Year 5 Student Leadership Day

Students in Year 5 took part in a professional learning opportunity yesterday focusing on Leadership. The successful day was organised by Mrs Griffith and allowed the students the opportunity to think and focus on leadership. Our aim was to highlight to all students that anyone is capable of being a leader, and that all leaders are different with different skill sets. We were very fortunate to have Mr Jamie Davidson join us for the day. Mr Davidson is a former parent and P&C President who coaches organisations on leadership. It was great to see the students working in teams focusing on their leadership attributes.

Further on in this newsletter is an outline of the upcoming school leadership process for our current Year 5 students as we begin the process of selecting next year’s leaders. All students in Year 5 have the opportunity to put their name forward to be considered. We look forward to seeing next year’s leaders begin their leadership journey.

Kindilinks

Today we were able to hold our first Kindilink session for 2022. It was fantastic to see so many excited future students come to ‘big school’ for the morning. The Kindilink sessions provide students and new families the opportunity to familiarise themselves with Pennant Hills PS. The school also has the opportunity to learn about our future students to ensure that we can best support them when they begin Kindergarten in 2023. A huge thanks to Mrs Coventry for her organisation and we look forward to the remaining three Kindilink sessions. Thank you to all the parents for bringing their little ones up to ‘big school’ to begin the next chapter in their learning journey.

Dance Spectacular

Our big night is fast approaching and I for one am very excited to see this night in action. I started my principalship at PHPS two weeks after the last Dance Spectacular in 2018. When I arrived the community was on a high from the experience (and I didn’t see it ?! Certainly envious). Fast forward to 2020 and I had to cancel the event for that year due to Covid-19 and do the same in 2021. So, no one is more keen to see this wonderful night come to fruition than myself.

The countless hours that have gone into this night cannot be measured. A huge thanks needs to go to the school’s Dance Committee. The members of that committee are; Mrs Partridge, Mrs Ford, Mrs Van der Wal, Miss Dy, Mrs Turnbull, Mrs Mortimer, Mrs Griffith, Mrs Coventry, Miss Dwyer, Mrs Wasson, Mrs Buttrey, Mr Andrews and Mrs Klimoski. The committee has been led by one teacher whose vision and creativity are simply amazing: Mrs McLaren. Mrs McLaren has spent days and nights perfecting the night to ensure the students get the absolute most out of this wonderful opportunity. I encourage all parents to talk with their children about this opportunity as they are not provided at all schools. Please ensure that you have read the information regarding the night and follow all those directions that have been provided. This will ensure a successful night for all.

See you on Friday night!

Kind Regards

Matt Pinchbeck

Principal

Around the School

Last week, 5G were so engaged in their maths lesson, using pipe cleaners to create a cubic metre. This is a great activity that you could replicate at home with rolled up newsletter and masking tape. Great work 5G!

Kindilinks

We welcomed our Kindergarten 2023 students this morning for their first session of Kindilinks and they all did brilliantly! We look forward to seeing them again for Kindilinks 2.

World Teachers’ Day

Friday 28 October is World Teachers’ Day. We have such an amazing group of professionals at PHPS, they are truly dedicated to their students in every way. Please show them your support by writing a short sticky note on the below Jamboard, I will collate and present it to them and it will truly make their day! It can be anonymous if you so wish. Thank you!

Jamboard – World Teachers’ Day 2022

Kind Regards

Kate Wasson

Deputy Principal

Year 5 Leadership Day

Congratulations to Year 5 who took part in the 2023 Leadership Day. Well done to all the students who embraced the experience, stepped out of their comfort zones and enjoyed the activities. It was great to have all of Year 5 together again, lots of laughter, great discussions and comradery. Congratulations to our top ten Year 6 leaders who ran the event under the guidance of Jamie Davidson. Thanks again Jamie for giving up your time to lead the day.

