Elizabeth StreetRiverstone NSW 2765Subscribe:Subscribe: https://riverstoneps.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email:Email: riverstone-p.school@det.nsw.edu.auPhone:Phone: 02 9627 1517

Fax:Fax: 02 9838 1131

10 April 201910 April 2019

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGEIt has been a busy start to 2019 at Riverstone Public School.We have had some great additions to our learning environment.The introduction of the new learning spaces for our stage 2 and3 students has proven to be a huge success for both staff andstudents.

Our amazing teaching and support staff at Riverstone PublicSchool have worked extremely hard delivering engaging andappropriate learning experiences for our children.

The Riverstone school community has celebrated success inand out of the classroom throughout term 1. Here are just someof the extracurricular activities that are underway at RiverstonePublic school for 2019:

School Choir, School Band, PSSA sports, Leadership day atLongneck Lagoon, Aboriginal Dance Workshop – SydneyDance Company, Harmony Day, Allowah Day, Bullying No WayDay, Stewart House fundraiser, Bunnings Fundraiser BBQ forthe class of 2019

ANZAC DAY

On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fellsilent after four years of continuous warfare. With their armiesretreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed anArmistice, bringing to an end the First World War. From thesummer of 1918, the five divisions of the Australian Corps hadbeen at the forefront of the Allied advance to victory. Beginningwith their stunning success at the battle of Hamel in July,they helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens in August,followed by the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, andthe breaching of German defences at the Hindenburg Line inSeptember. By early October the exhausted Australians werewithdrawn from battle. They had achieved a fighting reputationout of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come ata heavy cost. They suffered almost 48,000 casualties during1918, including more than 12,000 dead.

In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians hadserved overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died. Thesocial effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.

Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silenceat 11 am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all warsand armed conflicts. (Australian War Memorial, 2019)

Easter Hat Parade

The Riverstone Public School hat parade is a chance forchildren to get creative and make an Easter hat and showit off at the annual Easter hat parade. I encourage all staffand students to take part in this tradition at Riverstone PublicSchool.

In New York City, the Easter Parade tradition dates back tothe mid-1800s, when the upper crust of society would attendEaster services at various Fifth Avenue churches then strolloutside afterwards, showing off their new spring outfits andhats.

OPERATION ART

Year 6 students Bowen Lawford and Dylan Reinhardt had theirart work selected in the top 50 of operation art. Their work hasbeen on display in the NSW Art Gallery in a recent exhibition.The exhibition concluded at the end of March and is nowtravelling around NSW and will live at Westmead Children'sHospital from December this year.

The school is very proud of both students.

1

Have a great holiday and enjoy your family and friends.

Finally, don’t forget to check our Facebook page or web page.

https://www.facebook.com/RiverstonePublicSchool/

http://www.riverstone-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Michael Cruickshank Principal

Michael CruickshankPrincipal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORTWe are almost coming to the end of a very busy and extremelyproductive term. We have welcomed many new students andfamilies into our school and they have settled nicely into theroutines and programs running at Riverstone PS.

As attendance coordinator I would like to remind you all of theimportance of 100% attendance at school and the proceduresto follow.

As some of you may be aware, I draw out one student fromeach grade weekly to receive a 100% attendance award for thatweek. The list of award recipients are included in the newsletter.

For all Department of Education documentation on attendancevisit:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/school-attendance-policy

NAPLAN READINESS TESTOn Monday 25 March, Tuesday 26 March, Monday 1 Apriland Tuesday 2 April Mrs Graham, Ms Plummer and myselfcoordinated the NAPLAN Readiness test in preparation for theactual NAPLAN Online tests in May. Each student in Year 3and Year 5 sat the test. It ran for 45 minutes and consisted

of Numeracy, Reading and Language Convention questions.These sessions were very successful and we are confident thatwhen the students are sitting the NAPLAN tests in May thatthey will also be just as successful.

