Narrabri West Public School

Welcome back to what is set to be a very busy ten weeks, with many exciting learning opportunities. It’s been a busy start as we continue to work with all students on the areas they can improve in to achieve even better results.

We are now midway through our school year. For some students and their families, it signals the approach of their final semester of primary school. Year 6 students may be beginning to experience some amount of anxious anticipation or excitement about High School.

For other students and their families, this time marks the end of their first semester at school. Our Kindergarten students have settled in and formed many new friendships. As a school we continue to work towards achieving excellence through connected, collaborative, critical and creative learning experiences in an exciting learning environment.

One of the highlights of this term is Education Week  2021. We normally celebrate Education Week with a special assembly and the opportunity for families to visit classrooms to see what our students have learnt so far this year. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions we will not celebrate during Education Week.

At the end of Term 2 it was very pleasing to read student reports and see the positive comments about how much effort students are putting into reaching their learning goals. The information contained in these reports is a summative account of your child's progress this semester and documents each student’s progress and attitude, so that their achievements and opportunities for improvement are acknowledged, but are also used as a platform to seek further growth and development in the second half of the year through targeted feedback. It is extremely important that you take the time to go through this information with your child and constructively reflect on what the information is saying. 

These reports are not solely intended for parents. They really belong to the students. For parents in supporting their children with their learning, the report aims to provide greater understanding of what additional help you can provide. For the teachers, they encourage them to reflect on the progress of their students, the effectiveness of their own teaching practice and the next steps required to gain further growth from their students. For students, they provide a greater understanding of themselves as a learner and what they can do, and need to do, to enable themselves to ‘be the best they can be’.

Learning can be difficult. It is not always about succeeding the first time. Learning is what comes from reflecting upon our failures and focusing our efforts to do better next time, building resilience along the way so that we are inspired to keep trying.

We presented Silver Badges to all students who had reached this level in our Merit Award system. In order to receive a silver badge, student’s behaviour must have been outstanding at all times this year. This is in line with our policy of rewarding students whose behaviour is always appropriate and the fact that so many students achieved this award, yet again clearly demonstrates the qualities of the students at Narrabri West.

End of term tradition is to have a BBQ for the whole school. We enjoyed another of these on the last day of Term 2 and it was great to have Mr Bruce join us. This is an enjoyable opportunity for everyone to share lunch together before the holidays.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Nott and Mr Bruce for the amazing work they have done at Narrabri West and we welcome Mr Parker as our new General Assistant.

Stage One students have returned after their break with lots of interesting stories about their holidays and have kicked off the term with a great week of learning.

We welcome Mrs Conroy and Mrs Creighton to the Stage One team. Mrs Conroy will teach 1B Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Creighton will teach them on Thursday and Friday. Miss Browning has returned to Newcastle to live and work. The students in 1B have settled in well with their new teachers.

This term students will complete an English unit based on the Chinese folktale ‘Tikki Tikki Tembo’, written by Arlene Mosal. The book tells the story of a Chinese boy with a long name who falls into a well, the moral of the story explains why the Chinese use short names today. The students will write their own story after learning about the structure of narratives and the devices authors use to entertain their readers.

In Mathematics students will continue to develop number sense skills, problem solving skills and continue to follow the NSW Maths syllabus and Go Maths units of work.  In other subject areas students will learn about different forms of energy, Australia and our connection to the world, how we are different and similar as well as how to stay safe in different situations. Our creative arts unit this term is music and during PE students will be learning fundamental movement skills as well as some gymnastics skills. We will also participate in the athletics carnival and Education Week this term.

Stage One teachers and students are looking forward to a wonderful term of learning at the West. Keep an eye on SeeSaw, Skoolbag, Facebook and the NWPS website for more information about our wonderful school.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

Cathy Hatton, Courtney Meppem (1M), Alex Conroy (1B), Lisa Creighton (1B), Alice Woodhill (2W), Mattise Neeves (2N) and Megan Scilley (support). 

We are now providing all Pre Schools in Narrabri with information packages for next year’s Kindergarten students about our school. If you know of families intending to enrol their children at Narrabri West in 2022, please encourage them to call the office, to arrange an information package.

It is also important for our forward planning that you advise the school as soon as possible if your children will not be attending Narrabri West in 2022. This will not only assist us, but more importantly will allow a smooth and structured start to the school year for those students who are attending.

Whilst 2022 is still a long way away, we have to advise the Department of Education of our anticipated student numbers for 2022 in the next few weeks! Our staffing entitlement for next year is based on these numbers; hence the importance for all schools of having accurate information as soon as possible.

Year 6 have received their Class of 2021 shirts. One of the privileges of being in Year 6 is the opportunity to purchase these and wear them throughout the year.

