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WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN
Last Friday saw our Kindergarten students begin their formal schooling. It was great to see so many smiling faces. They had a great day learning. As an educator it is always a great day when you see so many smiles on a young person’s face as they achieve something. For some it was surviving the day, others making friends, meeting their teacher or learning in the classroom. No matter the reason, it is ensuring that they have a great year this year to set them up for their future. Well done boys and girls and we look forward to seeing you grow so much this year.
SCHOOL DAY
At Pennant Hills Public School learning in the classroom begins at 9:15am. It is important that all students arrive at school before this time. Arriving late impacts the child who is late and the entire class as the teacher needs to stop what they are doing to greet the child. I encourage all parents to find a morning routine that works for them to ensure that all students arrive before 9:15am.
From tomorrow all classes, including Kindergarten, will finish at 3:15pm. A reminder that only one adult is able to collect a child from the K-2 site.
On the odd occasion that you may be late to school the child needs to be signed in at the appropriate office by their parent. Students cannot simply walk themselves into the classroom if they are late. If you need to collect your child from school for an appointment, please call into the office first to sign them out.
Thank you in advance for your support with these school requirements.
RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS
Today we received our supply of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) for weeks 4 and 5. To assist with sending these home, can ALL families complete the Google form. Please click here to access the form. You will be asked if you would like to receive these RAT. If you would like to receive a two-week supply, please indicate this on the form. If you do not require any RAT, please also indicate this on the form. All responses need to be completed by Wednesday 4pm. If you do not respond we will assume that you are wanting to receive a two-week supply of RAT. These will be sent home with students on Friday.
VIRTUAL MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT
Due to Covid-19 this year’s Meet the teacher night will be held virtually. It will be held on Tuesday 15 February 2022 at the following times for each stage group.
- Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten): 4-4:30pm
- Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2): 4:45-5:15pm
- Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4): 5:30-6pm
- Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6): 6:15-6:45pm
All classes will have specific login details and will be sent out as an individual note closer to the day.
This presentation will be an opportunity to hear from your child’s teacher about all matters relating to their class. They will discuss the curriculum that will be covered, class requirements, sport days and many more things. It will also be an opportunity to ask any questions relating to the class. It will not be an opportunity to ask specific questions about your child. If you do need to speak with the teacher about your child, please email the school at pennanthil-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au and attention it to their teacher. The teacher will respond to you to arrange a time to discuss your query.
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Yesterday saw the school hold its annual swimming carnival. Unfortunately, alterations to our normal carnival had to be made to ensure everyone’s health and safety. I would like to thank the entire community for their support of this event. Whether it was sending your child to the carnival or to school, you played your role in ensuring the carnival was a success for those that competed.
A huge thank you to Mrs Ford for amazing organisation of a wonderful event. All the races were completed and congratulations to all the students who competed. Students from yesterday’s carnival will now be selected to represent our school and participate in the Beecroft Zone PSSA carnival in a few weeks’ time. Students who are eligible to progress to the next level will receive their note as soon as possible to give parents time to plan. The Beecroft Zone Swimming carnival is being held on Wednesday 2 March at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
SCHOOL NOTIFICATIONS VIA SZAPP
SZapp is the main communication channel at Pennant Hills Public School. As an SZapp user, you will receive notifications from Pennant Hills Public School.
Some families are only subscribed to whole school information and consequently miss specific information for their child from the class teacher, the Assistant Principal from the stage or the contacts for particular groups.
It is important that you choose your child’s class, year group and any other group that they are a member of. Very few parents have subscribed to the individual groups and are missing important information relevant to your child/ren.
Below are instructions to ensure you are receiving all correspondence in reference to your child/ren.
Step 1. Install SZapp on your mobile device.
Step 2. Select Asia Pacific region, then search for and select Pennant Hills Public School.
Step 3. You will be prompted to register as a user. Enter your email and name, then create a password. Once registered you will be sent an email to confirm your email address. Open your mail program and click on the URL to confirm. Upon completion you will be shown a confirmation screen.
Step 4. With SZapp open, select the ‘Manage’ tab towards the top of the screen.
Kind Regards
Mr Matt Pinchbeck
Principal
WELCOME TO KINDY 2022
This week marks the first full week for Kindergarten 2022! The Kindergarten teachers were so impressed with how settled, mature and happy their new students were on their first day last week and we saw beautiful smiling faces return on Monday. As you can see, Kindergarten are learning to settle into the routines at school and getting to know each other. Well done Kindy!
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Yesterday we braved the weather and attended the annual swimming carnival at Hornsby pool. This year was a little different in that only swimmers who were keen to compete attended and we were unfortunately unable to welcome families to spectate. Thank you to all of our families who followed the public health order and our Covid-safe plan and stayed away for the day. The students were very well behaved and did a great job at representing our school, thank you students! It was wonderful to see everyone having a go and commending each other on their efforts.
Record breaker! Sam King swam the Senior Boys Backstroke at a time of 35.79!
What a fish, well done Sam!
A special mention also to Ashley in 3B who truly tried her personal best and attempted every race – well done Ashley!
We even had some time at the end of the day for the Year 6 students to have some fun and have a doggy paddle race, who would’ve known they would have loved it so much!
The Year 6 boys getting ready for their doggy paddle race – they continued to bark as they swam!
