Term 4 Week 8 27 November 2013

Dear Parents / Caregivers, Dates to Remember Term 4 Week 8 Newsletter Week 26/11/13 School Banking 28/11/13 Opportunity Class (OC) Orientation Meeting, Breakfast Club, Starting School Group 29/11/13 Final Scripture Classes, Thank You Morning Tea, Stage Assemblies Term 4 Week 9 03/12/13 School Banking, Final P&C Meeting 04/12/13 High School Orientation Day 05/12/13 Breakfast Club, Starting School Group 06/12/13 Whole School Assembly Term 4 Week 10 Newsletter Week 09/12/13 Presentation Assembly 10/12/13 Final Day of School Banking 11/12/13 Principal’s Gold Morning Tea 12/12/13 Breakfast Club, Year 6 Farewell 13/12/13 Reports Sent Home, Final Whole School Assembly Term 4 Week 11 16/12/13 Talent Quest 17/12/13 Picnic Day 18/12/13 Last Day for Students 19/12/13 Staff Development Day 20/12/13 Staff Development Day, Last Day of Term Important Information for Parents As you may be aware a number of schools in Western Sydney have been raising funds for those affected by the bushfires. Ninety five schools have now raised a total $100,221.58. This is a terrific effort by all those schools involved and shows that our community spirit is alive and well. Last Wednesday we held our Early Stage 1 Orientation Meeting for our new students who are starting school next year and their parents/caregivers. We welcome our new and current families to our school. Thank you to Mrs Fox who organised the meeting and to Mrs Clarke who presented on the day. Thank you also to all the staff that were involved and to the P&C for providing the morning tea.

KINGSWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL

Quality Teaching in a Caring Environment

On Wednesday 11 December I will be hosting our Principal’s Gold Morning Tea for all those wonderful students who have reached Gold on our positive behaviour system. The number of students keeps increasing each year which is fantastic. There will be a vegetarian option for students who do not eat meat. Please inform the office by note if this applies to your child/children by Monday 9 December. The Opportunity Class (OC) Orientation Meeting will be held on Thursday in our New Hall. We look forward to welcoming those students and parents to our school. International Competitions and Assessment for Schools (ICAS) Test Sitting Dates 2014: The dates are as follows: Computer Skills – 20 May Science – 4 June Writing – 16 June Spelling – 17 June English – 29 July Mathematics – 12 August Kindergarten (Early Stage 1) 2014 We are currently enrolling students for Kindergarten (Early Stage 1) 2014. Enrolment forms are available from the office. Parents/Caregivers will need to provide proof of residency, a birth certificate and immunisation certificate. Students in Not Returning in 2014 Please notify the office in writing if your child/children will not be returning in 2014 (except Year 6 students). This will assist us greatly with the formation of classes at the end of this term. New Working with Children Check There are new Working with Children Check procedures that all schools are mandated to follow. Further information is also available on the website www.newcheck.kids.nsw.gov.au Are Your Contact Details Current? Please let the office know in person or in writing if your contact details have changed. If your child is sick or we need to contact you for any reason, it can be really difficult if the numbers are not current. Thank you to all those parents who have informed us of any changes. Students Arriving Early, Starting Late and Absence Notes A number of students are being dropped off early each school day. Please be aware that the school does not take any responsibility for students who are on the school site before 8:30am. Please provide before school care for your child/children. Supervision of students commences at 8:30am each school morning. A number of students are arriving late to school. Please ensure that your child/children arrive on time each day. The morning session is prime learning time for students and students need to be here for the start of the first lesson each morning. If your child/children are absent, a note needs to be sent in to their class teacher. Please be aware that rolls are legal documents and children need to attend school each day. If your child is going to be absent for more than 15 days to go overseas or on holiday, a general exemption form needs to be completed and approved before they go on leave. These forms are available at the office.

