The Randwick Buzz

Term 2, Week 2 2022

Important Dates for 2022

Friday 6th May                         PSSA begins

Tuesday 10 May                      NAPLAN – Writing

Wednesday 11 May                NAPLAN – Reading

Thursday 12 May                    NAPLAN – Language Conventions

Friday 13 May                          NAPLAN - Numeracy                                             

Monday 16 May                      P&C Meeting, 7.30pm  

Friday 20 May                         Walk Safely to School Day

Tuesday 24 May                      Bully Zero Parent Workshop

Thursday 26th May                 National Sorry Day

                                                   Red, Black and Yellow Mufti Day

Friday 27 May                          P&C Comedy for a Cause Evening

Tuesday 31 May                      Year 1 Excursion Vaucluse House

                                                   Bully Zero Parent Workshop

Thursday 2nd June                 Year 1 Excursion Vaucluse House

                                                   Year 4  Excursion MonkeyBaa Theatre

Sunday 5th June                      Working Bee

Thursday 9 June                      Kindergarten Excursion

Wednesday 15 June                Grow Your Mind Parent Information Session

Thursday 16 June                    Swimming / Cross Country Assembly 10am

Tuesday 21 June                      Year 6 Musical

Wednesday 22 June                Year 6 Musical

Thursday 23 June                    SRC Pyjama Day Mufti Day

Friday 1st July                          Last day of Term 2

Monday 18th July                    Staff Development Day (No students)

Tuesday 19th July                    First day of  Term 3

From the Principal

Our ANZAC service on Friday provided a wonderful opportunity for our students to appreciate our cultural identity and show respect for the sacrifice made by previous generations that underpins the society we have today. Despite our regular concerns, which are being voiced daily in the current pre-election phase, it is important to remind ourselves and our children that we have much to be grateful for in comparison to both previous generations and many other countries around the world. Remembering to teach ourselves and our children the value of showing gratitude on a daily basis underpins the Grow Your Mind wellness program being undertaken by all students and teachers across our school this year. The top of my gratitude list today was some bright sunshine and intense blue sky!

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. Giving thanks can make you happier - Harvard Health. 

I know we can all benefit from more of these skills.

ANZAC also provided an opportunity for further opening up of the school with both Senior Strings and the Performance band playing a key role in the observance. Having community in our school, singing and playing together was an excellent start to what will be a great term of learning.

Our debating teams started coaching sessions with teachers Nikki Laurendet and Harmony Rutherford with great professional support from parent, Ros Dixon. Achieving the title of State Debating Premier in 2021 has set the bar high. Whatever the outcome in 2022, we know how students will benefit from the key skills of learning to appreciate both perspectives of an argument and advocate in a controlled and persuasive manner. Over the year we would like to encourage parents with particular skills to be involved in offering other mentoring programs to students. If you have time and an interest, please get in touch. 

In the junior school, teachers are preparing for parent helpers in classrooms. They have appreciated the much needed first term to settle our young children back into organised and fruitful working patterns. Our Learning Support Coordinator, Laurie Power, has already canvassed support for parents to work particularly with younger students needing a boost in reading and mathematics through some regular one to one adult support. Parents have regularly expressed the sense of satisfaction they have gained from seeing a small child grow through their intervention in the SARP and SAMP programs. Please consider this if you have a small amount of regular time available.

With a strong focus on building our students mathematical skills in our current school improvement plan, we welcomed the opportunity for some senior students and teachers to attend a session with Eddie Woo at Randwick Girls High next Monday. Eddie is a very motivational teacher whose teaching videos "have gone viral" for high school students in particular. If you struggle to help an older child with their maths just do a search on the topic Eddie Woo WooTube - YouTube. Unfortunately, just when Mathematics is a key skill for most professional roles, students are turning away from mathematics so we all need to work together to help them enjoy the struggle, rather than give up.

Keep a watch for further dates coming up with Online workshops for Anti Bullying, Grow Your Mind, P&C on Monday 16th May and a family working bee on the way.

Regards
Susan Allen, Principal

From the Relieving Co-Principal

Last Thursday, I officially began as Relieving Co-Principal of Randwick Public School. Each day that I am here, I learn something new about the school, students, families, staff and local community. One thing that has stood out to me is how respectful, friendly and responsive the students, families and staff are at Randwick Public School. I have enjoyed getting to know students on the playground and in their classrooms as well as family and community members at the school ANZAC Day commemoration. I am learning a lot about the interests and strengths of students through our conversations, as well as picking up some key phrases from the various languages that families speak in their home environment. In my first week, it has been wonderful to hear about and observe the high quality teaching and learning that is happening at Randwick and I look forward to spending time with teachers and students to build my understanding. I feel very lucky and proud to be the Relieving Co-Principal of Randwick Public School and am eager to build positive relationships with students, families, staff and the broader school community.

