Somersby Snippets

We have hit the ground running in Term 4. Knowing that things can get crazy towards the end of the term, all classes have wasted no time in diving into this term’s units of work. Thursday afternoon science lessons will explore materials and their properties. This will range from:

• Kindergarten investigating, describing and sorting the materials different things are made from with Miss Ellen
• Stage One (Years 1 and 2) investigating what can happen when materials are mixed together. This group will do experiments with Mrs Baillie to identify how materials can be changed or combined for particular purposes
• Stage Two (Years 3 and 4) will more deeply explore the properties of materials and look at how these properties determine how they are used. Working with Miss Preston, these students will have to put this knowledge to the test in a design task.
• Stage Three (Years 5 and 6) will examine reversible changes of state and irreversible chemical changes with practical investigations and experiments with Mrs Gowans.

The children are looking forward to inviting grandparents and special family members into their classrooms next Tuesday for Grandparents’ Day. The plan for the morning is:

9:15 Open Classrooms – visit the classrooms and take part in classroom learning activities

10:00 Special assembly – each class will share some things they have been learning. Our Wakakirri dance video will be shown for the first time!

10:30 Morning Tea – light refreshments will be available for visiting grandparents. Year 6 will also be selling cupcakes for their Tuesday Tuckshop Treats.

The artworks the students have been busy creating for the P&C’s Crazy Camel products will be on display in the hall. 

Attendance at school is essential for children to achieve their best. When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and they have better opportunities to make and maintain friendships.

Please remember the following:

• Reasons for arriving after the bell such as running late or sleeping in do not count as justifiable reasons for partial absences.
• When children arrive late, it can be disruptive for the whole class as well as unsettling for the child arriving late. Your child may have missed important teaching and instructions.
• Additional holidays during school time are not a justifiable reason for absence.
• When children are not at school they miss the valuable explicit teaching, modelling and instruction from their teacher. It is not possible to catch-up by doing extra work.
• Satisfactory attendance is set by the NSW Department of Education at 90%. 11 or more absent days in a term is unsatisfactory and puts children at risk.
• In Kindergarten and Year 1, 10% absence can leave a child struggling to read proficiently by the end of Year 3. 

School days are very tightly programmed with valuable learning experiences. Every missed morning, afternoon or whole day can make a big difference. 

Assessing what students know, understand and can do is absolutely central to the work of teachers. We need to know what every child can do so we can plan the next steps in their learning. This happens in many ways in classrooms every single day. Most of the time, students don’t even realise their teacher is assessing them.

From time to time, we also conduct more formal tests. Its important to gather a range of information so we can put it altogether to pinpoint where each child is up to. It can also help us work out any areas where we should focus our professional learning.

These students in Eucalypt are concentrating hard during a maths test in our ‘Essential Assessment’ program as they work quietly to demonstrate their skills.

Selective High School applications for Year 7 2024 open on 18 October and close on 16 November.

For parents of current Year 5 children, if you would like your child to apply for entry into a selective high school, you must apply online now.

The Selective High School placement test will be held on 4 May 2023.

Further information has been sent home with students in Year 5 and can be accessed at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7/information-for-applicants

As we are now beginning to use Compass for many more things, we will no longer be using Skoolbag.

As we have to pay subscription fees for every program we use, we have to look at the best use of our limited funds. Every dollar we save on administration we can spend on learning resources. 

Students will now finish school on Friday 16 December 2022.

This is due to an additional School Development Day announced for staff across NSW public schools.

School Development Days allow our staff to participate in professional learning that was put on hold due to COVID-19 staffing pressures and plan ahead for 2023 to ensure we meet the needs of our students.

With this change, we ask that you arrange alternative care for your child on Monday 19 December.

Last week Somersby Public School hosted the grand finals for the Central Coast Public Speaking competition. Ruby and Connor did a marvellous job of leading the event, explaining the rules and introducing each speaker. It was a lovely opportunity to have students and families from all over the coast visiting our great school. Mr Benton, an English teacher from Gosford High School and the coordinator for high school debating in our region adjudicated the event and gave much positive feedback which we will use in our classrooms. 

Applications for student travel in 2023 open from Monday 10 October 2022.

 Students who need a School Opal card or travel pass for 2023 can apply now. 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. School Opal card holders will have the changes applied to their existing card. If a student’s distance eligibility has changed based on their grade (i.e. Year 2 to Year 3), the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria.

 Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Bus Pass) for the first time will receive their Student Opal card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2023. 

Last week we purchased some new fruit trees from the grant money the school won earlier this year.  It will be very exciting next year to have different varieties of mandarin and orange that produce fruit at different stages. Vege cart will open Thursday afternoon at pickup.

Donation welcome for any produce that is available.

To coincide with Grandparents Day on Tuesday 25th October 2022 the Somersby P&C will be running an artwork fundraiser where you can view your child’s artwork that can be printed onto a treasured keepsake. Order forms will be available and you can view our display of keepsakes from previous years. Funds raised will benefit all Somersby School students. Payments can be made to:

Somersby P&C General Account

BSB: 062628  Acc#: 0090 4426.

Thank you for your support.

Urgent - we need your help!

A fantastic fundraising opportunity has come to the P&C committee this year in the shape of running a Bunnings BBQ at West Gosford.

The BBQ will be run on Saturday 5th November from 7:3am until 4:30pm. In order to run the BBQ efficiently  we need several helpers throughout the day.

If you can spare a couple of hours to help on the BBQ can you please respond ASAP so we can make sure we have the help needed to run the BBQ. Please note - no persons under the age of 16 are permitted to assist.

Please return the time schedule form, with your name, available help time and contact number. This note/form has been handed out to all students today to take home.

Summer stock is available. Please fill out an order form if you don’t have time to call into the school.