Neutral Bay Public School

THE BAY TIMESTERM 2 WEEK 4 ISSUE 53 20 MAY 2020

175 Ben Boyd Rd, NEUTRAL BAY NSW 2089

UPCOMING EVENTS

PH: 02 9953 1798 E: neutralbay-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au W: https://neutralbay-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/

Excellence, Innovation, Opportunity

TERM DATES

Principal’s News TERM 2Final day for studentsFriday 3 July

TERM 3Monday 20 July (Staff Development Day)

Tuesday 21 July toFriday 25 September

TERM 4Monday 12 October toWednesday 16 December

Thursday 17 and Friday 18 (Staff Development Days)

Managed Return to School This WeekThis week, we are still in Phase 1 of the managed return to school for students. All NSW students have been scheduled to attend school one day per week and learn at home for four days per week. There is additional cleaning during the day at school, and social distancing measures are in place.

At Neutral Bay PS, students have been rostered to attend school one day per week on the following days, based on their surname:

Monday - Students with surnames beginning with A-ETuesday - Students with surnames beginning with F-LeWednesday - Students with surnames beginning with Li-RiThursday - Students with surnames beginning with Ro-ZFriday – Online learning at home

On their rostered day, students should bring in their charged device, if they have borrowed the device from school. Students should also bring their workbooks to school.

Parents are strongly encouraged to continue to support learning from home on the days their child is not scheduled to attend school. Parents who are essential workers and need to send children to school should be aware that their child will be supervised by another teacher in a different learning space.

Thank you to the Neutral Bay Public School Community for showing outstanding support working with us during this unique time.

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The Bay Times

Principal’s News Continued Preliminary Advice to Parents - Phase ThreeWeek beginning Monday 25 May (Term 2 Week 5)I am sure that most parents were pleased to hear the media announcement regarding school resuming full time next week. The Premier’s announcement stated:'The health advice is very clear; a return to full-time face to face teaching is safe.''We expect schools to stick with the health advice - increased cleaning, access to hygiene supplies and compliance with hygiene practices – and look forward to seeing all students back on campus five days a week'.

Community WellbeingWe encourage you to keep us informed of any concerns that you have about your child's wellbeing.

CanteenThe canteen will reopen on Monday, with a limited choice of food available for ordering through Flexischools.

Pick up InformationKindylandThere is a rostered time for student pick up from Kindyland.

3.00pm KC and KJ students3.05pm KR and KL students3.10pm KM and KSV students

Please meet your child at the designated time in Kindyland and leave the grounds when you have picked up your child.

Main CampusThere is a rostered time for student pick up for Years 1 to 6.

3.00pm – Year 1 students from the Meeting Place3.05pm - Years 2 from the grass area – please use the Bydown Street gates3.10pm – Year 3 from under the shade cloth3.15pm - Years 4, 5 and 6 dismissed from classrooms.

For those students who walk home or catch the bus, arrangements should remain the same. Please meet your child at the designated location and leave the school grounds as soon as you have picked them up. We are asking parents not to gather and socialise at this time.

Main Campus

Parents of students in Years 1 to 6 can kiss and drop their children at the gates on Ben Boyd Road or Bydown Streets.

Is it safe for students with significant medical needs to be at school?NSW Health advises that parents of students who may be at increased risk if they contract COVID-19, because they have a specific medical condition, may wish to seek advice from their health care team about any specific risks, discuss these with school and review current health care plans.

Drop off InformationKindylandParents of Kindergarten students can kiss and drop their child at the Kindyland gates on Ben Boyd Road or Bydown Streets. Please do not enter Kindyland in the mornings.

School Devices and WorkbooksPlease return any devices borrowed from the school to your child’s class teacher. Students should bring their workbooks back to school on Monday.

Social DistancingThe following physical distancing measures will remain in place until further notice:• no interschool competitions• no excursions• rostered pick up times• limits on community use of school sites• no assemblies

IllnessAnyone with any symptoms of illness should not attend the school site. This includes students, parents and staff. If any child presents to school with any illness, parents will be called and asked to pick them up.

We encourage you to keep us informed of any concerns you have regarding your child's health. Please inform the school if your child shows symptoms or is tested for COVID-19.

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The Bay TimesStudents with family members who have an underlying health condition should also seek medical advice regarding their child returning to school.

The Department of Education has published further information for parents/carers and this was emailed to families today.

