Term 2 Week 9

Principal’s Message Dear Parents

School planning and target setting are ongoing processes in every school and as we near the end of the current

three year cycle we examine our data and survey responses and determine our future directions. On Saturday we

are conducting a School Development Day (in lieu of 20.12.11) where our focus will very much be on forward

planning. The Department’s current priorities of Literacy, Numeracy, Teacher Quality and Connected Learning will

guide our discussions as we assess our achievements and areas for future development . During Term 3 I will be

asking parents to participate in focus groups to ensure input and a community perspective in the school’s 2012-

2014 Strategic plan.

Yesterday I met with our Home School Liaison Officer (HSLO), Mrs Glenyce Towers and we reviewed those

students whose absences exceed 85% of the year to date. We are also concerned by the number of students who

are regularly late to school and missing valuable literacy time. Some parents will receive a phone call to offer

assistance or a letter to arrange an appointment to again offer support. I have included an information sheet

regarding attendance in this Bulletin for your consideration. If you have any questions regarding attendance or if

you intend taking a family holiday during school term please contact the office for the appropriate information.

Next Monday (27th) we will be completing this year’s school photographs with the sporting teams, the whole school

photo and the band plus any individuals who may have been missed on the original day last term. Band students

will need to bring their uniform and if you require an individual photograph please contact the office tomorrow. Mr

Kuchling will be organising the timetable.

Congratulations to our netball girls and boy’s softball on their successes this week. Thank you to Ms Wand, Mrs

Saurins and Ms McDonald for their ongoing commitment to these teams. Julie Settimo and Nick Ilievski are also to

be congratulated on their achievements during the Bookfair and Starstruck. Well done!

Reports have now been mostly completed and I am working my way through the reading and signing. It is a

pleasure to see the progress made by so many students and again I thank my staff for their commitment to each

student and their individual needs.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a fine day next Tuesday!

Nielsine Oxenford

Principal

Information about absences partial/full day from the HSLO What should I do if my child is late for school? It is important that children arrive at school in time to commence the day’s activities. Students are expected to be punctual out of respect for other members of the class. All parents/caregivers must ensure that their children arrive at school on time. Classes start at 9.00am so all children should be at school before this time. It can be very disruptive if your child continually arrives late for class. Parents bringing children to school after the commencement of the teaching program are asked to go via the Office and fill in a Late Pass, which is then handed to the classroom teacher. This will ensure that your child is not marked absent. How do I arrange for my child to leave school early? If an occasion occurs when you need to take your child early, it is required that you notify the child’s teacher in writing and sign the child out at the Office before collecting your child. NB: If a person other than a parent is calling for the child, the school must be notified in writing prior to collection. (If an emergency arises, a telephone call from the parent to the school prior to collection of the child will be acceptable). Some interesting facts regarding absences and lateness to school. Did you know....

If your child is regularly late they miss huge amounts of learning time, regular lateness has the same impact as absenteeism.

Missing one day a week from school from Kindergarten to year 10 means missing two years and one term of schooling.

There is a direct correlation between attendance and achievement.

Frequent absences make it difficult for teachers who have to continually re-teach information skills.

Being 15 minutes late to school a week equals to missing 5 hours a term and 20 hours a year of missed schooling.

Patterns of attendance/absence are set up in the early years of schooling.

Being absent five days a term from Kindergarten to year 10 adds up to more than one year of missed schooling.

Poor attendance makes it difficult for students to form positive relationships with their peers.

From the Deputy

From the Deputy.....

Memories of Mrs Weller If you are anything like me you try to avoid the camera at all costs. Perhaps Mrs Weller was the same. When Mrs O’Neill was searching for photos of Mrs Weller to create a special memories book for her children to treasure, few photos of her at school could be found. We would like to ask for your help. If you have any photos or even stories that you could contribute toward a memories book we would love to hear from you. Similarly, if your child wishes to write, draw or create a special tribute to Mrs Weller their input would also be greatly appreciated. If you could please pass any items on to myself (Mrs White) or to the office, we can help keep Mrs Weller’s beautiful soul alive.

Julie Settimo reads her way to a grand prize!

Scholastic Book Fairs were running a promotion during May in conjunction with National Family Reading Month. For any school holding a Book Fair during May, the students were invited to make a pledge to 'Read More in May'. By doing this, they were entered into a competition where the individual student could win $250 worth of books and that student’s school would win $1000 worth of books. Julie Settimo 6C was the winner. Congratulations to Julie on scoring herself and our school such fantastic prizes that we can all benefit from. Thank you also to Mrs Southward for organising the Book Fair, inspiring a love of reading and entering any interested students into the competition.

