Willmot Public School Newsletter

Address: 63 Discovery Avenue, Willmot NSW 2770 Phone: 9628 0222 Email: willmot-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: https://willmot-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

2021 - Term 3 - Weeks 1 - 5

Important Dates Please note that we anticipate changes to some of our upcoming events due to Covid-19 restrictions.

WEEK 1 Remote learning due to covid-19 restrictions

WEEK 2 Education Week Wednesday 21st July Graffiti Prevention & Life Skills Program

Friday 23rd July Kindy 100 days of Learning

WEEK 3 Monday 26th July Ultimate Frisbee Workshop Friday 30th July School Assembly - Yellow

WEEK 4 Monday 2nd August Ultimate Frisbee Workshop Friday 6th August Primary Principal’s Day Australia

WEEK 5 Monday 9th August Ultimate Frisbee Workshop

A message from the Relieving Principal, Mrs Plowman

It is not quite the start to Term 3 that we had been hoping for. For the first week of Term 3, students in Greater Sydney – which includes Willmot Public School – will be learning from home. This arrangement will stay in place until Friday 16th July unless the Government extends the current lockdown measures. Our school will remain open for students and families who need it, although parents are encouraged to keep their children at home. There will be minimal staff supervision at school. Learning from home packs have been created and are ready for collection from Tuesday 13th July.

Covid-19 Update In addition to the remote learning in Week 1, it is important that our school and families continue to follow the COVID-19 guidelines outlined by the Department of Education and the NSW Health.

• In accordance with advice from NSW Health, parents and carers are reminded NOT to send children to school if they are unwell, even if they have the mildest flu-like symptoms. NSW Health has requested that schools encourage anyone who is unwell or has even mild flu-like symptoms, to arrange to be tested through their local medical practitioner or one of the COVID-19 clinics. Students and staff with flu-like symptoms need to be tested and provide a copy of a negative COVID-19 test result and be symptom-free before being permitted to return to school. Students who do not undertake a COVID-19 test will not be permitted to return to school for a 10-day period. Additionally, they must be symptom-free for at least 3 days prior to returning to school.

• Parents, carers and visitors on school grounds will once again be restricted. Where a visitor must come on site they are required to sign in using the Service NSW QR Code and sign in on the Department of Education visitor book acknowledging that they will comply with the COVID-19 requirements for visitors, contractors and service providers. Visitors to schools should maintain 1.5m distance from other people where practicable.

• All staff and visitors are required to wear a mask when on school grounds.

• Our school will be vigilant when implementing infection control, physical distancing and personal hygiene protocols to protect the health and safety of students and staff. We will promote the need to follow good hygiene practices such as: o regularly washing hands. o avoiding sharing drinks or food. o coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be

discarded immediately.

For the latest Covid-19 Information from the Department of Education, please go to https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families

Reminder

Masks are now required to be worn by all staff and visitors on school grounds.

Staff Development Our staff development day looked a little different with staff joining in on Zoom meetings to learn new ways to better support our students as well as discuss our Strategic Improvement Plan and progress measures for implementation. We also have more professional development coming up with LEAD specialist Penny Waldren to analyse math patterns and algebra data and improve teacher knowledge in planning for differentiated math instruction.

Staff Changes We have had several changes in staffing at the end of Term 2.

• Mrs Kelly Robson on Class Blue has relocated up north with her family. As a result, we welcome Ms Amanbir Nijjar to our school.

• Mrs Jessica Noppert on Class Orange will be on leave for Term 3 and 4. We look forward to Ms Lisa McLean looking after Class Orange.

• Ms Kirsten Payne on Class Red is on leave until mid-term. Ms Kristy Matthews and Miss Nathalie Rabinovici are enjoying their time with Class Red.

• Ms Laura Cragg will be joining the Library-teaching team one day a week.

• With our SLSO’s, Mrs McPherson is taking leave and Miss Rubina Adil has moved with her partner. Ms Fatima Ahmed, Ms Sabrina Agatiello and Mr Alexander are all joining us.

• Miss Rachel from the Office is joining the Air Force and Miss Rebecca will be joining the team.

Please join us in making them all feel welcome.

Kindy 2022 Enrolments Any families with siblings who are starting Kindergarten in 2022 are encouraged to start enrolling their child now. You can collect an enrolment pack from the front office, have one posted to you or you can enrol your child online via the school’s website https://willmot-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/enrolment.html. Should you have any questions about enrolling your child for 2022, please contact the Office on 9628 0222.

Optional Homework We will now be sending homework home with families that request it in Term 3. This is a great opportunity for families to be involved in their child’s learning. Homework is not compulsory and there is no expectation for your child to participate unless they want to. There will be no consequence if homework is not completed. For those students who would like to do homework, we will provide a pencil case, pencils, book and folder. If you would like you child to have homework, please complete the Additional Homework Form available at the front office.

Seesaw A big of part of our new 2021-2024 School Plan is to build classroom learning environments that encourage and develop positive relationships, foster connectedness and feelings of belonging. This goal is not only for our students but our families too. In order to make you feel more connected with your child’s learning, trialled a free app called Seesaw in some of our classrooms during Term 2. This will now be rolled out to all class and notes and QR codes to set it up will be sent out shortly. Our plan is to send you weekly updates (pictures) of lessons that your child has been engaged in during the week. These pictures can give you an insight into the learning that is happening in your child’s class and will give you the opportunity to discuss this with your child.

