Connected

It has been another busy fortnight with lots of learning, opportunities and fun at Wattle Grove! Congratulations to our Zone Swimmers who represented Wattle Grove with pride and outstanding sportsmanship last week and the Stage 3 team who competed in the Holsworthy Cup Challenge at Holsworthy High School this week. Every day I feel very privileged to be leading a school with such wonderful students, staff and parents/carers.

Family Fun!
What a great night was had by all at Wattle Grove’s first disco for 2020! The children had a great time dancing to the latest tunes, snacking on a range of delicious food available and purchasing some novelty toys. Thank you to all our family and friends who attended the night with their children. It was a great family atmosphere. A huge thank you to the P&C, led by Mrs Kristen McCanna, for their organisation and funding of this event. All aspects of this event were organised and led by P&C members, and we are very grateful to have such an amazing P&C who works hard to provide these opportunities for our children. Thank you also to our family and friends, and staff who helped out on the night. 

Super Kids
Congratulations to our Super Kids for February! Each month 3 students from each class, who have shown exemplary learning and social behaviours, are selected as Super Kids of the Month. Super Kids wear a badge for the month, receive a certificate and join me for morning tea. From all the Super Kids, a ‘Student of the Month’ is selected. This student receives an additional certificate and a canteen voucher. Parents/Carers are invited to the assembly to watch their child receive their certificate.

Holsworthy High School Open Night
Last Monday I attended the annual Open Night at Holsworthy High School. This night provided the opportunity for Year 6 students and their families to visit the different faculties and learn about all the different opportunities provided at the school. I went on a guided tour, observed demonstration lessons, saw work examples from students and got to speak to staff and current students. What a fabulous school! I would encourage families to make an appointment to meet with Mr Watkins to find out more.

School Photos
School photos are on Monday 9 March. You should have received information regarding online or cash payments. We would like all students to wear their Summer Uniform. If you have any enquiries, please email Advance Life at enquires@advancelife.com.au

Harmony Day
Our school will celebrate Harmony Day on Thursday 19 March 2020. We celebrate Harmony Day to promote diversity and acceptance of other cultures. Harmony Day aims to start a conversation about heritage, culture and community. The students will participate in several in class activities on this day and are invited to wear orange. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. 

Pedestrian Crossing
We are fortunate to have a Roads and Maritime Services employee at the crossing every morning and afternoon. This is for the safety of all pedestrians when crossing the road, especially for our students. Unfortunately, there have been a few incidences this week with the wet weather, where drivers are watching their children enter the school and are not watching for the signs the School Crossing supervisor is displaying, consequently putting people at risk.

Please adhere to the Road Rules as advised by RMS:

•  When the flags are displayed you must slow down and stop before the stop line if a pedestrian is on or entering the crossing. You must not proceed until all pedestrians have left the crossing.
• You must not stop on or within 20 metres before or 10 metres after, a children’s crossing.
•  You may proceed when the School Crossing Supervisor no longer displays the sign in your direction or has indicated it is safe for you to proceed.

RunWest
Our Wattle Grove students in Years 4-6 continue to participate in the RunWest program, an Athletics Australia initiative. March 29, 2020 is the NAB RunWest 4km Family Fun Run and as we are part of the program, all our families can enter for FREE using the code SCHOOLSFOCRW20 at www.runthewest.com.au .

Students can also join a team affiliated to their program coach when registering.  Please see the flyer attached.

Wattle Wanderer
Last week I joined 1 Aqua and 1 Sapphire for their weekly library lesson with Mrs Farah and Mrs Cabrera. The students were learning about the different parts of a book and using the Seesaw APP to demonstrate their knowledge. They worked in pairs to complete set tasks, which demonstrated their ability to work collaboratively. I loved working with the students who were very enthusiastic and keen to share their knowledge. Well done to all! I also had a visit from K Blue who came to my office to share their wonderful writing. Some students shared their weekend recounts. It was great to read about their exciting weekend! The students are writing words, using finger spaces and using capital letters and full stops! It’s hard to believe they only started Kindergarten a few weeks ago! Well done K Blue!

