RICHMOND PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Term 4 – Week 3 Thursday 31 October, 2019

115 Windsor Street RICHMOND NSW 2753

Email: richmond-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Phone: 4578 2027 Fax: 4588 5886

“To Strive for Excellence”

Important Dates

Monday, 28 October to Friday, 8 November

Swim School

1pm-3pm Thursday, 31 October Year 5 Election

Nomination forms due Friday, 1 November Public Speaking Semi-

Finals @ Londonderry PS Monday, 4 November P&C Meeting 7pm Tuesday, 5 November 5 Cent Coin Line

@ 9.45am Friday, 8 November Café 2.30pm

Monday, 11 November Remembrance Day Ceremony @ 10.40am

Friday, 15 November Year 6 Fun Day for K-5 Friday, 15 November Touchdown/Voyager

Cut off date ‘Thank You’ to our special school community On Friday, 25 October, our teachers were overwhelmed by a beautiful sentiment from our students and parents. I would like to personally thank Brooke, Alisa and Georgia, from our hard-working P&C, for instigating and coordinating such an emotional ‘thank you’ for the teachers. Whilst a lovely lunch was put on for the staff, food was quickly moved away to reveal the incredibly thoughtful ‘post-it-note tablecloth’ of appreciation and special moments. Tears were falling as staff read out post-it-notes of warm messages of thanks and funny stories, of memories and qualities that our very own students see as important and special. Round and round the tables the teachers walked, reading as they went, delighted in the tiny, yet powerful moments that fill our days. A child’s perspective is so unique. Though it was post-it-note messages from the parents that caught our teachers by surprise. It was

truly so touching to read the lovely messages of appreciation. Thank you to all of the parents and caregivers who took the time to write a little message. It meant a lot to our teachers. So much so, the teachers refused to collect the post-it-notes back up at the end of lunch. They are all there, decorating our staffroom table to this very day. Such a gesture has certainly gone a long way. Our sincerest thank you.

Principal’s Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have earned a Principal’s Award over the last fortnight. I am delighted to share our students’ achievements in their commitment to learning, successful work habits, leadership, creativity, collaboration, attitude and cooperation. Well done to you all.

KM Zachary S-A KT Isaac H 1S Jayden C

12E Kobi D 12C Vedang S 12B Sacha M 34B Marley C, Lachlan N 34M Alexie B, Lila M 34O Abigail L, Audrey W 34S Ariana L, Hoki T 56B Isaac G, Adelle G 56C Emmie P, Lincoln S 56P Ella F, Eli M 5M Lily P, Charlotte W 6D Sasha B, Henry S

High School Orientation Date Families with students in Years 6 are advised that Public High Schools in NSW will be having their Year 7, 2020 Orientation Day on Tuesday, 3 December.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day this year is on Monday, 11 November. To acknowledge such an important event, Richmond Public School will be commemorating Remembrance Day on Monday, 11 November, starting at 10:40am. Again, we are asking students to bring flowers to school to assist in creating a class wreath. The wreaths will be laid at the base of the school’s flagpole during the ceremony and will be transported later in the day to Richmond War Memorial. Parents / Caregivers and friends of Richmond Public School are more than welcome to attend. There is a time where parents/caregivers, friends and special guests are invited to place their wreaths or flowers at the base of the flagpole during the ceremony. I look forward to commemorating this special event with the students and the community.

Absent Notes It is the law that if any student is absent from school a note is required from home outlining the reason for the absence. Not only is it important for students to be at school every day, there are child protection issues related to students not being at school and the reason for their absence. In the past, teachers at Richmond Public School sent home reminders to families regarding any absences where the school had not received a written reason. With our new system, SENTRAL, the office staff now generate these reminders

fortnightly and will be having them sent home. With so many events happening at school and also at home, it has been decided that by sending reminders home, this may alleviate absent letters being missed. Unexplained absence are tracked by the Department of Education’s Home School Liaison Officer and unexplained absences can become a Department of Community and Justice (formerly FaCS) matter. I kindly request or all families to send in a reason for their child’s absence. If you receive a reminder notice, please complete it and send it to school as soon as possible. Thank you.

