N E W S L E T T E R D A T E

Gundaroo Public School

Week 7, Term 1, 2017

Dear Parents,

THANK YOU!

A very big thank you to Gin Dixon and all other parent volunteers over the weekend

for the Canberra Vintage Motorcycle morning tea and lunch. Once again, we

impressed with our wonderful Gundaroo hospitality and the riders are wanting to

come back again next year! After a huge effort by our parent group, over $2400

was raised, which will go to much-needed readers for the School. If you baked,

served, help set-up, pack up or assisted in any other way, we are truly grateful!

While we are on the topic of ‘readers’ (tenuous segue, I know!), I came across yet

another article (here), this time espousing the benefits of reading real books, rather

than e-readers.

For a range of reasons, there has been a steady uptake in the use of e-books in

schools, and I imagine, also at home. Pages don’t get torn and tatty, e-books are

often cheaper, easily updated, easier to store and transport, and of course there is

our perception that kids ’enjoy’ using tablets, so therefore, would rather read on a

tablet than from a book.

While I didn’t find the article ground breaking in its claims, a few important points

come to mind when making the decision of whether or not to go down the e-book

route:

Students’ preference may be for real books. Reducing/limiting this access

may also reduce/limit the likelihood they would read for pleasure

Tablets open up easy opportunity for distraction, which can impact reading

comprehension

Students can become over-reliant on support features, to the detriment of

inferential comprehension skills

Having access to devices, such as tablets, mobile phones etc. can reduce

the likelihood of children reading for enjoyment

We live in an increasingly digital world, and will continue to face similar questions

and challenges. Articles and debates, such as this one, will continue to pop up.

What we must remember is, regular reading for enjoyment is undoubtedly one of

the best things one can do to improve literacy achievement. Our job as educators,

and parents, is to continually encourage students to participate in reading quality

texts, for pleasure, and to develop a love of learning, whether this be with the aid of

tablets, or traditional methods, such as books.

Have a great week,

Nigel Trethowan.

02 62368115 gundaroo-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.gundaroo-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Trixie for being

kind in the

playground

EVERY TUESDAY

Tennis Lessons

9-11:30am

Running Shoes

please!

16.3.17

Tin Shed Bread

Lunch

$5 - Cash only

16.3.17

School Speak Off -

Rotary Speeches.

9am, 5/6 Classroom

21.3.17

Harmony Day

Lunch and Cultural

Dress

24.3.17

Whole School

Assembly (2/3)

2:20pm

Shout Outs!

Austin for helping

when someone

fell over.

Verity for being

friendly to new

students.

Matthew for

being fair in

handball.

Cross Country

Training

Over the coming weeks, we will be

doing regular cross country training.

Please make sure children are

wearing appropriate footwear each

day (not boots or sandals!). Also,

keep an eye out for us on the roads!

Bungendore Rotary

Public Speaking The Bungendore Rotary Public Speaking

competition will be held on Tuesday 28th

March. Students in Years 3-6 are invited to

participate.

Topics for Years 3-5 are (3 minutes):

Why everyone should learn to swim

What can I learn from other cultures?

What is my favourite season?

A topic of own choice about colour

Topics for Year 6 are (4 minutes):

Why everyone should learn to swim

Should I speak out when I see racism?

Is technology always beneficial?

A topic of own choice about colour

Three competitors can be entered in each

section. We will be having a

‘School Speak Off’ on Thursday

16th March at 9am. Please let your

teacher know if you would like to

participate!

Helpers wanted

If you have any spare time,

we are in desperate need of

some volunteers to assist

with our reading program.

We would need you to

commit to a regular time.

Please see Nigel or Liz

Harris for more information.

Arrival Times

Please remember that school

supervision in the playground begins at

8:30am. Any student that arrives before

this time should be signed in at GOSH

or supervised by a parent. Thank you

for your cooperation.

Supervision Reminder

No person should be on school grounds

after hours without prior approval.

Students on school grounds after hours

should be supervised by an adult at all

times, particularly after dark. Thank you

for your cooperation.

A Crunch & Sip tip! Fill sandwiches with an extra boost of

vegetables - grated carrot, tomato, cucumber, beetroot, lettuce, sprouts

and capsicum are all delicious additions!

Talking Tickets

“Every morning is a chance at a new day.”

Tin shed bread lunch A choice of:

Chilli Con Carne (not spicy)

With vegetables, beef and corn.