SAVE THE DATE:

Parent CommunityInformation Evening

Wednesday 8 May 5pm –6pm in 4/5T classroom

NAPLAN Online Tuesday 14 May – Friday24 May

3 Way parent teacherstudent interviews

Monday 27 May – Friday 7June

(Online booking information to be sent home in Week 3Term 2)

Community Social andEmotional Learning session

Wednesday 19 June – 5pm– 6pm

Mrs Christine CalderDeputy Principal

100% ATTENDANCE AWARD

Congratulations to the following students forwinning the 100% attendance awards.

Grade T1 Week

4

T1 Week

5

T1 Week

6

T1 Week

7

Kinder Eva B Juancho A Isabelle C Karter B

Year 1 Indiana M Talisha B Dawn L Jack R

Year 2 Jacob S Jorja H Jack P Navreet K

Year 3 Toby M Krisha P Coen S Yuvraj S

Year 4 Nicholas L Hiba Z Jacob P Jasmine K

Year 5 Niyati P Jimmy D Kaidyn S Kane K

Year 6 Shania R Jayden M Kira H Vicky S

• If your child or child in your care is unwell, please callthe school to inform the teacher.

• If you were required to take your child or child in yourcare to the doctor, please ask for a medicalcertificate and hand it in the day they return toschool.

• If you did not need to visit the doctor, please send awritten note and hand it in the day they return toschool.

2

RIVERSTONE LEADERS DAYRiverstone Public School leaders enjoyed the opporunity toattend Longneck Lagoon on Monday 18 March. All studentsthoroughly enjoyed this experience learning about leadership,how to develop teamwork and challenging themselves to solveproblems.

Students participated in a variety of activities that utilised arange of equipment and locations to develop communication,problem solving and teamwork skills. The Riverstone teamrelished the challenge of many activities and learnt so muchabout how to develop plans as a team, assign roles and leadothers.

Alley: My favourite part was when we did the blindfolded ropeactivity because it was a lot of fun and it showed a lot ofleadership skills. The Golf Ball Rolling challenge was difficult butwe did it by using the pipes and working together.

Ashleigh: We learnt to speak one at a time and to be ableto trust others. It was so much fun, especially when I almostpushed Devika into the water.

Devika: My favourite part was Planet Numbers, Crossing theToxic Lake and Golf Ball Rolling because we all learnt not to talkover each other. I think a great leader would take care of theirschool, teachers and students.

We look forward to our school leaders continuing to developtheir communication and leadership skills. Maybe then theycould solve the infamous ‘Towers of Hanoi’.

Mr Trescott

HALOEN YOUNG LEADERS DAYOur 2019 leaders attended the 2019 Halogen Leaders Dayfor an opportunity to develop their leadership potential. Thestudents from Riverstone Public School had an early start totheir morning travelling to the Darling Harbour ConventionCentre to listen to some inspiring leaders.

They got to spend the day with other student leaders from alltypes of schools within the NSW region. The guest speakerswere Tim Diamond, CEO of Cotton On, who generate millionsof dollars for international development projects each year inUganda, South Africa, Thailand and Australia. They believe thateducation is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Cate Campbell, Australian Gold Medallist, a prominent name isAustralian swimming inspired our leaders with her determinationand perseverance to reach her goals and become a recordbreaker. She regaled the leaders with her stories of her rise towinning medals for our country and her positive mindset.

One of the rising stars in women’s cricket, Holly Ferling whohas rocketed in her chosen sport. She has played for AustraliaA Women's for their tour of New Zealand, the ICC Women’sWorld Cup in India and helped Australia reclaim the Ashes fromEngland in mid-2015. She has played in the Big Bash Leaguefor both the Brisbane Heat and the Melbourne Stars.

Tasmin Janu, an award-winning Australian children’s authorshared her experiences that inspired her books ‘Figgy in theWorld’ based on her trips to Africa. The second Figgy novel isentitled Figgy and the President, and the third, Figgy Takes theCity. She explained her writing process and is now writing anovel ‘Blossom’ which is based in Australia.

