Important Dates- Term 3 & 4 September / October / November

23rd Sept School Discos 23rd Sept Last Day of Term 3

TERM 4 RETURN – MONDAY 10TH OCTOBER 19th Oct District Public Speaking Competition 19th & 20th October State Athletics Carnivals 23rd Oct P&C Shopping Bus Trip

25th Oct Sydney Dancesport Championship 25th Oct MILO Cricket Regional Final 14th Nov Sydney Writers’ Festival 21st Nov Kindergarten Orientation 2017 21st Nov - 2nd Dec Swim School 28th Nov Year 5 Milson Island Camp

Term 4 Assemblies Years 3 – 6 Assemblies

When Run By & Item By

Term 4- Week 2 4B

Term 4- Week 4 5/6L

Term 4- Week 6 6F

Term 4 – Week 8 Assembly of Excellence

As we end yet another busy term I would like to congratulate students on their progress and behaviour this term. Last week we acknowledged students in all classes who obtained their bronze or silver award this term. Gold award winners were announced at the Assembly of Excellence. A big thank you to the staff for their commitment and efforts this term. I hope everyone has a lovely break and we will see everyone on Monday 10

th October for the beginning of

term 4. Staff Development Day Last Monday staff attended a conference with Erskine Park High School around evidence-based practices to help improve student performance. We also looked at the middle years’ matrix for Years 4 to 9. We are working at creating stronger working relationships with the high school and have some new projects planned for 2017. Staff Changes For term 4 we welcome back Mrs Jen Hryniuk and Mrs Angela Farrugia who are both returning from maternity leave. Mrs Hryniuk and Mrs Farrugia will work alongside the teachers providing some professional development opportunities in QTSS (Quality Teaching Successful Students) The Quality Teaching, Successful Students (QTSS) initiative is used provide an additional staffing resource allocation to improve the quality of teaching in all primary classrooms. Excursions Over the term Kinder and Year 1 and 2 students attended excursions to Fairfield City Farm (Kinder) and Featherdale Wildlife park (Years 1& 2). I would like to congratulate the students for their behaviour whilst on these excursions. Not only was there behaviour exemplary but students were all correctly attired in their school uniforms with their school hats. Staff at the venues commented on the students’ outstanding behaviour, which is wonderful to hear. Stop, Drop and Go Zone The Stop, Drop and Go Zone is like a quick-moving taxi rank. It has been set up to help parents quickly drop-off their children in front of school every morning. For the safety of the community we ask that you never double park. Only use the Stop, Drop and Go Zone to let your child out and/or pick your child up. Parents are asked to say in the car unless they need to help with bags or seatbelts. If your child is not ready to exit the car, parents are asked to drive around the block and re-join the queue or find a legal place to park. It is recommended that the drop off or pick up should occur within a two minute timeframe. I hope that everyone tries their best to abide by these procedures to ensure the safety of our students and to maximise the zone’s use. School Security During the holidays if you notice any security concerns around our school please call the-

