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Electronic Devices – Including Smart Watches
Technology is a very useful and important component of education in 2020. Covid-19 has certainly shone a spotlight on the important role it plays. At PHPS we have procedures in place to ensure that these devices are used appropriately throughout the day. These processes are aligned to the NSW Department of Education’s (DoE) ‘Student use of digital devices and online services’ policy. The policy highlights what is acceptable use of all electronic devices during a school day.
A very large majority of students and parents follow the school’s processes with these devices. Our processes are as follows:
Stage 3 BYOD Laptops – each morning are signed and left in the student’s classroom. These are used throughout the day for educational purposes.
Mobile Phones – Mobile phones are not required for educational purposes at school. However, some students need these devices to ensure they get to and from school safely. If you have given your child a mobile phone, they need to have their name clearly on the phone and drop it to the office every morning. At the end of the day they can go to the office and collect their phone. The phones are stored securely throughout the day.
Smart Watches – These devices are also covered under the NSW DoE’s policy. Students are able to wear these watches to school but they are not to be used as a smart device. This includes parents or carers calling or sending their child messages throughout the day. If you need a message given to your child please call the office and the message will be given to the child. We have had a couple of incidents in the last few weeks. This has resulted in students disrupting the learning in the classroom and one student wanting to leave the school grounds to meet their parent to pick up something they had forgotten. This is not acceptable or safe. Please utilise the wonderful office staff to support you in ensuring the message is delivered appropriately to your child. We are here to support you and your family and I insist you to follow the above procedures.
The policy and school procedures are designed to protect the child, staff and family property. I thank everyone for abiding by these guidelines.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Thank you to all who have been able to book in a time slot. If you have not yet booked in, or need to change your time you will need to make contact with your child’s teacher as the booking system is now closed. Please ensure you prepare for the meeting by writing down any questions you have for the teacher. This ensures you walk away from the meeting with the information you require. The teachers are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s progress.
Morning Drop Off & Afternoon Pick Up – K-2 Site
It has become noticeable on the K-2 site lately that parents or carers are hanging around longer at school in the morning. The current guidelines in place due to Covid-19 are to protect you and the staff at school. Please bring your child on to the school grounds, say your goodbyes and then leave immediately. Too many parents are loitering around to watch their child. From 8:45am every morning, staff are out on duty supervising the students. There is no need to wait around in the morning.
In the afternoon, please ensure that you are in the correct area. It appears that parents/carers who have their youngest child in Year 2 are coming up towards the COLA to collect their child. Please wait on the oval and the teachers will bring their class all the way down to the oval to you.
These strategies are in place to support everyone. Please follow the guidelines or I will need to evaluate the processes and make necessary changes.
Kind Regards
Mr Matt Pinchbeck
Principal
PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS
K-2: Lachlan H, Tommy J, Dan H, Sanidhu H
Around the school
K-2 Zoom assembly
Last week saw our first K-2 Zoom assembly. Thank you to the school leaders for running such a wonderful assembly, Mrs Griffith for organising it and Ms Stevens for conducting the school song and national anthem. I popped into every K-2 class as the assembly was taking place and everyone was displaying positive Pennant Hills behaviour. 1D were absolute stand outs as they had all tucked in their shirts, were sitting properly on the floor with their hands in their laps, facing the front and not talking and that is why they won the class of the week. Well done 1D – very impressive!
Year 5
As I have visited the Year 5 classes over the past couple of days, I have noticed a very high level of engagement in a variety of learning activities. Thank you to our teachers for creating such quality, engaging learning environments. Below you can see some photos, including 5N conducting their regular handwashing and device sanitising before lunch. Also, in 5N, a great lesson in 2D Space where students were using a variety of web based applications as well as a hands-on movement activity to consolidate the mathematical language; translate, reflect and rotate. Manning and Rashan explained that rotating is like spinning and reflecting is similar to a mirror and that they weren’t using any translated shapes in their pattern as that would just be sliding. Nice work!
5F were conducting their own surveys and collating data then participating in fitness in the lovely weather! 5P were engrossed in writing their speeches and timing themselves to ensure they were adhering to their time constraints. Well done Year 5, a productive week so far!
I bumped into some of the 4G students in the playground and could not go past their amazing mini-golf designs! Some very well thought out designs including tunnels, curved traps and many angles to change the ball trajectory. Well done!
ABC podcasts
The ABC have produced some wonderful resources of late, one of which is called Short and Curly.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/shortandcurly/
This podcast is aimed at encouraging conversations with primary aged kids, particularly upper primary. They are approximately 20 minutes in length and encourage the listener to pause the recording at certain times and discuss the moral dilemmas or their thoughts. Some of the subjects include; Why is your room so messy? Are you the boss of your emotions? And, Is it society’s fault if you become a criminal?
If you’re looking for a way to spend some quality, quiet time with your kids, I would recommend Short and Curly.
Staff Profile
Mrs Paisley is an absolute asset to our school and is currently working on Mondays and Tuesdays. She organises, collates, edits and distributes the weekly newsletter and is constantly updating our school website.
