Term 2 – Week 10 – 3rd July 2019

Principal’s Report

Wow! Wow! Wow! What great things are happening

at Hamilton Public School! We have achieved and

celebrated so much as a school in the last fortnight.

To start with, our NAIDOC celebrations this week

have been exceptional, especially with the opening of

our newly constructed yarning circle. Our official

opening on Monday morning held such meaning and

importance that it brought a tear to many an eye as

we celebrated and highlighted the importance of

Aboriginal culture especially through the eyes of our

local Elders, Aunty June Rose and Uncle Bill Smith

and

the cultural tradition of a smoking ceremony. Our

yarning circle is the culmination of a shared vision,

and a strong commitment and hard work from Jon

Morris, David Mathieson, Alex Nean, the Aboriginal

Education Committee and our students. It will serve

as an integral part of Aboriginal Education within our

school for years to come. Please allow yourself time

to have a close look at the yarning circle and its

associated design and artwork and have a chat with

your child about its significance. I am very pleased to

announce that The Adamstown Lion’s Club are kindly

donating $2000 to go towards the cost of building the

yarning circle. The school greatly appreciates this significant contribution. I would like to express our

gratitude to John Mulhearn and Alan and Lorraine Gelder for attending our opening ceremony on

Monday on behalf of The Lions Club of Adamstown.

In addition, we have participated in the very enriching Koomurri incursion last week and have

enjoyed the wonderful talents of our students in the Performance Centre every afternoon this week,

as they perform dramatic interpretations of Aboriginal Dreaming Stories. In addition, we have a

NAIDOC Assembly on Friday featuring our Didgeridoo Group, Aboriginal Girl’s Dance Group and

the Callaghan College Dance Troupe followed by a kangaroo sausage sizzle. What a way to

celebrate and highlight the culture of the oldest known civilization on the planet. Thank you to all

parents who were able to attend and support some of these activities this week and a huge thank

you to all the parents who have assisted in the activities this week. In addition, a big shout out to

Bianca Price for working with the students to cook delicious damper for official guests at Monday

morning’s official opening. Simply delicious!!

Our school and our students have showcased so many talents in many other areas in the last two

weeks including great results in debating, multi-cultural public speaking, showcases of

learning in open classrooms in Kindergarten, Stage 1 and Stage 3. We have seen QR codes

connected to historical artefacts in Stage 1, Museums in Motion in Stage 3 and goats and boats and

rivers and bridges in Kindergarten. It is so rewarding to be able to showcase our learning and have

so many parents come along to celebrate their child’s efforts. Well done, teachers, girls and boys!!

Class KMA arrangements The community has been previously advised that Mrs Madden (Class KMA) will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 2, and Mrs Eloise Hall will be taking over the class at the beginning of Term 3. We have had to make a little change to that original arrangement as we have just been informed that Mrs Hall is also now pregnant and will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 3 (don’t drink the water in that classroom!!) and Mrs Madden would like to return to work for 3 days a week in Term 4. In response, the following arrangements have been made.

In Term 3, Eloise Hall will work with the students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Tracey Cresnar (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) will work with the students on Thursday and Friday. The children in KMA are very familiar with both Mrs Hall and Mrs Cresnar. Then, in Term 4, Mrs Madden will return to the class part-time working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Cresnar continuing on the class for Thursday and Friday. The children are so lucky to have such talented teachers delivering their curriculum. 2020 enrolments If you have a child starting school in 2020 could you please collect an enrolment form from the office or download a copy from the school website for completion so that we can update our records ready for orientation commencing in September. Attendance Your child’s absences from school this semester are recorded on the Semester 1 school report that went home yesterday. For your child to receive the best outcomes educationally, socially and emotionally, an attendance rate of greater than 95% is expected. Over the course of a year, a 95% attendance rate equates to an absenteeism rate equal to or less than 10 days per year. It is a mandatory requirement that absenteeism is monitored and parents are kept informed. To achieve this end, as of next term, the school will be issuing Attendance Letters to students whose attendance rates fall below 85%. This will ensure that parents are informed and gives families and the school the opportunity to work together to improve a child’s attendance. It is so very pleasing that at our school the majority of our students have achieved excellent attendance rates. Parent Portal Next term, we will be implementing a Parent Portal through the company Sentral which will allow us to provide a one-stop shop for all notes, communication, reports and payments. More information about this initiative will be forthcoming early next term.

