Newsletter Term 2 Week 5 2021

Principal's report

Principal’s report

Thank you to all the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers, Ms Katrina Ross and Ms Rachel Ridley for their support of our students during NAPLAN. All tests ran smoothly and tomorrow we will complete the make up tests.

Our students were very excited to begin PSSA last week. It seems it has been quite a while since they have had the opportunity to compete against other schools in our area.  

Today is National Simultaneous Storytime. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share Give Me Some Space! by Philip Bunting with KB, KW and KM.

On Friday Cathy Brennan the Executive Director, School Performance, Metropolitan North will be visiting our school to see the wonderful learning opportunities we create at Balgowlah North Public School. She will be visiting some of our classes and talking to our students.

Just a reminder that the Department of Education and the health guidelines still need parents to sign in with their phone on our NSW QR code and our school QR code whenever entering classrooms or entering school grounds for specific reasons.

 All visitors to a school site must be well and symptom free, comply with sign-in arrangements, and the 1.5 m physical distancing requirements.  Parents are not allowed to enter classrooms before or after school. All meetings are by appointment.

Today our students are fortunate to have Ezra from Dance Curriculum provide an opportunity to engage with a special dance lesson. Our Year 6 student leaders won this opportunity for us at the leadership Conference they attended last term.

Brooke Keevers

Principal

School news

ICAS

Balgowlah North Public School will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS Assessments this year. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in a range of learning areas.

These examinations incur an entry fee and ARE NOT affiliated with the Department of Education. Students who participate will be competing against students in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, Pacific Countries and America. This is an opportunity for students to gain a measure of their own achievement  in an external assessment situation.

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year. The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically.

Our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments Parent Payment System (PPS) for Writing, English, Maths and Science. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than Friday 11th June. 

PPS access details for parents:

Your school access code is: GUU692

Your parent page link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Every student must also return a consent form, detailing the purchased assessments, to the school office, by Friday 11th June. 

Rachel Ridley

R/Deputy Principal

National Simultaneous Storytime

This week many of our classes are taking part in National Simutaneous Storytime. This is an initiative organised by the National Libraries Association in an effort to promote the value of stories, reading and to celebrate an Australian author. Each year a book is chosen and read in classrooms, libraries and bookshops all over Australia. This year the book is called Give Me Some Space by the wonderful Philip Bunting. The book connects literature with science and has a strong environmental theme, highlighting to students the beauty or our Earth.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Well done to the following students who have now completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge for this year: Evie R, Benjamin McC, Cameron B, Archer C, Bronte S, Mila K, Arabella K, Oscar S, Campbell W, Grace K, Henry J, Jack D, Heidi H and Beau P. Your names will now be displayed on our wall of fame in the library. Keep up the good reading!

Deborah Horsley

Teacher Librarian

Senior Dance Ensemble

Congratulations to the Senior Dance Ensemble on their successful audition into the Sydney North Dance Festival! The group of 20 students from years 5 and 6 will be filmed at Glen St Theatre later this term which will become part of the cinematic experience for audiences to enjoy. Their dance, ‘Century Switch’, explores the idea of going from the parties, flappers and gangsters of the roaring twenties to solitude and isolation in 2020. They will also be performing at various school events and assemblies throughout the year. Let us take you on the journey of a century!

Steph Rooleht

Teacher

Congratulations to our Musicians of the Month

It’s always difficult to choose just one student  for the Musician of the Month Award however these students received the award at assembly yesterday for being excellent team members and giving their personal best when in band.

Well done!

Junior Band - Bronte S

Senior Band - Emily M

Concert Band - Will O

String Ensemble- Louisa O

Cake Stall – Thank you for your support

Thank you so much to everyone who bought a cake or two at our stall last week. We have raised $660 for our band program! The cupcake stall was overflowing with delightful treats and we had a crazy stream of customers at 3pm!  We have always had an amazing team of parents and musicians that never disappoint when it comes to our various fundraising endeavours, and we will ask for your generosity a couple more times this year to bolster the band account that took a hit due to COVID19. 

Would you like to join our band program?

We are still keen to see more students come and have fun while learning to play an instrument.  Please contact bnpsband@hotmail.com if you would like to find out more.

PBL

Be Responsible

Weekly focus: 

Be Responsible when in Green Grove

• Activities:

  • Discuss why it is important to compost our waste.
  • Write a list of what can go in the compost and what can’t go in the compost.
  • What procedure must be followed when composting in Green Grove?

Wellbeing Team

Dates for your diary

19 May

• National simultaneous storytime

20 May

• Boys soccer knockout

24 May

• Stage 2 excursion to the State library
  

25 May

• Zone cross country

27 May

• NRL gala day

31 May

• Year 1 West Head excursion

01 June

• Maths Olympiad
• Zone cross country wet weather day

02 June

• Year 2 West Head excursion
  

03 June

• MultiLit parent presentation

04 June

• Regional cross country

05 June

• Music workshop

P&C news

Pack your picnic baskets and don your tennis whites for the Ping Pong Picnic at BNPS!!Enjoy an afternoon on the green (oval) enjoying refreshments, or loosen up the elbow and take to the table for the inaugural Ping Pong tournament! That’s right, the table tennis table is moving from the back deck to the school grounds and it’s time to showcase your skills.It will be a fun-filled afternoon with entertainment for the kids and other games and activities, a sausage sizzle, a fabulous raffle, lolly and ice cream shop – the works! All to raise money for technology for our kids classrooms!And of course there will be Ping Pong, and all levels are welcome.BNPS Kids entry to the tournament is included in the price of a family picnic ticket of $30.  Participant names for kids are taken on the day and played in year groups for some friendly fun and laughs!Adults tournament entrants are just $10 per person and all playing levels welcome – just indicate your standard: 1 = Excellent, 2 = Decent, 3 = Social.The comp will be played as doubles so pair up and enter a team of two, or just enter as a single and we’ll find your partner for you!The format is round robin and it’s about having fun, not winning. But there will also be an edge-of-your-seat Grand Final, bragging rights and lots of fabulous prizes!Paddles and balls provided. DON’T MISS THIS EPIC COMMUNITY EVENT! BUY YOUR TICKETS ON FLEXISCHOOLS FROM NEXT WEEK.

Community news

Koolkuna

WINTER VACATION CARE

For the upcoming Winter Vacation Care, Koolkuna will be trialing the Vacation Care booking process via the My Family Lounge App.

As per BSC & ASC Casual Bookings, you will use the App - find the bookings tab and select the session labelled "Vacation Care K-2" and "Vacation Care 3-6" where you are able to book each child in for the days requested. When the day turns purple, that is confirmation that your child is successfully booked in for that day.

Please note, the Vacation Care bookings will open on 21st May.

Koolkuna OSHC Admin Team

Mob: 0400 774 697 | admin@koolkunaoshc.com.au

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