Principal’s News

Welcome everyone in our school community to the start of the 2020 school year. I’d like to welcome our new families and

Kindergarten children to our wonderful school. I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable school holiday period with your

children, family and friends. Despite ongoing challenges and a very busy start to the school year, our teachers and students

are enthusiastic about the year ahead and ready for learning.

Students are settled into their 2020 classes, including our new Kindergarten children who started ‘big’ school this Monday.

Teachers have been working hard in the school holidays to ensure that class programs, activities and events are organised

and ready to go. Our learn to swim program has already started this week, our school’s 3-6 Swimming Carnival is scheduled

for tomorrow and the school’s Music Instrumental Program is up and running. As always, we have a jam-packed school year

ahead with many extra-curricular activities on offer for students to extend their interests or just ‘have-a-go’ at something

different.

Wednesday, 5 February 2020 Term 1, Week 2

Dates to remember 6 February Swimming Carnival Yrs 3-6

7 February PSSA Trials

12 February Junior & Senior dance group auditions

14 February PSSA – Round 1

17 February Tri-Skills program commences

19 February Junior & Senior dance group auditions

28 February Zone Swimming Carnival

14 March International Food Fair and Mini Olympics

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHTS - 2020

10 February Kindergarten 5.30 – 6.30PM

12 February YEARS 1 & 2 6.00 – 7.00PM

12 Febrary YEARS 3 & 4 5.00 – 6.00PM

Please note that these sessions are for parents only.

It has been lovely to see children and families back at school after the long Christmas school holiday break. Many of our

families have been either directly or indirectly affected by the recent, unprecedented bushfires across NSW as well as the

Novel Coronavirus situation. Our thoughts go out to those people who have lost their lives and/or property in bushfires. I

would also like to thank those families affected by the Coronavirus school attendance exclusions for supporting the school

community by following the Department’s advice in relation to this matter. I ask that everyone in our school community remain

considerate, understanding and respectful of others during these challenging times. This includes our School Office staff who

work extremely hard to respond to enquiries, care for sick and/or injured students, prepare and disseminate correspondence

and assist in keeping our school operational on a daily basis. Pymble Public School is an inclusive school and reminds and

teaches students about respectful behaviour and caring for others in times of need.

I look forward to a year of rich learning, fun activities and seeing students grow and reach their potential.

Kindergarten 2020

Our new Kindergarten students started this Monday with great enthusiasm and excitement. There were very few tears (from

children), with most children more than ready to begin their primary school journey. This is an important milestone for children

and their parents and we work hard to ensure as smooth a transition into Kindergarten as possible. Our Kindergarten Team,

support staff, office staff, Mrs Doig and me have been planning for our 2020 Kindergarten cohort’s transition into our school

since early last year. While our Kindergarten students seem very settled and enjoying school, this can be a challenging time

for some children. It is important to communicate with your child’s class teacher (or Mrs Carew) should you have any concerns

about any aspect of your child’s start to their Kindergarten year. Our priority is that all children are happy, safe and learning

at school. I’d like to thank Mr and Mrs Blatchford for hosting the Kindergarten ‘Tea & Tissues’ (for a second year running) as

well as our school’s P&C for coordinating this event.

3-6 Swimming Carnival

Our annual school swimming carnival will be held at the PLC Aquatic Pool tomorrow, Thursday 6 February. This is always

an exciting carnival and I wish all students well in their events. Parents are welcome to attend, with allocated parent seating

available at the centre. A reminder that students must wear a swimming cap to participate in swimming events as this is a

requirement of the centre. I look forward to a great carnival.

Term 1 Learn to Swim Program

Our Term 1 learn to swim program started this week for students Years 1-6, with our Kindergarten students starting next

week. We are very fortunate to have a school swimming pool and a fantastic learn to swim program. The cost of this program

for this term will be included in your Term 1 fees. A reminder that all students must bring a pair of sandal type footwear to

wear to and from the pool and are to apply sunscreen before or the morning of their swimming lesson.

Meet the Teacher / Parent Information Evenings

Next week the school will run parent information sessions for parents and carers of Kindergarten, Stage 1 (Years 1&2) and

Stage 2 (Years 3&4) children. The Stage 3 (Years 5&6) parent information session was already held this Monday evening.

