Girraween Public School phone : 9631 3650 fax: 9896 3392

9 Bando Road, Girraween, NSW. 2145

Website: http://www.girraween-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/

email: girraween-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 1, Week 7 ~9 March 2017

Diary Dates

DATE DAY EVENT/ACTIVITY

Term 1

15/3/17 Wednesday P&C AGM 7pm Staffroom

20/3/17 Monday School Photo’s– K-2, K/2C and Siblings

22/3/17 Wednesday School Photo’s– 3-6, 3/6F and 2/6C

5/4/17 Wednesday Girraween Show Day—No Canteen on this day

Note Grade Due Date Comments

School Package Whole School ASAP Please pay at the school Office via EFTPOS, cash or cheque. Label each payment with your child’s full name and class.

School Photos Whole School Before Photo Day Please put the correct money into the photo day envelope and return to the Office.

Girraween Show Day

Whole School 31/3/31 Please ensure all money is paid by this date if you would like to purchase a Meal Package

Notes to Parents

Notes sent home will have a deadline for payments and for notes to be returned to the school. No payments or notes

can be accepted after the deadline has passed. Please ensure that you meet the deadline so as your child does not

miss out. Unfortunately we cannot offer refunds for payments made for excursions. All excursions are paid for by the

school based on the number of students enrolled. Please make sure your child is able to attend excursions before

making a payment as there will be no refunds given.

Thank you.

Principal Message

Dear Parents,

Organisation for our Peter Marscham Girraween Show Day 2017 is well under way. This year we will

include our farewell to Mr Marscham with our Show Day activities. This is an event for all current and many

past students to enjoy. Make sure Wednesday 5 April is in in your calendar. Lunch orders can be left at the

office. The canteen is closed on Show Day.

Last Thursday a small number of our students represented our school at the district swimming car-

nival at Blacktown pool. We had 6 students compete in races against students from schools in the local

district. Once again, swimming is an important skills students require to enjoy water activities safely and

the outdoors lifestyle we can have in Australia.

Next Monday and Wednesday we have our school photographs. All photograph orders are prepaid

before the day. All orders and money must be returned to the school office. We hope to have our school

photographs processed and ready for distribution before the end of term.

Next Tuesday is Harmony Day. Our diversity makes Australia a great place to live. Harmony Day is a cel-

ebration of our cultural diversity – a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home.

Held every year on 21 March. The day coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimina-

tion of Racial Discrimination.

The message of Harmony Day is ‘everyone belongs’, the Day aims to engage people to participate in their

community, respect cultural and religious diversity and foster a sense of belonging for everyone.

Since 1999, more than 70,000 Harmony Day events have been held in childcare centres, schools, commu-

nity groups, churches, businesses and federal, state and local government agencies across Australia. It is

important our school is involved in this event and celebrates our cultural diversity in our Australian society.

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange signifies social communica-

tion and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual

respect. Australians can choose to wear something orange on 21 March to show their support for cultural

diversity and an inclusive Australia.

Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians

to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world.

Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia

a great place to live.

Multicultural Australia is an integral part of our national identity. All people who migrate to Australia bring

with them some of their own cultural and religious traditions, as well as taking on many new traditions. Col-

lectively, these traditions have enriched our nation.

Did you know;

Around 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was,

Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia,

85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia,

Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Italian, Arabic,

Cantonese, Greek, Vietnamese, Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish and Hindi,

More than 60 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

All the best,

G. Walker

The District Swimming Carnival!

The excitement and exhilaration was felt by all the participants as they prepared for their heats.

Despite the light numbers attending this year, there was no lessening of the enthusiasm and encouragement that was

lavished upon the contestants. Six big hearted swimmers took part in a swimming display that would make the Girraween

community proud. Cassandra Manners, Finn Kelly, Ria , Anya, Alejendro and Garvita all played their part in making this year’s

carnival a great success.

While the Girraween swimmers participated in most of the disciplines, it was the results of the backstroke that was the

standout this year. Alejendro put on a strong display, coming first in his heat. Ria was close behind, with her heat result

producing a powerful second. To complete the trio, Cassandra gave us a solid forth.

It was a real lift to the moral of the group when we realised that Mr Marscham was in attendance. His presence at the carnival

involved passing on his vast experience of this event to the people who would continue his legacy into the future.

All participants demonstrated that, not only is swimming fun and provides positive health benefits, it is an important building

block that should be part of every child’s education. The Learn to Swim program, happening in term 3, is another example of

the beneficial opportunities available to the students at Girraween Public School. This inspires us to adopt a proactive ethos

towards producing well rounded future leaders of our community.

