13 December: Joshua T 15 December: Kai C Kye G 23 December: Tyler S 28 December: Tegan H 2 January: Alvey W 7 January: Jake E 11 January: Lani H 14 January: Mitch C Tom C 15 January: Harry M 20 January: Marli E 27 January: Ella G 28 January: Eliel G Ella P 29 January: Max C

Blacksmiths Public School _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Doing our best together

Amaroo Street Blacksmiths NSW 2281 Phone: 4971 1519 Fax: 4972 1407 Email: blacksmith-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 4 - Week 10 Tuesday 8 December, 2015

DIARY DATES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Welcome to our final newsletter of the year. 2015 has been a very successful year for Blacksmiths Public School. Each and every student has grown and developed over the course of the year. While it can be easy to compare our children against those that run the fastest or read at the highest level, I would like to remind you that it is our own personal journey, aspirations, and goals that define our success. The success that we have achieved collectively over this past year is directly attributed to both our fantastic and supportive parents and, of course, your child’s teacher. We are lucky enough that both these supports for our children provide the stability and encouragement to help our students achieve so much. While trophies and awards are fantastic, it is this cohesion that makes me proud that we have the BEST STUDENTS in Lake Macquarie.

I would like to wish all of our families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you all in 2016. YEAR 6 FAREWELL It was a pleasure to share in the Year 6 Farewell last night with such a great group of young people. Thank you to those parent helpers for setting up the room, it looked fantastic. A special thanks to ‘All That Glitters Is Gold’ for donating all the decorations. As I said last night, I would like to wish our Year 6 students all the best for the next chapter of their lives. It has been a pleasure being a part of their journey so far. Good luck and I look forward to hearing of your achievements in the coming years. DEBATING NEWS Our debating team was recently announced as the winners of our pool in the Division 2 competition. What a fantastic effort, in only our 2nd year of debating. We have now won this Division 2 years running. Thank you to Mrs Hambleton for all of your hard work in helping coordinate the team.

Tues 8 Dec Combined Scripture

Volunteers “Thank You” Morning Tea

Thu 10 Dec Presentation Day

Fri 11 Dec Reports Home

Canteen Mexican Day

Mon 14 Dec Christmas Carols

Community Christmas Dinner

Tue 15 Dec Party Day

Wed 16 Dec Talent Quest

Last Day for Students for Term 4

Thu 17 Dec Staff Development Day

Wed 27 Jan Staff Development Day

Thu 28 Jan Years 1-6 Students Return

Kinder Best Start Interviews

Fri 29 Jan Kindergarten First Day

CANTEEN NEWS

Term 4 - Week 10 Tuesday 8 December, 2015

HOME READING AWARDS

P&C NEWS

SCHOOL PARKING /PICK UPS & DROP OFFS When parking in Amaroo Street to pick up or drop off your child please ensure that you DO NOT park (even for 30 seconds) in the No Parking Zones. These zones are marked as such to ensure your children are able to move in and out of the school in a safe manner. The rangers make regular visits and WILL ISSUE FINES for this infringement. At no stage should children or parents use the car park entrance when entering or leaving the school. Thank you for your cooperation. CONGRATULATIONS Finley W was recently announced as a finalist in the Moran Contemporary Photo competition. The competition is a national competition. Finley’s photographic skills placed her in the top 25 in Australia. If you would like to see Finley’s award winning photo you can view it and the other finalists at http://www.moranprizes.com.au/student-gallery

Finley’s award winning photo STUDENTS RETURN Students return on Thursday 28 January in 2016. Teachers will return on Wednesday 27 January for a Staff Development Day. If you have a child starting Kindergarten in 2016 you should have received an appointment time for their Best Start time. The first full day for kindergarten in 2016 is Friday 29 January. PLAYGROUND ART If you haven’t had a chance to check out the playground art you should make the effort to go and have a look. Once again thank you to our team of volunteers, led by Carlie and Mandie.

UNWELCOME VISITORS Over the last couple of weeks there have been a growing number of unwelcome visitors to the school. These visitors often leave rubbish and graffiti behind. I would urge anyone who sees this type of behaviour at school to contact the police or school security on 1300 880 021. SCHOOL MAINTENANCE Over the holidays there will be some work being done at school on the Administration buildings and students’ toilets. See you all in 2016! Aaron Quinnell - Principal Thank you to all the families that purchased Cookie Dough. We raised over $500. We know your kids will enjoy helping you bake them.

Donations for our end of year raffle are being taken in the office. We will take donations right up to Thursday morning. Thank you to those families who have already donated. Raffle tickets and money are due back by Wednesday 9 December.

