freemans reach public school

Safe Respectful Environmentally Friendly Learner

22 June 2021

From the Principal’s Desk …

Dear Parents and Carers Welcome to Week 10! I can’t believe this is the last newsletter for Term 2. The year is flying by! At Freemans Reach PS, we have been so very impressed with the effort, care and determination of our students to achieve their learning goals this semester. I would like to thank our families for their continued support of our school’s vision and systems, as we work together to ensure a warm and productive learning and work environment for all. This is indeed a great place to learn and teach. As we sing each fortnight, “We are kind, we are strong, in a place to learn and teach. We excel, we belong, in the school of Freemans Reach.”

STUDENT REPORTS Student reports for Semester 1 were sent home yesterday on Monday 21 June. I have enjoyed reading these reports and know that our students will continue to show improvement throughout Semester Two. The reports are set out using Achievement indicators which have been taken directly from the applicable syllabus. Students are assessed using the A - E scale which is aligned with where they are working in regards to their stage. I would like to take the time to remind all parents that with the A - E reporting system a student who achieves a C on their report is actually working at the appropriate stage level and is to be celebrated. The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of the five grade levels- A The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations. B The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations. C The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills. D The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills. E The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills. Further in this newsletter, there is another explanation of the A-E scale using the metaphor of driving a car. We thought it gave a good, relatable explanation of the A-E scale. As previously mentioned, this year the reports will look a little different to previous years, however, reporting content will continue to be informative and personalised. We have utilised Sentral, which is our cloud-based school management system powered by Microsoft. We welcome community feedback on the new-look report format, at the beginning of next term.

Upcoming Events

23 June Spirit Morning Tea

24 June K-6 Assembly 12:30pm

25 June Crazy Hair & Sock Day Last day of term

TERM 3

12 July Staff Development Day

13 July Students return to school

14 July P&C Meeting 6:30pm-8:00pm

20 July K-6 ‘Kadul’ Incursion Interrelate Family Evening @ Glossodia PS

22 July FRPS Athletics Carnival

23 July FRPS Café 2:15pm-2:45pm

395 Kurmond Road, Freemans Reach 2756 Phone: 4579 6146 Fax: 4579 6528 Web: https://freemanrch-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Email: [email protected] Relieving Principal: Lisa McGrath

Freemans Reach Public School Newsletter Term 2 Week 10

NOTES & MONEY DUE

Classroom Essentials-OVERDUE

Stage 3 Canberra Camp 3rd payment instalment-Due 25.6.21

Final Instalment-Due 30.06.21

Stage 3 Chocolate Fundraiser-Due 25.6.21

Chocolate Fundraising Raffle-Due 23.6.21

Interrelate Family Evening-Due 13.07.21

K-6 ‘Kadul’ by Ryka Ali-Due 16.7.21

Athletics Carnival-Due 22.7.21

Stage 2 Camp Deposit and permission note-Due 23.7.21

https://[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


SPIRIT MORNING TEA We will be delighted to celebrate our Term 2 Spirit Morning Tea tomorrow, Wednesday 23 June 2021. Whilst invitations were sent home last week, as a result of increasing COVID-19 cases in NSW, particularly Western Sydney, we have decided to make this event a Students Only Morning Tea. As we adhere to NSW Health’s updated COVID-19 guidelines, the safety of our school community is the most important thing. I encourage you to celebrate your child’s Spirit Award with them at home. We will post a recording of the ceremony on Facebook and on ENews, to share with families. Thank you for your understanding in this matter as we work together to keep our community safe. We have not taken this decision lightly and I would much prefer to have our families celebrate with us in person, but this simply cannot be helped at this time. I have enjoyed signing the certificates of all of our students’ awards, as their hard work and dedication to their learning is rightfully rewarded. Students delight in sharing their achievements with their teachers and with me, as they know their invitation is on the way! We love this! Successful wellbeing programs, such as these, would not be effective at all without the support from our parents, carers and teachers. By valuing your children’s positive behaviour for learning (PBL), just as we do, ensures a positive mindset and an encouraging and productive learning career. Thank you for your incredibly strong support as we congratulate students earning their PBL awards from their Assistant Principals this week. These awards are presented to students at the end of each term for making great personal choices by following our school’s four expectations and having no detentions. Terrific effort Freemans Reach PS!

