Wangi Wangi Public School

Dates for your diary

2009

Term 1

Week 2

Thurs 5^th Feb         Parent Information 3:30pm in 1/2 classroom

Sat 7^th Feb             Variety ‘Splash’ brekky 7:30am Wangi RSL

Week 3

Mon 9^th Feb          Parent Information 3:30pm in 5/6 classroom

Tues 10^th Feb        Swimming Carnival 2009 (8yrs up)

Wed 11^th Feb        Parent Information 9:00am in K/1 classroom

                                Parent Information 3:30pm in 4/5 classroom

Thurs 12^th Feb      Parent Information 3:30pm in 2/3 classroom

Week 4

Tues 17^th Feb        P&C Meeting 6:30pm in the staffroom – PLEASE come along!

Week 5

Mon 23^rd Feb        Young Leaders Day (School Captains  & Counsellors) in Sydney

Week 8

Tues 17^th March   P&C AGM

Wed 18^th March   School Photos

Week 9

Wed 25^th March   Interrelate (Year 6)

Fri 27^th March       Newcastle Show Holiday Day – no school

Week 11

Thurs 9^th April       Easter Hat Parade

PRINCIPALS REPORT:

Welcome to our first Newsletter for 2009! A very warm welcome back to all and especially to our new Kinders and new students! Kindergarten is extra spoilt this year with their Year 6 Buddies and their Year 1 class Buddies helping them settle happily into school life. Congratulations to our student leaders on a great effort.

 

Have you seen our colourful giant “Keys to Success”? They are on the wall near the flagpole, just outside the 5/6 classroom & Computer Lab. These remind us of the skills we need to ensure ‘we can do it’.

 

As you can see from the Diary Dates above Parent Information sessions have been planned and class teachers are sending home details. So look out for these please and try your best to attend. Parents wishing to see class teachers are welcomed but need to make an appointment with the teacher for a mutually suitable time. Please don’t hesitate to see us about any issue – we are here to support you and do our best for your child.

 

During the holidays our wonderful GA, Ross, painted a large section of the 5/6 classroom – it looks great and this room gives the seniors easy access to the computer lab.

 

Mrs Rayfield is continuing to revamp our library and it’s looking bigger and better than ever! Some new shelving is ordered to complete this facility, so stick your head in and have a look!

 

Classes always start the year revisiting school rules and this year is no different. Please remind your child “Be Safe” is our Number 1 Rule. Sticks & stones stay on the ground; we don’t run in classrooms or on the hard playground, especially with anything pointy in our hands or mouths etc. There will be consequences for unacceptable behaviour – this may be ‘time out’ on the seat, or it may be a referral to the ‘SAT’ room. ‘SAT’ stands for “Sort And Talk” and replaces DEN. Parents will receive a communications note if their child has had 3 referrals to the ‘SAT’ room.

 

Thank you to the families who have already paid for the “Go Maths” books we will be using in class programs this year. These cost $15.95 for Kinders and $25:90 for all other grades as they have an extra book. Please send in the correct money in a labelled envelope to the office as soon as you can.

 

This year we are introducing Sport as a K-6 session each Friday. This will give all our students opportunities to learn a variety of skills and be active & fit. It will also allow for adequate staff supervision. The K-2 students will be in a separate group from the 3-6 students.

Our weekly Assembly will continue each Friday at 12:15pm –parents & carers are welcome to attend. This year we will have a “Writer of the Week” from each class reading their piece of writing at assembly and we will publish their names in the newsletter under “WOW”.

 

The media has made a fuss about the NSW Teacher Federation Meeting this Friday, causing undue worry to many parents. This meeting will NOT affect our school in any way, as like most primary schools, we are sending one staff member to represent us. School as normal tomorrow! J

Students in Year 6 may be interested in information concerning Auditions to the Hunter School of Performing Arts for Year 7 2010. There are application forms available from the office if needed. – ask Mrs Scotchmer if in doubt.

 

Thanks to Candy Connors who is co-ordinating the brekky for the Variety Club’s ‘Splash’ this Saturday morning. Candy desperately needs some helpers, even for just a short while. Last year we helped with this fun event and our school was given 2 silver bench seats which are used every day, as well as a huge donation of toys so our P&C could raffle.

 

REMINDERS:

•  ‘Splash’ brekky fund raiser for more bench seats in the playground – to help please contact Candy Connors on 0418 419 583.
• School Captains for 2009  are Emily & James with  Counsellors Sienna, Anika, Laura & Bree!
• Parents /Carers are asked not to drive into the school grounds – please help us keep all our kids safe.