SECURITY HOTLINE 1300 880021

K – 2 Assemblies When Run By Item By

Term 4- Week 2 KK KP

Term 4- Week 4 KL 2J

Term 4- Week 6 KC 1Z & KK

Term 4 – Week 8 Assembly of Excellence

~ I am safe ~ ~ I am respectful ~ ~ I am a learner ~

THURSDAY 22ND 2016 ISSUE 6

James Erskine Public School

Herald Newsletter

The Principal’s Desk

Assembly of Excellence On Thursday 8th September we held our Assembly of Excellence and recognised the achievements of students in mathematics. We also acknowledged students who had obtained their gold level on our school behaviour system. The following students received an award for Excellence in Mathematics; KC – Joel Lee & Boston Long KK- Hugh Tucker & Samuel Spiteri KP- Jiya Malik & Brenden Gallop KL- Morgan Kendrick & Mathaus Hemmings 1C- Hayley Patterson & Jeremy Noake 1P- Jack Jones & Ritzia Arcellana 1Z- Charlie Constenoble & Annika Khov 1/2K- Lucas Allan & Isaac Lee 2J- Jake Harper & Tyler Zerafa 2M- Joseph Lolham & Sebastian Carter 2R- Eshal Masood & Jordon LawtonMc Nee 2/3D- Krish Malik & Mustafa Hassan 3B- Hamilton Learmonth & Ryan Green 3W- Riley Fazekas & Jorja Whelan 3/4D- Mikale Hemmings & Abbi Elliott 4B- Rudra Labh & Cammeron Goddard 4C- Kirithiga Shanthirakumar & Dylan Duncan 5H- Shirley Lolohea & Devesh Singh 5M- Ben Bale & Bella McEachern 5/6L- Adam Collins & Luke Micallef 6B- Stephanie Marton & Erin Short 6C- Jhet Carroll & Matthew Beshay 6F Daniel Borg & Aamya Khosla The following students received their award for Excellent Application and Attitude in Mathematics; KC – Nefes Tunali & Ketey Murphy KK- Caleb Eldridge & Kelsey O’Brien KP- Soleil Leong & Indee Carr KL – James Edwards & Tareq Darwish 1C- Amos Viiga & Levi Latu 1P- Rayyaan Darwish & Riley Felton 1Z- Jacob Stewart & Imogen Mills 1/2K- Alexis Zaragoza & Gavin Gao 2J- Lucas Swain & Chloe Stubbs 2M- Tyrone Moeroa & Sione Taulahi 2R- Lily Youngs & Beau Marcello 2/3D Dominic Gimson & Brent Dunlop 3B- Hamilton Learmonth & Ryan Green 3W Riley Fazekas & Jorja Whelan 3/4D- Julian Martinez & Nekea Talaia 4B- Kayla Raiti & Isaiah Santos 4C- Jayden Cox & Cooper Finnigan 5H- Alec Galea & Tanika Keymes 5M- Mitchell Boulton & Vinoch Vasan 5/6L- Zack Goodwin & Angel- Lina Khov 6B- Logan Latu & Hurairrah Masood 6C- Cooper Rushby & Maddison Williamson 6F- Abbey Dunlop & Paris Baker

Transition to the New Finance & Administration Systems - LMBR

The school office went ‘live’ on the 5 September and has transitioned well onto the new systems. These new

systems provide more effective processes and will enable the school office to better accommodate the needs of our

school community.

Thank you to the office ladies for having a positive attitude and embracing this mammoth change. Well done!

Term 4 Excursions and Activities

There are a number of end of year excursions and activities coming up next term. Notes will be sent home in week

one and payments can be made by cash, cheque and on-line. The ‘$Make a Payment’ tab on the school website has

been updated and is now available for use. This payment option is only available for school payments not P&C.

Notes will be sent home for:

Stage Party Days (K-6)

Year 6 Farewell

Year 6 Graduation Bear/Ball

School Swimming Scheme (120 places only)

NOTE:

For cash/cheque payments please enclose all notes & money are placed in one envelope. To assist the office whilst

receipting multiple cash/cheque payments for your child or children, it is preferred you place all children’s payments

in one envelope.

Office News

School News

Changes to the Daily Collection of Your Children

As the school office is at its busiest between 8.30 to 9.30am and 2.15 to 3.15pm, we would like to encourage

parents/carers to make plans prior to school in regards to changes in pick-up arrangements. We understand that

emergency situations do arise where you need to deter from your usual collection arrangements and we will assist

you as much as we can in relaying this information to your child but it would be more beneficial if you could send a

note with your child for the class teacher so that they are directly aware of any changes and can ensure that your

child remembers what they need to do or where they need to go.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Mandy Anderson

School Administrative Manager

Firstly welcome to the end of another great school term, we would just like to give you a quick update on what the P & C have contributed to the school just this term.

Defibrillator machine which is kept in the office

New PSSA sports uniforms which will be delivered early term 4 We thank you for your ongoing support of all our fundraising and we look forward to continuing to purchase new items and classroom supplies needed for our school. If you would like to join our amazing group of parents on our P & C please come along to one of our meetings to see what it’s all about, we are always looking for new ideas and support. Our next meeting is Wed 19

th October at 9:00am in the staffroom.