Kind Regards
Mrs Kate Wasson
Deputy Principal
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Hi All
Welcome back to the new school year! I hope your children have settled in well to classes and are enjoying the time spent with friends in the playground again!
Thank you to the parents who joined us for the first P&C meeting of the year, held online last Tuesday night. It was great to see so many parents dialing in to hear updates about the school from Matt Pinchbeck, Kate Wasson and the P&C.
P&C meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month in the school term at 7.30pm, online via Zoom unless restrictions allow us to meet in the school hall. All parents and carers are welcome to join.
The March meeting follows the annual AGM in which all P&C roles are made available and voted in for the next year. There’s no pressure to join a sub-committee group, but it’s a great way to get to know the school and meet other parents. Your kids would love to see you involved too!
In 2022 the P&C focus is on School Community, bringing together families after 2 years of minimal social activity. We will also continue to support PHPS by funding additional resources to enhance the educational experience for our children.
In recent years the P&C has funded:
- $10,000 in readers and classroom materials
- Large ceiling fans and AV system for the school hall
- Electronic Whiteboards
- Learning Support Teachers
- Air conditioning units for classrooms, and much more.
- Outdoor learning areas and playground facilities
We will be holding a ‘virtual’ P&C Welcome later in February to provide more details, look out for more information next week.
We wish your family a great start to the year and look forward to seeing you again soon.
If you would like to subscribe to our P&C meeting emails (minutes and agendas), please subscribe at the following link: http://eepurl.com/dlK3PD
Luke Whenman
President, PHPS P&C
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM UPDATE
Early each year the P&C supports the school, teachers and parents by setting up and distributing the class lists to provide a reliable form of communication, including reminders or class specific information from your teacher.
We ask all parents to complete this short questionnaire to be included in your class list and keep up to date with messages and reminders through the year.
Please complete this short survey to add your child to the class list. Complete one survey per child in your family who is attending PHPS this year.
The survey will close Friday night, 18 February. Late submissions may not be included in the class list due to the tight time frame.
If you have any questions please email the P&C Communications team on phppandc@gmail.com
Many thanks
PHPS Communications Group
#phpscommunity
The uniform shop has reopened for all sales and service with the following procedures put in place:
COVID-19 OPERATING PROTOCOLS
The Uniform Shop has reopened for over the counter sales and service.
All parents are required to make an appointment before attending the Uniform Shop. This is to ensure that there is no overlapping of families or crowding and queuing at the shop.
All parents wishing to attend the Uniform Shop for an appointment must show proof of vaccination and sign in using the QR code at the shop.
To make an appointment at the Uniform Shop please use the following link:
https://calendly.com/phpsuniformshop/15minutes
UNIFORM SHOP COMMITTEE
We are currently seeking new members for the Uniform Shop Committee. The committee meets once a term to discuss and monitor the supply, quality and price of the school uniform. The committee members also provide assistance to new families at the Kinderlinks program.
If you are interested in joining the committee please contact me on the below email address.
YEAR 6 SPORT SHIRTS
Class lists have been finalised and the Year 6 shirts have been taken to the printer. At this stage, I anticipate distributing the shirts by the end week 4 or 5 to those children who have placed an order.
GIRLS SIZE 14 SUMMER DRESS
Please note the size 14 girl's summer dresses have sold out. Due to the lengthy manufacturing time, these will not be available until September.
ORDERING UNIFORMS
Uniforms can be ordered by making an appointment at the Uniform Shop during opening hours, or alternatively an order form can be completed and together with payment of cash, cheque or card details handed in at either office. Orders will be filled and then delivered to the children’s classes. A combined pricelist and order form can be downloaded from the school website by using the below link:
Updated New Design Order Form & Price List.pages (nsw.gov.au)
Uniforms can also be ordered online through Flexischools, however prices will include the Flexischools’ surcharge.
Please note that uniform orders cannot be paid via the school online payment service.
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday and Tuesday: 8:45am – 10:45am
Thursday: 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Alison Parker
Uniform Shop Manager
Welcome Sarah Qiu!
CONDUCTOR INTRODUCTION
This week we extend a warm welcome to our new PHPS String Ensemble conductor, Sarah Qiu. Sarah has extensive experience as a strings tutor, classroom music teacher, strings coordinator, conductor, member of ensembles and project work. You can learn more about Sarah’s background through her Quart-Ed project page here: https://quartedquartet.wixsite.com/website/about-us
MAIN ENSEMBLE
Our first rehearsal this afternoon is for years 3-6 students only, due to restrictions and will be held in the school hall. Students to meet this week at the corner of Greycliff and Weemala Rd to be accompanied down to the K-2 Hall.
K-2 Hall: Tuesday, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
INTRO COURSE AND JUNIOR ENSEMBLE
We are unable to run an Intro/Junior program at this stage but hope to have it up and running again in Term 2. For more information about the program please visit:
http://www.phpspandc.org.au/introduction-to-strings-junior-strings/
PARENT HELPERS
The committee parents will be supervising the first few rehearsals but we would love for parents to start signing up to help out later in the term. The String Ensemble can't run without help from the parents so please click on the link below and sign up to be a parent helper this term.
https://doodle.com/poll/5zawtsz3vqs7vyz3?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
If you need any further information, you can reach out via email: phpsstrings@gmail.com
PHPS String Ensemble
Website: www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble
Feedback: www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble/contact-us
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