Parent Teacher Interviews

As you would be aware from our SZapp notifications, we unfortunately had our school server drop out and were unable to get it working in time for our Zoom parent/teacher interviews.

Thank you for your understanding and flexibility in regards to the change and supporting the school. If by chance you missed your call with the teacher, please be patient and they will try and contact you sometime over the coming week.

Twilight Swimming Carnival

We encourage families to limit one adult per family when participating in the Twilight Swimming Carnival to ensure we adhere to the Lane Cove aquatic centre COVID safe plan. Please also remember to maintain your social distance when in the grandstand and respect the safety hygiene requirements implemented by the venue. 

There is no permission note needed to be returned to school, however, you will be required to sign into the pool via the Service NSW app.

PSSA Teams

Our school is a delegate of the North Shore Zone PSSA organisation. Each year, our Zone organises teams and draws for the 15 schools within our area to compete in a fair and friendly competition. We as an individual school are limited to the number of teams and students we are allowed to enter into these competitions .The factors that have an impact include : availability of grounds, organisational logistics and age of students. Our school puts considerable amount of thought and planning into our organisation of these teams to ensure it is a fair process for all . For example there are 428 students in Year 5 and 6 and only 60 students selected for PSSA soccer.

Teachers  volunteer their mornings and lunch times each week to allow our students to participate in the competitions. The trials and selections for each of these teams happen at the end and beginning of each year to allow our school to plan and prepare for the year ahead.

The teachers run the trials for each sport putting the children through a range of skill based drills and modified games and use their best judgement to select students who demonstrate competency in the skills needed.

We understand that during this process, some students, who might demonstrate a high skill in their weekend sport teams are not chosen on the day to make one of the PSSA teams. This can be upsetting and often hard for students to understand why they were not chosen.

Please be assured that our teachers do their best when selecting teams and would love to be able to take every child who was interested and provide them an opportunity to participate, but they are restricted by the factors mentioned above.

The learning we want students to take away from this is not, I’m not good enough’, or ‘I am better than someone else and why did they get selected?’ but that of resilience and acceptance. It is ok to be upset and sad that they didn’t make a team, however, it will be ok and they will make sure they sign up again the following year and ‘give it their best’. Parents role is to help us build the learning of resilience and acceptance with your children and understand that we as a school are always doing the best for the children of Artarmon.

Pedestrian Safety

At all times we want to provide a safe environment for your children. One of our major concerns is parents and students crossing Abbott and McMillan Rd after school. Can you please ensure you speak with your child/ren or demonstrate the appropriate and safe way to cross the roads, that is, using the pedestrian crossing on McMillan Rd or the lights at the end of Abbott Rd.

Thank you to everyone who expressed their interest in being selected for Class Parent 2021 through the EOI process. Whilst we received multiple EOI's for many classes, there are still some classes for which we haven't received an EOI. The following classes are still in need of Class Parents for 2021:

Kindy: KSL and KEH.
Year 1: 1KW and 1HC.
Year 2: 2MM, 2SS and 2MK.
Year 5: 5JD and 5LW.
Year 6: 6MS, 6ER, 6NR and 6SW.

If you are a parent / carer of a child/ren in any of the above classes, and are interested in being a Class Parent for 2021, please fill in the attached EOI and e-mail this back to the school by Friday 19th February. Please note, we will only accept EOI's from the above listed classes.
The successful Parent for each class will be contacted next week (week 5).

Thank you to everyone who expressed an interest in assisting our staff, students and parents. If unsuccessful in this role, we encourage you to assist throughout the year when an opportunity arises.

Thank you

Mrs Page - Deputy Principal

Dear String Parents, 

 We have now closed for any new enrolments. Please keep a look out for registration at the end of the year. We hope the students are enjoying their tutorials and ready for another year of learning.

 Thank you for your patience as the start of the year is a busy time for the music committee.

 Parents, please print out the care for your instruments and sign with your child and bring to next week’s tutorial classes. These are located in the Parent portal.

Update your child’s class details

Now that classes have been confirmed, please UPDATE your child’s class details on the parent portal. .https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic

Ensemble rehearsals:

         Training Strings:                 Tuesdays lunchtime STARTS TERM 2

         Junior Strings:                     7:45 for 750am start -8:45am Tuesdays, school hall

         Concert Strings:                  7:45 for 750am start -8:45am Thursdays, school hall

         Senior Strings:                    3-4pm Tuesdays, music room

Volunteer roles

We are still looking to fill some roles for the committee. See the following list for vacancies. Seriously consider joining – it’s a fun group and a great way to be involved in your child’s musical development.

