Good afternoon to all our Artarmon families!

It has been a busy few days preparing for the new school year and having all our students come back onto the grounds and get started for a new year of learning. 

It has been wonderful to see our students return and also to greet our new families joining our school for the first time.

Below are a few things for you to know as we get the year started.

• Finalising classes - Students have moved into a new class for the start of the year. With the potential change of enrolment numbers, there may need to be some movement or change. Your child's 2023 class will not be confirmed until Monday 13th February.
• Afternoon pick up - Please remember to always ensure your child knows where to meet you or how they are to get home each afternoon. Below are the arrangements for grades.
  
  • Year 1 - Students lined up on McMillan Playground
  • Year 2 - Students lined up under yellow umbrellas between hall and canteen
  • Years 3-6 - Dismissed by teachers - Families please communicate clearly with your child where they will meet you or how they are to get home safely.

• Fortnightly Newsletter - Our school newsletter, will now only be published each fortnight. Notification when published will be sent out through the SZapp.
• Electronic permission notes - Over the next week, all families will receive the annual general permission note via email for you to complete. Please read this carefully and if you have any questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Meet the Teacher Parent Sessions

This year we are trialling a new structure for our annual 'meet the teacher' parent sessions.

How will they work?

• Grades will be given a 45 minute time slot between 5-7pm on either the 20th or 21st February
• First 20 minutes - Parents will be asked to meet their child's teacher in the classroom for a short presentation.
• 5 minutes for all parents from the grade to move to the hall.
• Second 20 minutes - All teachers from your child's grade will give a short presentation about what happens throughout the year.

More information detailing dates and times for each grade will be sent home at the end of the week.

Road / Student Safety - Already over the past two days I have witnessed unsafe behaviour from parents when picking up and dropping off their child at school. Please remember that as parents, we are role models and it is our responsibility to ensure we do everything we can to teach our children safe behaviour and keep them safe when around roads and traffic.

Here are some simple rules to follow:

• Follow all traffic / road signs.
• Do not park and leave your car in a kiss and drop zone
• Use the pedestrian crossing and or traffic light crossing when coming to and from school
• Do not walk your child across Abbott Rd in front of cars and buses.

BUILDING UPDATE

ABBOTT RD TOILET BLOCK

As communicated last year, we were hoping to start the year with a completed toilet block, ready for the children to use. Unfortunately this has not been possible due to construction delays.

Temporary Toilets - The temporary toilets that were in use during Term 4 will remain until the project is complete. Teachers are speaking to all children who will use these toilets about how to access them and work through any questions they might have.

Kindergarten 2023 Students - The Kindergarten teachers will be spending lots of time supporting the new students on using the bathrooms and teaching them about the changes until our new block is complete.

We have added an extra staff member at the boys portaloos during recess and lunch to help support our students until the new block is complete.

McMillan Playground Shade Shelter

Apologies again as the McMillan shade structures were unable to be completed over the holidays due to construction delays.

When will it be completed?

By Monday morning 6th February!

This Friday afternoon, 3rd February, fences will be erected again and the structures completed over the weekend. All fences will be removed and the shade structures ready for Monday next week!

The school garden has been in full bloom over the summer, with a big thanks to Gary and the Fujikawa family who cared for the fruit trees and vegetable beds over the holidays.

The rockmelon and watermelon last year's 3MC planted in seedling pots and former 6SK students cared for are growing in abundance. Capsicums, peppers, eggplants and pumpkins are growing well too. Raspberries and tomatoes are also ripening daily and have already been enjoyed by some eager students who popped down to help with garden maintenance.

Thank you again to the P & C Committee for all their contributions to the garden, including the Community Garden Bee. We welcome everyone to come by the garden and look forward to growing and harvesting in 2023.