Pennant Hills Public School eNewsletter

Student Attendance

I want to thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring students can continue to enjoy face-to-face learning while we prioritise student and staff wellbeing through our COVID-smart measures.

We want to do all we can to be sure your child achieves their potential and enjoys being in school. One way we can help make this happen is to be sure your child attends school each day unless they are sick, have symptoms link or are absent for a justified reason.

Protecting the wellbeing of our students through the reporting and monitoring of student absences is the responsibility of both parents/carers and schools. Notifying the school either before or on the day that your child is away helps us keep accurate student attendance records to support you and your child.

We know that school is the best place to learn and regular attendance means students can stay on top of their schoolwork and get the most out of their learning. If you are having trouble getting your child to school every day or on time, please talk to our school staff so we can work together, because every day counts. 

Missing a day here or there may not seem like much but absences add up and can impact your child’s learning more than you think. When your child misses one day a week over a year, that’s 40 days of school, 8 weeks of lessons and 2.5 years over their school life lost. As your child’s education has already been interrupted through periods of learning from home due to COVID-19 over the last 2 and a half years, now is the time to prioritise face-to-face learning and making the most of every school day.

Our school strives for the expected attendance rate which is above 95% of students at school each day over the year.

If your child is unwell they will need to stay home, get tested for COVID-19 if they are experiencing symptoms and only return to school when symptom free.

Harmony Day

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds.

It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Our school will be celebrating Harmony Day on Wednesday 22 March. Students are encouraged to wear their cultural dress or a touch of orange to celebrate our diversity.

The following link will take you to the Harmony Day website, Harmony week - Everyone belongs.

Staff Carparks

The staff carparks on the K-2 and 3-6 sites are strictly for staff parking, delivery drivers and tradespeople between the hours of 8am-4pm. These guidelines are part of the school’s Health and Safety procedures which are endorsed by the NSW Department of Education. Parents are NOT to use these carparks during these hours. There are no exceptions unless you have written consent from the school. This includes picking your child up from school during these times.

Year 6 -7 Transition

To enrol your child in Year 7 for 2024, you will need to complete an Expression of Interest for Year 6 to Year 7 transition. The Expression of Interest (EOI) lets you indicate which school(s) you would like your child to attend in Year 7.

The EOI process is now available online. After you submit an EOI and it has been assessed, your child will be offered a place at a high school.

If your child will not be attending a NSW Government high school next year, please let us know by completing a Placement Not Required form.

If you are unsure whether they will be attending a NSW Government school (you’ve applied for a private school, or you are moving interstate), we ask that you still complete an EOI and follow up with your school once a decision has been made.

The online process will guide you through your options and collect the information required to make the process as smooth as possible.

For parents/carers who are not able to complete an application online, a paper EOI form can be collected from the school office.

For more information about moving to high school, visit Going to a public school.

To access the link for Year 6 students at Pennant Hills Public School please click here.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN begins this week for our Year 3 and 5 students. Please ensure that your child arrives at school on time. This is to avoid any stress or anxiety that may feel due to being late to school on the day of an assessment. If you have any questions please contact their teacher to discuss these.

Parent/Teacher Meetings

Each year the school arranges a time for parents and carers to meet with teachers to discuss the academic progress and needs of their child. These meetings are held at the end of Term 1 to allow the student and teacher relationship to have developed to a point where they both feel they know each other to ensure the meetings are beneficial to support student growth.

These meetings for most classes will take place in Weeks 10 (week starting 27 March) and 11 (week starting 3 April) of this term.

Please note that the 3/4 Sugar gliders Parent/ Teacher Meetings will take place in Week 9 (week starting 20 March). The Parent/Teacher Meetings for 1/2 Cockatoos will take place in Weeks 9 (week starting 20 March) and 10 (week starting 27 March).

Bookings for these meetings will open tomorrow at 10am. You can access the booking system by clicking the following link, School Interviews and enter our unique school code vq397. Once you have entered the system please select your child’s teacher, your preferred day and time. You will receive a confirmation email with your bookings.

Kind Regards

Matt Pinchbeck

Principal

NAPLAN – Year 3 and Year 5 students

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy) starts tomorrow. To prepare your child for the assessments, teachers have been conducting familiarisation activities and engaging students in the demonstration site to ensure that they are comfortable with the platform.

We ask that all students bring in a pair of over-the-head headphones, labelled with their name and class for next week. The headphones require a standard headphone jack to plug into the laptops, similar to the picture below.