Throughout the day they got to dance, meet other leaders,exercise and watch short videos. We look forward to ourleaders inspiring their peers at Riverstone Public School.

SPIRALS OF INQUIRYThroughout 2018, the executive team at Riverstone PublicSchool engaged in professional learning around Spirals ofInquiry. This is an inquiry cycle that requires collaboration, adeep understanding of learners (students and teachers) andputs students at the centre of decision making.

This year, executive teachers have been leading their stageteams through Spirals of Inquiry. Support teachers analysedstudent numeracy data and have developed a hunch aboutthe importance of students having a solid understanding ofnumber sense. Stage 3 teachers examined video evidencewhere students stated what they were learning in writing andwhy it was important. Together, the team discussed theimportance of students understanding the writing process andhow it links to the process authors pass through. Stage 2scanned a wide range of writing samples and NAPLAN data.The team decided to examine research related to differentiationin writing to ensure all students progress, regardless of theirability. They will be using this research to adapt teachingpractices within their classrooms.

Our goal at Riverstone Public School is to use this professionallearning structure to support the NSW Department ofEducation’s goal ‘Every student, every teacher, every leaderand every school improves every year’.

3

Danielle FranklinInstructional Leader, Literacy and Numeracy DeputyPrincipal

NUMBER TALKSStudents have been eagerly participating in Number Talks. Hereare some challenges for you and your kids to try at home:

Years 3-6

Years 1-2

Kindergarten

Danielle FranklinInstructional Leader, Literacy and Numeracy DeputyPrincipal

STAGE 1Stage 1 have had a great start to the year. Students havebeen engaged and enjoying their Science Unit on Living World.Students have been taking part in lessons on living things,their habitats, lifecycles and needs to survive. Classes havehad the chance to see some bugs in their classrooms andlearning about their facts. 1L, 1K and 1-2S have been studyingmealworms and 2F with their stick insects.

NEWS FROM THE OFFICERiverstone Public School is extremely proud of the diverserange of quality educational programs that it offers to ourstudents and is committed to ensuring that these valuableprograms continue. For this to occur, the school and schoolcommunity work together financially, in order to provide muchneeded resources.

Your P&C have set the Voluntary School Contribution at$40.00 per child or $60.00 per family. The Voluntary SchoolContribution fee, (photocopies, books, craft, art supplies andclass consumables, Ambulance cover and mail outs) are alsocritical sources of funding for our school. Added to this list is thepurchase of new furniture that can be used flexibly and whichbest meet student learning styles.

These contributions are important in that they provide manyresources and facilities that would not otherwise be able to bepurchased.

Technology Fee- $25.00 – This is a new fee that is required tobe paid by all Year 3-6 Students. This money will go towardsmaintaining and building our network and Technology areas.The school remains committed in ensuring that we have theappropriate technology in order to enable 21st Century learningat Riverstone PS.

PSSA Sport Fee- $45.00 Summer /Winter – This fee hasbeen introduced this year to assist with meeting costs involved

• Order the quantities below from the least to mostexpensive way to purchase coffee:

4

in the School participating in inter school Sporting competitionsgoing towards sporting equipment, team shirts and buses.

Invoices were sent out last week and are scheduled to go outweekly to our families, We are happy to receive instalments ifyou are unable to pay the full amount at once.

Payment may be made online via our Westpac Parent PaymentSystem,(follow the link that is provided on your statement),orvisit our website and select the tab, then complete the paymentadvice below and return it to the Administration Office, pleasenote that EFTPOS and Credit card payments can only beprocessed through the administration office in person.

http://www.riverstone-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Excursion payments and notes must be completed by finalpayment date which will be on the permission note.

