Camdenville News Camdenville Public School

‘Truth and Courtesy’

Term 2, Week 6 Tuesday 2 June 2020

PRINCIPALS REPORT Dear parents and caregivers, Well, it’s been a long time between newsletters and so much has happened over these past 6 to 8 weeks. It’s been so good to get back to having students full time in school. We are keeping an eye on the social distancing aspect of schools and I thank you all for transitioning to the school gate pick ups so readily. Your cooperation and support are much appreciated. We are working hard to try to capture all the good things that we gained by being involved in lock down and learning from home. The teachers and I have gained some insight into how we can utilise the digital mediums more for content delivery and capturing learning. To that end teachers are working on gathering information about student progress in readiness for report writing and parent teacher interviews. Many of you may have heard that we are planning for parent and teacher interviews early in Term 3 so families and teachers can talk about the progress each child has made and where we plan to support the learning next. This is not only a response to the learning from home scenario but also a response to the 2019 parent Tell Them From Me survey where although the majority of comments about the 3 Way Conferences we run were positive, some of the feedback indicated that more information about progress was something many of you wished for. To that end we have adjusted our reporting processes to accommodate this need. Anglicare Support Services In these times of social upheaval, it is good to know there are services you can access to support you and your family. I had a recent call from Anglicare reminding schools that their services were available and that many more families than usual might be experiencing financial hardship, or have

experienced domestic violence, mental health or drug and alcohol issues. I imagine some of you might have experienced an increase in dealing with children’s behavioural issues such as separation anxiety, tantrums, internet usage, school avoidance and bedtime routines. I have attached 3 brochures to this newsletter for your information. Camdenville cares about playing fair and being safe. This week we are talking about how to play fairly. The return to school fulltime will take some adjusting to and the children in the playground are getting back into the swing of dealing with large numbers and working with new and old friends again. There have been a few instances lately where games have become too rough or arguments have broken out when the rules of the game have been broken, misunderstood or changed halfway. And at times we have witnessed how some children have not shown good sportsmanship when losing or when winning. Key messages we are discussing with children this week include: Playing fair means:

• playing by the agreed rules - and not changing them half way in when you think you might lose

• taking turns - not one person being the boss all the time or that you only play one person's game all the time. Letting others decide.

• being polite when talking or disagreeing

• solving problems together when a game goes wrong

The overall message is that learning how to play games well is part of learning how to get along with others. That games are meant to be fun - and that it is not about winning or losing but How you play the game - with consideration for others, with grace

when you win, or if you lose. Please find below a short video to illustrate some points - Camdenville cares about playing fairly https://vimeo.com/424636762/532752ccf4 A website for parents with ideas for those who might like to explore this further at home. https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/play-media-technology/playing-with-others/fair-play Reconciliation week and young children Helping our children understand the issues underlying reconciliation week and NAIDOC week is a role both schools and families can play. Our History syllabus in Stage 2 and 3 has explicit outcomes that teachers address in their planning and teaching. In Stage 2 the History outcome reads Student describes and explains effects of British colonisation in Australia and Stage 3 Student describes and explains the struggles for rights and freedoms in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Helping our younger children grasp the concept is a bit tricky - however I recently read a lovely article that interviewed a young Bandjalang woman working as a preschool educator that helped me understand a little bit more about the importance of raising culturally aware children. She emphasises the importance of being honest and open about our history, helping our children gain empathy for others and the value of recognising and celebrating diversity. The New Daily article can be found here for those interested. https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/education/2020/05/31/reconciliation-children-indigenous-issues/ The Aboriginal countries map illustrates just how widespread and diverse the Indigenous culture and languages of Australia are.

COVID 19 Testing Just a reminder that if a child attending school is tested for COVID 19 we at school need to be informed. We have a process between the Departments of Health and Education, as you can imagine, that will be active in supporting schools and their community to manage should a child or member of staff become infected. If you can provide us with the date and place of testing when you contact us that would be helpful. Opportunity Class Applications for Year 5 The application process for Year 5 opportunity class placement for entry in 2021 is about to begin. Important dates in the application process are as follows: Tuesday 9 June 2020: Online applications opens Friday 26 June 2020: Online applications closes (Parents and carers must apply by the due date.) Tuesday 30 June 2020: Principals' processing site opens Friday 3 July 2020: Principals' processing site closes Wednesday 16 September 2020: Opportunity Class Placement Test Parents and carers must apply online between Tuesday 9 June and Friday 26 June 2020 at: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5

After school extra-curricular programs We have had some interest from extracurricular programs to return to school soon, however, the advice from my director is to not rush ahead at this stage. She has indicated across the network of schools to take a slow approach to ramping up to pre COVID 19 activities and I am in full agreement with her at this stage. I will keep you and the providers informed as this new phase progresses.

TASK and the new Before School and After School care program TASK have been very busy in preparing the previous Inner West OSHC site for the new program. When they are ready - the children Pre-2 will be in the old Inner West site and children 3-6 will be in the Cottage. They will be sending out information about the new arrangements very soon. Regards Sue Smith Principal

BOOK Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received a Book Award.

Ari Week 5 Term 1

Kai Week 6 Term 1

Gaius Week 7 Term 1

Daisy Week 8 Term 1

Ollie Week 8 Term 1

ORDERS DUE: THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2020

Scholastic Book Club orders for Term 2 are now open! Orders will close on Thursday 18 June 2020. Catalogues have been distributed to students and spare catalogues are available at the office. To ensure all students get their orders and that the correct payment is received, it is recommended that families use the Scholastic LOOP system. Families can pay online and the order will go directly to Scholastic. The orders are then delivered to school for free. Please use the link to register and start your order. https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx For those who pay by cash, PLEASE ensure you have the correct money and that the envelope is securely sealed. This makes it a lot smoother to process all orders and ensures the order can be submitted to Scholastic as soon as possible. If you miss the cut-off date, don’t worry, you can still order books through the LOOP system. They will be delivered to your house instead of school for a small fee and 10% of your order still goes back to the school in Scholastic Rewards. We must have a cut-off date for books to be delivered to school so children don’t miss out on popular books. Also, Scholastic charges the school postage costs if we keep the orders open and they have to send books after the initial cut-off date.