Public Speaking is another winner

Public speaking is an important part of the English Syllabus and as such develops confidence and self esteem in

addressing an audience. Last Thursday was the finals of our Public Speaking competition where class

representatives from each year were able to present their prepared speech to a captive audience.

Mrs Sue Hudson was our experienced public speaking adjudicator for the day. She judged each speech based on

the following criteria; creativity and originality of the introduction, choice of topic, sustained audience engagement,

presentation as well as creativity and originality of the conclusion. There were a wide range of topics chosen by the

students which included; ” I Am a Dolphin”, “ How to Avoid Eating Vegetables”, “My Dog Skip”, “The Simpsons”, as

well as more serious topics on “Racism” and “Should Children do NAPLAN?”

Every student throughout the school needs to be recognised for participating in the program. Mrs Hudson our

adjudicator was very impressed by the fact that all speeches had been prepared by the children at school under the

***IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY*** DATE ACTIVITY PAYMENT DUE

22/6/2011 Netball Gala Day, BANDLINK

23/6/2011 BANDLINK, Soccer Knockout , Pizza Day

24/6/2011 Hunter Boys Softball

27/6/2011 Sport Photos

29/6/2011 Reports Go Home

30/6/2011 Basketball Gala

1/7/2011 End of Term 2, NAIDOC Day – Tree Planting

Positive Affirmation – I accept compliments graciously. This affirmation is about Confidence.

When was the last time you received a compliment?

Whether it be about your appearance, something that you have done well, or just simply

about you – your kindness or your thoughtfulness to help others. Being able to give and accept compliments is a key part of building your confidence.

guidance of classroom teachers. The main objective for everyone was to learn how to write and deliver a speech.

Our audience on the day which included proud parents, would have to agree that the children presented

themselves well and can be very proud of their efforts.

Congratulations again to everyone and particularly to the following students who represented their class with great

enthusiasm and style. Thank you to Anderson Magri and Taylah Cole for running the competition smoothly as well

as Hayley Banks and Mitchell King for their timekeeping.

Brieanna Anderson KB, Ashby Allen 2/3J and Anna Leman 1/2R

proudly display their Public Speaking certificates and trophies.

Hayden Langholz 3R explaining to the audience

how to avoid eating your vegetables.

Watch out if you find corn stuck in mashed potato

attached to the underside of your dining room table.

Sophie Ormerod - KB

Tom Breasley - KP

Brayden Rodway - KS

Brieanna Anderson - KB and Kindergarten Winner

Thomas Saultry - 1DJ

Riley Gardner - 1EG

Alana Bradshaw - 1L

Anna Leman - 1/2R and Year One Winner

Makenzi Harvey - 1/2R

Anna Hughes - 2H

Ashleigh Ball - 2G

Ashby Allen - 2/3J and Year Two Winner

Emily Collins – 2/3J

Mikaela Jensen – 3A

Caitlin Shaw – 3A

Hayden Langholz – 3R and Year Three Winner

Lily McCudden – 3R

Lainey Fibbens – 3/4O

Isaac Ireland – 3/4O

Kaitlyn Callaghan – 4F

Zac Milton – 4F

Danielle Griffiths – 4K

Jack Beeton – 4K and Year 4 Winner

Hannah Guest – 4/5W

Jack Beeton 4K calling his dog Skip!

Jack Beeton and Hayden Langholz

6G

Debaters perform well in Gala Day at Jewells Public School

Congratulations to our Division 2 Debating Team consisting of Jasmine

Hudson 5V, Amanda Stokes 5V, Emma Hodgson 5/6G, Tal Nelson 6C

and Laura Reilly 5/6G (team advisor) who participated in a Debating Gala

Day at Jewells Public School last Thursday. Mrs Saurins was the

innovator of the debating gala day concept and it is proving to be very

successful throughout the district. Our team argued through three topics

during the course of the day. The topics included; “today’s children do too

much”, “the environment will look after itself” and “science has gone too

far.” The children were well prepared and represented our school proudly.

They had some very convincing points of view and were able to rebut

persuasively with the team experiencing success in two out of the three

debates. Well done team and the overall learning experience was the

winner on the day.

