I wanted to take a moment to highlight the importance of student effort and the role it plays in success. As we all know, learning is a journey that requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance. I am continually blown away as I walk around the school, popping in to classrooms or having students show up to the office, beaming with pride to share what they have achieved through effort and persistence. I am so proud of our teaching staff and how they plan, prepare and support all children in individual learning goals each day. 

Let's celebrate the achievements of our students and encourage them to continue striving for excellence. Here are a few pics of what what has been happening around our school this week.

KINDERGARTEN MATHS IN ACTION!

This week, Kindergarten have been learning all about measurement. Students were excited to explore length using playdough and unifix cubes. The end of the lesson involved students using teamwork and their knowledge of length to build the tallest tower they could. It was great to see students, who have only known each other for a short while, work so cooperatively to achieve a goal.

YEAR 4 WRITING

YEAR 3 & 5 NAPLAN

Today was the first of our 2023 NAPLAN assessments and they will be running over the next 9 school days till Monday 27th March. Please know that these assessments are only a snap shot in time of your child's achievement. Be proud of your child sitting these assessments and encourage them to relax, read the question, and do their best. We are already so proud of your children and their growth and achievement towards individual goals everyday. 

Get plenty of rest and all you can do is your best on the day!

INFECTIOUS DISEASE NOTIFICATION

GIRLS UNIFORM

The school and the P&C have been following process and sourcing options to add to the girls uniform to include a specific shorts and pants option for girls to wear. We hope to have this process finalised soon and will communicate more information soon. If your daughter would prefer to wear the current blue skort, blue polo with black shoes as summer uniform, they are more than welcome to do this.

EVERY DAY MATTERS

There are still  weeks of learning left and it is really important for students to come to school every single day, unless they are sick and/or displaying COVID-19 symptoms

A reminder that holidays should only be booked during school breaks and students should be at school every day during school term, right from beginning to end.

Missing a day here or there may not seem like much, but absences add up. Every day matters and we are here to support all students in attending and engaging with their learning every day of the term.

ONLINE PARENT PORTAL - FEES + STUDENT PERMISSIONS

In recent years our school fees and invoices have been sent out via email using the School Bytes finance system. More recently, in the same school management system, we have begun to create a paperless system for school permission notes and intend to maximise the systems ability as a centralised hub for parent and student information. 

School Bytes have now developed a Parent Portal that allows parents/carers to view payment history, outstanding fees, online permission notes and in future academic reports and more. This portal is now available for you to register and begin viewing your child / children's history, any outstanding fees and online permission needed.

If you have not registered yet, please do so today. This is where all school information re payments and permissions can be viewed and edited. 

To register click here:

For step by step instructions on setting up your Parent Portal click here: 

Permission and fees already sent:

• Term 1 2023 fees are now visible in the parent portal and fee emails have been sent.
• General Permissions - email sent + accessible in your parent portal.
• Student & Parent Digital Online Services agreement - This must be signed by the parent / caregiver and student. 

Individual emails will be sent when pushed to Parent Portal as a reminder, however, all are visible and accessible inside the parent portal at all times. Please use the tabs at the top to guide you.

Setting up your Parent Portal

• When setting up your Parent Portal, please use the same email address linked to your school account.
• If your details have changed and you can not see anything in the portal, please contact the office.

What fees am I paying in Term 1?

Please click here to view a PDF detailing Term 1 2023 curriculum program fees & levies:

Thank you in advance for your prompt payment of the Term 1 invoice. These fees allow our school to continue to provide the best quality learning materials and experiences for our students.

NSW BACK TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS

Can I use the NSW Back to school vouchers for school fees?

• Yes, however, this must be done in person and is unavailable through the online payment system,.
• We will have this option available to families from Monday 20th Feb at the front office.

Vouchers can be used for:

• Excursions
• Incursions 
• Uniform shop

Vouchers can not be used for:

• Paper, technology and literature levies

On the 7th of March 2023, the young leaders of Artarmon (School Captains, Prefects, House Captains, and House Vice Captains) attended the National Young Leaders Day which was held at the International Convention Centre (ICC). There we met many famous leaders such as famous sports stars, Chris Green and Caitlin Bassett, along with comedian Nazeem Hussain, inventor Dr Jordan Nguyen and His Excellency, the Governor-General, David Hurley.