Students may also bring in a computer mouse if they wish.

NAPLAN begins on Wednesday 15 March and is planned as follows;

Wednesday 15 March - Writing
Thursday 16 March - Reading
Monday 20 March - Conventions of Language
Tuesday 21 March - Numeracy

If your child is absent on one of these days, we are required to conduct the assessments in order and they will complete the assessments upon their return, if within the timeframe provided by ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority). Assessments must be completed by Monday 27 March.

NAPLAN is not something to worry about and it is definitely not something we want our students to worry about. It is a one-off assessment of literacy and numeracy skills that assist in data trends across several years and for different cohorts.

As a school, we use this information to create areas of focus that help inform our goals for our School Improvement Plan. We also use this information to adapt our programs, both within the classroom and through additional programs like those implemented by the Learning and Wellbeing Team to ensure we are supporting, extending and engaging our students in their areas of need. Our teachers analyse the data from NAPLAN and make reference to it, along with their own observational data, anecdotal records, work samples and internal assessments to differentiate their programs for your child.

As parents/carers you may be interested in your child's NAPLAN results as an indicator for how they performed comparatively to students across the country. Keeping in mind that it is a one-off assessment, we all have good and bad days. Although NAPLAN results will not be provided until much later in the year, discussions about your child and their engagement with the curriculum can occur during parent/teacher meetings which are scheduled for the end of this term. Your child's teacher will be able to provide you with the most accurate information.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please email the school, attn: Mrs Wasson.

Kindergarten Parent Information Evening

Thank you to all of the 2023 Kindergarten parents and carers who were able to join us yesterday evening to hear about our current reading programs. We really enjoy having the home to school connection. We know that many parents and carers gained some great insights into what goes on in the Kindergarten classrooms during Reading sessions and came away with some activities that can be done at home to support your child.

Thank you to our Kindergarten Team; Mrs Donoghue, Miss Lester, Mrs Rudd; our APC&I (Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction) Mrs Hobbs and Mr Pinchbeck for their contributions to the evening and to Mrs Coventry for leading the session.

Anya’s artwork

Anya in 6R created this most astonishing multimedia artwork – I am truly blown away. What talent!

Buddy Visits

Each class is assigned another class for buddy visits across the 2 sites. Below are some photos of 4P and 1K – they all love their buddies!

World's Greatest Shave

Make A Wish Foundation Fundraising

Liam (5W) cut off his hair yesterday to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

If you would like to donate, the link is below.

https://fundraise.makeawish.org.au/fundraisers/liamcleland/liam--s-hair-cut?fbclid=IwAR1MpRGDKiuOYuDYxSCmeZ773uMdkK_3H-QdidpKwb2Z2GRQt1JfhTR7gVg

Kind Regards

Kate Wasson

Deputy Principal

Supporting Your Child’s Learning at Home

The NSW school curriculum has undergone the first comprehensive reform in 30 years after an extensive curriculum review and consultation.

Further information about the curriculum reform can be found following this link https://nswcurriculumreform.nesa.nsw.edu.au/home/siteAreaContent/adbaffbc-6ac9-46fc-9b2d-65fcc8bc9064

Phonic Knowledge
Kindergarten	Year 1 and 2
Phonic knowledge focuses on the letter symbol in the alphabet (grapheme) that is used to represent a spoken sound (phoneme) in a word.	Phonic knowledge focuses on continuing to use existing knowledge of letter–sound relationships as well as digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound) and trigraphs (3 letters which make 1 sound).
You can help your Kindergarten child at home by: Stretching some simple words into sounds, such as d- o- g, while you are reading and writing together. Make sure you say the sound, not the letter name Starting an alphabet book and choosing a new word to add after each book you read. For example, your child loves the word ‘pudding’ that they have found in a book. Discuss what sound the word starts with and then they can add the word pudding to the ‘pP’ page of the alphabet book Playing ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with …’ Make sure you use the sound, not the letter.	You can help your Year 1 and Year 2 child at home by: Finding and discussing words which have common digraphs during reading and writing. These digraphs include sh, th, ch, ck, ng, ph and wr Discussing and grouping words using the vowel digraphs er, ir and ur found in term, bird and fur Finding and grouping words which have the same trigraph, such as air found in hair, lair, stair and pair. Other trigraphs include ear as in tear and hear. Also igh as in high and sigh and tch as in catch and witch.