These parent information sessions provide valuable information about class programs, activities, events and school

requirements. We encourage all parents to attend their child’s parent information session where ever possible. Please note

that these sessions do not allow time for individual parent meetings. If you need to speak with your child’s class teacher

please contact the school to make an appointment. It is also preferable that children do not attend these sessions. We look

forward to seeing parents at their respective information sessions.

Bruno Diodati Principal

Classes for 2020

This year we have 622 students across 24 classes. We have welcomed 12 new students from Years 1-6 and on Monday we

welcomed 85 new Kindergarten students. Our 2020 classes and staffing structure is as follows:

Bruno Diodati PRINCIPAL

Nicole Doig DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Jill Rose OFFICE MANAGER

Diane Frankish OFFICE

Julia Nelson OFFICE

Mary Day OFFICE

Joanne Weir OFFICE

Caity Longfield KC

Jane Carew (Early Stage 1 Assistant Principal) / Haley Mylius KJ

Sally Lorimer KL

Jane Shields / Wendy Ross KS

Caitlin Creeley 1C

Isabella Hampton 1H

Ariane Newell 1N

Pip Hiley (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) 1P

Elyse Baulderstone / Kylie Booth 2B

Gemma Jones 2J

Paige Kingston-Smith (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) 2K

Amanda Wiblin / Alan Long 2W

Megan Henkin 3H

Nina Lazic-Kirk 3K

Yvonne Wilson / Kylie Dugan 3W

Annie Lee-Joe 3/4L

Lucinda Holbrook (Stage 2 Assistant Principal) / Cara Oates 4H

Alex Ryan 4R

Tim Sillato 4S

Karen Armbrister 5A

Jess Andrews 5J

Jess Battaerd 5/6B

Robyn Herbert (Stage 3 Assistant Principal) 6H

Katrina Hann 6K

Anthony Younis YEAR 6 TEACHER

Kathryn Harris / Lauren Knight TEACHER LIBRARIAN

Mel Schicht LIBRARY OFFICE

Petula Brown / Jenny Harrison LEARNING & SUPPORT TEACHER

Pauline Jensen / Rob Santos / Melinda Black / Vijay Thattat /

Charlotte Hudson

SCHOOL LEARNING & SUPPORT

OFFICER

Clare Brouggy – Thursday & Friday COUNSELLOR

Ian Burke GENERAL ASSISTANT

Chris Dormer / Catherine Jaucian / Kaitlin Richards SCIENCE

Rebecca Venter (Stage 2 Assistant Principal) INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER

Petula Brown ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE DIALECT TEACHER

Andrea Date-Chong EXECUTIVE RELEASE TEACHER

Deputy Principal’s News

Welcome back to all of our PPS families. It has been wonderful to see our students settle quickly into their new classrooms.

Just a few reminders about the start of the school year:

• Please ensure that all of your child’s belongings are labelled and they have their hat and a water bottle each day.

• If your contact details have changed, for example, email address, phone number or living arrangements, please

update these at the school office or send an email to the school advising of any changes. Communication between

home and school is essential in building a positive partnership and it is important that these contact details are kept

up to date.

• The school day begins at 8.55am. Students are supervised by staff in the playground from 8.30am. As there is no

supervision on the playground prior to 8.30am, students should not be at school before this time. Arriving at school

on time ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day and reduces

classroom disruption. If for any reason your child arrives after 8.55am, they must be signed in at the office by an

adult.

Should you have any concerns about your child, your class teacher should be your first point of contact. If they cannot help

you, they will refer you to the Stage Assistant Principal or to the Deputy Principal/Principal depending upon the nature of your

concern.

Nicole Doig

Deputy Principal

Library News

Welcome back to another year at PPS. As usual this year I will be teaching most of the classes however the remaining

classes will be taught by Mrs Lauren Knight. In general, the classes coming to the library this year have 30 minute lessons,

and so children should, where possible on their library day, return their books to the library when they arrive at school before

going to the classroom. This is vital on Wednesdays and Fridays as the children go directly to sport, assembly or scripture

and do not have the opportunity to return books at 9 am as they are not in the classroom with the teacher when all books

need to be returned to the library. On Tuesday mornings, when the library is closed the stage 3 children who have library and

any others should still drop their returns into the library before going to the classroom. With lessons so short, if children arrive

at the lesson with books to return there is not sufficient time to return them, and so those children will need to return to the

library when it is open to borrow.