We hope you will be able to assist us to continue to provide aquality education for your children

ROAD SAFETY – WALK SAFELY TOSCHOOL

Road Safety – in preparation for Walk Safely toSchool Day in Term 2

At Riverstone Public School, your child will learn about roadsafety as part of Personal Development, Health and PhysicalEducation. Help them learn the pedestrian safety messages byusing them and sharing them whenever you are out and about.

Students in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1

Students in Stage 2

Students in Stage 3

Walking to and from school with your child helps ease trafficcongestion, reduces your carbon footprint, promotes physicalactivity and provides a talking point about road safety.

When you walk with your child, talk about safe behaviour.Always demonstrate correct pedestrian behaviour. The bestway you can help your child to be a safe pedestrian is to:

If you have any questions or ideas for our school regarding roadsafety please see me.

Mr Trescott

PRESCHOOL NEWSThank you to all the families who have responded to ourdonation drive letter sent home a few weeks ago. Everythingwill be put to good use and we really appreciate the generosityshown. We would like to continue to encourage all families totry and donate, as resources are always being used.

Preschool have been busy the past few weeks engaging invarious activities and developing their skills in all learning areas.We experienced hot weather earlier in the term which allowedfor the hose to be available for the children in the sandpit. Itwas great to watch the children negotiate "hose" rule and playcooperatively to make dams, sandcastles and mudpies. Inside,the children have been engrossed in pasta threading makingnecklaces and bracelets. Pasta threading is a great activityfor developing concentration skills, hand-eye coordination, finemotor muscles and forearm muscles- all important skillsneeded when learning to write. The pasta activity also supportschildren to engage with different colours and patterns, whilesitting and talking to a group peers who are also engaged in theactivity. The preschool team are proud of our pre-schoolers andhow they are continuing to create strong new friendships anddemonstrate kindness by looking out for each other, includingeveryone, making artworks and jewellery for peers and,respecting and celebrating differences.

We had a successful round of family and educator meetingsthis term. It was great to talk to families about how much theirchildren had already achieved at preschool and also learn aboutwhat families are currently experiencing at home. Together withfamilies, have developed shared goals for the children and ourprogram will continue to support children to reach their goals. Ifyou missed out on a meeting, don’t fear as we will have anotherround of meetings next term.

• Hold a grown-up's hand when- you cross the road- you're on the footpath- you're in the car park

• Hold an adult's hand when you cross the road

• Use a safe place to cross the road

• Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time you cross theroad

• Use a safe place to cross the road

• give them lots of supervised practice with you oranother trusted adult.

• talk with and teach your child about being alert in aroad environment.

• always hold your child's hand.

• explain why the place you have chosen is the safestplace to cross the road.

• point out dangers, such as vehicles coming out ofdriveways.

• use pedestrian crossings and traffic lights correctly.

• teach your child to keep turning their head in bothdirections to look and listen for traffic as they crossthe road.

• talk with them about everything they need to thinkabout to keep safe when walking.

• explain why they should look and listen beforecrossing a driveway, road or carpark.

• talk with your child and reinforce Stop! Look! Listen!Think! every time you cross the road together- STOP! one step back from the kerb.- LOOK! continuously look both ways.- LISTEN! for the sounds of approaching traffic.- THINK! whether it is safe to cross.

5

Reminders:

LEARNING IN THE SUPPORT CLASSES

YELLOW S

Yellow S has been enjoying the last of the fine weather andgetting outside to work on our fitness and building skills insportsmanship.

We focused this term on basketball and soccer, rotating teamsto practise winning gracefully and taking defeat in our stride.

It has been great to work on coordination too, and Miss Kimand Miss Allbon have taken turns joining teams to get thecompetition really hotting up! We’re gearing up for a restfulbreak, ready to come back bright eyed and bushy-tailed inTerm 2!

BLUE S

So much learning has taken place in Blue S since the startof the year. As part of Science and Technology, the studentsin Blue S have been learning about the needs of plants. Theymade predictions about what plants need to be able to growand tested their theories by conducting an experiment. Overa two week period, the students made observations of thegrowth of seeds that they had planted. Some were wateredand while others were not. Some seeds were put in the sunlight

while others were kept in the dark. At the end of the experiment,the students concluded that plants need water and sunlight togrow. Well done Blue S!