Mrs Hobbs

Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction

3E - Sarah-Lynn L, Sidney M, Kaleiya S, Henley W, Alex C, Lily B, Luca H

3/4S - Chloe H, Hayden T, Adrian X, Jayden W, Parmida S

4B - Alex A, Clara D, Jacinta I, Diyaa M, Parker P, Vivian R

4P - Reyansh S, Rina B, Jack V, Elena F, Emma CG, Ajai D

4/5B - Stuart W, Mia M, Ashley H, Stephanie L, Zanna P, Jade T

5T - Penelope K, Dehlon P, Jayne K, Zayd N, Willow H, Annabelle T

5W - Darcy W, Lara B, Alex Y, Yoninah F, Isabella N, Angus M

6G - Syeria A, Tyesha B, Josie T, Jake S, Liviru L, Eddy C

6R - Daniel C, Pierre D, Elsie G, Anyqa H, Arya M, Nivaan P

6S - Lauren N, Geema P, Nathan P, Nik M, Cassius H, Adelina P, Isaac B, Giselle H, Tom S, Robert H, Mana A, Asa L

As stated on the Harmony Week website:

“Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.”

The message of Harmony Week is “everyone belongs”. Orange is the colour chosen to represent this day as traditionally it signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

On Wednesday 22 March, we are asking students to wear a touch of orange e.g. orange t-shirt, orange socks, orange ribbons, orange shoelaces etc. or if they wish to do so, wear their national dress to show their support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

We are looking forward to celebrating our multicultural society.

Ms Davis, Mrs Krivohlavy and Mrs Callegaro

The Harmony Day Committee

STAGE 2

Congratulations to Nafi D and Daniel C (Year 6) on their selection to represent our zone at the Sydney North Basketball trials. We wish you both good luck!

This week Pennant Hills PS played against Thornleigh West PS

Teeball

Boys: PH defeated TW 6 - 3

Girls: Draw 15 - 15

League Tag

Girls: PH drewn with TW 9 - 9

Boys: TW defeated PH 10 - 7

This week, Stage 2 will play Cherrybrook PS

Mr Bryant and Mrs Buchberger

Stage 2 Interschool Sport Coordinators

STAGE 3

This week Pennant Hills PS played against Normanhurst West PS

Softball

Girls: PH defeated NW 15 - 3

Boys: NW defeated PH 5 - 11

League Tag

Boys: NW defeated PH 4 - 5

Girls: PH defeated NW 3 - 2

Miss Griggs & Miss Ings

Stage 3 Interschool Sport Coordinators

For more information on zone sport click here or scan the QR code below

On Friday 10 March, we had the sun shining, birds chirping and Pennant Hills students doing their bit to keep our school environment clean.

Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 were allocated an area of the school to clean and everyone did a fantastic job.

Prior to the cleanup, classes discussed the importance of ensuring rubbish is put into the correct bins and predicted what types of rubbish they may find. After the cleanup, classes reflected on the rubbish they collected and brainstormed different ways to reduce rubbish in our school environment.

Check out some of the different classes making a difference in our school.

The Green Team

Vishwa Hindu Parishad runs Hindu Scripture Classes at Pennant Hills School.

The curriculum is designed so that students learn about

Hindu Gods and Goddesses
Hindu traditions
Hindu religion
Hindu mantras
Hindu sages
Hindu temples
Hindu slokas and chanting
Hindu epics such as Ramayana

Through Hindu Scripture Classes students become knowledgeable about

How to worship
How to pray
Hindu rituals
Hindu worship methods and reasons behind such forms of worship

Through story telling students learn to set goals in life, learn to respect teachers, elders and mother earth, learn about the importance of righteousness in life, learn about duties towards family, community and mother earth. Through story telling students gain in depth knowledge of Hindu Dharma and Hindu Virtues. The Hindu Scripture classes give students good values and ethics to become better human beings contributing to self, nature and the world they belong to.

Please enrol your children in Hindu Scripture Classes run at the school.

Hindu Scripture Coordinators

President’s Message

Hi All

Thank you to everyone who attended the P&C Annual General Meeting last week, it was great to be able to confirm the P&C positions and committees for the year ahead.

I was very happy to be back as President for one final year, joined by Andrew Passe De Silva and Mike Stalenberg as Vice Presidents. Eva Guo takes over as Treasurer, joined by Annette Berriman as Assistant Treasurer. Gareth Watkins will also step in as Secretary. We also welcomed Claire Smith, Liz Fowler, Kate Ashton, Matt Connor and Emma Xu as members of the P&C Executive team.

