DATES FOR YOUR DIARY (please see Skoolbag for further details and copy of notes) Term 4 – 2016 Week 10 14 Dec Yr 5 Picnic Day 15 Dec Yr 3 & 4 Picnic Day Year 2 Picnic Day 16 Dec Yr 6 Adventureland Excursion Yr 6 Farewell Arch Last day of school for students School Resumes 2017

For teachers on Friday 27 January 2017 For students Years 1-6 on Monday 30

January 2017 Best Start Testing – Kindergarten

Monday 30 January to Wednesday 1 February 2017

Kindergarten commence on Thursday 2 February

Principal’s / Deputy Principals’ Report End of Term Just a reminder to parents that the school term for students concludes this Friday 16 December 2016. Mr Clissold’s recovery Mr Clissold is recovering very well from his recent knee surgery. He will return to school at the beginning of 2017. School Enrolments As you are aware, it is difficult to form 2017 classes until enrolment numbers are confirmed during the first few days of the 2017 school year. For this reason we will keep children in their 2016 class/grade groups for the first few days of Term 1. This will allow us to avoid unnecessary

changes if the whole school needs to be restructured due to last minute changes in enrolments. It is anticipated that we will form new classes on Friday 3 February 2017 (Week 2). Farewell Mrs Kessey Mrs Kessey has been involved at our school for 26 years both as a parent and a staff member. She will be leaving us at the end of this term as she has successfully gained a Principal position at Nabiac Public School commencing 2017. She has been a vital member of our staff and has made an immense contribution towards our school. We wish Mrs Kessey all the best in her new adventure and she will certainly be missed.

Best wishes Mrs Kessey

2017 Student Leadership Team Congratulations to our 2017 team. Our student body has chosen well. We look forward to working with the team next year. Girls Boys Indiana (C) Camden (C) Amber (VC) Jack (VC) Grace Kye Abbey Tavis Jorja Lachlan, Ella Will

Forster Public School A vibrant, caring and successful learning community

Respect Personal Best Safety Find us at: Head Street, Forster Tel: 6555 6766 Fax: 65556374 Email: forster-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 4 Week 10 Tuesday, 13 December 2016

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2017 in coming school leaders

Presentation Day 2016 Congratulations to all award winners at today’s Years 3-6 Presentation Assembly. We are very proud of all students at Forster Public School. Farewell Year 6 Year 6 finish their primary education journey on Friday 16 December. Our best wishes are extended to all students as they depart to high school. Good luck in 2017, and thank you for the leadership you have collectively demonstrated in 2016.

Outgoing School Leaders were congratulated for their leadership roles in 2016 by Relieving School Principal, Mrs Kessey. Year 6 Arch This will be on Friday 16 December which is the last day of school. An arch will be formed for the children at about 2:40pm. Prior to that there will be a small presentation for the Year 6 children commencing at 2:00pm in the Multi-Purpose Centre.

Term 4 Sid Award Winners We would like to congratulate the following students for winning the term 4 sid awards. The prize for this term is a movie pass. K-2 winners Indi 1/18, Ellery 2/30, Ella 2/31, Alex 2/31, Dean 2/30, Hendrix 1/17, Nate 2/14, Willow 1/18, Ruby K24 & Ecko K25 3-6 winners Taine 6/1, Nathaniel 4/12, Chelsea 5/35, Ellie-Rose 5/35, Sam 5/35, Jailyn 3/10, Sam 2-4/27, Indi 5/32, Evie 6/4 & Britney 6/1. Narelle Kessey Principal - Relieving Anne Evans Deputy Principal - Relieving Katrina Pettet Deputy Principal - Relieving Karen Austin Instructional Leader Support Unit Wow – another year is done and dusted! Students in the support unit have worked very hard all year and are very excited to finish the year with our picnic days coming up this week. On behalf of the teaching staff in the support unit, I would like to extend my appreciation for the support and cooperation from our parents and their families this year. Working together with families makes our job a great deal easier and allows us to better support your child. The staff would also like to wish all families a safe and happy holiday. K-2 Concert The students from 2-4/27 joined Mrs Galle’s class to dance to the song ‘Fireworks’ in the K-2 concert last week. The students had a wonderful time performing on stage and looked fabulous! The students from K-2/25 joined Mrs Riley’s, Mrs Bertwistle’s and Mrs Holm’s classes to perform their dances. Super effort!