Judy GoodsellPrincipal

School ShoesStudents should wear black shoes to school each day as part of their school uniform, with the exception being on the day they wear their sports uniform.

School Council Parent NominationsThe Neutral Bay Public School Council provides a forum to discuss current school issues, projects and initiatives, determine school priorities, ratify school policies and work with the Principal on financial matters and budgeting. The Council comprises parent, staff representatives and community representatives. There are currently two School Council Parent Member positions to be filled. The term of office for elected members of the School Council is three years.

If you are interested in nominating as a School Council Parent Member, please go to: https://edit.sws.schools.nsw.gov.au/editor.html/content/doe/sws/schools/n/neutralbay-p/www/community/school-council.html

All nominations must be received by Mr Tan no later than 4.00pm on Tuesday 9 June 2020.

Parent/Teacher InterviewsParent/Teacher interviews have been scheduled for Term 3 to give parents the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with their classroom teacher from 3 August to 14 August. All interviews will be conducted by phone. Further information regarding booking an interview will provided soon.

Semester 1 2020 Reporting to ParentsYour child has been assessed during Term 1 in the classroom and throughout the learning from home period, and is receiving additional assessment in class on their return to school.

You will receive your child’s Semester 1 report in digital format (via email) on Friday 24 July 2020.

This will be a simplified version of the report you normally receive.

Second-Hand Uniform ShopThe P&C will continue to service the parent community with the nearly-new (second-hand) uniform sales upon request. Please email us what items you need at nbpsuniformshop@gmail.com and we will try to locate these items for you. Please note down your child’s name and class. We do not stock all nearly-new items, just what is available. Items will be delivered to your child’s class on Thursdays, provided that these items are paid in full. All items are $5 each, except for fleeces and tunics, these are $8 each. Payments are to be made via direct deposits into the following account:

Account Name: NBPS P&C uniform transactionBSB: 032-197Account No: 414 392

Please note, the turn around time for uniform orders will be longer than 1-2 weeks during this restriction time, as we are unable to have parent volunteers. We appreciate your understanding.

CanteenOn Monday 25 May, the canteen will be open for lunch orders. All orders will be made via Flexischool and there will be no over the counter sales. Menu items will be limited to daily specials, chicken breast strips and sushi. There will be no parent volunteers rostered on at this time. All canteen staff will be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) gloves, masks and hand sanitisers for protection. Flexischool will be open and orders can be made from Friday 22 May.

P&C News

Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army in Neutral Bay have called on the support of our community this year.

Amidst all of the hardship in 2020, the Salvation Army have continued to serve and provide support to vulnerable community members.

This year, the Red Shield Appeal is more important than ever. With limitations in their ability to doorknock and fundraise as usual this year, Neutral Bay Salvos have asked us to share their online fundraising campaign.

If you can, please make a donation to Neutral Bay’s Digital Doorknock and help the Salvos to give hope where it’s needed most. For donation, please click here: https://digitaldoorknock.salvationarmy.org.au/t/neutral-bay-salvos

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The Bay Times

Neutral Bay PS Learning HubA range of new weekly Learning Pit challenges for students in Grades 3-6 have been posted on the Learning Pit page of the Neutral Bay PS Learning Hub.

There are two levels of challenge to choose from - one for Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) and one for Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6). Please note that all tasks are OPTIONAL and are open-ended in nature, covering areas such as reading, vocabulary, art, STEM, technology, current affairs and problem-solving. Answers are provided where necessary.

Individual and peer assessment are best for learning challenges involving learning dispositions. These dispositions, such as perseverance, curiosity, concentration and embracing challenges, are best observed during the learning process at home and are not observable from the end product. For this reason, teachers are not required to give feedback on these tasks. Instead, students or family members should use the self-assessment rubric on the Hub to determine how learning dispositions are being used to solve challenges.

We hope that our students and their families find these tasks enjoyable and challenging.

Learning Pit Challenges

Genevieve CarnegieAssistant Principal & Curriculum Leader

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The Bay Times

Virtual Cross Country ChampionshipWe are delighted to announce that we are holding a Virtual Cross Country Championship for all students from Kinder to Year 6, from Monday 18 May to Friday 12 June.

Students are asked to run, walk or jog the distance outlined for their age at home, under the supervision of a family member. This activity should be tracked on an app such as Nike Run Club, which records the distance and time achieved.

