WOLLONGONG PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 67a Church Street, Phone: 4228 9120 WOLLONGONG NSW 2500 Fax: 4226 5091 Email: Wollongong-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Principal: Harold Cosier Term 1, Week 9 Weekly Message Dear Parents, This week saw us celebrate Harmony Day with a tremendous response from our parents and community members. So many of you provided food for the students to share at lunch time, dressed your children in appropriate clothes for the day and then joined with us for the afternoon. While the weather wasn t ideal, the rain held off long enough for us to have our class picnics, and set up for the afternoon. There are many, many people who helped in both the organisation and the running of the day, and to you all I say on behalf of our school, a huge Thank You, as your contribution ensured that it was such a joyous event. Personally, I would like to thank Mrs Neaves who chaired our staff team, Mrs Yacoub, who translated our notes and liaised with many community members, and Ms Karen Tominez-Robbins who worked with Mrs Neaves in organising our sausage sizzle and the generous parents who worked so tirelessly all afternoon. Thank you all. This week our Stage 2 and 3 classes have again enjoyed learning some hockey skills, thanks to some coaching by 2 members of the NSW women s hockey team. This is thanks to the government sponsored Sport in Schools grant that we secured late last year. As a former hockey player, I thoroughly enjoyed picking up a stick and having a hit during the week, much to the amusement of participating students! Next Wednesday our School Cross Country is still scheduled, so we are hoping that the rain will hold off long enough for our students to enjoy their various runs. The carnival is held at Bulli Park: Park Road, Bulli and parents are welcome to come along and help out, or cheer their children on as they try their hardest on a quite challenging course. The following week, on Wednesday 5 th March we are having our rescheduled School Picnic and we are all looking forward to a day in the sun! (I hope) Our term will end with our Easter Hat Parade which will be held on the last day, Friday 7 th of April. More details will be sent out early next week.
Finally, we have had a case of impetigo, a very contagious skin condition, reported in the school. Included in this newsletter is a factsheet providing further information for you. Have a safe and happy weekend. Kind regards, Harold Cosier Principal THERE ARE NO CANTEEN FACILITIES AVAILABLE AT WOLLONGONG PUBLIC SCHOOL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. CALENDAR Term 1, Week 9 Monday, March 20 th Term 1, Week 11 Monday, April 3 rd Tuesday, March 21 st Harmony Day Tuesday, April 4 th Wednesday, March 22 nd Wednesday, April 5 th Cordeaux Dam Whole school excursion Thursday, March 23 rd Thursday, April 6 th Friday, March 24 th Friday, April 7 th Last day of term 1 Term 1, Week 10 Monday, March 27 th Term 2, Week 1 Tuesday, March 28 th Monday, April 24 th Staff Development Day Wednesday, March 29 th School Cross Country Tuesday, April 25 th Anzac Day Public Holiday Thursday, March 30 th Wednesday, April 26 th All students return today Friday, March 31 st Whole School Assembly Thursday, April 27 th Friday, April 28 th CORDEAUX DAM The Whole School Cordeaux Dam excursion that was postponed week 6, will now be held on 5 th April (week 11), a new permission note was sent home this week, please fill out, sign and return to school. 2017 STEWART HOUSE DONATION DRIVE An envelope for a gold coin donation is being sent home this week with your child. By sending the Donation Drive envelope back you are helping to care for the health and well-being of the 1800 students in need who attend Stewart House each year. To enter the draw to win a $4000 Holiday for your family, all envelopes and money must be returned to the school office by Friday, 5 th May 2017.
PAYMENT REMINDERS Mathletics payment and permission notes are due now. No child will be issued with a logon or password until payment it is made. Stage 3 Camp 1 st instalment and permission note are due today Friday March 24. Cross Country payment and permission note are due by Monday 27 th March. Please make sure a signed permission note is returned to the school office when making ALL payments (cash, cheque and on-line). It stops a lot of stress and confusion in the office and for your child. Harmony Day Celebrations On Tuesday of this week, all students, staff and our whole school community celebrated Harmony Day to support inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. The celebrations started with an International buddy luncheon, where all children enjoyed a vast selection of delicious home-made foods from many countries around the world. The staff from Wollongong Public School would like to sincerely thank all parents and carers for kindly providing such beautiful meals for our children to enjoy. Our school day ended with children participating in cultural games and activities run by teams of dedicated teachers who provided the children with fun and engaging tasks. In true Wollongong Public School style, the celebrations continued into the afternoon with a community sausage sizzle and afternoon of entertainment. The event was opened with a didgeridoo performance and the Acknowledgement to Country by Mrs Clapham. During the afternoon we enjoyed a variety of performances by not only our very talented children here at school but also some of the local cultural groups and organisations. We thank everyone for joining us in celebrating the cultural diversity of our community. Harmony Day celebrations at Wollongong Public School was highly supported by a team of very dedicated volunteers who spent many hours of their time supporting the event and ensuring its success. We thank you all very much for your continued support!
Peacekeeper Mufti Day On Friday 31 st March, our school will be having a Fluoro themed Mufti Day to help raise money for the Wollongong Public School Peacekeeper Welfare Program. We ask that in exchange for wearing your bright coloured clothing that you bring in a gold coin donation to school. Please help us and join in the fun! We really appreciate your help, Miss Wilson and the Year 6 Peacekeepers Article for Wollongong Public School newsletter for term 1, 2017 Ethics at Wollongong Public Welcome back to school and to ethics! And welcome to Wollongong Public if this is the first year for you. We have had some changes to our ethics teachers this year Mrs Williams is no longer able to teach. I want to thank Kristy for her hard work on facilitating ethics discussions for both Kindergarten and stage 3 in 2016. Mrs Tyndall has temporarily stepped up to teach both stages 1 and 3 for term 1. She will hand over to one of the new teachers in term 2. I have been able to recruit two more teachers, who will complete their training in March. Currently the following ethics classes are being held: stage 3 (Mrs Tyndall and Mrs Chalmers doing one class each) stage 2 (Mrs Parsons) stage 1 (Mrs Tyndall and Mrs Parsons doing one class each) With the new teachers ready to teach in term 2 we will be able to offer ethics for Kindergarten as well. We do however need to have a minimum number of students to go ahead (since it is based on discussion). If you want to find out more about the ethics programme, please refer to Primary Ethics website: http://www.primaryethics.com.au/ You are able to subscribe to quarterly updates from the website. If you want to provide any feedback or obtain any further information about ethics at Wollongong Public, feel free contact me via ingridrylander@optusnet.com.au Hope you have a nice break before term 2! Ingrid Rylander Ethics Co-ordinator Wollongong Public