Kingswood Public School Newsletter

Telephone: 0247 364028                                                      Fax: 0247 47366012

Email: kingswood-p.school.@det.nsw.edu.au           PO Box 305 KINGSWOOD NSW 2747

Second Avenue KINGSWOOD NSW 2747

Term 1 Week 2

03/02/20

Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) Best Start Assessment

04/02/20

Welcome to our Early Stage 1 students and families

07/02/20

Stage Assemblies

Term 1 Week 3

10/02/20

Meet the Teacher Night - Stages 1 and 2

11/02/20

Meet the Teacher Night - Early Stage 1 and Stage 3

12/02/20

Twilight Swimming Carnival

14/02/20

Stage Assemblies

Term 1 Week 4

17/02/20

Back-up Date Twilight Swimming Carnival

18/02/20

Stage 3 First Foot Forward in School Visit

21/02/20

Assemblies

Welcome back to the 2020 school year! A special welcome to all our new students and families.

It is a pleasure to be back as the principal of our wonderful school. I would like to thank Mrs Clarke for her leadership of the school whilst I was on secondment at State Office and thank all the staff for their work last year.

It has been a challenging start to the year with the bushfires and the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected. Regular updates from the Department of Education on the Novel Coronavirus are being distributed via our Skoolbag app and in hard copy. Could I please encourage all of you to download the Skoolbag app, which is free, and read the notes so that you have the most up to date information. All reminders and changes to school events are notified via the Skoolbag app.

Students have been placed into their classes this week. A lot of thought and time goes into the composition of these classes. Our school is structured on a Stage basis which means that the classes are multistage/composite. Multistage/composite classes have more than one year group in the class. As in previous years we also have across Stage classes this year.

All NSW syllabuses are based on Stage outcomes. All students are working towards the achievement of the Stage outcomes over a period of two years except for Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) which has one year to achieve the outcomes. This applies to all government and non-government schools.

When teachers assess students, they are assessed against the outcomes for their Stage and are not compared to other students. Teachers use this information to tailor learning programs to meet student’s individual learning needs. Most students will be working towards the outcomes of their Stage, some students will be working below and others working beyond their Stage level.

Regardless of what class your child or children are in, they are all on their own learning journey. Our fantastic teachers will assess where your child is at with their learning and plan and program accordingly to meet their individual learning needs. 

As has been the trend for the last number of years, we continue to grow in our student population. This also means an increase in our staff. A special welcome to our new and temporary teaching staff. Please refer to the Staff List attached.

Please be aware that as well as teaching a class, the Executive team and teachers also have Stage and whole school responsibilities which at times means teachers will not be on their class. We have a wonderful group of regular casual and temporary teachers who will continue the teacher’s program. As with other professions, teachers are also entitled to sick leave, long service leave and to attend professional learning which can occur during school time.

Meet the Teacher Nights will be held next week. A note has been sent home with the details. Please take the opportunity to attend this evening to meet your child’s class teacher and to find out what is planned for their Stage this year.

The Term 1 Planner will be sent home next week. Any changes to the planner will be notified via Skoolbag.

Just a couple of reminders for our new students and all our families:

●     School begins at 9:00 and concludes at 3:00pm. Supervision of students begins at 8:30am each school day. Before and after school care is available in our hall through Cubbyhouse Child Care. For details please visit: https://cubbycc.com.au/ or telephone 1300 553 583.

●     Please notify the office if you are going to be late picking up your child. Students will wait in the office and will need to be signed out. If they are attending Cubbyhouse Child Care please notify them directly.

●     It is really important that students arrive at school on time and attend each day. Please note that the Home School Liaison Officer monitors school attendance. If your child is unwell, please keep them home and provide a note when they return to school.

●     As we have a number of students at this school who have Anaphylaxis which can be life threatening, we do not allow birthday cakes or the sharing of food amongst students.

●     The school car park is out of bounds to all students at all times. Please do not walk through the car park at any time.

●     Please ensure that you close the school gate when leaving the school to ensure our students are kept safe. 

●     If you have any concerns regarding your children, please contact the office to make an appointment with their class teacher in the first instance. The Assistant Principal who oversees each Stage is also available to speak to via an appointment.

●     If students ride a bike or scooter to school, they must wear a helmet.

●     We are very lucky at this school to have two dedicated crossing ladies. Please ensure you use the crossing with your children.

●     Please label your child hats, jumpers and belongings so that they can be returned to them if they are lost. Please also ensure your child has a change of clothes in their bag, particularly kindergarten, as toilet accidents and wet weather may mean your child needs to changes their clothes or socks and we only have very limited spare clothes.

We are looking forward to a productive year with our students and to working with you to ensure your children thrive and grow.

Norma Petrocco

Principal

Library Borrowing

Library borrowing will begin in Week 4 for all students.

To help protect the borrowed books all students must use a library bag. Bags may be the cloth drawstring type, a PVC library bag available from stores or simply a clean, plastic shopping bag.

Students in Early Stage 1, Stage 1 and Stage 2 may borrow 2 books at any one time for a period of two weeks. Students in Stage 3 may borrow 4 books, 2 Fiction and 2 Non-fiction, at any one time for a period of two weeks.

Borrowing time will be made available during class lessons in the Library. In addition, students may borrow during the second half of lunchtime every day of the week. The library will also be open for borrowing and returning books from 8:35am to 8:55am every Monday and Tuesday and 3:05pm to 3:15pm on Thursday afternoons.

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic Book Club operates 8 times a year and offers a convenient way for you and your child to select and purchase worthwhile and appealing books, software, craft and games. Brochure items have been expertly chosen to span a wide range of interests, age groups and reading levels.

Our school library benefits from all purchases made through the Book Club.

To order from Book Club simply fill in the order form on the back page of the brochure. Place the order form and correct money in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name and class. Orders are to be placed in the money slot at the front office, on or before the due date.

Book Clubs LOOP is the new Scholastic Book Clubs Linked Online Ordering & Payment platform for parents. Please refer to the Book Clubs Loop flyer for more information.

Please note that your child’s order will return to school approximately four to five weeks after the issue of the month’s Book Club brochures.

Orders for Issue 1 close at 9:00am on Wednesday 19 February 2019.

Unfortunately, late Book Club orders cannot be accepted for processing.

Please return all overdue library books and home readers you may have found over the holidays to the library as soon as possible. Thank you to all students who have returned their books promptly however we still have many books that have not yet been returned from last year. 

Mrs Young

Teacher Librarian