at Seven Hills North!
SHNOOSH CARE Ph: 9620 9308
SCHOOL SECURITY
1300880021
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
Year 7 2020 - High School Expression of Interest forms
For those parents who have a child in Year 6, it is time to start
considering your child’s enrolment in Year 7 for 2020. The process
for enrolling starts now. The first step is to complete the
Expression of Interest form in the booklet, Moving into Year 7 in
a NSW government school 2020.
Parents are required to complete the requested information
and ensure this is returned to the school Office no later than 19
March 2019 to ensure we are able to undertake the necessary
processing. It is very important that all Expression of Interest
forms are returned, even if your child will be going to a
non-government or interstate school.
This form should be completed by parents and carers of all
students requesting placement in Year 7 at a NSW government
school next year. It is not an application to enrol at the school.
After this Expression of Interest has been processed, your child
will be offered a place at a government school. The school will
send you an Application to Enrol, which you should complete and
return. If you require an interpreter to assist you, please call the
Telephone Interpreter Service on 131 450 and ask for an
interpreter in your language. This service will be free of charge
to you.
Further information about completing the Expression of Interest
for Placement in Year 7 can be located in the Moving into Year 7
in a NSW government school 2019 booklet. For parents of Year 6
students, we will be holding an information session on completing
the 2019 High School Expression of Interest form. This will be held
in the Library from 4.45pm. Staff will be available to assist you
understand how to complete the High School form. Mr Greg
Johnstone, Principal of Seven Hills High School, will also be in
attendance to answer any questions you may have about our local
high school.
Clean Up Australia Day 2019
Next Friday, 1st March, is our
school Clean Up
Australia Day event. Schools
Clean Up Day is a fun and
engaging way to teach young
Australians about the
responsible disposal of
rubbish, resource recovery and the repercussions of rubbish
dumped irresponsibly in the local environment.
Students will be picking up rubbish in a designated area within the
school grounds under the direction of their class teacher. We will
be providing students with gloves and bags and look forward to
working together to keep our environment beautiful!
Class of the Week
Each fortnight, we will be featuring a Class of the Week from K-2
and 3-6. This is an opportunity for us to highlight the great work
that is being done in our classrooms everyday by our wonderful
teachers and students. The Class of the Week may present a
photo collage, a special activity or event, a description of the
learning that has been happening in their classroom, some
examples of great student work or a combination of all of the
above. Keep an eye out for your child’s class and be sure to talk
to them about all the wonderful things they do here every day!
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Fortnightly Focus
Each fortnight our school will week we have a specific focus area
in teaching our students the schools’ expectations. Over the two
weeks, Positive Behaviour lessons for the focus area are created
and taught school-wide. Teachers use the language from the
Schools PBL matrix to provide clear examples of expected
behaviours and provide opportunities for students to practise the
appropriate behaviour. The fortnightly PBL focus is communicated
to the whole school and community at each morning assembly.
Teachers will also recognise and reward students who are
demonstrating this behaviour across our school setting.
Our PBL focus is…
School Accounts
Our school generously provides workbooks, stationary and
numerous other resources to support your child’s educational
experiences. We do ask that parents contribute to the cost of
schooling by paying a School Account each Semester. This account
also includes your child’s subscription to online learning sites for
English and Mathematics, which are generously subsidised by our
school. School Account statements have been sent home via
email. Payment of these accounts assists our school to purchase
educational resources that support your child’s learning. Your
prompt payment of School Accounts is greatly appreciated. If you
have any questions regarding School Accounts, please phone our
Office on 9624 1275.
Canteen
The school canteen is open on Wednesday and Friday for students
to order their lunch. Orders should be placed in the black mailbox
outside the library, prior to the commencement of the school day.
Please do not send your child to school with large amounts of
money. For health and safety reasons, students are unable to
share food they purchase with friends.
Our school canteen is run by volunteers who generously donate
their time to provide this service to our students. If you have some
spare time and could volunteer to work in the canteen, please
contact our school office.
Be safe
Walk on hard surfaces and stairs
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
Staff Carpark & Driver Safety
Parents are reminded that our carparks are for staff parking and
deliveries only. Parents should not use this area as a drop-off for
their children or as a parking area for their vehicles. Also,
concerns have been raised that some parents are not adhering
to road rules around our school. Please be aware that council
rangers and local police regularly monitor the area around our
school.
School Zone Offences
The NSW government have
recently updated school zone
offences by increasing fines and
demerit points. These changes
will help to create and enforce
a safer road environment in
school zones.
None of the seven offences
attract demerit points when committed elsewhere on the road
but now in a school zone they each come with two points.
The changes are:
1. Stopping in intersection - Under the changes if a driver commits
this offence in a school zone they will receive a penalty of $439
and 2 demerit points.
