- Ironbark Ridge PS 1 Ironbark Ridge Road, Rouse Hill, 2155. Ph: 8814 5687 Fax: 8814 5698 Email: ironbarkrg-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Webpage: https://ironbarkrg-p.schools.nsw.gov.au Nurturing personal growth through inspired learning…

Newsletter 2021

Term 4 Week 1 8th October Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful

** View our ‘IRPS Events (Public)’ calendar in the Parent Portal and Sentral Parents App **

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Welcome back to the final term of school for 2021. Given that we begin Term 4 still in the mode of Learning From Home, I again express my appreciation for your support and persistence. There is a positive, hopeful mood in the air as we plan to finish the year with strength, respect and excellence, regardless of the trials and tribulations of Term 3. Actually, for many of our students this experience has been empowering in their independence; an opportunity they have grasped with both hands. We have all learnt things and grown, developing new levels of resilience and ingenuity along The Ironbark Way! Return to learning at school As you have no doubt heard in the media, the timeline for students returning to school this term has been brought forward… again. We can’t wait to see the twinkling eyes and hear the excited chatter of our young learners at Ironbark Ridge as soon as possible! Students will now all return as follows:

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 W5 W6 W7 8 9 10 LFH Monday 18th October – Kinder and Year 1 students return to classrooms

LFH LFH Monday 25th October – all Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 students Once students have returned, the provision of online materials for Learning From Home will cease. It is not possible for teachers to manage a cohort of students in their classroom whilst also maintaining a second delivery of learning to students remotely. We expect that all students will attend school from that day. Well done to all Hills residents as we have continued to lead the way in rates of vaccination. With our state’s hospital system under great strain, reducing the number of serious complications from COVID-19 is the only answer; statistics are extremely clear that being double-vaccinated with any of the approved and available vaccines is the only way to do this. Vaccination vastly reduces our risk of severe illness, and massively reduces our infection risk to those around us. For us in schools, keeping your children safe firstly means all adults on site being fully vaccinated. In a community with 85% of people 15+ fully vaccinated we are in a great position to come out of lockdown with some confidence. We will also be ensuring other rigorous safety and risk-minimisation measures here at school to create a Safe Zone for our students inside our school gates. It’s all simply about reducing the risk as much as possible. These procedures will include:

• staying home if sick; no-one with any symptoms relating to respiratory illness should attend school – please get tested and only return once a negative test for COVID-19 is received and symptoms have stopped.

• alternate play times for K-2 and 3-6 student groups for both Recess and Lunch, with toilets and play areas separate for each Stage (ie. K, 1&2, 3&4, 5&6) – this is to greatly reduce mixing of student cohorts in the unfortunate event of needing contact tracing and isolation.

• students continuing to be taught enhanced hygiene behaviours including regular hand washing with soap, coughing into elbows, wiping shared equipment with sanitiser between uses, etc.

• students will be strongly encouraged and supported to wear masks, with guidance from teachers, and a small supply of disposable children’s masks for each classroom – it would be a good idea to practice at home in preparation, and students should bring their own masks if possible J. Look out for the ‘How to wear a mask’ graphic coming your way soon.

• students will be starting and finishing school at slightly adjusted times to allow less mixing and mingling – Year 3 to 6 students will begin class at 8.50am and will be released at 2.50pm, allowing our younger K-2 students to leave at the usual 3pm time with less crowding, delivered to the school gates to waiting parents or older siblings at this time.

• enhanced cleaning of toilets and many high-touch surfaces (door handles, railings, etc.) around the school mid-way through each day, in addition to the evening thorough clean of classrooms, office areas, etc.

• classrooms will be kept well ventilated at all times with fans, open windows and air-conditioners. • students must be dropped at the gates in the morning and met after school again outside at pre-

arranged meeting spots. Staff will support this process to happen safely and happily. Parents and other adults should not enter the school site (see the DPs report below for further clarification about this... )

