The Wattle

Principal's Update

At Dundas Public School we do our best always

Dear Parents and Carers,

This will be the last school newsletter for Term 1. A reminder that Term 1 finishes next Thursday, 6th April. The school holiday period starts on Friday, 7th April. Students will start Term 2 on Wednesday, 26th April.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the community a happy break and look forward to everyone returning rested and ready for another busy and engaging Term 2 at Dundas Public school. 

 

Curriculum Reform  (2023 – K-2 curriculum focus)

The NSW education system is reforming the curriculum which will be taught in all classrooms from Kindergarten to Year 12. The new curriculum, as a result of the NSW Curriculum Reform, will give students more time to focus on key learning areas so that they can acquire a deeper understanding of central concepts. It will ensure students develop strong foundations for learning, life and work in a complex and fast-changing world.

 

This reform has been informed by extensive consultation with teachers, parents and education experts, and is underpinned by extensive research. Curriculum reform involves change that spans many aspects of schooling, including teaching, learning, assessment and reporting to parents. New syllabuses provide schools with a unique opportunity to re-focus and place curriculum at the heart of school planning. Key curriculum changes include:

  • building strong foundations for future learning with new English and Mathematics syllabuses for Kindergarten to Year 2
  • an entirely new curriculum from 2023 with new syllabuses focused on what is essential to know and do in early and middle years of schooling, and key learning areas in the senior years
  • providing more time for teaching by reducing the hours teachers spend on extra- curricular topics and issues and compliance requirements
  • strengthening post- school pathways with new learning areas for Years 11 and 12 that clearly link learning to future employment and study options.

The new curriculum will ensure every student develops strong foundations for learning, life and work. The reforms are vital for the young people in our schools today, and for those who will arrive in the years to come. More information can be found on the NSW Department of Education and NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

Staffing Update

On behalf of the school community, I would like to wish Mrs Foster all the best as she starts her maternity leave at the end of Term 1. We look forward to sharing her wonderful news with the school community next term. 

 

I would like to welcome Ms Coppini to Dundas Public School. Ms Coppini is an experienced Kindergarten teacher and will be teaching K Warin for the remainder of the year. Ms Coppini will be co-teaching next week with Mrs Foster as she gets to know the KW students and class routines. I am sure everyone will warmly welcome Ms Coppini to our school. 

Farewell Mrs Fakhoury and Mrs McCarthy

Unfortunately, we need to say farewell to both Mrs Fakhoury and Mrs McCarthy. Due to changes in their personal circumstances, both wonderful teachers will be leaving the school at the end of Term 1. On behalf of the school community, I would like to thank them both for their contributions to the school and wish them all the very best in the future.

We will be informing 3W parents and carers as soon as possible with information about the new teacher for 3 Wilbung. 

 

I would like to introduce Mr Brennen to the DPS school community. Mr Brennen will be replacing Mrs McCarthy on Wednesdays (3/4D) and Thursdays (4/5G).

Applications for Opportunity Class – Apply from 30 March – 15 May 2023

Opportunity classes cater for high potential and intellectually gifted students. High potential students are those whose potential exceeds that of students of the same age. Gifted students are those whose potential significantly exceeds that of students of the same age. This could be in one or more areas, such as: 

 

• intellectual • creative • physical • social-emotional.

 

They help students learn by: 

• grouping them with other gifted students 

• using specialised teaching methods so students can learn concepts in more detail and      more quickly

 • supporting their wellbeing needs. 

 

Most students in opportunity classes enjoy learning more when their classmates have similar abilities and interests. Opportunity classes are unzoned so you can apply no matter where you live.

 

Year 5 enrolments are available at 76 primary schools with opportunity classes in NSW each year. 45 schools are located in metropolitan Sydney and 30 schools are located in rural or regional centres. There are 1,840 Year 5 places across NSW offered each year. Parents/carers apply when their children are in Year 4. 

 

Students successfully placed attend the opportunity class full time in Years 5 and 6 at the relevant public school. This is a two-year placement program and there is no provision to apply for Year 6 entry only. In the majority of cases, students who have accepted a place in an opportunity class will leave their current school to attend the school with the opportunity class.

  1. Parents/carers must apply online between Thursday 30 March and Monday 15 May 2023 at: https://education.nsw.gov.au/oc. 
  2. Go to https://education.nsw.gov.au/oc and complete the application in full and submit it. (The application will not go through unless you press ‘Submit’.) 
  3. Check your email for the confirmation message that it has been submitted correctly. Your screen will also show a green ‘Submitted’ status. 
  4. If required, upload any extra documents (for example, medical reports, etc) and press submit again.

