WELCOME TO TERM 2!

I hope all of our Artarmon families had a restful and safe holiday period. I have spoken with many children this week, and they've all said that they loved spending time at home with family, but they were very excited to come back to school and see all their teachers and peers. So lovely to hear.

As you may have read on Monday, it was made official that I have been announced as the successful applicant through Merit selection for the substantive Principal position at Artarmon PS. 

APS Letter to Parents and Community.pdf

I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire staff and community for your support and trust over the past 18 months whilst leading the school from a 'relieving' position, but most recently when the recruitment process was announced. I have been completely humbled by everyone who approached me to let me know they were 'in my corner' and supported my application for the substantive Principal position.

For those who don't know me that well, or are new to the school, I have been at Artarmon PS since 2012 and have held a number of different leadership positions over that time to help build our collaborative and supportive school culture. I understand our diverse and multicultural community and will continue to build authentic connections for all to succeed in OUR school. I know that Artarmon is an outstanding Public School with outstanding staff, outstanding students, and an outstanding parent community. I am so proud to be leading our school as the substantive Principal and will continue to be visible, approachable, and respectful to everyone. My focus is always the students and how we as a school can continue to improve and create learning environments and learning experiences that provide the best possible opportunity for the future leaders of our world.

MONDAY 24TH APRIL - STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY

Our staff started the term with a professional learning day on Monday 24th April focused on Aboriginal education and culturally safe schools. The professional learning was planned around the unique needs of our school community and will help to sustain positive change and improve both educational outcomes and wellbeing for all learners.

The Department of Education is committed to eliminating all forms of racial discrimination so that all students can flourish in a safe and cohesive environment of respect and opportunity. Our school is committed to embracing all ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. We have an Anti-Racism Education Officer (ARCO), Ms K Wong, who supports students, teachers, and the community who experience racism.

DoE Anti Racism Policy parent information.pdf

YEAR 5 AND 6 WRITING LESSON

On Monday morning, I popped into 5/6LB and accidentally took over the writing lesson. I noticed the students were investigating how to build tension in their writing and decided to set a completely new task for them and challenge their ability.

The challenge was simple:

1. View a small clip from the film 'How to Train Your Dragon' You can watch the clip here.

2. In groups, write the scene allowing the reader to visualise the character's fear and dramatic tension in the clip.

Later that day, I was presented with the winning group's final edit and I wanted to share it with you today. 

WELLBEING PROCEDURE

Over the last 6 months the school has reviewed and updated our schools Wellbeing Procedure in line with new Department policy. This process has included staff, student, and parent collaboration and the final document is now available to view on our website.

The final part of the implementation process was to create new 'Core Values and School Rules' posters to be displayed in every classroom and around the school. To do this, a competition was announced and presented to Year 5 and 6 to enter.

I was so amazed by the number of entries we received and the time, care, and creativity that went into each poster. After a long judging period, and robust and rigorous conversation we decided on an overall winner. We have also asked our runners up to create a new poster including our school's High 5 and our 5 keys to success.

CONGRATULATIONS: Our winning entry:

By Ariane Tow of 6MB

HAMPTON CONSTRUCTION + PARKING KISS AND RIDE

Thank you to our entire community for their patience and focus on safety of children when managing the construction zone on Hampden Rd over the return to school period. We understand this is challenging at times and has impacted families in different ways. Please remember to be patient and kind to each other during this time.

Don't forget our new 'Kiss and Ride' zones added by the council to help ease congestion and keep our kids safe!

The map below shows the locations of the Kiss and Ride zones around the school and recommended drop off/pick up zones for various year groups. This will ensure that traffic is distributed across various streets and our youngest children can be picked up/dropped off nearest to the school gates while older children can walk safely to/from other kiss and ride zones.

Please remind children (& yourselves!) to always use the pedestrian crossings/traffic lights when walking from a kiss and ride zone.

HEALTH & SAFETY - COVID + WINTER FLU SEASON

Thank you for your continued support in helping to keep our students, staff and community safe while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community. With the winter flu season approaching, we will also see an increase in respiratory illnesses and by working together, we will keep our school community healthy this term.

Our COVID-smart measures continue to be in place to help reduce the risk of transmission for students and staff members and are vital in allowing us to keep our schools operational while prioritising student and staff wellbeing.

Please remember:

• Stay home if unwell and test for COVID-19 if showing any symptoms

• Keep up-to-date vaccinations, including the Flu and COVID-19 booster shots for anyone eligible

• RATs are available from the office or are able to be sent home with students on request free of charge.