$5 cash on the day!

THIS THURSDAY

Student Learning Resources

A hard copy of the student learning resources note went home today. We are

asking families to contribute $40 per student to help with the costs of resources

used throughout the year, e.g Mathletics and Reading Eggs/Eggspress online

subscriptions, as well as providing stationary and equipment.

BIRTHDAYS! Last week This week

Trixie - 12th March Sarah - 18th March

Emma - 12th March

Tennis with Mrs C is back!

Lessons are every Tuesday morning!

New

Classroom

SCHOOL PHONE BOOK

Each year a school phone book is distributed out to families.. It involves phone numbers of the

school community ONLY. It is not to be distributed anywhere else.

If you would not like your phone number in the school phone book please inform

the office by next Friday.

If you have opted out in previous years this will stay the same.

Meet Rezillia

This week we focus on RESILIENCE.

Resilience: I keep on going even though I may feel like giving up. I am not put off by being stuck. I am

patient and tolerate feelings of apprehension, frustration or confusion. I think of ways to overcome my

problems; I am solution and learning focussed. I use mistakes to guide further learning.

What does being resilient look like?

Failing a task and having another go (or more than one).

Taking feedback and using it to improve

Dealing independently with pea problems

Setting goals and persisting to meet them

Using mistakes as a learning opportunity

Using ‘Growth Mindset’ language

Your mistakes guide you, they do not define you.

Conversations encouraging resilience to have at home;

What was the biggest challenge you faced today? Allow your child to ask you this question also.

How can you and I think about these challenges in a new way?

What can we do differently tomorrow if we face similar challenges?

How does it feel when you make a mistake?

What can you do about those feelings so you don’t feel discouraged?

Rezillia can handle herself when things are tough.

She can ride the waves of life and can bounce back

when things don’t go as planned.

She is tough and resilient.

She will persist to get the job done.

She can filter the distractions around her and she

keeps her eyes ever watchful for details she can use.

Tuesday 21st March is Harmony Day

Our diversity makes Australia a great place to live. Harmony Day is a

celebration of our cultural diversity – a day of cultural respect for everyone

who calls Australia home.

Held every year on 21 March. The Day coincides with the United Nations

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The message of Harmony Day is ‘everyone belongs’, the Day aims to engage

people to participate in their community, respect cultural and religious

diversity and foster sense of belonging for everyone.

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange

signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates

to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. Australians

can choose to wear something orange on 21 March to show their support for

cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous

culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from

around the world.

Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of

who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.

Multicultural Australia is an integral part of our national identity. All people

who migrate to Australia bring with them some of their own cultural and

religious traditions, as well as taking on many new traditions. Collectively,

these traditions have enriched our nation.

There are some fascinating statistics about Australia’s diversity that can be

good conversation-starters:

around 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have at least one

parent who was

we identify with about 300 ancestries

since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia

85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia

apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are

Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Vietnamese, Tagalog/Filipino,

Spanish and Hindi

more than 60 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

These facts are taken from ABS 2011 Census Data. http://www.harmony.gov.au/about/

Gundaroo Public School Term 1 Calendar

WEEK MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

Jan/Feb

1

30 31 1

Kindergarten’s First Day

2 3 4 5

Feb

2

6 7

P&C Meeting 7pm

All welcome

8 9 Welcome BBQ & Information

Night 6:00-7:30pm

10 Swimming

Carnival 3-6

Water Fun K-2

11 12

Feb

3

13 14 15 16 17

Whole School Assembly (5/6)

2:20pm

18 19

Feb

4

20 21

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

22 23 24

District Swimming Carnival

25 26

Feb/Mar

5

27 28

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

1 2 3 4 5

Mar

6

6 7

P&C Meeting 7pm

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

8 9 10

Whole School Assembly (3/4)

2:20pm

11 Vintage

Motorcycle Club M. Tea

& Lunch

12

Mar

7

13 14

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

15 16

School Speak Off – Rostrum

Speeches 9am

17 18 19

Mar

8

20 21

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

Harmony Day

22 23 24

Whole School Assembly (2/3)

2:20pm

25 26

Mar/Apr

9

27 28

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

29 30

GRIP Leadership

Year 6

31 1 2

Apr

10

3 4

P&C Meeting 7pm

Tennis K-6 9-11:30

5 6 7

Cross Country Carnival

K-6

8 9