Kingswood Public School Newsletter

Telephone: 0247 364028                                                      Fax: 0247 366012

Email: kingswood-p.school.@det.nsw.edu.au           PO Box 305 KINGSWOOD NSW 2747

Second Avenue KINGSWOOD NSW 2747

Term 1 Week 11

03/04/23

Parent Tutor Program

 04/04/23

Parent Tutor Program

RSL ANZAC Service – Year 6 Students Only

05/04/23

Parent Tutor Program

School ANZAC Assembly (Students Only)

06/04/23

Last Day of Term

Parent Tutor Program

Early Stage 1 & Stage 1 Easter Hat Parade

07/04/23

Good Friday Public Holiday

Term 2 Week 1

24/04/23

Staff Development Day 

25/04/23

ANZAC Day 

26/04/23

Welcome back to all our students and families

Primary School Leaders Reception (School Captains only)

27/04/23

P&C Meeting

28/04/23

Scripture

Term 2 Week 2

01/05/23

Early Stage 1 & Stage 1 Reading Workshops

04/05/23

Selective High School Placement Test for 2024

05/05/23

Scripture

Welcome to Week 11! It has been a busy end of term with the completion of NAPLAN, Harmony Day and the School Cross Country occurring in the last couple of weeks. It was wonderful seeing lots of parents at our Harmony Day and School Cross Country. Our students had a great time on both days.  Thank you to the staff who have organised these events and/or prepared students to perform on Harmony Day.

This will be our last newsletter via Skoolbag. Sentral will be the main communication platform commencing next term. Keep an eye out for our new look newsletter!

This week we commemorate ANZAC Day and celebrate Easter. We are hoping for a visit from the Easter Bunny at our Easter Hat Parade tomorrow!  I would like to thank our students and staff for all their hard work this term and wish everyone a Happy Easter and a safe and enjoyable holiday. Students return to school on Wednesday 26 April. 

Staff News

Congratulations and welcome back to Miss Lauren Thomas who was the successful applicant of our Assistant Principal position via merit selection. Miss Thomas will be known as Mrs Cook when she returns next term as she was recently married. Mrs Cook will be supervising Early Stage 1 and we wish her all the best in her new leadership role.

Thank you to Mr Hughes who has relieved as Assistant Principal this term. He has been a valuable member of our Executive team and has ensured a smooth start for our Early Stage 1 students and their families. Mr Hughes will continue to lead whole school programs. 

Year 5 Placement in an Opportunity Class in 2024

Opportunity classes are for primary school students who have high academic potential or who are intellectually gifted.

They provide an environment where students can learn and make friends with classmates of similar ability. This can benefit a student’s academic progress and also their wellbeing.

Opportunity classes are offered in Years 5 and 6, with parents/carers applying in Year 4.

Students who are successfully placed will usually have to leave their current school to enrol in a school with an opportunity class for Years 5 and 6.

Kingswood Public School has two Opportunity Classes however there is no guarantee that your child, if successful, will be offered a place at our school.  

Opportunity classes are just one of the ways that we cater for our high potential and gifted students.

Testing and assessment

Applications for opportunity class placement are considered on the results of the Opportunity Class Placement Test. Students who wish to be considered for placement are required to sit the Opportunity Class Placement Test on Thursday 27 July 2023.

How to apply

Parents/carers must apply online between Thursday 30 March and Monday 15 May 2023 at: https://education.nsw.gov.au/oc.

You must use your own email address and not one belonging to your child. Late applications are not usually accepted.

If you do not have internet access you can apply at a public library or at your child’s school. If you have a disability that prevents you from using a computer, you can contact the Unit for assistance after 30 March 2023.

You must submit only ONE application for each student.

An Intention to Apply letter for placement in an opportunity class has been sent home in hard copy and on Skoolbag and Sentral to parents of our Year 4 students.  If your child intends to sit the test please complete the letter and return it to the school by Monday 15 May. The letter and Information for Applicants booklet is attached. 