Purple S

Purple S has been engaging in reading different books andcomprehending meaning to make connections to real life.Recently students have shown enormous engagement in thebooks -“Dreamers” by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and “A thirst forhome” by Christine Leronimo. Students have successfullydemonstrated their understanding of the story through theirown pictures and words. Their work samples depict the deepthought process they are getting engaged in.

Green S

Green S has had an incredibly smooth transition to the newschool year. We have been strengthening our friendships andgetting acquainted with new additions to our class. It has beenso heartening to witness our kindness and altruism towardseach other as we begin our learning journey together onceagain. As we have been learning about lifecycles and typesof vegetation in Science and Geography, we decided to plantsunflower seeds and record its growth phases. We are lookingafter our plants responsibly by watering them regularly andensuring that they are receive plenty of sunshine. It has been agreat joy to continue with the horse riding program once againthis year. The children participating in the program look forwardto an exciting riding session with caring and compassionateadults, at the end of each week. We thoroughly enjoyedHarmony Day as well as recognition of Down Syndrome Daylast week. It was fun playing Goalball with our Yellow S andPurple S friends this week. We hope to have many moresessions together to help us practise our game skills. We wishall our families a very happy Easter.

• We have school holidays from 13 April until 29 April.

• We encourage families to purchase a school uniform.Children all wearing the same uniform is important tocreate a sense of belonging to a group, give childrenconfidence as well as promotes equality.

• In Term 2 and 3 we will move into our WinterRoutine. This means when children arrive in themorning, they will go straight into inside play. We willplay outside after morning tea when it is warmer.

• We will continue to encourage children to learn howpack their own bags at the end of the day. Pleaseprovide a bag big enough to hold jumpers, jackets,rain coats, spare clothes, lunch boxes and art work.

• Fees are due and payable by the end of term

• Please label all items of clothing drink bottles andcontainers

• Please remember to pack a hat every day!

6

NSW Goalball Clinic - Support

After the success of our Year 5/6 team at the state GoalBallchampionships last year, our students were treated to a freein-school workshop in week 10 to hone our skills. Studentsfrom Green, Yellow and Purple S came together to supporteach other and learn some fantastic new moves. Our guestcoach Mick, ran an incredibly fun workshop that focused onbuilding skills in defending, working together as a team andlistening to one another to develop cooperation andcommunication. Next stop, regional championships!

P&C NEWS

- Upcoming events - notes will be out in Term 2:-

The P&C would like to take this opportunity to thank our familiesfor your contributions towards the Easter raffle and we wish youall a very happy and safe school holiday period.

PAYMENTS ONLINE

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN MAKEPAYMENTS TO YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOLONLINE?

We have launched a new online payment portal linked to yourschool's website to make it easier for you to pay for schoolrelated payments. This is a secure payment page hosted byWestpac.

WHAT EXPENSES CAN BE PAID ONLINE?

HOW ?

Log onto School site.

http://www.riverstone-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Click on "Make a Payment" and follow the prompts to makea payment via Visa or MasterCard. Forward the Receipt withPermission Note or Order Forms either via

email: riverstone-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au for have your childbring them to the front Office for final processing.

OUR SCHOOL APP

COMMUNICATION

Riverstone Public School has recently added an APP in orderto provide a “one stop shop” for all of our communication. Thenew APP will allow parents to “sync” events to phones and ortablets, as well as providing a provision to view newsletters,notes or information attached to that event by simply clicking onit. Please review the information below and if you are interestedin using the School App as an additional communicationmethod please follow the easy download steps.

INSTALLING SZAPP

Apple Devices: Android Devices:

Find your School

Select your school's region. Search for and select yourschool.

