Week 7, Term 3 2019 School Administrative and Support Staff Recognition Week Last week was School Administrative and Support (SAS) Staff Recognition Week, a time to acknowledge and thank the often unsung heroes in our public schools. Our SAS staff play an important role in the school community. They are often the first people you see when you enter a school and are essential to maintaining positive relationships with students, parents and the community.

SAS staff work in school offices, in classrooms and libraries and maintain and care for school grounds and buildings. They are often the ones to tend to students when they unwell and they ensure the efficient management of school financial and administration functions.

Thank you to our wonderful SRPS SaS Staff who always go above and beyond in their role. We know how hard you work and hope you know just how much we appreciate you! Woolworths Earn and Learn We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the families who donated Woolworths Earn and Learn stickers. With your help, we collected an amazing 44 460 stickers which resulted in being able to purchase digital technology equipment that can be used across every grade. Items purchased include: We purchased ten MaxBot micro bit compatible robots; three OSMO Coding Jam Games that allow students to compose their own music by arranging Osmo's Coding Blocks into patterns and sequences; five Osmo Coding Awbie Games that teach logic skills and problem solving; and some sand timers. We look forward to using this equipment with students in the classroom. Thank you once again to everyone who collected the Woolworths Earn and Learn stickers!

We sorted the stickers into groups Isabella R, Amelia S, Jordan L, Sanlav B, Ashley H-C,

Madeline S, Mahi S, Alannah W

MaxBots, Coding Jam and Sand Timers

K-2 Athletics Carnival Place Recipients The following students were our 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place recipients at the K-2 Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to them all!

Kinder Girls: 1st Evie W, 2nd Amelie B, 3rd Samantha C Kinder Boys: 1st Mason P, 2nd Ryan T, 3rd Elvin D

Year 1 Girls: 1st Shaalya R, 2nd Harper G, 3rd Ella H Year 1 Boys: 1st Noah C, 2nd Drake S, 3rd Jenson R

Year 2 Girls: 1st Aleena E, 2nd Georgia B, 3rd Piper H-C

Year 2 Boys: 1st Jamie C, 2nd Andrew P, 3rd Liam S & Nicholas S

Zone Athletics Carnival “6.45am” they said and of course it happened to be a day where there was a prediction of 80% chance of rain and followed such a glorious sunny weekend. It did rain, it was cold, the wind was up but our athletes still turned up. Sherwood pride was in full swing. We started with our endurance runners seeing Emily, Lana, Julian, Jarrison, Jocelin, Patrick, Ethan, Sienna, Ashlynn, Idris and Jarrod did us proud with Idris placing 1st and Jocelin 2nd in their respective 1500m events. Idris followed this with 1st place in the 800m. On to our sprints with Julian placing 2nd in the 200m and 3rd in the 100m, Aaron placing 1st in both the 200 and 100m, Grant placing 2nd in the 100m and William placing 2nd in the 100m dash. We finished the running in style with our 8-10yrs boys relay finishing first. What an exciting race it was to watch, well done to Rayhan, Ethan, Eli and Julian. While our students were sprinting around the tracks the field events were a treat to watch. Long jump was where it was at with Julian and Jenna placing 3rd in their events and Aaron placing 1st. All our students did a fantastic job representing our school and they were a pleasure to take. Mrs Bryant, Mrs Brodie, Mrs Irwin and Mrs Adamsons could not have been more proud!

Aaron M Jocelin M

P&C Father’s Day Breakfast Our community came together on Friday last week to celebrate Father’s Day. It was a wonderful event with our students spending time with their family and teachers, enjoying pastries and bacon and eggs. We thank our hard working P&C and our staff who worked as a team to put on such a successful event.

We thank our families for supporting this event.

Jersey Day 2019 Each year our school community take part in Jersey Day and promote awareness of The Organ and Tissue Authority and Donate Life network. Jersey Day has been inspired by the story of Nathan Gremmo who was tragically lost in an accident in May 2015. Nathan’s family chose to give the gift of life to others to honour the legacy of Nathan’s generous personality. Students, staff and parents wore their favourite sporting jersey to school on Friday 30th August to begin the conversation with their families about Organ Donation.

Mrs Cardwell, Mrs Bryant, Mrs Sullivan and Mrs Taylor show their support for Jersey Day 2019.

Families supporting Organ Donation.

Hills Performing Arts Festival The Hills Performing Arts Festival is a series of three concerts showcasing the talents of students and celebrating the work of teachers from schools representing the Hills District and The Ponds Network. On Tuesday 3rd September, three of our dance groups and choir performed at Evans Theatre in Penrith. Mrs Cardwell and Mrs Sullivan had the pleasure of being a part of the audience in support of our - Year 2 Dance Group, Senior Dance Group, Boys Dance Group and Senior & Pulse Choir. Congratulations to all of our students for their energetic and dynamic dancing and uplifting singing. Well done and thank you to the following teachers for their hard work and dedication towards these extra-curricular groups – Mrs Jones, Mrs Mitchell, Miss Dardagos, Mrs Sheather, Mrs Carter, Miss Millgate, Miss Swinton and Miss Micallef.

Year 2 Dance Group Senior Dance Group

Tell Them From Me Student Feedback Survey Results from Term 1 2019 In Term 1 this year, students in Years 4 to 6 participated in the Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Student Feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

Executive have reviewed and analysed these results and discussed how these results impact on the areas of teaching, leading and learning across our school. The TTFM Student Survey also assists with school planning and assists with identifying school improvement initiatives. The school executive focussed on where to next as a school and how we can continue to improve school and classroom effectiveness.

