ToPs Newsletter

Term 3 Week 5

Message from the Principal

Firstly, I would like to say a very big heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the parents and carers who have helped us support our students through a wide variety of additional events. We have had a very busy time with the P&C Pie Drive, Education Week, Science Week, our Celebration Assembly, ToM, Enrichment Cup, Southern Stars, Koori Dance, Koori Art and the usual business of school each day. It has been a big term!! Without us working in partnership together, these experiences are not possible. It has been wonderful to see our children being able to thrive and enjoy the extra-curricular activities that we have missed over the last few years. And, there is still more to come with Book Week, Father's Day, Gala Days and Stage 3 Camp.

I know that for some families, things can be a little financially challenging at times and I want to reassure you, that we are here to help when needed. Please request a student assistance form from the office when things are a little hard. All requests are kept confidential. 

With access to international travel increasing, we have a high number of families booking holidays during the school term. It is preferred that disruption to student attendance is kept to a minimum, but I understand that this is not always possible. Please note that you are required to request approval from the principal for permission for your child/children to have an extended absence from school. Extended Leave request forms are available from the office and should be submitted as soon as possible before the leave date. All  leave granted for travel purposes are marked as unjustified absences. 

Please be mindful that the drop off zone at the front of our school is regularly monitored by NSW Police and Wollongong City Council rangers. Fines may be issued to drivers who leave their car, stay in the zone longer than 3 minutes, block driveways or do a u-turn in a 40km school zone. These are all road rules that must be followed and are not something that we as a school control. 

Finally, I hope that you have your tickets for the Southern Stars School Spectacular this weekend. The show is absolutely amazing and students from our school are performing in the combined schools choir. Mr Santos and Mrs Foligni have undertaken an enormous commitment to help prepare, organise and supervise students throughout this incredible experience. I am sure they will both be looking for a well-earned break on Sunday! We are so lucky, that they have willingly given up their personal time for the benefit of our students. 

In addition, we have a number of teachers who are also giving up their personal time this weekend to participate in professional learning that promotes cultural understanding, local indigenous knowledge and strengthens their commitment towards Aboriginal Education. 

UCI Road World Championships

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships is being held in Wollongong from 18 to 25 September 2022. For more information about the Championships visit https://wollongong2022.com.au/faqs/

The Department and other NSW Government agencies have been working in partnership to determine what the impact of this event will have on our school communities.

Our school will be open and operational; however, access will be limited due to a significant number of roads in Central Wollongong being closed.

https://wollongong2022.com.au/resident-information-road-closures/

I encourage you to become familiar with the road closures and this can be found at the link above or visit the Frequently Asked Questions at the UCI website listed above to support you in planning your trip. This may require your child having to take an alternate route and allow extra travel time.

Book Week Activities

Kindergarten Enrolments 2023

Towradgi Public School is excited to announce that enrolments are now open for Kindergarten 2023. Enrol now so you are kept up to date for our transition to school activities; including school open days, community events, information sessions and orientation days. You can apply online. If you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident you are eligible to complete the online enrolment application. You will then need to finalise the application at the school. If you are not eligible or prefer not to enrol online, use the application to enrol form. Please complete the form in English. A translated application to enrol may help you do this. For more information, visit primary school enrolment.

If your child does not live within our intake area you can complete an out-of-area enrolment. Out-of-area enrolment procedures are subject to the department's enrolment policy.

Please contact Miss Emms if you would like to find out more about Kindergarten 2023.

Kindergarten 2023 Orientation

Art Project Winners

Science Fair

On Thursday 18th August the students from Towradgi had a Science Fair open day. The quality of the projects that the students presented was absolutely fantastic! Everyone who came along on the day had the opportunity to learn about a huge range of science concepts in a fun and hands on way. We saw experiments with bubbles, electromagnets, dancing sultanas and even elephant toothpaste!

Miss Emms 

CHS Enrichment Cup

A very big congratulations to the students who attended Corrimal High School this week as part of the Corrimal High School Enrichment Cup. Students from multiple schools in our area competed in the competition through a range of STEM activities and team building exercises. Rudi, Lukas, Lucy and Steffi represented Towradgi and displayed exceptionally amazing manners (so great that the CHS staff contacted us to compliment their exceptional behaviour). The students were successful as winners on the day, and also won the overall challenge for 2022. We are very excited for them to receive the trophy on behalf of our school later in the year. Keep kicking goals TOPS students!

Miss Emms 

Tournament of Minds

On Sunday 14 of our wonderful students went to the University of Wollongong with Miss Emms to compete in the Tournament of Minds Regional Final. The language and literature team included Olivia, Lucy, Sophie, Joanna, Max, Patti and April. The STEM team included Nived, Isaac, Jet, Lewis, Archie, Oscar and Lucy. The teams shared their solutions to the Tournament of Minds challenges they have been working on over the past few weeks, and had the opportunity to receive feedback from the tournament judges. There were songs, dancing, jokes, feats of engineering and lots of teamwork! Well done for a highly commended first year as Tournament of Minds participants! 

