Narrabri West Public School

We hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break and we look forward to sharing a busy and productive term with you and your children. It has begun with a rush already.

All classes are continuing their program of learning and teachers are developing lessons to meet the educational needs of our students, who have settled back into their routines very quickly - it is like we were never away.

This term promises to be not only very busy, but also very exciting. Some of the upcoming events include the National Assessment Program (NAPLAN) for Years 3 and 5, the Narrabri Eisteddfod and too many more to mention. As always, Narrabri West is an extremely busy place. Of course we have already had our Cross Country Championships, which were held Friday 6th May.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and we hope to see you at all of our school events.

This year Anzac Day fell on Monday 25th April. It was wonderful to see Narrabri West students marching on ANZAC Day  this year. Well done to all children who marched and everyone who cheer them on as we made our way to the RSL Club. It is always exciting to see all schools marching and honouring this occasion.

Thank you everyone for your help and assistance with having the Narrabri West students attend. Thank you also to all of our teachers who were there to help with the organisation and to march with our students. It is noticed and appreciated how you are prepared to give up your own time to assist the school and local community.

Welcome back to Term 2. We trust that your holidays were fun and exciting. The children have settled back in quickly and are adjusting well to our new cold weather routine of starting our day inside.

Children are excited to be back and engaging in play based learning in our Preschool.

Red and Blue Group children have been learning about what plants need to grow, shapes and identifying and writing our names.

We have created a class project for the local Narrabri Show. The children enjoyed creating an artwork about their favourite book ‘Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy’ included Hairy Maclary himself, Bitzer Maloney all skinny and boney, Muffin McLay like a bundle of hay. Bottomly Pots covered in spots and Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum. We are very proud of our work and excited to have received second place.

Children have worked with Mrs Watson to get our veggie patch ready for planting. The children have weeded, watered and mixed up the soil in preparation for the seedlings. We have planted broccoli, carrots, spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choi and corn. The children are eagerly waiting for them to grow!

This national testing will be conducted from 10th – 20th May 2022 and all students in Years 3 & 5 are expected to participate unless they are exempt or withdrawn by parents.

NAPLAN assesses skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time, through the school curriculum. NAPLAN is not a pass or fail type test, but rather shows how individual students are progressing in numeracy and literacy skills against national standards for all children. NAPLAN tests fundamental skills rather than specific content and as such is not a test for which students can study or practise. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to let them know that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program and to urge them to simply do the best they can on the day.

These tests are important in providing some diagnostic information on each child’s progress at this point in time. They are one way to support our school in ascertaining areas of student achievement as well as programs and activities we could implement to ensure continued improvement. In addition, our learning and support funding is also provided on a needs basis partly due to the results obtained in the assessments.

An individual student NAPLAN report will be provided later this year. Parents can use this information to monitor how their child is progressing and to identify any areas of concern. It should be remembered that this is only one part of our assessment schedule for the year and reflects the student’s ability only in the areas tested. These tests are by no means comprehensive and any concerns that you have after receiving your child’s NAPLAN report should be discussed with their class teacher.

Those families with outstanding payments will receive an invoice this week. Payments can be made by using the 'make a payment' tab on the schools website.  Our school contributions are only:

• $30 for the 1st child
• $25 for the 2nd child and
• $20 for every other child in the family

At Narrabri West we use these contributions solely for the purpose of purchasing items that will directly benefit your children. Please assist your child’s education by forwarding payment as soon as possible. As we always say, our voluntary school contributions remain easily the lowest of any school in Narrabri, therefore they would definitely have to be the best investment that you can make in your child’s future.

In 2022 Voluntary General School Contributions will be used to purchase additional laptop computers for use in the classrooms. School contributions paid already will only allow us to purchase 4 laptops. We will be ordering these at the start of Term 3.

* We have already purchased these items so students can use them.

Currently you can see that $5780 is outstanding for school fees. If paid it would allow us to purchase new readers. 

The University of New South Wales is offering your child an opportunity to participate in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS). ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment, that has been running for 40 years.

 ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results. All tests will be administered on the dates supplied on this note (these dates may vary to the dates supplied online). Tests must be run on these dates and unfortunately refunds cannot be given for students who are absent on these dates.

All fee payments must be made online by 29th July. Please use the following link and access code to make payment for your child’s tests:

https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Access Code: GTS370

https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

As we move towards the cooler weather, I ask students and parents to be aware of the uniform requirements at Narrabri West. Our uniform room has school jumpers, jackets and rugby tops available in school colours with our emblem on them, as well as track pants. Navy blue or red scarves are also permitted. Please assist us to uphold the wonderful uniform standard that we have set.

We also notice at this time every year students wearing jumpers to school that are not part of the school uniform. Jumpers that are different colours to our school jumper and hoodies are not part of our uniform and SHOULD NOT be worn.

Narrabri West Public School students went on an excursion to the local show. They walked to the show with their class and enjoyed the many items on display throughout the pavilions. The students checked out their school work entries and found many Westies had received awards for their creativity. Congratulations to all who participated and won awards. The students enjoyed visiting the poultry shed where they saw a fabulous display of different breeds of chickens, game fowl and ducks. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Lawty on your awards in the poultry shed. Students also strolled through the produce pavilion and loved seeing the locally grown fruit and vegetables on display, they especially enjoyed the animals made from produce by the children from the local district. The animal nursery and Lego pavilion were also popular with the students, some were lucky enough to hold a rainbow chicken or a baby rabbit. The highlight of the show visit was a performance by The Crack Up Sisters from Queensland. They entertained the audience with poetry, funny stories, jokes and whip cracking. We would like to thank the Narrabri Show Society for inviting our school to the show and for allowing us to watch the entertainment during our visit. It is hard to believe there are so many clever people in our community growing wonderful produce, baking lovely cakes and biscuits, painting and drawing artworks as well as sewing and building Lego and scarecrows. We are proud to be a part of such a wonderful community. 

