Teaching and Learning
It has certainly been a busy start to Term
4. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the many
teachers who have organised and led significant events across the school to
start the new term.
We had a ‘Kindifarm’ recently visit the Preschool and Early Intervention Unit.
Our Kindergarten students have also
recently visited Calmsley Hill City Farm (Fairfield) to complement learning
being undertaken in the classroom.
Transition programs being run between
Punchbowl PS and local high schools has also been a feature of this term.
Students have attended Wiley Park Girls
HS, Punchbowl Boys HS and Sir Joseph Banks HS to participate in the high
school curriculum and access resources to support their learning. Activities completed
during these visits included wood working lessons, cooking classes, physical
education activities, technology lessons, literacy and numeracy lessons. We
have also had students in our
performance groups recently attend the Punchbowl
Uniting Church to entertain the local community. This is a tradition that
has been upheld by the school for over 50 years and we are very proud to
showcase our talents to the community.
Our students in K/2K and K/2G also participated in community access programs with visits
to the local shopping centre and participation in a gymnastics program run
through the YMCA.
All of this is has been on top of the
wonderful learning opportunities that our students are receiving across the
curriculum each and every day here at the school.
BYDS Program
As you are aware, a select group of Stage
3 students have worked with the Bankstown
Youth Development Service (BYDS) this year to develop a ‘respect rap’. The
students have performed the rap at a number of significant events and have also
been asked to perform at upcoming events including White Ribbon Day and the
Department of Education’s Network Awards afternoon. The video of the
rap is now available for you to watch on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxpe2TRbWpw&t=6s
The video has been shared nearly 3000
times and I have also shared it with our Director, the Executive Director and
the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education. All have shared the video
with colleagues and we have received some outstanding feedback from both the
educational and local community. Well done to the boys. We are very proud of
their achievements!
Kindergarten Orientation
Our Kindergarten
Orientation program has now been running for 2 weeks and will continue
until Week 7. The final session for the year, Friday 30th November, will be used to hold a graduation
assembly to celebrate each child’s participation in the program and to
welcome them to the ‘Punchbowl family’ for 2019. I would like to thank the many
teachers who have coordinated this event or presented at the parent workshops.
I also thank the external providers who have contributed to the sessions and
especially thank the parents who have taken the time to attend the sessions. If
you know of any children who start Kindergarten in 2019 and have not yet
presented to the school, can you please remind them to do so as soon as
possible. It is of great benefit to the children to attend the orientation
sessions prior to commencing Kindergarten.
NAPLAN
Our Years 3 and 5 students received their NAPLAN results at the end of last term.
Those families who were not able to collect results from their child’s teacher
last term would have recently received the results in the post. The school did
offer a workshop for any parents who wanted to discuss their child’s results or
required assistance interpreting the results. Future opportunities for parents
to engage with the school’s NAPLAN results will be made available next year
when the school communicates how the results will be used to drive the
development of teaching programs and resources across the school. I remind
parents that the NAPLAN tests are one ‘snapshot’ of their child’s academic
performance and that our teachers continue to use a variety of strategies to
ensure that student performance data is collected in a timely and regular manner.
This ensures that our teachers are able to adjust their teaching strategies and
curriculum content to meet the identified needs of each child.
Staffing
News
I wish to congratulate Mrs Robinson who was recently appointed
as a permanent Assistant Principal
at the school. We look forward to Mrs Robinson continuing her strong
contributions to the school as a member of the executive team.
I also wish to inform you that Miss Sutcliffe has been successful is
gaining a teaching position at Wentworth
Point PS. Miss Sutcliffe will commence at her new school in 2019.
I am also pleased to advise our community
that Mrs Christodoulou and Mrs De Villiers
recently celebrated new additions to their families. We also wish Mrs Delanty and Miss Gill all the very
best as they both expect the birth of a child in the near future.
School Grounds
Our school grounds are continuing to
thrive thanks to the work that is being put into the school’s gardens. Thank
you to Mrs Kontakos and Mr Shearer
who are working with students and staff from Panania Free Rangers to
provide valuable ‘environmental education’ to our students and to drive
sustainable practices across the school.
As the Year Draws to a Close
As the end of the year approaches, it is
more important than ever that our students are upholding the school’s values
and setting a standard of behaviour that they can take into their learning next
year. We highly value the partnerships that we have with our parents and I
thank you all for supporting the school’s actions and continuing to instil
strong values into your children.
We have many significant events, including
celebrations, taking place in the coming weeks. We look forward to having many
of our students and community members actively participating in these events.
Please continue to look at the school’s app, Facebook page and website
for updated information regarding school events.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We are
looking forward to a very productive and exiting end to the school year.
Mr C. Smyth-Gapps
Acting Principal