Timeline for the Leadership Process

Monday 24 October - Year 5 Leadership Day
Tuesday 25 October - Top 10 Voting
Monday 31 October - Announce top 10 boys and girls
Monday 7 November - Poster due
Tuesday 15 November - Top 10 speeches and voting (3-6)
Wednesday 16 November - Top 10 Announced
Friday 18 November - House captain speeches and voting
Monday 21 November - House captains announced
Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 November - Performing arts voting
Wednesday 23 November - Announce PA captains

Kind Regards

Melissa Griffith

Relieving Deputy Principal

Children can sometimes forget to pick up their belongings, and that's ok! To enable the return of your child's misplaced items, please label everything.

If your child misplaces a clothing item (eg hats, jumpers) it will be placed in one of the school's lost property boxes. Students are encouraged to check the lost property box found in the following locations:

K-2 Site: located on the 2B classroom old verandah

3-6 Site: located in the Year 5 classrooms corridor

If your child has misplaced an item other than clothing (eg, glasses), please speak to the office administration staff.

Non-clothing items found in the playground may have been handed to the office.

Administration Staff

KA - Aurelia T, Advik R, Aiman A, Blake Z, Ollie D

KC - Heidi R, Reyansh G, Georgia F, Malachi S, Emily M

KR - Stuart G, Maya H, Lincoln P, Charlie B, Stephanie X, Austin C

1A - Valentino D, Oliver F, Angelisa J, Siara D

1M - Sophie L, Vasu P, Janu P, Adam F, Fynn T, Olivia T

1P - Viraj G, Elliott K, Zahara M, Rachael S

2A - Stella B, Jeremy D, Zoe S, Sian Y, Lily B

2B - Abhaya S, JP C, Dylan H

2M - Paul Z

K-2 Teachers

Kindergarten 2023 Orientation Sessions

Session 2 – Tuesday 1/11 9.30-11.00am
Session 3 – Tuesday 8/11 9.30-11.00am
Session 4 – Tuesday 15/11 9.30-11.00am

Children MUST be enrolled at our school before attending these sessions.

Please see our office staff before the day of the first session if you need to enrol your child.

Mrs Coventry

Assistant Principal

2023 School Travel Applications Are Now Open

Applications for student travel in 2023 open from Monday 10 October 2022.

Students who need a School Opal Card or travel pass for 2023 can apply now. A new application will need to be submitted if they are applying for the first time, or if they are requesting an additional travel entitlement as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (eg joint custody).

Students who change address, school, campus location, have repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for their school entitlement should renew or update their details before the end of Term 4. This will ensure that schools can endorse applicatoins, and entitlements remain valid for the start of the 2023 school year. School Opal card holders will have the changes applied to their existing card.

If a student's distance eligibility has changed based on their grade (ie grade two to grade three), the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, we will send an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Buss Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Buss Pass) for the first time will receive their Student Opal card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2023.

Students living in rural and regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. It may come via the school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

Travel From Term 1 2023

We ask that parents plan ahead and make sure their child knows which service/s to use and has a valid ticket to travel; either a School Opal card or Child/Youth Opal card (within Greater Sydney) or a School Travel Pass (outside Greater Western Sydney), from the start of the school year.

Applications for 2023 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel open at the start of Term 4 2022, so parents/students can apply or update details early and be ready for the start of the new school year.

Most students using the Opal network will not need a new Opal card and can continue travelling on their existing card each year.

The start of the year is a busy period for local transport operators, and students travelling without a valid ticket make service planning and operations difficult.

We recognise that for some families last minute changes to school enrolments mean they may not have a School Opal card or Travel Pass for the start of term. In the Opal network, we strongly encourage these families to have their children travel with a Child/Youth Opal card until they receive their valid School Opal card. If outside Greater Sydney, parents should contact their local bus operator to discuss their travel needs.

Bus operators are flexible and understanding, particularly at the start of the school year, and will ensure students can travel safely to and from school. But to best support our operators we encourage all students to have a valid ticket, as early as possible, from the start of the school year.

Students using School Opal cards are also reminded that they must tap on and off in line with the Student code of conduct and Opal terms of use.

