Term 3, Week 4

NEWSLETTER

Term 3 Dates Week 4 Aug 9 Cross Network Vocal Ensemble Workshop 12 Gala Day 1/2L Assembly Week 5 Aug 15 P&C Meeting Stage 1 Excursion ­ Powerhouse Museum 16 ICAS Mathematics 19 5/6W Assembly

Week 6 Aug 24 Ruse Writer’s Festival & Open Atriums ­ Monster raffle 26 1BZ Assembly Week 7 Aug 29 K­6 Athletics Carnival 31 Cross Network Vocal Ensemble Workshop Sept 2 5/6R Assembly Week 8 Sept 6­7 Zone Athletics Campbelltown 7 SRC Fundraiser ­ Picton Appeal 8 LARC Day 9 Gala Day 1/2V Assembly Week 9 Sep 13 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews 14 Regional Athletics 13­14 2017 Kindergarten Interviews 15 Cross Network Performance 16 4/5D Assembly

Dear Parents / Caregivers,

WOW! If our students, teachers, parents and carers were exhausted at the end of the last week’s Education Week celebrations, we completely understand!

Trivia Night Trivia Night was an absolute blast. We had so much fun with our community and we received so much positive feedback about the night. What can we say? We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful community who supports us in all our endeavours to make Ruse Public School the best possible school for all our students.

A HUGE thank you goes to our Trivia Night Committee, especially Mrs Susie Perenara, one of our amazing parents, who organised all the raffle prizes, lucky door prizes and silent auction items. I think there were 85 items in total, which is absolutely amazing.

It wasn’t about winning, but the teachers were very humble in defeat, when the Avengers took out the night. Congratulations to the Avengers.

TRIVIA NIGHT MADE A WHOPPING $10,000 These funds will be split between Alijana Forrest’s family, sporting equipment and creative arts programs for our school.

Education Week Monday 1st August ­ Open day Assembly It was another fantastic assembly with lots of students showcasing their talents. Congratulations to all our Education Award winners. We were entertained by all our different stage groups, and our little Kindergarten Chickens had everyone smiling.

Last week’s Education Week theme was ‘Shared stories, better learning, stronger communities’ During the Principal address, students were issued with challenge: I challenged all students to go home and ask someone special who was special to them to share a story. They were also given this advice: If someone takes the time to share their story with you, show them the respect they deserve by listening with your ears and your hearts, even if that means getting off your iPad or your xBox. Some very special teachers shared their stories during the open day assembly, and all the students loved it. The Girls from Ruse, Mrs Dunshea, Mrs Edwards and Mrs Kohen, all spoke of their fond memories of growing up in Ruse and attending our beautiful school. If you missed it, we have put their presentation up on Facebook. Another very special teacher, Mrs Smith, shared her wonderful stories about teaching at Ruse over the past 30 years. Shirley’s speech is printed below, just in case you missed it. Shirley Smith’s Speech ­ Shared Stories, better learning, strong communities

Good morning everyone. A few days ago, Mr Mac asked me if I would speak at the Education Week assembly about teaching at Ruse Primary.

When I sat down to begin, I realised that this was a huge task. So I decided to touch on some of the memories and changes I have seen at this school.

I began working here in March of 1987. That’s 29 years ago. Boys and girls, that’s before some of your parents were born. Actually I was here for 5 years before Mrs Harris was even born.

On that day in March 1987, I was here at the school seeing my Year 4 son, Justin, off on an excursion. I started chatting with the principal, Mr Ross Smith, and told him I was looking for some casual work. He told me to give my name and number to the office ladies. I went home and 10 minutes later I got a phone call asking me if I could come to work right away. I did and I have been here ever since.

When I began here, there were over 1000 students, 35 classroom teachers, many executive staff and several aids to assist in classrooms. There was only one composite class and no stages. We had 5 Year 6 classes and 5 Year 5 classes and one 5/6 class. Primary had separate lunch and recess times than infants because there were just too many kids.

We didn’t have a fence at Worrall Oval and Worrall Oval was the Year 6 playground. We had a Years 5 and 6 assembly on Friday afternoon and a Years 3 and 4 assembly on Wednesday afternoon. There were just too many kids. Presentation Day Assembly was held on the grassy slope with the teachers sitting in front of the bubblers and the students on blankets on the slope and this was just for primary. There were just too many kids.

We had 5 portable classrooms along the fence line of Worrall Oval and 5 portable classrooms down near where the chess is now set up. These portable classrooms were very hot and stuffy in the summer. We had no air conditioners, just a fan whirring away in the corner. In 1990, I had a Year 3 class in one of the portables and we had a great year. I was delighted to see three beautiful boys from that year return to our school as parents. Those boys, or I guess I should say men, are Adrian Dore, Damian Calderbank and Colin Alden. I still call Lachlan Calderbank, Damian, and he’s now in Year 5. Sorry, Lachie.

In 1993, on Anzac Day, at 2 in the afternoon, we had a terrible fire here at Ruse School. This fire was deliberately lit by 3 boys from a neighbouring suburb and one of the boys was only 6 years old! The fire completely destroyed our infants department but being a public holiday, no one was injured. The children came to school the next day and were so sad to see the devastation. But with lots of help and many months of rebuilding, our new infants department was officially opened, fully equipped with the latest gear.