• Students turning 5, 6, 7, 8 this year (born 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012) are required to do a 1km run/walk.

• Students turning 9 and 10 (born 2011, 2010) are required to do a 2km run/walk.

• Students turning 11, 12, 13 years (born 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006) are required to do a 3km run/walk.

Participating teachers have volunteered to run these distances and will post their time each week in Seesaw and Google Classroom, for your child to try to beat each week.

We recognise that the terrain and course will vary per child, so the emphasis of this event is on the mental and physical benefits of regular exercise and not on individual places or ribbons. We encourage students to participate on a daily basis.

All students who submit a time via Google Form will get points for their House for each run or walk they complete.

The school will track the total distance covered by members of each Sport House as kilometres across Australia. These results will be announced each week in the school newsletter and Facebook. An Overall Virtual Cross Country Championship will be awarded to the House who can complete the greatest number of kilometres over a four-week period.

Parents and students have been asked to enter by filling in the Virtual Cross Country permission eForm on Skoolbag.

Please find attached information about this event, including how students can submit a time. Importantly, have fun, stay safe and adhere to government guidelines on where and how you can run!Best wishes to all runners and houses.

Community NewsEntries are now open for the 2020 NSTA Championships.

This is a great opportunity for club members, competition, and junior players to be part of NSTA history. Players must reside in the North Shore area or play in an NSTA competition to be eligible to enter.

For more information and a proposed schedule visit h t t p s : / / n s t a . c o m . a u / t o u r n a m e n t s / n s t a -championships/

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The Bay Times

Working from HomeThis is a strange time. I have so much more time than I usually would, and I am enjoying picking up new hobbies along the way. For example, I am starting to play cricket in my hallway with my Dad at recess and lunch (I know, crazy). I am getting better, but he still gets me out right away most of the time. I am also enjoying reading the Philip Pullman series, His Dark Materials. It is interesting and quite complicated. But some things are hard to adapt to. For sport, I am really missing playing football matches and training with my teammates.

It is also hard working from home and not seeing my classmates and my teacher, but I am enjoying instead spending a lot more time with my family. Even though I am over the moon to be spending more time with my family, sometimes I am feeling a little down before school. Although it is hard at school without a teacher there physically, even feeling her online presence and the entire class is enough for me to be in great form by the end of the day.

One of my hobbies I have been able to spend more time on is building LEGO. I started rebuilding old sets, and then I progressed to building and designing my own sets. I have really enjoyed building an assortment of motorbikes, cars and even giant snakes! At first, I was not the best and I couldn’t think of any ideas, but eventually I designed one bike and then I found it easy from there. I have also been able to turn my attention to looking after our garden. I have built a small veggie garden that I am trying to look after. It was really fun to plant the seeds in the small pots and watch them grow! It is now a small garden with some (struggling) plants. While this time is very strange, it was fun to put my new amount of free time to good use.

In Australia, we are really lucky that we are allowed to go outside and exercise every day. In some other countries, people aren’t even allowed a simple walk around the block. I am enjoying being able to go out and run, do core strength sessions and play football every day. I have been doing running and football sessions set by my usual coaches with my family in the park and doing a daily core strength session on Zoom with my Athletics squad. I believe sport has a way of keeping you happy and it can be an antidote for sadness in this isolating time. I am also excited to take part in the virtual cross country, as it is awesome to participate for your house.

I have to say, many things about this pandemic have been enjoyable, but I am still really looking forward to going back to normal. Three major things that have been great about lockdown are: having so much more time to take up new things, spending lots of time with my family, and learning how to work online. Things I am looking forward to are seeing my friends, playing sport with my teammates, and being able to go back to school and learn with my class.

By Eamon C 5N

Student Work

Kindergarten 2021We commenced enrolment for Kindergarten 2021 this term. To be eligible for enrolment at our school, your residential address must be within our local area. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept out-of-area enrolments at this time.

To enrol, please book an enrolment appointment via www.schoolinterviews.com.au. Please note, due to social distancing regulations, all enrolment interviews will be conducted via telephone. Please follow the steps outlined on the school website, prior to your phone interview.

Scan/email completed forms, with all additional documents to the school, at neutralbay-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au. The school will call you at your scheduled time, using the contact number you provided

If you have any questions, please email the school office at neutralbay-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au or call us at 9953 1798.

We look forward to welcoming your child to Neutral Bay Public School next year.