Below are just a few of many of the positive results we would like to share with you. These results have also been shared with all school staff:-

89% of students feel they have positive relationships across the school Our students expect to succeed. 96% in Year 4, 91% in Year 5 and 90% in Year 6 We are above the NSW Government norm for positive teacher-student relations. School 8.5/10 and NSW

Government norm 8.4/10 Bullying is well below state by 7% and is lower than 2018 Our students feel they have someone at school who consistently provides encouragement and can be turned to

for advice. 7.9/10 compared to NSW Government norm of 7.7/10. Girls 7.8/10 and boys 7.9/10.

Tell Them From Me Student Survey Term 3, 2019 This term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will again participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me Student Feedback Survey. Students in Years 4 to 6 also participated in a Tell Them From Me student survey in Term 1 this year. Asking students to complete the survey twice in one year allows us to identify trends in student responses as well as track engagement and motivation across the school year. The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school. More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au

Please be assured that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 9 September and 25 October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary. A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey has been sent home with students in Years 4 to 6. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to our school’s front office by Friday 6th September. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents. The consent form and FAQs are available in 23 languages.

Tell Them From Me Parent and Community Survey Term 3 This term we will be also asking our parents to complete the Tell Them From Me Parent and Community Survey for 2019. The information provided in this survey is vital for our school in planning for the future. The survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. A letter will be coming home shortly with the link and parent survey information. We appreciate your feedback and continued support.

Double Gold! A New Edition to our PAL and Wellbeing Policy Exciting News!!! The Double Gold badge is here. Following consultation with the students, staff and the community we have decided to implement a higher level in the SRPS Badge System for those students who have already received their Gold Badge. Once students have earned another 40 Sherwood Stars they will receive a second Gold Badge, known as the Double Gold Star Badge. There are already some exceptional Stage 3 students on their way to earning their Double Gold badge! The purpose of this new level is to recognise and honour those students who have continued to meet our school expectations even once they have achieved their Gold Badge. Variation of Term 4 School Development Days School development days are used by schools to improve the skills of our teachers, school leaders and school administrative support staff. They improve the learning outcomes of students by: providing targeted professional learning activities aligned to school strategic directions and Department of Education priorities. Each year through consultation with our staff, our school reschedules the two Term 4 SDD’s to four half-day twilight sessions where teaching staff attend one evening professional learning session each term in order to replace the Term 4 School Development Days. Parents are advised that due to the rescheduled school development days in Term 4, the school will be non-operational on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th December.

Reminder – School Uniform Change Sherwood Ridge Public School supports the wearing of school uniforms by students and the upholding of high standards of dress by students and staff. Sherwood Ridge Public School Uniform is expected to be worn during school hours, while travelling to and from school, and while engaged in school activities out of school hours.

Parents are reminded that students need to attend Sherwood Ridge Public School each day wearing their uniform with pride. As uniforms change over from Winter to Summer on September 2nd 2019 it is important that students have the correct uniform to wear, including school hats. Please ensure all items of clothing, especially hats and jumpers have children's names and classes clearly marked. Uniforms can be purchased from our uniform shop: https://www.k12uniformstore.com.au/srps/

New Enrolment Policy – What does this mean for your family?

The Department of Education have launched a new Student Enrolment Policy which will take affect as early as Term 4 2019. A Parent Information Brochure will be sent home to all families in Week 6. The new enrolment procedures come into effect at the beginning of Term 4, Monday 14th October 2019. Parents who are concerned about the changes should contact the school Principal for more information.

2020 School Organisation

The school will soon begin the complex process of organising class structures for 2020. In order to ensure that the needs of students are met, parents are invited to forward information that you believe should be considered in regards to the formation of classes for next year. Requests can include information regarding medical conditions, requests to have particular children separated and or any other aspect that you feel may have an impact on your child’s learning. Parents are asked to forward requests to the Principal in writing no later than Friday 27th September 2019 to ensure that your child’s needs can be considered. Please note that consideration for placement with specific teachers and or students are UNABLE to be considered due to the size and complexity of the school.

Kindergarten 2020?

Kindergarten 2020 Information Evening

Our 2020 Parent Information Evening for families of students who are starting Kindergarten next year will be taking place on Thursday 19th September from 6.00 – 7.00pm in our school hall. This informal evening aims to assist with a smooth transition from pre-school or home to school. It is best your child does not accompany you to this evening. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing our amazing school with you!

Kindergarten Orientation Program

Our ‘Orientation Program’ begins soon and we can’t wait to meet our Kindergarten students for 2020! Our Orientation Program dates are; Tuesday 22nd October, Thursday 31st October, Thursday 5th November and Thursday 14th November from 9:30am-10:30am. It is important to enrol your child by September so we can place them into their Orientation Group. You are encouraged to contact the office staff if you have not yet completed an enrolment application or if you require assistance.

We look forwarding to welcoming our new students for 2020. If you require further information regarding our Kindergarten Orientation Program, please contact Mrs Cardwell our Deputy Principal, on 8824 3333.

Mrs Jody Sullivan Relieving Principal Sherwood Ridge Public School

A collaborative, creative and inclusive environment from which each give their best.