Calendar

23 Nov Kindergarten wild things day

23-24 Nov School Spec performance

28 Nov Combined Scripture event

4 Dec 1G Sutherland Hospital excursion (rescheduled date)

5 Dec K-1 Presentation day

5 Dec Yr 2-6 Presentation evening

11 Dec Yr 6 Day out - Jamberoo

12 Dec Yr 2 to Yr 3 Parent Information session

12-13 Dec Year 6 Inspired Program

18 Dec Year 6 farewell

19 Dec Last day of school

2019

30 Jan First day for students

4 Feb Kindergarten first day at school

12 Feb Swimming Carnival

LAGUNA STREET PUBLIC SCHOOL TERM 4 | WEEK 6 | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2018

Newsletter

DEAR PARENTS AND CARERS

There was lots of excitement at school on Monday morning when students arrived at school. Students were witness to a Humpty Dumpty crime scene, and every student in the school was encouraged to summons their inner mystery writer, look at the clues and complete some imaginative writing. I’m so impressed with the writing I have seen so far, and the growth and improvement in writing from the beginning of the year is clearly evident. A big thank you to Mr Howell for his assistance in making it such a fun learning experience for the students, and to Mrs Hughes in setting up our visual writing stimulus.

I was extremely impressed with the quality of the speeches by the nominees for 2019 school captain on Monday. There were no outrageous promises delivered and the speeches were very engaging. Congratulations to those students for having the opportunity and doing such a wonderful job.

A big thank you must go to the volunteers yesterday at the P&C BBQ for students and teachers. I have said it many times before but I am always in admiration and have much gratitude for parents and community members who give up their time to help make our school a better place. It was greatly enjoyed by all.

Speaking of making the school a better place, we were so excited to receive the news that the P&C application for Community Building Partnership 2018 grant funding was successful. Our school received $55,000 for a soccer field. A big thank you to Amanda South for her work in applying for the funding and to Matt Aitken for his advocacy work on school infrastructure resourcing. The work is not over, as we move into working with the Department as the P&C in getting the soccer field to fruition. What a fantastic thing for our students to look forward to in the year ahead.

Congratulations to Lachlan Vella for his participation and achievement in U12 Boys Softball Championships in Canberra. The very best of luck to Tammin and Mason who will be participating in the Nationals athletics this week. We are looking forward to hearing how it all went!

Have a great week!

Rosie Di Mattia

VEHICLE ACCESS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS

A reminder to all unless with prior arrangement, there are to be no parents and carers drive into the staff carpark at any time. This includes before and after school.

As you may be aware, there was an incident at a school in Sydney in November last year where a car, having failed to stop in a staff carpark, careered into a classroom. Unfortunately two students died and a small number of other students were injured. This tragic incident has impacted staff, students and the entire school community.

Unfortunately this is not the only incident where a car has failed to stop in a staff car park on school grounds. In our own school, we have had a number of dangerous and concerning incidents over the years. Incidents involving non staff vehicles just this year have included dangerous driving, vehicles entering the playground and two car accidents. Even during outside school hours there are students on the school site at various activities and afterschool care, and dangerous driving incidents have occurred, as well as overcrowding in the carpark which creates a dangerous environment.

It must be remembered that the school grounds are not public land. The safety of students, staff and community is paramount and as a result only authorised vehicles have access.

TOYS ‘N’ TUCKER

It’s that time of year, where we ask Laguna Street families to consider if you are able to donate non-perishable food items and/or new toys to help make Christmas a happier time of the year for those in need. Items are to be placed into boxes that will be located within all classrooms before Monday 10th December. Please ensure these items are new and unused as they are being supplied as Christmas gifts.

Thank you for your support

Mrs Bates, Mrs Russell and our 2018 student leaders

GOLD RUSH DAY!

The gold rush day was probably one the best school excursions I’ve ever attended, we loved all the activities that were given to us. It was fun and very enjoyable. Did some roleplaying with the bushranger and pan for gold. Let me tell you more!

Gold Panning!