WINTER UNIFORM

As the days begin to become cooler we ask that students now start to wear their winter uniform. See image below for some of our winter uniform options. We have been working in the background with parents and the students to have specific options for girls to wear shorts and pants. These options, voted on by the students should start to be available from early Term 4. In the meantime, girls that would like to wear shorts and pants are able to wear the sports skort in summer and the unisex tracksuit pants in winter with the Artarmon polo shirt.

YEAR 1 GLEN STREET THEATRE POSSUM MAGIC EXCURSION

On Friday 28th April Year 1 were lucky enough to visit the Glen Street Theatre to watch a wonderful performance of the story ‘Possum Magic.’ They had a fantastic time watching a story they’d learnt about in class being performed live on
stage. The special effects were fantastic, and they learnt a lot about both the story and how a theatre production is performed.

The teachers, bus drivers and staff at the theatre were very pleased with Year 1s excellent behaviour.

Our Term 2 Invoices have been uploaded to our School Bytes portal and include our  annual school voluntary contribution fee. Thank you to those who have already paid their invoice through the portal, your prompt payment is appreciated.

Today, however a statement of account email will be sent to the financially responsible parent. If you have any concerns or do not receive an email, please do not hesitate to contact the office.

List of detailed Term fees and annual school voluntary contribution can also be downloaded here:

If at any stage, families require financial assistance, please reach out confidentially to the Principal via the school email address: artarmon-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

REGISTER FOR SCHOOL BYTES

If you have not yet registered to your School Bytes portal, please do so as this is where the Semester One reports will be uploaded to in Week 9 of this term.

To register click here

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

On Tuesday 9th May, the Green Team is launching NUDE FOOD TUESDAY at Artarmon Public School! Every Tuesday, students will be encouraged to bring food without single use packaging.

On that day, students in Year 3 to 6 who come to school with a lunchbox that has no disposable/single use packaging (like zip-lock bags and chip packets) will contribute to their class winning the fortnightly Green Class Award. At the end of the term, the Year 3 to 6 class with the most nude lunches on Tuesdays will win a special movie lunch hosted by the Green Team!

What is Nude Food?

Simply put, it’s food without excess packaging. Usually, this means food that is not processed, often making it a healthier and more environmentally friendly option.

Why?

Reducing packaging has important environmental benefits. Waste, particularly single use plastic, is a huge problem for schools. By encouraging unpackaged food, there is less litter, making for a cleaner and healthier school environment. Less waste is sent to landfill. It also encourages better food and drink choices, as many healthy food options come with their own packaging!

Top tips

If you’ve never packed a ‘nude food’ lunchbox before, here are 7 tips:

1. Lunchboxes with inside compartments work best, as it stops food from getting mixed up together in your child’s school bag. Another option is a lunch bag filled with smaller containers for lunch, recess and crunch n sip.
2. Instead of buying fun-size packets of chips and biscuits, buy snack foods like popcorn in bulk and send portions in reusable containers each day. You’ll spend less money this way too!
3. Swap single-packet snacks with whole foods like fruit and vegetables. Not a fan of chopping in the morning? Berries, grapes, baby cucumbers and cherry tomatoes are super easy to pack in the morning rush.
4. Replace cling film with reusable options like beeswax wraps. If you don’t have any, pack your child’s sandwich in a smaller container to keep the freshness in.
5. Bake some easy muffins at the end of the weekend and freeze them for the week ahead. Then simply pop them in your child’s lunchbox and they’ll thaw in time for recess or lunch. You don’t even need to use patty pans if you spray the muffin tin with a bit of oil before pouring the batter in.
6. Not a baker? A good hack is to swap packaged muesli bars for some trail mix, dried fruit or even a handful of your child’s favourite cereal container.
7. Packing a hot lunch or salad? Don’t forget to pack some reusable cutlery too! You can even do this for your child if they have a lunch order – just make sure to label everything with their name and reject the single use option from the canteen.
8. Finally, don’t forget a refillable water bottle!

We look forward to extending this initiative to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 in Term 3. 

We can’t wait to see all the amazing NUDE FOOD lunchboxes starting TUESDAY!

Kind Regards

Green Team

Thank you to the parents and children that attended the UR Strong Parent Webinar last night.

There was some very valuable strategies shared by Tyson from the UR Strong team, particularly around having a shared vocabulary with home and school on how we work through 'friendship fires' with students.

