Week 2, Term 3 Learning Together 24/7/14    

NewsletterBlairmount Public School

Cnr Clydesdale Dve & Badgally Rd P: 4626 1795 | F: 4628 0594 | E: blairmount-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

www.blairmount-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

www.facebook.com/blairmountps www.twitter.com/BlairmountPS

Principal: Mr Greg Turnbull Deputy Principal: Mrs Melissa Clarke Dear families, Welcome back for term 3, I trust everyone enjoyed the opportunity of family time together. This term is already shaping up to be extremely busy, with our first big event being Education Week. I trust you have already received your invitation to our open classrooms and our showcase assembly. Should you have any questions regarding our Education Week activities please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Clarke at school. We also have our annual athletics carnival in week 4 of this term. Once again 3-6 students will travel to Campbelltown Athletics Stadium. K-2 students will participate in a sports fun day at school on the same day. Our Year 5 and 6 students are getting extremely excited about their impending overnight excursion. They will be visiting The Great Aussie Bush Camp – Tea Gardens for 3 days and 2 nights in week 5, an experience I am sure they will remember for some time. Regards Greg Turnbull Principal Help with homework Does your child need help with spelling or writing? Here are some resources that may help. Find out more; http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/english

Child Protection Education In NSW government schools, Child Protection Education forms part of all students learning in Personal Development Health and Physical Education from Kindergarten to Year 10. All classes at Blairmount PS will be covering this section of the syllabus during terms 3 and 4. Students learn skills in recognising if they could be unsafe and strategies for protecting themselves. Strategies including saying 'no' if they can, going away from the situation and telling a trusted adult what has happened as soon as possible. Learning is organised into three themes: Recognising Abuse; Power in Relationships and Protective Strategies. Should you wish to discuss any aspect of the content covered in Child Protection please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. Kindergarten 2015 If you have a pre-school child turning 5 years old on or before 31st July 2015, they are eligible to enrol in Kindergarten for 2015. If you haven’t already done so, please collect an enrolment form from the office and return it to school ASAP. If you are aware of neighbours or friends with eligible children, please advise them to come and introduce themselves and ask for an enrolment form and information about the school.

School Self Evaluation Surveys Dear Parents and Caregivers, This weeks newsletter includes 5 School Evaluation Surveys;

Quality of School Life https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CDMDGX5

Literacy https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C9S6KYC

Numeracy https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CDF6X6K

Community Engagement https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CDFVYG8

School Administration https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XFKPZVR

Each of these surveys will give you an opportunity to have an input on how you think Blairmount Public School is going. All the data will be collected and presented at our Annual Planning Weekend. I strongly encourage all parents to complete the surveys, as this information will allow you to communicate your views and give us suggestions on how to improve our school. There is a paper copy of each of these surveys in this week’s newsletter or you can complete the surveys online using the links listed above. Each of the survey links are also available through the school Facebook site or on the school website. If you are able to complete the survey online this would be greatly appreciated, as it will save the school time on data entry.

Education Week Open Day Reminder Wednesday 30th July 2014

During Education Week public schools across the state showcase a wide range of local and regional activities and events. This year we have planned a great day for the whole school community. We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday as the students and teachers love to get a chance to show the community the amazing teaching and learning that takes place at Blairmount Public School. You are invited into your child/rens’ classroom to share in some of the brilliant things they have been learning and achieving this year on Wednesday 30th July from 10am till 11am. Lunch will be as normal at 11am and you are invited to share lunch with your child/ren. The school canteen will have a variety of lunches that can be purchased on the day. After lunch, you are invited to our Showcase Assembly. This assembly will be run by our leadership team and will take place in the hall. A variety of our performance groups, classes and all of our Kindergarten students will be performing. All parents are welcome to attend. We hope you are able to come and join us and celebrate the success and achievements of our fantastic school. Blairmount Spelling Bee 2014 In the coming weeks students from Kindergarten through to Year 6 will be participating in the Blairmount Spelling Bee. Word lists have been sent home for students to learn and practice. Dates for the grade and stage Spelling Bee challenges will be provided in the next newsletter. If you have any questions please feel free to come and see me. Good Luck! Miss C. Minihan

Fundraising in 3N 3N's fundraising venture was a huge success and they would like to say a big thank you to everyone that supported them. About 400 cookies were made by 3N during week 8 and a grand total of $322 was raised for Passfield Park School. A class from Passfield Park visited 3N in week 9, which all of the children enjoyed enormously. Trinity from 3N explained that she learnt about how people in a community help one another.