• Mother's Day Stall - Wednesday 8th MayWe have some fantastic $5 and $10 gifts that will beavailable for your child/ren to purchase for Mum/Nan/Grandma!If you can spare some time on this day to help out atthe stall, please see Lisa Weiss to advise youravailability

• Riverstone Festival - Saturday 11th MayThe P&C will be sharing a stall with the staff ofRiverstone Public School and will be selling RaffleTickets, Mother's Day gifts, and also a cake stall.We are asking for your contribution of a baked cake/slice (boxed or wrapped) that can be dropped off atthe stall from 8.30am on Saturday 11th May.If you would also like to donate some of your time tohelp out at the stall (anytime between 9am-3pm) wewould greatly appreciate it.

• Next P&C Meeting - Monday 6th May from 3pm inthe Staff RoomWe hope to see some new faces. Children arewelcome.

• Voluntary School Contributions

• Excursions

• Sport

• Preschool Fees

1. On your device, openthe App Store.

2. Search the App Storefor SZapp.

3. Download and installSZapp.

1. On your device, openthe Play Store.

2. Search the Play Storefor SZapp.

3. Download and installSZapp.

7

Register a User

Before you can add yourschool, you will need to

register.

Register to SZapp with youremail, or sign in automatically

with Google or Facebook.

Enter your email and name. Create a password.

Managing Notifications

Choose which group/s youwould like to receivenotifications from.

Groups with arrows next tothem indicate that there aresub-groups which you can

join.

HomeView the latest feed item and school menu.

FeedView all feed items for every

group you belong to.

ManageManage push notifications,

your default subscription andgroups.

8

For more information please view our FAQspage

http://www.schoolzine.com.au/szapp

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECKAll volunteers or parents who have direct contact with childrenin the provision of administrative, clerical or providingassistance in the school i.e: classrooms, library, canteen etc.will need to complete their Working With Children’s Check viathe link below. This then needs to be given to the office.

A Working With Children Check is a prerequisite for anyone inchild-related work. It involves a national criminal history checkand review of findings of workplace misconduct.

The result of a Working With Children Check is either aclearance to work with children for five years, or a bar againstworking with children. Cleared applicants are subject toongoing monitoring, and relevant new records may lead to theclearance being revoked.

The Check is fully portable which means it can be used for anypaid or unpaid child-related work in NSW for as long as theworker remains cleared.

http://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/working-with-children/working-with-children-check

SCHOOL TRAVEL PASS APPLICATIONSOpal Card SSTS requirements apply now. This is noworganised fully by Transport for NSW. More information can befound via the link below and all questions regarding Opal cardsshould be directed to Transport for NSW.

https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/

How to apply

Once approved, Transport for NSW sends the School OpalCard to the home address given in the application.

The application may take several weeks and the applicant’semail address is required.

LOST PROPERTYCan you please ensure that your child's belongings are labelledso that if they are lost they can be returned. If your child hasaccidently bought the wrong jumper or hat home can youplease return it to school so that it can be returned. All lost

property items will be placed in lost property for the student tocollect.

A REMINDER TO PARENTS TO NOTIFYTHE SCHOOL ABOUT YOUR CHILD’SHEALTH AND CONTACT DETAILCHANGES

Parents and caregivers have an obligation to inform the schoolabout their child’s health, even if they are not requestingspecific support from our school. Our school asks for medicalinformation when you enrol your child. It is also important thatyou let us know if your child’s health care needs change or ifa new health condition develops. Information about allergies,medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes and otherhealth care related issues (including prior conditions such asmedical procedures in the last 12 months) should be providedto the school by parents. Please contact the school office staffwho will assist.

FACT SHEETS RELATED TO INFECTIOUSMEDICAL CONDITIONS

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets

COMMUNITY NOTICES

• Step 1, Complete the application atwww.transportnsw.info/school-students

• Step 2, Print, sign and submit the form to the schoolfor endorsement

• Step 3, The school will then forward the applicationto Transport for NSW for processing.

9