 

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO “NUTRITION SNIPPETS”

 

Our school supports healthy eating and active lifestyles for children and families in our community. Each week we will be dedicating a section of our newsletter to information on fruit and vegetables. This information is supplied by Cancer Council NSW as part of the Eat It To Beat It campaign, and Good For Kids, Good For Life. 

 

Why are Cancer Council and NSW Health providing this information?  The answer simply is to give parents/carers practical and useful ways to increase fruit and vegetables in their family’s diet. Why? Because people who eat more fruit and vegetables are less likely to be overweight and obese and they also significantly reduce their risk of developing cancer and other lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure.

 

As a parent/carer you probably want what is best for your children. You are also likely to be busy and may feel that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything the way you’d like!  Stay tuned…and we’ll provide you with easy, practical tips on recipes, lunch box ideas and strategies to deal with fussy eating over the coming weeks.

 

We want to make this as useful for you as possible so if you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see included, or interesting fruit and veg questions you’d like answered, please let us know by sending an email to eatittobeatit@nswcc.org.au

 

Watch this space for more great ideas and Eat It To Beat It!

Dates for your diary

Term 4

Week 8

Thurs 4^th        Dec    Yr6 Orientation Day to Morisset/ Toronto High Schools

Week 9

Tues 9^th         Dec     Presentation Day Wangi Workers Club 10am

                   Dobell House Christmas Concert 5:00pm

Wed 10^th  Dec Year 6 Farewell Wangi RSL 6.30pm for 7pm

Week 10

Wed 17^th  Dec Celebration Day – Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre

2009

Term 1

Student starting times : We will inform all families before the Christmas break  if the 2 day Industrial action as directed by  NSW Teachers Federation will impact on our school. Please look out for this very important information.

Advance Notice: Swimming Carnival 2009 Wk 3 – 10^th Feb

 

PRINCIPALS REPORT:

Thank you to the families who have informed us of their plans that will result in their child or children needing to transfer to another school in 2009. This has helped us greatly with our organisation of classes for next year.

 

Congratulations to Year 5 students who stood confidently in front of the whole school and their families to deliver some very impressive School Leaders speeches last Friday. Good luck to you all!

Ten special students received invitations to attend afternoon tea with me on Tuesday, so I had to bake another chocolate cake! Well done for being in the “Happy Book” 4 or more times this semester – what an achievement. The “Top Ten” were: Finn (Kinder); Sascha & Eloise (Year 1); Brodie H., Caitlyn R., Nic, Declan, Abby H., Miranda & Keeley (3/4).

 

Fantastic work Year 1!! WOW! The whole school was treated to an invitation to visit Year 1’s classroom to view their truly magnificent Zoo enclosures. The clever designs and careful thought that went into each one blew us all out of the water! Thank you to the parents who helped their child with this interesting project.

 

All classes have participated in creating Christmas card designs for Dobell House. Judges from Dobell House will present certificates to winners from each grade at this week’s assembly.

 

Our environmental groups have done a fantastic job in the vegie garden. We have fresh, just picked zucchinis for sale for 50c and chokos for 10c each. What a bargain! These are available from the school office. Thanks Mrs Wilson for giving us green thumbs!

 

Our staff has been busy working on the school’s next three year plan. We will continue to target Literacy, Numeracy & Student Wellbeing. I am suggesting that parents may like to start putting away a little bit of money each week ready for next year’s school expenses. We have ordered the new “Go Maths” resources as part of our three year plan to improve outcomes in numeracy for all our students. ALL students K-6 will have a Maths Journal which will cost $15.95 each. Students 1-6 will also have a Mental Computations book (that will double up for homework) costing $9.95 each. To ease the load we will not be ordering handwriting books, but will use DET exercise books at no cost to families. We will be sending invoices to all families in February 2009.

 

I am looking forward to our Presentation Day next Tuesday and hope to see lots of parents and family attending to support their child/children. This is always a great occasion to celebrate student achievement. We will be raffling a hair straightener that was kindly donated by Jenny Trahar – thanks Jenny. What a great Christmas prezzie that would make!

 

We warmly invite any parent/carer to attend our picnic day at Myuna Bay on 17^th Dec – bring your cozzies!

 

REMINDERS:

• Presentation Day 9^th Dec – students will be walking to Wangi Workers Club, leaving school at 9:40am for a 10:00am start. NB Band members meet at club at 8:30am with instruments for rehearsal. Some year 6 students will be there early to help with chairs.
• Raffle – Prize is Hair Straightener, tickets $1 each at Presentation Day. Funds raised go to the School Parliament Treasury for 2009.
• Myuna Bay – This is our end of year celebrations on 17^th Dec. ALL students MUST have their note signed to attend and will be issued with a red wrist band if they are weak or non-swimmers. Any student whose parent/carer has not indicated their level of swimming will automatically be given a red wrist band and will be restricted to the shallow end of the pool.

