Pennant Hills Public School eNewsletter

Congratulations Ms Schmidt

Last week Ms Schmidt, the school’s Learning and Support teacher, was acknowledged for outstanding work at Pennant Hills Public School. She was the very worthy recipient of the Executive Director’s Award for Metropolitan North. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 it was a virtual gathering, however, Mrs Cathy Brennan (Executive Director Metropolitan North) and Mr Mark Anderson (Director Education Leadership – Hornsby) spoke glowingly of her work and commitment to the students at PHPS. Thank you for everything you do Ms Schmidt. We are very fortunate that you work in our community.

Staffing Update

Several weeks ago, Miss Watts (5W) was successful through the Department’s Merit Selection process and has been permanently appointed to a neighbouring school. It is great news for her and she will be sadly missed by our community. We wish her well for her future teaching career.

After conducting a state-wide recruitment process, I can announce that Miss Bridget Maitland will join us next term and teach 5W for the remainder of the year. She is very excited to be joining our community.

Stage 3 Camp Term 4

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 and the guidelines that schools are required to follow in Term 4, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel next term’s Stage 3 camp to Canberra. We are extremely disappointed for the students, as I know most were very much looking forward to it.

P&C Meeting

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend last week’s P&C meeting. I do hope it was beneficial as I outlined the factors and considerations the school is working with to ensure the return to school is safe for students, staff and parents for Week 4 of next term. The school will likely inform the community of all guidelines and procedures towards the end of Week 2. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding with this matter.

Holidays

This Friday marks the end of a very difficult term for everyone. We are all aware of the challenges of working from home and trying to facilitate your child’s learning at home as well. Thank you to everyone. You have been fabulous. Please take the time during the holidays to reset as it appears that Term 4 will begin the same as we end Term 3. The GREAT news is that we have been given a plan to return students and staff to school from Week 4.

Students return to learning on Tuesday 5 October. Towards the end of the holiday period I will confirm via the SZ app whether it is Learning from Home or students are to return to face-to-face learning.

National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)

On September 8 NCIRS released a paper, Covid-19 in schools and early childhood education and care services – the experience in NSW: 16 June to 31 July 2021. Please click here to access the report. It is important to note that the paper relates to the Delta variant and includes data from Term 2 when students were attending school face-to-face.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM)

Student Survey
This week, students in Year 4 – Year 6 will be participating in the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) survey. The Tell Them From Me survey provides schools with student, teacher and parent perspectives about the engagement and wellbeing of their students. This information is valuable to schools and can be used to identify strengths and successes, as well as areas to target for improvement. It is really important students have their say on their schooling from their perspective.

Parent Survey
Parents are also invited to complete the Parent Tell Them from Me Survey. Please follow the below link to access the survey. The survey will be open until Friday 8 October.

http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/7z8cd

Learning from Home Packs – Term 4 Week 1

For those families that require the hard copies of the Learning from Home packs please book in via the system we use for Parent Teacher interviews. Please use the following link, School Interviews and enter the code, cshba. Select your desired time to come to the 3-6 site. This booking site will be open from Thursday morning at 10am. All packs will be able to be collected this Friday 17 September or Tuesday 5 October for the next school week pack. Please only come and collect a pack if you need one. Please do not just call in to the office to try and collect a pack as you will be politely turned away. We have this process to ensure we are following our Covid-19 Safety Plan to assist you and the wider community.

Kind Regards

Mr Matt Pinchbeck
Principal

Thursday of this week is our second Screen-free day. The teachers have come up with some excellent curriculum-based and wellbeing focused activities for the students to choose from on Thursday. These are called student-directed tasks. Each stage has ensured that there are several independent or ‘parent-free’ activities within their grid to support our parents who are working during the day. So much of the feedback we have had has been positive about this initiative and many families used this time to spend a screen-free day together.

Spring Holidays

Well done (everyone!) on getting through Term 3 in a Learning from Home environment. Thank you to our community for their continued support and understanding during this time. Thank you to our students for their constant resilience and persistence in maintaining positive work habits and submitting work that represents their personal best. Thank you to our teachers and support staff for having a positive attitude and always, always aiming to do the best by our students. Please enjoy a wonderful break from school, we will “see” you on Tuesday October 5. Stay safe, healthy and happy.

Where’s Wally

If you’re looking for something to do during the holidays, why not go on a Wally hunt? There are approximately 30 Wally’s hidden outside around Pennant Hills. How many can you find?

Around the School

This week we celebrate some of the amazing work that Stage Three have been up to at the end of this term. Great work Stage Three!

Series circuit and artwork by Clem – 6M

Artwork by Kate – 6M

Fixed vs Growth Mindset by Willow – 6M

Science diagram by Alex – 5W

Angles in mathematics by Emma and Seb – 5W

Artwork by Mariane – 5W

Stage 3 are constructing their own websites and filling them with useful information by Jacqui – 6R

Investigating the science behind electric circuits by Haniya – 6R

We are seeing angles EVERYWHERE! By Emily – 6R

Information about electricity by Darcy – 6S Scorpio artwork by Kayla – 6S

Information Report about a car by Ameya – 6S and an Optical illusion artwork by Lizzie – 6S

Writing about the constitution by Margareth – 6S

Pop Art by Annabelle – 5M

Reflection on measuring volume using displacement by Christian – 5M

Working with circuits by Anthony – 5B Circuit diagram by Tamati – 5B

Tree artwork by Leo and Alie – 5B

Kind Regards

Mrs Kate Wasson

Deputy Principal

Hi, it's Alma and Nick here with the leader’s report.

