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Ironbark Ridge PS Cnr. Ironbark Ridge Road and Withers Road, Rouse Hill, 2155 Ph: 8814 5687 Fax: 8814 5698 Email: ironbarkrg-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Webpage: www.ironbarkrg-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Nurturing personal growth through inspired learning…

Newsletter 2016

Term 3 Week 9 16th September, 2016

Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful

DATES FOR THE DIARY

SEPTEMBER

21st – China Excursion Departs, Special Awards Assembly 23

rd – ES1 Excursion to Calmsley Hill Farm

23rd

– Last day of term OCTOBER

10th

– Students return to school

** Subscribe to our ‘Ironbark Ridge – Events’ Google calendar (see the app or the school website)

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Year 6 Fun Day A great day of fun activities was had by all today thanks to the hard work and organisation of our Year 5 and Year 6 students. They have been planning, designing and making games, prizes, posters and decorations for their stalls for many weeks. Today was a huge success so congratulations to all involved. The day has raised some extra funds towards the end-of-year celebrations for Year 6. External Validation Tuesday this week was our school ‘Interview’ day as part of our school self-assessment and validation against the Department of Education’s ‘School Excellence Framework’. Many staff across the school contributed evidence and information to support our submission. We, of course, have been shown to be performing extremely well, with future steps made clearer during the process for further growth and development. We look forward to sharing our very positive ‘Report Card’ with our P&C early next term. Huge thanks to all staff involved! One way to become involved in helping us improve is to give us some feedback through the Tell Them From Me survey for parents and carers – now open and mentioned below in Ms Pho’s column. China Tour 2016 We are off to visit Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and Ningbo (where our Friendship School is located) in China next Tuesday. Our 22 students are buzzing with excitement! Look out early next term for a report about our amazing excursion. Parents of attending students will have the opportunity to interact with us all through our online travel blog and via the usual text messages, etc. It’s amazing how close we all stay regardless of physical distance and geographical separation! Uniform transition to Summer With Spring weather arriving, as usual we encourage our students to wear their summer uniform from the Fathers’ Day weekend onwards, if warmer weather warrants. Please also feel free to dress your children in their winter uniform during this transition period until the end of term. However, from the beginning of Term 4 we insist that the correct uniform choice is the school summer uniform.

Hills Performing Arts - Excellence! Not that I'm biased or anything, but our performers last week at the Hills Performing Arts Festival were simply stunning! I was so proud! Well done to our sensational Band, Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 Dance Groups as well as our Choir and School Leaders.

Parking vs Stopping… As you know the streets surrounding Ironbark Ridge school are busy in the mornings and afternoons. The parking/drop-off area directly out the front of the school has two different sets of rules for parking depending on the time of day. In the morning, between 8.30am and 9.30am the rule is ‘No Parking’ which means that you can stop to let students out of the car, and in fact you can get out to assist them with getting their bag out of the boot, etc. However, the rule states you cannot move away from your car – or that would constitute ‘Parking’. For all other times of the day the front of our school is a free parking zone with no time limits… except of course for the Bus Zone. Please make sure you are courteous and aware of other drivers at all times, and we’ll all stay happy MADD 2016 Music, Art, Dance and Drama... Our nextdoor neighbours, Rouse Hill High School, are holding their annual performing arts concert next Monday evening, 19th Sept, from 7pm in their Hall. Our Performance Band will be performing with the combined schools band. Tickets are on sale online (see the flyer later in the newsletter & scan the QR code). Last year's performances were awesome. This year will no doubt lift the bar even higher, so see you there at MADD 2016! Continuing Chess success! Our top chess team are currently playing in a range of finals and today were placed third in Sydney in a special team competition hed at Strathfield. Congratulations on a great effort from Yifu, Edison, Michael, Winston and Kashish. See you soon, Nick Thomson Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Whole School Assembly Next Wednesday afternoon we will be acknowledging many achievements from across the school at our whole school assembly. We will present awards for students involved in: Hawkesbury Eisteddfod, Tournament of the Minds, Debating, Spelling Bee, Athletics ribbons (3-6 and K-2) and Stage 3 Writing Competition. All parents and friends are invited along to share in the achievements of our students. The assembly will begin at 2pm in the school hall.

China… Bon Voyage (yīfānfēngshùn)! 22 students, 5 teachers and 1 parent will all depart for China next Tuesday afternoon. We wish them a safe and exciting journey. Trips such as this do not happen overnight – 18 months of organisation has prepared the students and teachers for the journey - many thanks to Ms Przyrembel for all her hard work and efforts. We look forward to the group sharing lots of photos and stories with us.