The first speaker of the day was a national-famous cricketer, Chris Green. As captain of the Sydney Thunder, he had a lot of things to say about leadership. With both tips and suggestions, Chris had a lot to share about his experiences in a leadership role. He told us that an important part of being a leader is having a good relationship with the people around you, and that you cannot captain alone. He also said that you have to keep searching for the right way to lead, even though there is nothing perfect to find.

Next we heard from Caitlin Bassett, the former captain of the Australian Diamonds, who has won many awards for her netball skills. She told us about her hard times during her training and childhood, and how she overcame her difficulties. She also told us that it was good to be a leader from the bench and let other people do things too. Caitlin Bassett was a very inspirational speaker who taught us many things about leadership.

After a quick morning tea break we met a well-loved comedian and author, Nazeem Hussain. After recently publishing his new book, Hy-larious Hyena, he admitted that it was mainly based on his childhood. He then spoke about those childhood experiences and how far he has come since then. He believes that laughter always makes your empty tummy full. As a student body I think that it is necessary to always have positive humour, cheer people up when they’re sad, encourage others to be resilient and build resilience through humour.

Next, we heard from a special guest, the Governor-General, David Hurley. He told us stories from his high school years to the times when he was nominated Governor-General. He told us that we lead, not for ourselves but we lead to serve others. He said that it is very important to learn to listen. The Governor-General was a very inspirational and informative speaker, who gave up his precious time to come to a schooling convention.

Last of all, we met the extraordinary Dr Jordan Nguyen. Being one of the smartest speakers there that day, Dr Jordan inspired us with his inventions, such as mind-controlled wheelchairs, a speaking, moving, and guiding robot that was designed to tour visitors around universities, and a car that is controlled by moving your eyes. We should all encourage others to pursue our dreams and tell ourselves that we can achieve anything we set our minds to. After all, Dr Jordan Nguyen’s main message to all who attended was: “If you set your mind to it, you can achieve it.”

Overall, the convention was such a fun night, and we hope that future young leaders like us will have the same unforgettable experience that we had.

The Great Aussie Bush Camp

What is the best experience you’ve ever had in your life? Well, we’re only 10 years old, and haven't really experienced many glamorous vacations yet, but the Great Aussie Bush camp was the most amazing 3 days of our lives! If you want a getaway with your friends, the Great Aussie Bush camp is the place to go! Especially since it's fun, safe and a great learning experience!

As soon as we hopped off the bus, the friendly camp guides graciously welcomed us to our awesome campsite. Artarmon year 5, got straight into their first activity, CANOEING! The guide explained how to canoe and safely get across the river. We then went to indoor rock climbing where we each got a turn to climb up the wall with the suitable difficulty level for us. The supervisor taught us how to safely pull the climber up and down. Our group experienced the life of the first people, through bushcraft and Pioneering where we learnt how to survive without any privileges. Grade 5 made houses out of logs and scrumptious damper bread over the fire. In addition, we had a game and movie night too!

We also learnt archery, (safely!) high ropes, (which is an aerial obstacle course) raft building and the giant swing. Many of you might be wondering, “what in the world is the giant swing?”. Well, it's basically when your peers pull you up 15 meters into the air and then… DROP YOU! All covered in harnesses for your safety, we soared through the air, just like we were flying! It’s technically just like a swing in the park, except, GIANT! Everyone who went on the swing had the time of their lives and walked out of camp grinning from ear to ear. We really hope that you’ve understood how much fun we’ve had, and that your child will have the best time too!

- Jeevika Bulsari and Jessica Wong 

THE GREAT AUSSIE BUSH CAMP

The dreaded 3 hours of the bus ride… but it was all worth it in the end! We had an experience of a lifetime at the Great Aussie Bush Camp.

Do you like snow cones? We adore snow cones! At camp we got to have them every single day and on Thursday we got to have them twice! 

“Wheeeeee!” We still have dreams about our favourite activity, The giant swing! OMG, it was the most fun thing we've ever done! Our group pulled a rope as we went up 30 metres high. We pulled a rope hanging by our side “snap” it went and we soared through the air like a flying bird.

There’s much more but it's way too much fun to fit in here. Let's leave the rest as a surprise. That was our awesome camp trip. You'll definitely have as much fun as we did.

-Jiyanna Dubash, Sandhya Sathyamurthy, Haniya Younas 

Our school celebrates cultural diversity, and over 75% of our student population come from non-english speaking backgrounds.