2. Stop within 20m of intersection (traffic lights) - Under the
changes if a driver commits this offence in a school zone they will
receive a penalty of $439 and 2 demerit points.
3. Stop within 10m of intersection (no traffic lights) - Under the
changes if a driver commits this offence in a school zone they will
receive a penalty of $439 and 2 demerit points.
4. Stop near bicycle crossing lights - Under the changes if a driver
commits this offence in a school zone they will receive a penalty
of $439 and 2 demerit points.
5. Obstruct access to ramp/path/passageway - Under the changes
if a driver commits this offence in a school zone they will receive
a penalty of $330 and 2 demerit points.
6. Not parallel park in the direction of travel - Under the changes
if a driver commits this offence in a school zone they will receive
a $330 fine and 2 demerit points.
7. Parallel park close to dividing line - Under the changes if a
driver commits this offence in a school zone they will receive
a $330 fine and 2 demerit points.
All updated school zone offences can be located through Roads
and Maritime: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/
safety-rules/demerits-school.pdf
Parent visitors to our school
Once our students have entered the classrooms for the day, it is
important that interruptions are kept to a minimum. For this
reason, we ask that you do NOT go directly to your child’s
classroom if you need to pass on items to them. Instead, we ask
that you make you way to our school Office and speak to a staff
member there. Our Administrative staff will pass on any forgotten
lunches, hats or any other items. It is a Work Health and Safety
requirement that all visitors must report to the Office to sign in,
including parents. This ensures that ALL our students and staff are
safe and supports our students to engage in uninterrupted
learning sessions.
Five More Questions to ask your child when they come home
from school…
1. If I called your teacher tonight what would she tell me about
you? 2. How did you help somebody today? 3. How did somebody help you today? 4. Tell me one thing that you learned today? 5. When were you the happiest today?
Reading with your young child
You can support your child in learning to read by reading to your
child for up to half an hour every day using a story book. Here are
some helpful hints.
1. Set the scene
Before you read the story, tell your child the title of the book and
a bit about it. Try to relate it to your child’s own experience, if you
can. If it is about dogs, talk about a dog they know. You can also
discuss what might happen in the story.
2. Read the book
Read the story in a lively way with lots of expression. If you come
across unfamiliar words, stop and tell your child what they mean.
This improves your child’s vocabulary and helps them to under-
stand the whole story. During the week, you might also like to
remind your child of some of the new words from the story book
and relate them to your everyday life.
3. Recalling the story
After reading the book, ask your child questions about the story.
For example, “What happened at the beginning of the story?” or
“What happened at the end of the story?”. If they can’t remem-
ber, tell them. You might also want to try asking different types of
questions that require more then a yes or no answer. For exam-
ple, “Why do you think the little green dragon was so sad?” These
sorts of questions help to develop your child’s language skills.
You don’t need to read a different book for every session; in fact,
rereading the same book several times allows the child to become
familiar with the story and helps them to learn new vocabulary.
Finally, being patient and enthusiastic will make reading together
a much more positive experience for both you and your child.
Have fun!
Renai Diamond
Principal
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
Seven Hills North Public School Newsletter
HIGH SCHOOL OPEN NIGHTS
Please note the following High School Year 7 Open Nights,
further details can be found by contacting each High School
directly, or by visiting their websites:
Crestwood High School – Tuesday 26 February from 5pm
Seven Hills High School – Thursday 28 February from 5.30pm
Muirfield High School – Thursday 1 March from 5pm
Mitchell High School – Tuesday 5 March from 6.30pm
Model Farms High School – Tuesday 5 March from 6.30pm
Blacktown Boys High School – Tuesday 5 March from 4pm
Blacktown Girls High School - TBA
Hills Sports High School – Wednesday 6 March from 3.30pm
Northmead CAPA High School – Tuesday 12 March
Finance News
This year the school will sending out all invoices electronically
through a program called School Bytes. School Bytes will make
things easier for our parents as when you have selected what you want to pay these will be automatically imported into your
online payment and you will only need to enter your credit card
details. It is important that the school has an email address for
ALL families.
If you are experiencing any financial difficulties parents should
contact the front office to make a payment plan.
LIBRARY GOSSIP Thankyou to all students who have already returned their Premier’s Reading Challenge notes. Once again our Book Fair is combined with Grandparent’s Day and the Easter Hat Parade on the last day of Term 1. There will be lots of books and novelty items for sale from Scholastic. Please remember, we receive a percentage from all monies spent, so what is spent then goes back into resources for our school. Have fun reading, Mrs S
Parents are strongly advised to have all articles
of clothing clearly labelled.
Lost property is kept in a bin
outside the office.
Unclaimed, unlabelled clothing is sent to the
Clothing Pool at the end of term.