Harmony Week

School House Athletics 

Last Friday was the House Athletics and what a marvellous celebration it was.  The weather was perfect. We saw all the students from Years 3 to 6 competing for their House. A highlight was the ‘House Chants’ - these are prepared before the day by each team and then performed at the end of the day. The enthusiasm and passion displayed by all teams was electric! This year the winning chant went to Red House. Again, it was wonderful to see parents, grandparents and friends in attendance cheering our athletes along.  Thank you to all our wonderful parent helpers who helped on the day. I would like to give a special mention to Kate and Bryan (Charlie’s mum and dad) who set up and run the track events for us each year.

A huge thank you to the Parent’s Association who provided and distributed the icy poles for all the students. The School Athletics Team has now been finalised and will be heading off next Friday to compete in the District Athletics Carnival, we wish all our competitors the very best of luck.

Parent Information Night

It was fabulous to see so many parents in attendance at the Parent Information sessions over the past fortnight. The feedback from parents has been extremely positive. They have been grateful for the insight into how the teaching and learning is carried out in the classroom and how they can further assist their child at home. A highlight for me as an instructional leader is the strength of the whole school approach to literacy and numeracy, the learning is scaffolded building on from one year to the next. There was a clear explanation of how data is collected and utilised to inform the planning and then the teaching. The whole school writing program was also discussed at each level, highlighting the change to how the school is teaching writing resulting in great results.

Capital Works Update

The start date for the project has been set back to May/June 2022 which I am interpreting as June/July school holidays. The anticipated completion date is April/May 2023. The change to the timeline has been caused by the effects of COVID 19 on the availability of materials and workforce, there are several schools in the same situation as us. But in the end the result will be fantastic!

School Council

Early in March we called for nominations for School Council, I now can formally declare that the following nominated candidates were elected for the school council:

Sisi Liang (Louis Year 4 and Wesley Year 6), Sharon Burgess (Lewis Year 3 and Elise Foundation), Raja Ravi (Arnav Year 6), Maulik Shah (Vanshi Year 5 and Viaan Year 2) and Elaine Wong (Adele Year 1 and Riley Year 5) (parent representatives), Jess Jason ((DET member).

I wish to congratulate and welcome Sisi, Sharon and Elaine as our new members and Maulik, Raja and Jess as returning members to the school council. I look forward to working with the new council.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our retiring members, Kunal Monga and Lisa Macdermott for their valuable contribution to the council. I would like to make special mention of Deane, our outgoing president who has worked tirelessly over the past two years to keep the council optimistic, cheerful and buoyant during extremely challenging times. Since coming to Syndal South in 2016, Deane has been an active member of the school community. She is highly respected and well-liked by students, parents and staff and has been involved in a wide range of school community activities in her dual roles as President of School Council and President of the Parent’s Association and before that as a member of the Parent’s Association.

Thank you, Deane, for your significant efforts over the past six-plus years – they are very much appreciated! We are grateful that you will be continuing with us through the Parent's Association. 

The 2022 Syndal South Primary School Council 

President:  Raja Ravi

Vice President:  Julie Jago-Kerr

Treasurer:  Maulik Shah

Minute Secretary:  Jess Jason 

Executive Officer:  Helen Freeman

Eric Huppe

Sisi Liang

Sharon Burgess

Elaine Wong

Mon Venus

Irene Antzoulatos

Rebecca Stonehouse-Melke

Air Purifiers

This week we have been notified that we will be receiving twenty-one additional air purifiers in the coming weeks. These additional air purifiers are to supplement natural and mechanical ventilation during the cooler months, when windows and doors may be closed to maintain a comfortable learning environment.  

Harmony Day 

Tomorrow, all the students will be engaged in a number of activities to celebrate Harmony Week. Mrs Fisher and the Student Representative Council (SRC) have been busy organising the activities for the morning. We are hoping students will be able to wear something ‘orange’ in colour or their national dress (a gold coin is NOT required).

Easter Raffle

Thank you to all the families who have donated eggs for the Easter Raffle. With the weekend fast approaching it may be a great time for families to purchase some Easter eggs, chocolates or Easter giftware for the prizes.  The more prizes we have the more fun the raffle is!

Solar Car and Boat Program

Some of our Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed tryouts for the Solar program this week with Ian and Steve, and by all accounts it was a fantastic experience for them, even though the sun went missing!

Storytime for Preschoolers

Finally, tomorrow we will be hosting our first ‘Storytime @ Syndal South Primary School for Preschoolers' where they will enjoy some stories and engage in an activity together.