Principal’s Report:

Dear Parent and Carers,

It has been a busy start to the year with our swimming carnival, district carnival and PSSA commencing. Students are engaged in quality learning linked to comprehension strategies, persuasive writing and developing the foundations in number. COVID-19

We are living in challenging times and a very changing landscape. Please ensure you have the Dojo app and access it regularly as I will keep you updated with information as it comes to hand. It is learning as usual in our school. At this point, we have not had any COVID-19 cases reported to the school. If you have a family member test positive or come in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 please contact the school immediately. For the most up-to-date information from the Department of Education in regards to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) please visit https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety/novel-coronavirus

We are practicing and reinforcing good hygiene; 1. wash hands regularly and thoroughly, 2. Sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and then wash hands, and, 3. Stay home if you are unwell, that is staff and students. Enhanced cleaning will take place in all schools from the 18 March 2020.

The Department of Education has put "Social Distancing" in place. For us this means no whole school gatherings or assemblies, including the Thursday assembly. At the moment, excursions and inter school sporting events have also been cancelled, including PSSA. A full list of cancellations can be found on Dojo.

I am also happy to speak with you if you would like to make contact with the school. School is the best place for your child and to support their learning development. If your child is away please let your child's teacher know or the office. If your child is to be away for an extended period of time, you will need to meet with me and also provide a Doctor’s Certificate. We are putting these measures in place to protect our elderly and those in our community with pre-existing health conditions, we want everyone to be well and healthy. Student Use of Digital Devices and Online Services

The Department of Education has implemented a new policy, Student Use of Digital Devices and Online Services. We have used this policy to create our own procedures which can be found on the school website in the tab About Our School – School Procedures and Policies or you can contact the school and we can give you a copy. Our school acknowledges the educational value of digital devices and online services in supporting and enhancing educational outcomes and student wellbeing. We also recognise they may cause harm if used inappropriately and that we need to support our students to use them in safe, responsible and respectful ways. All student digital devices on school grounds or when in the care of school staff such as on an excursion, are only to be used for an educational purpose. Exemptions include, where the use of digital devices and online services are required for medical reasons or for reasonable adjustments made as part of a student’s individual education plan. This aligns with the Department of Education’s Policy and expectations around student use of digital devices. Please contact me if you require further details.

Term 1 Week 8

Gold! Gold! Gold!

Congratulations to the

following students who

have qualified for Gold

and will be awarded their

certificates at a Gold

Assembly in Term 2

Kindergarten to Year 2

Sidney V

Kyus T

Vivienne C

Year 3 to 6

Angel G

Talissa P

Tanya N

Marwan H

Zoe S

Hazem Z

Saraya N

Ryan T

Amina S

Dates to Remember

9 April

Last day of Term 1

28 April

Students return Term 2

29th April

You Can Do It!

Workshop

(subject to change)

Padstow North

Public School “A Quality Education in a Caring Environment”

You Can Do It!

Next term, I am very excited to announce that we will be implementing a K-6 social and emotional learning (SEL) program called You Can Do It! This will go ahead regardless of current health situation. Research has proven there are many benefits in supporting student social and emotional learning through an education setting, these include: better academic outcomes, better mental health, a more pro-social responsible lifestyle, increased ability to self-regulate, enhanced motivation, higher educational aspirations and happier long term individuals.

Social and emotional learning at Padstow North will become a whole school initiative, helping our students to develop the fundamental skills for life effectiveness. This program is fundamental not only to children’s social and emotional development, but also to their health, citizenship, motivation to achieve and academic learning. SEL teaches the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships and our work effectively and ethically. These skills include:

Recognising and managing emotions

Developing care and concern for others

Establishing positive relationships

Making responsible decisions

Handling challenging situations constructively and ethically

These are the skills that allow students to calm themselves when angry, make friends, resolve conflicts respectfully and make ethical and safe choices.

Starting day one of term two, we will be launching the social and emotional learning program, You Can Do It! Staff will receive all day training on this program during our term two staff development day. On the 28 th and 29th of April we will have a guest presenter launching You Can Do It, with each class participating in special workshops. The workshops will focus on the keys to success, which are about developing the skills over the long term to be a happy, confident individuals who can peacefully resolve conflicts and maintain friendships. We will build upon these concepts each year as the students’ progress through the grades, teaching weekly lessons.

Below are the keys to success which will be embedded into our everyday school life.