Last week we had R U OK day and we had some fun activities that Miss Dy put together for us to enjoy and take a moment to ask ourselves and others how we’re feeling.

Year 6 have been making their Year 6 year book these last two weeks. Make sure to stay on top of your work and do your best.

Year 5 have been creating their Year 6 shirts for next year. They're doing great and I hope you get inspiration from the past years.

Now we can all say it's been a bit hectic, so it's lucky we have a well earned break coming up. Though these holidays will be a bit different, having to stay at home, here are some things that I have been doing to pass the time:

Puzzles! I have recently found a love for big jigsaw puzzles and have completed several 1000 piece ones.
Walking is great exercise and can be enjoyed by the whole family and your four legged friends.
Because we can’t borrow physical books I’ve been listening to quite a few audio books and reading books from the Hornsby E-library and school e-platform as well. https://pennanthil.eplatform.co/
Board Games. My family and I have been playing lots of Pictionary and scrabble. Board games are a great way to pass time and hang out with your family. Warning! My family can get pretty competitive!
I have been having lots of fun trying out new recipes and getting the reward of a tasty and most of the time healthy meal.

On Friday 17 September, students are supposed to wear their favourite sports gear and to take a photo and share it on google classroom.

On Thursday there's another screen-free day. Students will be given an activity grid to do some activities away from their devices. It's a great opportunity for students to get outside and get some fresh air.

Jokes

Q: That's a pretty good ceiling

A: It's not the best, but it's up there!

Q: What do you call a magic dog?

A: A labracadabrador!

Alma and Nick

School Leaders

Mrs Griffith

Relieving Deputy Principal

KB - Sophia D, Jordan S, Isabelle S

KC - Teddy W, Rachael S, Adriaen D

KL - Jayden W, Blake W, Sophie H

1A - Sidney M

1M - Logan S, JP C, Molly M, Dash S

1/2P - Spencer C, Myat T, Dhruv P

2A - Jacinta I, Katherine W

2B - Selena R, Jayden S, Olivia Y

2W - Jade T, Calvin S

3D - Adam C, Kay M, Angela C

3H - Zayd M, Sasha S, Christian S

3R - Liam T, Elliot M

4B - Logan S, Kieran P, Evie R, Reyansh C

4F - Evie C, Ryo J, Asa L

4M - Eeshan S, Josie A, Nathan Y

5B - Tamati S, Aliena J, Sophie W

5M - Deanna S, Vivian J, Archie B

5W - Poppy B, Nathan C, Sam K

6M - Sara C, Callum H, Bryan M, Poppy S, Gabriella C

6R - Rushan K, Eden K, Adele W, Christopher L, Jordan M, Liam P, Matthew M

6S - Luke M, Charlie W, Renee C

LaST - Myat T (1/2P), Henry H (2W), Owen S (3D), Ethan S (3D), Sahanya F (4F)

Let's celebrate the end of Term 3!

On Friday 17 September, dress up in your favourite sports gear and share your photos on Google Classroom.

Mrs Griffith

Relieving Deputy Principal

Did You Know That PHPS Students Can Borrow eBooks?

Our library subscribes to the Wheelers ePlatform which allows students to borrow eBooks.

Using a device via the ePlatform app or through a web browser, students have access to a digital library which has a collection of over 1800 books. eBooks can be easily borrowed and are returned automatically. They can be read on a computer, laptop or mobile device.

This video explains how simple it is to download the ePlatform app. Alternatively, our school’s eLibrary can be accessed via this link http://pennanthil.eplatform.co/ or the Oliver school library website which is accessed via the DoE student portal.

The students use their school username and password to sign in to our school’s ePlatform. They can borrow up to two books at a time for a two week period. Please note that these borrowing rules are set by Wheelers not the school.

Today We Are Celebrating Australian Reading Hour

Australian Reading Hour 2021 celebrates the joy of reading, the stories that matter, and the talented writers and illustrators who create them. So if you haven’t already done so set aside one hour today to read a good book.

You can also view the Stories That Matter event which is available on demand for the entire week. Hosted by Oliver Phommavanh with hilarious cameos by favourite kids book creators, this event is for primary school students and features entertaining mini-classes on how to draw with Andrew Joyner, how to tell your own story with Michael Wagner, how to read the stars in our night skies with Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, plus commentary by Adrian Beck and Nicole Hayes on all things books, footy and sport.

Online Holiday Fun at The State Library of NSW

The State Library of NSW is holding a variety of free online workshops for kids and their families during the school holidays.

Workshops such as “The Fabulous Food Quiz”, “Be a designer: Hats and costumes” and the “Great Recycling Challenge!” are just some of the fun events being held at the library.

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday full of great reading!

Ms Davis

Teacher Librarian

If you have any questions, or would like to be involved with the canteen, please contact me.

Heather Tyler

0425 274 681

canteenphps@gmail.com

THE UNIFORM SHOP IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR ALL SALES AND SERVICE

The Uniform Shop is closed due to the current Covid-19 restrictions introduced during the school holidays. Once the lockdown restrictions have eased, we will advise you of the operating procedures that will be put in place for the remainder of Term 3.

Any outstanding Flexischools orders will be processed as soon as the shop re-opens.

Order forms are available on the Uniform Shop page of the school website or by using the link below

https://pennanthil-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/schools/p/pennanthil-p/about-our-school/uniform-shop/Order_Form_and_Price_List_Term_3_2021.pdf

Opening hours are currently suspended

Alison Parker

Uniform Shop Manager

phpsuniformshop@gmail.com

Year 2 Families!

Neuroscience has found a clear relationship between music and language acquisition. Put simply, learning music in the early years of schooling can help children learn to read.