Principal’s Awards

Well done to:   

Kellie M in Kinder for “Resilience”;

Kaitlyn M in Year 1 for “Getting Along & Confidence”;

Jarrad W in Year 4 for “Improved Persistence & Confidence”;

Bree in Year 5 for “Getting Along & Persistence” and

Ebony in Year 6 for “Leadership & Confidence”.

 

Weekly Merit Awards

Congratulations to:

 

 

Kinder Destiny H, Logan B, Reece W,

Grace vdB.

Year 1 Samantha D, Eloise W, Emily B, Keigan M.

Year 2/3. Maggie G, Blake E, Kiarrah B.

Year 3/ 4. Eaydn R, Joel H, Toby G, Bailey V.

Year 4/ 5. Aden N, Sienna G, Teagan C, Nathan A.

Year 6.  Jacob C, Dana K, Jacob C,

Stephanie E.

 

Kinder

A BIG thank you to all parents.  Your support in the classroom and at home has been greatly appreciated.

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and a safe holiday.

 

Year 1

What a fabulous effort with your enclosures Year 1.  The whole school visited our room and enjoyed looking at them. 

ALL children did a great job of presenting their procedure to the class, congratulations.  “Secret Santa” notes have gone home, please make sure you have seen it!
Thank you to the parents who have helped with Reading or activities in the classroom.  Your assistance has been greatly appreciated.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Year 2/3

I would like to take this opportunity to wish every family a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

I have enjoyed working with your children throughout the year and I will miss not only the children in my class this year but all the children at Wangi School next year.

 

Year 3/ 4

With the end of the year fast approaching it is time to have a really good look for those reading books that may have been misplaced.  It would be appreciated if they could be returned by the beginning of next week.

 

Year 4/ 5

A safe and happy holiday to everyone.

 

Year 6

The final weeks of Primary school are here. Toronto and Morisset orientation days this week will have made students hopefully more familiar with their new environment in 2009.

YEP! NO MORE HOMEWORK! We are all cheering!

Presentation Day next Tuesday, so full school uniform is required. Volunteers are needed to help with the setting up of chairs at the Workers Club at 8.30am on Tuesday 9^th. Any Year 6 student who can assist, need a permission note from parents.

T-shirts should arrive soon. Reminder that they are to be worn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ONLY- with a wash in between!!

Best wishes to all students as they move to their next phase of learning. Treasure this wonderful school and its memories. You’ve been a great class. Thankyou!

I wish you all a wonderful and safe Christmas. Take care

 

 

YEAR 6 FAREWELL

A reminder for Wednesday 10^th at Wangi RSL Club. 6.30pm photo opportunity with family and friends, for 7pm dinner. Students require formal wear- no jeans, T-shirts, shorts or beach wear. Boys require a COLLARED shirt. This is an opportunity to dress-up and celebrate Year 6 students completion of their Primary years. Parents are reminded to sign students in and at the end of the evening, sign them out at 9pm. No money is required- all food and drinks and music are incorporated into the price.

No mobile phones. Cameras may be taken- please remember that the student is responsible for it.

What another terrific Tea Time Concert we enjoyed last night. All our students were able to enjoy their moments of fame on the stage to entertain their family and friends. Thank you to Louise Pavey and to all our great staff who helped put together another night of performance opportunities for our kids. We really are a BIG little school!

Thank you to parents who have popped in to ask about multi-age classes and who have all remained so positive about our great school. I have included some information for parents and carers about multi-age classes further in this newsletter.

2009 will be a year of change but our professional and dedicated staff are very capable of meeting these changes as challenges. Mrs Lesley Chaseling will be on 12 months leave via the Deferred Salary Scheme for 2009. Ms Lauren Peter will teach 5/6. Ms Peter is a young, vibrant teacher with experience teaching senior grades across different states of Australia. She comes highly recommended and will bring with her a wealth of skills. Mrs Judy Lovell will be on Long Service Leave and may accept a transfer to another school later in 2009. Mrs Lovell has been an outstanding and extremely caring teacher at Wangi over many years and has volunteered to be our ‘nominated transfer’. Our five classes for 2009 will be optimum in size ensuring the very best attention is able to be given to catering for the individual needs of all our students.

