Dear Artarmonn Community,

It has been fantastic to see so many of you in and around the school at the start of the term and hear of so many great family adventures that happened over the school holiday period. Everyone looks refreshed and ready for an amazing term.

I wanted to start by thanking our P&C fundraising team for getting our community alive last weekend with the election BBQ and cake stall. If you were here on the weekend to get a democracy sausage, lychee tea or cake stall item you would have also noticed our new Artarmon PS gazebos purchased by the P&C.

A huge thank you to Emily Gee, Anna Dally and their tribe of volunteers who did an amazing job and also had a lot of fun on the day. You are all fabulous and help make our school an amazing community.

CELEBRATING OUR STUDENTS

A huge congratulations goes to Titus Teoh who at the end of last term competed in the NSW State Swimming Championships. Titus continued his domination in the pool and broke and now holds two NSW records with a 50m Freestyle time of 29.80 and a 200m IM of 2.40.34. This is an outstanding result and one that not many others before him have achieved. 

Titus is now continuing his training and will compete in the National Championships in October, where he qualified for:

• 50m Freestyle
• 50m Backstroke
• 50m Butterfly
• 200m Individual Medley
• NSW Jnr Relay Team

Congratulations Titus. We are all very proud of you. Just keep swimming.

Currently this week we have two of our talented Tennis players,Talia Yang and Emma Cao who are representing Sydney North at the NSW State Tennis Championships. This is a significant achievement and we can't wait to hear about their success next week when back.

Sending best wishes to you both in Bathurst this week girls!

TERM INVOICES

Term invoices will be sent home early next week. Thank you in advance for your prompt payment of these. The costs in the invoice are associated with extra programs including incursions and excursion planned by teachers to enhance then learning experience of curriculum programs. 

On the invoice you will also notice a $50 P&C Voluntary Contribution for technology uplift. We are currently in the planning of building a new technology space in our school for students to build on their creative use of technology and support new programs. The money from this voluntary contribution will be spent in this area.

S BLOCK AIR CONDITIONING

We are almost there! Over the holidays the air conditioner installers completed all the indoor work and there was no disruption to student learning programs at all. The contractors are currently completing the outdoor works and install of the external units and this should take another two weeks.

This has been a large and significant amount of work over the last few years and a huge thanks to our community for their support to ensure our students and staff have the best possible learning environments.

OC TESTS and SHS

Congratulations to all our students who attempted the OC and Selective High school tests last week and over the weekend. I understand some of you may have read about some disruptions to some of the test centres and impacted students and families. 

The test centre allocated to Artarmon was not impacted, however, if you have any reason to apply for an illness/misadventure form, these need to be submitted on-line by this week and all information can be found on the selective website.

WINTER UNIFORM

As we move into Term 2 and the colder months, it is now time to start to transition into the schools Winter uniform.

Please continue to take pride in our school uniform and ensure our children are wearing this everyday, including black shoes when not a sports day. 

If you would like to order any uniforms on-line, these will be delivered to your child's classroom through the office.

httpss:/wwwwsustainableschoolshoppcomm.auartarmonppss

Please also check jumpers and clothes are clearly labelled with your child's name.

SEMESTER ONE REPORTS

During this term, your child's teacher is building an academic report that will provide information on your child's progress linked to the NSW syllabus and teaching and learning programs happening in school. There are some new changes coming to our reports and more information will come home about this closer to the date. I will also be explaining these changes linked to policy at the next P&C meeting.

These reports will be published in your School Bytes Parent portal in Week 9, so the teachers have an opportunity to discuss these with you during the parent teacher interview in week 10. More information about parent teacher interviews will be coming home during the term.

ATTENDANCE AND EXTENDED LEAVE

As a large multicultural school community, I understand at times there are reasons for family travel, however, please remember families are encouraged to travel during school holidays, not during school term.

If there specific circumstances where travel is needed during the school term, families must complete an extended leave application and submit this through the school office.

Please note that as a principal, it is my role to support the 1990, Education Act, that requires parents ensure their children of compulsory school age are enrolled at, and  attend school everyday.

Attendance issues have a significant impact on your child's learning. It is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options.

MOTHER'S DAY

This weekend we celebrate Mother's Day. I would like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to all the wonderful mothers and mother figures in our school community. Everything you do to support and create the best possible environment for your children and our community is so appreciated

This year I know the P&C are changing our Mother's Day celebrations a little differently by inviting Mothers into the school on Friday morning to celebrate with us and your wonderful children.

Please make some time to come to the hall and connect with and celebrate being a mother with our school community.

To all the dads - It is time to step up! The P&C are asking that instead of the mums helping to set up, can we get some amazing dads to help out.

Dads sign up here: https://signup.zone/moav45q6GMrnyBbMD

All the information for mums is in the article below, payment for event is on entry. Can't wait to see you all there!