Parents are responsible for the regular attendance of students at school, including partial attendance, lateness and leaving early (Education Act 1990). If your child is late to school:

• Parents are required to provide the school with a valid explanation so that accurate records can be maintained.
• If your child is leaving early due to an unavoidable appointment parents must provide an explanation in writing, preferably to the teacher the morning of the leave.

You may send a note to the teacher, use Skoolbag, email or phone the school, or respond to our email or SMS notification, to provide this explanation.

The MAKE A PAYMENT link can be found on the ribbon on the school’s website. By selecting this link you will be taken to a secure Westpac payment page. You will no longer be in the school’s website.

The payment process is intuitive and follows the format of many other online payments that are used every day.

HOW DO I MAKE A PAYMENT?

From the initial payment page payers will complete the details, some of which are mandatory (marked with *), before confirming the payment details and completing the payment. A receipt can be printed from the payment page and/or be emailed to the payer.

The payment screens are:

1.    Entering payment details

2.    Entering credit card or debit card details

3.    Confirmation of payment details and

4.    Online Payment Receipt.

Entering Payment Details

The payment details screen captures student and payment details. This allows for identification of the student that the payment applies to and what the payment is for.

This is critical to ensure that the right student is credited for the right items.

The preferred method of ensuring the correct student is credited for the right items is to enter the students class or year AND date of birth.

The payment details should come from the school Statement of Account or listing that the school issues. There can be more than one payment line for all items except voluntary school contributions. The items are:

·      Voluntary school contributions (1 payment line), use this for general contributions or donations

·      Subject contributions (up to 10 payment lines), use this for contributions for specific subjects e.g. Visual Arts, Industrial Technology, etc.

·      Excursions (up to 5 payment lines), use this for specific excursions e.g. Lake Keepit, Canberra, minor excursions, etc.

·      Sport (up to 5 payment lines), use this for any sporting activities e.g. carnivals and weekly sport activities, etc.

·      Creative & Practical Arts (up to 5 payment lines), use this for music, drums, etc.

·      Sales to Students (up to 5 payment lines) use this for anything purchased by a student that becomes the property of the student

·      Other (up to 5 payment lines) this may be used for paying total amounts owed by a student e.g. total of the student’s Statement of Account.

IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHICH BOX TO CHOOSE PLEASE CONTACT THE SCHOOL AND ASK FOR CLARIFICATION.

When any option is chosen by selecting the tick box, a payment description and payment amount must be included. Deselect an option by selecting the tick box again.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1.    Why do I need to enter Date of Birth?

In some schools there are students with the same name in the same class or year. The date of birth assists the school in distinguishing which student the payment relates to.

NOTE: The preferred method of ensuring the correct student is credited for the right items is to enter the student’s class or year AND date of birth

2.    Why do I have to enter the student’s details each time I make a payment, isn’t it stored in the system?

When you make a payment you are in a secure Westpac website, for privacy and security of data no student details are maintained within the Westpac site. You must enter the details with each payment.

3.    The screen keeps displaying the data I have just completed, it is not moving on?

Scroll through the whole screen, any errors will be shown in RED, you cannot progress until you resolve the error.

4.    I don’t know the student registration number, what is it?

The student registration number is a nine digit number. You can find this on the Statement of Account that the school sends home, or you can use 123456789.

5.    What is the Ref or Invoice number, I don’t know it?

Schools do not produce invoices. The Statement of Account produced for outstanding fees does not generate a number.

This field does not need to be completed.

6.    Why can’t I deposit directly to the school’s bank account?

Schools are not permitted to share any school bank account details.

7.    Why can’t I use BPay?

The BPay option is not available on the school bank account.

8.    Does the school see my credit card details?

The credit card details are masked on any reports to the school. e.g. 411111xxxxx4111

9.    Can I use a debit card or PayPal for payments?

Payments can only be made using Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards. American Express, Diners Club or EFTPOS cards are not accepted. PayPal is not a payment option.

If a payer only has an EFTPOS debit card then the schools EFTPOS terminal, cash or cheque are alternate methods of payment.

10.   I have made a payment in error, how can I cancel it?

Contact the school and request that they cancel the transaction. This can be the same day that the transaction was processed or at a later date.

11.   If I select 'Make a payment' on the school’s website and the screen does not change who should I contact?

Contact the school office and request to speak to Katrina Barnes, the School Administration Manager.

12.   I haven’t used online payments before, is it difficult?

The payment process has been developed to be very user friendly. It follows the format of many other online payment screens that you may have used.

13.   Can I pay for multiple students?

When paying for more than one students the “Make Another Payment” option should be selected on the Online Payment Receipt screen.

There is no option to add multiple students to a single payment as the details on the initial screen relate to one particular student only.

You can still make payments in the usual manner ie at the school office using cash, cheque and EFTPOS.

14.   I am having difficulties using online payments with my Mac

Try updating your browser to the latest version.

15.   My session has timed out

If you are delayed when making a payment you will be logged out and will need to recommence the process.