Kate Cohen
Relieving Co-Principal

From the Deputy Principal's

Walk Safely to School Day

On Friday 20 May we will be participating in the annual Walk Safely to School Day. Now in its 23rd year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment. 

The objectives of WSTSD are: 

  • To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children and reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour. 
  • To promote the health benefits of walking and help create regular walking habits at an early age. 
  • To ensure that children up to 10 years old hold an adult's hand when crossing the road. 
  • To help children develop the vital road-crossing skills they will need as they become mature pedestrians. 
  • To reduce the car dependency habits that are being created at an early age and which will be difficult to change as children become adults. 
  • To promote the use of Public Transport. 
  • To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles. 
  • To reduce the level of traffic congestion. 

More information will be sent out via Seesaw closer to the day. 

Applications for Year 5 Opportunity Class Placement in 2023

Important dates in the application process are as follows:

Tuesday 26 April 2022: Online applications open (OPEN NOW)

Friday 13 May 2022: Online applications close (Parents and carers must apply by the due date.) No late applications will be accepted.

Thursday 28 July 2022: Opportunity Class Placement Test

Parents and carers must apply online between Tuesday 26 April and Friday 13 May 2022 at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity- classes/year-5

Opportunity classes – Year 5

Applying for placement in an opportunity class in Year 5.

education.nsw.gov.au

NAPLAN Timetable

All children in Years 3 and 5 will sit the NAPLAN assessments in Weeks 3 & 4. Below is the NAPLAN timetable showing when your child’s class will be completing their NAPLAN assessments. The class sessions will all take place in Week 3, allowing make up sessions for students who were absent on the day of their class test to complete their NAPLAN test in Week 4. 

To ensure a smooth start to our NAPLAN assessments, it is important that you make sure that your child is at school well before their test is due to commence. This will assist our teachers to create a calm environment, mark their rolls and get students logged into devices before the test session starts. 

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. NAPLAN can be a stressful time for your child, so try to ensure they get plenty of rest and down time. Teachers will be preparing students for the NAPLAN tests during class time, so while a little preparation at home is of benefit, there is no need to overwhelm your child with practice tests. Teachers will provide students with feedback and tips throughout their preparation so they are ready for the tests. 

For further information on NAPLAN please visit https://www.nap.edu.au/

NAP - Home

School support – NAPLAN. Schools play a central role in ensuring the smooth running of NAPLAN tests. Each year, ACARA and test administration authorities (TAAs) in each state and territory provide information and support to schools to ensure they understand what is required to support the administration of NAPLAN tests.

www.nap.edu.au

Trent Gardiner
Deputy Principal 

NAPLAN

Grow Your Mind at Randwick Public School

This term we are embedding the Grow Your Mind program at RPS. Grow Your Mind is on a mission to reclaim the term mental health. We all have it and we can all learn ways to look after it and starting early is key. The aim is to arm ALL children, their teachers and families with the knowledge about what mental health is and the key skills essential for supporting it.

On Friday, we launched the program across K-6. The focus was learning about different parts of the brain that help us to learn, manage emotions and build resilience. The Wise Owl, the prefrontal cortex, helps us make good decisions, solve problems and carry out higher order thinking. The Guard Dog, the amygdala, keeps us safe at all costs. The Guard Dog lets you fight, freeze or flee without even thinking about it. The Elephant, the hippocampus, helps us remember and stores information. The Sensitive Octopus, the insular cortex, helps us be a good friend by using its superpower, empathy. Finally, the Sifting Sooty, the reticular activating system (RAS), helps us to focus and decide what information is important.

Everything is going smoothly when the animals are talking to each other. The problem is, your Guard Dog sometimes gets REALLY BIG and when it gets BIG, it gets BOSSY! Sometimes, this is important because it keeps us safe. However, sometimes our Guard Dog gets big and bossy when our problems are small and we need to find ways to remind our Guard Dog we are safe. One way to do this is to breathe mindfully. As you do this, think of your Guard Dog going from barking to sleeping with every slow and deep breath. Once your Guard Dog is quiet, you can remember the things that help you to be a good friend, to focus and to make a helpful decision.