P & C Meeting Last week, we held our 4th P & C meeting for the year at a different venue and in a different time

slot. I believe that the 7.00pm commence time was far more practical for parents as we had a

bigger turnout and a more successful meeting. It was so lovely to see some new faces on the night

(as well as the old ones!!).Please find the Principal’s Report (presented at the P & C meeting),

attached to this newsletter.

Sustainability at Hamilton Public School

As part of the NSW curriculum, there are three cross

curriculum priorities taught in schools. These are

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and

cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

and Sustainability. The Sustainability priority provides

the opportunity for students to develop an appreciation

of the necessity of acting for a more sustainable future

and so address the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain

all life and meet the needs of the present without

compromising the needs of future generations.

This priority will allow all our students to develop the

knowledge, skills, values and world views necessary for

them to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable

patterns of living. It will enable individuals and

communities to reflect on ways of interpreting and

engaging with the world. The Sustainability priority is

futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments

and creating a more ecologically and socially just world

through informed action. Actions that support more

sustainable patterns of living require consideration of

environmental, social, cultural and economic systems

and their interdependence.

The Sustainability priority calls on students to act

sustainably as individuals and to participate in collective

endeavours that are shared across local, regional and global communities. Our students are

exposed to these concepts through our teachings and focus on the United Nations 17 Goals for

Sustainability (see below). In addition, at Hamilton Public School we will be teaching students

these concepts through the philosophy of make, break, take, cake, which will provide them with

practical day – to – day approaches in the area of sustainability.

Please take the time to read through these beautiful signs, created by our very wonderful Kate

Murray (thank you KATE!!) which have been placed around the school. We want this to be a

philosophy that students can truly understand and embrace at both home and school. From the start

of next term, we will be focusing on building the knowledge and practise of these concepts across

the school.

It has been a wonderful term and a truly spectacular week of learning that leads us into the school

holidays. (They seem to arrive so quickly!). I hope that everyone has a restful, healthy and

rejuvenating break and I look forward to seeing you in Term 3.

Warmest regards Meredith Lindsay

Debating

Our Premier debaters

participated in a debate against

Newcastle East this week. The

topic was “All school learning

should be completed on a

computer.” Our team was

negative. Unfortunately, we did

not win this round, however, we

all agree that we learnt plenty of

valuable lessons through this

round. Can’t wait for our next

debate in the fishbowl next

Thursday 4th July at 10am.

Audience welcome!

Train on debaters participated

in our second debating gala day last Friday. Hamilton played host to 6 teams from local schools. On

this day, Hamilton competed in 4 debates and hosted a total of 10 debates. We did very well winning

all 4 of our debates. Most importantly, we all had fun and learned invaluable lessons along the way.

Thank you to our wonderful Premier debaters, as well as Isla, Zoe and Jessie who acted as mentors,

chair people, hosts and timekeepers on the day.

Special thanks to Sasha who has joined our Premier debating team.

Library Report It is great to see so many children completing the Premier’s Reading

Challenge these past few weeks. The holidays are a great time to read

those last few books you need to complete the challenge. Years 2-6 can

log these books at home. You need to access the student portal and then

the Premier’s Reading Tab. For Kindergarten and Year 1 children, they will

get assistance from Mrs Nelmes at school to complete this challenge.

New books in our library this week;

Goat in a boat - a book about welcoming others.

The Hole Idea - how to find the perfect idea for a story.

So She Did, The Story of May Wirth - the world’s greatest bareback riding queen.

Book Fair

Coming up next term!!! Hear all about it!! …

We will be having a Scholastic Book Fair! This is an opportunity for children to

purchase books from Scholastic at school during Education Week. There will

be some great titles available to purchase.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability We are currently undertaking the National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). All government and non-government schools participate in the collection of nationally consistent data on school students with disability.