More changes:
•Towards the end of this term we will be transferring the school Library back to its designated location in the large demountable. This should be a facility for all students to access and enjoy and be the heart of the school. The current library room will be converted to a classroom for 5/6 giving access to the computer lab.
•We are installing a second electronic whiteboard for use in class 2/3 for 2009. This has been funded using $3000 from fund raising events (thank you everyone) and $3000 from school funds. Staff will be undertaking training in use of these modern teaching devices. We are planning to run a parent information session too.
•Our staff are currently trialling an innovative maths learning program with an aim to improve our students understanding of mathematical concepts and their abilities to problem solve. It is an exciting approach to learning maths, and if we decide to take on this program in 2009 we will be asking parents to buy student journals to support it. I will confirm this before Christmas with prices so parents can put aside money to pay in the new school year.
 
Congratulation to Mikey and Kimberley in Year 4 who were both successful in their applications for the OC class. They have been offered a place in the class at Biraban PS in 2009. Well done!

I was very impressed with the Year 5 Buddies at Kinder Orientation – even though the new Kindy group was very small in number, they all shared responsibilities and met and greeted families in a friendly and positive manner – great work! I am confident this group will continue the traditions of excellence in student leadership that has gone before them.

We have a number of budding artists that William Dobell would be impressed with today – one of these is Isabelle in Year 5 who has painted an outstanding landscape of Wangi with the Power Station and the Workers Club set in against a background of interesting cloud formations with wonderful reflections in the lake. You can see it hanging in our school foyer! Stunning Aboriginal art work can now be seen as our new tiled wall is almost completed outside the toilet block. We will invite parents and carers to school for a special ‘opening ceremony’ assembly later this year.

Our school has been recognised for the good work we have been doing with our ‘Anti-Bullying’ programmes and we have been asked to write a ‘Best Practise” paper to share among all NSW DET schools. This is quite an honour! Thank you to the parents who gave us feedback this year so we could make our school even safer.

You will be aware of the tragic drowning in 2006 of a Year 2 student at another school. We are revisiting our Risk Management plans and making extension efforts to ensure the safety of ALL our students at the end of year Celebration Day.  It is vital parents let us know the level of swimming ability on the notes to be returned to school. Please be aware that all non-swimmers and weak swimmers will be identified with a red wrist band and will only be allowed in the shallow end of the pool. Any student who has not had their parent/carer indicate their swimming ability will automatically be given a red wrist band and be restricted to the shallow end.

Presentation Day 9th Dec – students will be walking to Wangi Workers Club, leaving school at 9:40am for a 10:00am start. NB Band members meet at club at 8:30am with instruments for rehearsal.

Election of School Captains,  Councillors & House Captains – next Friday with speeches at Assembly.

Our staff would like to acknowledge that they fully support the NSW Teacher Federation with their actions for the 2 hour Stop Work Meeting on Wednesday. Our staff was granted exemption on the grounds of a long standing prior engagement (Tea Time Concert Rehearsal).

Brodie P in Year 6 for “Confidence & Leadership” and

Jack in Year 6 for “Developing Persistence & Confidence”

Kinder  Callum P, Nakita Y,     Tia M, Alicia N.
Year 1  Eagan J, Sascha M, Viviene J, Mitchell M.
Year 2/3 Madison H, Amber A, Georgia A, Luke G.
Year 3/ 4 Zoe T, Nic C, Destoni M,Miranda L.
Year 4/ 5 Emily S, Michael H, James C, Bethany E.
Year 6  Kaitlyn M, Johnny N, Thomas E, Sarah B, Liam D.

A BIG thank you to the Mums and Dads who help with reading groups!!   Mondays are especially terrific, although there are always helpers during the rest of the week. Your support has been fantastic and has benefited your child and others in their group immensely.

As the year draws to a close would you please send in a folder containing removable plastic sleeves, if you haven’t already done so.
Our final walk to Wangi Wangi Library will be next Wednesday 26/11. We will be leaving after recess. Don’t forget library cards and carry bags.

This term is going so fast.
Wow, the enclosures that have come into school so far are fabulous. I am very impressed with what has been done. Make sure you write a procedure explaining how you made your enclosure. Remember they need to be at school by Friday! Next week, in our usual News time, children will be presenting their projects to the class.

Year 2/3 are continuing to work hard. We have completed our assessment tasks.
The children are researching a native Australian animal in class as part of our integrated unit.

The children have been eagerly awaiting the birth of their class Mascot “Bella’s” baby ferrets. We got a lovely surprise on Monday to find that she had had 3 babies. The children are looking forward to watching them grow over the coming weeks.
We have also been successfully attempting some ‘super tricky’ tables, with some large multiplications being managed by employing new strategies.