Volume 2 Issue 1:3rd

May 2017

http://www.mtdruitt-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Important Dates

9/05/17 NAPLAN 01/06/17 P-2 Athletics Carnival

10/05/17 NAPLAN 12/06/17 Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

11/05/17 NAPLAN 14/06/17 ICAS Test Spelling

12/05/17 Winter PSSA Begins 15/06/17 ICAS Test Writing

16/05/17 District Cross Country 20/06/17 3-6 Athletics Carnival

23/05/17 ICAS Test Digital Tech 23/06/17 Winter PSSA Finishes

30/05/17 ICAS Test Science

30/06/17 Last Day Term 2

18/07/16 First Day Term 3

A Message from the Principal

Welcome to term 2 of this school year and a special welcome to those new families who have

recently enrolled at our school.

A great deal of work has been done to address the damage caused by last month’s savage storm on

March 22nd. As of Friday week 2 (April 28th) our car park closest to Luxford Road has re-opened

allowing staff access to the school’s parking. Our Support Block will continue to be fenced off but

at least the pathway and gate closest to the pedestrian crossing of Belmore Avenue is once again

open allowing access to and from the school. This is the only gate open at 3pm to channel as

many people as possible into crossing the road in a safe manner with the guidance of our crossing

operator. Gates closest to our Administration block will again be locked at 2.45pm reopening at

approximately 3.15pm. This action is the school’s response to having three of our students hit by

cars over the past 18 months trying to cross the road running between cars in what is a most

dangerous period of time in regards to increased traffic. Can I also remind parents/carers that the

school’s car parks are for staff only and if a visit to the office is required then parking must be sort

out on the surrounding streets.

Repairs to our Support Block are going to take a while as plans have to be designed, submitted,

and requests for tendors sent out over a period of time. If you have any concerns and/or questions

regarding these repairs and our response please feel free to come and see me at school. I would

say give us a call on 96259036 or 96258067 but our land lines are still down and not working at

this point of time.

Both of these numbers have been redirected to the school’s mobile phone that we are sharing

amongst teachers, counsellors, general assistants and executives so my apologies if we are a little

slow in responding to a request for a return call at the moment. We have tried our best to address

this situation but these things take time.

Access to the preschool and Early Intervention Unit is still restricted to only one pathway (the one

that walks past the demountables and the toilet blocks of the school) due to our walkways

collapsing under the strong winds of last month’s storm. Even today we have workmen in one of

our classrooms (3/4P) fixing the ceiling that was speared by a branch that crashed through the

roof’s tiles piercing the ceiling allowing flooding of the floor. I apologised to these students and

their teacher for not having a room for them today but we had to get this job done and they found

themselves in the library, computer room and eventually sitting on assembly for the k-6 assembly

at 2pm. None complained and all were resilient so thank you again to Ms. Pedano and those in

3/4P.

Again, my apologies for any disruptions that have occurred due to the storm but as the sign at the

front of the school states: “We’re still here”. We will keep plugging away.

Yours in education

Michael Kelly

Principal

Friday 28 April 2017.

School Banking

School banking is every Friday, Please have your bank book to the office by 9am.

Thank you

School Banking Co-Ordinator

Bullying & Cyber bullying

The NSW Department of Education defines Bullying and Cyber bullying as follows:

Bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and

involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. Cyber

bullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. Bullying can

involve humiliation, domination, intimidation, victimisation and all forms of harassment including

that based on sex, race, disability, homosexuality or transgender… Conflict or fights between

equals or single incidents are not defined as bullying.

As teachers we are often told of students being bullied but on investigation find that is not the

case. We are not happy when students are unkind to each other in any situation and will always

follow up student complaints whether they are single incidents or ongoing. The complaining

student may not see the teacher investigating the complaint and will rarely be aware of the

outcome but teachers do take student complaints seriously.

Please ensure that your child understands that if he/she cannot resolve an incident through

discussion with the other party they should report it to a teacher.

Office

Medication:

Please be advised if you require office staff to give your child their prescribed medication we will

need the following:

- A signed and written letter from the parent.

- The letter must clearly state the amount of medication eg: Mls or 1 Tablet.

- Also put the time the child is to take the medication required.

If your child needs on going medication then we will need a healthcare plan from your GP.

Please see office staff if you require more information.

Headlice

Please find attached at the back of this newsletter an information pack on how to treat headlice.

Internet & Mobile Communication

To maintain high levels of communication with parents our school has methods of internet &

mobile access.

Our school website is

Our facebook page is

Skoolbag is also available for download on the App store.

Payments

Excursions, preschool fees, voluntary fees etc are available to be paid from your home directly to

the school. The link is on the school webpage.

