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Monday 8th December 2014 Dear parents and carers,

As the 2014 school year draws to a close I would like to express my

gratitude to all families for continuing to work in partnership with us

as we led their children through another year of their learning journey.

Student learning and the relationships we build with families are our

core business, and I am proud of the open and supportive way we

work together in our school community. I thank you all for the honest

and warm conversations I’ve had with so many of you this year.

A very special thankyou again this year to our P&C who have

provided financial support by paying for our electronic sign, new

shade sails in the preschool and artificial turf under the primary play

equipment. Without the hard work they put into running the canteen

none of these purchases would have been possible. They also

managed a number of special events during the year and still found

the time to run stalls for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. They are a

truly amazing group of parents!

For staff at Whalan this has been a year of consolidation, as we began

to teach the new national curriculum, and accommodated a number of

structural changes that the NSW Department of Education and

Communities has recently implemented. We have altered some

teaching practices to meet the needs of our 21st century learners, and

have purchased additional classroom resources to support learning.

This time of year often coincides with changes to staffing and in 2014

we farewell the following teachers: Mrs Palmer from Kangaroo class

in preschool, who is taking leave next year and Mr Davies from 3-6D,

who was on extended leave and has decided to resign from teaching

to pursue a private business. Mrs Rogerson from KR is taking up a

position at another school and Miss Puflett is going home to New

WHALAN PUBLIC SCHOOL Karangi Road, Whalan N.S.W 2770

Telephone: 02 9625 9437 02 9625 9038

Facsimile Number: 02 9832 2452

www.whalan-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Our school is built on Darug land

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Zealand to have her baby and settle there. All four of these amazing

teachers will be very much missed, but we wish them well and know

that they take with them many fond memories of their time at Whalan.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, a

relaxing holiday and a very happy and enjoyable New Year.

Mrs Lock

Principal

A Message from Mrs Polios

Here we are again and another school year is

almost over. What a great year 2014 has been!

Once again, we can boast about some amazing

achievements. We have a year’s worth of newsletters and

if you have all of them at home, read through them and

you’ll be reminded of all of our accomplishments. Alternatively, you

can visit our website and read them online –

www.whalan-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Another way to reflect on 2014,

year that was… is to read through our inaugural Whalan

Yearbook which will be sent home to every family this week.

This Friday, we will be celebrating with all of our Whalan Medal

recipients at Lizard Log. We have over 130 students attending this

celebration and all of them should be congratulated for upholding our

school’s expectations of being safe, respectful learners!

Thank you for making 2014 a wonderful year. Your support has been

greatly appreciated. To the families that are leaving us to begin their

association with high school or other schools, we wish you well. To

all of our families who will be returning next year, rest, relax and

reflect on our achievements with pride.

We wish you a very merry Christmas with family and friends and look

forward to seeing you all in the New Year,

for another great year of learning!

Mrs Polios

Deputy Principal

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HOLIDAY FUN

If you’re looking for a great activity in the

holidays, try out Footgolf at Colonial Golf

Course in Werrington. Some of our stage 2

students recently had a go and they highly

recommend it!

GROUP PHOTOS

Ms Garland has displayed these photos on the glass windows of the

staffroom, inside the courtyard. They include photos of sports groups,

extra-curricular activities and school leaders.

If you would like to purchase any of these photos, please see Ms

Garland for an order form or see one of the ladies in the office. All

photos are $5.00 each. Orders and money must be at school by this

THURSDAY 11th

DECEMBER.

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2014 Schools’ Spectacular

Congratulations to the students in

K-6M who performed two matinee

and two evening performances last

Friday and Saturday at the Schools

Spectacular.

We are very proud of you!

Tickets to Wet n’ Wild for

the 2014 / 2015 season

At the end of the year we will give

these tickets away to two lucky

winners. How can you win?

All students whose attendance for the year is 90% or more will go in a

draw to win.

Students whose attendance is currently below 90% have time to

improve their attendance so they can also go in the draw.

The draw will take place at our

Christmas Concert on Thursday 11th

December

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Hands and Feet Community Care have assisted Whalan

Public School by supplying bread and fruit for our breakfast

club and crunch and sip programs.