The P&C are looking for committee members in 2016. If you are interested in helping out please contact Mr Quinnell at school. The AGM will take place in early 2016. We will, in particular require a new President and fundraising Coordinator. These are vital P&C roles and are fully supported by the P&C and the school. If you are interested in any of the positions or would like to know more about what is involved please contact Mr Quinnell. CANTEEN NEWS We would like to thank Mr Colin Taylor for all the hard work he has put into the canteen this year. Colin has gone above and beyond to keep the canteen up and running for the students and staff. We are happy to advise that Mr Taylor will return in 2016 as coordinator and Mrs Carlie Weedon will be joining him. Thank you once again.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for 2015.

We will be looking for more volunteers for 2016 and a note will be sent home in Week 1 regarding this.

25 Nights: Ella P 125 Nights: Luca B Thomas M 150 Nights: Kahlia C Atlanta K 175 Nights: Chelsey D

ASSEMBLY AWARDS - Weeks 8 & 9

QUALITY WORK AWARDS

K/1 Lily R Jessika P

Joshua T Sheridan K

1/2 Tegan H Emerson L

Sharna C

Chelsey D

3/4 Jackson C Blake C

Erin B Jake E

4/5 Shakita B Emily G

Ethan A

Cale A

5/6 Chantelle G Max J

Shani P Philip T

Term 4 - Week 10 Tuesday 8 December, 2015

K/1 Lily R Eddie M

1/2 Ella P Chris T

3/4 Haylie M Blake C

4/5 Cale A Ethan A

5/6 Lucy W Finley W

HAVE A SAFE & HAPPY HOLIDAY

SWANSEA OOSH - VACATION CARE We will be open for Pupil Free days on 17 & 18 December from 7.15am to 5.15pm both days.

Activities on these days will include:

17 Dec: Swansea Pool 18 Dec: Glendale Movies - Hotel Transylvania 2

The centre will be operating from under the Swansea Library building on these days.

Normal fees will apply as per Vacation Care.

For bookings please phone 4971 1229 or 4971 0022.

Swansea OOSH and Vacation Care will be closed from 21 December and will re-open on 4 January.

Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas Season.

HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS: DEC 2015/JAN 2016

KIDS PROGRAMME BOOKING ESSENTIAL

DAY TIME WORKSHOP COST

Mon 28th

DEC PUBLIC HOLIDAY Gallery open.

Tues 29th 10-12 “Through the window” Use a variety of drawing tools to create a fantasy world

$30

1-3 Clay garden critters. Create some new inhabitants for your garden $35

Wed 30th 10-12 “My Imaginary Friend” Imaginative figurative painting $30

1-3 Diorama- Create your own world in a box. Mixed media $30

Thurs 31st

10-12 Drawing from nature. Create a garden of inspiration on paper with mixed media

$30

1-3 “Blooming” paint your own garden or a fantasy jungle $30

Mon 4th JAN

10-12 “Fireworks” recreate the New Year fireworks on canvas and experiment with painting techniques

$30

1-3 Useful creations with Clay. Make a bowl, mug, plate, vase that you can really use.

$35

Tues 5th

10-12 Tie Dyeing. Make your *T-shirt into an individual a work of art $30 *+your own

shirt 1-3 “Beachside Holiday”. Create a unique holiday memento with mixed

media $30

Wed 6th 10-12 3-D Fish. Fantasy fish for your room $30

1-3 Printing. Make your own wrapping papers and cards $30

Thurs 7th 10-12 3-D Bottle People - create a friend from recycled junk $30

“From the toy box” Paint your favourite toy or one from the toy box $30

Mon 11th JAN

10-12 Stocking Sculpture. Colourful abstract 3-D creations $30

1-3 Beading . One of a kind jewellery to wear or give $35

Tues 12th 10-12 CD sun-catchers. Mandalas to hang in your window $30

1-3 “Colour everywhere” creating an abstract painting $30

Wed 13th

10-12 Monsters and aliens. Clay creatures $35

1-3 Creating Illusions with drawing $30

Thurs 14th 10-12. “Selfies” Create your own self portrait in clay $35

1-3 3-D Birds. Create a feathered friend for your wall $30

Mon 18th JAN

10-12 Printing on fabric. Print your t-shirt, pillowcase, library bag etc $30 *+your own shirt etc

1-3 Soft “sandstone” sculpture. Create in 3-D $30

Tues 19th 10-12 Water Painting. Use ink & watercolour to capture the sea. $30

1-3 Chatterbox friends.3-D Sock puppets to make and bring to life $30

Wed 20th

10-12 Your story. Make a book with your own story and illustrations using mixed media.

$30

1-3 Wire drawing. Create 3-D drawings $30

Thurs 21st

10-12 Layer it up. Pastel drawing. $30

1-3 Patterns everywhere using Monoprinting $30

All workshops : Ages 6 + Min of 4 - Max of 10 / class. Adults/Carers are welcome to attend. Price is per person and includes material except*

Clay workshops require work to be picked up at a later date.

60 CAVES BEACH RD, CAVES BEACH. NSW P: 0419471660 E:info@finitegallery.com

Hours: 10 - 4, FRI - SUN & PUBLIC HOLS.