KNPS News 2019

Term 3 has been a very busy and interesting term. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful school staff. Our teachers, office staff and general assistants all work tirelessly to provide opportunities for our students on a daily basis. The two week break is their opportunity to rest and recharge, ready to do it all over again in Term 4.

On behalf of the entire Kurrajong North Public School staff, I wish our students and their families a safe and restful holiday. Like our staff, students have worked incredibly hard in all areas of learning and we are very pleased with their progress this term. We hope that you are able to spend some quality time as a family, enjoy the Spring weather and we look forward to our students and parents returning refreshed and ready for Term 4. 

Please note that there is no School Development Day at the beginning of Term 4; students return on Monday 14th October. 

Mr Carter :-)

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

1st - Faith R                                    7th - Sam T

7th - Pippa R                                   28th - Scarlett S

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

As part of our work with the GEMS (Getting Evidence Moving in Schools) Project, all staff from KNPS visited Governor Philip King Public School, a larger school in south western Sydney, earlier this week. The purpose of our trip was to establish a working relationship with some larger schools also participating in the GEMS Project to share ideas, resources and expertise. Staff at GVKPS were very welcoming and we got to spend time with the executive team discussing school improvement, watching a range of lessons and planning for future networking opportunities. This was an extremely valuable experience for all staff to be involved with and we appreciate the staff at Governor Phillip King Public School for being so welcoming and accommodating. 

We have also planned visits to Hinchinbrook Public School and Marsden Road Public School early next term and are very much looking forward to the opportunities that these visits will provide.  

We have also been participating in a writing project with Kurrajong East Public School and Bilpin Public School. This has provided our staff with the opportunity to network with staff from other schools to develop knowledge and build capacity with staff from schools within the local area. 

It has been a very busy term of learning for staff at KNPS. We are very lucky to have a group so committed to improving what they do on a daily basis to ensure that every student has their best chance at learning. We can all be confident that we have the best teachers in all classrooms and that our students get the most out of their teachers each and every day. Thank you to all staff for your professionalism and commitment to the students here at KNPS. 

We have included some healthy eating snippets below, provided by the Cancer Council. These may give you some inspiration when creating your child's healthy lunchbox. Enjoy! 

Yesterday we held our very first Principal's Morning Tea. This is a new initiative introduced this term to reward students for demonstrating positive behaviour in the playground and classroom. Students receive Kookaburra Awards for displaying respectful, responsible and resilient behaviour, as well as positive learning behaviours (called Learning Dispositions). 

The award structure for Kookaburras is as follows: 

10 Kookaburras - Rainbow Badge

20 Kookaburras - Bellbird Badge

30 Kookaburras - Rainbow wristband

Each time students achieve either 10, 20 or 30 Kookaburras (ie a Rainbow Badge, Bellbird Badge or Rainbow Wristband), they will be invited to a Principal's Morning Tea. These will be held each term in Week 10. As you can see form the photo we had a hug number of students who have received their rainbow badge this term. They all had a great time and it was wonderful to celebrate the hard work of these wonderful students. 

Congratulations to our inaugural Principal's Morning Tea recipients. We are very proud of your achievements and thank you for being amazing KNPS learners!

We will be holding a parent information session in Week 1 of Term 4 - Wednesday 16 October @ 7pm. Information will be presented to assist parents in understanding the programs being implememented at KNPS and to give some ideas on how parents can help support what we are doing at school. 

Light refreshments will be provided (cuppa and biscuits) and we will have a staff member stay behind to look after students if you get stuck for a babysitter. 

This is a really important session if you are interested in how students learn to read and what you can do to support this at home. 

Last week Year 5 attended the Year 5 Leadership Training Day. The students had the opportunity to work with Year 10 students from Colo High learning about the 5 Building Blocks of Leadership.

The Year 5s also developed new friendships with students from other primary schools in the Colo Learning Community. We were very proud of the behaviour and cooperation displayed by our students.

We hope they have learnt valuable tips in readiness for student elections in Term 4.

I would like to thank Mrs Sewell for organising and attending the day. Year 5 and 6 are involved in a lot of activities and there is a mountain of organisation that goes on behind the scenes. We are very lucky and appreciative of the work Mrs Sewell does to ensure that events run smoothly.

I would also like to thank Mrs Mackie from Bilpin Public School for her organisation of the Leadership Day. This is a huge event that benefits Year 5 students in all schools this side of the river. She does not have to organise the day but loves providing students with opportunities and we value this experience for our Year 5 students. 

This ORIGO 1 series of videos shows you how to create light bulb moments for your children. These videos take a mathematics concept and break it into pieces that are easy to understand and only take a minute to watch. Watching these videos will help you to understand how mathematics is taught at school, making it easier for you to teach your children at home. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rmcy8tjj1g