If you missed the webinar last night, the recording is available.

WATCH LANGUAGE OF FRIENDSHIP RECORDING HERE

PASSCODE: #1Ninjas

A message from UR Strong below:

We are so grateful for your school’s commitment to the social-emotional wellbeing of your children and hope you all take advantage of our FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources – including an 8 session video series! 

We have loads of activities, videos, & articles to continue on this friendship journey with your child. We hope that, as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.

As some next steps, we would recommend:

• Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
• Complete the activity called Must-Haves, Deal-Breakers, & Ice-Cream to help your child really crystallise the difference between healthy & unhealthy friendships.
• Try out this interactive tool: Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
• Check out our library of Keeping Kids Connected activities & videos designed for home learning!
• Pop over to our BLOG with news & advice and be sure to check out our PRESS page for interviews & podcasts! 

Please find the Term 2 Grade Newsletters attached here:

Kindergarten_2023_Term_2_newsletter.docx_1_.pdf

Year_1_Term_2_Newsletter_2023.pdf

Year_2_Term_2_Newsletter_2023.docx_3_.pdf

Year_3_Term_2_Grade_Newsletter.pdf

Year_4_Term_2_Newsletter_2023.pdf

Year_5_Term_2_Newsletter_2023.docx.pdf

Year_6_Semester_1_Term_2_Newsletter_2023.pdf

Skellern Cup

The Skellern Cup is a girls soccer gala day, bringing together primary school teams from across the Northern Suburbs of Sydney. The gala days celebrates girls playing football by showcasing the inclusiveness, enjoyment, and camaraderie the game provides.

The NSFA Skellern Cup is named after Amanda and Kimberley Skellern, twin sisters who have played representative club football for Northern Tigers FC for over 11 years after beginning their football careers at local club West Pymble FC.

Years 3 and 4 girls attended the gala on Wednesday 29^th March and Years 5 and 6 attended the gala day Thursday 30^th March.

Selective High School Placement Test 

The Selective High School Placement Test for entry to Year 7 in 2024 will be held on 4th May 2023. It is not possible to sit the test on any other day or from any location outside NSW. 

Test centre allocations is now available from a link in the message sent on 20th April in the application dashboard. 

An 'Authority to sit the Selective High School Placement Test' letter was sent to applicants through a message in the application dashboard on the 20th April 2023, along with the test centre location and a link to this page of information about the test. 

This information includes: 

• your child’s test centre  
• a test authority letter which must be printed and taken to the allocated test centre on test day 
• a link to this web page where parents can download Test information for parents and students that explains the test and lists what your child should and should not bring. It also gives instructions for how to show the answers to the test questions. 

If you applied for reasonable adjustments for your child’s disability, you should also have received information at this time.  

If you did not receive the test centre allocation email alert by 21st April 2023, check your spam folder in the email account you used to apply. Log in to your application dashboard to see your messages. Send a message to the Unit through your application dashboard if you do not have access to the test centre allocation or the test authority letter. 

Some students become quite anxious about tests and changes to routine. Please ensure your child has regular bedtimes and nutritious food as usual in the lead up to the test day.  

If you have any additional questions, please refer to the Selective High Schools and Opportunity Classes website-  

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes or https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7  

We wish all test candidates well in these exams.  

Dear Year 4 parents / caregivers,

Applying for Year 5 entry to an opportunity class in 2024 

An ‘Intention to Apply for Year 5 entry to an Opportunity Class in 2024’ online form has been sent home via email and available through your School Bytes Portal.

This note is not an application for entry to an OC class, it is to let the school know that you intend to apply online when the application process opens.

Applications for entry to a Year 5 opportunity class in 2024, open on Thursday 30 March and close Monday 15 May 2023. Parents can ONLY apply online at: 

https://education.nsw.gov.au/oc

Parents are responsible for preparing and submitting their child’s application, not the school.

All candidates are required to sit the Opportunity Class Placement Test to be held on Thursday 27 July 2023 (Week 2, Term 3.)

The application dashboard enables parents to make updates and add attachments even after an application is submitted. Parents can also communicate directly with the Team through the system’s ‘messages’ feature.

Information_for_applicants.pdf

Anyone experiencing difficulty completing or submitting an application, can contact the High Performing Students Team on 1300 880 367 or email ssu@det.nsw.edu.au.

Keep updated on the opportunity class placement process at: 

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5.html