The Debating Team – Amanda Stokes, Tal Nelson, Emma Hodgson, Laura Reilly, Jasmine Hudson (absent)

Katie Collins – 4/5W

Sarah Longworth – 5/6M

Lachlan Capararo – 5V

Jasmine Hudson – 5V

Siena Allen – 5/6G and Year Five Winner

Trudi Peterson – 5/6M and Year Six Winner

Cassidy Gu - 5/6G

Joshua Laity – 6P

Zali Davis – 6C

Year 6 students Josh Laity,

Trudi Peterson, Zali Davis and

Cassidy Gu.

Year 5 finalists

Sarah Longworth 5/6M, Jasmine Hudson 5V, Katie Collins 4/5W and

Siena Allen 5/6G

Nick Ilieveski shines at Starstruck Last week our talented drummer Nick Ilievski of 5/6G performed at Starstruck. Nick was chosen to play at Starstruck after having joined the Hunter Central Coast Regional Big band only a month ago. In the concert Nick drummed to the song “Capture the Moment” which was the theme title for this year’s Starstruck. Nick was centre stage and spotlighted, performing magnificently during each show. The band that Nick is with is now practising to play at the Jazz Festival in Newcastle at the end of August. What a talent and a star of the future!

We also celebrate that Mr Faulkner, our lovely Year Four teacher assisted at Starstruck by tutoring the vocal

soloists for their performances.

Our Fabulous Aerobics Teams

Mathletics Champ 4K

Caleb Robertshaw was a massive help to his class this week when he contributed over 3000 points toward 4K’s

overall class tally to ensure they were Mathletics champions for this week. Well done Caleb on this superb effort!

Floraville P.S – Now Targetting Quality Work

Office Office hours 8.30am to 3.15pm

Please make sure you have the correct money when paying for activities or excursions. Please note we do not have EFTPOS. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK LOST PROPERTY IF YOUR CHILD HAS MISPLACED ANY OF THEIR BELONGINGS.

School News

KINDERGARTEN 2012 The Kindergarten transition to school process is ready to begin. If you know anybody who may have a child starting school in 2012 please ask them to contact our office. Below are the dates for our transition process.

Date

Event

Venue

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Parent Information Evening

School Assembly Hall 7pm

Wednesday 14th September 2011

Picnic with Year 6 2012 Buddies (snack provided for children by P&C) Tour of school with buddy.

Meet outside the hall at 11:45am

Thursday 13

th October 2011

Library Visit Singing Activity Uniform shop open

Meet outside the hall at 9.15am

Thursday 27 October 2011

Classroom visit for children with Buddies

Meet outside the hall at 9.15am

Thursday 17th November 2011

Classroom visit for children. P&C morning tea for parents. Uniform Shop open.

Meet outside the hall at 9.15am

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Sausage Sizzle for Kindergarten

families from 2011 and 2012 to welcome you to the Floraville family.

Grass area in front of school from 5.30 – 7.30pm

Parents are also welcome to bring their child to one of our school assemblies. These are held: Monday afternoon at 2.25pm – Whole School Assembly Every second Thursday afternoon at 2.10pm - Infants Assembly These events will familiarise your child with further aspects of our school. If you require any further information at any time please contact Jenny Barclay on 49454845.

On Tuesday our students had a visit from the local lifeguards to discuss water safety issues

Sport News Primary Athletics Carnival at Baxter Field

The Primary carnival will be held next Tuesday 28th June and a back up day has been booked for Thursday 30

th

June. The carnival will be run at Baxter field and the school canteen will be in operation and holding a Red Day

provided they are able to secure volunteers to assist on the day. Volunteers are also being called to assist with

timing running races and helping with discus, shot put and long jump events.

Students will require a refillable drink bottle, hat and sunscreen on the day. Students may be taken home early on

the day after their events are completed by signing each child out with their class teacher. If you intend your child to

be collected by another parent, they will need a written permission note detailing this arrangement.

The cost for the carnival is $5:00, meaning all students who have already paid for the carnival at the Hunter Sports

stadium will be entitled to a $4:00 refund. Parents are advised the front office will be coming around to classes to

return this money to students.

If you require further information please contact Mr Kuchling.

PSSA Knockout Soccer

The Floraville soccer team will be heading over to Swansea on Thursday to compete in the first four rounds of the

state knockout competition. The cost for the event is $2:00. Students are to meet Mr Kuchling at the fields by 9am

for a 9:30 kick-off.

