Good afternoon, Artarmon community,

Thank you for tuning in to our fortnightly Newsflash and keeping up with the latest happenings at our school. It’s hard to believe we’re already in Week 6, with just 4 weeks remaining until the end of the term. We have a busy schedule ahead, filled with learning and community events.

As we’ve highlighted throughout the year, our teachers have been working together to develop and implement high-quality teaching programs in line with the new Department syllabus documents. In the past two weeks, we’ve continued our cycle of professional development, giving each grade a dedicated day to focus on best practices in teaching, quality assessment, and tailored programs that support every child’s understanding and challenges with different concepts. These sessions, led by our grade Assistant Principals and supported by our Assistant Principal for Curriculum Instruction, aim to enhance staff skills and use assessment data to plan and guide the upcoming learning cycles.

We’re excited for the next four weeks, which will be packed with events celebrating our students and community. Highlights include the inaugural 2025 Kindergarten orientation, the North Shore Zone Athletics Carnivals, Father’s Day stalls, the Celebration of the Arts concert at The Concourse in Chatswood, and our annual Year 6 performance.

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helps make these events a reality. Each one offers unique opportunities for our students and community to connect and thrive within our vibrant school community.

HAPPY SASS WEEK!

This week is School Support Recognition Week, a time to celebrate the crucial contributions of our school administrative and support staff (SASS) and other non-teaching staff in NSW public education. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our SASS team for their unwavering support for our students, staff, and community. Their dedication is invaluable, and we couldn’t manage without them. They are an integral part of our school community.

READING IS MAGIC - CELEBRATING THE LOVE OF READING!

To me, Book Week is all about celebrating the joy of reading—discussing beloved characters, diving into exciting stories, and enjoying the adventures that books offer. It's a time to imagine new possibilities, laugh, and share quality moments with friends and family.

Last week’s book parade was truly exceptional. I was thrilled to see our K-2 students fully engaged and dressed up, and I deeply appreciate the parents who joined in to celebrate. A big thank you also goes to our 3-6 students who contributed to the festivities and supported the event’s purpose.

As I’ve mentioned before, our staff are extraordinary. I’m always impressed by how our team come together to make such events memorable and meaningful, helping to nurture a love of reading and storytelling in our students.

What a culture of connectedness and community we have here at Artarmon!

CONGRATULATIONS SNR BAND

Congratulations to our Senior and Concert Band children who performed at the NSW State Band Championships on the weekend. Outstanding performances by both ensembles, with Senior Band winning Primary School Division 3! Concert Band were awarded Highly commended in Division 2. Competitions and performances like these are wonderful experiences for the children and we could not be more proud of their efforts and the manpower behind this including the incredibly talented Mr Walmsley and the tribe of parent volunteers in the background. Thank you and congratulations!

If you would like to view the performances, here is the link to the recording on YouTube - https://youtu.be/VNcKZuvp960

Senior Band is around 2 hours from the start of the stream and Concert Band is around 4 hours in.

CONGRATULATIONS AUSTIN DUAN

Congratulations to Austin who was selected and participated in the State Wind Band coordinated by the NSW Department of Education Arts Unit, consisting of 76 students from 57 different public high schools across NSW. The students engaged in an intensive weekend rehearsal before taking to the Sydney Opera House stage, performing two challenging pieces in front of sold-out audiences as a part of the Festival of Choral Music. The students are to be commended on their musical achievements as well as the positive manner in which they represented their schools.'

CONGRATULATIONS TO CECILIA ZHANG

Nominee of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award. (Young Volunteer category)

Celebrating with four Awardees, we are proud Cecilia has been nominated and acknowledged in 2024 by the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, where she fundraised and contributed with impact. Cecilia has been volunteering for different organisations from the Salvation Army in Adelaide to the Lansdowne Gardens aged care. Congratulations Ceceila!

In Year 2, our students have been diving into the exciting world of persuasive writing!

They've been exploring how to craft compelling letters, and learning about the specific format that makes a persuasive letter effective. Along the way, they’ve discovered some powerful tools that writers use to persuade their readers, such as rhetorical questions that make the reader think, exaggeration to emphasize a point, alliteration to make their writing more memorable, and repetition to drive their message home.

Additionally, students in 1/2SA are using their science unit on life cycles to write informative texts, further enhancing their ability to convey detailed and engaging information.

It's been wonderful to see the students experiment with these techniques as they build their persuasive and informative writing skills!

On Sunday, families and friends of APS came along to help dig, weed, transplant and build our school vegetable garden. It was a marvellous day. With all hands on deck, large and small, the garden was transformed.

There is now a new hose, five new garden beds, a vertical herb and strawberry garden, and a trench with natural log edging for sunflowers. The olive tree was transplanted from its small pot, into the garden outside the kindergarten building, where we hope it will thrive and produce lots of fruit. The fig tree was also transplanted. Children planted many seeds at the “Welcome Seed Station” and while some were taken home, students of all ages look forward to planting the rest in our new garden beds.

A big thank you to Artarmon P&C for funding the Gardening Bee, Caitriona Blake for her amazing organisation, Tania Gesler for her assistance in facilitating on the day and all our wonderful helpers for their hard work. We look forward to enjoying this space and are excited for all the new growth our garden will bring. Thank you again for your continuous support.

Miss Natasha Hunt and The Green Team

Concourse Concert Tickets are available through the following link.

https://aucentury.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/137604

Save the date for the next P&C meeting

Wednesday 18th September

Online via 'Teams'

7pm