Good afternoon Artarmon families and welcome to the Week 10, Term 2 Newsflash! 

It has been wonderful this week to say hello to so many of you when you were in for your parent-teacher interviews. Thank you for engaging in this process with us to share in your child's learning and engagement in school. I know this process is so valued by our teachers as they finally get some time to put aside especially for you to connect their teaching with you and your child's learning.

CELEBRATING STUDENTS

Every day learning is celebrated in each classroom as students make progress on their goals and focus on the next steps, but at the end of the term, I have felt privileged as I have been invited into so many classes and grade presentations to celebrate the culmination of the terms learning, giving the students an audience and connecting a purpose to their hard work, learning and progress.  

Be proud of your children for the hard work they have put into this term and the learning that they have engaged in. I know our teachers are incredibly proud of the effort and improvement made each day.

Here are some images of Year 5OC History fair, Year 4 Spelling Bee and Year 2 published novels. Being involved in the celebration of their learning this week has been the highlight of my week!

FESTIVAL OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Last Wednesday, I was again provided an experience to be an extremely proud principal and attend the NSW Arts Unit, Festival of Instrumental Music at the Sydney Opera House where one of our students, Ethan Chen performed an incredible cello solo and blew the audience away with his outstanding talent. We also had 11 students perform on stage with a State wide primary string ensemble. They sounded amazing and did an outstanding job. What an experience to play on the Opera House stage. 

Congratulations to all, we are very proud of you and you should be proud of yourselves!

SYDNEY NORTH DANCE FESTIVAL

I know there is an article dedicated to this further down in the newsletter, however, I wanted to express again how proud I was on Saturday night to watch our students perform in the Sydney North Dance Festival at Glen St Theatre. It was a joy to watch them and see the excitement on their faces as they performed on the big stage with a live audience.

Opportunities like this, however, would not be possible without the dedication and skills of our outstanding teachers who give up their lunch time and time before and after school to provide this experience for our students.

What amazing students and teachers we have!

THOMPSON OVAL

The oval is almost finished! (insert screams of excitement here)

As you may have noticed, Thompson Oval is almost finished its resurfacing and we are hoping to be able to use it again from Term 3.

Over the last 3 terms our students have been amazing, fitting into our smaller playgrounds, but are excited at the opportunity to get back down there for some bigger games and more running space.

This oval is an amazing resource for our school and we are very grateful to the council for allowing us to use this every day for play times but also as an outdoor learning space.

The teachers will be building playground rosters and letting students know early next term of their scheduled days to use the oval as grades.

THE PURPOSE OF HOLIDAYS

Holiday breaks between each term for our students are essential and have a very specific purpose. They are a time to switch off. A time to recharge the batteries and take a break from the rigorous learning routines and structures of school. A time for our kids to be kids. How each family manages this, I know it is different and unique to you and your setting. With this in mind, I hope you find time for not only your child / children to rest and relax but for you and your family to spend some quality time together. Take a break from making school lunches and managing the morning and afternoon routines, enjoy time as a family and we can't wait to see you all back for an exciting Term 3.

To prepare for Term 3, see below our important dates for your calendar.