2019 P&C AGM

The P&C meeting was very well attended last week and many people have put their hands up to take on roles. The school and students value the contributions that parents and caregivers make as they take time out of their busy lives.

Congratulations to Bogdan Grubisic who takes on the role as President of the Artarmon Public School P&C Association. I look forward to working with Bogdan in 2019.

We still have a vacancy as the chair for the Uniform Shop Committee. If you are interested in this role and would like to know more about it please contact the school office. This role could be shared between two volunteers.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

What a great swimming carnival we had. This year due to the unavailability of Lane Cove Pool meant we had a day carnival at North Sydney Pool and it was a fantastic day.

Thank you to Ms Genna Wyllie for her organisation of the carnival. There are many hours of work and support from colleagues behind a successful event.

NO HATS NO PLAY

Can I remind parents that we have a No Hat No Play policy at school to ensure our children's skin is protected at all times. 

Parents can help by ensuring that your child has a school hat and it is clearly marked with their name.

YR 3 FUNDRAISING MEETING

Yr 3 parents and caregivers are invited to attend a Fundraising meeting in the school hall - Wednesday 13 March at 8.00am.

This important group supports the school through the organisation of all fundraising activities during the year.

Year 5 Newsflash Report – Camp

Year 5 2019 have made an excellent start to the year. The students have been settling into their new classes and getting to know their new classmates. Our recent trip to The Great Aussie Bush Camp was a fantastic opportunity to build relationships with peers, develop resilience and take part in exciting activities. These challenging activities included archery, flying fox, raft building and many more. I am pleased to report that our students enjoyed themselves, worked cooperatively throughout the camp and represented Artarmon Public School with pride. It was a delight to take them away on camp.
- Mr Sherley

Student Reports:

Camp was really fun. I enjoyed the giant swing the most because it was a bit scary but also fun. The camp instructors were really nice and full of encouragement.
Oliver K. 5NS

The Great Aussie Bush Camp was awesome. You get to try once in a lifetime opportunities with your classmates. My favourite activities were the giant swing and the dual flying fox because they were fun, exciting and a little bit scary. Thank you to our teachers for using their time to take us away and helping us have a fun time.

Tell Them From Me Student feedback survey

http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/images/TTFM_Student_Survey_FAQs_Parent_and_Carers_T12019.pdf

I am delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school.

I want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 11 March and 12 April. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey will be sent home. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by 11^th March. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents.

The consent form and FAQs are available in 23 languages.

Kind regards

Brooke Keevers

2019 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge

The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student - to read, to read more and to read more widely.

The 2019 Premier’s Reading Challenge starts

Monday, 4 March (Term 1 / week 6) and closes at midnight on Friday, 30 August (Term 3 / week 6).

If your child is interested in completing the challenge, please log onto the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge website to enter the codes or titles of the books read. The website is: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/logon.html

Then proceed to Logon. The username and password is your child’s Department Internet login name and his/her individual password.

Official rules, booklists and codes are on this site as well.

Students will need to complete the challenge at home and enter their books on the PRC website.

Reading requirements are below:

Students who complete their online Student Reading Record by 30 August 2019 will be eligible for a PRC certificate in Term 4. Gold awards are awarded to students for 4 years of successful participation. Platinum Certificates are awarded to students for 7 years of successful participation.

Happy Reading!

From the library team

Band parents, please check Newsflash weekly for the latest news and reminders, we will publish advance dates as soon as we know them to help you plan your year!

Training Band rehearsals start this Friday 8^th March

Training Band is ready to start playing together! All Training Band students should attend the first rehearsal on Friday, arrive at 7.50 am ready to start at 8.00 am.

Music Bags for sale this Friday 8^th March

Artarmon music bags will be available to purchase on Friday 7.50 am – 8.50 am outside the music room. They cost $20 (cash only, exact money if possible please!). These bags are very useful for keeping your music flat and all together. They are of course optional. Please remember that sheet music, files or books should NEVER be stuffed into your instrument case as this can damage the instrument. 

Have you updated your child's class on Myschoolmusic?

If you have not already done so, please log in to the Myschoolmusic parent portal, select Update Student and enter your child's 2019 class. Thank you.

Have you returned the 2019 'Pink Slip' for your child's hire instrument?

If you have not already done so, please sign the 'Pink Slip' and return the lower section to the Band Box next to the school office. There is a new slip each year so please check you have returned the one that was in the case when you collected your 2019 hire instrument (after the instrument audit in December or at the beginning of this year). Thank you.

Got a question?

Have you looked in the 2019 band information pack? A copy is available at https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic.

If it is about your hired instrument or instrumental tutorial please contact your tutor firstly, then our instrument coordinator or tutor coordinator if required.

For anything else please contact your band coordinator.

Creative Kids Voucher and fees invoice

An email has been sent with instructions on how to apply for this voucher, which will give you $100 off your strings fees should you wish to use it. Keep in mind, once you apply for this voucher, you can use it only once in the year for only one program. So if you have already used it in band or in a program outside of school, you can not use it again.

Please follow the instructions in the email before paying your strings fees, which you will receive this week. 

Strings Orchestra Coordinator needed – position vacant

The Strings program needs an orchestra coordinator to work with the band counterpart Hongxia Deng. You will be responsible for setting up the supervision roster for strings and coordinating any eisteddfod excursions or performances that the group attends.

Please email if you are interested.

For your calendar:

Friday 12th April, before school: Annual Easter Breakfast concert

Sat 1st June (1pm - 5.30pm) and Sun 2nd June (9am - 3pm): Music Intensive weekend

Mon June 17th: Orchestra and Senior Strings at Sydney Eisteddfod

Sept 1-7: Hawaii Tour

October 26-27: Music Camp, Yr 4-6

Ensemble rehearsals:

        Training Strings:           Tuesdays lunchtime, starts in Term 2

         Junior Strings:              7:45-8:45am Tuesdays, middle level S block

         Concert Strings:           7:45-8:45 Thursdays, middle level S block

         Senior Strings:             3-4pm Tuesdays, music room

         Orchestra:                    8-8:50am Wednesdays, music room

Committee Positions

Training Strings Coordinator – Ellen Hird

Junior Strings Coordinator – Rose Wen

Concert Strings Coordinator – Karen P’ng

Senior Strings Coordinator – Ada Pan

Orchestra Coordinator – Open

Instruments Coordinator – Joanne Wang

Assistant Instrument Coordinator – Open

Secretary – Arzoo Patel

Strings Treasurer – Open

Emma Nicholas, Strings Convenor – strings@artarmonpandc.org.au