We will be collecting information already available in the school about the support that is being provided to students with a disability. Better data will help the Government plan for students with disability. The data collection will have no direct impact on your child and they will not be involved in any testing process.

The data provided to the Australian Government by the NSW Department of Education and Communities is provided in such a way that it cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.

The NSW Department of Education and Communities follows the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Schools will collect, record, store and use data about individual students in line with these requirements. Data security and protection is a priority and students’ personal details will be kept confidential.

Further information about the national data collection can be found on the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website at https://www.education.gov.au/notices

If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Stage 3 excursion

A quick reminder that the second instalment for our Stage 3

excursion is now due.

Koomurri Incursion

All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 enjoyed a full day incursion with the Koomurri group last

week. On this day students enjoyed participating in a variety of activities including storytelling,

digeridoo, art, artefact analysis song and dance. We thoroughly enjoyed learning from such a

knowledgeable and talented group of people. The students all contributed to a major artwork

depicting Aboriginal culture. The challenge now is to work out how to mount this large piece and

where to hang it! It is a beautiful creation and we are looking forward to finding the right place to

showcase this collective piece. Keep your eyes open!

Save the Tigers

Congratulations to those students who organised this

worthwhile event.

We raised $340.

Museums In Motion Last Wednesday, Stage 3 hosted a Museum in Motion afternoon. This was a highly successful day where students had an opportunity to show their hands-on work and showcase their research skills. All students prepared a diorama of a specific event in Australia’s history and prepared a presentation on one significant Australian. Students dressed up and impressed us with their amazing characterisation skills (not to mention their vast knowledge). The activity was not only fun and highly engaging it was purposeful and allowed students to demonstrate a wealth of knowledge. FANTASTIC work Stage 3! Thank you to all those family and friends who came along to enjoy the displays and demonstrations by our talented students.

Yarning Circle Opening

Nature News

Nature is full of loose parts that can be moved, manipulated, constructed, deconstructed and used creatively. Loose parts stimulate children’s natural curiosity and inventiveness, and provide opportunities for open-ended play.

The theory of loose parts states that “in any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it” (Nicholson, S. 1972)

At HPS we are providing opportunities for children to engage with loose parts play with natural and synthetic materials. This makes their play environments more inspiring and engaging.

As the year progresses we will be adding more parts such as pipes, ropes and crates (and asking for your help to get these!). In the meantime please continue to bring natural objects into the play spaces to enhance our children’s play.

“I love the imagination and natural engineering skills the kids have & are figuring out –it makes my

engineering heart sing! To me the essence of engineering is thinking of something to build, trying to build it,

but if/when it doesn't work then you think some more & try it another way, persevering until you get there.

You can see this happening all over HPS!” Parent of 2 HPS children.

Nicholson, S. (1972). The Theory of Loose Parts, An important principle for design methodology. Studies in Design Education Craft & Technology, 4(2).

Star Struck 2019

Congratulations to our amazing Star Struck Choir and Star Struck Dance group who were sensational on stage as part of Star Struck 2019 No Limits. We are very proud of our shining stars!

Mrs Mullard (choir) and Mrs Forrester (dance)

Principal’s P & C Report 26th June 2019

School Organisation

Office Staff Changes

We have had a rocky period in the office this year and especially this term with our wonderful Martine Campbell on leave due to a broken shoulder injury. Martine will be returning next term along with Jessica Llowreach who will be moving into the position of School Administration Manger. Jessica is highly experienced and confident in this role and we are all very excited to welcome her to our wonderful school. I am looking forward to now getting systems streamlined and processes brought up-to-date. I would like to thank members of the community for their patience with the office administration this last semester and school staff for stepping in and assisting.

RSL thank you

Merewether-Hamilton -Adamstown RSL Sub-branch has extended an invitation to myself and a member of the P & C to attend a luncheon to be held on Sunday 7 July 2019 at South Leagues Club Llewelyn Street Merewether to recognise the contributions of Hamilton Public School to the success of the 2019 Hamilton Anzac Day Dawn Service, This is a very generous gesture and I look forward to representing our school at this event.

