The Wattle

Principal's Update

Uniform Shop

As of Monday February 8, the uniform shop will revert back to the usual opening hours of Monday morning, 8.30 - 9.30 (pending any further changes to restrictions). We will continue to operate with a maximum of two parents in the shop at any given time, and social distancing must be adhered to if waiting to enter.

 

Orders may also be placed via email,  - dundasps_pandc_uniform@outlook.com,

and will be filled once during the week, and sent to the students class for them to take home.

 

Orders will only be filled once payment has been received either via bank transfer (please DO NOT pay via POP), or cash to the office.

 

Order forms can be found on the school website or at the office, or the uniform shop.

P&C

The P&C will be holding our first meeting of 2021 next Tuesday 9th February at 7pm & we would love to see you there, everyone is welcome.

 

Our P&C involves people just like you – parents, past parents and community minded people who want to help our school. The P&C works very closely with our school towards building a stronger school community – where all children benefit!

 

Joining the P&C is one of the best ways to show your children how much you value their education. Your child’s educational abilities are enhanced with your involvement. Getting involved in our P&C doesn’t mean you’re taking up a fulltime job. We know you are busy and we value any amount of time you can spare.

 

Any questions please send an email to pandc.dundas@gmail.com

Join the Dundas Public School Band

School Bands Australia is now taking enrolments for the 2021 Training Band.  If your child is in Year 3 or above and would like to learn an instrument, we invite them to join the Dundas PS band program.

 

To register your interest & find out more, go to:

https://www.schoolbands.com.au/

 

Please contact School Bands Australia, or see Mr Davison or Mrs Gatt on Thursday morning with any questions or email principal@schoolbands.com.au

 

From the Principal

Welcome back to the Dundas Public School community and it is a pleasure to welcome any new students and community members joining us for the 2021 school year. I hope children had a chance to relax over the holiday break and enjoy time away from school and are now ready for another exceptional year of learning.

 

As you are already aware, I am also new to the Dundas school community and already, I know how special this community truly is. I have been overwhelmed with the warmth and kindness I have been shown in my first week here. 

 

For those parents I have not yet met, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Leslie Shipley but everyone calls me Lee. I was Deputy Principal at North Rocks PS before I joined Dundas. The picture of me to the right shows me proudly wearing my hard hat during the construction of a brand new three-storey building at North Rocks PS which contained fifteen state of the art classrooms. It was a busy time but a wonderful experience to be involved in.

 

 

 

 

This is a print that I have on my wall in my office. I wanted to share it with the community today because I feel that it accurately reflects how I see my leadership working at Dundas PS. I want the community at Dundas PS to know that the learning and wellbeing of every child matters and that I will continue the caring legacies from past principals and ensure that our students thrive in the classrooms of this wonderful school.

 

 

 

 

At the moment DPS staff and I are working on developing a new school improvement plan that will be our focus over the next four years of learning. As soon as we are ready, I look forward to sharing it with the parent community.

 

Students have settled quickly into their new classes for 2021 and there is a feeling of excitement from the students as they get to know their new teacher and classmates. Our classes are full of excited and enthusiastic children who are relishing the challenges being provided by the dedicated educators at Dundas PS. I wish them every success in 2021.

 

Welcome new staff

In 2021 we welcome Ms Kim to Dundas PS who is teaching Year 2 this year. Ms Holst is on leave this year, so we welcome Ms Abeynaike who will be implementing the EAL/D program at Dundas PS. Both educators are experienced, enthusiastic and very happy to be part of the DPS teaching team for 2021.

 

COVID-19 Update

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those families who have followed the COVID guidelines communicated to the community on Thursday, 28th January via the SkoolBag app. I trust parents understand that it is our responsibility to follow the guidelines given to us by the NSW Department of Education, in consultation with The Department of Health. We understand that things may feel a little different this year compared to 2020, however the guidelines are there to keep everyone safe during this period of COVID pandemic. 

