MAY

9th Yr 4 Popes Glen

10th Yr 4 Gymnastics

Yr 4 Coding

Workshop

Soccer Gala Day

14th Stage1 Popes

Glen Excursion

14th-16th NAPLAN Yr5 24th District Cross

Country

27th Stage 3 Choir

Rehearsal WFPS

JUNE

13th SAKG Stg3 Cooking &

Gardening

14th Newcombe Ball

Gala Day

20th SAKG Stg3 Cooking &

Gardening

21st Games Day

25th Narragunnawali

KPS Rehearsal

26th Stage 2 Choir

KPS Rehearsal

27th SAKG Stg3 Cooking &

Gardening

JULY

4th SAKG Stg3 Cooking &

Gardening

5th Last Day Term 2

23rd Students First

Day Term 3

AUGUST

5th Stage 2 Choir

WFPS Rehearsal

19th UBBMF KHS

Rehearsal

Narragunnawali

KHS Rehearsal

PLEASE REFER TO THE SCHOOL WEBSITE FOR RELEVANT NOTES &

FURTHER INFORMATION

Blackheath Public School Website: www.blackheath-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Leichhardt Street, Blackheath 2785 Email: Blackheath-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Office hours: 8.30 a.m.—3.15 p.m. Phone: 4787 8253 Fax: 4787 8320

Term 2, Weeks 1 & 2,

2019

Blackheath Public School Website: www.blackheath-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Leichhardt Street, Blackheath 2785 Email: Blackheath-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Office hours: 8.30 a.m.—3.15 p.m. Phone: 4787 8253 Fax: 4787 8320

FROM THE PRINCIPAL Dear Parents/Carers and Friends, It was lovely to see the happy faces at the start of last week and our new term. Teachers have exciting learning opportunities ready for their

classes and some great excursions too. I would like to sincerely thank those wonderful students and parents who proudly marched down the highway and/or attended one of the Anzac Day ceremonies. Our school Leaders, Oliver Gray and Taylah Hughan, did an excellent job

representing BPS and speaking at the service. The teachers, office and support staff of The Upper Blue Mountains Learning Community group of schools attended a Staff Development Day at Katoomba High School on Monday. Staff were involved in workshops on Neuroscience and Reading, Trauma Informed Practice, Enrichment of

Students and many other topics. The Key Note speaker was the energetic Eddie Woo, the winner of the NSW Premier’s Prize for Innovation in Maths Education and the creator of WOOtube. It was a fabulous day with over 200 staff members coming together to renew and improve their practice. Online Safety This week stage 2 and 3 students will be learning how to be a safe user of technology. Our Police Youth Liaison Officer will be speaking to our students on this important topic. Parents you can access esafety.com to explore what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe on line. This is a rapidly changing area so please keep checking this site.

I will be taking leave from this Friday for 5 weeks, returning to school on Monday 17th June. Mrs Hardge will be ‘taking the reigns’ in my absence. Mr Pearce will be teaching Mrs Hardge’s class and he is very excited to be doing this as he already knows them well. After my leave I will be returning for three days a week and Mrs Hardge will

be principal on Thursday and Fridays. This will enable me some time to be with family and Mrs Hardge very

valuable professional experience. Warm Regards, Jane Davies Principal

Dear Parents and Carers, If you have a child/children in Year 4 this year, please be advised that the

application process for Year 5 opportunity class placement in 2020 is about to begin. The application

process is to be completed online between Tuesday, 30th April and Friday, 17th May 2019.

Information about applying for Year 5 entry to an opportunity class in 2020 is available from

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year

-5/information-for-applicants.

Please contact Mr Yeong if you intend to apply, or if you would like to discuss this opportunity for

your child/children.

YEAR 5 OPPORTUNITY CLASS 2020

REMEMBERING & HONOURING MS BALAAM

On Tuesday 30th BPS held a special Tree Planting Ceremony to remember and honour Ms Jennifer Balaam, our teacher

and friend who we all miss. A special welcome was given to Ms Balaam’s daughter, Belinda, and her family and to Rosie

Hurley, dear friend of Ms Balaam. Thankyou to the Masters’ family who inspired us and provided the tree. James & Sam

carefully selected a Blazing Autumn Maple with the thought that it will grow and provide shade and beauty and continue

to care for our students for many decades to come. One of our teachers commented that Ms Balaam will be on the

playground for evermore. I’m sure she would laugh at that! Ms Balaam taught at this school for 14 years and then

volunteered after her retirement, inspiring her students and colleagues in so many ways. Her kindness, generosity and

pure passion for Public Education will always be remembered. Thank you Ms Balaam!