Look for this heading under the schools banner:

You can make a payment using Visa or Mastercard Please be advised when paying online you will be asked to enter your

child’s SRN, this you DO NOT need to do, you can leave this blank.

Responsible Respectful Learners

Regular School Attendance

Information for parents and carers of children

Did you know? If students are late as little as 30 minutes a day, by the end of

primary school they will have missed half a year of education.

Regular attendance at school is fundamental to student learning. Students who

attend school regularly are more likely to achieve educational success, and

increase their career and life options.

At Mount Druitt Public school we know that morning is the best time for

learning. If your child is late then they are missing out on new concepts being

introduced and start the day at a disadvantage to the other students.

As a parent/caregiver, you are legally responsible for your child’s attendance.

Some suggestions to help you are:

1. Have a set bed time and routine. Between 7pm and 8.30pm.

2. Have school bags/lunches/uniforms ready the night before

3. No TV in the morning

If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance then please contact the

school to make an appointment with your child’s teacher or a member of the

attendance team.

Regards

Attendance team Mount Druitt Public School 96259036

Mount Druitt Public School Belmore Avenue, Mt. Druitt, N.S.W. Telephone: 9625 9036 Facsimile: 9832 2453

EMAIL: mtdruitt-p.admin@det.nsw.edu.au

@ MDPS we are Responsible Respectful learners

Some Suggestions to Improve Partial Attendance at MDPS

Have a set bed time routine, between 7.00pm and

8.00pm.

Have your school bags/lunches/uniforms ready the night

before.

No technology in the morning.

Be at school by 9.00 am.

@ MDPS we are Responsible Respectful learners

Full Attendance Term 1 2017:

Congratulations to the following students who have earned a

Bronze Attendance Award:

STUDENT CLASS

Paulo SALEUTOGI KR Andrea CABACUNGAN KR

Kodi KNIGHT KM

Jarryd MEARNS KM Eleah HEWITT KM

Ritaj HAMADI KM Lymin CAMPBELL K/1C

Patricia AMSON K/1C Sarah AHMED 1/2C

James WU 1/2C

Tala AH LAM 1/2C Mohammed ARIAN NAFI 1/2T

Yasmin HAMADI 1/2T Travis CELEBAN-SMITH 1B

Abdul HADI 1B

Micah SALACUP 1B Thomas SAUFOI 1B

Jennifer TON 1B Sam ZAINEDDINE 1B

Mahrus NAJID 1R Eloise DOMINGO 1/2D

Dean HARRISON 1/2D

Mariam ZAINEDDINE 1/2D

Taifilele FASAVALU 1/2V

Billy MWEHA 1/2V Prichard SALEUTOGI 1/2V

Vladmihr CORTES 2/3U

Zishmal MALLICK 2/3U Jackey WU 2/3U

Nooreen AHMED 2/3U Isobel GROSS 2/3U

Leviticus IMO 3/4A Princess ROQUEZA 3/4A

Joshua DILLON 3/4A

Zaki CORNISH 3/4G

@ MDPS we are Responsible Respectful learners

Henna ORYA 3/4G

Jamel WILLIAMS 3/4P William AMSON 3/4P

Hasti HOJATZADEH 3/4P Rashimi RASHIDI 3/4P

Myah NGUYEN 3/4S

Ahmed SIDEQ 3/4S Shugofa JAWID 3/4S

Alice TON 3/4S Marina YOUKHANNA 3/4S

Helen FASAVALU 3/4W

Aden TRAN 3/4W

Sebastian GROSS 3/4W

Henrietta AH LAM 4/5/6K Basma IBRAHIM 4/5/6K

Veli BICER 4/5/6K Dan BONIFACIO 4/5/6K

Rayan RASHID 4/5/6K

Rezame ROQUEZA 4/5/6K Sheila AMIRI 4/5/6K

Aastha CHANDRA 4/5/6K Rebecca CHAU 4/5/6K

Anjelica DELOS REYES 4/5/6K David MIGUEL 4/5/6K

Liz RAMOS 4/5A

Jeff YOUSOUF 4/5A Raph CARO 5/6A

Lei RAMOS 5/6A Meerab ARSLAN 5/6A

Tyson FEKETI 5/6A

Kurtney JOSE 5/6A Bassam MARJANA 5/6A

Asif RAZAEE 5/6A James COLLISSON 5/6C

Amelia HERT 5/6C Anshdeep SINGH 5/6C

Tosin THOMAS 5/6C

Lance AGUILAR 5/6C Somaya MUKHTARI 5/6B

Farah SIDEQ 5/6B Safeer SHEIKH 5/6B

@ MDPS we are Responsible Respectful learners

Dannielle LEWIS 5/6K

Kereti MUNIF 5/6K

Brag Tags

Brag Tags are received by students when they receive 5 ticks from their class teacher for either being

responsible, respectful or a learner. Congratulations to the following students who have received a