Tell Them From Me – Parent and Caregiver Survey We would love to hear your thoughts on our school and how we can improve. Running this survey will help our school understand parents’ and carers’ perspectives on their child’s experience at school. These include: communication between parents/carers and staff, activities and practices at home and parent/carer views on the school's support of learning and behaviour. This valuable feedback will help our school make practical improvements. The survey is conducted entirely online at home or on public computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. The parent survey is live now until 22nd October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, however, your responses are very much appreciated. We will arrange for some of our school computers to be available for those parents who wish to complete the survey in the morning before or after school next week. For those who wish to complete the survey at home, please use the following link:

https://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/mgb67

Maths Forum Thank you to the many parents who came along last Wednesday evening for the Maths Parent Forum. We were absolutely blown away with the response! Mrs Cauchi and Mrs De Jager did an outstanding job presenting the strategies and methods for teaching Maths at our school. As you can see from the photos below, many parents also enjoyed becoming the students!

Hills Performing Arts Festival It was such a pleasure to be on the organising committee for the Hills Performing Arts Festival last Thursday. Our Band, Choir, Kindergarten Dance Group, Year 1 Dance Group and Year 2 Dance Group gave spectacular performances and were a pleasure to supervise on stage and back stage. It takes a great deal of time, energy and imagination to coordinate each performance. Our thanks to Mrs Barton, Mr Hurley, Miss White, Mrs Shorten, Mrs Turner, Mrs Sexton, Mrs Goddard, Miss Furnell, Mrs Pratt, Miss James and Mrs Laws for their hard work and assistance on the evening.

Ridges Athletics Carnival Congratulations to our 55 students who represented Ironbark Ridge at the Ridges Carnival last Friday. It was a wonderful day with terrific sportsmanship and personal best results on show. 12 of these students went on to represent Ridges at the Sydney West Carnival on Wednesday. We couldn’t be more proud of these outstanding representatives. A Parent Planner for Term 4 is included in this newsletter. Please note that some dates are subject to change. Kerrie Pho Deputy Principal

WEEK 8

KB Austin, Bree, Akshay

KG Safwaan, Ella

KT Himanshu, Amber, Jaden

1F Sarvin, Elizabeth, Jeremy, Gwyneth

1G Hayeon, Ariel, Addison

2A Mohammad, Gaeden, Ivin, Shelby

2/3L Jonah, Grace, Shaan, Ben

3/4C Ekam, Jordan, Asher, Henry, Laveshayal

3/4M Jorge, Brody, Hannah, Kematip, Benjamin

3/4W Ali, Daniel, Miguel, Taylor, Jesse

5/6A Emily, Cooper, Chalise, Luke

5/6B Charlotte, Jade, Etana, Montana, Ryan

6S Shreya, Yifu, Connor, Huey

Principal K-2 Choir for an awesome performance

Chinese 5/6B, Charlotte – 5/6B

Library 3/4M, 1F

Art Sarah-3/2L, Paige-3/2L, Sienna-KT, Kiana-KG, Amnah-5/6A

WEEK 9

KD Ishaan, Holly, Amalia

KS Anna,Imogen, Anish

1J Noah, Ashlee, Chanae, Morne, Ruby

1S Trisha, T’miah, Anakin, Charlotte

2I Harmony, James, Rachelle, Nathan

2P Jessie, Austin, Brooklyn, Lara

3/4K Sahaj, Jaymes, Sona

3/4S Harry, Akrisha, Jack, Macayla, Christian

5H Yejin, Owen, Martin, Dhwani, Sussana

5/6J River, Caleb, Tara, Chloe, Mackensie

5/6T Sunya, Aly, Ethan P, Sujal, Jack

Art Hayley-5/4M, Alex-3/4S, Ansh-1S, Chloe-5/6J, Bronte-5/6T, Angela-2P

Chinese 5 Honduras

Library 3/4C, MacKenzie 5/6T, Erika 5/6T, Simone 5/6J

KINDY CAPERS

The end of term is almost here! Congratulations to Kindergarten Bahamas who did an amazing job hosting their very first assembly. Thank you to everyone who supported KB and came to watch. Kindergarten had a fantastic time on Friday as they took part in the Year 6 Fun Day. There were many exciting activities to be involved in and fun was had by all. Well done Year 6 for organising terrific day. Thank you to all of the parent helpers who have assisted in our Kindergarten classrooms this term. The time that you spend with us in the classroom is very much appreciated. If you would like to help out next term and have not done so yet, please let teachers know so they can provide the necessary documentation for you to complete.