One of my favourite memories is having a delightful young girl in my year 5 class. She ran for school leadership and became our girl school captain. Then many years later I walked into the staffroom and she was sitting there, ready to begin work as a casual teacher. That lovely girl was Mrs Beth Edwards. I remember little Katie Adams when she was a student at our school and Mrs Nicole George was my prac student for her first prac, 14 years ago. I knew then that she was going to be a keeper.

Many students have left this school to pursue their dreams and have succeeded in the sporting arena, in performing arts, in medical and legal professions. I have caught up with some of them over the years; actually one was my dentist, yikes! And they always speak fondly of their years at Ruse.

As the years went quickly by, our school got smaller and smaller, reaching less than 400 students at one point. We saw the installation of air conditioners in every classroom, interactive whiteboards, ipads, laptops and XO’s for every student.

Over the past 29 years, being at Ruse Public has been a bit of family affair. Both my sons and my two grandsons were students here, and who would have dreamt that my daughter, Mrs McPhee, would become my boss, basically continuing a trend that started very early in her childhood.

Anyway I could go on forever and actually have been known to but I would like to say that growing up I was always told that if you wait long enough, the best will come to you and I waited and I waited and then Mr Mac came to Ruse Public School.

Working here has been like going on a really fun ride at Disneyland. You’re with your friends, you’re strapped in and safe, it’s a bit scary, many ups and downs, goes way too fast but is soooo much fun. When you get off you

just want to line up and go again. That’s how I feel about Ruse Public School. Every morning I just want to get in line and take that ride again.

Thank you.

Open Classrooms / Picnic and Parent Forum

Our open classrooms were really well supported by our Parents, Carers and Grandparents. The students got a real buzz out of showing their loved ones all their work and what they enjoy about school. The weather remained pleasant and families enjoyed their picnic lunch with their children. A massive thank you to parents who stayed for our Parent Forum. We look forward to holding more of these and working in partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for our students.

Book Fair (Friday 29 July ­ Tuesday 2 August) Total sales at the book fair amounted to $7698! This means our school receives almost $2700 in resources for the school library. This is the most we have ever raised! Thank you to everyone for your wonderful support. Our Ruse community is amazing! A massive thank you goes to our wonderful Grandparents, Pam Stanton and Janine Kahill, for all of their help with our book fair. They also work tirelessly in our library all year long, covering books and keeping things organised. We really appreciate you!

Maths Off and Spelling Bee

Congratulations to all our amazing spellers and mathematicians who competed in the finals of the Spelling Bee and the Maths Off last Friday. The names of the winners and the runners up are listed below:

Spelling Bee Maths Off

Year 1 Inan R Brianna D Year 2 Lana T Matilda B Stage 2 Connor H Bailey R Stage 3 Tahlia C Mason M

Year 1 Inan R Amalie J Year 2 Matilda B Ethan L Stage 2 Charlie M Blake H Stage 3 Heath M William H

Please visit our Facebook page for some photos.

Yarn Up 2016

On Friday 29th July, Charlie, Evie, Lara and Dion attended the Showcase Day of the Yarn Up program at Parliament House in Sydney. Charlie, Evie and Lara presented speeches they had prepared themselves in front of a crowded Legislative Assembly room, with guests including the New South Wales Director of Education and State Members of Parliament. We were so incredibly proud of their speeches and the confidence with which they were delivered. Well done to you all on a fantastic effort!

A Beautiful Gesture

A huge thank you goes out to Layla and Noah Davidson, who donated a gift card valued over $500 to Alijana and her family. These two students came up with the idea of holding a lolly guessing competition at their Nan's work. Mrs Dunshea visited Alijana in hospital and handed over the gift card to Ali, Gordon and Mira. Thanks so much to the Davidson Family.

Battle of the Arts On Monday 1st August, Noah, Blair,Jaimee and Corey took part in the Cross Network Battle of the Arts at Sarah Redfern High School. The competition involved students competing against 25 schools in 4 different categories, all based on the theme “Straight out of the horse’s mouth.” Students painted, drew, designed and moulded to create various representations of horses, replicating the work of some renowned artists. We all had a great day, developing new skills and experimenting with new artforms.

Debating

On Monday 8th August, the Ruse Allstars Debating Team hosted the 4th round debate of the Premier’s Debating Challenge against Campbelltown Public School. The topic was that primary schools should have an extra afternoon of sport each week. Ruse argued for the negative side and although unsuccessful on this occasion, the debaters delivered some good arguments against the statement. Well done to Jaylan, Tayla, Blair and Chloe for a well fought debate and congratulations to all of the debating team for their role in the Challenge this year.

Canteen Volunteers needed for the canteen for Mondays and Fridays. If you can assist, please see Kylee at the canteen Monday to Thursday in the mornings. The next P&C meeting is on Monday 15th August at 7pm sharp in the staffroom. All welcome to attend. Fundraising Please remember if shopping at Good Guys, Campbelltown to ask for your Good Guys Dollars and hand them into the office. Busabout Opal Cards This is a reminder from Busabout to students that they must tap on at the beginning and off at the end of each trip. This is a condition of using a School Opal card.

Thank You to Clinton’s Toyota Thank you to Clintons Toyota for donating some fruit trees. Our student leaders were extremely grateful for the trees and their shirts and gloves. We are always very proud of students' gratitude and respectful behaviour. They had a lot of fun planting their new trees. One day, we will have fresh fruits and vegetables and eggs to go with them. Please check our Facebook page for more pictures. http://facebook.com/ruseps