Thank you very much to Russ Nicholson, Lian Duan, Chris Kulatunga, and Chris Lee, who are all stepping off the exec team after playing important roles over the past few years.

It was great to have so many new members joining the various P&C committees, with 20+ new community members accepting roles. Thank you very much, I look forward to working with you in 2023.

Have a great week.

Luke Whenman

P&C President

pandcpresident@gmail.com

Recycling of soft plastics is not happening at present, so we would like to reduce the amount of soft plasticS being brought to school.

Reducing the soft plastics waste will benefit the students as they learn how to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Students, parents and caregivers can support the school community by taking some easy actions. The little steps we take to encourage students in reducing waste, make a huge difference.

Using containers for crunch and sip, recess or lunch is a great way to reduce soft plastics and other waste. Trying to buy snacks in a bigger package at the supermarket and placing food in a container to bring to school, is an easy option to reduce waste. It is often less expensive than buying individual packages of snacks. Children could put their snacks or lunch in little containers themselves and clean them at night to prepare for the following day. They will enjoy being independent and playing an active role in taking care of their environment.

Parents and caregivers, please talk to your children about recycling and composting at school. This will help you understand what your child is learning at school, and will reinforce the importance of the recycling program to your child.

Thank you for your cooperation!

We would like to acknowledge all women contributing to our school community. Wishing you all a 'Happy International Women's Day' that was celebrated on 8 March 2023!

Wednesday 22 March is HARMONY DAY. The canteen is offering a special menu to celebrate this. You can place your order now through Flexischools.

Orders must be in by 5pm this Friday, 17 March, or you will miss out!

There will be no other lunch orders on this day.

Last Friday the Flexischools website crashed which created chaos. I am very sorry if you missed out on placing an order due to this.

If you sent an order through email or phone, which has not yet been paid for, could you please place an identical order for this coming Friday and click on “Make-up order” which you will find in the Alerts category. We will then know that you are paying for a previous order and not placing a new one.

Hopefully there will be no more problems with Flexischools, though I do recommend placing orders the night before wherever possible. One less thing to do in the morning!

Reminders

New cut-off time for placing orders is 8.45am.
For Friday orders, please use the “Stage 3 PSSA” Alert if this applies to your child. These orders need to be ready by 12.25pm.
Sushi is available on Wednesdays.

Harmony Day Menu 2023

Hot Dog - no sauce - $3.50
Hot Dog - Tomato Sauce - $3.50
Vegie Delight Hot Dog - no sauce, Vegan - $3.80
Vegie Delight Hot Dog - Tomato Sauce, Vegan - $3.80 Chicken Taco Wrap - Chicken, Salad & Cheese - $4.50
Beef Korma with Basmati Rice, GF - $5.50
Gluten Free Beef Lasagne, GF - $5.00
Rice Paper Roll - Vegetable, GF, Vegan - $5.00
Rice Paper Roll - Teriyaki Chicken - $5.00
Jam Lamington - $1.30
Orange Jelly Cup 125g, GF - $1.30
Orange Poppyseed Muffin, homemade - $1.50
Orange Passio Chill J - $2.50
Paradise Punch Just Juice - $1.50

Heather Tyler

0425 274 681

canteenphps@gmail.com

Opening Times 2023

We will be continuing to be available by appointment only in 2023 and all available times will be available on our appointment booking site up to 3 weeks in advance.

Appointments will be available on Thursdays and Fridays during the school term.

Back To School Vouchers

The Uniform Shop is accepting back to school vouchers. The vouchers can be used to purchase NEW uniform items and accessories and can not be used for the purchase of preloved/second hand items.

To use the vouchers on Flexischools the voucher numbers need to be added in the same order as your items and the details can be added by selecting the Back to School Vouchers item.

Please remember, if your order is less then the voucher amount, the remaining amount of your voucher is forfeited and can not be used. The uniform shop is not able to hold the remaining value of the vouchers as credit for future orders.

Appointments

Please click or scan the QR Code below to make an appointment, you will be redirected to our square booking site.
Pease select the appropriate appointment type for your visit:
- Standard appointment times are in individual 5-minute increments.
- Double appointment times are in individual 10-minute increments.
Appointments are at the uniform shop located on the 3-6 campus.

UNIFORM SHOP APPOINTMENTS

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 will only be available via online sales and will not be available for sale during a shop appointment.

