Term 1 Week 7 7 March 2012

Dear Parents / Caregivers,

Dates to Remember Term 1 Week 7 Newsletter Week 05/03/12 Priority Schools Program (PSP) Information Morning Tea, PSP Surveys

Distributed 06/03/12 Archives S3T, School Banking 07/03/12 Archives S3T 08/03/12 PSP Surveys due back today 09/03/12 Scripture, Stage Assemblies Term 1 Week 8 12/03/12 Stage 3 Sports Leadership Day 13/03/12 Archives S3D, School Banking 14/03/12 Archives S3D 15/03/12 Selective High School Test 16/03/12 School Multicultural Public Speaking Competition, Scripture, Stage Assemblies Term 1 Week 9 Newsletter Week 20/03/12 Medieval Show (Stage 2 and Stage 3), School Banking, Sydney West PSSA

Swimming Carnival 21/03/12 Archives S3D, Footsteps demonstrations 22/03/12 Archives S3D 23/03/12 School Cross Country, Scripture, Stage Assemblies Priority Schools Program (PSP) Survey This year our school will be participating in the PSP (Priority Schools Programs) survey. The purpose of PSP is to reduce the achievement gap in literacy, numeracy and engagement outcomes for students from low socio-economic status families. If our school is successful in obtaining the PSP it can lead to increased funding and staffing to support students' achievements across these areas. Your cooperation and participation in the survey process can yield significant benefits for school resourcing in the future. Surveys were distributed to all families with a child in either Early Stage 1, Stage 1 or Stage 2 on Monday. Each family will receive only one survey, with surveys being given to the youngest child in the family. It is important that all surveys are returned to the school by Thursday 8 March. Our aim is for 100% of surveys being returned.

KINGSWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL

Quality Teaching in a Caring Environment

The survey is only one side of an A4 piece of paper. It is easy to complete. The PSP survey questions are based on a number of considerations:

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status

type of occupation of parents/caregivers (current occupation)

educational qualifications of parents/caregivers

proportion of sole parent families in the school community

employment status (for the purposes of this survey 35 hours or more per week is considered employed)

Surveys are completely confidential and staff at our school do not open the envelopes before they are posted. The survey form does not include any identifying information such as the name of the student or family. For more information please read the sheet included in this newsletter or see Mrs Hall. An information morning tea was held on Monday morning. Thank you to all the parents who attended and completed their surveys. Thank you to Mrs Hall who is coordinating the return of the surveys for all her work and the staff who are assisting her. Students who return their surveys will automatically go into a draw to win a Razor Pro scooter. The first class to return all of their surveys will be rewarded with a pizza party. District Swimming Carnival On Wednesday 29 February a number of our students attended the District Swimming Carnival. Thank you to Mrs Jeff and Mrs Fox who spent a wet and soggy day at the carnival. Congratulations to all our students who attended the carnival. Jonah S in Stage 3 has qualified for the SW PSSA Swimming Carnival in backstroke. We wish him all the best. Keeping All Our Students Safe - Anaphylaxis An increasing number of our students are being diagnosed with Anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction and is potentially life threatening. It must be treated as a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention. Anaphylaxis is a generalised allergic reaction, which often involves more than one body system (eg. skin, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, cardio vascular). A severe allergic reaction usually occurs within 20 minutes of exposure to the trigger and can rapidly become life threatening. Common triggers include food such as peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans and soy are the most common food triggers, which cause 90% of allergic reactions. It is important to understand that even trace amounts of foods can cause a life-threatening reaction. Other triggers include insect stings, medication or such things as latex. We ask for your support and request that all students do not bring to school any nut products or foods that contain traces of nuts. If you would like more information about Anaphylaxis or have a child who has this condition and you have not notified the school, please contact the office immediately. School Merit System Below is an explanation of how our School Merit System works for our new students and parents: The small merit cards (light blue in 2012) and the small yellow merit cards given out at assembly are equal to 1 point.

Students need to accumulate 5 points to receive a Supervisor‟s Award which is a large yellow merit card. Students need to accumulate another 5 points to receive a Principal‟s Bronze Award. This process is repeated to receive both Silver and Gold Principal‟s Awards. At the end of the year all students who have received a Gold Principal‟s Award will attend a special morning tea hosted by the Principal.

5 points = Supervisor‟s Award Another 5 points = Bronze Principal‟s Award

5 points = Supervisor‟s Award

Another 5 points = Principal‟s Silver Award

5 points = Supervisor‟s Award Another 5 points = Principal‟s Gold Award

This merit system starts and finishes with each school year. Merit cards cannot be carried over to the new school year. All merit cards for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 are to be handed to Early Stage 1/Stage 1 supervisor. All merit cards for Stage 2 and Stage 3 are to be handed to the Stage 2/Stage 3 supervisor. Publication of Photos of Students and Student Work Permission Note A note has been sent home in regards to publication of photos of students and student work. Please read the note and return it completed and signed to your class teacher if you are happy for this to occur and have not already done so. School Car Park Our school car park is out of bounds to all students. It is used solely for staff parking and deliveries. Please do not walk your child/children through the car park or drop off or pick up your child/children in the car park at any time. Two public car parks are available for your use opposite the school for this purpose. Please help us to keep our students safe. 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 many students are frightened of dogs and we are trying to keep all students safe. 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 Early Stage 1 Students – Change of Clothes If your child is in Early Stage 1 could you please ensure that you have a change of underpants and shorts in your child‟s bag in case of a toileting accident or wet weather. Thank you for your support in this matter as our supplies of spare clothing are very limited. Norma Petrocco Principal