Bus Shopping Trip We have just 3 seats remaining on our second bus for our shopping trip on Sunday 23rd October. If you would like to join us for a fun filled day of shopping, great raffle prizes and laughs please contact the P & C. Fathers Day Stall A huge thank you to all the children that purchased gifts for their families for father’s day, we hope you all had a wonderful day. A special thank you to our volunteers at the stall, Sharon Renata, Abby Dabit, Bernadette Marton, Catherine Adamson, Shannon Tinestra, Donna Newton, Tracey Cox and Gaby Zinghini.

Note- Our AGM for this year will at 7pm on WEDNESDAY 16th

NOVEMBER, 2016. We would love to see you there.

Kind Regards Cindy Dettling JEPS P & C Treasurer

Disco

Our end of term disco is on Friday so students may wear mufti on the day. Please remember to wear appropriate footwear! No payments will be accepted on the day.

Public Speaking Competition

Throughout Term 3, students in Years 3 to 6 have been preparing for the annual Public Speaking Competition. All students presented a speech to their class and four students were selected from each class to compete in grade finals. Last week, four finalists from each grade competed in our school finals.

These finalists were-

Year 3- Adriana Borg, Marc Cowan, Rachel Curcuruto, Brent Dunlop Year 4- Georgia Bervis, Conar Fisk, Blake Hodges, Charlotte Vella Year 5- Sophie Alexander, Breanna Fisk, Adrian Tatarinoff, Korbyn Varday Year 6- Hone Clark, Erin Galang, Summer Jitoko, Gabrielle Woodger

P & C News

Year 3 students presented speeches on “Imagine the Future” and Year 4 students spoke on the topic “It came in a box”. Years 5 and 6 had free choice.

The competition was extremely tight and judges Mrs Williams, Mrs Houben and Miss Burton commended all students for their outstanding effort. Congratulations to the following students who will compete in the district finals early next term.

Rachel Curcuruto Year 3 Georgia Bevis Year 4 Korbyn Varday Year 5 Gabrielle Woodger Year 6 Good luck!

Mrs Halfpenny

Steps Music Festival

On 28th July 2016 the senior and junior girls and boys dance group and choir went to Penrith Panthers to perform.

We left school at 10:15 am and got there at 10:30, we rehearsed all day. Also everyone got to watch other schools and the performances were great. After school everyone from the senior girls dance group went to get their hair and makeup organised. When all the girls were there every one of us were excited. When it came to our turn we all went backstage and we were so nervous. After we performed we did a good job and we were proud of ourselves. It was a long day but it was still fun. Written by Tanisha Chetty 5/6L

PBL and Principal’s Awards

Congratulations to all students in K-6 who received an award at the Assembly of Excellence last week. Don’t forget to keep collecting your awards and when you have 5, bring them to Mrs McColgan to arrange for your Principal’s certificate of Merit. (PBL, Merit, Principal’s and Attendance awards only. Bronze, Silver or Gold awards do not count)

Spelling Bee

On Tuesday the 13th of September, Areeba and Andrew from 5/6L, Jordan from 3/4D and Riley from 3W attended the Premiers Spelling Bee School Finals. They all had a great day and represented JEPs with pride. Areeba and Andrew both finished in the top 10! Lots of schools also attended the day that was held at Doonside Public School including: Blacktown Public School, Clairgate Public School, Banks Public School and James Erskine Public School. Written by Andrew Theodoropoulos 5/6L.

Book Week Artwork

For this year’s book week, the theme was Australia, Story Country. 5/6L completed two gigantic artworks. The one I helped with is by Sally Morgan, it is an Aboriginal artwork about the Rainbow Serpent in the Dreamtime. Areeba, Meg, Sam (6F), Rukhailah (6F), Yogashree, Summer, Mrs J.Williams and I all helped with this project and it turned out great! Firstly, we drew the border and painted it, secondly we began drawing every little detail inside the border and carefully painted the rest. It took about a week altogether to complete and all the hard work paid off. I was ecstatic to show off what we had done to for all the parents and family members who came to open day on the 3

rd of

August to see. To me, this artwork shows how beautiful Aboriginal artworks and stories are. Written by Gabrielle.Woodger, 5/6L.