We hope all Mums had a great day on Mother’s Day. Thank you to our captains and prefects for organising the Mother’s Day stall at school which proved very successful once again. 

NSW PSSA Swimming Championships were held at the end of Term 2.  Unfortunately Ryan Warnock was unable to attend. Well done Lucy Booby.

Ethan Megalokonomos, Copper Rickard, Jacob Anderson, Cody Harris, Jarrad Lawler, Emily Simpson, Sonny French, Dustin Hilderson, Tyran Lawler and Fletch Whan attended North West PSSA Rugby League Trials on 27th of April.

Jacob Anderson and Jarrad Lawler were selected in the North West representative team. The NSW PSSA Rugby League Championship will be held in Kiama. Congratulations boys, play hard and enjoy the coastal change. 

Lennon Simmonds, William McClymont and Kiara Vlahopoulos attended North West PSSA Soccer Trials on 29th of April.

Congratulations Lennon Simmonds and Kiara Vlahopoulos who were selected in the North West representative teams. They will travel to different locations (Griffith and Bathurst) for the NSW PSSA Soccer Championships, to be held in August. We wish them well and most of all to have fun.

On Tuesday 3rd May, our girls and boys softball teams played in the first round of the knockout competition. Every player demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, worked well as a team and had lots of fun learning new skills. The results of the game were very close too. Well done to both softball teams!

Narrabri West Public School Cross Country Champions. Congratulations to the first 6 places who will now compete at the Zone PSSA Cross Country  Friday 13th May, hosted by Narrabri West Public School.

Winning House: Sturt

Boys 8 / 9 years: 1. Bailey Oakley 2. Tobin Murphy  3. Thomas Eather 4. Weston Burgmann 5. Phoenix Fox 6. Braxton Templeman

Girls 8 / 9 years: 1. Savannah Lawler 2. Mia McConnell 3. Meg Seccombe 4. Hailee Orman 5. Zara Warnock 6. Melia Crosara

Boys 10 years: 1. Dustin Hilderson 2. Bronson Davis 3. Mark Ridley 4. Ryan Warnock 5. Bentley Miller 6. Andrew Weightman

Girls 10 years: 1. Victoria Irwin 2. Maicee Astill 3. Saige Rood-England 4. Mikaela Whan 5. Oliviah Tonkin 6. Tillie Fox

Boys 11 years: 1. Fletcher Whan 2. Michael Harris-Clayton 3. Blake Eather 4. Lawson Oakley 5. Ryan McConnell 6. Tyran Lawler

Girls 11 years: 1. Hadleigh Astill 2. Lexie Fernance 3. Bridie Seymour 4. Nardia Henderson 5. Larnee Browning 6. Amelia Lennox

Boys 12 / 13 years: 1. Lennon Simmonds 2. Reece Kelly 3. Joey Phillips 4. Blake Stride 5. Jarrad Lawler 6. Cody Harris

Girls 12 / 13 years: 1. Kiara Vlahopoulos 2. Jamaya Murphy 3. Latoya Murphy 4. Lilly Harvey-Woods 5. Teagan Spittles 6. Summer Charlton

A new term always presents an opportunity for students to reset their learning goals and start afresh in what should be a quest for achieving personal bests in everything they do, from their personal choices to their relationships with others.

Parents can best support the wellbeing and safety of students and the quality of their learning by engaging in a strong partnership between home and school. This could include:

• Good communication – reading and where necessary responding to newsletters and notes is an important part of an effective communication process;
• Supporting the work of teachers by reinforcing appropriate expectations of behaviour and engagement in learning;
• Learner Led Conferences shouldn't be the only time you connect with your child’s teacher. Ensure you have regular contact, even if it’s just to say hello. Remember after their parents, your child’s teacher is the person who spends the most time with your child; and

• Learning doesn't stop at 3:25. You can help our teachers to do a better job by encouraging your children to talk about or show you something they are learning at school. Every time they get a chance to show off what they know, it builds confidence … and it will make you proud of them. Reading and commenting on their Friday journals or Seesaw entries is a great way of supporting this.

With some cold weather already here, and winter fast approaching, lots of children will experience asthma related illnesses.

If your child has been diagnosed with asthma, your doctor or health care provider should have provided you with an Asthma Action Plan to help you and your child with their asthma.

It is recommended that you provide your childs’ school with a copy of their Asthma Action Plan and their own Ventolin puffer (and spacer if needed) so we too can help your child with their asthma if they happen to have asthma whilst at school.  The school does have Ventolin for emergency use only.

If you have already provided us with an action plan, please ensure that it is current and up to date.

These plans must be signed by your doctor or health care provider.

Our school has been recognised as an Asthma Friendly School by meeting the set criteria to become an Asthma Friendly School.

The criteria are as follows:

• Asthma records kept for each student with asthma
• Asthma first aid posters are on display
• Asthma medications are readily available to students with asthma
• Spacer devices are available
• A plan is in place for managing asthma during sporting activities, excursions or camps
• Asthma education offered to parents/caregivers within the school
• Asthma education provided for all school staff
• Asthma education program in the health curriculum
• Potential asthma triggers minimised with in the school environment

1 IN 4 PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN &

1 IN 7 HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN HAVE ASTHMA!