Anti-Racism Education

Padstow North Public School promotes and celebrates the cultural diversity within our school community. Students and staff participate in a range of activities and events throughout the year to align with this, e.g. Harmony Day, Multicultural Day and NAIDOC Week. Tolerance and respect for others are taught explicitly and are embedded in our core values

Our school does not tolerate any kind of racist behaviour for both students, staff and parents alike. In line with the Department of Education policy, we have nominated two Anti-Racism Contact Officers (ARCO) - Mrs Chegwidden and Miss Sciacca. Their role is to assist parents, staff and students who have complaints regarding racism. If any member of our school community has a complaint, Mrs Chegwidden or Miss Sciacca will facilitate the complaints handling process.

Save the date!! You are invited to be part of the You Can Do It Program (subject to change)

The best way we can support our students to be happy, resilient individuals is through the school and community working together. That is, using the same language and strategies to support our young people to be successful today and in the future. On Wednesday the 29th April between 2-3:30pm we will be running a You Can Do It workshop for families. We will have a special guest presenter, Tammy-Anne from You Can Do It, running the workshop.

Thank you for taking the time to read the Padstow North Newsletter, we are very excited to report what our students have been doing. For day to day updates and reminders please use the Dojo app. I look forward to seeing you at the You Can Do It Community Workshop on April the 29th. Warmest Regards, Genevieve Dennis Principal

Coronavirus (COVID -19) Information for parents and carers to support children and young people

How you can support your child It is perfectly normal for children to have questions about events that are covered in the media, such as the information currently being distributed about COVID-19. Children look to the significant adults in their lives for guidance on how to manage their reactions and you can help your child by remaining calm and reassuring them.

There is a common misunderstanding that talking with your child about a topic such as COVID-19 may increase their anxiety. This is not the case. It is important to listen to your child and answer their questions as honestly as possible and correct any misunderstandings. This will help them feel informed and understand what is happening.

Keeping up to date with the facts from reliable sources will help keep conversations calm, considered, and constructive. Provide information in words that are appropriate to the age of your child.

Children can be distressed by hearing repeated stories so monitor how much your child is being exposed to television and social media and encourage them to talk to you about what they are seeing and hearing.

Some practical advice Some practical advice for your child includes reminding them to cover their nose and mouth when they cough or sneeze (coughing into their elbow is a useful strategy), keep their hands clean by washing them regularly with soap and water, and avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth before washing their hands. These are easy habits for children to adopt, and should help them feel as though they're able to exert some control over their circumstances.

If your child must stay at home, it is important for your child to maintain a healthy lifestyle including proper diet, sleep, and social contact at home and by email and phone with family and friends

Communication is important read the department’s response to COVID-19 for current information

read any information sent home by the school.

contact the school if your child becomes unwell.

Where to get help Contact the school if you are concerned about your child’s wellbeing to discuss the most appropriate support.

Support is also available through a number of agencies and community organisations. Parents and carers can:

call the National Coronavirus Health Information line (1800 020 080)

review the NSW Health COVID-19 website for the latest information and advice

obtain help and information from the local General Practitioner or Community Health Centre

If you would like additional support, the following services are available

The school counselling service

Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800 – kidshelpline.com.au

Headspace – 1800 650 890 – eheadspace.org.au

Parent Helpline – 1300 1300 52

Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636

Lifeline – 13 11 14

News from t he Kindergart en C lassrooms

Kindergarten has been very very busy and working really hard over the past couple of weeks. Our days are packed with all types of activities! We work on our phonemic awareness daily (sounds in spoken words) through the use of the Sound Waves program. Each day we learn a new sound and are practising saying the beginning and ending sounds of words.

In Mathematics, we have been developing our whole number knowledge. During this time, students work in groups on activities such as identifying and building numbers, counting and saying the number before and after a given number.

In Science we have learnt that living things have needs. Students were so excited to plant their own seeds and are enjoying caring for them each day. We’re looking forward to observing how they grow and change!

During fitness, we love to use Go Noodle to dance, stretch, relax and have a brain break before moving on to the next task. Over the next few weeks in Sport time, we will be practising for the Cross Country coming up in Week 10!

Thanks again for your continued support! Our students have come so far and we are so proud of them!

News from t he Stage 1 C lassrooms 1/2 N

How awesome has 1/2N been this term, from learning ethics inside the classroom, to caring and helping in our social environment outside the classroom. During our Science Unit “Living Things Live in Different Places” students were provided with a variety of learning opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of different habitats. Students thoroughly enjoyed working within small groups investigating habitats using classroom devices and creating their personal spider webs and snakes.

