Drummoyne Public School

I would like to sincerely welcome everyone back to what will be a special year of learning for our students. We finished 2022 greatly appreciative of community support for the school, expressed through cards, emails and gifts.  

Thank you especially to outgoing 2022 families of Year 6 students for their long and strong connections with DPS and for their valuable contributions to the life of the school over many years. 

 New Classes

The children have enjoyed a very positive start to the school year following the formation of new classes on Wednesday.  Changing to new classes and forming new friendships with classmates takes time and requires adjustment for all students.  At this time, an open, friendly attitude is your child's best asset.  Please encourage your child to seek out new friends even though they may be uncomfortable with this at first.  This is a life skill as connecting with others is the cornerstone of resilience.  Even so, please contact your child's class teacher if you are concerned that your child may need support to transition into their new class.

New Soccer Field  

We were very excited to see the transformation of the primary playground in January as the new synthetic grass soccer field was installed.

In addition the following work was undertaken:

• Phase one of the internal paintwork of the ground floor offices and classrooms was completed
• New LED lighting has been installed across the school
• Primary playground equipment was re-oiled
• Major sewer works completed
• New electronic noticeboard ordered due to the generosity of the school P&C, with installation taking place this semester.

Thank you to our parent volunteers who organised a uniform sale this morning.  Parent commitment to their children wearing full school uniform everyday is a feature of the school and uniform sales make this more affordable for families. Sincere thanks to the uniform committee and our parent volunteers namely: Emilie, Nadda, Aviva, Corrine, Jade, Sylvia, Angela, Rika, Belle & Rochelle.

Parent Information Evenings 

Next week we will host Parent Information Evenings for all grades and stages.

The Parent Information Evening for Years 1 & 2 will be held on Wednesday 8th February from 6.00pm – 7.00pm starting in the school hall with a plenary session and then moving to classrooms.

The Parent Information Evening for students in Years 3-6 will be held on Thursday 9th February from 6.00pm – 7.00pm starting in the school hall with a plenary session and then moving to classrooms. 

The Kindergarten Parent Information Evening will be held the following week on Tuesday 14th February from 6.00pm – 7.00pm. 

We look forward to seeing you next week.

To ensure that the school is able to contact families, would you please let us know if there have been any changes to your home address, email address or phone contact details over the Christmas break. 

You can do this by contacting the school office or emailing: drummoyne-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Please also let the office know ASAP if there are any changes to custody arrangements/court orders.

Finally, please ensure your emergency contact details are up to date so we can contact them if students are unwell and parents are not available.

Thank you for staying in touch with us.

For new students who require medication to be administered at school, all instructions and medications need to be handed in to the office.

To support this process and ensure the dosage is correct and medicine is stored securely, please complete the “Request for administration of prescribed medication to a student” form and hand in at the office with the medicine.  The form is available from the school office and can also be found on our school website.

No student should keep medication in their bags. Thank you for supporting the health and safety of all students.

For returning students, any changes to medication should also be directed to the office.

Please ensure your child’s name is permanently and clearly labelled on belongings such as school hats, jackets, lunch boxes, drink bottles and school bags.

Please use a permanent laundry marker to label clothes, hats and shoes, or sew or iron on personalised labels, go through your child’s bag with them regularly and check that labels haven’t faded with washing.

Dianne Colb

Deputy Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Next week, our stage 2 and 3 students will be discussing ways to stay safe on the internet.

Please join us in supporting Safer Internet Day.

Safer Internet Day is a global event dedicated to creating a safer online world for everyone.

Tuesday 7 February 2023 marks the 20th Safer Internet Day and the world is more connected than ever before, making online safety awareness even more important.

We are joining the eSafety Commissioner to support Safer Internet Day and we encourage you to get involved and Connect. Reflect. Protect.

• Connect safely and with purpose – by keeping apps and devices secure and using social media in positive ways.

• Reflect before we act – by taking a moment to consider how what we do and say online may affect others.

• Protect ourselves and others by taking action – tell family, friends or colleagues about eSafety and visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/  for advice, support and to report online abuse.

By sharing the Connect. Reflect. Protect. message, we can work towards making every day a Safer Internet Day.

Visit https://esafety.gov.au/sid to sign up and learn more.

The eSafety Commissioner has a series of 30-minute webinars that are free to register for. See information on how to do that below.

This is an important issue and you can help by discussing safe internet use with your children. 

This year we are again purchasing student text books and stationary in bulk to make it cheaper for all families.

Book packs will be distributed next week. If you haven't already done so, please make payment for your book & stationary pack this weekend. The book pack prices for each year group are below.