Updated Information 
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
For updated information on the Coronavirus, please use the link below to the Department of Education's Page

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety/novel-coronavirus

Selective High School Information
The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on Thursday 12 March 2020 from 9.00am to 1.30pm. Unless parents have made special arrangements with the High Performing Students Team to attend an individually allocated test centre, candidates from this school have been sent to:

Moorebank High School Bangalow Ave MOOREBANK NSW 2170

Go to https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7 to find:

• Test centre allocations by public school. 
• A map of test centre addresses under the heading 'The test'.
• The bulletin, Test information for parents and students. The bulletin contains very important information about the test and should be read carefully.
  Nicole Cameron                                   Vicky Valensise
  Principal                                                Deputy Principal                                                           

Zone Swimming Carnival
'On Thursday 27 February, an impressive group of 33 swimmers represented Wattle Grove Public School proudly at the Liverpool Zone Swimming Carnival. This group of students were led by Mr Wilson, Mrs Keroulis and Mrs Lazarevic who were all astounded at the exemplary behaviour and sportsmanship on display. All students gave their very best and we couldn't have asked for a better group of students to represent our school. Congratulations to the students listed below for this extraordinary achievement!

Drew, Bianca, Cooper, Luke, Harriot, Hayley, Emmett, Josh, Abby, Poppy, Eli, Charlie, Ben, Ella, Annabel, Zoe, Jack, Lachlan, Emmi, Alice, Alana, Antonio, Byron, Stevie, Bella, Grace, Owen, Erika, Keira, Leah, Kanika, Ethan.

Regional Swimmers
Congratulations to the following students who will be swimming at the Regional Carnival on 10 March. With several individuals and 4 Relay Teams swimming, Wattle Grove will be well represented! Good Luck 

Harriot, Josh, Abby, Charlie, Eli, Ella, Bianca, Cooper, Drew, Annabel, Zoe, Emmi, Lachlan, Jack, Alice, Bella, Luke, Antonio, Byron, Owen.

Congratulations to Mariam and Adelaide for successfully trialling for the Liverpool Zone Girls Basketball Team and Eli and Antonio for being selected in the Liverpool Zone Boys Basketball Team. Good luck at Region in Week 9!

In 4 Ruby this week we have been learning how to use the CoSpaces Edu program. CoSpaces Edu lets students build their own 3D creations, animate them with coe and explore them in Virtual or Augmented Reality. 4 Ruby had a lot of fun inserting backgrounds and characters to tell a story. 
Mrs Cabrera & Mrs Casdas

Our annual Ride2School Day will be held on Friday 13 March 2020. All children on wheels are reminded to wear helmets (this includes skaters and scooters). To ensure the security of bikes/scooters children are asked to leave them in the racks provided. When these fill up the children can walk their mode of transport down the walkway and leave it in areas set aside for the day, which will remain out of bounds during this period. 

Buddy Brunch
Thank you to the new students that joined me for recess last week, it was lovely to catch up and hear about how you are settling into your new school routines. I’ll be running Buddy Brunch each week, and inviting students to participate. Look out for the invitation in their lunch box!

Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP)
The posting season brings lots of great new opportunities for families but there are also some challenges. Partner employment is a focus for many families. Will I be able to secure a job in the new posting locality?

Why not get a head start on your job search by accessing the Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) to revamp your resume, smash those selection criteria and brush up on your interview skills. Partners can access up to $1500 per posting.
Applications can be submitted once a posting order is received and up to 24 months from the posting effective date.

https://www.defence.gov.au/DCO/Family/Partners/PEAP.asp 

Education Assistance Scheme
DCO provides a range of services and resources for Defence children, to assist with the transition between schools and education systems when a member is posted within Australia, and to provide support for the unique needs of Defence students.
Defence may reimburse fees for educational services external to the school. Students may be entitled to up to 14 weeks of tutoring in any subject that has been recommended by the school principal or the child’s teacher. This applies to primary and secondary students, within the first 18 months of commencing at the new school.

 Deployments and Absence

Please make sure you let your child/ren’s classroom teacher or I know if a member of your family is away for an extended period of time. Having this knowledge will go towards supporting the student/s at school throughout the absence period. 

Kim Lazarevic

Defence School Mentor