COVID19 UPDATE (AS OF SUNDAY 20.6.21) We will continue to review our plans to support the ongoing delivery of education for students in the event there is a period of time students and staff are unable to attend school. Latest NSW Health advice NSW Health has been advised of venues of concern, associated with the confirmed cases of COVID-19, in regional NSW (1 June to 5 June) and in Greater Sydney (13 June to 17 June). All staff and families should regularly check the NSW Government COVID-19 news and updates for the venues and locations and adhere to advice where required. NSW Health has advised that masks will be mandatory on public transport from 4pm Friday 19 June until 12.01am Thursday 24 June, 2021 for people in the Sydney, Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains (excluding the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Illawarra) areas. This applies to students aged 12 years and over, and staff when travelling to and from school and during school excursions by public transport or by chartered or private transport services. Masks are also strongly encouraged in all public indoor venues, such as retail, theatre, hospitals and aged care facilities. People in these areas are also asked to avoid non-essential visits to aged care and disability facilities, but if visiting, wear a mask and limit visits to two people per day. I want to reassure our community that we are prepared for ‘online learning’ and ‘learning from home’ should we be given minimal notice, due to a local outbreak of COVID-19. To date, there have been no new reports of confirmed cases involving the

Department of Education. Freemans Reach PS has communication systems (ENews, School Website and Facebook) in place to remain connected to students, staff and parents and carers.

OVER THE TERM BREAK Our school will be having some assets work done over the term break (painting, sanding the hall, pest spraying, canteen preliminary work etc). Teachers will also be present on many scattered days through the break, as too our GA as he maintains our grounds. If you are local and notice anything that looks suspicious around our school during this break period, please contact School Security on 1300 88 00 21. Have a safe term break. We look forward to continuing our learning journey as school resumes for all students in Term 3 on Tuesday 13 July 2021. Warm Regards Lisa McGrath Relieving Principal

SRC CRAZY SOCK AND HAIR DAY The SRC will be having a Crazy Sock and Hair day on Friday 25 June, 2021. We are asking for a gold coin donation. Students are to wear their normal sports/school uniform and school hat. Money raised will be used to purchase new play and sports equipment to use in the playground. Thank you for your support. Miss Celeban and the SRC Committee


Oz Tag Gala Day Selected students from Stage 2 & 3 participated in the Hawkesbury Oz Tag Gala Day last Thursday at Bensons Lane. Both teams showed great skill and represented Freemans Reach PS proudly. A special thank you to Ben Clarke for taking time out of his busy schedule to help train and prepare both teams for the day. Well done, FRPS!

Premier’s Debating Challenge

Last week Stage 3 competed in round 2 of the Premier’s Debating Challenge. Both teams debated well and represented our school with confidence and pride. Hobartville PS took the win against our Stage 3 boys team, whereas our Stage 3 girls team won against Wilberforce PS. Round 3 will be coming up in Term 3 against Richmond Public School.

GETTING CRAFTY WITH MRS LEARD


PRESENTAIOTN DAY Freemans Reach Public School is seeking feedback from our families on their preference for the end of year, whole school Presentation Assembly. For the past few years, this event has been held during the day with families of our award recipients notified to allow organisation to attend. Previous to this, presentation assemblies were held in the evening without a notification of an award. To help us determine the best decision for our school and community, please indicate your preference in this survey here https://forms.gle/9UEqZ3evnfbBk1qy6. This survey will close at the end of Term 2 (25 June 2021). We thank you for your feedback.

SCHOOL BANKING Starting in Term 3, School Banking will be collected and processed on WEDNESDAY.

Term 2 Week 8 KM - Madeline H, Brooklyn B, Grace B, Jayden F

K/1A - Jayden S, Ethan B, Ashton F, Sienna B

1/2J - Katielee H, Thomas F, Avah C, Jacob M

2/3R - Georgia W, Lockie M, Hugh K, William H

3/4C - Bella D, Alexander B, Lochey J, Scarlett N

5/6A - Connor R, Evelyn N, Brianna W, Maxwell P

5/6M - Alyssa J, Jordan F, Anthony T, Annabelle M

Birthdays July

Jarrod H, Riley B, Ruby S, Abbi E, James V, Bella D, Immogen T, Avah E, Shelby W, Evelyn N, Harmony F, Harper M, Lucas C, Imogen E,

https://forms.gle/9UEqZ3evnfbBk1qy6


NAIDOC WEEK 2021

Freemans Reach Public School has been chosen to be involved in the headline event for this year's NSW Department of Education NAIDOC event.

With this year's NAIDOC theme of "Heal Country" the Aboriginal Outcomes and Partnerships Directorate have created a series of videos

to showcase this theme. These videos will be streamed live each day from 21 June through to 25 June at 9:30 am on the Department of Education’s website. https://education.nsw.gov.au/

Freemans Reach Public School K-2 students are performing Christine Anu's song, Taba Naba. Christine Anu will also be performing this song, and the final product will be Christine, along with the students singing together that will be live streamed to all schools and

corporate offices.