Brag Tag so far this term:

1/2C 1/2D 1/2D 5/6B

Sarah Ahmed Noor Akram Kaylee Bolt Walid Asil

Chloe Muldoon Nevaeh Bernard Dean Harrison Mysha Azeem

James Wu Haad Bin Mubeen Bailey Noel Osione Ugbomhe

Jacob Brown Abdullah Nadeem Epeosi Ugbomhe Chelsie Perfecto

Siaola Kuila Isaac Nadha Leigh Simmons Awan Lazim

Ulata Fameloe Teawhi Turuwhenua- Haumah

Arin Sagin

Zakir Sadiqi

Rhianna Regala Melody Martin Helaman Polenta Sadia Naoreen

Halakiumata Tui Makael Salameh Aayan Ahmed

Celesti Prasad Ebo Ugbomtie

3/4G

Zaki Cornish

Evolina Thompson

Henna Orya

Keep striving for excellence

Regards

The PBL Team

KINDERGARTEN What are we teaching in term 2?

Dear parents,

Please find information below about the different key learning areas and the

content we are covering this term. We hope this information will help keep

you informed about what’s going on at school and generate some discussion

at home.

English

Conceptual Unit of work: We will be exploring different

narratives and looking at how imaginative and informative

texts have different features.

Reading: Each teacher will be reading with your child at

least 3 times per week. Your child will be grouped according

to their ability level. We encourage children to read at home by participating in the home

reading program.

Writing: Students will be working on planning, composing and reviewing a small range of

simple texts for a variety of reasons on familiar topics. Students should be aiming to write a

recognisable sentence with some evidence of punctuation. Students should be developing a

simple writing vocabulary, including some high frequency words.

Maths

Whole number: Counts to 30. Students should be working towards counting, ordering,

reading and representing numbers to 30.

Addition/Subtraction: Students will be learning how to combine,

separate and compare selections of objects. They will be describing

adding and subtracting using everyday language and recording using

informal methods.

Time: Students will be taught how to sequence events, use everyday

language to describe the duration of events and read hour time on the clock.

Length: Students will learn to describe and compare lengths and distances using everyday

language.

Volume and Capacity: Students will be learning to describe and compare the capacities of

containers and volumes of objects or substances using everyday language.

Position: Students will be describing position and giving and following simple directions

using everyday language.

3D space: Students will be taught to manipulate, sort, represent, three-dimensional objects

and describe them using everyday language.

Data: Students will learn to represent data and interpret data displays made from objects.

PDHPE

PBL LESSONS: Being a Responsible, Respectful Learner

Drug Education: All about medicines ‘Out of Reach’.

Games that focus on developing skills in hopping, skipping, running and jumping

History

Students will engage in stories about families in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups. Science Weather: Students will observe, using their senses, how daily and seasonal changes in the

environment affect them and other living things.

Creative and Practical Arts

Visual Arts: Students will explore their uniqueness and individuality in their making of

artworks. They will complete a unit called ‘About Me’ and a unit called ‘Fireworks’.

Homework

Each teacher is different and will decide if he/she is going to set homework for your child.

Each child however will have the opportunity to complete homework through home

reading and Maths online. Your teacher will send instructions if they haven’t already as to

how homework will work in your child’s class. If there are any concerns then please make

an appointment to see your child’s teacher.

Reports:

Reports generally go home before the end of term 2 and 4. Parent interviews are offered

after reports go home so that you can address any concerns you might have from the

reports.

Concerns:

If you have any concerns then please make an appointment to see your child’s teacher.

From the Early Stage One Team: Miss Crimlis, Mrs Rankin, Mrs Sigmund and Mrs McErlane.

MATHS PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT

Every fortnight, there will be a maths problem for the students to

solve. There are boxes in the front office for students to submit their

responses. Encouragement prizes will be handed out to two

students from each stage during the school assembly.

Kindergarten (Early Stage 1): Draw a subtraction story. For example,

draw 5 birds on a line and then 3 flew away.

Year 1 and 2 (Stage 1): Create a mini-book of subtraction stories.

You will need 2 A4 pages. Fold them in quarters, cut in halves and

staple together to make a mini book. Write and illustrate

subtraction stories.