The Cross Country carnival will be held on Thursday, 8th of May at Artarmon Reserve. There is no cost for this carnival.

Event Participation

All children aged 8-13 are expected to participate in their age group event. Your child’s age is determined by the age they are turning this calendar year. 

Transport

Children will walk to the reserve at 9.00am and will return back to school by 1:40pm. Children who are in Year 2 and turning 8 years old this year, will join us at the reserve from 11am. All other Year 2 student will remain at school.

What to bring

It is requested that children are dressed in their sports uniform with suitable footwear. Children will need to bring morning tea, lunch and a bottle of water. There will be NO canteen facilities at the reserve or school. Additionally, it is recommended that students bring something to sit on, such as a rug or plastic bag.

Supporters

Parents, carers and all other family members are most welcome to join us on the day to support their child(ren) in their races. 

Program of events

This is a guideline of event times only. Students need to ensure that they listen to announcements on the day.

12/13 years - 9:40am

11 years - 10:30am

10 years - 11:20am

8/9 years - 12:00pm

Wet Weather

In the event of wet weather, school will continue as usual. An alternative carnival date has been set for Friday 16th of May. 

All teachers are trained in CPR and Emergency Care.

Apologies some of the links were not working on Monday when emailed to all families. We believe this is fixed now.

Please click to download and view your grade newsletter.

Kindergarten_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_1_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_2_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_3_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_4_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_5_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

Year_6_Newsletter_Term_2_2025.pdf

OC_Term_2_Newsletter_2025.pdf

I am pleased to report that I have been invited into some lovely classrooms recently. I was excited to receive  PLEASE VISIT invitations from 3NH,4DG,4SM,4NM,5GH,6CM. These classes have quickly earned their turn, by demonstrating wonderful cooperation and meeting their teacher’s expectations.

I really enjoyed visiting these students. I am very impressed by the quality of their work, they have created books which they will read to their buddy classes.

I am also enjoying working with specific students and hearing some excellent reading.

My location in the library has meant I have met a lot more students who politely sit and read during lunchtimes.

I was delighted when I received two beautiful portraits.

Jacob Teh in 6JB and Gary painted me and this work is on display in the library.

All in all I want to thank everyone for being so kind.

Men, we need  your help! Please volunteer to help at our Mothers Day Breakfast, so that the mums in our community can enjoy this event. All tasks are very simple, but we need your assistance to make the event memorable and successful for the women in your lives. Event is Friday 9th May 2025.

https://signup.zone/moav45q6GMrnyBbMD

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO MUSIC PARENT PORTAL

Over the Easter long weekend, year 6 students Jacob Teh (myself) and Alex Gajic participated in the Yamaha Australian National Band Championships in Melbourne as part of Northern Youth Symphonic Winds (NYSW).

The camp began at 6.00am. At first light, we headed off on a bus from Artarmon Public School. As we were dropped off at Sydney Airport, excited vibes filled the air. After some confusion about getting instruments on the plane, we headed off to the city of Melbourne, a wonderful place where you can get four seasons in a single day. As we got off the airport bus, we had a delicious lunch of burgers.  At our hotel, Cooperate Living, a final rehearsal was done before a delicious dinner of pizza, devoured quickly after a hard day of work. We ended the day with a night of games, before going back to our rooms. Me and my roommate, Teddy, watched some TV

The following day was an early wakeup, the day of the Band Championships. After a heavy breakfast, NYSW headed to the hall where the competition was held. On stage, the silence could, on a scale of 1 to 10, be described as 11. We played very well in the competition, earning 2^nd place. The only other ensemble in it was Castle Hill, who won the competition. Still, it was an amazing experience for everyone, especially those who performed in their very first National Band Championships. We had a relaxing time afterwards, watching the Minecraft Movie in a cinema we had all to ourselves. We had dinner at a bar just down the street, a hearty meal of chicken schnitzel and burgers.

The third and final day started off with the exact same breakfast as the day before, this time, though, with hot chocolate. We checked out of the hotel and then went to Zone Bowling. Teddy and me
had fun with the arcade games, then we hopped over to bowling. We finished off the camp activities with an intense laser tag game and then went back to our accommodation to collect our luggage. Half of the kids went back to Sydney, and the other half either had a holiday in Melbourne, which is what I did, or stayed to compete in the National Solo Competition.

Overall, the experience was not just for the performance, but for bonding and fun. It was important for making friends and strengthening relationships.

Mr Walmsley has been the successful conductor of NYSW since 2009, when the ensemble was formed. The ensemble consists of ex-Artarmon students and students from other schools. In previous years, NYSW has won many awards, and are still going strong in their 16^th year. Mr Walmsley offers early entry into NYSW, to those willing to participate, from year 6, Some students have even been accepted in year 5! If you are one of these players wishing for an entry into NYSW, make sure to keep at it.

By Jacob Teh 6JB