Staff Development Day Variation The last two days of the school year for staff are Thursday, 19 December and Friday 20 December, 2019 with students ending their year on Wednesday, 18 December. Both days are Staff Development Days that are set aside for Professional Learning for all staff. However, to get the maximum use of this time, all schools have the opportunity to vary the last Staff Development Days to meet the needs of the school. On Saturday 26 October, 2019, Richmond Public School staff held a Staff Development Day to replace Friday, 20 December. The Staff Development Day’s Agenda included:

1. PDHPE Syllabus implementation 2. Visible Learning 3. School Excellence Framework 2.0 4. 2020 School Plan/Management Plan

(Literacy & Numeracy) By having the Staff Development Day early in the term, it will benefit the school, staff and our students.

THE 4 I’s OF GOOD PARENTING I’ve recently read a very interesting article in my own quest to juggle motherhood and my working life. I would like to share it with our school community in the hope that it offers a bit of support in your homes too.

(an excerpt from ‘Children Aren’t Made Of China’

by Wilson McCaskill)

Interest - Invest – Identify - Inspired

INTEREST – We must show and action our deep interest

in children. It is important to be observant of them and

to notice their successes, failures, strengths, weaknesses,

problems, concerns and improvements. Being

interested in them helps them to be interested in

themselves. Often the hardest thing is to listen. To listen

to more than the things they say, but to the things they

don’t say, won’t say, or can’t say. Make your children

your subject of greatest interest. Be informed about

them through all the different stages of their lives.

INVEST – We must invest time in our children. They

mustn’t rule the timetable of our lives and they must

learn to wait and be patient. However, our lives must

have sufficient time for them and their needs. There

must be the time to sit with them, either at the table, in

the garden, the car, or end of the bed at night and just

enjoy their company. They need to feel that we have

the power to stop the world and give them our

undivided attention. Be it to look at a picture they’ve

painted, or to listen to a story streaming out of their

imagination, or a lengthy explanation of why they think

ants would make good pets, giving them the time is

giving them the message that they are important to us.

IDENTIFY– We must see things from their point of view. To

empathise and connect with them can be difficult.

Often we are too busy trying to convert and control

them and have no time to look at the world through

their eyes. Shifting their perceptions and attitudes is

often easier if we can first see why they have them in

the first place. Using “When I was a kid, etc…” as a way

of changing their thinking only creates resentment. They

want us to understand what it’s like to be a kid now, in

this place, at this school, at this time. Respect their point

of view and work with them to create beneficial

changes.

INSPIRED – We must be inspired by them. Their actions,

ideas, outcomes and above all, effort, must inspire us.

Children need to know that their existence and

example as children inspire us to be better adults. This

does not mean we need to act out great exuberance

and enthusiasm for everything they try or achieve. To

do so would only weaken them by removing their self-

motivation. What it means is that we should be on the

lookout for those things, large or small, that happened

because of a special effort, awareness or concern.

Such as getting 4 out of 10 for spelling after trying very

hard, or helping a friend who was being teased, or

quietly playing when you had a lot on your mind, or

winning the race and congratulating those who didn’t

etc. Being inspired by these things is to do more than

just mention them to the child. It’s to convey a sense of

pride and to let the child see how your spirits have

been elevated. In other words, for them to see they

have helped to make your day.

ThinkUKnow for students, parents, carers and teachers

On Thursday, 14 November, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be participating in a session on Cyber safety with Senior Constable Belinda Flynn- Youth Liaison Officer/Crime Prevention.

For more information- type ThinkYouKnow into your search engines. ThinkUKnow is a free, evidence-based cyber safety program that provides presentations to Australian parents, carers and teachers and students. It provides information on the technologies young people use, the challenges they may face, and importantly, how they can be overcome. The presentations cover topics such as social media reputation management, cyberbullying, online grooming, online gaming, inappropriate content, privacy management, identity theft, how to protect your devices, and how to report matters when things go wrong.

What young people SEE online

• We talk about challenges such as online grooming, cyberbullying and inappropriate content.

• What you can do to support young people through online challenges.

• We also explain how to report if something goes wrong.

What young people SAY online

• What you can do to help support young people understand what they say online can be permanent. We call this our ‘digital shadow’.

• This includes talking about being respectful online, thinking before you post, knowing what information is okay to

share online.

What young people DO online

• How they use technology to have fun online, such as applications (or apps), websites and social networks.