Gold panning was one of the funnest activities of the day, we got our gold licences and panned for gold. Some of us were even lucky enough to get a big gold nugget. We used a method called

panning when we hunted our gold. We place the mining ground into our pan and filled it with water, washed away the dirt and were left with gold!!!

Dot Painting!

Dot painting was a way to let your creativity fly free. Living in the 19th century many children were abandoned at home while their parents traveled to the goldfields. Coming from families with little money children had to find their own entertainment. Dot painting using mud and rocks was a fun and exciting way to kill time.

Damper making!

Flour, water, fire, milk, sugar, salt and marshmallow is all you need to make damper. For families living in poverty this is the bundle of goodness was a special treat for the family. We experienced how to cook our own food over a fire being safe and aware. We learnt how to use maths in cooking by using teaspoons and tablespoons. Finally how people eat in the 19th century!

General Store

The general store was a place to buy marbles and lollies with the money we got from the bank for our gold. Marbles are another form of children’s entertainment in the 19th century and were very fun to this day!

Chinese drums!

We made chinese drums with a pencil, 2 paper plates, textas and a rope with a bead. When it is finished you spin the drum side to side to make a drum noise.

Tent building!

Tent building is a teamwork and strategising activity for each of the groups there. They all committed to each other to bring the best out in themselves. They learnt how to structure and build a tent correctly and we made our own city of tents similar to the ones made in the 19th century. The tents held their belongings and if they were lucky enough their fortune.

Bush dancing!

We learnt two new bush dances named Heel, toe polka and Strip the willow!

The Bushranger!

We were very scared when the bushrangers attacked us and we went crazy!!! But not everyone had enough money to buy their share of the goldfields. People got desperate for money so they began to gang up as bushrangers. They stole our money in a role playing activity. This involved our best acting skills, teamwork and fun!

All of these fun and awesome things we did made up gold day

What we learnt!

We loved learning about the gold rush because we understood the conditions that they lived in, about how they panned for gold, how to build a tent and how scary the bushrangers were! We also learnt two new bush dances and we also did some fun games and creative art work like pom-poms, dot painting and chineses drums,ate delicious damper and we learnt jail is actually spelt gaol in England and Australia! We all loved this day, thank you!

Giving Credit!

On behalf of stage 3 we would like to say thanks to Mrs.Liddle for organizing this exciting day. We would also like to thank all the parent helpers, all the teachers,the neighbors that lended us power, Mr.liddle, Mr.lebreux, and the students that made this day happen. Without them we would not have this amazing experience and learn about everything the gold miners did in 19th century.

By Amali, Tara, Tom

LOST PROPERTY

Our lost property spaces are overflowing at the moment, please take a moment to have a look if you are missing any items.

POSH UPDATE

With the sunnier weather finally becoming more consistent we would like to remind family and children of our sun protection policy; children are encouraged to wear a brimmed hat, protective clothing and sunscreen on exposed parts of the body during daylight hours. Sunscreen is always available at the centre and is applied before outdoor play. Educators and children speak often about sun safety and the importance of making responsible choices about their sun exposure!

Primary OSH Care 0419725816 – lsoshc@primaryoshcare.com.au

P&C UPDATE

ACTIVITIES 2019Enrolment is now available for 2019 P&C Activities. Available activities include Boys Hip Hop (K-2), Junior Drama (K-2), String, Japanese, Girls Dance/Ballet (K-6) and new for next year will be Boot Camp (K-6).

Kids Boxing Bootcamp is a 45-minute class with a new workout every week. It is run by Gecko Sport and will include some partner boxing for fitness, strength circuits focusing on body weight and correct technique, fitness circuits and games to improve endurance and making sure the whole time it is lots of fun. This will run on a Monday at 8.10am.Enrolment forms and details are on the skoolbag app.

P&C CHRISTMAS PARTY

This year’s P&C Christmas Party for volunteers will be held on Tuesday the 11th of December at the Caringbah Hotel from 7pm. Please rsvp to lagunastreetpandc@gmail.com by Monday 3 December. See attached flyer for further information.

From the P&C Team