Jane Davies Principal

MERIT AWARDS

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

TERM 1 WEEK 10

K-G Dusty Stanford, Isaac Campbell & Isaac Flannery

K-R Matari Hayden-Leacy, Michael Marneros, Mae

Kirchner & Stefan Stofka

K-1H Reece Barwick, Eden Jones & Leese Holmwood

1-2K Xanthe Gerontakos, Riley Marneros & Kamilika

Chattiar

1-2N Kamilla Flannery, Sebastian Holz & Ella -May Martin

1-2R Reuben Whelan-Smith, Ella Kingswood & Amelia

Wards

K-R Thaonhi Exner

K-1H Arabella Slattery & Lukas Wendl

1-2K Colton Michalski & Suki Chambers-Rennert

1-2N Gryffyn Hoekstra & Lily Hunter

1-2R Halia Payne & Isaac Riley-Page

1-2S Oliver Draguns & Lucinda Christie Brookes

3-4B Griffin Hunt & William Peterson

3-4M Olin Reed-Watres & Lola Galloway

3-4Y Alex Knight & Owen Tomiczek

5-6H Marley Henderson & Claudia Paag

5-6L Tommy Blenkhorn & Anna Fergus

5-6M Scarlett Donovan & Sage Reed-Watres

5-6T Noah Marr & Ainsley Pollard

STAGE 2 VILLAGE WALK & RHODODENDRON GARDEN EXCURSION On the 11th of April, Stage 2 students set out on our walk of the village

that we live in, to see with our own eyes what has changed over time

and what has remained the same. We pondered the past lives of some

buildings along the Great Western Highway and imagined what the

Gardners Inn would have looked like in its original form. As we made our

way to the Rhododendron Garden, we saw firsthand some of the

changes to the Great Western Highway. After a quick recess at the top

section of the Garden, we listened and learned about the strong ties

between the Garden and our school from the President and Secretary of

the Garden, Mr Alan Lush. Soon we headed off to explore the Garden.

Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of the year and there were no

flowers blooming. We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch, drew some sketches

of the Garden and enjoyed the beautiful day. We finished the day with a

surprise Easter Egg Hunt, which was great fun. Philip Yeong

STAMPS Do you throw away your used stamps? If so, please tear off the stamp and bring it

to Sue in the school office for donation to the Red Cross. Money raised by the

foundation is used to support under-privileged families in Australia

ILLNESS AT SCHOOL AND NOTIFYIYING Please do not send your child to school if they are sick. If your child has been vomiting or had diarrhoea, they must not have vomited or had runny stools for a minimum of 24 hours (even if they feel better) as they may still be infectious. Staff have only the best interests of our students at heart when we ask this so as to avoid outbreaks in classrooms. We also

have children with compromised immune systems at school for whom contracting these illnesses can have serious repercussions. It is important for these students that they participate actively in the day to day school program without any major limitations. Towards this end another major concern is if these children were to develop measles, chickenpox, whooping cough or influenza so I seek your cooperation in preventing this situation.

If your child has, or may have, measles, chicken pox or other infectious illness, I would ask that you please:

1. Do not send them to school. 2. Notify the School Principal as soon as possible. 3. Take them to your GP or medical centre to confirm diagnosis if possible. Thanking you in anticipation, Jane Davies Principal

A gentle reminder that all payments MUST be in by the

due date on the note. Owing to our Department of Edu-

cation system we cannot process money that comes in

after the closing date. You may find that the online payment may seem to work as this is the bank ’s system but the

money cannot be processed for that event and will be put into credit for your future use. If finance is an issue PLEASE

complete the assistance form BEFORE the due date. You are more than welcome to reimburse us after the date.

PAYMENTS

Late last year our P & C President at the time, Jodi Lee, wrote a successful submission to Telstra for our Stage One

students. The school was awarded a $1200 grant to purchase construction materials and storage boxes. We were able to purchase a wide range of materials including LEGO, construction sticks, Zoobs, peg boards and pegs and Mobilo. These materials are a wonderful addition to our classrooms and will help foster creativity, social interaction and fine motor skills in our students and most importantly provide hours of fun! I would like to thank Jodi Lee for writing the grant and Telstra for supporting our school. Ruth Harris Stage 1 Coordinator

TELSTRA KIDS GRANT

DANCE OFF!

In the first week of Term 2, Keira, Natalie and Annika attended Dance Off!, a three-day dance camp for Stage 3 students where they learnt many different styles of dance from professional choreographers. They also collaborated with other students and learnt to choreograph their own dance. The camp culminated in a showcase where they got to show all the dances they learnt, which included lyrical, jazz, ballet, hip

hop, JFH, musical theatre and their own choreographed dance to their families.

Philip Yeong

SYDNEY WRITERS

FESTIVAL

T-shirt Design Competition We are excited to be part of the Wakakirri Story Dance Festival this year and

have nearly ninety students across Stage 2 and 3 involved in the production. We are organising a special T -shirt for all

participants and we need your help to come up with the winning design that will feature on the T-shirt. The winning

design will win a T-shirt.

Competition rules:

1. All BPS students from K-6 can submit a design

2. All designs must be sent to Mr Yeong by the end of the

day on Friday, 17th May 2019.