Canteen As part of our COVID-Safe procedures for the remainder of the year we are adjusting our Canteen operations. Students will not be able to visit the Canteen for over-the-counter sales. Instead, any recess or lunch items must be purchased online using FlexiSchools (website or the App). Orders will then be delivered to classrooms at the appropriate break times and distributed by Teachers. Please see the welcome back letter from Doris, our Ridgy-Didge Kids’ Fridge Canteen Manager, for further details. After-school activities and Community Use Unfortunately under the current COVID-19 safe return to school guidelines we are unable to welcome back our usual groups such as Chinese Language, Chess Coaching, Talent Club and Lego Engineers for their weekly after-school classes. We are also prevented from offering the use of our school Hall, etc. to community groups until restrictions are eased. I anticipate this will not occur until the start of the new school year, in January 2022. Scripture (SRE) is also not permitted in person until our safety guidelines are relaxed. Richmond Agricultural College – Selective stream Current Year 5 students and their parents should take note of the online information session on 20th October about the selective stream at Richmond Agricultural College. Please read the flyer later in this newsletter for details. What a great opportunity for students with a passion and interest in STEM and Agriculture Education! Applications open very soon for Year 7, 2023. Device loans As students return to learning here at school over these next weeks, please remember to send along all school-owned & loaned devices and charge cords. This equipment will be no doubt be required for use by students in their classrooms. All borrowed items must be brought back to the school office by students to ensure they are checked and noted by our friendly Admin staff. As some restrictions ease next Monday 11th J, many of us will be excited about the possibility of moving back towards normality. Getting students back to school (K-1 on 18th, and 2-6 on 25th October) is without doubt a wonderful step forward. School is the best place for Ironbarkers to be learning and socialising and growing as individuals. We are working extremely hard to ensure the safest environment here at Ironbark Ridge for our students, so please assist us by following our new guidelines, and don’t hesitate to email or phone us to discuss any questions or concerns. Yours in inspired learning and personal growth, Nick Thomson Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS’ REPORT Returning to School Returning to school post lockdown will bring many questions about what re-entry looks like and how our children will recover from this year. As has been the case over the past year, there are still many unknowns. Renowned psychologists and child development experts point to our innate resilience, an area of focus within our school life. As a staff, we have absolute faith that our students will be well cared for, they will be in the best place to learn, socialise and grow as Ironbark kids. Our children will take the lead from us about engaging, trusting, entering school life, and even the world again. We know that we will need to be patient, optimistic and work hard within often changing circumstances. However, the future is bright, and we are excited to return. Feeling anxious is okay as there have been significant changes for our little people. Parents and carers can have confidence in knowing that our staff will be monitoring students and embedding social and emotional learning into everything they do, so that wellbeing is an integral aspect of their education. For many of our students, returning to school will be ‘like water off a duck’s back’, but it will be a lot trickier for others. Some students will need extra support as they navigate re-entry, and at times, it may feel like they are taking two steps forward and one step back. Our teachers and staff will be supporting learning and reintegration into the classroom. They will quickly establish familiar routines and practices because we know that structure often alleviates stress and discomfort. If any child is distressed, unable to cope or feels overwhelmed, plans will be implemented to support them. What is essential to consider is that this experience will sit outside of almost anything our students have experienced. To grow, it is up to us as adults to support their development, learning and resilience whilst being mindful of the difference between feeling some discomfort and being completely overwhelmed or distressed. If any issues arise, please talk through those fears openly. You can contact your classroom teacher to discuss or share any concerns. Within our classroom, school and community, we want a sense of kindness, compassion and care. We want our students back in classrooms, feeling successful and engaging in dynamic learning. It is important to capture some of what was lost during the lockdown. While this pandemic has felt like a marathon, the COVID-19 finish line will look different for everyone. Supporting each other will make the difference. At Ironbark, we are all going to be successful in reaching that mark, having made tremendous gains in the last few weeks of school. Visitors to Our School Staff at Ironbark are counting down the days until we can again welcome our students back to school. We know that there will be times that, as parents, you will need to visit. In keeping with all the hard work our community has done and ensuring we continue to stay safe, there are some essential guidelines that visitors will need to follow. Parents should remain outside of school grounds and adhere to mask-wearing requirements. Drop off and pick up times are as usual apart from the slight adjustments advised above by Mr Thomson. All essential visitors must have a pre-arranged meeting (please give us a call or send an email), and are required to sign in using the school’s Service NSW QR code. For more information, refer to the QR code sign in process. All visitors are required to wear a face mask or covering in accordance with the Public Health Order. Thank you for supporting us to keep our community safe. Kylie Robson and Kerry De Jager Deputy Principals

KINDERGARTEN CAPERS Welcome back to Term 4. It’s hard to believe we’re in our last term of Kindergarten. It has been so lovely to see everyone’s smiling faces in our Zoom meetings each morning of course we are counting down the days until we all get to be together in our classrooms. We are so proud of how hard everyone has worked during our online lessons and are very grateful to all the parents and other family members who have helped along the way.

As we prepare to return, remember we will be back in our summer uniforms so please take the time to try them on to make sure they still fit as no doubt some people have grown since the start of the year. The mornings can still be cool so if your child is wearing a jacket, please check that their name is clearly marked to make returns easy.

As part of our online activities we have loved looking at lots of fabulous creations from “Make-It Mondays” and “Tinkering Tuesdays” so here are some photos to enjoy direct from our Seesaw uploads!

We are very much looking forward to seeing our Kindergarten students on Monday the 18th of October.

