Good afternoon Artarmon Community,

I know you are reading this now and I will no doubt see you in a couple of hours at the P&C meeting tonight, however, please keep reading for some important updates.

MEET THE TEACHER NIGHTS

We had another fantastic success with our parents visiting the classrooms to meet the teachers who are often discussed at home each night. Thank you for participating in this event; the teachers truly appreciate the opportunity to connect with you and share insights about daily classroom activities and plans for the year ahead.

It was great to see so many of you in the playground and the hall. Copies of the grade slide shows will be distributed to each grade through School Bytes by the end of the week.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MYRA AND AVANTIKA!

After only 5 weeks, Artarmon are already representing in the Sydney North and NSW State Cricket competition with our excellent talent.

A huge congratulations to Myra and Avantika after being selected in the Sydney North team and going on to win the State Championship.

Both girls were also selected to represent NSW in the national competition later in the year. Outstanding effort and we are looking forward to following the journey throughout the year. Congratulations girls!

MORNING SUPERVISION

Please remember that morning supervision is from 8:25 am. I understand families have morning and work commitments, however, it is not an option to drop them off at school earlier and have them wait in the playground. 

This is a safety/duty of care issue and staff are unable to take responsibility for them.

STUDENT ILLNESS - PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME IF UNWELL

As we always prioritise the health and well-being of our students and staff, we would like to remind you of the importance of keeping your child at home if they are feeling unwell. This precaution not only aids in your child's recovery but also helps to prevent the spread of illness within our school community.

We understand that it can be challenging to manage school commitments during times of sickness, but your cooperation is vital in keeping everyone safe and healthy. If your child exhibits any symptoms of illness, please ensure they rest and recover at home until they are feeling better.

Thank you for your understanding and support in helping us maintain a safe learning environment for all.

GOOD LUCK CAMPERS

Our Year 5 students departed this morning to the Great Aussie Bush Camp in Tea Gardens for three days of fun, adventure and organised chaos!

This is an amazing experience for our students and wouldn't be possible without our teachers volunteering their time away from home to take them. This, I am truly thankful for and I know, as a community, you are too.
We will send some updates to the Year 5 parents through the SZapp during the week and please keep an eye on alerts for any delays in the arrival time back at school on Friday afternoon.

TERM ONE INVOICES

Thank you to all the families who have been prompt in their Term 1 student invoices.

Your timely payments are greatly appreciated and play a vital role in helping the school plan and deliver our programs and resources effectively.

Next week, we will be sending reminders for any outstanding invoices. If you encounter any difficulties or require assistance, please feel free to reach out to me directly for confidential support.

For all financial information, please access your School Bytes Portal.

KEY DATES TERM ONE

PSSA Gala Days Are Back! 

Get ready for an exciting season of sport as our students gear up for the PSSA Gala Days! Selected students will have the opportunity to represent our school in a variety of sports throughout the year. They will compete against schools across our North Shore Zone, enjoying both friendly competition and a chance to demonstrate their skills and team spirit. 

The Term One Summer Gala Days for T-Ball and OzTag will take place in Week 6 and Week 8. As the year progresses, we’ll also see students competing in Winter Gala Days during Terms Two and Three across Netball, Soccer, and AFL, before completing the Summer Gala Day competitions in Term Four. These events provide students with a fantastic opportunity to stay active, develop new skills, and embrace the excitement of school competition. 

Permission notes for the Summer Gala Day competitions have been sent out via SchoolBytes for the selected students. 

We wish all our teams the best of luck and look forward to seeing them in action! 

Miss Carmichael

We are still searching for class parents in the following classes:

KER, 2SA, 2SW, 5MW, 5MK, 5BC and 6PS

Please see the attached PDF for further information. If you're interested in nominating yourself as a class parent, please fill in the Google form linked on the PDF.

Absences are now recorded on School Bytes only and no longer by the SZ app.

Please click on the link for a step-by-step guide to log your children's absence.

https://support.schoolbytes.education/hc/en-us/articles/5712649658895-Parent-Portal-Manage-student-absences-Primary-only

This year is off to a great start Bronte has been busy in the office welcoming new families and excited students.

She has enjoyed listening to some interesting stories during reading and getting to know students from all around the school. Bronte has played an active role in staff development days as well as concentrating on her own lessons in training time.

Welcome to the APS school library for 2025. This year is off to a wonderful start. There were over fifty nominations for the position of Library Monitor and successful students are listed below. Due to the unprecedented interest, I have kept all applications and if for any reason a person can no longer fulfill their duties, I can substitute a student from the reserve list.

Library Monitors for Semester One

Marina Zhang (6JB), Ava Fitzpatrick (6MR) Genevieve Fan (6RH), Enkhjin Nyamdavaa6PS), Ahn Clifford (6MR), Isabella Wang (6RH), Ivy Moon (6RH), Ruby Gautam (6LT), Jacob Teh 6(JB), Evelyn Zhang (6MR), Bethia Huang(6LJ), Claire Gao, (6RH), Zaria Cahill, (6MR) Mimika Kocer (6LT), Irene Kim (6PS), Joshua Fowler (6PS), Yaru Sun (6PS), Janet Zhang (6LJ), Eswen Pearce (6CM), Jenny Chai (6RH).

Library Monitors have been rostered on for their duties, which include gathering books, returning books to the shelves, tidying the shelves and generally assisting Miss Cartland and myself. If students cannot make their allocated session, they are asked to try to arrange a swap with someone else on the timetable.

Responsible Reader

A new scheme is being launched this year in the library, in the form of Responsible Reader. The aim of this scheme is to track the number and variety of books read by students, but most importantly, safely returned by students throughout the school.

There will be book voucher prizes awarded to students who demonstrate great reading and responsibility. More details on Responsible Reader to come.

Premiers Reading Challenge

The Premiers Reading Challenge is underway for 2025. Students need to be registered online and follow the guidelines presented. Last year a number of Artarmon students received certificates recognising the number and variety of books read within this scheme. Some students received the Gold certificate.

Your class teacher will remind students when they will visit the library as a class. I aim to open the library for borrowing and returning books during Thursday lunchtime.

It is important to return books before school and before the date due.

The library is a sanctuary, a quiet space to disappear into a book. Students wishing to read are welcome to come and curl up with a book in the various book nooks. This term I have been delighted to see so many readers make the most of this opportunity.

Remember it is recommended children move away from screens and read in bed for thirty minutes before sleeping.

Happy reading,

Mrs Wilkinson

P&C Meeting Wednesday 26 February

Don't forget our P&C meeting tonight from 7 pm to 8 pm at the APS Library. 

Meeting details: Meeting Agenda

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Warm regards

P&C committee