Further information can be found at transportnsw.info/travel-info/using-public-transport/school-travel
Enquiries can be submitted at transportnsw.info/contact-us/feedback/passes-concessions-feedback

President’s Message

Hi All

We’re looking forward to drawing the winners of the raffle this Friday night at the Dance Spectatular. Thank you to all the families who have sold tickets and best of luck!

As we continue to pre 2020 activities, Bec S has kindly organised the Interrelate Family Sessions.

The Interrelate - Family Evening Sessions bookings are now live: https://events.humanitix.com/pennant-hills-ps-family-evening-program-3-november-2022

As mentioned, Interrelate offers "Life education" in an age appropriate manner, online so you can sit with your children in 2 sessions on Thursday 3 November:

Session 1 "Where did I come from" is aimed at Years 3 and 4 students as well as an introduction for those students in Years 5 and 6 that may have missed out in earlier years.
Session 2 "Preparing for Puberty" is aimed at Years 5 and 6 students, but parent discretion advisable for anyone in Years 3 and 4.

The session is ONLINE and is $36 per family TICKET (regardless of the number of children participating, for ONE or TWO sessions). If wanting both sessions, please choose one ticket with the BOTH sessions option. Or choose the one session you are interested in.

There are only 100 spots remaining for the sessions. The booking link is;

https://events.humanitix.com/pennant-hills-ps-family-evening-program-3-november-2022

Some important points to be aware of how to access the program:

The above link directs the parents to a registration page. Each family will need to complete the registration process to access the session.
On the day, Parents will need to click the link located on the e-ticket to open up our platform. No download is necessary.

The November P&C meeting will be held via Teams next Tuesday 1 November 7:30pm, details to be confirmed in next week’s newsletter and via SZapp.

Have a great week.

Luke Whenman

P&C President

pandcpresident@gmail.com

Last Call for Tickets - Return Your Books by Tomorrow!

The raffle will be drawn this Friday so if you have any remaining raffle tickets to sell, this is your final call.

We’ve raised over $5000 so far but we still have a way to go to reach our target of $15,000 towards installing solar panels on our school. This project will have environmental and financial benefits for years to come and every ticket sale helps! There are prizes for the most tickets sold!

Please return all sold and unsold raffle tickets to the office by Wednesday this week.

Remember, tickets must be paid for through Flexischools. Look for the Payments section or tab in the app and follow the prompts.

Early bird prize winners

Congratulations to the early bird prize winners Frankie S (2B) and Lachlan O (6M) who won this week’s lucky draw.

Snack Stall and Raffle Draw This Friday

The winning tickets will be drawn on Friday 28 October at 6:30pm at the Hillsong Convention Centre just before the doors open for the Dance Spectacular.

The P&C will also be operating a snack and drinks stall and selling any final raffle tickets before the draw.

Food must be purchased (cash or card) and consumed prior to the event as food or drink is not permitted in the auditorium.

If you can volunteer on the stall for a short while, please follow this link to add your name to the roster. You will not miss any of the Dance Spectacular!

Ambi’s Chai will also be at the venue selling delicious hot drinks and food.

Thank You To Our Sponsors

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors who have generously donated our major prizes:

$2000 VISA card voucher (donated by Saliba real estate)
$1000 Westfield voucher (donated by Toyota)
$800 Jazzy Photography 1 hour studio family photography session.(Includes personal planning session, online viewing gallery to share with friends and family, 3 digital files and one 10x10 wood print (donated by Jasmin Kooper)
$500 JB HIFI voucher (donated by Saliba real estate)
Bose Noise Cancelling Quiet Comfort 45 Headphones (donated by Bose)

The canteen will be closed this Friday, 28 October as all students will be off site for the Dance Spectacular rehearsal. Lunch orders will not be available on this day.

The K-2 Canteen will be open again next Friday, 4 November.