A Matter of Seconds Our Kindergarten, Year 3 and Year 6 students all received an education session from our council lifesavers about

the importance of being safe in and around the water on Tuesday. The program is specifically suited to student age

groups and ranging from Kindergarten students learning about the importance of swimming between the flags and

raising their hand if they get into trouble in the water, through to Year 6 who learn to provide emergency

resuscitation using First Aid mannequins.

Library News Lexile Legend

This week’s Lexile Legend is Katie

Collins. Katie has been participating in

the Lexile program since March 2009

and in that time has increased her

Lexile level from 300 to a current level

of 1020. Congratulations Katie, your

reading success is certainly deserved

and a reward for your amazing

perseverance and determination.

Premier’s Reading Challenge Congratulations to Jake Robertson of Year 1 and Gemma Robertson of Year 4 who

have both completed the 2011 Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Book Week and Grandparent’s Day Celebrations Just some advance warning that our annual Book Week and Grandparent’s Day Celebrations will be held during Week 6 of next term. Perhaps you’d like to use the school holidays for some costume preparation. For those of you who are new to Floraville, the day includes a Book Character parade with children dressing up as their favourite book character or as a character inspired by this year’s Book Week theme – “One World, Many Stories”. Grandparents are invited as our special guests for the day so mark the date on your calendar Wednesday August 24

th.

Tips for Parents Contacting the school You can visit, phone or email to discuss any matter that concerns you. Telephone interpreters can be provided by calling 13 1450. Education Tax Refund

A reminder that you can claim the Education Tax Refund (ETR) in your tax return for eligible school expenses. The

Federal government initiative provides up to 50 per cent back on a range of children’s education expenses, such

as computers, educational software, textbooks and stationery. For the 2010–11 tax year refunds may be as much

as $397 for every child at primary school, and up to $794 for every child at secondary school. For more

information, and to claim online, go to: www.educationtaxrefund.gov.au/

NAIDOC Week 2011

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week, a celebration of Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander cultures and an opportunity to recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians, is held

3-10 July. Each year a poster competition is held for talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to have

their artwork showcased across Australia as part of the celebrations. The winning entry for 2011 is called Road to

Change by Matthew Humphries. To order a free copy of the poster go to www.naidoc.org.au/naidoc-poster/2011-

national-naidoc-poster/ or call 1800 050 009.

Try a new sport

It’s important to stay active and research shows that sporting activities can taper off during the teenage years.

Physical activity also offers a great balance to study. Encourage your teen to exercise regularly doing something

they like. As a start, check out the NSW Sport and Recreation options and programs at

www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/active/whatson.asp and the state sports club directory at

www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/active/contacts.asp.

FLORAVILLE OOSH

The holidays are just around the corner so book in for our July Vacation Care Program. We have four excursions lined up: 3D movies at Glendale Cinemas; Ice Skating; PCYC and bowling, laser tag and lunch at Strike Bowling. On-site activities include 80s Day, Star Wars Fancy Dress and Wimbledon Showdown. On top of our traditional Xmas in July party we have Special Guests, Dial-a-Demon DJs, hosting their unique disco extravaganza. So jump online and visit our website to see the full program and booking form. BOOK IN NOW!! WWW.FLORAVILLEOOSH.COM 02 4947 7498 0422538130/140

Community Notices

The Hunter Region National Parks presents : “WINTER 2011” Activites are on at Glenrock State Conservation Area, Awabakal Nature Reserve, Hunter Wetlands National Park, Blue Gum Hills Regional Park. Books are essential, for enquiries phone National Parks on 49848200. Fees Apply. Blackbutt School Holiday Events : Koala Kapers Junior Ranger Program, Spotlight Adventures, Rotary Markets. For further information go to www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/recreation/blackbutt_reserve

Band News Remember the band disco is now on Thursday 30

th June

2011. There will be two sessions - Infants from 5:30–6:45pm and Primary from 7:00–8:30pm. Tickets are $5 and include entry to the disco and a glow stick. Thanks to those parents/grandparents who have already offered their help. If there are any parents, grandparents or caregivers available to help on the night, please fill out the roster below and return it to Mrs Blake as soon as possible. The Floraville PS Band will be participating in the Bandlink program again this year. Students travel to the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music and take part in various workshop and combined band activities. This is a great opportunity for our students to improve their musicality and meet other music students. Thank you to the parents who have offered to drive students to Bandlink this week. Without your support, excursions such as this could not run. Band Committee - The position of secretary is still available to any parents/grandparents/caregivers wanting to be involved. Please contact the band committee if you would like to stand for this position. Mrs Blake, Mrs Paget and Miss Gavri