NAPLAN 

2023 NAPLAN for Year 3 and Year 5 students is now complete. I thank Mr Yee and Ms Edwards for coordinating NAPLAN this year as well as the teaching staff. We look forward to receiving the school and student results later in the year. 

Share our Space

Share Our Space is a program that reflects our commitment to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality education facilities. Our schools are designed to be welcoming and inclusive and the Share Our Space program helps us go even further in ensuring everyone can benefit from these facilities.

 

The program provides an opportunity for community members to use our school facilities for a wide range of activities, from sports and recreation to cultural events and celebrations. In addition, the program helps to build stronger ties between our schools and the broader community. By sharing our space with the community, we can help create a sense of ownership and responsibility for our schools and their role in building relationships, connections and resilience for all.

 

We’re open on weekends ONLY during the school holidays! Entry will now be through the Calder Rd pedestrian gate.

 

Parents and carers are expected to provide appropriate supervision to their child or children. 

 

The outdoor facilities at our school will be available to use during the following weekends: 

  • Saturday 2 July and Sunday 3 July
  • Saturday 9 July and Sunday 10 July
  • Saturday 16 July and Sunday 17 July

The outdoor facilities at Share Our Space schools (SOS) will be open from 8 am to 5 pm every Saturday, Sunday and public holidays during the school holidays. Schools that have vacation care during the school holidays will participate in SOS from 8 am to 5 pm on weekends and public holidays only. During Share Our Space, school toilets are not open for use by the public. 

 

Our school facilities will NOT be available for use on the weekdays in the holidays as Camp Vacation Care will be using our school facilities.

 

Please visit edu.nsw.link/ShareOurSpaceExternal link to find out which one of our gates will be open before you visit. 

 

Free holiday activities hosted in the Parramatta Area

 

There are free holiday activities being offered at selected schools during the holidays. You will need to register for them.  Make sure you check out what holiday activities are on offer near you - Free holiday activities (nsw.gov.au) 

  • Epping Public School – Laughing Yoga (22-Apr  9:30am - 10:30am)

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/laughing-yoga-epping-public-school-tickets-568693496557           

  • Telopea Public School – Laughing Yoga (22-Apr  11.15am – 12.15am)

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/laughing-yoga-telopea-public-school-tickets-568711219567

  • Rydalmere Public School – AFL  (13 April 9:30am – 2:30pm)

https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/c4ae71

School site improvements

Over the coming weeks, there will be some works completed by the Department of Education to improve our school. 

 

1. Painting – The Library, the Kindergarten rooms, the Year 1 and 1/2G rooms are to be painted during the holidays and early next term.

 

2. Fencing – We are having the fences around the front and back carparks replaced with better quality fencing which will protect students and staff a lot better. This work will be happening early Term 2. 

P&C Corner

I wanted to thank the amazing team of people who organised the P&C Fete last Saturday. It was a huge day! A day that started at 6:30am and finished around 5:30pm. Planning for the Fete started last year from a team of amazing parents. Each needs to be recognised for their time, dedication and commitment in organising such a successful day! Thank you to the following people:

  • Laura Wear as Fete Coordinator
  • Joanne Saad 
  • Sarah Tornatore 
  • Erin Grassendonio 
  • Sonya Kral 
  • James Evans
  • Kerrie Englefield
  • Brooke Zorbas
  • Mi Ra Lee

Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped to serve the wider community on the day. So many people donated their time, too many to mention. Your time is valuable and your efforts on the day were very much appreciated.

 

Finally, a huge thank you to my staff who came in to school during their personal time. Special mentions for Mrs Govers who created a student vocal group to perform at the fete. The students did a fabulous job due to the merits of Mrs Govers. Well done Mrs Govers! 

 

Thank you to Mr Yee for volunteering at the BBQ stall for many, many hours. 

 

Thank you to Mr Jones and Mr Dean for helping with the audio equipment for the vocal group. 

 

Thank you to the staff who came to the Fete to participate in the school event. 

Voluntary contributions

A note outlining the 2023 voluntary school contribution and learning resources payment was sent home to families last week. We are encouraging parents where possible to use the Parent Online Payment System. I appreciate your support and generosity in contributing to the provision of excellent educational opportunities and the delivery of high-quality teaching and learning programs at Dundas PS.

 

2023 Voluntary School Contribution $30.00 – This financial contribution assists the school to purchase and maintain specialist equipment and resources across all key learning areas.

 

2023 Learning resources $100.00 – This parent contribution provides assistance with specific classroom items such as student workbooks, home readers, subscriptions to online learning platforms (such as Mathletics), various other media and learning activity materials.

 

 

Kind regards,

Lee Shipley