Year 3 and 4 (Stage 2): Using a Coles/ Woolworths/ IGA/ ALDI

catalogue, create subtraction (money related) stories. You will

have to write and show how much money you had when you went

shopping, what you bought and how much change you got back.

Cut and paste pictures to illustrate your subtraction shopping

stories.

Year 5 and 6 (stage 3): Using a JB Hi-Fi/ Myers/ Harvey Norman

catalogue (You can download on-line catalogue if needed),

create subtraction (money related) stories. You will have to write

and show how much money you had when you went shopping,

what you bought and how much change you got back. Cut and

paste pictures to illustrate your subtraction shopping stories.

NOTE: Please remember to write your name and class on your work.

The entries should be in the Office by Thursday Week 4(18th May).

Maninder Kaur (Instructional Leader)

Treating Headlice Head lice are only found on the human head or hair. Head lice do not live on furniture, hats,

bedding, carpet or anywhere else in the environment. Treating anything other than the human head

does not eradicate head lice.

There are two main treatment options to remove head lice:

•Mechanical removal

•Chemical removal

Other information on this page includes:

•What to do with bedding and clothing

•Choosing the right treatment for you or your child

•More information about the comb and conditioner method

•Some tips for treating long hair

•Head lice in schools

Mechanical removal or 'comb and conditioner' method

What you need for this method:

•Normal comb to detangle hair prior to using metal lice comb

•Fine toothed metal lice comb (available from your local chemist or online)

•Conditioner - buy a cheap brand as you will be needing a lot of it, and preferably one that is white

to make spotting the lice easier

•White paper towel

Mechanical removal involves applying conditioner to dry hair. Cover all of the hair with conditioner,

detangle hair with normal comb and separate into sections. Then, using a fine long toothed metal

lice comb, comb through the hair in sections. The conditioner does not kill lice but stuns them for

about 20 minutes enabling easier removal. The long toothed metal comb will remove nits and the

stunned head lice. Wipe the comb on a white tissue and check for any lice or nits. Keep combing

until no more appear on the tissue. This method should be done every second or third day until no

nits and lice remain, usually about 7 to 10 days. Please see the explanation below for more detailed

guidance.

This method is the preferred way to detect and treat head lice because it is effective, does not

contribute to insecticide resistance in head lice and also presents a low risk of skin irritation.

This method also helps manage head lice before they become established on the head. Simply

keep a good head lice comb in the shower and every time your family washes their hair use the

fine comb through the hair. This will ensure lice are "caught" before they lay too many eggs. If

your children are old enough to wash their own hair encourage them to use the comb themselves.

Or keep a comb handy to where you wash your children's hair and use it every shampoo.

Chemical removal

What you need for this method:

•Normal comb to detangle hair prior to using metal lice comb

•Chemical treatment containing synthetic or natural insecticides that kill head lice (talk to your local

pharmacist to identify the treatments containing insecticides)

•Fine toothed metal lice comb (available from your local chemist or online)

•White paper towel

If you choose to use a chemical treatment, remember to follow the instructions carefully. You will

also need to comb through the hair to ensure the treatment is working. If you find dead lice it means

the product has worked. If you find live lice, the treatment has not worked. Don't be tempted to re-

apply or over-apply the same chemical if it doesn't appear to be working. Instead switch to another

treatment that uses a different chemical compound or use the ‘comb and conditioner method’ as

described under the mechanical removal. It is very important that you repeat the chemical

treatment in seven days to kill any newly hatched eggs as most chemical treatments will not kill the

eggs (nits).

Once your child is free of lice and nits, remember to regularly check with a fine toothed head lice

comb and conditioner as described above. Early detection and treatment will prevent re-infestation

of other family members and classmates.

What to do with bedding and clothing

Research suggests that bed linen, hats, clothing and furniture do not harbour or transmit lice or nits

and that there is no benefit in washing them as a treatment option. Nits and lice only live on the

human head. They quickly dehydrate and die if removed from the head.

Choosing the right treatment for you or your child

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

•Mechanical removal is the preferred way to detect and treat head lice because it is effective, does

not contribute to insecticide resistance in head lice and also presents a low risk of skin irritation.

•If you prefer to use chemical treatment, make sure that the heads you treat are infested with head

lice.

•Registered chemical treatments that contain insecticides to kill lice are usually safe, but excessive

use of other substances, such as home remedies and other insecticides, can cause irritation. Speak

to your local pharmacist to identify the registered treatments that are safe for you and your child.

•Always read the product label before applying and use as directed.

•Natural products like tea tree oil are not recommended. If you don’t want to use chemical

treatment, use the mechanical removal described above.

•Do not use methylated spirits or kerosene on your child’s head.

