Newsletter Week 9 Term 4 2016 Alstonville Public School

Photo: 5 Brazil's Sidney Nolan inspired artwork

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Care Givers,

As the year draws to a close I would like to sincerely thank all families for the contribution you have made to Alstonville Public School throughout 2016.

Firstly thank you to the P&C for financially supporting our students who have represented the school at State level this year. The P&C have donated $10 000 toward the purchase of rubber soft fall surfacing which will be laid in January underneath both playgrounds.

Thank you to the parents who come to school and read with children, run the Multi Lit program, school banking, Ashton Scholastic book club, canteen volunteers, scripture teachers, parents who attend and cheer on APS at the many events we compete in or activities we run to showcase the children’s learning and development.

Thank you to the parents who cover books, drive children to events; saving the cost of a bus, parents who have their children at school early for band, choir, public speaking, debating. Thank you to the parents who transport band equipment and assist in the setting up, loading and unloading of cars.

Many thanks also to the Alstonville Lions Club for the kind donation of an amplified sound system which improves the volume and quality of teacher voice within the classroom and provides a surround sound effect helping our hearing impaired students.

Yesterday we celebrated the volunteers who work with us and who help in the raising of our children at APS. It was such an upbeat morning tea with the staffroom packed with our volunteers and staff. Music played, morning tea was shared and the volunteers were publicly acknowledged for the work they do.

Present at the morning tea were the ladies from the Alstonville QUOTA Club who provide an award each month at the morning assembly for “An Act of Kindness” performed selflessly by a student. The staff and I were delighted when the ladies, on behalf of Quota, presented APS with a cheque for $2500 towards the rubber playground resurfacing. This cheque was the difference between resurfacing one playground or both. This generous donation was both a surprise and a gift that allowed us to complete the whole job by the end of January. On behalf of the children who will have many happy hours of fun and play – THANK YOU.

Thank you Alstonville QUOTA

This week has also been such fun meeting our new Kindergarten children who begin school in 2017. What a fabulous bunch of children, each with their own personalities, and clearly ready for school next year. Thank you to the parents who have had to take time off work to bring your children in to meet myself, Mrs Beck and Mr Duley. We are developing classes at the moment and are looking forward to the arrival of our new students. Kindergarten will start school on 1 February 2017 and Best Start assessment days are 30-31 January. Don’t forget to book your ½ hour slot for the Best Start assessments on one of these 2 days.

School will officially close on Friday 16 December for students and staff. I would like to wish all families a very happy and relaxed Christmas holiday break and I look forward to seeing Year 1 - Year 6 children on Monday 30 January and Kindergarten children on Wednesday 1 February.

In closing, this will be the last newsletter for 2016. My sincere thanks to all of the staff at APS who do a wonderful job each year sharing learning with your children. All staff are dedicated to the work that they do and form part of a great team to lead and work with. Thank you to teachers, teachers aides, admin staff, canteen, grounds staff and cleaners. Merry Christmas everyone.

Catherine Moore PRINCIPAL

2017 Book Packs

Parents are able to pre pay for 2017 book packs through the office now. Students will receive their books packs in 2017 once they have been paid for. Teachers will send books home at the start of the year for covering. Book packs lists can be requested from the office if parents would like to see the specific contents for each grade level. Kindergarten will have headphones included in their pack. If your child in Years 1-6 has lost or broken their headphones you will be able to purchase these next year from the office as a separate item.

Canteen - Last day of term

No lunch orders or hot food will be available at the canteen Friday 16th December. The last day meal deal pre orders will be the ONLY lunches supplied. Snacks will be available for purchase.

PRESENTATION DAY - the canteen will remain open to sell water and snacks for visitors.

Zoe debates against the best in the state!

Zoe at the State Debating competition

Congratulations to Zoe, Year 5, who was selected to represent North Coast at the State Debating Championships held at Stanwell Tops near Sydney. The North Coast team made the state grand final which is very prestigious as they had to beat some top notch Sydney regions to place in the finals. Zoe was the first speaker for her team, and the topic was 'We should ban reality TV weight loss shows'. The North Coast team was affirmative for the debate and they spoke very convincingly. Unfortunately, as with every debate, only one team can win, and the North Coast team were runners up this time. This is a powerful experience for Zoe who gained valuable skills and ultimately this experience will enhance our debating squad for next year. Well done, Zoe!!

Mrs Wheatland Debating Coach

School Debating Workshop

Last Monday 28 November saw a bunch of keen students meet to explore what debating is all about. We were very lucky to be joined by the Alstonville High School Debating Team and Mrs Smith who shared their experiences with us. Zoe Ball also shared what it was like to attend the State Debating Camp as a part of the North Coast team which was inspiring for others as she is only a Year 5 student.

Students were split into table teams where they explored the topic 'We should ban violent video games', with a mentor. The students were asked to identify reasons for and against the topic and I was impressed with their higher order ideas which transferred into well-crafted arguments.

Well done to everyone for today!

School Debating Workshop

4 Italy’s STEM Design Challenge

We have been studying Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of motion. Our task was to design a vehicle that would not only travel the furthest, but would also protect an egg.

Collaboration

We had to design and test our egg car.

Design with limited resources

Run a test, and then adjust to get our final car.

Also we could only use the material provided by Mrs Radanovic.

There was also some Maths involved as we had a budget of $15.00 to build our car.

Prototyping and testing designs

Oh and by the way the girls won. Next time boys.

Mrs Radanovic and 4 Italy students

Community Service

During Term 3 and 4, Stage Three visited the Anglican Op Shop in Alstonville for their community service project. The students were given many jobs to do such as cutting sheets into rags, tidying the Green house and replanting plants, washing vehicles, tidying shelves, removing things that had been in the shop for a long time and taking out light bulbs from Christmas lights. They were made very welcome by the managers who were grateful for their help. The visits encouraged them to think how were helping others and giving back to their community.

Community Service

Sidney Nolan inspired "Ned Kelly" artworks

This week 5 Brazil has studied the impact of the Gold Rush and The Eureka Stockade in the 1800's colonial settlement, on Australian history. Before students created their own Ned Kelly's the class participated in an interactive lesson produced by the National Gallery of Australia about the Ned Kelly series of paintings by Sidney Nolan. These iconic paintings told us a narrative of this Australian outlaws life and his part in our history.

Take a look at our artworks.

Sidney Nolan Inspired Artwork

6 Egypt Story Telling

Online Canteen Ordering for 2017

Stay tuned next year as we transition to the new online ordering and payment system for our school canteen. This system will save an enormous amount of time as children and parents will no longer need to queue to order lunches each day. Parents can order and pay from home on the day and in advance. More information will come home next year.

Farewell Mrs Moore

Canteen online ordering in 2017

School Calendar

  • 12 December - Chatswood HS Band Performance
  • 13 December - K-6 Presentation Assembly
  • 16 December - Last Day of Term 4
  • 27 January 2017 - Staff Development Day 2017
  • 30 January 2017- First day of school Years 1-6
  • 30 & 31 January 2017 - Kindergarten Best Start Testing
  • 1 February 2017 - Kindergarten first day of school
Alstonville Public School, 58 Main St, Alstonville. Ph: (02) 6628 0775

Credits:

APS Newsletter Week 9 Term 3 2016

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