Belair Public School Newsletter Take Just Pride 34 Carolyn Street, Adamstown Heights NSW 2289 Phone: 4952 1735 Fax: 4956 2450

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

Term 4 Week 8 November 28th 2017

Principal’s Message ~ Warwick Beard Greetings Everyone, Our school is looking forward to the combined art show and carols evening coming up this week.

The Art Show will be officially opened this Thursday 30th November at 5:30pm in the school hall. It is a fantastic showcase of the creativity and talent of our students. You will be highly impressed by the calibre of artworks. Often these artworks link to other key learning areas so students gain a deeper understanding of subjects.

We ask that you treat our school hall like an art gallery and refrain from bringing any food or drink into the hall. Students from Year 6 will be walking around with boxes for donations. This money will go towards additional creative arts resources for our students and we thank you in advance for your generosity.

There is an article in this Wednesday's Newcastle Star about our fabulous Art Show. We are looking forward to this special event at Belair Public School.

The carols evening is also shaping up to be an outstanding event. We hope this year to hear more singing from our audience. The purpose of the event is to bring our community together for a night of fun and celebration. Whilst some carols will be led by various school groups, we want our neighbours to be serenaded by an 800 voice choir. I would like to thank Rose Hogan and her team of volunteers for the wonderful work they have done in putting the carols evening together. Kind regards, Warwick Beard

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NOVEMBER

Thursday 30th

Art Show 5.30pm

Thursday 30th

Carols Evening 6.30pm–8pm

DECEMBER

Tuesday 5th

Kindergarten (9.30am) Year 1 & 2 (11.30am)

Presentation Assembly

Wednesday 6th

Scripture Assembly 11.30am

Wednesday 6th

Year 6 Mini Fete 1pm–2pm

Thursday 7th

Swimming Carnival Yrs 3–6

Monday 11th

Year 3–6 (9.30am) Presentation

Assembly

Wednesday 13th

Year 6 Farewell 6pm

Wednesday 13th

ES 1 (Kindergarten)

Party Day

Wednesday 13th

Stage 1 (Yrs 1 & 2) Party Day

Thursday 14th

Stages 2 & 3 (Yrs 3,4,5 & 6)

Party Day

Friday 15th

Talent Quest

Friday 15th

Last day of school for students

Deputy Principal’s Message ~ Kathie Colley

I am looking forward to seeing many of our parents and school community at the Art Show and Carols evening this Thursday. The Art Show will be officially opened at 5:30pm with the carols evening commencing at 6:30pm. The carols will be hosted by local celebrity Denise Gold, vocalist, entertainer and comedian. We would like to encourage people to dress up in Christmas theme as there are prizes for best dresses. There will be a large range of food options available on the night, including vegetarian and gluten free. Food Trucks will include: El Poco Loco, The Pizza Guy, Churros, Ice Cream, Snow Cones, Fairy Floss, a coffee van and full onsite BBQ provided by Rotary. Enjoy performances from all stages, the junior and senior choirs, band and even the teachers!!! It is shaping up to be a fantastic evening!!!

We continue to focus on road safety across K–6 classrooms in PPE/HPD lessons. Road safety is a shared responsibility of both the school and parents in educating our students about staying safe when around roads. The Safety Town website has up-to-date information for teachers, parents and students and can be accessed via this link: https://www.safetytown.com.au This week’s feature article from the Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety: Safety around school crossings and 40km/h school zones. Kind regards,

Kathie Colley

Presentation Day and Celebration Concerts for

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2

Families are invited to celebrate a year of learning on

Tuesday 5th December 2017

in the school hall!

• 9.30am–11.00am Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten)

Presentation Day and Celebration Concert

• 11.00am–11.20am Morning Tea

Cakes, coffee, tea and cold drinks

will be available from the canteen to purchase

• 11.30am–1.00pm Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2)

Presentation Day and Celebration Concert

**Students are asked to wear their school uniform on the day**

Help Needed Thursday Morning On Thursday morning from 7.00am we will be setting up the stage for the carols. Instead of heading to the gym, why not come along for an hour to help carry the pontoons into place? The stage is stored in the shed behind the canteen.

Major Costs Early 2018 ~ Year 4 and Year 6 Year 4 – Term 1 Great Ausie Bush Camp- Approximately $270 Year 6 – Term 2 Canberra Excursion – Approximately $330 All Students – Book Packs ranging from $40–$75

Book packs provide a range of materials for student learning across the year. The contents of packs vary from grade to grade. Next year the school will be using “Mathletics”, an online mathematics platform. This platform will be used as a part of classroom instruction and also as an opportunity for students to practice their maths skills at home in a fun, challenging environment. The cost of the subscription is included in the book pack next year. Stages 2 and 3 have decided to move away from using text books in maths instruction.

