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The Meadows Mag A vibrant and caring learning community

Friday, 19th June, 2020

2C Fuller Street, Seven Hills NSW 2147 T 9631 3737 F 9896 3281 E themeadows-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.themeadows-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8

Calendar

Important Dates in Term 2, 2020

Week 9

Wednesday, 24th June Sport in Schools Australia

Week 10

Wednesday, 1st July Sport in Schools Australia

Friday, 3rd July Last Day of Term 2

Important Dates in Term 3, 2020

Week 1

Monday, 20th July Staff Development Day

Tuesday, 21st July Students Return for Term 3

Thursday, 23rd July School Athletics Carnival

Principal’s Message

COVID-19 Update

On Monday, I posted on our school’s official Facebook page a document titled A guide to NSW school students returning to face-to- face learning – Guidelines for parents and carers. This was also issued in hard copy to all families on Tuesday. The document confirmed current

school operations which are in line with Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health guidelines. Some of the key points are as follows:

• Unfortunately, at this point in time, non-essential adults are still not permitted on school grounds or at school events – this includes parents/carers, with the exception of parents using the canteen for lunch orders and uniform purchases and parents holding essential meetings with teachers regarding student concerns.

• All adults must maintain physical distance from each other (1.5m) including teachers and support staff, and parents.

• Activities under consideration from Term 3 - The following events will be reconsidered in Term 3. For now these events must remain on hold: School camps, Excursions, Parent attendance at assemblies and other school events.

What does this mean for our operations at The Meadows?

• K-2 students will continue to be taken to the school exit points at 2:40pm each afternoon to spread out the pedestrian traffic as much as possible outside the gates at ‘home time.’ Students in Years 3-6 finish at the normal time of 2:50pm. This timetabling will remain in place at least until the end of this term. Thank you to the vast majority of our parents and carers who are adhering to the school’s and indeed the Department of Education’s expectation of parents remaining off-site at this point in time and additional thanks to those who are doing their best to maintain physical distance between each other at the school gates each afternoon.

• At this point in time, aside from canteen volunteers, parents will not be permitted to attend our school Athletics Carnival on the 23rd July or NAIDOC activities on the 4th August.

• At this point in time, Parent / Teacher Interviews cannot be conducted face-to-face and will be coordinated as phone interviews. More information will follow next term.

• At this point in time, we cannot confirm our Stage 3 Camp to Milson Island in November. Parents are still requested to continue with payment plans. Refunds or credits against other school activities will be organised if required.

Office Hours Monday to Friday

8:20am - 3pm

Canteen Monday, Wednesday & Friday

8:20am - 2pm

Before & After School Care

Enrolments can be made online at:

www.squiggler.com.au/enrol-now/ or for more

information contact head office on 1300 778 444

Uniform Shop Uniforms are sold in the canteen

Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:20am - 9am

Payment by

cash & cheque at school

OR prepay online using MasterCard or Visa

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Friday, 19th June, 2020 Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8 • The Sports in Schools Australia (SISA) program

WILL recommence next Wednesday, 24th June. The SISA team are considered essential as they address the Physical Education curriculum.

• PSSA Sport will re-commence later in Term 3. However, it will be the continuation of summer sports (AFL and cricket only). Unfortunately, the Winter PSSA season has been completely cancelled for 2020.

Kinder 2021 Enrolments

Do you have a younger child ready to start Kinder at The Meadows PS next year? Or do you know someone in the neighbourhood who has? If so, please come along or invite your neighbours to come along and commence the enrolment process NOW! We currently have 62 enrolments in our current 2020 Kinder cohort and we are eager to at least match that figure heading into 2021!

Please make all enquiries with Mrs Anderson at the office.

School Uniform

A fortnight ago, in the previous edition of the Meadows Mag, I reported a considerably large number of students who were attending school out of uniform.

We had precisely 47 students dressed in jackets and jumpers which are not our uniform and not our school colours. The great news is when I checked yesterday, this number has reduced to just 18!

Am I ready to settle for ‘almost good enough’? The answer is a definite no as I hold high expectations of our proud school community.

I remind all families that our winter uniform range is in good supply in our Uniform Shop at the canteen, open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:20am. V-neck fleecy sloppy joes are $22 each, fleecy zip-up jackets are $24 each and microfibre jackets are $35 each. Alternatively, you may wish to purchase plain royal blue jackets and jumpers from Best & Less or K-Mart at lower prices, without the embroidered school crest.