Items we will be selling are:

Sea Salt Chips, Grain Waves, Popcorn $1.50
Noodle Snacks $1.10
Breadsticks 20c
Brownies $1.30
Juicy Tubes - apple/blackcurrant, tropical, apple 60c
Moosies - chocolate, blue moon $1.50
Juicies - wildberry, lemonade $1.50
Lemon Ice Mony $1
Vanilla Ice Cream Tub $1.50
Paddle Pop - chocolate, rainbow $2.20
Frozen Pineapple Ring 50c
Frozen Grapes $1
Frozen Watermelon Slice 50c

All of these items can be ordered through Flexischools as well.

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

Heather Tyler

0425 274 681

canteenphps@gmail.com

Appointments

The Uniform Shop will continue to be open by appointment only for the foreseeable future. This will assist us in maintaining physical distancing and minimise waiting times for you to be served.

We are transitioning our appointments from Eventbrite to Square Appointments to help streamline the appointment process. All current appointments made through Eventbrite are still valid.
Please click or scan the QR Code below to make an appointment, you will be redirected to our square booking site.
Standard appointment times are in individual 5-minute increments. You may still need to wait while the appointment before you is finished being served.
If you require a longer appointment for purchases or need to try on items, please book a Double Appointment instead as these appointments will allow additional time.
Appointments specifically for incoming 2023 Kindergarten students and New Students will be available soon.

If the available times are not suitable, please contact us via email at phpsuniformshop@gmail.com to organise alternative arrangements.

Click here for Uniform Shop Appointments

Summer Uniforms

Summer uniforms have become available again for ordering in preparation for wearing again in Term 4. Please note that we have not yet received all our summer orders and some items we have limited or no stock available. If the item you have ordered is out of stock it will be placed on a back order and it will be sent to the classroom as soon as stock arrives.

Second Hand

Second Hand / Preloved items will continue to be available online via Flexischools. Only items in very good condition will be added for sales online, and these items currently will not be available for purchase directly from the shop. If you don’t find what you are looking for on Flexischools then you can book an appointment to look through the unsorted / unlisted items at the shop.

https://user.flexischools.com.au/login

Janine Sherlock

Uniform Shop Manager

phpsuniformshop@gmail.com

Band Recruitment for 2023 - Calling all students in Year 2 to 5.

Learning Music Benefits Your Brain!

Did you know brain-scanning studies have found that the anatomical change in musicians' brains is related to the age when training began. It shouldn't be surprising, but learning at a younger age causes the most drastic changes.

Interestingly, even brief periods of musical training can have long-lasting benefits. A 2013 study found that even those with moderate musical training preserved sharp processing of speech sounds. It was also able to increase resilience to any age-related decline in hearing.

Researchers also believe that playing music helps speech processing and learning in children with dyslexia. Furthermore, learning to play an instrument as a child can protect the brain against dementia.

"Music reaches parts of the brain that other things can't," says Loveday. "It's a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does, and the evidence that musical training enhances things like working memory and language is very robust."

Main Ensemble Rehearsal for Term 4 IS THIS AFTERNOON, 3:30pm-4:30pm in school hall K-2 site

Main Ensemble Parent Helper today is Claire Smith (Thankyou Claire)

The Term 4 Roster is Open - String Ensemble Roster 2022

!Thank you to all the parent helpers these past few weeks and in the next few weeks - your support is much appreciated.

! The following weeks still require parent help; Week 4, 8 & 9.

If you require any further information, clarification regarding the ROSTER / PARENT HELPER. Please feel free to contact us.

Intro to Strings

INTRO TO STRING PROGRAM FOR TERM 4: KC Classroom | WEDNESDAY morning 7:45am-8:45am.

Intro To String Parent Helper’s tomorrow is TBC

The Term 4 Roster is Open - Intro to Strings Roster 2022

! Thank you to all the parent helpers these past few weeks and in the next few weeks - your support is much appreciated.

! The Intro-to-Strings program can't run without help from the parents so please click on the roster link and sign up to be a parent helper this term. If you require any further information, clarification regarding the ROSTER / PARENT HELPER. Please feel free to contact us.