Committee Positions

Creative Vouchers Coordinator in training– vacant

Events officer- vacant

Orchestra coordinator – vacant

Music camp coordinator (s) – vacant

Play-a thon coordinator (s) - vacant

If you are interested in volunteering for one of these roles or would like more information, please email strings.artarmonpandc@gmail.com

THANK YOU!

2021 Strings Committee 

BAND NEWS   

Band parents, in addition to email communications, we encourage you to regularly check Newsflash for upcoming events and important band updates. We will publish advance dates as soon as we know them to help you plan the year!

Registrations for Band:

If your child is new to Artarmon Public School (APS) in 2021 and interested in joining Band, you need to register online by going to the following link:

https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic

Registrations for students new to APS close this Friday (19^th of February).

The 2021 Band Information Pack can also be found on the school website under ‘Music Programs > Band’. Please read this prior to registering for Band.

Important Note - Students must be registered online through the Music Portal prior to participating in and/or attending any Band group.

Tutorials:

Parents have been emailed tutorial details (including tutor name, tutorial time, tutorial day and location).

Small group tutorials and individual in-school tutorials have started.  

If you have a question regarding your child’s tutorial, please email your Tutor in the first instance.

Alternatively, email tutorband@artarmonpandc.org.au.

Band Rehearsals

We are pleased to announce that Junior Concert Band, Concert Band, Senior Concert Band and Jazz Band rehearsals have started for 2021:

Rehearsal times for Concert Bands:

• Junior Concert Band: Mondays 12.50pm to 1.40pm AND Thursdays 8am to 8.50am
• Concert Band: Mondays 8am to 8.50am AND Thursdays 12.50pm to 1.40pm
• Senior Concert Band: Tuesdays 8am to 8.50am AND Thursdays 2pm to 2.55pm

Rehearsals for Training Band will commence in week 5 or 6. Training Band rehearsals will be held weekly on Fridays from 8am to 8.50am. Parents will be emailed when Training Band rehearsals are due to start.

Jazz Band rehearsals started last week and will be at the following times for the next couple of weeks:

• Thursday 18^th February 3.00 – 4.00pm
• Friday 26^th February 7.50 – 8.50am
• After the above dates, Jazz Band rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from 3.00 – 4.00pm.

Orchestra rehearsals started this week (17^th Feb) and will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 8am to 8.50am. Orchestra is a combined Band and Strings program, with students participating from both groups, and is conducted by Mr Walmsley.

All band rehearsals are held in the school music room. For rehearsals before school, students should arrive at school promptly at 7.50am so that the band rehearsal can start by 8am.

Creative Kids Voucher

As you may be aware, the NSW Government will continue to contribute a $100 Creative Kids rebate this year for NSW residents. The Artarmon P&C is currently registered as a Creative Kids provider for the band and strings programs.

A big thank you to Angie, Natalie and Sheryl, the amazing parent volunteers who have stepped forward to process the Creative Kids vouchers for us all.

Our amazing volunteers are coming up to speed quickly, so we will be ready to process the vouchers in the next few weeks.  

In the meantime, if you are going to use your Creative Kids voucher to reduce your band or strings programme invoices, please apply for the voucher now through the Service NSW website:

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-creative-kids-voucher

Any questions please email Kali via band@artarmonpandc.org.au

Instrument Hire

If your child still needs to pick-up their hired instrument, it can be collected from the Music room before their band rehearsal.

Hire instruments are located inside the music storeroom (first door on right inside the music room) and are clearly marked with students’ names.

If you have hired an instrument, this is a reminder to read, complete and return the pink slip asap. Pink slips can be found inside the hired instrument case and should be returned to the Band mailbox near the school main office.

Parent Portal – Update Class Details

Classes for 2021 have been confirmed and communicated to parents.

If your child is enrolled in Band, please log into the Parent Music Portal and update your child’s class details this week. This is important information we need for scheduling & communication purposes with the school.  

https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic

Questions?

For general questions, please refer to the Band Information Pack which is available in the Parent Portal and on the school website under Music Programs. Band rehearsal times for your child(ren) and the name of your Band Coordinator(s), once assigned, will also appear in the Parent Portal when you login.  

If you have a question about your hired instrument or instrument tutorial, please contact your Tutor in the first instance. Alternatively, contact our Instrument Coordinator or Tutor Coordinators if required.

• Instrument Coordinator: Kirsteen Daly (APSbandinstruments@gmail.com)
• Tutor Coordinators: Rebecca Wall & Jane Absolum (tutorband@artarmonpandc.org.au)

THANK YOU!

Email: band@artarmonpandc.org.au