Aside from the incorrect jackets and jumpers, I have noticed a large number of students attending school without the TMPS school baseball cap. These are just $10 each, a much lower cost than the brand-name hats being worn by a number of students. An additional piece of ‘winter headwear’ was introduced last year. We still have a good supply of fleecy beanies at the canteen for just $8 each.

We promote the wearing of correct school uniform at The Meadows as this practice fosters school pride, school identity and a sense of community. Please ensure that your child is always dressed in full school uniform. I appreciate your support and cooperation as we work together to ensure a proud school community. Any parent or carer requiring financial assistance to pay for uniform items is encouraged to contact myself.

Attendance & Punctuality

Congratulations to the students in 2/3A who were belatedly awarded a Pizza Reward Lunch last Friday for having the best attendance in Term 1. Currently in Term 2, 2/3A lead the way again, although this time they have been joined at the top of the attendance leader board by 5/6A. The race is on!

We now have 275 students attending The Meadows PS, a record since my association with TMPS began in 2012. Across the past fortnight we have maintained a strong record of students attending school with an average of 255/275 students attending each day.

However, as reported in our previous Meadows Mag, we are still experiencing a significantly high number of students presenting late to school.

Here’s some data to consider:

• Since the long weekend, we have had 79 different students present late to school. This represents 29% of our student population.

• 39 of those students have been late on more than one occasion.

• 20 of those students have been late 3 or more times in the past fortnight since the long weekend.

I spoke to these 20 students in a lunchtime meeting yesterday. Many revealed with honesty that they were wasting time in the morning on devices and watching television before getting ready for school. A number also blamed parents for sleeping in. My request for any family who has had a late day in the past fortnight is to set that morning alarm just 10 minutes earlier. The vast majority of our late arrivals are in the first 10 minutes of the day. A reminder that our students line up for class at 8:50am every morning. Students who arrive after 8:50am are instructed to go to the office to obtain a late pass. Our gates are locked at 8:55am each morning.

Critical information and instructions for the morning and indeed for the day are missed for these late-arriving students. There is a significant correlation between learning progress and school attendance and punctuality. Please ensure that your children are ‘in line, on time at 10 to 9’ EVERY morning. Let’s make it happen!

Students’ Fun Page

Congratulations to Raina in 5/6A who won the $50 Hoyts Cinema Gift Card for completing the fun page in our last newsletter. There’s another similar opportunity to win this time around – check out the activity on the back page of this edition!

Look after each other,

Scott Staveley Principal

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Friday, 19th June, 2020 Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8

Week 7 Week 8 Teacher’s Awards (2 points)

Teacher’s Awards (2 points)

KH Omar Amarli

KH Barahamjot Legacy

KP Devak

Melick KP Inderbir

Ranbir KS Aariv

Senaya KS Jasmin

Dominic 1/2B Lyriq

Charlie 1/2B Malakai

Brian 1/2C Joseph

Julius 1/2C Mackenzie

Pellen 1/2R Kamel

Raksha 1/2R Alessio

Braxton 2/3A Heze

Hriya 2/3A Arshi

Lahtarnah 3/4R Jaxson

Luke 3/4R Beverly

Abby 3/4T Riley

Aakanksha 3/4T Sarala

Ankur 3-6TK Will 3-6TK Noah 5/6A Narges

Grace 5/6A Taylen

Decoda 5/6H Ben

Zoe 5/6H Delilah

Paker 5/6S Shanika

Shaza 5/6S Lachlan

Sarah

CONGRATULATIONS Award Winners!

The Meadows Public School Athletics Carnival is

ON !!!

If you like to jump or run or throw you are going to love our Annual Athletics

Carnival. Please return your child’s

permission note and $5 (per child) as soon as possible.

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Friday, 19th June, 2020 Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8

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Friday, 19th June, 2020 Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8

Community Noticeboard The Meadows Public School, as a service to parents, will advertise community events that may be of interest. The Meadows Public School does not necessarily endorse or sponsor the events and accepts no responsibility for the management or organisation of these events

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Friday, 19th June, 2020 Issue 6 - Term 2 - Week 8