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Year 6 Play – Alice in Wonderland All Year 6 students worked tirelessly this term on their production of Alice in Wonderland. Students built props and painted backdrops, performed in dances, controlled the lighting and sound or performed a character in the story. Our students really enjoyed working together and were very proud of the final production. Great work Year 6! High School Transition Our Year 6 students have completed their final transition to high school visits last week. A huge thank you to Ms Holland for transporting the students to and from the transition visits this term. The students are very excited about their journeys to high school and have already made some new friends. This is a very exciting time for our Year 6 students! Cassandra Lees Assistant Principal Support – Relieving Early Stage 1 Preschool Transition Visits Kindergarten students have enjoyed assisting the preschool students during recent transition visits. ES1 students have been wonderful role models in playground and classroom settings.

The boys plan their next move in a game

Sarah assists Ivy and Riah from Great Lakes

Preschool Vision Mrs Stephen engaged Kindergarten and Year 1 students in how to best support vision impaired students. Students wore frosted goggles to experience how hard it is to see and get around when your vision is affected. Mrs Sephen also demonstrated how to use a cane. It helped to develop a good understanding of how to help peers in the playground. Some students at our school will be using canes to help them move around the school.

Classes in 2017 Students will commence the year with a Year 1 teacher in their current Kindergarten class group until numbers are finalised. This assists in smooth transistion. We thankyou for your support during this period.

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Safe Holidays On behalf of Early Stage One I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this year. We wish you a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing you all next year. Tianne Buderus Assistant Principal - Relieving Stage 1 Reports have been sent home with students please discuss your child’s report with them. On behalf of all Stage 1 teachers we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all parents who have assisted us throughout the year. A close relationship between teachers, parents and students is the most effective way to cater for learning needs. End of Year Concert The annual end of year concert was held on Friday 9 December. The students have all been working very hard so we hoped that you sat back, relaxed and enjoyed our concert. We are sure you were entertained. Well done to all those that helped bring this event to the stage. A special thankyou to Kellie Eggins who wrote the script and ran a spectacular concert. We are very proud of all the children who looked fabulous with their beautiful smiles and dance moves. K-2 teachers you have all done an amazing job.

2/29 ready to perform ‘Eye of the Tiger’

Main narrators-Jade & Kaylee

Class 1/21 Item, 'I like to move it'

Kianna, Phoebe & Ocea

Class 2/14 Item, 'Everything is awesome'

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Year 2 Picnic Day Year 2 will be going on a picnic on Thursday 15 December under the bridge in the park. This will be a fantastic day for the students. Please remember to wear sunscreen, full school uniform, a hat and bring a packed picnic lunch. Library Books There are still a number of school and library books that have not yet been returned. If you have any of these at home can you please return ASAP. Please continue to read with your children over the holidays. Reading each day will consolidate what your child has learnt this year and is a wonderful bonding experience to have each day. It does not matter whether you read or your child reads, both are invaluable for your child’s reading.