Parents and students who would like to donate any pantry

items to help our local families with Christmas hampers can

leave their donations at the school office to be collected

Hands and Feet Community Care.

Your support will be greatly appreciated by our struggling

families and charity members.

What does our school attendance look like now?

The bar represents 100%. The shading represents what our school

percentage for attendance is now, after 189 days of school (91.2%)

Kindergarten = 87.5% Year 3 = 91.3%

Year 1 = 88.4% Year 4 = 95.3%

Year 2 = 91.8% Year 5 = 92.7%

Year 6 = 92%

How can we get our attendance back up to the mid 90s?

As the number of school days increases, if the number of absences

decreases we will raise our school attendance again.

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Parents and carers want the best for their children – a good

education can be life changing!

Week 8 Term 4 ‘Best attending’ class results

Congratulations KR and 5/6N!

Week 9 Term 4 ‘Best attending’ class results

K-2 results 3-6 results

K-6K 95% 2/3P 97%

KH 94% 5/6K 96%

2M 92% 3-6D 92%

KR 90% 3/4K 90%

2C 88% 5/6C 90%

1K 83% 3/4P 88%

1S 77% 3-6L 85%

5/6N 83%

K-6M 80%

Congratulations K-6K and 2/3P!

K-2 results 3-6 results

KR 90% 5/6N 93%

2C 89% 2/3P 91%

1S 89% 3/4K 91%

1K 89% 5/6K 91%

2M 85% K-6M 90%

KH 79% 3-6L 90%

K-6K 77% 5/6C 87%

3/4P 83%

3-6D 78%

The most important thing parents

and carers can do to help their

child get a good education, is get

them to school every day!

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COMING EVENTS December

Week 10 No assemblies this week

Whalan Yearbook sent home this week

Tuesday 9th P&C meeting

Wednesday 10th Presentation Day 3-6 at 9.30am

K-2 at 12.00pm

Thursday 11th Christmas Carols – 9.30am

Friday 12th Medal Recipients Celebration at Lizard Log

Parents are welcome to join us but will have to

make their own way there.

We will be at Paperbark and Grey Box picnic areas

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Week 11

Monday 15th Semester 2 reports will be sent home

Year 6 Graduation assembly – 12.15pm

Year 6 Farewell (meet under the shed at 5.45pm)

Tuesday 16th Lunch with Mrs Lock

Wednesday 17th School Fun Day

Last day of the 2014 school year

Students return to school to start the 2015 school year

on Wednesday 28th

January

PSSA RESULTS

Congratulations to the junior and senior girls oz tag teams who

played against Hassall Grove in the grand final last Friday. Both

finals were extremely close and our girls played with great skill and

sportsmanship.

The scores were;

Juniors 0-1 Loss

Seniors 1-3 Loss

Thank you to the parents who attended and supported our girls!

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Our school is committed to excellence,

equity and humanity. We have talented

and innovative teachers and support staff

who care about educating and engaging

students in quality learning programs.

For further information, go to

www.whalanp.schools.nsw.edu.au

Karangi Road, Whalan

Phone: 9625 9437

Whalan Public School

Enrol now for

Kindergarten 2015

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Year 6 Graduation and Farewell

Stage 3 students are busy preparing for this

very special event. With a Hollywood theme,

we are sure to bump into a celebrity or two!

1.

Here are the details:

Monday 15th

December starting at

12.15pm in the hall, is the

Graduation assembly.

Parents wishing to take their child home after the assembly to prepare

for the Farewell will need to sign them out at the office.

Year 6 Farewell:

Meet under the shed at 5.45pm.

Dinner in the courtyard at 6.15pm

Disco begins at 7.00pm

Farewell slide show begins at 8.15pm and

parents are welcome to join us for this.