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DISCO ROSTER

TIME BBQ Cooking BBQ Serving CANTEEN

Volunteer CANTEEN Volunteer

CANTEEN Volunteer

4.30

5.00

5.30

6.00

6.30

7.00

7.30

8.00 Please Return to MRS BLAKE (3R) as soon as possible.

P&C NEWS

Belmont Retravision continues to sponsor the Floraville P & C please bring

in a copy of any receipts from the store. We receive 1% commission for

each purchase.

YOU MUST HAVE LONG TERM GOALS TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING FRUSTRATED BY SHORT TERM FAILURES.

The P and C now have a Face book page. It is an open address and will keep you up to date.

At the P and C meeting last week we updated on the grassed flat area. A letter was tabled from Lake Macquarie Council that they will have a look into the condition of the footpath on both sides of Floraville Road. Mrs Barclay informed the meeting of the process that will be used for new Kindergarten families and the P and C will be paying for a new promotional banner to be displayed at the school.

BELMONT 16S’ RAFFLE.

The P and C have been invited by the Belmont 16 footers to have a subsidiary raffle at the club on Thursday and Friday night this week. If you are in the club at the time come along support the school and maybe win a meat tray.

ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS

Thanks to everyone that has bought an Entertainment Book we will only be selling this year’s entertainment books until the end of the current term. The previous books have now expired. The books are $60 and have thousands of offers within the book. The offers are for restaurants, cafes, cinemas, magazine subscriptions and holidays etc. If you would like to purchase a book, feel free to contact Vicki McCudden on 0407 457785.

UNIFORM SHOP

As previously mentioned the uniform shop has access of an electronic EFTPOS. This will assist both the ladies in the uniform shop and parents. We do apologise for having to charge a surcharge for the use of the EFTPOS but this is only to cover the extra fees involved. Thanks for your understanding.

SCHOOL BANKING

A reminder that Wednesday is our school banking day. The Commonwealth Bank returns a commission to the school for each deposit. For any new accounts opened the Commonwealth Bank gives the school $5 commission. The P and C we were able to give another cheque to Mrs Southward last week.

Newcastle Permanent Offer

The Newcastle Permanent is again offering the school P and C $300 for any person

associated with the school that takes out a new home loan. Please consider the

Newcastle Permanent for your new home loans. So call in at the Jewells or

Belmont branch for further details.

Floraville P&C Association are pleased to announce a new sponsor Nextra

Newsagents at both Belmont Citi Centre and Lake Fair Mt Hutton 5% of all

purchases (excluding lottery products, bus tickets, phone recharges & tobacco

products) will be donated to the P&C. Just take a copy of your receipt to the school

office. It’s that easy to help us raise funds for our school. Thanks to Aeron Gribble

for his support. Nextra is a great place to get brand name printer Cartridges.

CANTEEN NEWS

Term 2 Week 9 – 22nd June – Roster

Thursday 23/6/11 K.Hobbs, L.Wardle, K.Godfrey – PIZZA DAY

Friday 24/6/11 K. Woodger, D.Glover, S. Oxenham, S. Condon

Monday 27/6/11 J. Jones, T. Garred

Tuesday 28/6/11 D. Shaw, N. Hooper, M. Curry

Wednesday 29/6/11 L. Spruce, S. Sweet, V. Shoesmith

Thursday 30/6/11 K. Duggan, R. Delahunty, M. Rachubinski, J.Woodyatt

Friday 1/7/11 K. Toll, C.Rapp, T. Roberts, S. Morrissey

TOMORROW IS PIZZA DAY

Tomorrow – Thursday 23rd June is Pizza Day at the canteen.

Pizza’s will go out with lunch baskets but they may overflow so if you don’t get your pizza and you know you

ordered one please see Margaret in the canteen as soon as possible – don’t leave it to the next day.

CANTEEN HELPERS NEEDED

There are many days on the canteen roster where volunteers are needed, particularly Tuesday and Thursdays .If

you are able to help out in any way please see Margaret in the canteen as soon as possible.