Rozelle Public School Newsletter

Rozelle is a place where Aboriginal children learned, played and celebrated their culture for thousands of years on this beautiful, natural land. As we learn, play and celebrate together on this land, we honour the Wangal people of the Eora nation and pay our respects to elders both past, present and emerging.

COVID UPDATE - IMPORTANT

This week at Rozelle, there has been a reported increase of COVID cases, with a number of students and staff testing positive. OSHClub also informed the school of multiple staff members testing positive. 

With only four weeks remaining, I would encourage everyone to prioritise community wellbeing and minimise the risk of COVID transmission. Please note the following:

• RAT Kits were sent home with every child this week. Please test your child if they show any symptoms.

• If your child tests positive, please notify the school. While isolation is no longer mandatory, students, staff and visitors should only attend school when they are symptom free. 

• Please use common sense and take a cautious approach before sending your child back to school.

• Students and staff who choose to wear masks will be supported. 

The next few weeks may present challenges with staffing - especially if cases increase. While the school will do its very best to ensure continuity of programs, there may need to be some modification or changes. 

PICNIC DAY 

On Monday 12 December, Years One to Six will be heading across to Centennial Park for our annual end of year picnic day. It is great to have this back on the calendar after a two year absence. The school needs to finalise numbers so we request families make payment or contact the office early next week if your child will not be attending. 

UNIFORM SHOP UPDATE

For many years, the P&C has run the school uniform shop which has relied on community volunteers. A central role has been the uniform shop coordinator who has been responsible for stock management, finances and general coordination. Over recent months it has become apparent that there is no one in our community who has the time or availability to take on this responsibility. 

Since the start of term, members of the P&C and school executive have been exploring all options and it appears that in 2023 the uniform shop will be outsourced and operated by a retail organisation. A final decision on the chosen operator will be made in the coming days. Affordability, quality and ease of purchase are key drivers of the decision making process. More news to come in the next newsletter. 

KINDY 2023 MEET AND GREET

This week the newest members of our school community have been visiting, meeting teachers and organising uniforms. Some stayed for a play in the woodlands area before heading home with their ‘Big School’ backpack. The next time they return will be at the start of the school year, where students will participate in a transition day that includes the Best Start literacy and numeracy assessment. I would like to thank all the wonderful parents who volunteered their time in the uniform shop and supported our newest families. 

SCHOOL SPECTACULAR - NEXT WEEK!

Next week, our senior choir will be performing in the School Spectacular at Qudos Bank Arena. It truly is a spectacular event that showcases the talents of NSW Department of Education schools. There are 3 performances - Friday night, Saturday matinee and evening. The great news is, there will be a special Friday matinee for schools and our Stage Three students will be attending. Thank you to Miss Doyle, Miss Mclaughlin and Mrs McLachlin for giving up so much of your own time to support this initiative. Without their commitment to the performing arts, our students would not be able to participate in such special events. 

YEARS 3-6 PRESENTATION DAY ASSEMBLY 

Mrs Svinos, our Deputy Principal, is planning for our end of year Presentation Assembly. This assembly is for our 3-6 students and parents are most welcome to attend. The assembly is planned for Friday 9 December commencing at 9.15am. 

CLASS FORMATIONS FOR 2023

At Rozelle, classes are mixed ability, they are not streamed (graded). Over the coming weeks, staff will spend hours carefully considering the makeup of each class. Forming a class is complex and many factors are taken into consideration. Academic, social, behavioural, complex needs, student combinations are all taken into account. Students are asked to identify five friends who they would like in their new class. While all five may not be in the class, staff will do their very best to ensure at least one or two friends from their list are in their new class. At the start of the year, once classes are formed and announced, requests to move are not possible. Therefore it is important to communicate any concerns before the end of the school year. 

Should plans change for 2023 and your child is not returning to Rozelle, please email the school.

REMEMBRANCE DAY ASSEMBLY

Our school leaders, with the guidance of Ms Courtney Hansen and Mrs Liz Singleton, presented a beautiful and moving Remembrance Day assembly. 

We were fortunate to have special guest Commander Tina Brown CSM of the Royal Australian Navy who spoke to the school about the significance of Remembrance Day.