Spanish Lessons

Congratulations to all students who attended Spanish language classes during  Term 2.  Your commitment and enthusiasm every Tuesday morning made coming to school and teaching you all  such a pleasure. I hope you all embrace the love of learning another language. Thank you to all the parents for supporting our Language Program and getting the children to school on time early every week!

Muchas gracias!

Señora Foligni

Spanish Lessons

Counsellors Corners

RESILIENCE: At a glance

· It's important for your child to know how to turn things around when the going gets tough.

· Children with good resilience perform better at school.

· Children with good resilience are less likely to take part in risky behaviour.

· Helping a child feel successful is an important aspect of resilience.

Next time your child is furrowing their brow and staring off into space, ask them if they're thinking dolphin or shark thoughts. That's the advice from psychologist and resilience specialist, Andrew Fuller, on helping your child to recognise the positive (dolphin) or negative (shark) approaches they may be taking on life issues.

'Dolphin thinking can help you out and shark thinking can eat you up. It doesn't matter how old your kids are, they can still understand it,' Andrew says.

Top tips on building resilience

· Teach your child to experience success by supporting them in something they like doing whether it's a sporting, academic or artistic endeavour.

· Help them develop skills to be successful at school such as having a good concentration and memory by playing card games and puzzles.

· Being able to read people's emotions is powerfully predictive of how well children can get on with people at school. Play games with your child by predicting what sort of day a person walking down the street may have had.

· Be aware of the ‘yuk and yay' factor – some things will make your child feel good and other things will make them feel bad. The idea is for them to gather things around them that cheer them up if they have had a bad day.

· Walk beside them as they handle the situation. This helps them to build hope and the belief they can handle problems when they come up.

· For some fun, you could add in some songs with themes like this one because learning to be brave and face challenges can be difficult 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcfiGPOdv4

Miss Loretta

School Counsellor

Aussie of the Month -June

Aussie of the Month - July

Term 3 Week 5 award winners


WombatsKatie T, Ace H, Lewis J, Harry H
LyrebirdMitchell A, Sebastian B, Ruby F, Audrey V
StingrayBen W, Stephanie K, Lewis B, Tyson C, Parker B, Beliz B
StarfishBrodie S, Watin A, Theo D, Knox D
EchidnaTommy A, Max K, Vana O, Umi G
GoannaJet R, Amelia F, Ahmed O, April C, Joanna M, Willow F
OrcaAmy W, Lacey S, Clay V, Tinokura T, Yasmine P, Cassidy W
PelicanJayden M, Remy C
KookaburraRuby W, Oliver C




Father's Day Breakfast & Stall

P & C Message

THE FESTIVAL OF FATHERS DAY IS APPROACHING

PART 1 - Fathers Day Breakfast

7:45am Wednesday Aug 31

Dads, Grandpas, Papas, Carers, and fatherly figures -join us for a free Bacon and Egg roll and barista made coffee (gold coin donation to support the event is welcome).Come on down and meet some other dads.Kids and others can purchase food too.  $3 for Bacon and Egg roll; $2 for coffee (kids will not be served coffee).This BBQ is put on by the P&C, with help on the day from One Agency Fairy Meadow.

PART 2 - Fathers Day Stall

11:45am - 2pm Wednesday Aug 31

Please don't forget to give your kids some cash to buy a special gift for Fathers Day. Gifts $3 - $5All gifts will be sustainably wrapped We are still accepting donations of edible gifts (sweets and treats).  Please contact Jade or go to our Facebook.We still need volunteers for the stall.  If you can lend some time we need help from set up to pack up (11-2).  Please contact Jade or Jo or go to our Facebook page.If your child is not at school on Wednesday, they will be able to access our online stall Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.  Gifts can then be collected from the school gates or delivered locally.In other news,The dates for P&C meetings for the remainder of the year are as follows:

  • Tuesday September 13, 7pm 
  • Tuesday October 11, 7pm 
  • Annual General Meeting Tuesday November 8, 7pm (you must be a financial member to vote at the AGM)
  • Tuesday Dec 13, 7pm at a local restaurant
** All meetings will be held as a hybrid.  Face to face at school and using zoon, unless otherwise stated.** If you want to know more about how you can join the P&C or take a more active role (on the executive team or subcommittee) please get in contact.Have a great weekend,

Jo Ubilla, President, on behalf of the TOPS P&C

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TOPSPC

Email: jubilla13@gmail.com

 

P&C Resource Contribution Fees: $40 per student, $60 per family.

P&C Direct Deposit Details:Account Name: Towradgi Public School P&C AssociationBSB: 633-000Account: 189348485Reference: Your Surname. The P&C thank you in advance for this contribution to your children’s education.