Christmas Excitement and the crowd went wild!! Emily, Mia, Karlee, Kiara, Sam, Leah, Eddie

Ollie, Charlotte Jacqui Riley Assistant Principal - Relieving Stage 2 Stage 2 have had a busy couple of weeks and the teachers and students should nearly be ready for a holiday. Year 3 have been doing Intensive Swimming and the results that the teachers are reporting back are magnificent. It is amazing how practising each day for only an hour makes such a difference to the student’s ability to feel confident in the water. A big thank you to the teachers who are on year 3 as some of them are giving up their lunch hour to allow the student’s to have this important opportunity. Stage 2 have also been doing their bit for the community. Instead of a Christmas carols concert at the school this year we have decided to show off our brilliant talents at the local nursing homes in our community. 4/15 and 4/9 went on Wednesday

and performed two songs for the residents. They also read them a favourite book and showed off some of their Christmas poetry. It was very well received and I was so proud of the lovely, kind, sensible, caring attitudes of the students. Stage 2 are also making Christmas cards for the people who receive Meals on Wheels and hopefully their lovely artworks will make someone’s day!

4/9 performing for the residents at the Nursing

home Stage 2 will be celebrating their year with a picnic day at the movies. The students will have the choice of two movies, Sing or Trolls. After the movies, weather permitting, we will spend some time at the park and walk back to school. It is a lovely day for all of the students to celebrate their year together. Students who are on intensive support will not be able to go. Carols by Candlelight This event at John Wright Park on Monday night was a wonderful success with a choir of 50 students who looked and sounded amazing. Thanks to the parents and friends who supported the school and managed to get their children to this function. A great night was had by all.

Lynelle Patterson Assistant Principal

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Stage 3 Year 6 Farewell On Monday 12 December, Year 6 had a wonderful time at their Year 6 Farewell. The farewell was held at Club Forster and the venue looked amazing. Thank you to all the parents that helped to set up the venue and make our night a success. The students looked lovely and danced the night away. We would also like to send a big thank you to Danika Lemessurier from U Neek Cakes for donating this years cakes.

Picnic Day Year 5 are heading to the Ten Pin Bowling and Laser Tag centre on Wednesday 14 December at a cost of $5 for our Picnic Day. Adventureland Year 6 are heading to Adventureland at Darawank on Friday 16 December for their final farewells. A day of fun on the waterslides and playing games with their peers before heading back into school for the arch. The Arch Parents please note, the Arch ceremony will begin at 2pm in the MPC. A celebration of your children’s schooling will culminate in the traditional arch. Get the cameras and tissues ready! 3-6 Gold Presentation Assembly

YMCA Fay Hiley Spirit of Participation

Chloe & Kayne

Most Improved Year 6 student Shane

2016

Akina - An unprecedented 7th Gold

Academic Excellence Award winner Claire with

Mr Levick at Presentation Day

Paula Drew Assistant Principal - Relieving

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Sport Swimming Carnival The school swimming carnival has been booked for Wednesday, 8 February 2017. More information next year! Paula Drew Sport Organiser Band & Choir Last week our school band and choir visited local nursing homes to help spread the holiday cheer. The residents were delighted with the visit.

P & C News Christmas Raffle Congratulations to the following winners of the christmas raffle: 1st prize Patricia 2nd prize Brenda 3rd prize Jesse 4th prize Oliver 1/21 also received a mystery prize for the return of most tickets (sold or unsold). Congratulations to them. Thanks to all that contributed to this years raffle prizes. Additional Opening Hours for 2017 Our uniform shop will be opening Friday 27 January 2017 from 9:00 am to 12 noon. We will also be open Monday 30 January to Friday 3 Febuary 8.30am to 12 noon. Normal hours will resume from Tuesday 7 February 2017 (Tues/Thurs 8:30-9:30). Canteen Volunteers Do you have a spare 1 hour from 8:30-9:30 in the mornings? If so the canteen needs your help to assist with the morning rush and lunch ordering process. Please see Karen at the canteen if you are able to help out. The P&C hold their meetings twice a term on Monday nights in weeks 3 and week 8. The next P&C meeting will be on Monday 6 February 2017. Thank you volunteers We would like to extend our thanks to everyone that helps out through the year. We wish you a meery christmas and a safe and happy new year. Lee Caithness P & C President

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Community News

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