Welcome back to term 4! It really is amazing how quickly this year has flown past. Term 4 is always hectic, with many end of year activities and celebrations, camp and orientations for new students and families. Please make sure you are checking newsletters and school bags for important information and reminders, as well as the Skoolbag App and our Facebook page. Thank you to Miss Perry and my fabulous staff for holding the fort whilst I was overseas during my long service leave. I must admit, I was somewhat anxious when I received a Skoolbag notification in Hawaii about the school being on a Watch and Act for a serious bushfire! However, it was a welcome relief to know the school was in safe hands whilst I kept up to date via the school Facebook page. I attended a meeting at the Rural Fire Headquarters on Tuesday and will be in contact with our local Rural Fire Service to ensure our current Bushfire Emergency Plan is comprehensive and suitable to a range of situations.

Music Bus Student of the Week Congratulations to Eve of 3/4R who is Newcastle/Lake Macquarie Music Bus's Student of The Week! Here is a little interview with Eve. School Name: Pelaw Main PS What is your name? Eve What is your age? 9 How long playing your instrument/ learning on The Music Bus? 18 Months Favourite song? Moonlight Melody If you won lotto, what musical equipment would you buy? A solid gold drum kit and sticks!!! What do like about playing your instrument? I like improving and I like all the different sounds!

Music Bus

A new teacher has joined the Music Bus Team and this term we are joined by Luke Barnier. Luke started on Wednesday and we welcome him to our school. He is also continuing to work with our very own Rock Band, Vidaz! Hi I'm Luke, I've been teaching on The Music Bus for over 2 years across the Hunter and Central Coast. I'm about to complete my Music and Education degree and am passionate about teaching Music to kids. Guitar is my instrument of choice when performing live gigs across Newcastle and Sydney, but I'm a multi-instrumentalist and love teaching the array of contemporary instruments on The Bus as well as Rock Band. I have a great rapport with my students and love to see them grow. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of my New Music Bus students in Term 4. We're going to have a blast!

12 Oct 2017

D A T E S F O R T H E D I A R Y

Tuesday 17th Oct P&C Meeting Thursday 19th October Crazy Hair Day Wed 25th - Fri 27th Oct Aussie Bush Camp Fri 27th Oct Kinder 2018 Parent Session 12.30-1.30pm Mon 23rd October Partners in Learning 3/4R 9.30-10.30am Mon 30th October Partners in Learning 3/4M 9.30-10.30am Fri 3rd November Kinder 2018 Orientation 12.30-1.30pm Mon 6th November Partners in Learning 5/6L 9.30-10.30am Fri 10th November Kinder 2018 Orientation 12.30-1.30pm Mon 13th November Partners in Learning 5/6M 9.30-10.30am Wed 15th November Nobbys Surf Day Fri 17th November Kinder 2018 Orientation 12.30-1.30pm Wed 13th December Presentation Day Fri 15th December Last Day of Term 4 CANTEEN ROSTER Monday 16th Oct Allison G Danielle Q Wednesday 18th Oct Paul H Melinda B Friday 20th Oct Kristy S Tania S Monday 23rd Oct Danielle Q Tuesday 25th Oct Lynda B Bernadette S Wednesday 27th Oct Rowena B Nigel B Raquel M

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PBL Awards for Week 10 & 1

Be Safe Alexis L & Blake B Be Respectful Olivia F & Lara C

Be an Active Learner Sophie B & Isabel B

Week 9 Class Attendance KH, 1/2C, 3/4M Week 10 Class Attendance K/1W, 2G,

3/4M, 5/6L

Attendance

Congratulations to K/1W for winning the Term 3 Best Attendance Award. For the second time this year, K/1W will be enjoying a sausage sizzle for lunch with me in the very near future. Attendance rates last term have certainly given us a great deal of room for improvement this term. Whilst term 3 is notorious for illness, let’s hope we can give KH and K/1W a real challenge for taking out the prize this term! We will determine Term 4 winners by the end of Week 9, so they can receive their prize in the last week of school. Students who had 100% Attendance for Term 3 will be presented with their certificates and blue merit awards at next Friday’s assembly.

Enrolments for 2018

With the recent enforcement of out of zone enrolments, our enrolment for 2018 is currently 229 students. Unfortunately, this means that we will be losing a class next year. With the recent changes, along with several families moving out of the area, we are unable to sustain 10 classes. If you know of any families, residing in our zone, who have yet to contact the school regarding enrolment next year, please direct them to contact the school as soon as possible. Also, if your circumstances change and you are leaving our school, please advise us immediately. Having accurate enrolment figures allows us to adequately cater for our students next year.

School Leaders for 2018

It is that time of the year where we start thinking about our School Leaders for 2018. Mrs Brathwaite will be holding a brief meeting with Year 5 students on Monday, 23rd October, to outline the process, before calling for nominations the following week. We do have a Code of Conduct to which we expect our School Leaders to abide by and this will be discussed at the meeting.

Bandanna Day

In Week 3, starting the 23rd October, Kelly James will be selling bandanas once again at school. National Bandana Day raises money for Canteen, to help support young people when cancer crashes in to their world. Bandanas are $4 each. Bandana Day is Friday, 27th October, with students able to wear their bandana’s at school for the day.

Tell Them From Me

Thank you to the 55 parents who completed the Tell Them From Me parent survey towards the end of last term. This result is the best we have very had, with many thanks to Mrs Knight for her tenacity in exceeding the target that was set! We are now awaiting the results of this survey and I will share some of the findings in the next few newsletters.

