Vardys Voice

Welcome to Term 2. It was great to see our students walk back through the school gates with their usual Vardys Road smiles.

It is certainly going to be another busy term with PSSA, parent workshops, a Mothers Day stall and breakfast and NAPLAN just around the corner.

Term 2 has also seen some staffing changes. Mr Gregg Savage is replacing Mrs Brigette Harrison in Kindergarten Buttercup and Mrs Alison Houghton is now teaching 5/6 Indigo, due to Mrs Megan Guerero being offered a permanent placement at Sackville Street Public School.

We wish both Mrs Guerero and Mrs Harrison well in their future careers and thank them for all their work at Vardys Road Public School.

Over the last few years Vardys Road has explored several social and emotional learning programs. During Term 2 we will be trialling a program managed by the Life Skills Group. The program will focus on physical, social, emotional and attentional self-regulating strategies and skills.

The trial will involve all students in Kindergarten and Stage 2 working through a free program that will:

• Build resilience
• Develop self-regulation
• Increase self-awareness
• Practise positive relationship skills
• Strengthen problem solving skills

This will be a great learning opportunity for the children. It will also be an important step towards developing a comprehensive wellbeing program for all of our students. More information will be provided next week.

For many years the children at K-2 assemblies have been reciting a school prayer and a school pledge.

The current prayer and pledge are as follows:

Current School Prayer

We pray

that we may live justly

love tenderly

and walk humbly.

 

Current School Pledge

As an Australian

I pledge my loyalty to –

Australia and its people

Its democratic beliefs

Its laws and the freedom

And the rights that we share.

To better reflect the values of the school and better cater for an increasingly multicultural community, the school has been developing a new school pledge that would replace both passages.

New School Pledge Being Proposed

I aspire:

To value lifelong learning

To respect myself and others

To show pride in myself and my school

To be safe and take care of those around me.

 

The school is asking for community feedback on this proposal.

Parents and carers who would like to contribute to the discussion are asked to email their thoughts to ian.d.short@det.nsw.edu.au by next Monday, 6th May.

 

Parents and carers are reminded that teacher supervision of students does not commence until 8:30am.

Children who arrive before this time are asked to sit under the kindergarten covered outdoor learning area.

Families who require their children to arrive at school before 8:00am due to work commitments, are encouraged to use our before and after school care centre. Financial assistance for before and after school care costs can be sought through Centrelink. Our friendly OOSH staff are more than happy to be providing guidance on how to access this support.

In Week 3 of this Term our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be completing their NAPLAN assessments on line.

Vardys Road Public School trialed NAPLAN online last year and found it to be very successful. The students navigated the platform quite easily, they were engaged and they completed the assessments well. The school’s technical infrastructure was more than capable of handling the workload and the results were returned to the school within a very tight timeframe. Most importantly the purpose of NAPLAN, to assess the literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning in school, was achieved in a very efficient, user friendly manner.

More information about NAPLAN can be found at the following link:

Students involved in Term 1 PSSA sports would know that the majority of the games were cancelled due to rain or wet grounds. As the cost of bus travel was pre-paid, the school will be crediting the cost of missed games to affected families. More information will be sent home to parents once this is finalised.

Vardys Road will be running a six week League Stars after-school clinic each Wednesday, starting on Wednesday 15th May.These clinics are designed to provide an enjoyable and participatory based opportunity to play games that teach some important sporting skills. The activities will be non-contact and will cater for all ability levels.

On Monday 6th May all students in Years 3-6 will participate in a 30 minute lesson that will introduce them to the activities included in the program. The children will also be given more information about the clinics and registration details.