Book Forum

During term 3, a group of Stage 3 students have been involved in a Book Forum, discussing the CBCA shortlisted Picture Books. On Wednesday 31st August they travelled to Clairgate Public School to represent JEPS at the STEPS Book Forum. Each school prepared an art display and a book trailer that was played to the audience. Hone Clarke and Aamya Khosla were the speakers for our school and did a great job answering questions. Everyone had a great time and well done to everyone!

Science at the Erskine Park High School

On the 24th of August 2016 5/6L and Mrs Halicek walked in the drizzly rain to Erskine

Park High School. When we got there Ms Christensen (The Science Teacher) welcomed us there and explained about the science fair last week that was on about drones, droids and robots. She then explained us how to make Wiggle Bots, which drew pictures. We got into 8 different groups of 4 and made the wiggle bot together out of a cup, peg, 2 batteries, two battery holders with two wires attached, a motor and 3 textas. Our group which consisted of Gabrielle.W, Areeba.K, Angel-Lina.K and Jane.L. They turned out as a success and made amazing artworks. We had an amazing time at the High School and wish that we could go there again. By Jane and Angel-Lina, 5/6L.

CARES Excursion

Due to weather conditions the CARES excursion planned for the 25th of August was cancelled. We have tried to book another date, however no other dates were available at either venue. The students who have paid for this excursion (3/4D & 5 students from 4B) will be credited the $11 back towards the end of year party.

Stage 1 - Featherdale Wildlife Park Year 1 and 2 attended Featherdale Wildlife Park in weeks 7 and 8 respectively. They have been learning about Australian animals throughout the term and it was a great opportunity to extend their learning. Children were able read signage, see as well as touch some animals. The students and teachers had a fabulous day. Louise Marchant from 1/2K has written a recount about her experience. On Wednesday I went on an excursion to Featherdale with year 1. My friend Ainsleigh sat with me on the bus and we talked about how excited we were. When we arrived at Featherdale we hopped off the bus and the first thing we saw were birds in cages whistling and singing. We joined our groups and got ready to go. First we saw bilbies then we saw ghost bats. Ainsleigh and I were terrified. We saw three turtles in little lakes, snakes and lizards. One of the snakes was eating a white bird! Then we saw wallabies and kangaroos. We could pat them and feed them grass in ice cream cones. We went into the bird section and saw eagles, owls and two turkeys. After leaving the birds, we saw three wombats. In the farmyard we saw a turkey, black and white pig, lambs, geese, ducks, rabbits and sheep. The last place we visited had two adult dingoes and one dingo pup.

All teachers would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday and we look forward to school returning

on Monday 10th

of October.

Kinder Transition Kinder Transition for students starting Kinder in 2017 has occurred over the last 3 Mondays with students coming up for a play session, a maths session and English session. We had 85 students and it was great to have them getting comfortable with coming to school while providing us with the opportunity to start to know them. Kinder Orientation Kinder Orientation will occur next term on Monday 21st November. On this day parents will meet in the hall and Mrs McColgan will inform parents about routines for the first few weeks of school in 2017. Students will come for another session in the classroom. If you know anyone who has a child of school age for next year and they have not attended transition please let them know about our Kinder Orientation Day. Kinder Farm Excursion Kinder students had a wonderful day at the farm on Wednesday 31st August. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning and build on shared experiences with their peers and teachers. Check out the photos of our day!

Well done to Bella McEachern on her selection in the Sydney West touch team. Bella then competed in the NSW PSSA state carnival in Coffs Harbour. Congratulations on a terrific achievement!

The boys’ state knock out touch team reached round four of the NSW PSSA competition. They were one game short of being the Sydney West champions. Well done!