• How they can handle their digital shadow, including their privacy and relationships

online

Lisa McGrath

Relieving Principal

Mathematics Computation Quizzes

Sydney West PSSA Athletics

Six students from Richmond Public School represented the Hawkesbury District at the Sydney West PSSA Athletics Carnival. The event was held at Blacktown International Sports park on Thursday, October 17. All of our students competed at a high standard against the best athletes in the Sydney West region and continued to display excellent sportsmanship. Thank you to all the parents and carers for their support and transportation throughout the day. Well done to the following students: Kye V, Riley B, Curtis V & Jasper S

• 8th = Senior Boys 4x100m Relay Finalists Jasper S

• 19th = 12 Years 100m

• 12th = 12/13 Years 200m

• 17th = Senior Boys Long Jump Lennox W

• 2nd = Junior Boys Discus Mia G

• 5th = 11/13 200m Girls MC

• 6th = 11/13 100m Girls MC

• 5th = 11/13 Shot Put MC

• 6th = 11/13 Long Jump MC Congratulations to Lennox and Mia who will now represent Richmond Public School and Sydney West at the NSW PSSA Athletics Championships. The event will be held at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday 6 November and Thursday 7 November (Week 4). Good luck, Lennox and Mia! Mr Chia

Date Stage Skill

17 October to 31 October

K

Friends of 10 with missing numerals

Year 1

Groups of 2

Groups of 5

Year 2

X5 and ÷5

Years 3/4 X10 and ÷10

X5 and ÷5

Years 5/6

Square Roots

P&C News So here we are, the end of October and the countdown to Christmas begins. The P&C would like to thank all the parents and carers who expressed their appreciation for the staff at Richmond Public School for ‘Teacher Appreciation Day’. The messages from both the parents/carers and the children made a great display for the staff to read while enjoying lunch last Friday. Today, the Kindergarten students received their sausage sizzle lunch for being the winning stage who raised the most money for the Colour Run. Again, Congratulations Kindergarten, great effort! Thank you to the volunteers who helped at the Colour Run and at the BBQ. The P&C have a few notes coming home in the next couple of weeks about upcoming events, raffle tickets and volunteer helpers needed. Today you will receive a note, requesting donations for our ‘Christmas Hampers’. These thoughtful donations that are contributed by our school community, make lovely hampers for our Carols on the Green Raffle. You can place your donation in the box located in the foyer of the Front Office. We thank you in advance for your kind donations. Monday 11, November we will be holding a Flower stall for Remembrance Day. The store will run from 8:30am-9am, with small bunches of flowers costing only $4. A note will be going home soon about this. The big event for 2019, is our Carols on the Green. This will be held on Monday 16, December 6pm-8pm. If you would like to volunteer for this please put your name and contact number down at the front office or you can email me at the following email address: rpsfundraise@gmail.com I would like to also invite you to our next meeting, which will be held on Monday 4, November. We will be finalizing Principal’s wish list, planning upcoming events, hear directly from our relieving principal and have an open discussion ending at 8pm sharp. We do have child minding available, thanks to the amazing staff who volunteer their time to stay back and facilitate this service. Thank You Brooke Toli P&C President

Canteen News Last Friday was Teacher Appreciation Day. The Canteen Team appreciates our hard-working teachers and would like to thank them for their help. Teachers help our canteen in many ways every canteen day, so from the bottom of hearts, thank you Teachers! Just a reminder that your canteen is open from 9am – 2.20pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This term our last canteen day will be at the end of week 9, Friday 13th December.

Spotlight on…….Butter Chicken with Rice $3.80 This delicious hot meal featuring tasty

tender chicken in an authentic butter chicken sauce with light, fluffy rice is a tasty lunch treat you will love. It has been given a Health Star Rating of 3.5 and is also gluten free.

Rainbow of Food Recipe – Halloween Special Halloween Fruit

Use cut blueberries or chocolate chips as eyes and a mouth on half a banana to create a spooky treat or peel a mandarin and place a piece of either cucumber or celery in the top to make it look like a pumpkin stem. Don’t forget to download the Flexischools app and create an account so you can order online and have exclusive access to specials that I will be offering from time to time. We have some items that are available until stocks last that are not listed on the printed menu.

Nadine & the Canteen Team

This Photo by Unknown