Classroom Update from 5G 5G’s Trophy Title-Holders Congratulations to the following students who have achieved their learning goals for spelling: Jack, Uru and Justyce. In other news, I am very proud of the effort that every student in 5G put into creating their persuasive ads about sustainability. We were able show our ads at the assembly last week. We hope they have convinced you to recycle or reduce the amount of plastic bags you use. Please visit the website for more information on how you can help. www.blairmount-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/5G Mrs Gawthorne

Ready Set School The Ready Set School students have had an enjoyable day at big school this week. All of our students have been really enjoying the activities planned for them & are doing really well settling in. All parent feedback has been very positive. All students who attend the program will be made to feel part of the school community and will get to know many of the staff. I encourage you to take this opportunity to help get your child ready to start Kindergarten. There are limited places available for the program so please contact Penny Golledge on 4626 1795 to confirm your place for Term 3 or 4.

Book Week Parade Connect to reading – reading to connect

This year Blairmount will be having a Book Week parade. Students will be asked to dress up as their favourite book character and will parade their wonderful costumes for the parents. The parade will be on Wednesday 20th August and more information will be provided to you shortly. There will be prizes for the best-dressed students. We look forward to seeing all of the amazing costumes on the day. Happy shopping! Miss Howick and Mrs Alone Library News Term 3 is always a busy time for the library, because of Education Week (next week) and Book Week (Week 6). Bookfair During Education Week, students and parents are invited to the Library to purchase and/or donate books from our last Bookfair for the year. Students have been browsing the books this week in their Library lessons. The books on display are very good value, ranging from $1 to about $15. Most books are priced between $4-$6. This is a great opportunity to purchase birthday presents or to do some early Christmas shopping! Books may be purchased next week every morning from 8.30-8.55 except Thursday, every lunchtime and if you are visiting your child’s classroom on Wednesday next week for Open Day, you are most welcome to pop into the library on that day at any time. I will also be in the Library after school for about 20 minutes if this is a more suitable time. The Bookfair will finish on the Friday of Week 3.

Book Week - Week 6 To celebrate Book Week this year, Miss Howick and Mrs Alone are organising a whole school Book Week parade where students are invited to dress up as a book character. Try the $2 shops for some reasonably priced outfits! I will be holding a “Where do you read?” photo competition. To enter, simply bring in to the Library or send to the school via email, a photo of your child reading in an unusual or funny place –maybe dressed up in their book character costume! If you are sending in a photo, please write your child’s name and class on the back of the photo. If you are emailing the photo to blairmount-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au, in the subject field write Book Week photo and your child’s name and class and we will print it for you. The photos will be displayed around the school and the winners for each grade published in the school newsletter. I am hoping to have a selection of books for the prize winners. Parents, you are also invited to send in a photo of yourself reading in an unusual or funny place –however we will not be judging your photos but they will be displayed around the school and some will be published in the school newsletter. Book Club Issue 5 Book Club is due back on or before Friday 8th August. I hope to see many of you in the Library next week. Mrs C. Burden Teacher Librarian

Year 1 Excursion Reminder On Tuesday 5th August, Year 1 will be attending an excursion to the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in Wollongong to see a performance of ‘The Gruffalo’. We would love for all students to attend. Students are required to be at school by 9am, as normal, and will return to school at approximately 3.30pm. Students need to wear their full school uniform and bring a packed lunch and recess and a drink bottle. The permission note and payment needs to be returned to school no later than Friday 25th July. Payments can also be made online via the school website; www.blairmount-pschools.nsw.edu.au Primary Athletics Carnival The Primary Athletics Carnival will be held on Wednesday 6th August at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. All parents are invited to attend in order to support their children. Notes and $8.50 are due in to the office by Wednesday 30th July 2014. As this is a sports carnival we ask that you pack a healthy, nutritious lunch and recess for your child and ensure that they have a hat to wear and plenty of water to drink on the day. Hope to see you there. Miss R Chatterjee K-2 Sports Fun Day K-2 will be holding a Sports Fun Day on Wednesday 6th August. The activities will begin at 9.30am and conclude at recess time. Normal classes will resume after this. Parents are invited to come and watch their child/children participate on the day and are welcome to have lunch and recess with their children. Children will need to wear full school uniform, joggers and bring a drink for the day. We look forward to seeing you on the day! Mrs C Currie & Mr S Pereira K-2 Sports Fun Day Organisers

Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking On the 19th June Ruby 2/3L, Tanesha 3/4H, Rachel 6D and Brandon 6N proudly represented Blairmount Public School at the 2014 South Western Sydney Local Final - Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition held at Thomas Acres Public School. Representing our junior speakers was Ruby and Taneesha. Ruby's topic "What makes a Community" was delivered with passion and enthusiasm. Tanesha spoke about "Harmony Day". She spoke with conviction and projected her voice well. Impromptu speeches were next. Both our junior students spoke extremely well with Taneesha receiving a Highly Commended Award. Great jo Next were our senior speakers Rachel and Brandon. Rachel delivered a great thought provoking speech on "Learning a Different Language." Brandon spoke about "Asylum Seekers". His speech was well researched and reflected the hardships faced by many. Next, Both of our senior speakers also delivered quality impromptu speeches. Great job to all our representatives, it is obvious you are learning great things in class. Keep up the fantastic work.