ENewsletter

QUICK CHECK!

DATE	EVENT	WHO
Wednesday 15 February	Headlands Swimming Championship	Selected Students + Mrs Cox
Thursday 16 February	Wellbeing Coffee Morning	Parents and carers
Friday 17 February	P & C AGM and Slushy Afternoon - 3pm	Everyone!
Friday 24 February	Inflatable at Mullum Pool	Years 1 - 6
Tuesday 28 February	Welcome BBQ, Student Leadership Induction and Meet the Teacher	Everyone!
Thursday 2 March	Wellbeing Coffee Morning	Parents and Carers
Thursday 16 March	Safe on Social	Parents and Students
Thursday 16 March	Wellbeing Coffee Morning	Parents and Carers
Thursday 30 March	VoSS Cross Country	K - 6
Thursday 6 April	Last Day of Term	Everyone

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome Back

It's hard to believe that this is the first newsletter of 2023! Welcome back to all of our families and a special welcome to those families joining The Pocket. It has been a fast start to the term with us being in Week 4 already. We have lots of exciting things planned for this term and we can't wait to share the learning with you all.

The Pocket Road and School Parking

The Pocket Road

A reminder to give way at the causeways where you see a give way sign. It can be tricky when we are in a rush to drop our kids off and get to work or to that appointment but it is essential that we use caution when crossing the causeways. Many parents have already had near misses.

Parking

You will see that the Assets Team from the Department of Education have worked hard over the holidays to redesign the front of our school to make it safer to enter and exit with your children. If you are picking up your child please remember to come into the school and collect them from the pick up area and stay with them as you return to your car. Although our school is a 40km per hour zone at drop off and pick up, we do have some motorists who do not follow this speed limit so please keep your kids close when returning to your vehicle, regardless of their age.

Communication

We use Skoolbag to communicate information to our community. Please make sure you sign up to your child's class in the "Groups" section of the app to receive class updates and specific information.

We also send out hard copy notes for excursions or for school events.

If you need to contact the school we recommend you call us on 66845226 or email us on thepocket-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

If your child is absent from school for any reason you can log their absence on the skoolbag app or through one of the above methods. Please do not text message staff with your child's absence. This information must come through the front office.

There may be parent whatsapp groups for parent communication, please remember that this is not a school communication tool though.

Contacting Individual Staff

If you need to contact our staff the best way is to call or email the school. In the age where we can get anyone's phone number from whatsapp groups or private message through social media sites, it is challenging to keep up with all the avenues of communication when we work in a busy and dynamic school setting. Our staff work incredibly hard to care for each child and to make school a safe learning environment. They work well over their contracted hours of 8:30am - 3:30pm. I ask that you respect these hours and follow the communication method set by your child's teacher.

School Works

Painting

You may have noticed that our whole school has received a touch of paint thanks to the work of our Asset Team. They will continue to finish off this job over the coming weeks.

Roofing

Our external walk ways have also been reroofed and we have had a disability carpark installed on site to make entering and exiting the school safe for everyone.

Over the coming months our COLA will also be insulated.

VoSS swimming Carnival

What a way to start the year! We had our VoSS Swimming Carnival on the second day back at school. It was a huge success with many of our students qualifying for the Headlands Carnival this Wednesday. Our school finished second behind Coorabell on the championship points.

Not only do we run a competitive carnival but we also have novelty events in the small pool so that all students can have fun. A huge thanks to Lyndi Hauenstein and Amy Cox as the novelty events would not happen without them.

A shout out to the those amazing parents who helped with timing on the day too.

Wellbeing Coffee Mornings

Our Wellbeing Coffee Mornings start again this Thursday.

Zoe and myself will be in the pick up / drop off zone. If you have any questions about supporting your child or you just want to have a coffee and chat then drop in between 8:40 - 9:15am.

Slushy Afternoon and P & C AGM

On Friday afternoon we will be having our very own FREE SLUSHY AFTERNOON for our kids. I'm sure many of them will want to come along. Kids can only come if their parents are attending the P & C Meeting. A flyer will go home this afternoon with all the details.

This Friday at 3:10 the P & C will be holding the AGM. At this meeting all roles will be relinquished and up for grabs. If you are keen to find out more about how to be involved at the school then drop in.

See you Friday!

Mullumbimby Pool Inflatable

Due to the cancellation of our inflatable day last year we have rebooked it for Friday 24 February. Our Year 1 - 6 children will be going to Mullumbimby Pool for two 45min sessions on the inflatable and in the small pool. A note will come out this week to confirm. There will be no charge for this as the payments from 2022 will cover the excursion.

Welcome BBQ, Student Leadership Induction and Meet the Teacher

We have a fantastic morning planned for you all on Tuesday 28 February.

Welcome BBQ

Everyone is invited to come and join us at the Welcome BBQ. This event is to meet new people and to see some friendly faces. It will be held in the COLA from 8:15 - 9:00am.

Student Leadership Induction

We will officially induct our Student Leadership Team. Our SRC members, Vice Captains and School Captains will receive their badges. Parents will be asked to come forward and pin the badges on.

Meet The Teacher

Our Meet the Teacher session will follow the Student Leadership Induction. These sessions give parents an opportunity to go into their child's classroom and hear how the days are planned and what they will be learning this term / semester.

A flyer will be sent home with all of the details.

Safe on Social

Safe on Social will be run later in the term for Year 3- 6 during school time. That evening, parents will be invited to the parent and carer session. Safe on Social is a highly regarded program that support our children to navigate the internet, social media and groups chats in a safe way. A note will come out with all the information closer to the date.

Further information can be found @ https://www.safeonsocial.com/

Wednesday - Even Weeks

We are very excited to have some changes in our school every Wednesday on even weeks.

Our class teachers will be off class to collaborate, learn, reflect and plan for teaching in English and Mathematics. While they are off class our children will rotate through five different teaching and learning activities. These are:

Drama and Dance - Mrs Amy Cox

Music - Ms Janet Swain

Sport - Alex (Brazil Kids Football) and Ms Peta Jones

Art - Ms Robyn Rowland and Amorette

Gardening and Chooks - Mr Owen Quirk

Unpaid Student Fees

This week we will be sending home 2023 unpaid student fees. The workbooks for the year are $65.00 and the voluntary contribution is $25.00.

On the statement will also be a balance of remaining hardship funds per family. Please indicate if you would like to use this money to pay for the workbooks.

Please also note, the hardship fund cannot be used for the voluntary contribution.

Any questions, please see the office.

Snow Excursion

Parents of our year 5 & 6 students should have all received information and a payment plan for the snow excursion in August this year!!

Please make sure you jump on and fill out the expression of interest form and come into the office to organise the deposit if you havent already done so.

This helps the organising school start to get numbers together.

Any questions, please see the office.