Furthermore, students in small groups designed their own lizard lounge using a variety of items from the front playground. They recorded and discussed their design before presenting it to the remaining students via Seesaw. Within our Personal Development and Health unit, “Health, Wellbeing and Relationships” students continue to participate in activities that include working independently, in pairs and small groups. All students have been encouraged to participate in classroom discussions focusing on different topics, two of them being, feeling included or excluded and identifying our differences and similarities. In addition students in 1/2N have been introduced to a variety of strategies to assist them when they may feel down or overwhelmed, happy or excited.

Looking forward to the next few weeks of Term 1! Ms Najjarine

1/2 B

It has been a busy term in 1/2 B! Students have all settled in well and our learning programs, class routines and activities are well underway. Many of our daily routines and activities involve rotations where we work with our peers to complete different tasks over the week. These activities can be matched to student and groups learning needs, and allow opportunities for small groups to work on focus concepts with the teacher. I am always amazed and impressed with how quickly students adapt to the different activities, and how well they can work with peers on a variety of tasks.

1/2 C

As we come to the end of week six in 1/2 Carr and move from Summer into Autumn, it seems fitting that we are continuing to learn about time and the different months of the year. In English we have finished some very successful and informative recounts whilst developing many skills needed to be active learners. We have focused on developing positive relationships, which I have had the pleasure of seeing in the classroom and in the playground whilst we create lizard habitats. This thoughtful bunch are working incredibly well as individuals and as part of a team. Together we have created goals to work towards throughout the remainder of the term, one of them is verbalising our maths strategies, so we have not just

one, but twenty!

News from t he Stage 1 C lassrooms

2/6 CS

It is amazing how quickly this term has gone by. When everyone is happy and busy learning then time seems to fly. Everyone in the class has been learning more about coding. We have been using probots and spheros to learn how to construct a set of instructions to move them around the room. It has been fun to try and get the probots to draw shapes correctly, we had to learn from our mistakes and try again a few times. The spheros tried to write our name on the floor which looked very different from when we write it

on paper.

In Science it has been great to learn more about living things and how it is important in our everyday lives. Exploring what food chains are and how we use plants and animals for food and items we use. We proved that wool is great at keeping things warm when we covered a cup in wool and saw hot water stayed hot longer than in a cup with

no wool.

1/2 A

Term 1 has well and truly flown by and we have so much great learning to show for it! In 1/2A we have been looking at living things and their habitats. The students have shown so much interest in learning about animals and what helps them survive. Not to mention their excitement in creating some amazing animal art! A big highlight over the last few weeks has been our animal study on lizards. We have examined what lizards need to survive and how they live. The students had the opportunity to show their new learning by creating their very own Lizard lounge at school: We’re using a rock for the lizard to sunbake on -

Rayanne We’ve found berries for food for him - Koby I found this branch that will shelter him from animals -

Ivy We put leaves down to get insects to come for the

lizard to eat - Anthony We’re putting down bark so the lizard can scratch his

belly - Katia

We are all looking forward to more exciting things to come over the next few weeks of term!

Miss Atkinson and 1/2A

News from t he Stage 2 C lassrooms 3/4 H

The more you read, the more you will know, the more you learn, the more places you’ll go…

3/4H have been working extremely hard on their reading, and enjoy reading together each morning. We are very lucky to have Mrs Mizon helping us three mornings a week, and every student reads with Miss Harrison twice a week. To help us understand what we have been reading, we use our Super Six s t r a t e g i e s . S t u d e n t s comprehension has improved significantly, and we are currently learning about the skill of questioning. We have been very lucky to receive a brand new class set of ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl which we read each afternoon for enjoyment. In art, we have been c r e a t i n g a r t w o r k s surrounding our Geography unit of ‘Australia and our Neighbours’. Students developed a silhouette artwork of a farmhouse surrounded by watercolours of red, orange and yellow to represent the bushfires. Students did an excellent job of using oil pastels and water colours to contrast their background and foreground.

3/4 G

Students in 3/4G have been hard at work this term, learning how to write strong arguments in our persuasive writing. We have been using the ‘OREO’ structure to ensure we include an opinion, reason, example and linking opinion in every paragraph. 3/4G are improving their writing by using high modality words, adjectives and interesting vocabulary to make our arguments more convincing.

