Connected

Dear Parents and Carers
It is with sadness but also great pride that I sit here at my desk writing the Week 10 Newsletter. The past four weeks have shown how caring, committed, dedicated and resilient the students, staff and parents/carers are at Wattle Grove Public School. We have all come together during this complex time to support our children and one another. I can’t thank you enough! I have loved reading all the messages of encouragement and kindness via emails, Facebook and the online learning platforms.
Stay safe and enjoy your Easter holiday. Although our activities will be limited, enjoy time with your loved ones.

Working at Home, Working at School
The staff are working hard to ensure the students are provided with online activities or offline activities for students who do not have access to technology, or this is limited. We understand these are challenging circumstances and do not want to place undue stress on any families. If you have any concerns or questions please contact your class teacher. We are here to help and support. We would also love to hear about the successes you are having too!

Updates
We will continue to send regular updates and messages through the SkoolBag App. This is the most efficient way to ensure messages and updates are delivered to our community. 

Exciting P&C News
In 2019 the P&C applied for a NSW Government Grant to provide funds for the renewal of our synthetic turf. It is with great excitement that I can announce that we have been awarded $40000 to go towards our playground. The P&C will also be contributing finances towards the project – watch this space!!! I would like to thank the P&C and all our families for their ongoing support to our school. 

Nicole Cameron   - Principal

Vicky Valensise - Deputy Principal

Have you downloaded the SKOOLBAG APP?

Please ensure you have the Skoolbag App for the latest information .

We have been advised by Sydney South West School Sport Association that all zone, region and NSW sport for Term 2 has been cancelled. This includes sports that had already chosen representative teams. We will advise any further updates as we receive them.

Earlier this month students from 5 Royal and 5/6 Tuscany participated in the Bebras computational thinking challenge. Bebras is an international initiative aiming to promote Informatics (Computer Science, or Computing) and computational thinking among school students. The Bebras challenge promotes problem solving skills and informatics concepts including the ability to break down complex tasks into simpler components, algorithm design, pattern recognition, pattern generalisation and abstraction. Our students performed very well and are looking forward to the next challenge in August. Congratulations to the following students on achieving these excellent results:

Distinction: Matthew (also received “Best in School” award)

Credit: Joshua, Holly, Jack, Elias and Erika.

Merit: Mackenzie, Ira, Cooper, Ethan B, Ethan G, Madison, Scarlet, Alana and Drew.

All students will receive their participation certificates upon our return to school. If you would like your child to complete some past challenges click on the link below:

https://community.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/1261/single

Thank you,

Ann Cabrera (Bebras Coordinator)

Ann Dodd and Donna Robinson

(Class teachers)

This week’s Stem Stars are your teachers. They have been working incredibly hard over the last couple of weeks to organise both online and offline programs to support your learning at home. All of your teachers have done an amazing job and should be congratulated on their efforts. Teachers have been involved in many hours of professional learning to ensure that our students are participating and engaging in quality programs so that learning continues during these difficult times.

Keep learning and stay safe.

Mrs Cabrera 

Congratulations to all the students for walking and wheeling to school in the Active Travel Day! We had 154 bike riders, 102 scooter/skateboarders, 85 walkers, 7 bus travellers and 102. coming by car.

Wattle Grove Public School would love to see our students keep up the walking and wheeling throughout the year as we believe the benefits greatly assist in the student's personal and academic development.

Hello!
I hope you are all as well as can be in the current climate. As schools transition to online learning, DSM’s have been asked to come up with online alternatives to stay connected with students at home. I have set up a Seesaw account (Mrs Lazarevic’s Group) enabling continuity of care for Defence students in these uncertain times. There will be no tasks assigned for students to complete, this account will be used to check in and support students online.
Family QR code and setup instructions were emailed on Tuesday, this code can be accessed for all students in your family (these are separate to the ones you have already received for K-2 students). Please note that this is an optional extra and if students would like to connect, then they can do so (no pressure).

Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP)
Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the employment market, the Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) has been changed to allow partners to apply for PEAP at any time during the posting cycle, as opposed to the previous requirement to apply within two years of posting.
These changes effectively mean that nearly all partners will be eligible to access up to $1,500 in each posting towards professional employment services. Other eligibility criteria still apply, such as the requirement for applicants to obtain approval prior to commencing or paying for the services.

 The changes are effective immediately. The DCO website has been updated with the new Guidelines and application form, and messaging was released on social media on Thursday 2/4/2020. 

Kim Lazarevic
Defence School Mentor