Welcome to Week 2! As you can see from the calendar, Term 4 will be a busy term finishing off the year and planning commencing for 2023. Please ensure you let us know if your children are not returning to our school next year (except for Year 6 students).
Selective high school placement process for placement in Year 7 in 2024
Applications for Year 7 entry to selective high schools in 2024 open on 18 October 2022. Applications will close on 16 November 2022. The due date is strictly observed. Requests for late applications will be approved only under very specific and well-documented circumstances.
Find information about the application and placement process and apply online at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunityclasses/year-7.
All candidates are required to sit the Selective High School Placement Test to be held on Thursday 4 May 2023.
The online application dashboard enables parents to log in to make updates and add attachments even after an application is submitted. Parents also communicate directly with the Selective Education Unit through the system’s messages feature.
Parents having difficulty completing or submitting an application, should contact the Selective Education Unit through their application dashboard or, if unable to do so, by email ssu@det.nsw.edu.au.
Keep updated on the selective high school placement process at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunityclasses
Attached to the newsletter is the Intention to apply for Year 7 placement in a selective high school 2024. Please complete the tear of slip and return this to your child’s teacher by Friday 28 October 2022.
Please note the tear-off slip is NOT an application. It is advice to us that you intend to apply. We CANNOT apply on your behalf.
Also attached is the Information for applicants for entry to selective high school in Year 7 in 2024. The new Equity Placement model will commence this year creating fair and equitable access for disadvantaged and under-represented students. More information is available in this document on page 6.
Staff News
Congratulations to Mrs Husarek who was successful via merit selection in obtaining an Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction position at Warrimoo Public School. Mrs Husarek will commence in her new position next year. Mrs Husarek has been a passionate advocate for our students and a wonderful support to the executive and we wish her the very best in her new role. We will certainly miss you Mrs Husarek.
Congratulations to Miss Sellwood who was successful in gaining a permanent teacher position at our school through the merit selection process. Miss Sellwood has been a temporary teacher at our school for many years and we are thrilled she is now a permanent member of our staff.
Congratulations to Mrs Mekaail who has been permanently appointed as an English as a Second Language/Dialect (EAL/D) teacher at Wentworthville Public School. Mrs Mekaail will commence in her new position at the start of next year.
Congratulations to Miss Gray who was married during the holidays. Miss Gray will now be known by her married name of Mrs Chapman. We wish Mrs Chapman and her new husband all the very best for the future.
Canteen Closure
The school canteen is currently in the tender process. The school canteen will be closed all this term until further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Please ensure you provide your child/ren with a drink, morning tea, lunch and fruit for Crunch and Sip each school day. Please do not send any peanut products to school as we have several students who are Anaphylactic which can be life threatening.
Big Show Colour Run
We have launched our Big Show Colour Run which will be held on Wednesday 23 November. This is our major fundraising event for this year. Funds raised will go towards purchasing playground equipment.
It will be a great day of fun for our kids and staff. There will be huge inflatables and our kids will meet Chase the Cheetah.
Please keep a look out for notices on Skoolbag and our Facebook page. A special thanks to Mr Hughes who is coordinating this event.
If you have a business, work for a business or know of a business who would be interested in sponsoring our Colour Run, or donating prizes we would love to hear from you and promote the business to our school community.
We ask for your support in making this a great day for our kids and in purchasing much needed playground equipment.
NSW Health Primary School Dental Program
Last week all students received a package for the Dental Program. The program is scheduled to visit our school from 31 October to 11 November 2022. If you would like your child/ren to be a part of this program, please return the consent form to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
NSW Primary Principals’ Association (NSWPPS)
For the past two years I have had the privilege of being a Vice President of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association (NSWPPA). The NSWPPA is the peak professional association that represents 1800 primary public-school principals across NSW from the smallest rural and remote school to the largest metropolitan school.
I have been a part of the NSWPPA since becoming a principal and have held various roles including Penrith, Blue Mountains Primary Principals’ Council President and Area Delegate, a representative of the Legal Issues Standing Committee and the Chair of the Curriculum Reference Group. For the past two years in my role of Vice President, I have also been the Executive Liaison for the Curriculum Reference Group and the Assessment, Planning and Accountability Reference and the Executive Regional Liaison for Hunter/Central Coast.
The NSWPPA works in consultation with the Department of Education and key stakeholder groups to support, empower, advocate and lead to improve the educational outcomes of all our students. This work is done through the State Executive team, State Council, and various reference groups, standing committees, and working parties.
Elections were held again this year and I was successful in obtaining a Vice President’s role. It is a great honor for your work to be recognised by your peers and to represent my principal colleagues. I would like to thank my Executive Team at KPS who support me to do this work. This position is unpaid.
Do the right thing students – tap on and tap off, every time you travel by bus
Opal card data gathered by tapping on and tapping off is used to determine demand for bus services. If students don’t tap on and tap off every time, then bus services will appear underutilised. Without accurate data, the need for additional services to match demand will most likely be overlooked.
It is a requirement of bus travel that your child has a valid Student Opal card and that they tap on and off each time they use the school bus or route bus service. This is outlined in the TfNSW Code of Conduct as follows:
“It is a condition of the School Pass Terms and the Student Codes of Conduct when travelling that students in possession of the School Opal card must tap on and tap off every time when using public transport to travel to and from school. Per section 3.2 of the Opal Privacy Policy, Transport for NSW collects information from taps on and tap offs to support coordination, planning and policy development for transport, transport services and transport infrastructure.”
It’s been noted that students from our school using the bus service have not been tapping on or off. In Term 4, there will be a strong focus on getting students back into good habits of tapping on and tapping off with their student Opal card.
We’re requesting your help to restore the tap on and tap off numbers to match the school bus travelling numbers to benefit the students, parents, school, and bus operator.
2023 School Travel Applications Now Open
Applications for student travel in 2023 are now open. Please see the School Travel attachment for links and further information.
Enrolments for 2023
We are now accepting enrolments for 2023. Enrolment applications are now completed online. Please note that supporting documentation must be provided before an application for enrolment is accepted. Please click on the link below for documents needed to support your child's online enrolment.
Norma Petrocco
Principal
