From the Principal …

Congratulations 201 8 Parliamentarians – Yesterday I held morning tea with the candidates for the 2018 School Parliament. I was able to announce the 20 successful candidates who were voted in by the students and staff. I would like to congratulate all 30 students who ran for election. These students all demonstrated great leadership skills and personal qualities; throughout the election process these students continually demonstrated the qualities of safe, respectful learners. The following students have been elected into the 2018 School Parliament:

Nikky Osten Emily McLean Amela Krak Samantha Diaz Montana Newcombe Emily Pye Ethan Trinh Nathan Sen Annalise Dib Jason Ngor Sasha Fulgencio Sydney Nguyen Nour Wehbe Sophia Hakkaoui Cooper Brgudac Olivia Sajnovic Corey Lloyd Dylan Phan Jade Hunt Claudia Abarca

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for 2018 will be announced at the Stage 3 Presentation Day Assembly tomorrow.

201 7 Presentation Day Assemblies – Our formal presentation day assemblies occur this week. These are an opportunity to recognise students for their hard work, commitment and dedication to learning throughout 2017. The assemblies are as follows:

Wednesday 6 December – Year 5 and 6 assembly starts at 9am Kindergarten assembly 11.45am Thursday 7 December - Year 3 and 4 assembly starts at 9am Year 1 and 2 assembly at 11.45am Friday 8 December - Sports Assembly 9am Friday 15 December – Year 6 Graduation Assembly 9am Please be aware that these assemblies are formal occasions. Toddlers and young children need to remain seated and quiet and the expectation is that all mobile phones will be switched off at the start of the assembly. We are looking forward to seeing lots of parents and family members at our presentation day assemblies.

Stage 3 Camp – Last week I had the great pleasure of attending the Stage 3 Camp at Tea Gardens. I was very proud of our students who demonstrated exemplary behaviour and manners and represented our school extremely well. Over the 3 days I got to see our students challenge themselves at activities and support their peers with encouragement and volumes of positivity. Thank you to the Stage 3 team who were amazing over the time we were away. Particular thanks must go to Mr Hamilton and Mr Atterton on their planning for the camp. Many months of work go into a 3 day camp. Thank you also to the staff for giving up their time and being away from their families to provide this wonderful opportunity for our students.

P&C – Thank you to our P&C, last week I was presented with a cheque for $10,000. This money is the result of a huge year of fund raising by this dedicated team. The money we received will be used to continue upgrading classroom technology for our students.

Week 9 Term 4 5 December 2017

b 2017

201 8 Organisation – Our staff are currently working on plans and structures for classes for the 2018 school year. In a school the size of ours this can be a time consuming process. We want to ensure we get the structure and composition of the classes accurate. Due to our numbers we need to ensure we are accurate in our enrolments before we can place students into their new classes. This is why it has been so vital and important that parents notify us if they are extending their holidays into term one next year. When students return after the Christmas break they will return to their 2017 class group. This will remain the same for the first full week. The reason we have decided to start the year this way is to avoid establishing classes and then needing to restructure the school if we don’t receive our anticipated number of enrolments. Our teachers are currently planning the units of work which will be completed over this period. Work will be of a substantial nature following on from concepts covered this year. I wanted the community to be aware of our plans in advance so students can be prepared when they return after the holidays. I am anticipating parents will again understand the need to structure our school in this manner for the first few weeks. Our aim is to ensure we get it right and once classes are established they will remain the same for the entire school year. This process has proved successful at the beginning of the last few school years and ensured once classes were formed they remained the same.

Front Office Closed – Please be aware that the front office will be closed on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 December 2017.

Last day for students 201 7 – The last day of school for students and staff this year is Friday 15 December. School will resume for students in Years 1-6 on Tuesday 30 January 2018.

NRL Clinic K to 2 - Parramatta NRL Clinic will be held this Friday, 8 December for all K-2 students. NRL clinic promotes physical activity through learning the basic skills of rugby league. All sessions are free of charge and do not require a permission note. Students must wear their sports uniform and wear a hat. In the case of extreme weather, students will still participate in the sessions under shelter or in the school hall.

Book Sale – Early next year, Mr Lorello will be conducting another second hand book sale. If you have some childrens books that you can donate, place them in the box in the Front Office. Please ensure the books that are being donated are appropriate for school age children. Thank you, Mr J Lorello.

Class of the Week- 2LT!

2LT is GPK’s class of the week! Visit our website to see all the great things that have been happening in 2LT.

Instructions: Visit - http://www.govphilkin-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Click on ‘School Years’ tab Click on side tab ‘Class of the Week’

Upcoming Events Week 9 6 December – Years 5 & 6 Presentation Assembly at 9am Kindergarten Presentation Assembly at 11.45am 7 December – Years 3 & 4 Presentation Assembly at 9am Years 1 & 2 Presentation Assembly at 11.45am 8 December – Sports Presentation Assembly Parent Surveys due K-2 NRL Clinic Week 10 11 December – SRL Morning Tea P&C Ice Block Day 13 December – Year 6 Farewell at St Johns Park Bowling Club 6pm to 9.30pm 14 December – Party Day 15 December – Year 6 Graduation Assembly at 9am Last day of Term 4 2018 29 January – Staff Development Day 30 January – Years 1-6 return to school Best Start Testing Day - Kindergarten 31 January – Best Start Testing Day – Kindergarten 1 February – Best Start Testing Day – Kindergarten 2 February – Best Start Testing Day – Kindergarten 5 February – Kindergarten students start school Have a great week! Jason Corcoran Principal

Applications for 201 8 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) and Term Bus Pass (TBP) travel entitlements are now open - In coming days students who hold an SSTS entitlement and are changing grade bands i.e. going from year 2 to 3 or year 6 to 7 and changing school, and students whose entitlement was approved under a medical condition, will receive notification by email or post informing them of the pending exiry of their entitlement. TBP holders will also receive notification.

Students enquiring about pending cancellation should be advised to go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails to update details/make application for next year’s entitlement.

Application needs to be made before 31 December 2017 to ensure their entitlement is updated and their current card is not cancelled. If application is made after the expiry of their entitlement (31 December) the system will automatically cancel their card and a new one will need to be issued.

Please note: Students who are changing grade band and are remaining at the same school will not receive notification and do not need to reapply (the system now automatically validates a student’s on-going eligibility if at the same school and going from infants to primary or primary to secondary). Where a student meets the new eligibility the system will automatically update their entitlement and card.

Student in the Opal area applying for SSTS or TBP entitlement for the first time will receive their card (posted to the nominated address) a week or two before the commencement of 2018 classes. Please let students know new cards for 2018 are not posted in 2017 or during the Christmas/New Year period.

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