3. Your name & class must be written clearly on the back

4. Your design must have the words, ”The Greatest Adventure”

& “Blackheath Public School”.

5. Your design must stand out on a black T-shirt.

6. Your design must have an outer space theme.

7. Your design must fit on an A4 paper in landscape mode.

On Thursday 2nd May, some Stage 2 & 3 students attended the

Sydney Writers Festival. This Festival brings together prominent

authors and illustrators for a fun, interactive and educational day that

inspires students to discuss books and creativity. All our BPS

attendees agreed it was a fantastic and valuable experience.

P&C NEWS We hope that everyone is settling in well to Term 2.

It’s shaping up to be another action-packed term!

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the school cross country yesterday, and good luck to our competitors at the District Cross Country carnival later this month. We wish Mrs Davies all the best for her adventures overseas and look forward to working with Mrs Hardge more closely this term.

If you haven’t yet completed the Volunteers registration form, please do! There are copies available at the office if you need

another one.

At the last P&C meeting in Term 1, the P&C roles were finalised and it is with gratitude that we congratulate the following people for taking on a role for 2019: Morgan Boehringer (President), Ally Drinkwater (Vice President), Ali Myers (Treasurer), Stuart Christie (Secretary), Justine Brown (Uniform Co-ordinator), Julie Kingswood (Fundraising Coordinator) and Jacinta Hanemann (Environment coordinator).

At the heart of our community… Blackheath is renowned for its amazing community, and Blackheath Public School is the heart of the community! Get involved in the P&C and help support this amazing community for our kids:

Donate to the Election Day Hamper: donations can be left at the front office by Friday 17th May. Please leave your name attached to your donation so we can thank you properly!

Bake a cake or some sweets for Election Day. (no nuts please)- please collect a cake box from the canteen. Deliver by 3pm Friday 17th or first thing Saturday 18th May.

We need one or two more people to work on the cake and raffle stall on Election Day, either from 10am-12noon or 12-2pm. If this is you, please let Chris in the canteen know, or contact us via Fbook or blackheathpublicschool@pandcaffilliate.org.au

We need more regular canteen helpers: no experience necessary! Join the team that brings healthy and delicious food to our kids by letting Chris in the canteen know your availability. Shift range from 30 mins to a whole day commitment. Any time you have to offer will be really appreciated!

Already sick of making school lunches? A great way to support our wonderful

Wholesome Kids Cafe is to set up a regular weekly order for your chid/children this term! Just fill in an order form for a recurring order and take some of the stress out of having to make lunches every day!

Lunch order forms are available at the canteen, on our Facebook page and on the Skoolbag app.

Come to the P&C meeting this Monday, 13th May, at 7.30pm.

If you have not received a copy of the last meeting’s minutes, please flick us an email at blackheath-publicschool@pandcaffilliate.org.au and we will send you a copy. They can also be found on the P&C noticeboard near the uniform shop

P&C news and events are shared via the Skoolbag app, our Facebook page (@BlackheathPandC), on the

noticeboard and in the newsletter.

Get in touch through our Facebook page or email us at blackheathpublicschool@pandcaffilliate.org.au

Visit the Uniform Shop on Monday mornings from 8.30 to 9.30am near the canteen.

Come along to our Free Breakfast Club from 8.30-8.50am daily @ The Wholesome Kids Café

BPS MARKETS

1st Sunday of each month

Coordinator Murray

042 904 1704

STEWART HOUSE DONATION DRIVE 2019 The Stewart House Donation Drive envelopes are being issued with this

newsletter. By donating $2.00 you have a chance of winning a family holiday

valued at $4000 to the destination of your choice. Envelopes must be returned

by 24th May. Your donation helps support the 1700 children who attend

Stewart House each year from public schools across NSW and the ACT.

WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY - 17TH MAY 2019 On Friday 17th May, Blackheath Public School will be participating in the annual “Walk

Safely to School”. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the Blue Mountains.

The Autumn leaves are providing a stunning display of colours so why not make the most of

the opportunity to walk to school?

Parents use this special day to discuss and encourage road safety. Did you know that until children are 10 years old,

children must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road. Be a good role model by crossing at the designated

pedestrian crossings at school and don’t walk between cars.

Look forward to seeing you all at the school gates to receive a special sticker when you walk to school, and the forecast

is for some chilly weather, so rug up! Ms Shute

Blackheath Community

CLOTHES SWAP-11 May 2019

Swap your unwanted but still wearable clothes for something different!

Get your copy of the Ethical Fashion Guide!

This is a free activity for the community run as part of Blackheath Day.

Nothing to swap? Gold coin donation on the Day appreciated!

All proceeds go to Baptist World Aid Australia.

Clothes should be dropped off prior to the day– to 6 Bundarra St, Mon- Thurs 10am-2pm. For info, contact the Baptist Church on 4787 8243 or visit www.blackheathbaps.com