P&C 

Last Tuesday the P&C AGM was held.  Congratulations to the new Executive:

President - Kelly Wells

Vice President - Sara Baker

Vice President - April Potter

Treasurer - Unfilled

Secretary - Lisa Macnamara

I would like to thank the outgoing executive members Raien McCraken, Lily Guo, Lisa Macnamara and April Potter for all their work and support of the school. Thank you also to our parents who volunteer at events to support our P&C. Please see the attached newsletter from our new President Kelly Wells for further information. 

New Out of Hours School Care (OHSC) Provider

Please note, current bookings with Cubby OOSH are not transferred to the new provider and you will therefore  need to enrol each of your children with TheirCare if you wish to use before and or after school, school holidays or pupil free day care.

We look forward to welcoming TheirCare to the Kingswood Public School community starting  in Term 2, 2023. Please have a look at the welcome video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIme1bzi_8w

For further information, visit www.theircare.com.au or call the support office on 1300 072 410. Please also see the attached information in the newsletter below. 

Sentral Parent Portal

We will be moving to the Sentral Parent Portal as our main communication tool with you at the start of Term 2 and will no longer be using the Skoolbag app.

You should have received your letter via post explaining how to join the Sentral Portal app along with the access key (password) for you to access your child/ren’s information. Please keep this letter safe for future reference. If you have not received your letter, please contact the school office.

We are finding that some of our parents/carers have been unable to get onto Sentral or book in for parent/teacher interviews as they have not received the letter with their access code. When the office staff looked into this, we discover that we do not have the current address. Please ensure that you have advised the office of your current residence as correspondence sent via mail will go to the address we have on file. 

The Sentral Parent Portal will allow you to:

• View the absences of your child/ren
• Provide absentee notes to the school
• Update your child/ren’s details
• View your child/ren’s semester reports
• View the excursion or activity notes
• View NAPLAN results
• View the updated parent calendar.

All student semester reports will be sent to you via the Sentral Parent Portal and will no longer be printed. You may choose to print your child/ren’s report whilst they attend our school. Please note that once your child/ren leave our school, we can no longer access their information, NAPLAN results or semester reports.

Kingswood PS Parent Information Booklet

The link to the updated parent information booklet is now available:

https://kingswoodps.weebly.com/parent-links.html

Please refer to the booklet for our day-to-day operations.

Norma Petrocco

Principal

On Tuesday 28th March, students celebrated Harmony Week. Thank you for all the family members who attended the assembly and stayed for the picnic morning tea.

After recess, students joined with their buddy classes to participate in Harmony Week activities.

At KPS, everybody belongs. 

Miss Bransby

A K-2 New syllabus - Reading focus workshop will be held at Kingswood Public School with the Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction, Mrs Kylie Rincon, Term 2 on Monday 1 May  at either 2-3pm or 6-7pm.

We will be learning about the new phonics approach and how to use decodable readers.

Please complete the link below if you will be attending. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwInSYVcJdVHukCPRVozYi6kGpxY1Mbr_cUfWKz5hJN6BYwQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

The final day to pay for Year 6 t-shirts has been extended to this Thursday the 6th of April. The t-shirts are a great way to celebrate and remember the final year of primary school.

Please order online with the URL and password provided on the note. If you have any issues with the online ordering process, please contact the school. 

Years 1 to 6 dance Applications are now open. The Primary Dance Workshops have been developed in response to a large demand for dance experiences for students in Years 1 to 6.

These workshops are an excellent opportunity for students with talent and skills in dance to develop in this art form -

https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program/primary-dance-workshops?fbclid=IwAR0HOsqng6eWhM0GVdGBGJG6hUQbjRefhq95Gg1pS8qoD9nGqxbZfpQxDGw 

We recently held our Annual General Meeting and elected a new executive team. I would like to say a big thank you to our previous executives, Raien McCracken, Lily Guo, Lisa Macnamara, and April Potter. We are so grateful for the efforts you put in to help improve our school.

The new executive is as follows:

President – Kelly Wells

Vice President – Sara Baker

Vice President – April Potter

Secretary – Lisa Macnamara

We are in need of a treasurer. If you are able to fill this role, or have any questions, please email kingswoodpandc1@gmail.com You will be supported in this role by the previous treasurer and other executive members.