We can now look forward to the 2018 district carnival, where we can again be inspired by the contributions of our valiant

participants.

Next Friday March 17th is the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. All students will be involved in

activities in their classrooms.

Dear parents At our school we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone. Sometimes, it can be difficult for parents or carers to know what to do when their child talks to them about bullying. You are an important part of our work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone. If your child talks to you about bullying:

1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need to: who, what, where, when. Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to your child.

2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.

3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.

4. Visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.

5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.

6. Check in regularly with your child. Keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.

If you are looking for support for yourself to deal with a bullying situation, you will find ideas on the Bullying. No Way! website for parents. As well, please contact the school if you would like to discuss any aspect of our approach to preventing bullying.

Eligible to order rewards:

Ankita RAJESH 1A, Shanyuk BADDAM 1A, Jada Xavier ARANA 1A, Sailesh SUTHARSAN 1C, Manasa MATHIVATHANASARMA

1C, Krish SHAH 1H, Akshara SIVAKUMAR 1K, Shivaani JESURASA 1N, Tharini BASKARAN 1Y, Alexandra Venice VILLANVEVA 1Y,

Jiya Keyur SHUKLA 2A, Zade SABA 2A, Aarav Mahendra PANCHAL 2A, Ana Maria MILUTIN 2B, Joen Prince ARAVINTHAN 2K,

Manjari JEEVAN 2L, Sanchith SIVAKUMAR 2L, Aarshi THAPA 2L, Eunishka PAKIYARAJAH 2L, Revanth THIRUVENGADAM 2P,

Dinevmi PERERA 3/4C, Anoushka SINGHAL 3/4C, Varani SIVARUBAN 3/4C, Jayanth JEEVAN 3J, Remamrutha

KARUNAIVENTHAN 3J, MAJERIN Vinoth Riyenzie Pieris 3J, Aarappi MUTHUTHAMBY 3V, Priyanka MOHANKUMAR 3V,

Het GEDIYA 5P,

Hetvi PATEL 6N, Parth KALYANI 6N, Gayatri DUVURI 6O

If your name is on the list, please select only one of the term 1 rewards from your rewards coupon, fill your details and

return it with your next deposit.

The reward coupons are available in the welcome pack. Alternatively, go to

https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/kids/school-banking.html to print out the reward coupons.

Have questions? Email to gpsschoolbanking@gmail.com

Dear parents,

School banking at Girraween Public School has commenced and it is wonderful to see so many children participating in it. There are few

changes to the 2017 rewards system. From this term, the names of children who are eligible to order their rewards will be on the school

newsletter. If you find your child’s name in the eligible to order list, please print out the rewards coupon and fill your child’s details on

the coupon of your child’s choice and send it in along with their following week’s deposit. Your child can only choose any one of the two

term 1 rewards. The rewards available for term 1 are Cyber Handball and Colour Change Markers.

If you’d like to volunteer for school banking, or for any other queries please email us on

gpsschoolbanking@gmail.com

Important Scholastic Book Club information

To Help streamline the ordering process, ALL Book Club orders will now be made through the system known as LOOP.

It is an easy process:

Log on to www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP

Choose either: 1. LOOP for parents

2. Download the appropriate app for your device

If you require assistance, Scholastic Australia can be contacted on

1800 021 233

or you can email school Book Club organiser on kayegale47@icloud.com

We will NO longer be accepting cash orders

Once books are delivered to the school they will be distributed to your child’s classroom teachers, who will hand them out.

Orders must be to Scholastic before 10am Monday Marc h 20

NO LATE ORDERS WILL BE PROCESSED!

http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/

The School A to Z website helps parents give real hands on sup-

port to school children. It provides practical assistance for par-

ents to help their children with projects, homework, lunch box

recipes and advice for starting school.

The School A to Z website and mobile apps will enable even the

busiest parents to have access to some of the state’s best teach-

ers and experts.

LIMITED VACANCIES!

Preschool is a necessary stepping-stone to ‘big school’ and an important stage in a child’s devel-opment. At First Academy Preschool Childcare, we pride ourselves on providing a safe and nur-turing environment in order for your child to reach their full potential.

Our centre caters for children from 0- 6 years of age, operating between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm and offering:

Quality supervised, learning and develop-ment programs integrated with play time

School readiness and transition programs for preschool children

Fun and enriching activities

All meals, including hot lunches, fruit and milk

For enrolments or any enquiries, please call 9863 2361 or visit the centre at 35 Carinya Rd. Girraween and meet our qualified and friendly staff.

First Academy Preschool Childcare

The Kids Paradise.

The Staff car park is NOT to be used as a drop off or pick up zone

Please DO NOT access the staff car park at any time