ES1 Teachers

STAGE 1 SNIPPETS

Welcome back to Term 4. We missed you all during the school holidays. We hope that our students and families had the chance to relax and make some happy memories over the break. We can’t wait to see all of

our Year 1 students in Week 3 and Year 2 students in Week 4. Using the next couple of weeks to discuss the return back to school with your child could be a lovely way of building their excitement and allows them the opportunity to get used to the idea of it. It will be a wonderful experience for them to be reunited with

their friends.

Below are some photos of the lockdown school holiday fun that some of us had. We love seeing what you all got up to. Keep posting your pictures in Seesaw!

See you very soon Stage 1!

Stage 1 Teachers

STAGE 2 SNIPPETS Welcome back to Term 4! We hope you had a great, relaxing holiday. The weather was beautiful and with restrictions eased, we hope you were able to step out with some friends or family. It is exciting to know that we will all back at school in Week 4. Stage 2 teachers can’t wat to be back in the classroom with their students.

Already Stage 2 students have eagerly started to re- engage with their teachers and class mates on their on- learning platform. There were many happy students on daily Zoom meetings, keen to say hello to their teacher and friends.

It is wonderful to see students adapting back to on-line learning. This term we have included daily well-being brain breaks! We hope your child has fun participating in these short, fun activities as they go on hunts around their house for items or move their body to some fitness.

Unfortunately, Year 4 Broken Bay Camp will not be able to go ahead in Term 4 due to COVID restrictions. Stage 2 teachers hope you have been keeping well and we look forward to being back together in Week 4. Stage 2 Teachers

STAGE 3 SNIPPETS Hi everyone, Welcome back to Term 4! We hope that you had an enjoyable break away from home learning and are feeling refreshed and recharged to get back into the swing of things. At the end of last term, the students were producing some amazing natural disaster poems, science reports and working on their ongoing geography projects. The teachers were so impressed with the level of work being submitted after a less than ordinary term of learning. This term, we are hoping that students are just as prepared for online learning and continuing to strive towards their goals. We would like to remind all students that they are expected to be on their class’s Zoom meeting each day at 9am. Each student should have their camera on and be ready to learn. If your child is not participating in the day’s activities and Zoom meetings, please let us know through the Parent Portal and SeeSaw. We are all looking forward to being back in our classrooms and seeing everyone face-to-face. We are so proud of all of Stage 3 and how they have used their Successful Learner Habits to continue their learning journey so positively through this time. Thank you for supporting your children and we hope that you continue to stay safe. Please enjoy some examples of the art students have been engaging in whilst learning from home. They have been learning all about perspective. Stage 3 Teachers

Zac 5S

Lorren 5S

Madelyn 6/5S

Youna 6/5S

Srinika 6B

Ashlee 6B Lochie 6C

Sharon 6C

ADMINISTRATION BORROWED LAPTOPS/IPADS Please ensure that any borrowed laptops, ipads, charging cords, etc are returned to the school office when your children return to face-to-face learning at school. The office staff are responsible for marking off that borrowed equipment has been returned. Please don’t return equipment directly to your child's classroom as it won’t be recorded as “returned” and, in most cases, borrowed equipment has come from other areas within the school.

CANTEEN Dear Parents / Guardians Hope you all had a nice break and are managing well in lockdown. We are just a few weeks away from being able to return onsite and I just wanted to update you all on some changes in the Canteen in Term 4. As most of you know Mel Cooper, my assistant, has left to pursue another opportunity; we wish Mel all the best on her new adventure and thank her for all her hard work. I would like to welcome Amilia Duguid and Sally Roznicki to Ironbark. These ladies will be helping in the canteen. As we are getting ready to reopen we have had to make some changes for the remaining weeks of the year once students return to in-class learning. To reduce mixing and money-handling, the Canteen will be CASHLESS, and your child/children won’t be able to visit the Ridgy-Didge Kids' Fridge (Canteen) in person. The ONLY way for them to purchase anything is by you going online to FLEXISCHOOLS (web or the App) and ORDERING THE ITEMS, either in their LUNCH order, or in a separate RECESS order. Items will be delivered to the classrooms at the start of each break time. When we reopen the FLEXISCHOOLS link you will see some exciting NEW items on the Menu and I have added other changes to make it easier to find and order items. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me: Phone - 8814 5687 or Email - maria.cull1@det.nsw.edu.au Thank You Doris Cull Canteen Manager HILLSBUS Hillsbus are pleased to inform that school services will recommence from Monday 18 October 2021. From that date, Hillsbus will also recommence School Term timetables for all public routes for students who use public routes to school. Finally, from the 18th October route 610X peak extensions from/to Kellyville will be curtailed to operate between Castle Hill and the City, and there are minor timing changes to routes: 602X, 607X, 610X, 611, 612X, 613X, 614X, 615X, 616X, 619, 620X, 622, 642X and 652X. Schools which are directly affected by any of these changes have been informed with new school advice sheets. Travellers are encouraged to plan their trips on Transportnsw.info or call 131500 for travel options.

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