If you would like to become a member and be kept updated on all the things we do, please go to bit.ly/kps2023pandc (You do not have to be able to attend all meetings to be a member).

We appreciate all of the donations that were made towards our Easter raffle. We raised over $1000. Thank you to everyone who sold and bought tickets.

Our next event will be the Mother’s Day stall in Term 2. If you are able to help out on the day or have something you would like to donate, please let us know.

We wish you all a safe and happy break over the holidays.

Kelly Wells (P&C President)

Next meeting – 27th April 3:30PM Everyone is welcome to attend, whether you are a member or not.

Borrowing

All classes have a library day each week to borrow books with their class library. Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 may borrow 2 books each week, and Stage 2 and 3 may borrow 4 books a week- 2 fiction and 2 non-fiction. Students must have a library bag to borrow books (shopping bags can also be used!) as this stops any damage to books from spills in backpacks or being dropped in the playground. I hope to see many more borrowers in Term 2!

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2023

The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2023 began on Monday 27 February and will conclude on Friday 18 August 2023. Students at Kingswood Public School have had the opportunity to participate in this reading activity since 2005. It is an excellent way of encouraging students to read widely for leisure and to help them improve their literacy skills.

Students must complete a set amount of reading to meet the Challenge.

Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students – 30 books

These books can be read to the student, read with the student, or read by the student.

At least twenty of these books must be from the Reading Challenge K – 2 Booklist.

The remaining books may be personal choice books. All students in Early Stage 1 & Stage 1 will complete the Challenge with the assistance of their class teachers.

Stage 2 and Stage 3 students – 20 books

At least ten of these books must be on the Reading Challenge booklist.

The PRC rules have been updated for the 2023 challenge. Students can now include up to 10 choice books on their reading records and can count 5 books from an approved series as PRC books.

Booklists for each Stage level can be found on the Premier’s Reading Challenge website.

Books read from 1 September 2022 can count towards the 2023 challenge.

The student’s reading log will be entered online by the student, parent or caregiver. The student will need to enter the Premier’s Reading Challenge website and log on using their NSW Department of Education username and password. Students can enter their books as they read them. It will not be necessary to hand in a paper copy to Miss Macey.

Premier’s Reading Challenge certificates will be presented at the end of Term 4. Students completing the Challenge successfully for the fourth time receive their gold

certificate and students completing their seventh year receive their platinum certificate.

In order to participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge, students must have approval to access the internet and have an online account. Students who do not have permission for online access should take part in the Challenge unofficially.

Further information is available on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2023 website. The website is now open. https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Miss Macey

Teacher Librarian

World Book Online

Kingswood Public School subscribes to the World Book Web.

Our World Book subscription allows us to give you and your family access to this valuable reference source at your home computers 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

To access the World Book Web, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to www.worldbookonline.com

2. Enter Username: 

3. Enter Password: 

4. Save your user name and password for faster login – simply tick the box labelled “Remember my ID and password”. The next time you visit World Book the login prompt will already contain your username and password.

5. Once you arrive at the World Book home page, you should bookmark the page or add to favourites for easy access to World Book in the future.

To be eligible for a School Opal Card, students may need to live a minimum distance from their school. 

Years K-2 (Infants)

There is no minimum distance.

Years 3-6 (Primary)

1.6km straight line distance or 2.3km walking.

Years 7-12 (Secondary)

2km straight line or 2.9km walking. 

Complete the online application at https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/home#/

Getting to school by bus in 2023

Will your child be catching the bus to school in 2023? Applications are now open for a School Opal cards.  As it’s a busy time of year, we highly recommend you make this application before the end of Term 4. It’s also good to check the bus timetable to make your child’s journey to school is as easy as possible.

Here is how it works: School Opal cards

All students catching the bus in 2023 will need a School Opal card. Under the School Student Transport Scheme, eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school. For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a School Opal Card, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/ from a desktop computer, and click 'apply for a school travel pass'. Applications for 2023 opened at the start of Term 4.

Bus timetables

Busways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:

1. Go to busways.com.au/nsw 

2. Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’

3. Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’

4. Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device.  If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.

5. Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.