In PD/H, we are developing skills that build and enhance relationships and promote inclusion in various situations. In groups, we have designed new games that we will teach the rest of the class. To create our own games, we have modified games we already know and created new and improved rules. Our aim is to ensure everyone is included, we stay safe and we have fun. We can’t wait to see what everyone has come up with!

We also enjoyed helping to keep our school clean during our school ‘Clean Up Australia Day’. We picked up lots of rubbish and got rid of sticks, bark and weeds from our

gardens.

3/4C

3/4C have been very busy this term learning lots of new things. In Maths, we have been learning about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We especially love to learn through playing games. We have lots of card games that are fun and help us to understand maths concepts.

In Science, we have been learning about friction and gravity. As part of our learning, we designed and constructed our own marble runs. Our challenge was to make our marbles travel for either the furthest distance or for the longest time. It was a lot of fun!

3/4 B

3/4 Britton have been working hard this term. We have been learning to write a strong persuasive text by using the ‘OREO’ structure, we may have eaten some Oreo’s along the way.

In Maths, we have been developing strategies in multiplication by learning our times tables, skip counting and using multi digit multiplication. We have also been looking at length by measuring in centimetres, millimetres and metres, recognising when to use each. Do you know Drax is 35.2cm long?

Students have been enjoying reading ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’, we might even be able to watch the movie when we finish.

News from t he Stage 3 C lassrooms

Wheelchair Incursion

Sports Update (Postponed unti l further notice)

PSSA

Touch Football - Both the senior and junior teams have been working hard during training and showing great enthusiasm on the field. It has been amazing to see so many new players trying the game, learning quickly and showing continued improvement. We’ve only played one game so far due to the weather, however the junior boys won 5-0 and the senior boys had a close game, losing 3-1. - Miss Greatrex

Netball - The A and B divisions have had an excellent start to the season, with the Junior B team winning their first game 24-3! It has been exciting to see the girls learning and practicing new skills during training.- Miss Harrison and Mrs Britton

Newcombe Ball - The Newcombe Ball team have had a fantastic start to the season. Although the junior team lost their first game, against Picnic Point, they showed improvement in each set and were proud of their efforts. The senior team won their game. I was especially pleased to hear the coach from Picnic Point say that the game was the best game he has ever refereed and how well our team co-operated and supported one another. - Mrs Chegwidden

Swimming Carnival

Our 2020 Swimming Carnival was a huge success, seeing many students participating in competitive races, 25m swims, and the most enjoyable free swim. We would like to thank the parent volunteers who assisted on the day, as well as those who attended in support of their children.

The mighty Brolgas went out with the most points, winning our swimming carnival on 124 points.

District Swimming Carnival

On Tuesday 3rd March, PNPS had 27 students represent our school at the District Swimming Carnival. It was a great day and all students should be extremely proud of the efforts they showed on the day. Congratulations to Zoe, Tanya, Madeline and Chelsea for placing in the top 3 in their events and attending the regional carnival on Tuesday 10th March. We are very pleased and proud to announce the following Regional Carnival Results: Zoe S - 23rd 10 years 50 metre Freestyle Tanya N - Junior 50 metre Backstroke Madeline B - 12th Senior 50 metre Backstroke Chelsea W - 10th Senior 50 metre Butterfly and 15th

200 metre individual medley.

EHPSSA District Teams

Throughout this term, numerous students from Year 4-6 have been attending sporting trials, to be considered for selection in District Teams to play at Regional Carnivals. These competitions are of a high standard and Padstow North Public School is honoured to acknowledge the following students who have been selected in the following district teams: Girls Soccer - Isabella and Chelsea Basketball - Mia, Mataea and Desiree AFL - Sebastian Boys Soccer - Sebastian, Udayveer and Noah S

Jerseys

A huge thankyou to our amazing P&C who have organised our brand new Padstow North singlets and shirts for PSSA and representative sport. They look amazing!

Library News

The Premier’s Reading challenge has begun. Students must complete a set amount of reading to meet the Challenge.

K-2 students are to read or have 30 books read to them. 25 must come from the PRC List and 5 may be personal choice.

3-6 students are to read 20 books. 15 must come from the PRC List and 5 may be personal choice. The username and password are the same as your school internet login details. All students have a library borrowing session each week. Please encourage your child to borrow books to read each week.

The Trainee Library Monitors for 2020 have been working hard to learn their role within the library. They have shown dedication and a willingness to give extra time to help in the library. They will receive their library monitor badges at the Gold Assembly on Thursday 2nd April. Susan Harris Teacher Librarian

Lunchtime in the Library