KNPS News 2019

As we draw near to the end of this term, I would like to thank the school community for your efforts this semester. I can't believe that we are already at the halfway mark of 2019. I suspect the year has flown by due to the effort we have all spent in and out of the classroom to support our students in their learning journey. 

Thank you to all parents who have volunteered their time to work in various capacities to assist at school; P&C, canteen, carnivals and fundraisers. I would also like to thank all of you for continuing to support your child with their learning and for supporting our school in whichever way you can.

I would like to thank the students for their continuous efforts at school, both in and out of the classroom. They deserve a few weeks to reboot, ready for another exciting term ahead! All students have all been working hard to develop their skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum and we have been very proud of their efforts this semester. 

Lastly, I would like to thank the wonderful staff at Kurrajong North Public School. We work in a very unique and special environment and are extremely lucky to have such a dedicated, nurturing and committed staff who strive to improve the learning, social and emotional skills of all of our students.

Have a safe and happy holiday everyone. Stay warm and we will see you when we return on Tuesday 23 July. 

Mr Carter :-)

"The Black Book of Colours" by Cottin Menena attempts  to convey the experience of a person who can see only through their sense of touch, taste, smell or hearing. With gorgeous textured art on black paper, accompanied by a beautifully written text translated into braille, this powerful book breaks down barriers and gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a whole new way. 

After reading this text, Year 4 attempted to convey their experience of colour for someone who could not see. These are the texts they came up with. Amazing use of language by our Year 4 students. Check out some examples of their writing below. 

We have also included a rocket artwork. Year 4 have been learning about space and these artworks turned out really well, we couldn't help but throw one in. 

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to the following students for the month of July:

2nd - Harry F                                    28th - Jemma C

24th - Evans F                                  28th - Cooper C

24th - Daniel F                                  

We hope you all have had, or are going to have an amazing Birthday, with loads of love and presents! 

On Staff Development Day next term, the teaching staff will be continuing their Visible Learning journey with a group of schools across the Hawkesbury. The focus so far has been ‘Learning Intentions and Success Criteria’ as well as ‘Effective Feedback’ (feedback based on the LISC – Learning Intentions and Success Criteria – identifying what a student can do well and where they need to go next). On Staff Development Day in Term 3 we will be undertaking the unit ‘Creating Assessments for Teaching and Learning’.

This series of professional learning workshops stems from meta analysis conducted by John Hattie, where he looked at millions of studies to determine what works best when trying to improve student learning outcomes. Feedback was determined to have a significant impact on student learning outcomes, in all areas of learning. This is why we have chosen to embark on a 3 year journey to develop our understanding of what works best in order for us to implement this learning in all classrooms to drive student learning for every child, every day. Very exciting times!

Whilst the teachers are at Visible Learning training, the office and support staff will be undertaking CPR and First Aid training at school. 

With Semester 1 reports handed out and interviews complete, we will soon be seeking feedback about the process by which the school feeds back to families about student progress. In essence, we want to know how we can improve our systems to support the school community in understanding student achievement and how to act on this to support student learning at home. 

When the survey becomes available, we encourage you to take the time to complete it, as we will use this information to guide our decisions around the reporting and interview process for 2020. 

Thanks in advance and we look forward to your opinions and future collaboration. 

We have 2020 vision at the moment (I couldn't resist the pun!), which means we are looking at school numbers and planning for the coming year. I know it seems early, however the department requires anticipated enrolments early in term 3 and we like to be as accurate as possible. 

If you have a child starting next year, could you please contact the office and request an enrolment form and return this to the school as soon as possible. If you know of any students in the local area who have not yet submitted their enrolment forms, could you please ask them also. 

We are attempting to  be as organised as possible. Thanks for your support.  

The Department of Education considers regular attendance at school to be essential in assisting students to maximise their potential. Schools, in partnership with parents, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students. As such, there are clear guidelines around attendance and the duties of parents and the school, to ensure that students attend school on a regular basis, and when they are unable to attend that this is justified by parents and recorded by the school. 

Parents are responsible for ensuring that students are enrolled at a government school, a registered non-government school or home school. Parents are also required to ensure that once enrolled, students attend school regularly. If students are unable to attend school it is the responsibility of the parent to explain any absences from school promptly and within seven days to the school. This can be through our school app (SkoolBag), by phone or written note handed in to the front office. 

As a school we traditionally have a very high percentage of attendance. In semester 1 of this year we had an official attendance rate of 95.8%. Additionally, 87.4% of students attend school 90% or more. We would like to thank the school community for ensuring that students attend school regularly and that all absences are explained in prompt manner to the school office. 

As a school we have recently spent some time looking at our systems when dealing with both positive and negative behaviour as part of our student welfare strategy. An integral part of our Student Welfare Policy is how we teach and reward students to encourage positive behaviour. As a school we: 

- Explicitly teach expectations (Respect, Responsible and Resilient) in all settings throughout the school

- Reward students when we see them exhibiting good behaviour. 

As of Term 3, we will have two main methods of rewarding positive behaviour. One is through the Class Dojo app. The idea is that students are given a Dojo Point whenever they are seen to be acting in manner which aligns with the school expectations. Class Dojo points are tallied for each class each week. these points are combined to create a school total and awards are given out when the school reaches a set amount of Dojo points. Our first school goal is 2000 Dojo points. When we reach this goal, students will be given an extra 5 minutes playtime. At 4000 Dojo points we will celebrate with a school movie. The premise being that students are given constant feedback about their positive behaviour as an individual, however they are rewarded as a whole school to promote the idea that our personal behaviour affects those around us. 

Kookaburras will still be handed out to students on a regular basis. These awards will be handed out to students for consistently demonstrating the expectations of the school and specifically for effort in learning. When students receive 10 Kookaburra awards they will receive a rainbow badge. After another 10 awards they will receive a Bellbird badge. Another 10 Kookaburra awards and students will receive a KNPS Star badge. Kookaburra awards will reset each year, giving students the opportunity to start each year from zero. Each time students receive a KNPS Star badge, this will be recorded, with students working towards Presentation Assembly awards for consistently reaching the top level each year. 

A detailed overview of the awards will be available shortly. If you have any questions about our reward system or Student Welfare Policy, please contact the school office. 

Twenty-six of our students were selected to attend a variety of Enrichment courses across the Hawkesbury this week and last week. The feedback we have had from students who have already attended their courses is excellent! I have also received positive reports from host teachers, expressing how impressed they have been with the behaviour of our students. We are very pleased to hear this praise! We would like to thank the teachers who have run the 40 courses across the Hawkesbury. It is a big commitment and a very worthwhile opportunity for our students, for which we are very grateful!

Education Week will be in Week 3 next term. We hope you are able to join us for Open Day on Monday 5 August. We will be combining our Education Week Assembly with Grandparents Day. This means that we will have a shortened assembly, followed by open classrooms, lunch/morning tea with grandparents and culminating in our Grandparent Day games. The book Fair will also be open, so remember to bring your wallets and spend lots on the awesome books available. Students are encouraged to dress up in clothes of yesteryear. Further information will be sent home early next term. We look forward to seeing you there!