Belair Public School Newsletter Take Just Pride

Phone: 4952 1735, 34 Carolyn Street, Adamstown Heights NSW 2289

Email: belair-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 3 Week 10 22 September 2020

Principal’s Message

Greetings Everyone,

Transition processes commenced last week for both our Year 6 and new kindergarten students in a very different manner than we are used too. Both transition sessions were conducted via Zoom meetings. Year 6 students were led through orientation activities and discussion by Kotara High staff members. The students were connected to the meeting in small groups with the opportunity to ask questions about what to expect when starting high school. Kindergarten 2021 families also joined us for an information session to welcome them into the Belair community and start familiarising them with what commencing Kindergarten involves. We encourage you to contact the school if you have any questions regarding these exciting and important phases of change.

Our Education Week and Book week celebrations have kicked off and the week ahead is looking like a great deal of fun for Belair students and teachers. Our aim is to share

as much as we can with you via Facebook to make sure our families are included and children can

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Term 3

September

22 Book in Week Challenge- stimulus in playground

23 Book Parade (Covid Safe guidelines without Parent

visitors)

24 STEAM Activities from Book Week

25 Adapted Athletics Carnival Last day of Term

October

12 First Day Term 4

(All staff and students to return)

share these wonderful memories at home. I can’t wait to see the costumes at the Book Parade tomorrow.

It was a pleasure to share lunch with the Term 3 Gold Award recipients last Friday to celebrate their achievement.

Term 3 has been a wonderful term of learning that has gone extremely quickly. We all have definitely appreciated having the children back at school and wish everyone a lovely holiday.

I hope you all have a fantastic week.

Kind regards, Kathie Colley Principal (rel)

Belair Vision Statement and Values Poll Again, thank you to those parents that have given feedback via the poll running on Facebook around the school vision statement and values. This poll will remain open until the end of term to give as many the opportunity to respond as possible. Thank you to those community members that have provided more comprehensive written feedback by sending an email to the school. We really appreciate this deeper response and encourage you to keep sending them in. We are hoping to run a virtual focus group with those community members that have given us an extended response and others that would like to be included early next term.

Student attendance All students should be at school unless: • They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition • They are currently unwell. Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported to learn from home in line with regular procedures if they are able to. These regular procedures are different to what was offered during the learning from home period. If you require work to be provided to your child whilst they are at home due to an underlying health condition, you should contact the school for assistance. SMS messages to communicate absences via the Skoolbag App should detail if the student has any Covid symptoms. Vigilance is required in ensuring that staff and students do not attend school or work if they are unwell. • Students absent or sent home due to flu like symptoms need to be tested • Staff and students must not return to school or work until they return a negative COVID-19 result and are symptoms free • Schools must sight the negative COVID-19 test result prior to allowing students and staff to return to school. COVID-19 Protocols The following Covid19 protocols still remain in place this term: Parents are still not permitted on school grounds or at school events. Kiss and drop pick up and

arrival practices remain in place. All visitors and external to school providers must adhere to relevant hygiene, distancing and

safety protocols: a. ALL visitors must report directly to the office (this includes visitors to the uniform shop on

Monday mornings). b. Office staff will ask you to sign a form and take you through hygiene protocols c. A visitor’s sticker must be worn while on site (this will confirm you have followed the

protocols at the office for staff members on site) d. All adults must maintain physical distance from each other (1.5m) while on site and including

pick up and drop off arrangements where parents are asked to physically distance outside the school gates.

Increased vigilance in ensuring that staff and students do not attend school or work if they are unwell.

Students absent or sent home due to flu like symptoms need to be tested. Staff and students must not return to school or work until they return a negative COVID-19

result and are symptoms free. Schools must sight the negative COVID-19 test result prior to allowing students and staff to

return to school. Students are to stay within their cohort group (class, year group or stage) for all learning and

extra-curricular activities, including sports, arts and physical activities. School choirs and the woodwind section of the school bands are no longer able to run. Our Spelling Mastery Program will now run with modification being made that reflect the COVID guidelines.

Dance activities will require risk assessments and a COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Year 7 orientation - should be delayed until Term 4. Group singing/chanting and playing of wind instruments in groups are no longer allowed. The

band conductors are looking at alternate ways to operate the bands and will let you know as soon as possible. Private tuition is still fine to run, however there must be a 3-metre distance between tutor and student.