This week is the last week for homework in term 3. There will be no homework in last week of school. On Friday, September 23rd Kindergarten will visit Calmsley Hill Farm.

Students will need to: - Wear full uniform, including their hat and jacket; - Bring a strong plastic bag with their name on it that can be

thrown away. - Bring morning tea and lunch in separate plastic bags that are

clearly marked with their name (it is best if students do not bring any containers for their food so that they can throw away their plastic bag when they have finished eating. This reduces the chance of anything being left behind);

- A disposable water bottle with their name clearly marked. Students will depart at 9am and return at 3pm. Continue using Reading Eggs in the holidays. Please have a very happy and safe holiday. We look forward to seeing everyone after the break, ready for term 4. The Early Stage 1 Team

STAGE 1 SNIPPETS

We are days away from the end of Term 3 and what a busy term it has been! Stage One teachers would like to take the time to thank all our students and parents for all their help over the last 9 weeks with the various activities and events that have taken place. It has come to that time of the year where your lovely children will be coming home with requests for more stationery. We still have one more jam packed term to go, so topping up your child’s pencil case with more glue sticks and other stationery will help them to have the tools they need to complete their

daily lessons and activities.

Stage One participated in the drumbeats program in week 6 and loved it. The session was fun, engaging and allowed every student who attended, a chance to work on their rhythm and beat whilst trialling different types of drums. In Geography this semester, students have

been looking at seasons and weather and have been enjoying learning about wind and rain in more detail. The students even got to participate in different experiments relating to wind, with some classes making tornadoes in a bottle and others making paper bag kites. These fun experiments have been an excellent way for students to learn more about the weather.

Year One and Year Two dance groups attended the Hills Performing Arts Festival at Penrith Panthers last Thursday and represented Ironbark Ridge beautifully. They displayed safe, respectful and responsible behaviour throughout the long day of dress rehearsals and late night performances. It was a delight to watch our excellent little dancers proudly perform their dances that they have been working hard to perfect over the past 8 months. Thank you goes out to all the parents and teachers who helped the Year One and Year Two dance groups, it was a great team effort!

Stage 1 Teachers

STAGE 2 SNIPPETS

It has been another busy term for the students in Stage 2. Fortunately, with time running out, the rain stayed away and the last two Year 3 classes were able to attend their CARES excursion. Although it was quite cold in the morning, the sun eventually shone and the students in 3/2L and 3/4L had a fantastic day. They practised stopping at red lights, giving way to oncoming traffic and riding on the correct side of the road. We are pleased to report that not one student lost their licence, although Mrs Laws and Miss Lewis had a lot of fun issuing demerit points.

Students in Stage 2 were also very fortunate to be given a chance listen to a ‘rock’ talk by Annelise Walker, who bought along her extensive rock collection for our students to view. Students were able to see examples of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks, as well as gemstones, fossil samples and a space rock that scientists estimate formed over 135 million years ago. The students were

fascinated with the samples they saw and asked lots of thoughtful questions, adding to their knowledge of our integrated unit, ‘Beneath Our Feet’. As we approach the end of term and the weather warms up, students are now able to transition to the summer school uniform. Winter school uniform can still be worn until the end of term 3. Winter PSSA has now concluded for the year, with summer PSSA resuming from the first week of term 4.

Many students are now running low on school essentials, with lead pencils and glue being in short supply. The holidays are a great time for students to restock, ready for another busy term of learning.

Stage 2 teachers

STAGE 3 SNIPPETS

Another busy term has come to an end. Firstly I would like to congratulate the Stage 3 students who attended the Ridges Athletics Carnival. A special mention to Lucy, Sienna, Charlotte, Ruby, Jacob, Kye, Ethan, Adam, Srinidhi and Max, who progressed through to the Sydney West Athletics Carnival. We have some superstars amongst us! Year six has worked extremely hard to organise our annual Funday, which was held today. What a fun-filled day it was! Thank you to all parents for your support towards the preparation of this event. Let us not forget about the Year 5’s who have become little entrepreneurs during Kidz Biz preparation, looking forward to seeing their skills and talents showcased next term. The term has come to an end and unfortunately so has our debating. This year we had two debating teams who represented Ironbark in two competitions, the Blacktown District Debating and the NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge. For most of these students, this was their first time debating and what a fantastic job they did! To cap off the debating session in style, Team 1 placed 2nd in the Premier’s Debating Challenge. Congratulations to Darshpreet and Jordan who attended the Regional Senior Spelling Bee Finals yesterday at Quakers Hill Public School. It has been a fantastic term, yet again, filled with opportunities within and beyond the classroom. We wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday and looking forward to an even bigger and more fun-filled Term 4. Stage 3 Teachers

Spelling Bee

On Thursday 15th September, we had four amazing students represent our school at the regional finals of the NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee. Representing Stage 2 in the junior competition, Aditya and Liam. Representing Stage 3 in the senior competition, Darshpreet and Jordan. Overcoming nerves, the boys stepped up to the challenge and spelt their words with confidence and poise. Both Aditya and Darshpreet progressed through to round 5, Jordan to round 4 and Liam to round 3. What a fantastic effort from all four boys, they should be extremely proud of their achievements!