School

Leaders’

Spot

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Congratulations to the following students who have earned 5

Connected Certificates and are halfway to a Whalan Medal. They

are also eligible for a prize:

KR – Skye Appleby; Braydon Coyne

2C – Meletoa Sika

2M – Jhy Crummer

2/3P – Lachlan Gore; Shikyla Newcombe; Armanielle

Crummer

3/4K – Tommee Kruse; Taylah Bourke; Jason

Lansdowne; Ava Edwards; Matthew Biulailai;

Jeremiah Siitia; Lizzie Jupp; Ashton Pollard; Tarniee

Hughes; Aimee Taylor

3/4P – Jayden Byrne

5/6C – Victoria Aulalo; Sela Fekitoa; Diuna Bonawai

5/6K – Jason Scott; Liarn Cregan

5/6N – Richard Rothero

When students receive 10 Connected Certificates, they are eligible

for a medal.

At that time, they will complete their Whalan Medal goals form (with

signatures from all of the teachers that work with the student).

The completed form and the 10 Connected Certificates are given to

the Principal for approval. Upon approval, the student is awarded the

Whalan Medal at one of our fortnightly assemblies.

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You’ve earned a Whalan Medal!

Jonnie Gordon Celeste Togise Memphis Hodge Charlotte Horseman Kurtis Lonsdale-Bugeja Paige Sautia Lilith Dartnell Jaidee Churchouse Chelsea Dale Isabella Hanshaw Josephine Jones-Jeffress Paul Ailao Daniel McArdle Hayden Stanley-Mason David Noonan Sarah Gidding Richard Rothero Ayrha Angeles Kerra Sita Jade Neale Arvyn Angeles Natalie Lee Suliana Palu Sheila Asiata Andre Luamata Andrew Scott Kiara Coleman Destinee Luamata Ryan Baldock-Shoobridge Nikola Herring Zeeshaan Ali Kristian Love Jaslene Euese Ayden Mahara Rhiannon Reid Jakobi Clegg Alyssa Hodge Leland Pettit-Young Dionte Etuale Kiara Rogers Natasha Cauchi James Standen Yasmin Taylor Agape Vaifale-Salatielu Sarona Semu Latoya Lonsdale Khushi Mani Caitlin Mitchell Baileigh Barnes Jermaine Pettit-Young Cheree Turner Leeroy Rothero Romany Robertson Joanha Puluseu Malia Vatikani Breanna Da Conceicao Jacob Crichton

Zephorah Stewart-Pelasio We will continue to present medals at our morning assemblies from

up to and including Wednesday 10th December.

Master Salad with Seasonal Fruit or

Vegetables Serves: 6 at home or 25 tastes Fresh from the garden: lettuce leaves of mixed variety, herbs, lemons, seasonal fruit or vegies

Equipment: Ingredients:

Large bowl 15 mixed lettuce leaves

Salad spinner (if small add a few more)

Chopping board 1 large bunch of mixed herbs (coriander,

Tongs / grater (if required) parsley, basil and thyme are the best)

3 salad bowls/tongs for serving ½ onion diced finely (if available)

Knife / Knives / fork / tablespoon 10 cherry tomatoes cut in¼’s (if available)

Mortar and Pestle (any seasonal fruit or vegies can be used)

Lemon Juicer on top of measuring jug 2 grated carrots (if available)

Classic Vinaigrette

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic

(peeled and crushed

in mortar and pestle)

2 pinches of salt and

pepper

½ lemon

¼ cup olive oil

What to do: Wash all salad leaves and dry in the salad spinner. Rip leaves into small 3cm pieces (no larger) and

place into large salad bowl.

Remove all stems from herbs, chop finely and place into the large salad bowl with all the lettuce

leaves.

Add any other grated or diced fruit and vegetables you are using into the salad bowl.

Place peeled garlic into mortar and pestle along with the salt. Pound a paste using the pestle.

Juice the lemon then grate the rind of the lemon into the juice.

Add the garlic paste and olive oil into the jug with the lemon juice and rind.

Add pepper and mix until combined well.

Pour dressing on top of salad and toss until dressing coats all of the salad.

Serve evenly into 3 salad serving bowls.

Place one bowl of salad and a small pair of tongs on each dining table.