P and C meetings can only take place on-line. Below is the link to the Department’s webpage that has more detailed advise for parents if you

would like further information:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families

Year 2 Swim School (Term 4) In the past, Belair Public School has offered Year 2 students the opportunity to participate in an intensive 10-day swim program in Term 4. These swim classes (at a cost to families) are vital for the safety of all children. Lessons cater for non-swimmers through to those of high ability. Lessons go for an hour, and are conducted by accredited teachers in small groups. Students are accompanied by a teacher(s) and travel by bus to and from Arnolds Swim Centre, The Junction. We are hoping that this year we can offer the program for our Year 2 students in Weeks 4 and 5 whilst adhering to the COVID 19 guidelines. More information, including costs and permission notes, will be sent home in Week 1 next term. Friday Sports Day This Friday Belair will hold a sports day in lieu of our annual athletics carnival. Students from kindergarten to Year 6 will have the opportunity to race in 100m and 200m events as well as participate in tabloid activities such as tug-o-war and egg and spoon races.

Students may wear their house colours, favourite sports team colours or their sports uniform. Don't forget to pack a drink bottle and school hat.

Students are asked to bring a gold coin to be donated to charity.

Unfortunately, due to Covid regulations, we can’t have parents on site for this event, however we will post lots of photos on our Facebook page.

Drink Bottle Reminder Just a friendly reminder to ensure your kids have a drink bottle at school every day. The weather is starting to warm up and due to covid restrictions, our bubblers are out of action. There is a drink station that students are able to use to refill their drink bottles.

Gold Merit Awards

Deputy Principal’s Message

We have made it to the last term of the year – and what an action packed one it is! There is so much happening this week that we are looking forward to sharing with you through the Facebook page.

Last Friday we took interested students out to run their 800m race. I watched in amazement as so many of our kids tried their hardest and pushed themselves to complete 2 and a bit laps of the football field on Hudson Park. Congratulations to all students who entered and a special well done to our place getters.

This week’s resilience focus is CHARACTER.

Tell Them From Me – Parent Survey Our parent survey has gone live this week. Please consider taking a few moments to complete the questions. The Partners in Learning parent survey is part of the Tell Them From Me suite of surveys on student engagement. The parent survey helps to clarify and strengthen the important relationship between parents and school. The parent survey is anonymous and individuals cannot be identified from the information they provide.

The parent survey provides school principals and school leaders with parents’ perspectives on their school as well as learning at home. Communication between parents and staff, activities and practices at home, and parent views on the school’s support of learning and behaviour help build an accurate and timely picture that schools can use for practical improvements.

The link for the survey is http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/jm4p8

Have a great week!

Kind regards, Sarah Jardine Deputy Principal (Rel.)

Kindergarten Report

This week KB has been learning about the famous artist Kandinsky and his use of patterns to

create art. Students used pastels and circular patterns to display their understanding of

Kandinsky’s famous painting: ‘Squares with Concentric Circles.’

Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a

Russian painter and art theorist.

Kandinsky is generally credited as the

pioneer of abstract art.

Kindergarten Report

KZ love Friday Fun Day!

Stage 1 Report It’s business as usual for Stage 1

students despite it being almost

holiday time and the end of Term 3.

In preparation for the Athletics

Carnival and our combined Book

Week and Education Week

activities, Stage 1 continues to work

hard and enjoy their learning journey.

Each class has also had a surprise

visit from a curious creature-Max from

Where The Wild Things Are.

Stage 2 4JP Reading Success Students in 4JP have worked hard this year to build their reading resilience. Students were encouraged to choose a book that grabs their attention and read the book cover to cover. Students in 4JP read every day – we read with our teachers, we read and listened to each other and we read to ourselves.

Read on to find out about some favourite books from 4JP.

Sophia – Rise of the Mythix – There was a girl that turned into a unicorn. It was written by my favourite author Ahn Do. He used a lot of descriptive language and lots of onomatopoeia. I recommend that anyone who has enjoyed Wolf Girl (also by Ahn Do) should pick up this book and give it a read.

Caden – I always enjoy reading books from Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series. They are great cover to cover because they are fun to read. There is a lot of action and I look forward to seeing what Greg will get blamed for next. Everyone should give these books a go.

Grace – I recently read Time Traveller by Katrina Kahler. At first, it was all a little confusing, but I stuck with it. The character showed great resilience – her dad had left her when she was a baby by time travelling. She found her dad and corrected the time. The story line hooked me in and I wanted to keep reading. I thought I knew what would happen – but there was a twist in the story.

Mia – Even though I am growing up I still love reading a good picture book. My favourite is Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey. I love the mischief that Pig always gets into – even when he learns his lesson he still finds new mischief to get into. Trevor is always so nice, but Pig just takes advantage of him. Everyone should take some time to check out some picture books – they are such fun to read.

Cooper – My favourite books are the Hot Dog series by Ahn Do. They are such funny books and always make me laugh. Book 5, Camping Time is my fave. It had a great ending and I wanted to keep reading right to the very end. Everyone should check out these books, particularly if they want something funny to read.

Stage 3 Report It’s the last week of Term 3 and we are busy and learning strong. As part of the science unit on states of matter, more mug cakes were made with analysis of the changes in states of matter after applying heat energy. There may also have been much fun involved in this activity!