Flags on Fridays Flags on Fridays will happen every Friday which involves students meeting on Friday afternoons in their sports houses to do activities together. The aim of the initiative is to foster peer relationships outside of class groups, support staff in getting to know all our students and elevate the role of our House Captains. Over time, it is expected that these house groups will grow into wellbeing groups, aligning with Strategic Direction 2 in our Strategic Improvement Plan: Connect, Succeed, Thrive (a planned approach to wellbeing). Students can wear their house-coloured shirts to school on Fridays.

Camp Our school camp to Milson Island is rapidly approaching. For those who are paying off the camp fees in instalments, please ensure you that you are making regular payments as there are now less than 60 days left until camp. Statements of Accounts were sent home at the end of Term 2 however, if you are unsure how much is left to pay, please contact the front office. In the next few weeks, a note will be going home regarding the Sport and Recreation Consent and Medical Form and What to Pack for your child. The Consent and Medical Form will need to be completed online and before your child goes to camp.

Upcoming Events With the increased restrictions due to Covid-19, it has left plans a little up in the air for some of our upcoming events. We will let parents and carers know if there are any changes, but here are some of the exciting activities we hope to have over the next few weeks. Athletics Carnival – Part 2 We hope to be having part 2 of our Athletics Carnival over the next couple of weeks including the 400m and 800m races, Captain Ball and Tunnel Ball competition, and a Sports Assembly to congratulate all our place getters. Graffiti Prevention and Life Skills Program We are looking forward to Warner Youth Education coming back to present this popular program to students in Orange and Purple on Wednesday 21st July. By raising awareness with all students encourages an anti-graffiti mentality. Respect, responsible action and positive decision making are core themes which provide the platform for our anti-graffiti messages. Throughout the presentation students learn about choices and consequences and are provided with strategies for dealing with peer pressure and bullying. Kindy – 100 Days of Learning On Friday, 23rd July we will be celebrating our beautiful kindy students and the amazing achievement of 100 days of learning. Can you believe that? They are all 100 days brighter and we are looking to celebrate this day with fun activities and encouraging staff and children to dress up 100 days young! Education Week Education Week is an annual celebration of NSW public education and the achievements of our schools, students and education system and runs from Monday 26th to Friday 30th July celebrating the theme Lifelong learners. We will have plenty of activities planned for students this week and will be sharing these with our parents and carers via SeeSaw and Facebook. Ultimate Frisbee Coaching All students will be participating in Ultimate Frisbee workshops for 4 weeks starting Monday 26th July. These workshops run by an ultimate frisbee coach from the New South Wales Flying Disc Association is a great way for our students to learn throwing, catching and teamwork skills.

Advanced Notice - Events - Weeks 6-10 We have lots of exciting events and activities planned for Term 3. More information for each of these, will be provided closer to the event. Book Fair We are celebrating Book Week (21-27 August) with a Book Fair on Monday 23rd August. We have been sourcing a great range of books and other items which will be available to students to purchase throughout the day. Book Character Parade To continue with the celebrations of Book Week, we will be holding our Book Character Parade on Friday, 27th August. This years’ book week theme, as decided by the Children’s Book Council of Australia is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’, however we encourage our students to come dressed up in any of their favourite book characters. We hope to have parents on site for this, however there will be plenty of photos taken to share with our families if this is not the case. Father’s Day Stall With Father’s Day coming up on Sunday 5th September, we will be holding our Father’s Day Stall on Thursday 2nd September. For students who miss out on the stall, additional purchases will be able to be made on Friday 3rd September. Make dad’s day with gifts starting from 50c to $10. Camp Our years 4, 5 and 6 will be heading off to Milson Island Sport and Recreation Centre on Wednesday 8th September and returning Friday 10th September. With close to 40 students going, it will make for one of the best camps yet! Special Principal’s Morning Tea The Special Principal’s Morning Tea in Term 2 was a real hit with our students. We will be again offering a Special Principal’s Morning Tea on Wednesday 15th September for students who reach 90% attendance or higher in Term 3. Please remember that during any Government mandated Learning from Home periods, undertaking schoolwork and regular communication with teachers counts as attendance. Wish Day Our annual WisH (Willmot is Home) Day will be held on Friday 17th September. This is always a lot of fun for our students, and we have some great ideas planned to make sure that WisH Day is enjoyed by all. This will be held on the last day of term, so makes an excellent way to finish the term.

Past Events We have had several great events at school recently including the Special Principal’s Morning Tea, Cooling the Schools – Planting Day, Athletics Carnival, NAIDOC Day and Pyjama Day to see out the term. It is wonderful to see our students so actively involved in these events, smiling, and having fun. Take a look at some of those memorable moments during these events.

Special Principal’s Morning Tea

Cooling the Schools – Planting Day

Athletics Carnival

NAIDOC Day

Pyjama Day

Student & Class Showcase We love showcasing what our classes have been up to as well as individual student work and achievements. This is amazing Aqua! We are so proud of you all!

Class Aqua

Aqua students enjoyed reading the book Gorilla by Anthony Browne. They created artworks of the gorilla in a pop art style. The students looked at how pop art used bright segments of colour and had a slightly cartoon appearance. This then inspired the students to do self-portraits in a similar style and they ended up creating such sophisticated and original artworks! Some of these were chosen for a Principal's Award! From Miss T

Not being offered while lockdown restrictions are in place

Willmot Public School is a venue for the upcoming 2021 NSW Local Government Election on Saturday 4 September 2021. The New South Wales Electoral Commission is hiring approximately 20, 000 people to ensure the election process runs smoothly. If you are interested in working at the election you will need to complete their application online and you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The link to register their Expression of interest is below: https://eoi.elections.nsw.gov.au/EOI/?EEID=LG2101

Mindfulness Colouring In