Jonah Graham (6 Petra) crafted a moving poem which he read aloud to the assembly and Aiden Plumbe (6 Komodo) shared what Remembrance Day means to him. Jamie Do (6 Petra) performed the Last Post and Reveille with great poise and accuracy. 

Four of our School Leaders and Ms Svinos also attended the Remembrance Day Ceremony at Loyalty Square on Friday 11 November and laid a wreath on behalf of the school. 

ROLL UP, ROLL UP.….CIRCUS BERSERKUS  - THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER

We are so excited to bring back the fun of Circus Berserkus! 

This is an event organised by our senior students and teachers for all our students to enjoy.  

The event will be held on Thursday 1 December and will include a range of stalls and fun fair like activities for students to give a gold donation to enjoy. 

All the money raised will go toward the NSW flood disaster. 

Please remember to give your child plenty of gold coins that day to spend at the stalls and activities, so we can raise as much money as possible.

This is an event for the students, conducted in school hours.

K-2 SING-A-LONG - WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER

Parents, carers and friends are invited to join us in the school hall on Wednesday 7 December for K-2 Sing-a-long. 

Kindergarten students will perform from 9:15am.

Year one and two students will perform from 10am.

We hope you can join us!

CULTURE DAY AT ORANGE GROVE -  A RECOUNT FROM GRATIA C (4 KAKADU)

On Friday 4 November, some First Nations students from Rozelle visited Orange Grove to learn about their culture and do different activities. First we completed a hand artwork, then we had a little snack break. After that we did storytelling with an elder. We also did some traditional dance and learnt more about didgeridoos and indigenous weapons. Last of all we did the farewell circle. We really enjoyed the day. Thank you Mrs Horton for taking us. 

YEAR 2 EXCURSION ON SYDNEY HARBOUR 

On Tuesday 15 November, our Year 2s went on an amazing excursion! As part of their Geography Unit, they were able to explore significant sites and places on our beautiful harbour. They visited Shark Island and Clifton Gardens and saw and mapped many landmarks along the harbour and even spotted a seal! The sun was shinning and it was a great day for all 

SSC INSTRUMENTAL PROGRAM CONCERT

Sydney Secondary College’s Instrumental Music Program 'End Of Year' Concert is on Monday 5 December at Sydney Secondary College - Balmain Campus (25-33 Terry Street, Rozelle) at 6.00pm.

This free concert is a celebration of the talent and high achievements of music students and ensembles from all 3 campuses. Rozelle PS students and their families are invited to attend.

SCHOOL SPEC - 'CREATING THE MAGIC'
Only a few more sleeps until the RPS Stage 3 Choir performs! Tickets for Schools Spectacular 2022 are now on sale. This remarkable annual event will celebrate youth, education, culture, diversity and young Australian talent and features over 5,000 students from across New South Wales public schools.

CAROLS ON NORTON
It's back!  Join the Candy Cane Children's Choir (Years 3-6) in 2 family friendly concerts with the mighty Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, a Tinsel Orchestra & special guests. Singing old & new carols, it is fun and free to participate. Rehearsals are at Kegworth PS and the concerts are on December 17 and 18 in Marrickville Town Hall. Details to register: https://espressochorus.com.au/carols-on-norton-childrens-choir/

ARTS UNIT AUDITIONS 2023 

• PRIMARY DANCE ENSEMBLE for Years 4 to 6 – rehearsing Mondays after school.
• NSW PUBLIC SCHOOL SINGERS for Years 4 to 7 - rehearsing Tuesdays after school.
• PRIMARY DRAMA ENSEMBLE for Years 5 to 6 - rehearsing Wednesdays after school.

ALL DETAILS and applications: https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/

BALMAIN PS FAMILY FUN FAIR

On Saturday 19 November from 10am to 2pm, the Balmain PS Family Fun Fair includes an Art Show, artworks display, stalls, entertainment and lots of fun activities for children, family and friends. There is Free entry and everyone is welcome.

RPS CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP - MONDAY 5 DECEMBER

A reminder to register your child to compete at the RPS chess championships. Entries close on Wednesday 30 November. 

TELL THEM FROM ME PARENT SURVEY - CLOSES TODAY

The Tell Them From Me Parent Survey will close today. 