Winter Uniforms

Winter uniforms will be available to purchase both online and during appointments from 27 March 2023. If stock hasn’t arrived at this time it will be placed on backorder and delivered to the classroom as soon as it arrives.

Janine Sherlock

Uniform Shop Manager

phpsuniformshop@gmail.com

MAIN ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL: IS THIS AFTERNOON

3:30pm - 4:30pm in the school hall, K-2 site.

FOIM REHEARSAL: IS THIS AFTERNOON 4:40pm - 5:20pm in the school hall, K-2 site.

Pick up time for FOIM students will be 5:20pm.

Students not doing FOIM should be picked up at the usual time of 4:30pm.

Main Parent Helper today is Sonya DeBono - Thankyou

FOIM Parent Helper today is Lu Liu - Thankyou

! THE TERM 1 ROSTER IS OPEN - The String groups can't run without help from the parents.

Week 9 through to week 11 still require volunteers - OPEN LINK: Main& FOIM Roster 2023 Term 1

FOIM 2023 - FOIM students and parents - our rehearsals are going at a good steady pace. A friendly reminder that ALL music will be expected to be memorised eventually. Please see below dates for FOIM that need to go in your diary.

We are in the ACACIA CONCERT:

Preliminary Rehearsal (strings): Monday 15 May 9:15am – 1:00pm
Ticket Bookings Open: Tuesday 16 May 9:00am
Concert Rehearsals: Tuesday 13 June 12:30pm – 3:15pm (recorders) 12:00pm – 4:00pm (strings)
Evening Concert: Tuesday 13 June 7:00pm – 9:30pm

Music Camp 2023

Music Camp has been scheduled for 18 - 20 June. Please put this in your diary. More information will be coming from the Music Camp teams in the coming months.

String Events for Term 1, 2023

Week 9

MAIN ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL - Tuesday 21 March, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
FOIM - Tuesday 21 March, 4:40pm - 5:20pm

Week 10

MAIN ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL - Tuesday 28 March, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
FOIM - Tuesday 28 March, 4:40pm - 5:20pm

! Week 11 - Tuesday 4 April - Open Rehearsal - Join PHPS Ensemble as we throw open our doors, inviting parents to join us at rehearsal.

3:30-4:20pm - Main Ensemble rehearsal
4:20-4:40pm - Light snacks
4:40-5:20pm - FOIM rehearsal (other students/parents also welcome to stay and watch)

A flyer will be sent home today with your child. Any questions, do not hesitate to reach out the String Committee Group.

Families interested in enrolling children in a String Ensemble 2023 should contact the PHPS String Committee for further details: phpsstrings@gmail.com

PHPS String Ensemble

Website: www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble

Feedback: www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble/contact-us

Erin Jeacle

Centre Director

9980 8950

www.pennanthillsbasc.com

We are excited to announce that registrations for our upcoming April School Holiday Program are open. We would be thrilled for you to share this information in your school newsletter and your socials (PDF flyer attached).

Overview:

At RSPCA NSW, we believe education is the key to creating lasting change. Our School Holiday Program aims to help young people develop their knowledge, skills and understanding around improving the welfare of companion, farmed and wild animals alike in a fun, hands-on way. Children and teens will learn how to better understand and care for our furry, feathery, and scaly friends in order to give them a happy, healthy and enriched life and will go behind-the-scenes on a tour to meet our shelter animals. They will also have fun getting crafty, creating enrichment toys for their own pet or to donate to our shelter animals.

? Tuesday 11 April – Friday 21 April

Age groups: 5 to 7 years, 8 to 11 years, and 12 to 15 years.

? Half and full day sessions from 9.00am – 3.00pm

? Sydney Shelter, Yagoona

Introducing our new Junior Animal Attendants Program. Junior Animal Attendants is a unique hands-on program for young people (8-11 years and 12-15 years) who want to develop their skills in caring for companion animals or have an interest to work with animals in the future. Participants will learn the daily routine and responsibilities of a RSPCA NSW Animal Attendant and learn how to care for cats, dogs, and pocket pets through a range of interactive activities and behind the scenes encounters.

Go to our website, https://www.rspcansw.org.au/what-we-do/education/school-holiday-program/ to find out more or make a booking today! Use the code, Earlybird10 to receive 10% off all bookings until March 31.

DISCLAIMER

Advertisements placed in the School’s Newsletter do not reflect an endorsement or otherwise by Pennant Hills Public School of the product or service.

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Supporting Your Child’s Learning at Home

Phonic Knowledge

Kindergarten

Year 1 and 2