 

The health and safety of our community comes first. A reminder that: 

  • parents and carers for Kindergarten and Years 1, 2 and new students can come onto school grounds to drop off and collect their children at their classes for the first few weeks of school provided they follow physical distancing and hygiene measures.
  • Parents and carers of all other students (3-6) are to continue to use the usual drop off areas, maintain social distancing, and not enter the school grounds unless a prior meeting has been arranged.
  • Please remember that students are not to attend school if they are unwell, even if they only have the mildest of symptoms. Those who have been unwell, are required to return a negative COVID-19 test and be symptom free before returning to school.

Parents and carers are not permitted on DOE school sites or at off-site school events held during school hours except for the following purposes only: 

  • Essential parent and carer meetings with teachers, with a scheduled appointment.
  • Parents and carers who attend a school administration building for the purpose of picking up their child if they are unwell.
  • Parents and carers who need to be on-site for canteen and uniform shop duties or to collect or purchase uniforms.
  • Parents and carers can attend parent orientation meetings and ‘meet the teacher’ meetings with school staff for all year/stage groups.
  • Parents and carers who need to drop off (8:45-8:55am) Kindergarten and Years 1, 2 and new students in weeks 1 and 2. This time frame will be extended until end of week 3 (Friday, 12th February) for Kindergarten students only.
  • Parents and carers should ensure school pick up and drop off arrangements enable them to physically distance from one another and from staff.
  • Masks are not mandatory.
  • All parents/caregivers on school grounds must check in using the Services NSW app. 
  • Visitors to the school office, canteen and uniform shop must sign the visitor acknowledgement form upon arrival.
     
  • The most up to date Covid-19 advice for families can be accessed from the link below: https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families Please take the time to access the website before the start of the school year so that each family has a good understanding of the guidelines for schools. 
     
  • All visitors to the school will be required to check in using the Service NSW app. The Service NSW COVID Safe Check-in tool is accessed by a QR code. Many parents will be familiar with the Service NSW app from your check-in experiences at NSW businesses and organisations. Once a visitor checks-in, their data is held by Service NSW for 28 days to assist NSW Health’s contact tracing process, when required. The Service NSW QR code will be posted at every school gate/entry point.
  • Visitors to the school office for an organised meeting, working at the canteen or uniform shop or to pick up a sick child, must check in first with the Service NSW app, as well as continue to sign in at the school administration office using the visitor log book and other pro-formas (including the external visitor acknowledgement form) supplied last year. Continuing to follow these existing protocols is important for a variety of school compliance responsibilities (most notably, emergency procedures).

I will continue to keep you updated on NSW government requirements around COVID-19 and any implications they may have on school staff, you or our students. I also want to assure you that we continue to ensure we abide by all NSW Health requirements including physical distancing for adults, hygiene measures and infection control. 

Thank you for your patience and ongoing understanding as we continue to work through this evolving situation. I want to remind you that if you or your family are having difficulties please contact the school so that we can support you. 

I am grateful for the resilience of our school community and I look forward to working with you to deliver to our students a rewarding and exciting school year. More detailed information on start of the year procedures can be found on the following pages.

 

Meet the Teacher Afternoon

 

Parents are welcome to attend Meet the Teacher afternoon on Wednesday, 24th February. Due to COVID restrictions we invite ONE parent from each family household to attend the class information sessions. 

Teachers will hold information sessions to provide parents with an opportunity to learn about class programs and procedures for 2021. The times for the sessions are below:

 K-2 classes: 4:00pm – 4:45pm

3-6 classes: 5:00pm – 5:45pm

 

I remind parents that meet the teacher sessions is not a time for individual parent interviews. To ensure that parents get the most out of the information sessions we ask that alternative arrangements are made for child supervision.

 

Parking concerns

 

A community member has contacted the school very concerned with some unsafe practices taking place at morning drop off at St. Andrews Place. It has been reported that some parents are disregarding the road signs and parking unsafely. This morning it appears some parents double parked, stopped in a no stopping zone and allowed their children to get out of the car on the traffic side of the road. Student safety is always our priority. Can I please implore parents to always follow the parking signs and ensure that children leave the vehicle safely from the gutter side of the road?

 

Kind regards,

Lee Shipley