Great Aussie Bush Camp

In Week 3, we have 70 students from Years 3-6 attending the Great Aussie Bush Camp near Tea Gardens. This is the largest group we have taken to camp so it should be a fun and exciting experience for all students. Mrs Knight, Miss King and Mrs Morgan will be the teachers attending camp, and I will be joining them by going up on Wednesday and returning to school Thursday afternoon. Male staff at camp are provided to assist supervising students, as well as security guards of a night time. Camp dates are from the 25th October to the 27th October. Students attending camp will be receiving notes soon, reminding them what they need to take, as well as last minute information. The bus does not leave until about 9.30am on the Wednesday morning, and will return at approximately 2.30pm on the Friday afternoon. Students in Years 3-6 who are not attending camp, will be split into the remaining classes with Miss McAllister, Mrs Mullington, Mrs Lantry and Mrs Brathwaite, for a fun few days at school. Students are expected to attend school as usual if they are not attending camp, as it is a great opportunity to mix with peers from different classes and year groups.

Mosquitoes

It is that time of the year again when mosquitos are out in full force, causing us all grief. A few students have been bitten this week so I strongly recommend parents spraying their children with insect repellent before they come to school. We are unable to apply anything to bites at school apart from a wet cloth, so prevention is definitely far better than the cure!

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Working Bee

Who needs to go to boot camp when you can wheelbarrow mulch all over the school! We have a working bee on next Friday afternoon, straight after school. We have a large amount of mulch to move from the backfield to the front garden. At the moment it is taking up precious space on our backfield playground. The last two working bees have only been attended by the same family and staff, so it would be wonderful to see some more faces! If possible, wheelbarrows and shovels would be greatly appreciated also!

P & C Meeting

The next P&C meeting will be held on the 17th of October.

Breakfast Club Volunteers

Once again, Breakfast Club is in desperate need of volunteers. We need volunteers for Tuesday and Thursday mornings to prepare, serve and clean up. It would be a shame if we had to stop this wonderful service for our students. If you are able to help out, even if it is once a month, please leave your name at the office and someone will get in contact with you.

KidsMatter Launch

At next Friday’s school assembly, there will be the launching of KidsMatter to explain to students and community members about the framework. Earlier in the year, parents were asked to complete a survey to find out your perceptions of the school in relation to the school’s work in mental health and wellbeing. Results from this survey indicated that parents would like more information about mental health and wellbeing. To assist us in providing this information for parents, you will be asked to complete a short online survey before the assembly. For parents who are unable to attend you will be able to access the survey at home. You will be provided information about how to access this. Yesterday a KidsMatter launch invitation was sent home to all families. Thank you, Mrs Harris

Woolworths Earn & Learn

We have 11700 stickers and have smashed our goal of 10000 stickers! Thank you to everyone who bought in stickers so we can buy new equipment for our school.

BLUE HUB Interviews BLUE HUB interviews are now complete and the school community wishes all selected Year 6 students the best of luck gaining a position in this HUB in 2018. You all put your best feet forward in undergoing the application process and preparing for interviews. Good Luck!

Science and Engineering Discovery Day The Science and Engineering Discovery day has been confirmed for Wednesday 25th October, 2017. This event challenges 24 selected Stage 3 students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math type activities, to earn points for creative ideas and critical thinking. More information about this event will be communicated via separate notes.

Mobile School Dentist The mobile school dentist returned today to see the last of the students. Parents will be contacted very soon by this service to inform and explain about any further dental treatments, if they are needed. Parents will also receive a written report about your child’s/children checkup.

SRC Well done Pelaw Main! $337 was raised from the first SRC fundraiser at the end of last term which was the Out of Uniform Day. Students are now getting excited about the next fundraiser which is a Crazy Hair Day. This will be next Thursday 19th October. School uniform needs to worn. Cost is $2. After the Crazy Hair Day, the next Fundraiser will be the Halloween Disco on Tuesday 31st October. The K-2 Disco will be at 4.40 to 6pm and the 3-6 disco will be 6.30 to 8pm. An invitation to all families will be sent home soon. Remember all the activities are to raise money for the football posts which the students voted for. Please help your child/children participate. It will be greatly appreciated.

School Bus Passes

In coming days students who have a bus pass and are going from year 6 to 7, and students whose pass was approved under a medical condition, will receive notification by email or post informing them that they will need to reapply for their bus pass. To reapply go to the following link online https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails Application needs to be made before 31 December 2017 to ensure their pass is updated and their current card is not cancelled. Please note: Students who are changing grade band (year 2 to 3) and are remaining at the same school will not receive notification and do not need to reapply (the system now automatically validates a student’s on-going eligibility if at the same school and going from infants to primary or primary to secondary). Where a student meets the new eligibility the system will automatically update their entitlement and card. Students applying for a bus pass for the first time will receive their card (posted to the nominated address) a week or two before the commencement of 2018 classes. New cards for 2018 are not posted in 2017 or during the Christmas / New Year period.

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Talent Quest

Don't forget Pelaw Main's Got Talent is on again this year! Entries close in Week 3 so please make sure you have registered your name and the item that you will be performing by the end of week 3! There will be times allocated so that students can practise at school, but extra practice at home may also be neccessary. The show will take place in Week 10, the last week of school so start practicing those acts! See Miss Clayden for details.

Magic Show Abracadabra! The due date for your free tickets has been extended until Monday 16th October, 2017. Just record you child’s name and class, choose your preferred viewing time, 11.30am or 6pm, and record how many tickets you would like.

Give your records to front office, or Mrs Lantry and your FREE tickets will be ordered for you. This interactive show is for all the family so invite grandma and grandpa and have a magical time together!