Children will usually be given time to borrow in library lessons, but time is available for borrowing every day when the library

is open, either before school or at lunch time. The library is usually open to children before school on each day EXCEPT

Tuesday and is also open on at lunchtime each day EXCEPT Friday. I would encourage children to visit the library outside

their library lesson to have access to a wider variety of books. The very limited time available during the lesson makes it

harder for voracious readers to select their books, so they should take advantage of the additional times available.

All children in K-4 need a library bag with them in the library to be able to borrow books, while children in years 5 and 6 are

able to borrow without a library bag. The children need to be able to open and close their own library bags and a plastic

shopping bag is not acceptable. The bag should also be clearly named, and for younger children have something which

makes it readily identifiable. The regular reading of a range of books is one of the best ways for children to develop as

learners. I am available to assist your children (and you) in choosing books when they visit the library.

Miss Harris

Teacher Librarian

Change to the Canteen – Thursday 6 February

Due to tomorrow’s swimming carnival, the canteen will be open for online lunch orders for students in Years 1

and 2 only. Over the counter sales will take place at recess but NOT at lunch time.

Students attending the swimming carnival are reminded not to place a canteen order tomorrow.

Junior Dance 2020 Attention Year 3 and Year 4 boys and girls

Auditions for the junior dance group will be held in weeks 3 and 4 for any boy or

girl in Year 3 or 4.

WHEN / TIME: Wednesday 12th February (week 3) at 8:15am – 8:50am

Wednesday 19th February (week 4) at 8:15am – 8:50am

IMPORTANT: Students auditioning will need to attend both audition days

WHERE: In the school hall

WHAT TO WEAR: Students should wear appropriate dance attire. If students have jazz shoes,

ballet shoes or foot thongs they should wear these. If not, bare feet are fine.

CRITERIA FOR AUDITIONS:

* Any student in Years 3 or 4 is welcome to audition.

* Junior dance classes are held on Wednesday mornings at 8:15am-8:50am. You must be available to

attend the weekly class.

* Auditions for the Sydney North Schools Dance Festival are within the first 2 weeks of term 2 and

performances are the last 2 weeks of term 2. Students must be available for these dates.

* The junior dance group will be involved in a variety of performances throughout the year including

Sydney North Schools Dance Festival (SNSDF) at Glen St Theatre, Open Day and Night of Stars. This

will mean that dancers will occasionally be required to leave school during school time.

* Students who are selected for the group may need to purchase jazz shoes, tights and a costume for

performances. Depending on the routine, costumes can cost between $50 - $100 and are worn several

times throughout the year.

* There are compulsory and strict restrictions for the size of the group. Please be advised that there are

limits to the number of dancers that can be selected due to safety regulations from the SNSDF.

Mrs Phillipa Hiley (1P)

Dance Co-ordinator

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Please visit the link below and fill out the online form by Monday 10th

February if your child wishes to audition for the junior dance group.

http://bit.ly/PPSjuniordance

Senior Dance 2020 Attention Year 5 and Year 6 boys and girls

Auditions for the senior dance group will be held in weeks 3 and 4 for any boy or

girl in Year 5 or 6.

WHEN / TIME: Wednesday 12th February (week 3) at 7:30am - 8:15am

Wednesday 19th February (week 4) at 7:30am - 8:15am

IMPORTANT: Students auditioning will need to attend both audition days

WHERE: In the school hall

WHAT TO WEAR: Students should wear appropriate dance attire. If students have jazz shoes,

ballet shoes or foot thongs they should wear these. If not, bare feet are fine.

CRITERIA FOR AUDITIONS:

* Any student in Years 5 or 6 is welcome to audition.

* Senior dance classes are held on Wednesday mornings before school. You must be available to attend

the weekly class.

* Auditions for the Sydney North Schools Dance Festival are within the first 2 weeks of term 2 and

performances are the last 2 weeks of term 2. Students must be available for these dates.

* The senior dance group will be involved in a variety of performances throughout the year including

Sydney North Schools Dance Festival at Glen St Theatre, Open Day and Night of Stars. This will mean

that dancers will occasionally be required to leave school during school time.

* Students who are selected for the group may need to purchase jazz shoes and a costume for

performances. Depending on the routine, costumes can cost between $50 - $100 and are worn several

times throughout the year.