•Avoid treating babies with chemical treatment.

•Avoid chemical treatment on any scalp that is irritated or inflamed.

•Protect children’s eyes when treating with any product.

•There is no preventative treatment available for head lice. Treating the whole family with chemical

treatment as a precaution contributes to head lice becoming resistant to the products used.

Remember that you can help to reduce transmission of head lice by tying hair back or braiding and

by checking your children’s hair regularly.

More information about the ‘comb and conditioner method’

Mechanical removal of nits and lice can be a time-consuming task depending on the severity of the

infestation and the amount and length of a child’s hair. Some ideas to help with this include:

1.Try sitting the child between your legs on a low stool and play a video for kid’s entertainment

while you work. If the child has long and thick hair this may take up to an hour (see tips for treating

long hair below)

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

3.Remove any hair clips, ribbons or clasps from the child's head and comb out plaits and braids.

4.Apply liberal amounts of conditioner to the scalp and massage it through all the hair shafts. 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.

Head of long hair with conditioner

6.After you've applied the conditioner, use a large comb to part small sections of the hair starting

from the nape 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.

Nit comb wiped on paper towel

9.Keep combing each section of hair until no further lice, nymphs or eggs appear on the paper towel.

You may see lots of old egg casings that may take a while to remove.

10.Once you have combed and recombed each section of hair, wash out the conditioner.

11.Simply clean the comb with hot soapy water and rinse off with hot water.

12.If your child has long hair, re-plait or tie it back. Kids with short hair may like their hair spiked.

13.It is very important to retreat the hair after seven days to ensure that any immature head lice

that have hatched since the initial treatment are removed before they can lay more eggs.

Some tips for treating long hair

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. Some ideas on how to

do this are described here:

1.Part long hair once from forehead to scalp, and use hair clips to keep the part in place.

2.Apply conditioner along the part line. This is to stop lice from crossing from one side of the head to

the other.

3.Part the hair in a straight line from the ear around the scalp to the centre part and clip or pin the

top section to the crown of the scalp. Do this also on the other side until you have four sections. You

can part the hair into more sections if needed.

4.Apply conditioner to all the parts and massage in.

5.Work through the sections one by one, starting from the nape. Apply conditioner to each section

and comb out several times as described above.

Long hair parted in sections and clipped in placeComb through section of long hair

Head lice in schools

Head Lice infestation is a common problem throughout the world in all socioeconomic groups.

Considerable myth and misinformation surrounds head lice and their management. Studies have

shown that around one in four primary school aged children in Australia have head lice.

NSW Health does not recommend excluding children with head lice from school due to the

following reasons:

•Head lice are not known to transmit diseases.

•Exclusion from school or childcare is not an effective way of breaking the cycle of head lice

infestations.

•Head lice eradication is most effective if the whole school community works together to treat the

infestation, for example running the Nitbuster program.

For further information on how to best tackle head lice in schools, please see Nitbusters.

Uniform Price List Mount Druitt Public School

Belmore Ave, Mount Druitt NSW 2770

Tel: 9625 9036 Fax: 9832 2453

The Uniform shop is located near the assembly’s stage area.

Operation hours are as follows:

Monday-Thursday 8.30am-9am

Description Available Sizes Price

Checked Dress 4-6-8-10-12-14 $35 New Polo Shirts 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $20

Old Polo Shirts 4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18 $17.50 New Blue Shorts 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $15

Blue Skorts 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $19

Grey Shorts 4-6-8-10-12-14 $16.50 Royal Blue Track Pants 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $24

Royal Blue Jumper 4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18 $25 Royal Blue Jacket 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $30

Royal Blue Hoodie 4-6-8-10-12-14-16 $35

Snapback Hat $20

Bucket Hat $20

Blue Polo Sport Shirts 1S-1M-6-8-10-12-14-16 $30

School shorts School Shirts

School Bucket Hats

School Snapback Hats

Parking in a No Parking area - means you can stop to drop off or pick up

passengers for a MAXIMUM of 2 MINUTES. You must stay within 3 metres of

the vehicle. Infringement within a school zone is $180.00 and a loss of 2

demerit points.

Parking in a No Stopping area - means you CANNOT stop in this area for ANY

reason. Infringement within a school zone is $325.00 and a loss of 2 demerit

points.

Parking in a Bus Zone area - means you CANNOT stop or park unless you are

driving a bus. Infringement within a school zone is $325.00 and a loss of 2

demerit points.

For more information on infringements go to:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_reg/arr210/

and read PART 12--Restrictions on stopping and parking

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_reg/arr210/s168.html

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/safety-rules/demerits-

school.pdf