The survey asks parents and carers questions about different factors that are known to impact on student wellbeing and engagement.

Running this survey will help our school understand parents’ and carers’ perspectives on their child’s experience at school. These include: communication between parents/carers and staff, activities and practices at home and parent/carer views on the school's support of learning and behaviour. This valuable feedback will help our school make practical improvements.

The survey is conducted entirely online on smartphones, ipads, tablets, laptops or computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. Although participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, your responses are very much appreciated.

To access the survey for our school go to: http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/rozelleps22

NUT AWARE

A number of students at Rozelle have been diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to nuts. While it is not advised for the school to declare itself “nut-free” we are definitely a “nut-aware” school. This means that we ask parents/carers to carefully consider the food they provide for their child and avoid foods that contain nuts. Before sending in food for special occasions for your child’s class, please check with the teacher. The school appreciates everyone’s effort in keeping all our students safe and supporting their families to manage this difficult situation.

REMINDER ABOUT MORNING DROP OFF

Families are reminded that students should not be arriving at school before 8.30am unless they are attending OSH Club or a before school activity such as band rehearsal. There may be occasions where you need to drop your child off 10 minutes earlier. In these instances, students must go to the middle playground, where they sit and wait for teacher supervision to begin. Over the past few weeks, some students have been turning up to school as early as 7.45am. This is too early as supervision does not begin until 8.30am.

LOST PROPERTY

When parents are up at the school they may have seen the lost property trolley which is wheeled regularly into the Darling Street playground. Should your child misplace a hat, jumper, water bottle or lunchbox…you may find it in the trolley.

KINDERGARTEN 2023 ONLINE ENROLMENTS

Rozelle Public School is currently taking enrolments for Kindergarten for 2023 from families living within our school catchment area. Detailed information about the enrolment procedure and a map of the school catchment area can be found on the school website at www.rozelle-p.schools.nsw.gov.au or by phoning the school office on (02) 9810 2347.

NEXT P&C MEETING - WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER
Come and join the next P&C meeting this Wednesday evening 23 November 7.30pm - 9pm in the staff room. If you'd like to have a say on the exciting fundraising and social events for next year come along and be involved! Only $1 to join as a member of the P&C and vote on initiatives. Help shape the school experience for you and your children. We will also be voting on how to proceed with the school uniform shop. Come along - bring a bottle of wine to share & your great ideas!

The P&C team will be determining the social and fundraising events for 2023 in the last P&C meeting for the year. Please come along Wednesday night 23rd November 7.30pm in the staff room. 

VICTORIA ROAD SAFETY GROUP

The Victoria Rd Safety Group continues to monitor the safety of students who cross at the intersection of Victoria Rd & Darling St to get to school. Please sign petition here

The four improvements we’re petitioning for and proposing in the submission are:

1. Expand the area of the scheduled Rozelle Public School Speed Safety Zone to incorporate the two intersections of Victoria Road / Darling Street and Victoria Road / Wellington Street.

2. Change the light filtering pattern to remove competition between pedestrians and drivers turning left onto Victoria Road.

3. Relocate the Red Light Speed Safety Camera from the intersection of Victoria Road and Evans Street to the intersection of Victoria Road and Darling Street.

4. Introduce barriers or bollards as appropriate on corner kerbs of the intersection of Victoria Road and Darling Street.

The submission to Transport for NSW is now fully drafted and is in the hands of the working group for feedback and finalising. If you are interested in learning more, please email johnfreeman53@hotmail.com.

We have had difficulties finding a volunteer to manage the uniform shop. The P&C in consultation with the school has commenced looking at the options of outsourcing. We are currently looking into number of suppliers in particular Pickles, LW Reid and Lowes. All which offer a variety of levels in services. All impacts and procedures are currently being considered. The outcomes to be presented and consulted at future P&C meetings before deciding what is the best option for the students of RPS.

We are looking for volunteers in parent community who may be interested in the review process of the above suppliers. If you’re able to assist please email the P&C at rozellepublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

Uniform shop opening time is 9am - 9:45am Friday or orders can be made online for collection from the office on Friday afternoons. Enquiries can be made via rozelleuniformshop@gmail.com