The book packs include the student text books required at school and necessary stationery they will need during the school year. Depending on the grade, these items include a ruler, pencil sharpener, pencils, whiteboard markers & glue sticks. Amounts have been rounded to the nearest dollar for ease of processing by the office.

• Kindergarten     $50
• Year 1                 $61   *includes 'My Personal Dictionary'
• Year 2                 $56
• Year 3                 $57
• Year 4                 $62
• Year 5                 $66   *includes new 'My Wellbeing Student Planner'
• Year 6                 $66   *includes new 'My Wellbeing Student Planner'

NSW Govt 'Back to School' vouchers can now be accepted as payment or part payment for book packs.

If there are difficulties with payment, please contact the office to make alternate arrangements.

Coaching for students at Drummoyne Public School is held on Tuesdays from 11:15am to 12:15pm, starting on 7 February 2023.

Learning and playing chess helps children develop their logical thinking and problem solving skills, improves their concentration and focus, while also being a great source of enjoyment. Activities include group lessons on a demonstration chess board or interactive whiteboard, puzzle solving and fun practice games.

Students earn merit awards by making checkmates, or by displaying skills and positive qualities, which all good chess players strive to develop.

If your child is interested in taking part, you can collect an enrolment form from the school office, or email:  enrol@sydneyacademyofchess.com.au for a copy. For all enquiries, please contact Sydney Academy of Chess on (02) 9745 1170.

Enrichment applications for SSC Balmain Campus Year 7 2024 close on 31 March 2023.

All the information about the application process is on their website at :https://balmain-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/enrol_with_us/enrichment-enrolment.html

Students who need a School Opal card or travel pass for 2023, can now apply.

A new application will need to be submitted if they are applying for the first time, or if they are requesting an additional travel entitlement as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (e.g. joint custody). Students who change address, school, campus location, have repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for their school travel entitlement should renew or update their details before the end of term 4. This will ensure that schools can endorse applications, and entitlements remain valid for the start of the 2023 school year.

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card for the first time will receive their Student Opal card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2023.

For further details please see the attachment below.

Drummoyne Public School has a 'Drop off and Pick up Zone' on Thompson Street for your convenience and for your child’s safety.

Designed for quick entry and exit, the zone minimises congestion and risk when used properly by all parents and carers. The zone operates under the same conditions as no parking zones, which means you may stop to drop off or pick up children for a maximum of 2 minutes. You are required to remain in, or within 3 metres of, your vehicle.

The zone operates between 8.00am – 9.30am and 2.30pm - 4.00pm. 

Please remain with your vehicle during these times and stay no longer than 2 minutes so other parents may also safely drop off or pick up their children.

The February P&C Meeting will be held on Tuesday 21 February from 7.30pm in the library. Everyone is invited to attend.

We hope you can join us!

Please order uniforms online. The P&C will process orders and the school office staff will distribute them.

 Please use our school Registration ID: 2572963 to create an account if you don’t already have one for canteen orders.

If your child is leaving DPS and no longer needs their uniform, please consider donating them to the uniform shop pool. 

The P&C has a pool of second hand uniforms for families in need. Please donate any good quality, unstained uniforms that your child has out grown.

Please send an email request for items you require and we will check if they are available.

Welcome to 2023

We hope everyone had a great break and are well rested, ready to jump into the new school year!

New class names have been updated on school24. Please log on to school24 ASAP and update your children's classes for the 2023 year. Student lunch orders will go into the wrong lunch tubs if not updated.

In order for the canteen to be able to offer a sausage sizzle on Fridays and pasta during the week, we desperately need volunteers. If you have half an hour or more to spare we would love to have your help.

Volunteers do need to be double vaccinated and wear a mask. When arriving at the school please show your certificate at the office and check in with the school QR code outside the office. To volunteer, please log in to your school24 account.

• Click on Volunteers Roster in purple.
• Choose month-click view roster.
• Choose day and time. It’s so easy!

We are looking forward to having your company and help plus your children will be so excited to see you too!

Canteen, P&C Committee

canteen@drummoynepublicschool.com.au

We’ve enjoyed welcoming some new faces for 2023. Please enrol for the new school year via the Gowrie Drummoyne website.

This year we have designed an orientation booklet with information on our OSHC program to help new families receive relevant information about our service prior to enrolment. 

Contact Rekkha for more information on 0436 616 744.

To book Gowrie NSW enrolment forms can be found on the Gowrie website:

https://www.gowriensw.com.au/out-of-hours-care/drummoyne-and-stmarks

With Google Translation integration, you can access our newsletter in ANY language. Simply scroll to the bottom of the newsletter preview to give it a try.