Kind Regards
Mrs Kate Wasson
Deputy Principal
KD - Morgan F, Luca Hausser, M Rayyan, Natasha D, Henry J
KH - Ruben B, Eric W
KP - Ethan F, Marnie H, Lily B
K/1R - Julie K, Paul Z, Jack V, Dash S
1/2H - Shaniq F, Katherine W, Jade T, Ayesha D
1D - Audrey W, Parker P, Sunnee G, Jasper B, Arya B, Lachlan H
1E - Myat T, Anton R, Fred K, Reyansh S, Alex A, Grace P
1S - Emma L, Jayden W, Selena R, Johan A, Olivia Y, Eleanor T
2C - Avy S, Owen S, Ava N, Isabella N, Ethan C, Devin J
2M - Ezekiel M, Jayne K, Lucas B, Dakshita S, Tanvi D, Zainab D
2W - Karina C, Stephen D, Abigail W, Darcy W
MUSIC: Josh F (2C), Kay M (2M), Chloe H (2W)
Please mark the following dates in your calendar.
Sibling Photos – Monday 21 September.
Class Photos – Tuesday 22 September
Group Photos - Friday 25 September
- Dance, choir, band, strings, sport, library monitors, computer monitors etc
Further information will be sent out closer to the date.
Kind Regards
Mrs Melissa Griffith
eBooks are now available!
The library now 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 via the 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.
Over the last month it has been fabulous to see so many students exploring and borrowing from this digital collection.
Ms Davis
Teacher Librarian
If you are not receiving messages from a class parent, please email PHPS Comms and we will put you in touch with the appropriate person.
If you would like to receive the minutes and agendas for our P&C meeting emails, please subscribe at the following link: http://eepurl.com/dlK3PD
Andrew Passé-de Silva
P&C President
0410653878
Green Team Update
Three years ago, the ABC aired a ground breaking series called War on Waste. Its aim was to show us where our waste ended up and the impact of that waste on our environment and community. During that series, the team lead by host Craig Reucassel, filled a Melbourne tram with disposable coffee cups to draw attention to the fact that the cups can’t be recycled due to the plastic lining along the inside. The response to that episode saw BYO cup sales soar, and the Responsible Café Movement encouraging BYO cups, grew its café members to over 5,000!
See what Responsible Cafes say about the impact of Covid-19 on the war on disposable coffee cups and other single-use plastics, complete with the two-minute video of the tram full of coffee cups!
https://responsiblecafes.org/singleusefightsback/
You can see many of the episodes of the War on Waste on ABC iView, including ‘Extras’ which are small 5 minute videos. Most episodes are suitable for kids, rated either G or PG. It’s a great way to see how small changes can make a big difference.
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/war-on-waste
If you have any questions or ideas for The Green Team, please contact us on the email below.
The Green Team
With the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions, everything is slowly returning to normal. Band rehearsals are scheduled to begin on site, from Week 9 onwards. At this stage, there will be sectional rehearsals.
Detailed information will be sent to the parents once they have been finalised.
Term 2 Band fees should be distributed shortly. If there are any families who are concerned about these or suffering financial difficulties due to COVID-19, please feel free to contact us - phpsband@gmaill.com
Please continue to send confirmation of completed worksheets so that we can organise awards - phpsband+worksheets@gmail.com.
If you believe your child should have received their Bronze or Silver Band award, please let us know so that we can get them organised.
The Band Committee
Thinking about joining strings?
We welcome students who have completed a full term of lessons.
Registrations are open all year round.
You can register online here: https://forms.gle/L2nrW66LkJTgEAsE6
Or if you would like more information about learning to play the violin, viola, cello or double bass, please contact us, via email phpsstrings@gmail.com, or come and chat to one of the committee members at one of our performances.
The Strings Committee
phpsstrings@gmail.com
Website: http://www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble/
Feedback: http://www.phpspandc.org.au/string-ensemble/contact-us/
Winter is here!!
Check out all of the delicious hot food options on Flexischools.
To ensure safety and wellbeing, all purchases must go through Flexischools as we are not offering over the counter sales at the moment. Recess orders are available for the 3-6 site.
This week’s roster:
K-2 site:
We will not require any help until over the counter sales resume.
3-6 Site:
Wednesday 17 June - Claire S.
Thursday 18 June - Alicia.
Friday 19 June - Kate K (until 11.30) and Narelle. Help is needed for packing 11.30am-1pm.
If you have any questions, or would like to be involved with the canteen, please contact me.
Heather Tyler
0425 274 681
New Operating Protocols
The Uniform Shop is currently closed for over the counter sales. Uniform orders can be placed online through Flexischools or alternatively, download an order form from the school website.
Please note, now that students have recommenced attending school fulltime, all orders have resumed being delivered to the students’ classroom.
If you have an item that you need to exchange for another size, please contact the Uniform Shop on the email address below. Please note that all items to be exchanged must be unworn, in original condition with packaging and tags intact. There is no exchange on socks, tights or briefs.
Second Hand Uniforms
If you require second hand uniforms, please contact me on the email address below, so that I can check what stock is on hand in the second hand clothing pool.
Dr Shoe
Dr Shoe will not be attending the Uniform Shop in the foreseeable future however Max can be contacted direct on 0414 912 838 to arrange a home fitting.
Ordering Uniforms
Uniform shop opening hours have been suspended. Uniforms can be ordered by completing an order form and together with payment of cash, cheque or card details, handed in at either office. Now that students have resumed school fulltime, orders will be filled and delivered to the students’ classrooms.
Uniforms can also be ordered through Flexischools, however prices include a Flexischools surcharge.
Please note that uniform orders cannot be paid via the school online payment service
A combined pricelist and order form can be downloaded here.
Alison Parker
Uniform Shop Manager
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.