Dear Jamberoo Public School Community,
2023 Classes
Earlier this week, all students in Years 1 to 6 were placed into their new classes for 2023. As well, today our very excited Kindergarten students experienced their very first day of ‘big school’.
The class structures for 2023 are as follows:
Kindergarten (Wombarra) – Mrs Sam Galea
Year 1 (Birrahlee)– Mrs Melinda Kunkler
Year 2/3 (Kookaaraa) – Miss Maddison Alpen
Year 3/4 (Wonga Wonga) – Mr Ben Ross & Mrs Alex Peade
Year 4/5 (Walabi) – Mrs Justine McCormack
Year 5/6 (Nanga Mai) – Miss Brooke Peterson
Teaching Staff Roles
Mrs Vicki Dammerel – Learning Support Teacher (Tuesday-Thursday)
Mrs Sharon Behl-Shanks - Asssistant Principal (Curriculum and Instruction)
Mrs Taryn Green - RFF Wonga Wonga, Bump It Up
Mrs Peade - STEAM/Library/Wonga Wonga
Mrs Milligan - Enrichment
Mr Ross - Assistant Principal (Monday-Wednesday)
Mrs McCormack - Assistant Principal (Thursday and Friday)
Non-Teaching Staff Roles
Mrs Jacqui McGee, Mrs Maryann Dowling, Mrs Susan Caulfield and Mrs Alison Mackie – School Learning Support Officers
Mrs Kate De Las Heras - School Administration Manager
Mrs Mandy Telfer - School Administration Officer
Mr Rod Morphett – General Assistant
Mr Rowland Hay – School Counsellor
Mr Wade Horton – School Nurse
Student Award Submissions
This year, the school is implementing a change in how awards are handed in and recorded. In the past, students needed to hand into the office 5 awards to receive Bronze, 10 awards to receive Silver and 20 awards to receive Gold.
In 2023, awards will be recorded and stamped by Mrs De Las Heras when they are handed in.
For example, a student hands in their first 5 awards to the office. The awards are recorded, stamped, handed back to the child and the student receives a Bronze Award.
To receive a Silver Award the student will not need to hand in the original 5 awards they submitted to receive Bronze, they will just be required to hand in the next 5 awards.
Finally, to receive Gold the student will only be required to submit their most recently received awards. Not the first 10 they submitted to receive bronze and silver.
The reason for the change is that the school wants to ensure that students do not miss out on receiving their Gold Award because physical awards have been lost during the course of the year.
Students who achieve Gold this year will be recognised and rewarded with a Principal’s Morning Tea, which be held every 5 weeks commencing at the end of Term Two. When your child receives a Gold Award, they will experience the morning tea within a short period of time, rather than having to wait until the end of the year.
How to Achieve a Gold Award in 2023?
Students at Jamberoo are currently presented awards on the basis of the following:
· Uniform
· Homework
· Library
· Principal
· Participation in school and community events
· Merit for class work
· Extracurricular Achievement
In 2023, the school will be removing the ‘Participation in school and community events’ awards. The reason behind the change is to ensure that we are rewarding students for ‘achievement’ rather than ‘participation’. An example of the change is today’s swimming carnival. Students who achieve a ribbon for placing first, second or third will be recognised with an award. Students who participate, and don’t receive a ribbon, will receive an intrinsic award e.g. a pat on the back from a parent, a well done from a teacher, an internal sense of achievement after participating in a race and beating a personal best time.
The goal of the school is that students become more aware of the importance of intrinsic motivation, which is more relevant to ‘real life’ scenarios. That you feel great about yourself through participation and the effort you put in, rather than focusing on a physical award for engaging in a school event or activity.
The current student award structure is listed below:
· 5 Merit Certificates = Bronze
· 10 Merit Certificates = Silver
· 20 Merit Certificates = Gold
· 40 Merit Certificates = Diamond
With the removal of participation awards, the award structure in 2023 will change to:
· 5 Merit Certificates = Bronze
· 10 Merit Certificates = Silver
· 15 Merit Certificates = Gold
· 30 Merit Certificates = Diamond
The school appreciates your patience and understanding as we trial the change with student awards in 2023. The school will endeavour to reflect on and evaluate the new system throughout the year. The rationale behind the new awards structure is that ‘students are being recognised for achievement, not participation’.