We are very excited to be a part of this special project. Well done, FRPS!

education.nsw.gov.au


WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE LIBRARY?

It sure has been another busy few weeks in the library. Students have continued their reading of the Australian classic picture book “My Place”, as well as discussing and researching various milestones in Australia’s history. At lunch times, more and more students are visiting the library, making it a hive of activity and learning. It is so pleasing to see so many of our students accessing such a valuable learning resource. A big shout out to our library monitors, who work hard to help me keep the library neat and organised. Over the next few weeks, some of our library monitors will be writing book reviews based on book they have read for the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Please enjoy our first review written by Lily from 5/6A.

Book Review: Ghosts Raina Telgemeier

Ghosts is by far one of the best books I have ever read! It is most definitely one of my favourite books to read from the library. I love reading it. Every time the library is open, I go over to the shelf to find this book. That’s how much I love it! Now, let's get straight into the review. Ghosts is about a family moving to a new town on the Northern California Coast. The family is moving because one of the two sisters has the incurable lung disease. In this town, there are beliefs that there are ghosts that come out. Catrina is super afraid of the ghosts, but with the courage and support from her little sister Maya, she is able to face her fear head on. Once she faces her fear, she soon starts to get used to it. Trust me! When you read this book, you will love it. My favourite part of the book is when Maya tells Catrina to use her internal courage to face her fears and meet the ghosts. I believe with the beautiful spirit Maya gave, it captures your emotion and heart. I feel this book has a motto and theme driving it - when you really don't like, or fear something, there will always be someone to support you and help you find the courage that we all possess. My rating for this book is 9.5/10. I highly recommend you come down to the library, read it and maybe even borrow it. -Lily W.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

We are well into the 2021 Premier’s Reading Challenge and several students are regularly adding books. Some students have almost completed the challenge. Well done everyone and keep reading! Mr Egan Librarian


The coming weeks will bring much change and excitement as our canteen renovation begins. The canteen will still be open next term, however, whilst the work is underway we will have a reduced menu. This will be issued to families, the first week back in Term 3.

Once again we would like to thank all our volunteers who dedicate their time and support. We have attached our roster for Term 3. There are still some vacancies which need to be filled, these dates are highlighted in pink. If you are interested please give one our

lovely canteen coordinators a call or text.

A huge thank you to Scibberas for their weekly donation of fruit and vege to the school!

Tara 0419 977 203 Alex 0404 233 585 Jo 0417 485 726

Provided as a part of our school’s Parenting Ideas membership parentingideas.com.au

INSIGHTS

Use your words Dad

Seven-year-old Thomas lay crying on his bed wrapped in the arms of his father. Thomas was upset and his dad was trying to findout what was bothering his son. His voice was quiet, and his words were soothing.

Gradually, Thomas opened up, sharing with his father how his best friend had embarrassed him in front of others at school.Unable to articulate his disappointment and anger, Thomas’s father did so for him. “I guess you feel let down. I’d be really madtoo if that happened to me.”

Thomas let out a sigh, relaxing even more into his father’s embrace knowing he understood how he felt. Empathy has a soothinge�ect on upset children.

Popular parenting author Steve Biddulph is correct when he wrote that activity is the main language of fathering. Dads usephysical touch and play to build relationships and as a tool to develop self-control, teamwork, fairness, and other values.

However, if activity is the only way a man relates to his children, his impact will be limited. As Thomas’s father discovered,physical touch may provide an entry point but it’s through talking that we get to the heart of matters that bother children andyoung people.

Anecdotally, talking with kids about their worries and anxieties is still largely a mother’s preserve. Sexuality educators report thatmothers do most of the talking when it comes to sexuality, respectful relationships, and consent.

Talking through personal problems with a son or daughter is a new role for many men, especially for a generation whose fathersstoically advised them ‘get on with it’ when problems emerged. Many males feel more comfortable giving advice rather thansolace to kids who are struggling.

The most e�ective parents are those who adapt to the times in which they live. The COVID-19 era requires parents to be even more patient, calm and focused on children’s wellbeing. Parents of both genders need to communicate from their hearts as wellas their heads, finding words to support and heal, as well as to advise when children and young people struggle.

Michael GroseMichael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s anaward-winning speaker and the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation, andthe bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It. Michael is a formerteacher with 15 years experience, and has 30 years experience in parenting education. He also holds aMaster of Educational Studies from Monash University specialising in parenting education.

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