Possible Uniform Shop Holiday Opening The P&C executive is exploring the possibility of opening the uniform shop on one day during the last week of the school holidays. If you think this is a good idea, please complete the 15 second survey at the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/I1mmAErGIt5bWfYe2

Outstanding Money Still Owing There are still some long overdue accounts which need to be finalised. Invoices have been sent home so if anyone still owes money to the school, would you please pay ASAP. Some parents are still to pay for their child’s Swimming Carnival and Christmas Party Day. Please remember to include permission notes. If your child will not be attending the carnival or party day, please let your child’s class teacher know. We will not be phoning parents for verbal permission.

Year 6 Mini Fete This year’s Year 6 Mini Fete will be held on Wednesday 6 December. Students may come to school out of uniform for this activity. There will be lots of fun activities, food, drinks and guessing competitions for children. Our haunted house will only be open to Year 2–Year 6 students. We will also be having a white elephant stall. If you have any toys, games, bric a brac etc that you no longer require but is still in good condition and would like to donate it to the school, please send items into your child’s classroom from tomorrow. Year 6 students will be collecting items every day from classrooms.

Caution Needed We would like to remind parents that extra caution needs to taken when driving around the local streets at the moment with all the construction happening. A particular mention must go to the changes with the pedestrian crossing at Kotara High. Remember to be observant and always park legally.

Morning Drop off Reminder Just a reminder to parents that there are no teachers on duty until 8.30am in the morning.

Art Show and Carols General Information Thursday 30 November 2017

Art Show 5.30pm–6.30pm and Carols from 6.30pm–8.00pm

Getting There Parking around Westfield may be limited. We encourage all local families to walk to the event where possible to ease parking issues in surrounding streets.

Wet Weather The Art Show will go ahead regardless of wet weather. The Carols may need to be cancelled. If this happens we will send out notifications on Skoolbag and Facebook.

Money There are no EFTPOS facilities, so please bring enough cash ~ change is always helpful! A gold coin donation on entry is appreciated to cover the costs of the evening.

Seating Please bring your own picnic blanket or chairs to relax with family and friends.

Festive Fancy Dress Come dressed in your Christmas gear ~ there will be prizes for the best ‘festive dress!’.

Food and Drink Food and drink stalls will include a coffee cart, BBQ, Pizza, Mexican and ice cream. There will be vegetarian and gluten free options available. A % of profits will go to the School. Alternatively you can bring your own picnic. Water Stations will be available to refill your own water bottles.

Recycling We are aiming for an environmentally friendly event. Please use the bins available to recycle your rubbish. Remember your BYO Coffee Cups and refillable water bottles on the night!

Volunteers Please! We will need some helpers to pack away the heavy stage at the end of the evening ~ please stay to help if you can!

Any questions or Help needed? There will be programs available on the evening. Please see one of the organisers if you have any questions or require specific assistance.

Organisers and Helpers Organisers and Helpers of the Carols event will be wearing Big round “Helper Elf” Badges on the night.

Suggestion Box A suggestions box will be located outside the school hall. This is our first combined Art Show and Carols night and we welcome your feedback!

Swimming Carnival Order of Events 1. House chants 2. All Age 100m 3. Boys 7 Years Age Race 50m 4. Girls 7 Years Age Race 50m 5. Boys 8 Years Age Race 50m 6. Girls 8 Years Age Race 50m 7. Boys 9 Years Age Race 50m 8. Girls 9 Years Age Race 50m 9. Boys 10 Years Age Race 50m 10. Girls 10 Years Age Race 50m 11. Boys 11 Years Age Race 50m 12. Girls 11 Years Age Race 50m 13. Boys 12 Years Age Race 50m 14. Girls 12 Years Age Race 50m 15. 25m Junior (for non-competitors in 50m) 16. 25m Senior (for non-competitors in 50m) 17. Junior Boys Breaststroke 50m 18. Junior Girls Breaststroke 50m 19. Boys 10 Years Breaststroke 50m 20. Girls 10 Years Breaststroke 50m 21. Senior Boys Breaststroke 50m 22. Senior Girls Breaststroke 50m 23. Junior Boys Backstroke 50m 24. Junior Girls Backstroke 50m 25. Boys 10 Years Backstroke 50m 26. Girls 10 Years Backstroke 50m 27. Senior Boys Backstroke 50m 28. Senior Girls Backstroke 50m 29. Junior Boys Butterfly 50m 30. Junior Girls Butterfly 50m 31. Boys 10 Years Butterfly 50m 32. Girls 10 Years Butterfly 50m 33. Senior Boys Butterfly 50m 34. Senior Girls Butterfly 50m 35. Junior Boys Relay 4 x 50m 36. Junior Girls Relay 4 x 50m 37. Senior Boys Relay 4 x 50m 38. Senior Girls Relay 4 x 50m

Junior Jurnos

At last week's assembly the Belair Junior Journos team was presented with a plaque recognising their participation in the NBN News program.

Congratulations to Zoe, Ava, James, Molly, Tom and Marley

on your great promotion of our school.

You can watch the segment on:

http://www.nbnnews.com.au/2017/09/19/junior-journos-belair-primary/

School Environment News Gardens The herb and veg gardens are ready with lovely produce to pick. Please pick before and after school and also use the hose to do some watering while you are there. There is celery, kale, parsley, basil, lettuce and rosemary available. We are still on the search for items to add to the fairy garden. Please send to Mrs Allars or place them directly in the garden next to the canteen.