Miss Antoniazzi

Celebrating Diwali at school! ‘

Diwa’ means ‘Lamp’. ‘Diwali’ means the Festival of Lights. ‘. It is the most significant festival celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs around the world and is a National holiday in countries like Fiji, Singapore, Nepal,

Malaysia and India. This year the festival falls on the 30th of October.

At Ironbark Ridge we are extremely proud and privileged to have students from diverse multicultural backgrounds. We would like to nurture this diversity and plan to celebrate ‘Diwali’ at school this year

on Thursday, 27th October! We would like to extend an invitation to parents, grandparents and carers who could help us celebrate ‘Diwali’ at school. If you enjoy making the intricate ‘Rangoli’ patterns please walk into the Library on

Thursday, Term 4 week 1(13th October) at 3pm. We would be keen to meet and share some ideas from the Parent Community!

Mrs Cameron, Mrs Childs and Ms Dhillon

(Multicultural Committee)

Chinese News!

Science Technology – Jordan, Muskan, Annabel, Noah, Dhwani, Meejee and Claire.

Nǐmen hǎo! 你们 好!

Only a few days to go and we will be on our way to China! The students and teachers are so excited. We will be visiting 4 major cities – Beijing, Xi’An, Ningbo and Shanghai.

The fun begins! Home

In Beijing we will be visiting the Forbidden Palace – home of the Emperors for hundreds of years, climbing The Great Wall, The Temple of Heaven, The Drum Tower for an amazing musical performance and the Zoo to see the Pandas. We will also have traditional Peking Duck for dinner and see a Kung Fu Show. We will then take a 5 hour trip on the bullet train to Xi’An, China’s Ancient Capital city and home of the extraordinary Terracotta Warriors. We will be cycling on the city wall and visiting the Wild Goose Pagoda, an ancient Buddhist Temple, and then finally enjoying a traditional Dumpling dinner after a light and fountain display in the town square. In Ningbo, we will visit the Nine Dragon Lake Primary School where we will have the opportunity to experience school life in China. We will see a traditional flag raising ceremony, do some Chinese painting, learn the art of the tea ceremony, participate in a dragon dance class and learn how to make rice dumplings (and eat them!) We will also join in a game of basketball and have a go at playing some traditional Chinese instruments. Before we head off to Shanghai we will visit the Xuedou Monastery and climb the steps to the Giant Buddha. In Shanghai, we will be visiting a Science and Tech Museum, the beautiful Yuyuan Gardens, going up the amazing Pearl (Telecommunications) Tower and shopping at the local markets. More amazing food and an Acrobatic show will finish off our extraordinary tour. We are all extremely grateful for this opportunity, it will be an amazing experience for the students and it will definitely improve their language skills and understanding of the Chinese culture.

We will let you all know how it went when we get back! 再见！Zàijiàn!

Mrs Przyrembel – Chinese Teacher K-6

COMMUNITY NOTICES

DISCLAIMER:

Ironbark Ridge Public School newsletter contains paid advertisements which assist with the cost of publication. The publication of such advertisements does not imply endorsement of any product or service by the NSW Department of Education and Communities or Ironbark Ridge Public School.

Try something new. Give hockey a go this summer.

Join a 9 week program starting week of Monday 10 October.

Training will incorporate skills, development and fun games.

Wednesday evenings at Jonas Bradley Reserve, The Ponds:

5:15- 6pm 6- 8 yr olds

6- 7pm 9- 11 yr olds

7- 8pm 12- 14 yr olds

8- 9pm open age

Or Thursday evenings at Cavanagh Reserve, Lalor Park:

5:30- 6:30pm 9- 11 yr olds

6:30- 7:30pm 12- 14 yr olds

7:30- 8:30pm open age

Saturday afternoon games Also or instead you can participate in 4 a side games on Saturday

afternoons commencing from 3pm at

Cavanagh Reserve, Lalor Park

Fees from $35 per player, $100.00 family cap.

For more information go to;

hockeyblacktown.org.au or kingslangleyhockey.org.au