Class KMA arrangements

The community has been previously advised that Mrs Madden (Class KMA) will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 2 and Mrs Eloise Hall will be taking over the class at the beginning of Term 3. We have had to make a little change to that original arrangement as we have just been informed that Mrs Hall is also now pregnant and will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 3 (don’t drink the water in that classroom!!) and Mrs Madden would like to return to work for 3 days a week in Term 4. In response, the following arrangements have been made. In Term 3, Eloise Hall will work with the students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Tracey Cresnar (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) will work with the students on Thursday and Friday. The children in KMA are very familiar with both Mrs Hall and Mrs Cresnar. Then, in Term 4, Mrs Madden will return to the class part-time working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Cresnar continuing on the class for Thursday and Friday. The children are so lucky to have such talented teachers delivering their curriculum.

Parent Portal

Next term we will be implementing a Parent Portal through the company Sentral which will allow us to provide a one-stop shop for all notes, communication, reports and payments. More information about this initiative will be forthcoming.

Playground Improvement Project

Timber Creations have visited our school and worked on a couple of designs to provide climbing structures for the students in the junior playground. I am currently waiting for the quotes to come through so that we can start working on a plan moving forward.

Nature play at the school is thriving. We are aiming to move forward with the next stages (brush fencing, more clay, natural resources, pipes, storage, plants and shrubs etc) once the school raises enough funds to cover the costs. Any donations of old pots and pans etc. for the bush kitchens would be wonderful.

Blue Gate Garden

We are very excited to have Suzy Bates come on board to work in the Blue Gate Garden. We are looking forward to working with Suzy in ensuring the garden flourishes and becomes an enriching learning environment for the students.

School Maintenance Fence

We have a neighbouring fence behind the basketball courts that is falling due to a weakness in the retaining wall. This will be repaired and restored during the upcoming school holidays.

Renovations

The school ramps and office reconstruction will commence early next term and will be completed before the end of Term 4. As soon as I have the overall plan and timeline I will communicate the process moving forward.

Aboriginal Education Yarning Circle Official opening

Next Monday, July 1st will be the official opening of our new yarning or learning circle. The opening will commence at 10.15 and we will enjoy the boy’s Didgeridoo group, the girl’s Aboriginal Dance group and a smoking ceremony conducted by Uncle Bill Smith. We will also have special guests attending including an Aboriginal elder from our area, Aunty June. We are very proud of our yarning circle and the amazing contributions and hard work of Alex Nean, Jon Morris, David Mathieson, our Aboriginal Education Team and our students. What wonderful things we can create when we all work together.

NAIDOC Week and NAIDOC shirts

This week we started our NAIDOC celebrations with the Koomurri Incursion which was an absolutely brilliant opportunity for students to learn more about and participate in various aspects of Aboriginal culture. Next week students will participate in a lot of activities culminating in a kangaroo sausage sizzle on the Friday. Any student who has purchased a NAIDOC shirt will be able to wear the shirt every day next week. It is going to be a wonderful week of celebration.

Upcoming Events Term 2

Upcoming Events Term 3

Day Date Time Event Monday-Friday 1st-5th July NAIDOC Celebrations

Thursday 4th July 9:30-2:00pm Children’s University On-Campus Excursion

Friday 5th July 9.15 NAIDOC Week Assembly and Performance

ICAS Test permission deadline

Day Date Time Event Monday 22nd July All day Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 23rd July Students Return To School

Wednesday 24th July

Thursday 25th July Allocated Time Sports Swimming

Friday 26th July National Tree Planting Day

Monday 29th July Hunter Dance Festival (HDF)

Tuesday 30th July Newcastle High School Information Evening/HDF

Wednesday 31st July 11:00 – 2:30 Year 2 Civic Theatre Excursion “The Twits”/HDF

Thursday 1st August Train On Debate Gala/Sports Swimming/HDF

Friday 2nd August