Pumpkin Soup

Serves: 8 or 20-25 tastes

Fresh from the garden: Pumpkins, potatoes, chives and parsley

Equipment: Ingredients: Large saucepan 1 whole pumpkin (skin removed, diced into 2cm pieces)

Chopping board 4-5 potatoes (peeled and diced into 1cm pieces)

Knife and peelers 1 onion (peeled and diced finely)

Wooden spoon and serving ladle 2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)

3 serving bowls and ladles Water (to cover pumpkin)

Measuring cups and spoons 3tsps stock powder (vegetable or chicken)

Colander ½ cup thickened cream

Electric hand mixer ½tsp nutmeg

Small bunch chives or parsley

What to do:

Put chopped onion and garlic in a microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave for 3-4mins. until soft.

Set aside.

Peel and chop pumpkin into small diced 2cm pieces. Place into large saucepan.

Peel and dice potatoes (must be 1cm pieces – half the size of the pumpkin as they take longer to cook)

place into saucepan.

Add cooked onion, garlic and stock to saucepan.

Add enough water to cover vegetables and boil until vegetables are soft.

Chop chives finely and place in a small bowl for later.

Once vegetables are soft, drain ¾ of the water out. Make sure you leave at least a ¼ of the water.

Blend the soup with the hand mixer until almost smooth. (a little rustic is OK).

Add nutmeg and thickened cream, blend in. (If too thick then add a little water).

Serve into serving bowls and sprinkle chives or parsley on top of each serving bowl.

Place one bowl on each table along with a ladle.

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Classes in 2015

Draft classes for 2015 are usually formed towards the end of this term

in preparation for the new school year. The classes may change if there

are changes in enrolments when school starts in 2015. Please return the

information slip attached if:

• Your family is definitely moving and your children won’t return to

Whalan Public School in 2015.

• Your family will be on holidays and may return after Term 1, 2015

begins.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return to office

Movement of families in 2015

Family Name: ____________________________________________

Child/ Children’s names and classes:

____________________________________________________________________________________

My child/ children will not need a class place at Whalan Public

School in 2015.

My child/ children will return after school begins in 2015 due to

extended holidays/ travel overseas.

Date of return: _____________________

Signed: ____________________________________ (Parent/Carer)

(Please return the note to the school office)

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HEAD LICE

Information for parents and carers

Head lice are small parasitic insects that only live on the human head. They do not

live on any other part of the body or on any other animal. Head lice crawl very fast over the human head, grasping hair shafts to move quickly. Their grasp is very

strong which makes them hard to dislodge from the scalp and hair.

Head lice do not burrow into the skin. They feed only on human blood and they

need to feed several times a day.

Eggs (nits) are laid by adult females close to the scalp on the hair shaft, usually no

more than 1.5 centimetres from the scalp. These eggs are attached to the hair with incredibly strong glue.

Do head lice cause illness or disease?

Head lice do not carry any disease. Constant scratching may lead to sores on the

scalp, however this is very rare. Parents should keep cases of head lice in their children in perspective. There are far worse health issues to concern a parent than

head lice.

Adults, more than children, suffer from considerable outrage at the presence of

these parasites. This outrage usually outweighs any public health significance that head lice may present.

The most likely harm caused by head lice is from the inappropriate use of chemicals in an attempt to treat them. The continued application of chemicals to

the scalp can cause severe reactions on some heads.

Parents, in their frustration, can resort to applying products not tested for

human use and not shown to have any effect on reducing head lice.

How are head lice spread?

Head lice are spread by contact occurring between one human head and another human head. The head lice move along the hair shaft from the head of an infested person to the hair of another person. Head lice cannot fly or jump and they do not crawl along furniture or hop between car seats. Head lice cannot survive off the human

head for more than a few hours.

Thorough cleaning of your home, washing bedding and toys and rigorous

vacuum cleaning do not affect the head lice population on a human head.

It is thought that increased human contact, especially among young children, may

have contributed to an increase in head lice because of increased opportunities for transmission.

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Treatment options

Chemical treatments

Before you choose a chemical treatment for head lice, consider the following:

Make sure that the heads you treat actually do have head lice and do not treat unless they do. There is no preventative treatment available so treating members of

the family who do not have lice has no effect but can contribute to the problem of lice building up resistance to the chemical treatments. Babies under twelve months of age, pregnant or breast feeding women or people with irritated or inflamed scalps should not be treated. Consult a health professional for advice. Do not let the product get into eyes. Many products have a very strong smell. A strong smelling substance left on the hair for any length of time may irritate your child. When trying a commercial head lice preparation, make sure you read the label

first and apply strictly as directed. In desperation it can be tempting to use more of the product than is recommended in an effort to kill the lice. However, increasing

the dose does not have any effect on how well the treatment works. Do not use insecticides, methylated spirits or kerosene on your child's head.