Staff Car Park We have had ongoing issues with parents using the staff car park to pick up and drop off their children. As a consequence the staff car park will be locked each afternoon at 2:30pm. The car park is out of bounds to students at all times. Please do not enter the staff car park under any circumstances including walking your children through the car park. It is NOT a pedestrian thoroughfare. We are making every effort to keep all our students safe. Please assist us to do this. Thank you to all our parents who use the public car parks across from the school. We are also having issues with students not knowing who they are going home with in the afternoons and parents not notifying us when they are running late. Children become very distressed when a parent or caregiver is not at the school to collect them promptly at 3:00pm. Please ensure that you ring the office if you are going to be late to collect your children and/or there is a change of plans so that we can notify your children of these changes. Please also let your child/children know if there is a change for that day in regards to who is picking them up or where they are supposed to be. We would appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Keeping All Our Students Safe – Asthma Due to an update in the Administration of Prescribed Medication at School Policy, students with asthma need ready access to their reliever medication when an attack occurs. Parents are now required to complete a Request for Support at School of a Student’s Health Condition form. A letter and form was sent home to all families. Please complete the form if your child/children have a medical condition or health care need that the school should be aware of. Where the student with asthma is young, or needs assistance to administer the asthma medication please indicate this on page 3 on the Request Administering Prescribed Medication to the Student form. Parents must also provide a spacer with the medication. If your child/children are capable of administering their medication, please ensure that they carry their asthma medication at all times. It is vitally important that parents complete and return the Request for Support at School of a Student’s Health Condition Form to the office as soon as possible. Keeping All Our Students Safe – Anaphylaxis The Department of Education and Communities has supplied all government schools with a general use adrenaline autoinjector (an EpiPen) for their first aid kit. This does not replace the need for parents to continue to provide the school with an adrenaline autoinjector and ASICA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis signed and dated by their doctor when their child has been diagnosed with anaphylaxis. Instead the general use adrenaline autoinjector is intended for use if:

• An undiagnosed student has an anaphylactic reaction at school • There is a misfire of the adrenaline autoinjector that has been prescribed for a

student • A student requires further adrenaline autoinjector to be administered after his or

her own adrenaline autoinjector has been administered. Please contact the office if you would like further information in relation to this matter. Dogs in the School Grounds The Companion Animals Act 1998 – Sect 14 states that dogs are prohibited from school grounds. Please do not bring your dogs into the school grounds as many students are frightened of dogs and we are trying to keep all students safe.

Donation Bin State Wide Services Australia has delivered a donation bin to the school. The main objective of State Wide Services Australia is to aid and assist third world countries by supplying second hand clothing and textiles. The school will receive a donation from the company to have the bin on the school site. The following will be accepted: second hand wearable clothing, handbags; backpacks – all bags, belts (ladies, children and mens; shoes, thongs, sandals; jackets and jumpers; sheeting and pillowslips – flannelette and cotton; ties/socks; soft toys (small, no more than 30cm tall); children’s clothing; all undergarments (ladies, mens, childrens); towels, face washers and hand towels. Please do not put the following into the bin or bags for collection: wet, damp or mouldy textiles; excessively dirty or stained garments; material remnants less than 20cm square; no pillows or quilts; plastic wear, bric a brac, glass or sharp objects; books or hard toys. The bin will be at the school for a trial period. If dumping of unwanted goods that are not accepted occurs, the bin will be removed. The school will still be collecting for Stewart House each year. Breakfast Club Real Life Church is holding a Breakfast Club each Thursday morning this year. Cereal and milk will be served from 8:30am to 8:50am under the shade shelter in front of the Old Hall. Breakfast is an important start to the day and gets children ready to work and learn at school. I would like to thank Real Life Church for providing this service to our school. General Permission to Publish A note has been sent home in regards to general permission to publish. Please read the note and return it completed and signed to your class teacher as soon as possible if you have not already done so. School Website The school has a fabulous website that parents can access for further information about the school including permission notes and the school newsletter. Thank you to Mrs Fox who maintains the website.The website address is http://www.kingswood-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Excursion Notes A new Department of Education and Training Excursion Policy has come into effect. Please note we will no longer be able to accept hand written notes or verbal permission. A school permission note must be completed for each excursion and or special event. Stage 1 & Stage 1 Students – Change of Clothes If your child is in Early Stage 1 or Stage 1 could you please ensure that you have a change of underpants and winter/summer clothing in your child’s bag in case of a toileting accident. We have a very limited supply available at school and we would appreciate your support in this matter. P&C - Making a Vital Contribution to Our School Our final P&C Meeting and afternoon tea will be held on Tuesday 3 December at 2:00pm in the staffroom. All parents and carers are welcome to attend. Norma Petrocco Principal

Library Stocktake Library borrowing has now concluded for this year. Stocktake of the Library’s fiction and non-fiction books will begin in Week 9. Please ensure that all library loans are returned as soon as possible. Thank you. Mrs Young Librarian