There are things we do every day to look after our physical health, like brushing our teeth or eating healthy foods. This term, students will learn different ways to look after their mental health, like practising mindfulness. Each week they will learn a new strategy that they can start to build into each day. Hopefully, this will give our students tools they can use throughout their life to support their mental health.

Later this term, parents and carers will have an opportunity to learn more about Grow Your Mind when we host an evening Parent Information Session. This is scheduled for 15 June so keep an eye out for more information. In the meantime, ask your child about their favourite way to calm their Guard Dog. You might get some good tips!

Chantal Cake
Deputy Principal 

Celebrating our Mums

This week our Year 2 students celebrated their mums at a special Mothers Day assembly on Thursday afternoon. Year 2 students sang their mums a song and presented them with a special gift that they'd made in their classrooms. To all of our mums (and mother figures) at Randwick Public School, thank you for all that you do for our students... and for us! We hope you are able to enjoy some special time with your families this Sunday. Happy Mothers Day!

Todd Mackie
Assistant Principal Curriculum & Instruction

Year 6 visit to Canberra

Year 6 students were fortunate to visit Canberra for 3 days in late March. Our excursion complemented our a history unit on Australian Federation and Democracy. It also provided opportunities to further explore Australia’s culture and heritage. 

It was a busy 3 days with visits to; Parliament House, The Institute of Sport, The Electoral Museum and the Museum of Australian Democracy (both found in Old Parliament House), The War Memorial and Questacon.  

The students were not only able to share their learning but further explore themes and concepts discovered at school. 

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the nations capital as part of their education. We acknowledge their rebate contribution of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program

Red, Black and Yellow Mufti Day

In 2021 it was highlighted by students, parents, community members and teachers the need to make Indigenous signage more visibly present around the school. 

In support of this initiative, on Thursday, 26th May, all students will be encouraged to dress in the traditional colours of the Aboriginal flag - red, black and yellow. A gold coin donation will be collected on the day to raise funds to purchase plaques which will be displayed around the school.

Students will also engage in lessons on this day learning about the importance of "Sorry Day", exploring truth in Australian history from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspective.

Thank you!

Kind regards,
Mrs Leanne King

From the P&C

Dads at The Dog Thursday 12th May 8:00 upstairs at the Duke of Gloucester. Come along and meet other Dads from the school.

Election Day BBQ & Cake Stall Volunteers needed

Once again time to don the apron, grab the tongs, cook a few sausages, sell a few cakes and feed the hungry voters!!

Saturday 21st May to raise a few $$ for the school. Please use the link below to sign up to help

21 May 2022 Election Day BBQ — Signup Sheet | SignUp.com

Randwick Public School presents 'Comedy for a Cause'- a fun and entertaining night for parents, teachers and friends (adults only), tickets are selling fast so make sure you don’t miss out!

Friday May 27th 2022- in the school hall

We will have the bar open, the Volkswurst German Sausage Truck (he does a delicious vegetarian option!) will be providing food and the Silent Auction will be running on the night.

Buy your tickets at comedyforacause.net/rps $35 entry fee for a great line up of Comedians!

Parents of RPS, we want to hear from you!

Tell us your thoughts on community building opportunities, the P&C and cultural events at the school by filling in this short survey. It will take no longer than 8 minutes, and responses are completely anonymous! Get your response in before the survey closes this Sunday! https://forms.office.com/r/74VCnQ18xV

Have you got something to tell us?

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RandwickPublicSchoolfeedback

Please provide your feedback by clicking on yellow banner link. We will direct the feedback to the appropriate people and/or share it in the newsletter! So that we can get in touch with you, support you or gather more information, it is greatly appreciated if you could provide your contact details if you would like.

Thank you!

Community News and Advertising

https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/rps-community-news-and-ads/home?pli=1&authuser=1

Please see the Community Advertising section for activities held at the school, during school holidays and within the local community. You can access this link by by clicking on yellow banner link above or by visiting the Randwick Public School website, scroll down the front page and click on the link "Community Advertising". 

Access information regarding COVID 19 across more than 20 Languages here

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/translated-documents/covid-19-updated-advice---current-as-at-17-august-2020
Information for parents and carers about the changes to school operations because of COVID-19 health advice current from 8 September 2020 is available in the following languages:

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    Randwick Public School