This year, Harmony Week is being celebrated from the 20th-24th March. Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

As a school we will be acknowledging Harmony Week by wearing a touch of orange or students can wear their cultural dress on 21st of March.

Why orange? Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Students may be participating in activities during the week in classrooms that help spread the important message that everyone belongs.

Congratulations to Joyce Sun, who was successful in being selected for the Sydney North Primary Tennis squad. She will represent Sydney North at the State Championships in Albury in May, competing against all the other regions around the state.

We wish you the best of luck Joyce.

Artarmon Public School would also like to congratulate Myra K and Kriti B on their selection in the Sydney North Girls Cricket team which competed in Bathurst last week.

After facing some very stiff competition from other regions, as well as representative teams from the Independent school, and Catholic schools, Sydney North placed 5^th out of 13 regions.

Well done and congratulations again girls.

Last week, over 30 excited Artarmon students participated in the Zone Swimming Carnival at Lane Cove. We had a very successful day, with all swimmers doing their best and representing the school with pride. The weather was kinder than last year, which made for a very enjoyable day.

Many thanks to staff and parents who cheered our team to many successes.

A huge congrats to our Senior Boys relay, Shiori F, Keiji F, Oliver F, Bowen Z and Titus T for qualifying for the regional championships, being held at Homebush next Thursday.

We wish you the best of luck.

On the 11th of  December 2022, a group of kids, Tamara Tan, Olivia Wen, Macey Tan, Jedi, Proud Rakarin, Prue Wong, and Elise Hudson from Artarmon Public School participated in a program called Kids Giving Back, this was for Tamara’s birthday party. This program focuses mainly on cooking food for poverty, or people who can’t afford a full-filling meal or a roof over their heads. 

Once we arrived at the place, we had to follow the instructions carefully to ensure our safety and other people's health. We put blue hair nets over our hair to ensure that we won’t somehow manage to make our hair stick to the pasta we were going to make. “Chop the veggies,make sure your hands are up in the air whilst doing it, and you’ll be good,” the instructor demonstrated. If we didn’t wear hairnets… well.. What could have gone wrong?

There were two groups, one made fruit kebabs and the other made pasta. We chopped, sliced, diced and stabbed fruits and veggies. We had such FUN peeling the ripe vegetables! We then had to clean up or stir the pasta sauce, the place was a mess after preparing all the vegetables and the sauce being splashed everywhere…

We placed the boxes in the car's boot, and drove all the way to different places to give our hot, fresh pasta to the ones who were in need. We were excited to do this, since we were absolutely sure this would be the funnest part about this mini adventure.We all had different places to deliver the boxes, each charity service of us being located by a different charity, We all delivered to The Australian Red Cross Charity and many more. 

We were super excited to be able to contribute to society just by preparing and delivering food. We all knew that at the end of the day, we had a good feeling in our hearts and minds. You can help the less fortunate by participating in programs like these and make sure that the less fortunate don't feel forgotten. We hope this story has changed minds.

(Written by, Tamara Tan, Olivia Wen and Prue Wong)

All students visit the library each week for borrowing. Students are encouraged to borrow up to 4 books every week.  Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 have a one week loan period and students in Years 3 to 6 have a three wee k loan period. We have many fantastic books that are just waiting to be borrowed! Please encourage your child to borrow regularly.

Library books should be returned to the library before school,

Monday to Friday 8:25 – 8:55am.

Congratulations to the following students who have completed the Challenge:

 

K - 2	3 - 4	5 - 6
Romeo Brumat, 1	Isaac Cheung, 3	Georgia Crastin, 5
Theo Loc, 1	Vivaan Karthik, 3	Sebastian Hird, 5
Kayaan Verma, 1	Felicia Lin-Xie, 3	Charlie Xue, 5
Airlie Wong, 1	Zoe Cheng, 4	Ethan Yang, 5
	Ashley Hui, 4	Bowen Zhang, 5
	Jaime Loc, 4	Divy Chari, 6
	Jessica Norris, 4	Jessica Price, 6
	Holly Russell, 4	Airan Ren, 6
		Hia Sarkar, 6
		Siya Verma, 6
		Elizabeth Wang, 6
		Alden Mammen, 6

 

REGISTRATION LINK:

Willoughby Girls High School Open Day 2023 Tickets, Willoughby Girls High School, Willoughby | TryBooking Australia