Welcome to Week 4 Term 4!

I know I have thanked everyone before, however, I wanted to thank you all again for your generous support of our school and our fundraising events. Our Colour Fun Walkathon this year was a different take on our past Walkathons and from the reactions on the day, the kids and teachers had so much fun walking through the tunnel of Holi powder and coming out the other end looking like a rainbow.

The event was a huge success with a total of $36,000 profit. This money will be going towards our new outdoor learning and play space between the hall and canteen.

Congratulations to our Colour Fun Walkathon Winners and top fundraising class!

Winning classes are announced in an article below and individual prizes will be given out to students next week!

WORLD TEACHERS DAY

Friday 27th October was World Teachers Day in NSW and I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respect and share my sincere thanks and admiration for the team of teachers we have here at Artarmon PS.

I am extremely proud to lead our wonderful school and engage with our exemplary staff who go above and beyond every day to create the best learning environments, experiences and opportunities that allow our students to thrive every day to reach their potential. Teaching is a unique profession and one that takes a special person to do what they do every day.

I know you, and our community are extremely supportive and appreciative of our teachers and I thank you for that. To everyone who said thank you on Friday or wrote a card of appreciation, your words and thoughts mean a lot.

Happy World Teachers Day! - The duties of a teacher are neither few nor small, but they elevate the mind and give energy to the character. - Dorothea Dix

BOOKS BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

With thanks to you, our community, through voluntary contributions funds and P&C donations we have purchased over $30,000 worth of new books.

Yesterday we had some outstanding parent volunteers come and help us prepare these books to be used in classrooms. It was a mammoth job and I can't thank our parent volunteers enough who spent hours helping out.

GRANDPARENTS MORNING TEA

I would like to acknowledge our  P&C Multicultural team for organising a small morning tea for our grandparents in the community today.

This initiative came around as we wanted to thank our wonderful grandparents for everything they do to support our students and school. We know that many grandparents help with morning and afternoon drop-offs and wanted them to feel as connected to the school as our students and mums and dads.

The morning tea was organised so they could get to know each other and form a bond and community as well.

This was a fantastic morning and it was great to be able to spend some time with them and thank them personally for what they do for our community.

The P&C are hoping to do more in this space next year and I look forward to working with them on this initiative.

NOT RETURNING IN 2024 or RETURNING LATE

It is vital that we know if your child/children will NOT be returning to Artarmon or will be returning late next year. Some families take extended holidays in January/February and we need to know your return date so that your enrolment can be counted. This information will enable the school to plan for staffing and classing needs.This note does not apply to Year 6 students.

If your family are not returning in 2024 or returning late, please let us know by filling in this simple form.

https://forms.office.com/r/YwD80YXui5

NSW PUBLIC EDUCATION PLAN

The Department of Education has released their 2024 Plan for NSW Public Education!

Some of you may have used the link sent earlier in the year to provide feedback to the Department on this plan.

Please see the information below. You can also download the booklet here with more detailed information.

REMINDER

The next Artarmon P&C meeting is TONIGHT from 7pm to 8pm in the school library. This will be an in-person meeting only.

The minutes from the previous meeting are located at https://tinyurl.com/4mwt7nw7 and the agenda for the meeting is at https://tinyurl.com/3kbmctfc 

We look forward to seeing you tonight where there will be the opportunity to ask questions and raise ideas.

ENROL FOR KINDERGARTEN 2024 NOW

If you have a little one at home ready to start Kindergarten in 2024, please use the online enrolment platform to start your application now. All information can be found on our website here: https:/artarmonn-p.schoolsnswwgovv.au/about-our-school/enrolment.html

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office. 

If you have completed the online enrolment process for Kindergarten 2024, we have orientations coming up Wed 8th and Wed 15th November.

Details can be found in the poster below.

Survey closes this Friday, 3rd November.

You can access the survey through the link or the QR code.

http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/apsttfmt32023

Over the past few months, Willoughby Council has developed the below design for Thomson Oval which highlights the new field layout and ancillary features proposed as part of the renewal project. Council is currently in the process of finalising procurement to appoint a contractor to undertake the works with an announcement and finalisation of the project timeline anticipated shortly.

The proposed key features of the design are as follows:

• U12 football field to match the existing fixture demand
• Levelling the field at the southern end (cricket net) to increase the usable space
• Perimeter athletics/walking track to support and clearly delineate the space for this purpose separate from sporting use.
• Retention of the marked volleyball court for use for both volleyball and general community use
• Retractable net to separate organised sports groups and general community use
• Goal storage area
• 1x portable full-size senior football goal + 2x portable U12-size football goals

It is anticipated that the oval and adjacent basketball court will be unavailable from mid-November 2023 until mid-March 2024 pending weather.

Council appreciates that the closure of the field will have an impact on our school and the community however, it is essential for these works to occur as soon as practicable to ensure the field can safely and sustainably be used now and for many years to come.

Dear Parents,

Artarmon Public School Senior Strings and Senior Band provided a performance on Monday 30^th October 2023. This was to give students that will be in Year 3 in 2024, a taste of the music program. 

If your child would like to join the Band or Strings programs in 2024 please first read through the information packs linkeed below. It is important to understand the time commitment and costs associated with joining the music programs. 

2024_Band_Information_Pack.pdf

2024_Strings_Info_Pack.pdf

Once you have read through the information packs, please use the link below to log into MySchoolMusic portal (New Student Registration) to register your child:

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

The last day for new students to register for the Band or Strings program is Wednesday 22^nd November 2023. Once your child has been registered, we will send you details of the tryouts for the Band and Strings programs.

By giving permission for your child to tryout you accept the following:

• I understand that my child may / may not be offered a position on the Strings or Band Program and that this is at the discretion of the Music Directors.
• I understand that there will be no opportunity for parents to accompany students at the tryouts.
• I understand that there will be a cost associated with joining the music programs, please refer to the attached Information Packs for details.

Offers of a place in the Band or Strings program will be made to successful students before the end of the 2023 school year and an acceptance email is required to guarantee your child’s place in the Music Program.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:

• Band convenors at band.artarmonpandc@gmail.com
• String convenors at strings.artarmonpandc@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you and your child next year!

Kind regards,

APS Band and String Committees

To all Year 5 families

Below is the information regarding the application process for Selective High School for Year 7, 2025.

Applications open 9th October - 20th November

Information for applicants:

Information_for_applicants_SHS_Year_7_Entry_.pdf

Selective High Schools and Opportunity Classes Year 7 website.

All candidates are required to sit the Selective High School Placement Test on Thursday 9 May 2024.

Please see the following link for this information translated into other languages.

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/general-information/translated-resources