Congratulations to the school rugby union team for coming 3rd in the state in the Bryan Palmer Shield. We were beaten in the semi-final by Edgeworth PS who went on to win the competition. Well done boys!

Regional Athletics

The Regional Athletics was on Wednesday the 14th of September.

14 JEPS students qualified for Sydney West carnival. They represented JEPs and St Marys PSSA. They all tried their very best in all the events they participated in.

The weather was supposed to be rainy all day but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.

The first event was the 800m. I (Alana) was in that event, it was really hard. I tried my best. I came 14th. Mr Mercer

said this was a fantastic effort!

In the 100m heats many JEPS kids progressed to the final. Nekea came 3rd

in a photo finish and is going to state. Tamia was competing in the 100m final but she just missed out and came 4

th, it was so close.

A couple hours later the relay heats started. The Junior girls qualified for the final and came 3rd

overall. This means we are one of the fastest schools in all of the Sydney West area. It also means we qualified for state. The 4 girls that were running were Tamia as the first runner, Olivia as the second runner, Tamara as the third runner and the last runner was Nekea.

Well done to all the other kids that made it to Regionals. You did great!

Written by: Alana and Olivia (5M)

Sports News

Library News

READING WITH YOUR CHILD AT HOME

READING IS IMPORTANT

Reading has always been an important skill. In our modern world it is more important than ever.

Children learn about the importance of reading as they watch family members use reading and writing for every day purposes.

Reading with your child at home will help your child in all areas of learning at school.

Children see you reading and writing in everyday life - reading for pleasure, sharing a story with your child, using a recipe, making a shopping list, writing a birthday card or reading a street sign. This teaches them that reading and writing are useful skills in today’s world.

Often parents are asked by the school to listen to their child read at home. It’s a good way of supporting your child’s reading. Books may be borrowed from your school library or your local library.

Be confident that your child will learn to read. WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME TO HELP

Be yourself, Involve children in everyday conversations.

Read aloud to your children. It helps them to learn the language of books and will encourage them to enjoy books and reading.

Talk about books, read together and make reading an enjoyable, shared activity.

Make sure there is a wide range of reading material for your child at home, both fiction and non-fiction.

It is important to read to your child in their home language if the first language is not English. Experience shows that using your home language will help your child to learn to read in English.

Try not to let television intrude on reading time. Make a special time for reading with your child, away from interruptions.

Listen to your child read every day, even for a short time.

Give books as treats and presents. HINTS FOR LISTENING TO YOUR CHILD READ

Before reading, talk about the cover, the title, the pictures, and discuss what the book may be about.

During reading, discuss the story so far and try to guess what happens next.

After reading, talk and ask questions about the story and the pictures.

When reading a harder book together, take turns. Beginning readers can read the repetitive parts and more experienced readers can read a paragraph or a page.

On finding an unknown word:

Pause to give your child time to work out the word.

Prompt

- Go back to the beginning of the sentence, or read past the difficult word to the end of the sentence. - Look for the cue in the picture or the words. - Look at the first letter and think about what the word could be. - Ask “Does this make sense?” - Try to break the word. - If necessary tell your child the word. Praise your child for trying even if mistakes are made.

WHAT TO READ AND DO:

Tell and retell stories of all kinds including favourite stories, fairy tales, movie plots, news items and family history.

Play games such as “I spy….something beginning with d”.

Ask your child to read out simple recipes while you cook together.

Read comics, magazines, short stories, poems and rhymes, including nursery rhymes.

Read newspapers together.

Do crosswords and other word puzzles together.

Read the TV guide before watching a program.

Look at letter box leaflets together.

Read directions and signs when driving and shopping.

Read and write notes and letters to family members.

Play board games together and read the rules.

Provide plastic letters, crayons, pencils, pens and writing paper. AND DO REMEMBER….

Discuss the meaning of stories and words.

Encourage your child to read anywhere and at any time.

Let your child see you enjoying reading.

Visit and use a library near you. Borrow books for yourself as well as your child.

Talk to your child’s teacher or the principal for further advice.

Enjoy reading: It should be fun. Dept of School Education