Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Late last week we received new guidelines from the NSW Department of Education about recommencing some school activities. I have attached the guidelines for your information which can also be accessed on the school website and Facebook page.
Some minor changes applied from Monday 15 June, however, Lithgow Public School have made the decision to keep current practices in place until the end of Term 2 as a precaution. There are still a range of restrictions in place which will be reconsidered by the Department of Education in Term 3.
The following points are summarised from the guidelines:
· Parents and Caregivers are still not permitted on school grounds or at school events. Our current drop-off and pick-up arrangements will remain in place for the remainder of the term. All adults onsite must maintain physical distancing (1.5m).
· All visitors must report to the office and complete an ‘External Visitors to School Site form’.
· Assemblies can be held with staff and students only, but with a 15 minute time restriction.
· All school sport activities can recommence. No PSSA events will be held in 2020, which includes zone, regional and State athletics carnivals.
· Only the uniform shop and canteen are permitted volunteer activities. No other parent volunteer activities are permitted.
· P&C meetings can be held onsite from Term 3, however, there is still a preference that these be held via video conferencing.
· Scripture classes can resume in Term 3.
· Day excursions to outdoor locations only are permitted. Approval to hold overnight camps and excursion will be reviewed in Term 3.
I once again thank everyone for your ongoing patience and compliance with the guidelines set by the Department of Education.
Semester 1 Reports
As mentioned in previous correspondence, the Semester 1 reporting period will culminate with a modified Student Report. If you would like more information about the interim policy standards for curriculum, assessment and reporting please visit this link:
It is anticipated that student reports will be distributed on Friday 3 July as normal. Given that we were unable to conduct 3-Way Interviews in Term 1, we are planning to conduct these early in Term 3. This will provide parents and caregivers with the opportunity to discuss their child’s Semester 1 Report and overall progress in their learning. The format and mode for the 3-way interviews will be determined by advice from the Departments of Education and Health at that time. Again, I will continue to keep the community up to date with respect to when and how these interviews will proceed.
Opportunity Class Placement
The 2021 Year 5 Opportunity Class placement process was put on hold in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation.
We now have a revised and simplified timeline for the OC placement process to ensure that students and families can have certainty about their placement as soon as possible.
The changes include:
· A new date for online applications. Parents must apply between 9 June 2020 and 26 June 2020. Late applications cannot be accepted.
· A new test date – Wednesday 16 September 2020.
To ensure fair and consistent assessment of students across New South Wales, students will be offered places based only on their test results this year – there will be no school assessment scores.
There will also be no opportunity for appeals given the tight timeframes.
An ‘Intention to Apply’ note has been sent home with all Year 4 students. I ask that all parents of Year 4 students return this note regardless of whether there is an intention to apply or not. This allows us to ensure that no student misses out this wonderful opportunity due to confusion around the application process. If your child didn’t receive this note, I would ask that you call the school and we will ensure they receive one.
For further detailed information on Opportunity Class Placement information, I encourage you to visit:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5
Positive Behaviour for Learning – Whole School Student Reward Day – Wednesday 24 June
Over the last few weeks, many of our students have been demonstrating safe, respectful, responsible learning behaviours. As a result, teachers have been busy handing out Gotcha Goanna slips to those students. This is great to see as it demonstrates the positive impact that our Positive Behaviour for Learning program has, and continues to have, on the overall wellbeing and learning of our students.
After the last draw, and given the length of time between Gotcha draws, the Gotcha’s have been sitting in the collection vessel for some time and have become very compacted. As a result, it has been decided that we will hold a whole school student reward day on Wednesday 24 June. On this day students will be able to wear winter pyjamas to school and will participate in a picnic (donuts and fruit supplied by the school) and range of fun, structured activates through the afternoon session. Congratuations to our students. Their excellent behaviour has led to this whole school reward day.
Second Step Program
Next term, we will also begin to implement and use the Second Step program. The Second Step program is a universal program that will be taught in all classroom and will enhance our Positive Behaviour for Learning practices. The program is a classroom based curriculum designed to increase student school success and decrease problem behaviours by promoting social-emotional competence and self-regulation. It teaches skills that strengthen students’ ability to learn, to have empathy, to manage emotions and to solve problems. If you would like to find out more about the Second Step program I encourage you to visit:
https://www.positivepieces.com.au/second-step
At a glance the Second Step program focusses on, and gives students tools to develop:
· Self-awareness
· Self-management
· Social awareness
· Relationship skills
· Responsible decision making
I will provide you additional and ongoing information about the Second Step program throughout Semester 2.
SPARC
Also during Semester 2, Lithgow Public School will be implementing a new initiative, the SPARC program, as an additional wellbeing tool. The SPARC program is an 8 Week program that explicitly teaches social and emotional skills.
The SPARC program focusses on five key areas:
Social: Developing a student's ability to foster healthy relationships through appropriate communication, words and body language. Manage social interactions effectively.
Purpose: Establishing a purpose. Having a purpose or attaching a purpose to something can motivate an individual to fulfil that purpose. A purpose to their life, a purpose to learning, a purpose to being kind.
Awareness: Developing the awareness of self. Awareness of one's emotions and the different triggers. Also the awareness of others, understanding how others are feeling and engaging
Resilience: Equipping students with strategies to bounce back when challenges knock them down. To look at challenges as an opportunity to grow and learn.
Confidence: Embracing who you are. Celebrating all the amazing things that make you, you. Avoiding comparison and wanting what others have, identifying your gifts and strengths and using them to boost confidence.
The SPARC program will be run throughout Semester 2 2020, with small groups of students working through the 8 week program with one half hour session per week. Students who may benefit from the additional support of the SPARC program will be identified by classroom teachers and endorsed to paricipate by the School’s Learning Support Team. The program will be implemented by the School’s Wellbeing Support Officer (Chaplain), who has been trained in its implementation. Please note that the program will be run during class time and is optional. If your child is offered a place the school will call you to discuss the offer and a permission note will be sent home. Students will only be able to commence the program with parental permission.
Have a great fortnight.
Mark Davies | Principal