* There are compulsory and strict restrictions for the size of the group. Please be advised that there are

limits to the number of dancers that can be selected due to safety regulations from the SNSDF.

Mrs Lucinda Holbrook (4H)

Dance Co-ordinator

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Please visit the link below and fill out the online form by Monday 10th

February if your child wishes to audition for the senior dance group.

http://bit.ly/PPSseniordance

PPS Band Program

Welcome back to everyone in the PPS Band Program. We hope you are all getting back into the swing of rehearsals,

tutorials and lessons. The committee have been working hard to get everyone up and running for the start of the year.

Below is the committee and what they are responsible for. Please email pymbleband@gmail.com if you need to get in

touch with anyone:

Junior Band Parent – Rochelle Robinson

Concert Band Parent – Alex Walker

Performance Ensemble – Sarah Till and Ange Osborne

Jazz Band – Linda Henderson

School hired instruments – Lisa Ting

Treasurer – Michelle Bell

Group tutorials and teachers at school – Rachelle Wilson

General enquiries, queries and joining band – Zannie Abbott

Teacher in charge – Mrs Herbert

We will have key dates available for the year shortly.

Looking forward to a great musical year.

Zannie Abbott

0418 274 291

pymbleband@gmail.com

PPS School Stream app

Have you downloaded the School Stream app? You can download the app for free onto as many devices as you wish. All

parents are strongly encouraged to download our new PPS School Stream app. Should you have any questions regarding the

app or trouble downloading the app please visit the school website for easy to follow instructions.

Uniform Shop Opening Hours

Please find below the opening hours for the Uniform Shop.

• Tuesdays 1.30pm – 4pm

• Thursdays 8.15am – 10.30am

Lost Property

In 2020, please help us keep the lost property area tidy by returning items back into the buckets provided. Items with NO NAME will be sent to the 2nd Hand Uniform shop and proceeds from these sales will be used to fund school improvements.

2nd Hand Uniform Shop dates for 2020

Term 1 2020

Friday 7 February 8.30 – 9.15am

Friday 27 March 8.30 – 9.15am

Term 2 2020

Tuesday 28th April 8.30 – 9.15am

Friday 19th June 8.30 – 9.15am

Prayer Group

Christian Prayer Group meets each Wednesday morning of term at 9am. A warm welcome is

extended to anyone who would like to attend.

Any enquiries, please contact Jackie Tham (jackietham@yahoo.com.au)

Pymble Public School Parents and Citizens Association Meetings

P&C Meetings 2020

The first meeting of the P&C is on Wednesday 12th February from 7.00 pm in the PPS Staff Room. Everyone is welcome to attend, discuss and get involved.

On the agenda this meeting we will be discussing:

• Events for 2020.

• Fundraising priorities.

• Welcome to new parents.

Upcoming dates for 2020

Term 1

Wednesday 12 February, 2020

Wednesday 11 March, 2020

Wednesday April 8, 2020

Term 2

Wednesday May 13, 2020

Wednesday June 10, 2020

Term 3

Wednesday August 12, 2020

Wednesday September 9, 2020

Term 4

Wednesday October 14, 2020

Wednesday November 11, 2020

Wednesday November 11, 2020 AGM

We look forward to welcoming all parents and citizens.

Community News

Learn to play the acoustic guitar in a friendly

environment. Learn to play your favourite songs.

Beginners and intermediates are welcome. Please contact Bernadette Palmer on

0400 364 064.

Wahroonga Rugby Club – TIGERS

Come and try – 6pm 7 February & 21 February

Wahroongarugby.com.au

Manly Warringah Basketball Association

Various programs available in 2020

manlybasketball.com.au

Killara West Pymble Rugby Union Football Club

Registration Days 4.30pm 7 February & 14 February

www.kwprugby.com

North Shore Softball Association

Register now for the 2020 season!

www.northshore.softball.org.au

MCCARTHY STUDIOS 2019

Classes in the Hall at Pymble School

Friday 3.15 to 4.45pm Kindy/Year 1 - Dance/Drama/Singing 3.30 to 7pm Junior -Musical Theatre/Drama/Singing/Dance Wednesday 3.15 to 5pm Years 2/3- Dance/Drama/Singing 4.30 to 6pm Junior – Singing/Dance For times and further info, please email info@mccarthystudios.com.au