Do not blow dry the hair after treatment as the heat may inactivate the product.

Do not rewash hair for 1-2 days after treatment.

Apply product to every strand of hair and work through, leave for 20 minutes, and comb out with a good quality lice comb, wiping the product onto paper towel. If dead lice are found, the product has worked. However it is important to remember that since no product has been shown to kill eggs, any chemical treatment must be reapplied after seven days to kill any lice that may have hatched since the initial treatment. If you find live lice, the treatment probably hasn't worked. Either use another product with a different active ingredient (read the label) or try the comb and conditioner method.

Comb and conditioner method

Head lice breathe through small openings along their abdomens. By coating the hair and therefore the louse in something thick and slimy, these openings close over,

shutting down the breathing of lice for about 20 minutes. While unfortunately the lice don't die using this method, it does slow them down so that you can catch

them.

Nitbusting is a method of using a comb and conditioner (or another slimy product)

to manage head lice. Using this method will not kill the lice or eggs but some good quality lice combs will remove them.

If Nitbusting at home with your child, do the following:

1. Try sitting the child between your legs on a low stool and putting on a video for an hour while you work.

2. Wrap a towel or kitchen paper around the child's shoulders to catch conditioner spill.

3. Remove all items from the hair and comb out plaits and braids.

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4. Apply liberal amounts of conditioner to the scalp and massage it through all the hair shafts. You will use a lot of conditioner. Every hair has to be coated

to ensure it reaches the lice. 5. Lice live close to the scalp, so make sure that you cover the hair shaft close

to the scalp. You don't have to work the conditioner onto the whole length of the hair. Combing will spread it well enough. The idea of the application is to restrict the movement of the head lice long enough for you to catch them with a comb.

6. After you've applied the conditioner, use a large comb to part small sections of the hair starting from the nape of the neck and working upwards toward the crown. Eggs are often found behind the ears and toward the back of the head. By using this method, you are more likely to find the head lice on top of and toward the front of the head.

7. When the hair is detangled and manageable, use a fine lice comb to comb out each section several times.

8. After each comb out, wipe the conditioner on the paper towel. If the child has head lice, you will see them on the towel.

9. Keep combing each section of hair until no further lice, nymphs (recently hatched lice) or eggs appear on the paper towel. Often you will see lots of

old egg casings that may take some time to remove. 10. Once you have combed and re-combed each section of hair, either re-plait

or tie it back. If it is very short, suggest to the child some interesting styling!

Young boys often like their hair spiked up.

Other things you should know about the comb and conditioner method

Depending on the hair length and type, it is often easier to neatly section long and

thick hair before applying conditioner to avoid getting the hair into a terrible tangle.

Head lice often congregate on the crown of the head, so that it may not be until you reach these last sections of hair that you find adult lice. However,

heads that are severely infested will have adult lice everywhere. A good head lice comb should also remove nymphs. These can be difficult to

identify with the naked eye, but appear as small insects on the paper towel.

General advice

ƒ Regularly check your children’s hair. Young girls growing up often become

very independent about their hair care and it can become difficult to convince them that it’s important for you to continue checking their hair.

Try to persist or show them how they can check their own hair when they wash it.

ƒ Tying long hair back or braiding it, may help to reduce the transmission of lice.

ƒ Keep a good quality lice comb in the shower so that every time anyone washes their hair they use the comb. The more people know about simple management methods the easier it will be to reduce the problem.

ƒ Head lice and detangle combs should be cleaned between treatments in hot soapy water and rinsed in running hot water.

ƒ For more information in English on head lice or the Nitbusters Program go to www.health.nsw.gov.au/headlice

NSW Department of Education and Communities policy states that students will not be excluded from school if they have headlice. If hair is treated, then the child may attend school.