Thank you to all the families currently sending in their soft plastics from home to recycle. Please place them in any red bucket across the school. Here is a reminder list below of the types of soft plastic that can be recycled. A good way to remember to recycle these plastics is to put them straight into your reusable shopping bag.

• Plastic shopping bags • Bread, rice, pasta, lolly and cereal bags • Biscuit packs (but not the trays) • Frozen food bags • Newspaper wrap • Bubble wrap • Dry cleaning bags • Toilet paper and similar product packaging • Make sure it is dry, clean and no food or crumbs!

Recycling at school Our bucket system is going well and we have reduced the amount of landfill in our bins by at least 75% each day. Please continue to use containers, or recyclable wrappers such as paper, greaseproof or foil to wrap food. We are trying to REDUCE packaging and plastics as much as possible. Thank you for your support this year and we look forward to continuing our recycling and sustainability initiatives in 2018.

Library Stocktake 2017 ~ Important Information As the 2017 school year draws to a close it is a very busy time for the Belair Public School Library. Stocktake is happening in Week 9 this year and therefore the last official day for borrowing books was Friday the 24th November (the end of Week 7). After this date students will return books, but not borrow during their library lessons. Please make sure any and all library books are returned as soon as possible (by Monday 4th December at the latest). Overdue slips will be sent home this week. These slips are simply to advise students of the books that are borrowed out in their name. The intention is for these books to be located and returned. If you cannot locate books (either at home or at school) we ask that you purchase a replacement copy or pay the school to replace the title. I will come around to the classrooms in the next few weeks of school chasing up overdue books and will continue to do this until either all books are returned or the year concludes. SO… what is Stocktake? And why do we do it? Stocktaking is about making the collection accessible and relevant. It ensures that the database reflects the actual collection. Users of the catalogue are quick to point out when the catalogue says an item should be on the shelves and isn't; it is, of course, frustrating when this happens. An accurate stocktake ensures that items are labelled correctly and housed in the appropriate collection, which assists accessibility. Accurate stocktake figures are used to identify areas that have had losses in stock and to assist with identification of strengths and weaknesses in the collection for ongoing collection development. A stocktake also has other benefits. Each resource is handled at least once a year, checked and put aside for mending if required. Touching every resource ensures those 'misplaced' lolly wrappers, chewing gum and other items left between and behind books are found and discarded. Stocktake can also assist with finding those items that haven't been checked-in properly. Thank you for bringing back your resources and assisting me in making this process as pain free as possible.

Student Awards

Weekly Class Awards

KE

Alby A, Timothy N

2C

Oscar M, Charli C, Joshua M

4B

Emily M, Daisha B

KM

Flynn R, Matilda B

2L

Zala J, Chase W

4K

Jaiden A, Bella S

KZ

Aimee L, Lori B

2M

Lillia C, Aden W, Luke C

4/5P

Angela F, Halle M

K/1A

Charlotte F, Kaiden W

3HP

Samara S, Samuel B

5B

Athiana K, Dominic S

1B

Kai B, Thomas M

3M

Damien R, Emelia R

5S

Kiara G, Kaylan V

1M

Harriet S, Liam C

3/4J

Callan P, Jianan S

6C

Sam A, Sarah J

1S

Jasmin T, Grace K

6F

Marley S, Jacinta P

6G

Jasper P, Mia S

Additional Special Awards Junior Dance Archie C Senior Dance Lani W

Canteen Roster and News ~ (Canteen Supervisor Sonja 0438 684 401)

Sick of finding loose change for the canteen bag? Only have a big note?

Children forgetting to put their order in? Turn to flexischools online canteen ordering

to never miss out on a lunch order again!!

29 Nov 17

Wednesday

Robyn S, Ruth W

30 Nov 17

Thursday

Felicity D

1 Dec 17

Friday

Rebecca R, Megan M, Sally H, Mel W

4 Dec 17

Monday

Julie F

5 Dec 17

Tuesday

Elizabeth C

P&C News P&C email: belairpandc@hotmail.com

Playground Maintenance We would like to send a very big thank you to the Scentre Group for spreading our mulch out over our playground for us. They have done a terrific job and would like to share the before and after

photos with our school community.

Community News

In partnership with

BELAIR PUBLIC SCHOOL

The School Rewards Program is a great fundraising opportunity, with

$5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to your

school.

This applies to the whole family across our fantastic range of

school, sports, work and casual shoes.

Ask one of our friendly staff in store for more details!

*Visit www.theathletesfoot.com.au/school-rewards for more details

School Rewards

Kotara (02) 4956 2477

Glendale

(02) 4954 4820

Charlestown (02) 4942 1848

Maitland (02) 4933 1288

GET FITTED BY THE EXPERTS TODAY

$5 DONATED BACK TO YOUR SCHOOL

Every time you buy a pair of shoes.