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)
The NSW Department of Education is continuing to finalise the tender process as quickly as possible, however the service will not be commencing in Term 1 2023.
The Department is aware of the importance of access to an OSHC service for our community and is working to complete the tender as soon as possible.
Please be assured I will provide you with an update once more information becomes available.
Should you have any questions about this, you may wish to contact the Department at BASCreform@det.nsw.edu.au
Leaving School Early
It is vital that the educational needs of each and every student are met. One of those needs is regular attendance at school, this includes remaining at school for the entire school day. Special school events, such as Presentation Day, Grandparents Day etc are not a reason for a child to leave early. Partial absences do need to be justified either as sick or approved leave e.g. dental appointment. Any absences that are not due to sickness or approved leave by the principal are considered to be unjustified. I seek your assistance to ensure your child does not have unjustified partial absences during the course of the year.
I appreciate the support of all families in preventing unnecessary absences at Jamberoo Public School.
Assembly
There will be no assembly tomorrow. The first whole school assembly for the year will be Friday 8th February kicking off at the new time of 11:55am. The new time slot is to allow for the implementation of the new whole school music program, which commences at 1pm on a Friday afternoon.
Parent/Carer Information Afternoon
Next Tuesday 7th & Thursday 9th February, the school will be conducting an information afternoon for all parents/guardians. The sessions are vital in providing essential information regarding the organisation of classrooms and the routines in place. We look forward to seeing you all in attendance. The program for the afternoons will be as follows:
Tuesday 7th February
3:15 – 3:45pm Kindergarten - Mrs Galea
3:45 – 4:15pm Year 3 & Year 4 – Mr Ross & Mrs Peade
4:15 – 4:45pm Year 4 & Year 5 – Mrs McCormack
Thursday 9th February
3:15 – 3:45pm Year One – Mrs Kunkler
3:45 – 4:15pm Year 2 & Year 3 – Miss Alpen
4:15 – 4:45pm Year 5 & Year 6 – Miss Peterson
Operoo
Thank you to all the parents/guardians who have completed a profile for their child on Operoo. All permission notes will be sent home via Operoo. If you haven’t yet signed up your child, please do so ASAP. The Operoo platform provides the school with all your child’s medical details which can be accessed at the click of a button on a phone or a device. For more information about Operoo please don’t hesitate to contact the school.
Class Dojo
In 2023, all classes will be utilising the application, Class Dojo as the communication tool. Class Dojo allows teachers to provide families with the latest information regarding school events, classroom activities, excursions and personal details about your child’s behaviour and academic achievement. All whole school activities and events will also be posted through Class Dojo. You will receive instant notifications through your phone and/or device which will ensure you are receiving up to date information. If your child is new to the school, they will bring home a parent/guardian invitation. Please take the time to activate your account. For further information regarding Class Dojo please click on the link below:
https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/about/?redirect=true
Dragons Visit
On Tuesday 7th February, students in Years 3 to 6 will attend a St George Illawarra Dragons Blitz assembly. Representatives from the Dragons will speak to the students about health and wellbeing. The assembly will kick off at 9:30am and will be conducted on the back oval.
Lunch Sports Coaching Program Term One 2023
The school’s P&C have kindly donated funds to support the skill and confidence development of our students for the sports of rugby league/league tag and cricket in Term One. Coaches from the local community will provide specialised and differentiated coaching for our students in Years 3 to 6. The program runs for 5 weeks and is conducted Monday to Friday. It commences in Week 3 (Monday 6th February) and concludes on Friday 10th March (Week 7). Thank you to the Jamberoo P&C for your generosity.
Kindergarten Students
I would like to officially welcome the new Kindergarten students and their families to Jamberoo Public School. It was fantastic to see the smiling and innocent faces arriving at school for their first day. We look forward to teaching and working with the Kindergarten students, now and in the future. I’m certain they will enjoy their time at Jamberoo Public School.
New Enrolments
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new enrolments for 2023. We are very happy to have the following students join the Jamberoo Public School community of learners:
Hamish Pell (Birrahlee) Cooper Mullan (Nanga Mai)
Xander Mullan (Nanga Mai)
Regards,
Mr Chris Speirs
Principal