It is also good to report that two Belair debating teams participated in their first debate of the year, via zoom. The students have been preparing well with Ms Kelly and although they did not win, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the learning they gained.

.

Year 6 Debating Team Train On debating team: (Amalie, Maddie, Sophie, Lila (Absent) (Sammy, Chloe, Hannah, Xanthe, Allie)

What’s happening in 5G? We have been learning to write informative texts, such as information reports and scientific procedures. From this learning we have focused on writing an information report on Koalas. This was chosen to inform other students of the threat to Koalas after the savage bushfires experienced in 2019/2020 summer. Our reports specifically focused on the threat of bushfires and the rehabilitation of injured Koalas.

This is an example of one of our Koala Reports. Our next learning step is to present these facts as

a call to action- persuading the reader to help the plight of the koalas.

Picasso Cow Project

Cow Pacino is finished and has found a new home in the garden! Students from all across the

school worked on Cow Pacino during play breaks. Throughout the project students learnt about

healthy eating, dairy foods, dairy farming, made new friends, honed their painting skills and had

lots of fun whilst creating something beautiful

for our playground.

We think they did a fabulous job

Belair Public School P&C Association

Read-a-thon 2020

How many books have you read so far?

Keep reading! There are PRIZES for excellent reading and raising money!!!

During Term 3 Belair Public School is holding a read-a-thon to raise money for two new shade structures in the playground. One shade structure will go over the play equipment and the other will go over our new mud kitchen area.

Throughout Term 3 I am pledging to read X books to contribute to this cause. I will be reading every day to make sure I meet my goal.

Not only will this provide valuable shade for our play areas, but by reading every day I will grow my vocabulary and expand my imagination!

Thank you for your generous donation!

Remember home readers, picture books and chapter books all count towards the total number of books read. The books should be at the appropriate level for your child.

If you haven’t registered for the read-a-thon do it today! Belair PS has developed a read-a-thon 2020 page on Givenow and your child/ren will need to create their own fundraising page that will be linked to the read-a-thon main page.

The BPS P&C Givenow Read-a-thon site is located at https://www.givenow.com.au/readathon2020. Go to this webpage.

The next step is to create your own ‘crowdraiser’ page on the Givenow fundraising platform/website. The link above has instructions on how to do this. It will take approximately 5 mins. You can then send the link to your child’s individual fundraising page to your contacts via email to ask for sponsorship.

The web address has instructions on how to set up a crowdraiser page for your child/ren (if you like your children can create a team page). Follow the instructions on this page. You will need your child’s email address (or you may like to use your own), a cover photo for the page and a profile photo. If you like you can also upload a video.

Student Awards

KB

Mia M, Reggie H 2L Thomas N, Annaka R

5B

Next Week

KM

Emily B, William A 3E Morgan A, Charlotte F

5G

Chloe E, Cooper M

KZ

Hannah S, Elliot R

3H

Aimee L, Jayden K

5/6F

Emer S, Ashton O

1M Chase M, Hudson M 3/4A Timothy N, Liam F

6P

Thomas M, Michael H

1S

Lucas B, Ethan S

4B

Ceejay P, Harriet S 6W Tayn C, Deyango SM

1/2B Archer H, Evie C

4JP

Caden T, Phoebe S

2C Marlon L, Kaian R, Eleanora M

4/5R

Annika B, Elias VDW

Gold Merit Awards Annabelle M Samuel E Molly H

Eleanor P Samia B Priya H

Clancy H Evie W Samuel E

Kid’s Care Awards Marley R Ben R

canteen news Canteen Roster and News ~ Canteen Supervisor Sonja

0438 684 401

The Green Tree Kitchen

Online only specials are now up and running. Check them out at flexischools.com.au

Hope you enjoyed your Meatball Subs, and we know the ice blocks were a hit! Thank you to the lovely ladies who volunteered on Meatball Sub Day. You are superstars! If you want to see your kids at school, how about volunteering at the canteen? This lovely few hours allows you unprecedented access to your little ones at school. So please check the roster above to see if a time suits you. Volunteers have been emailed the roster. If you have an hour or two spare to help out please call Sonja on 0438 684 401. Social distancing and Covid-19 safety practices are used in the canteen. Please sign in at the office before coming to the canteen.

Wednesday 23rd September

Pip J Kate C

Thursday 24th September

Robyn S

Friday 25th September

Cheryl A Jen A

Maintaining good hygiene Stay home if you are unwell. If you are unwell with respiratory illness, you should remain at home until symptoms resolve and, where appropriate, seek advice from a medical practitioner (and call ahead first).

Maintaining good hygiene standards is an important way to reduce the risk of acquiring and spreading respiratory infections. Hand washing is the single most effective way to reduce the spread of germs that cause respiratory disease.

If you are unwell with respiratory illness, you should remain at home until symptoms resolve and, where appropriate, seek advice from a medical practitioner (and call ahead first).