S3D Art Gallery Visit The following emails have been written by our Year 6 Opportunity Class at Kingswood Public School. We wish to pass on our appreciation to all the staff and volunteers as the day at the Art Gallery of NSW was most successful. I was elated to be there at the art gallery and found this opportunity worth-while. As soon as I boarded the bus, I knew that I had to leave some space in my head for information. I learnt a multiple of things - not only about art but also history. Our guide met us beaming from ear-to-ear and in no time, was talking animatedly about the paintings and the history behind it all. We started with a picture of a Chinese family and talked about all the standouts of the picture. I learnt all about tones, shades and strokes and how to utilise them. Never did I know that photography would be a part of art. There were different artists that did art in different ways. For example, Pablo Picasso and his portraits. I was quite delighted at the collection of Chinese antiques that were displayed in a room with dim lights. I was in high spirits from the minute we arrived and equally grateful for the wonderful experience. Ernest My class and I visited your Art Gallery on the 22nd of February. Of course, I came with a thirst for knowledge. Our volunteer guide, Margot, had an extensive knowledge of the techniques used in the paintings, but also the sad and happy stories hidden under the paint and pastels. And then Margot said that most paintings have a story behind it. Such as Ricky Swallows „Killing Time‟! The story behind it was all about Ricky‟s father and the time they had spent with each other! The actual piece of art was all carved out of pale hardwood. There was a table covered with fish and a towel or large cloth. It astonishingly took only nine months to finish. There were such extravagant details that just blow you away. But I don‟t believe every painting, sculpture or drawing needs a story. We all make up our own stories to suit ourselves and maybe that is what is needed in our world. New stories. Yours sincerely, Oliver Thank you for giving the class a most wonderful tour. All of the paintings, pictures and sculptures were all interesting; like an intriguing question. We all learnt many new things because of the tour guide who seemed like an acquaintance to us all. I have also learned that a portrait shows hidden signs that a person is who he/she really is. A sculpture distinguishes a relationship of someone or something from the past. The most emotional picture I have seen is the two girls sitting blindly reading Braille in an isolated room. It gave me a trapped, lonely, sad feeling. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander section was filled with amazing stories created by paintings. The best one I saw was the one made by Doreen Reid Nakmarra, „Untitled‟, 2007. It is quite confusing like an array of fussy lines and strikes. The „Headhunter‟ by Tony Albert, 2007, told me the time about white people, whom were thought to be aliens, and people whose heads were cut off like doctors cutting out a part of an anatomy. Thank you again for the tour in the art gallery, I hope I can come again. Isaiah Kingswood Public School‟s class S3T and my class visited your art gallery on February the 22nd, 2012. It was a very pleasurable time for me. We had a volunteer guide, Margot, who told us all about the art and the stories hidden in the paintings. She showed us a lot of art, including Ricky Swallow‟s “Killing Time”, a sculpture made out of Indonesian hardwood. It was very realistic, with a vast amount of detail.

The fish looked real enough to eat! This trip to the art gallery made me realise art isn‟t just defined by paintings. Paintings are just part of it. There are other important considerations; for example, sculptures, photographs, and even swords and music can be classified as art. This journey enlightened me, and allowed me to wonder about how art is not all that meets the eye. I definitely will come back, to look at other fascinating pieces of art. Yours sincerely, Jack Coming in, thirsty for knowledge, the gallery sure quenched it! This experience was utterly wonderful. From Impressionism to photography, I was writing down every piece of art that struck my eye. Yet, when most school children remark on their favourite thing about their art journey, I do not depict a singular example. There were many pieces of work that attracted my attention at the museum, not just the artworks. There were the sculptures, digital artworks and even the architecture of the building. In exploring the Asian section, I took in not just the artworks of the room, but the feel of the sculptures themselves. With the wooden floor and rice doors, it was like I was in Asia. It amazed me how a piece of art can tell a story; like the saying „A Picture Tells a Thousand Words,‟ but I never believed that - until now. This excursion encouraged me to consider new dimensions in art. This experience has shown me that art is expressing yourself and your imagination, on paper, in photography in sculptures or in music. Thank you, for giving our class this opportunity to explore outside the canvas, and into the world of art. Praveen Voluntary Contribution Each year families are ask to pay a voluntary contribution. The voluntary contribution is $30 per child or $50 per family. These funds have been used to support the schools air conditioning program. Voluntary Contributions 2012 Name: ________________________________ Child‟s Name/s and Class/es: ______________________________________ Enclosed (please tick): □ $30 per child □ $50 for 2 or more children