Kanwal Public School Phone: 02 43923477 Fax: 02 43931621 ABN: 18 246 198 266 Email: kanwal-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Craigie Avenue, Kanwal NSW 2259 Web: www.kanwal-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Kanwal Public School Newsletter www.kanwal-p.school.nsw.edu.au

Thursday 13 May - Term 2, Week 4

UPCOMING ITEMS TO REMEMBER

Tuesday 11 May NAPLAN testing begins

Friday 21 May Zone Cross Country

Friday 28 May School Photo Day

Principal’s Report

Kindergarten Enrolment (2022)

This year we are putting the enrolment call out earlier than normal so we can start our processes. It is important to have accurate numbers of kindergarten students who will be coming to this great school in 2022. If you have not yet made contact about enrolment for next year, please do so as soon as possible. If you also know of any community members who have children who are due to start next year, please ask them to make contact with the school’s front office team on 4392 3477 or you can request an appointment with Mrs Alecia Harris, Assistant Principal – Kindergarten.

Arriving at school duty times

This term, we have noticed some students arriving to school prior to the official bell time of 8:25am. Before 8:25am, staff are not on active supervision and are often in professional learning meetings or preparing for the day. Parents are encouraged to plan for their child/ren to arrive at school where possible around the 8:25am timeslot. Student supervision and safety is of high priority at our school.

Students who arrive just prior to the bell are reminded that they need to be seated under the basketball COLA and not playing and wait for staff members to be on duty.

Camp Australia are a private company who have a centre onsite as Before and After School Care providers, and offer services for community members who need their child/ren supervised prior to normal school operational hours.

Mother’s Day Stall and Breakfast

It was great to see so many visitors on site for our Mother’s Day morning breakfast event. The fluffy pink love heart photos were a great way to capture and promote the event. Also, a big thank you to our fantastic P&C members who supported our stall over the two days and combined with the raffle, the P&C raked in just over $3000! This is an amazing effort and the funds will go towards one of our many school projects. We do hope everyone had a lovely Mother’s Day.

Working with our Community

The school has been alerted to some potential issues in and around the school regarding some parent/community members not

following the assigned parking regulations. It has been suggested that parents are parking illegally on nature strips, covering

private driveways and also not following the designated rules associated with road signage.

As a community, we need to work with each other, respect the rights of our neighbours and follow the road rules. The council has

been alerted to these issues by a community member, and I will follow up with our local council representative to see if they are

willing to review the situation to see if any other possible strategies can be found.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind our students about safely using the road. Over the past few weeks several incidents

have been reported to the school. Key safety messages include:

Stop! Look! Listen! Think! Every time you cross the road.

Use a safe place to cross the road. On Craigie Avenue, please use the designated crossing.

Always wear a helmet when you ride.

Ride your bike away from busy roads.

It is also recommended that parents/carers accompany any child under the age of 10 if they choose to ride to school.

Kanwal PS requires all students 10 years and over who wish to ride their bike to school to apply for a licence. Please see Mrs

Mackay if you are interested.

Quality Work with Mr Moxon

Congratulations to the students in years 3 and 5 who have started their NAPLAN assessments for 2021. It is great to see everyone trying their best and having a go.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It has been part of the school calendar since 2008.

NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken nationwide every year, this year our assessment window is from Tuesday May 11 and concludes May 21.

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas (or ‘domains’) of: reading writing language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) numeracy.

I am looking forward to evaluating the results and sharing the successes when they return.

Have a great week Kanwal.

Mr Moxon

Deputy Principal’s Report

Attendance

A reminder that it is vital that students arrive at school ready to begin learning,

each day, on time. Students arriving at school after the bell need to go to the

office for a late note. When children are late the school records it as a partial

absence. Where possible an adult needs to accompany the student to the office.

It is also important that all students who are walking or riding bikes come directly

to school in the morning and go straight home in the afternoon without diverting.

Younger students should be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.

Help Your Child Succeed in School:

Build the Habit of Good Attendance Early

School success goes hand in hand with good attendance!

DID YOU KNOW?

• Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.

• Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) can make it harder to learn to read.

• Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.

• Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.

• Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves.

Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility

If there is an emergency and you are going to be late picking your child up after school please inform the office during school

hours.

If you inform the school too close to the bell, we may not be able to get the message to your child in time. Please teach your child

to always go to the office if you are late for pick up. A staff member will stay with your child in the office area until you arrive. That

way your child stays safe at all times.

When coming onto the school grounds please always use the pedestrian gates for your safety. Driveways are out of bounds to

pedestrian traffic. Please stay safe when entering and exiting our school.

Road Safety

Parking safely will help to keep young children safe - even if it means walking further to the school gate.

Never call to your children from across a road – teach them to wait until you cross and come to them.

CYBERSAFETY

Cyberbullying – supporting your child online

Childhood bullying used to be face-to-face physical and verbal behaviour in the playground, classroom and on the way to and from

school. Now online technology and constant connectivity has allowed bullying to harm children through often anonymous contact or

actions. Cyberbullying can happen at any time and leave a child feeling unsafe and alone.

Cyberbullying commonly occurs through:

* Comments posted in an open online environment such as Facebook.

* Direct text, email or instant messages online or on a mobile phone.

* Private features on social networking services such as Snapchat and Facebook Messenger.

Children can manage cyberbullying with your support by taking the following action:

* Blocking the person cyberbullying and changing privacy settings. Retaliating or responding to the perpetrator only gives them the

attention and power they want.

* Reporting the bullying. Most websites have online safety centres and reporting facilities. Online abuse is in violation of the Terms

of Use of most social networking sites. The Office of the eSafety Commission can take complaints and provide assistance in

relation to serious cyberbullying material that is directed at a particular child with the intention to seriously embarrass, harass,

threaten or humiliate.

Collecting the evidence. Keeping mobile phone messages and printing emails or messenger conversations. Talking to someone

they trust like parents or a teacher.

* Visiting iParent for a list of sources of professional support including the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, eheadspace on 1800

650 890 or parentline.

Parentline provides help through counselling, information and referral that is tailored to meet each callers' needs.

Phone:

1300 1300 52 (cost of a local call)

Hours of operation:

9am to 9pm Monday - Friday

4pm to 9pm Saturday and Sunday

Mrs Mackay

Deputy Principal

School Representative Council (SRC)

We are excited to announce that KPS is reintroducing the SRC in 2021.

Our Student Representative Council (SRC) is designed to promote wellbeing, sense of belonging and leadership among students. It provides students with a voice where their ideas, suggestions and concerns are heard. It is important that students be given the opportunity to express their views and it is equally important that they are listened to and encouraged to take an active part in promoting the aims and objectives of the school. The SRC is ‘owned’ by the students and driven by their needs and wants.

Members of the SRC are elected each year to provide a new approach and a strong student voice

within the school. Members consist of our school captains and leaders, two senior Aboriginal leaders

and two representatives out of each class from Years 3-6. SRC members will be a part of the team for

the duration of the year.

Election Process

1. School captains, leaders and senior Aboriginal leaders will automatically be a part of the SRC and

will lead meetings.

2. Students in each class from Years 3 - 6 will nominate themselves.

3. These students will prepare and present a short speech (during class time) to promote the reasons

why they should be elected.

4. All students will then complete a secret vote on paper choosing two students.

5. The classroom teacher will count the votes and announce the successful students.

6. All SRC members will receive a badge at an assembly.

Classes will be working through the election process in the next couple of weeks and we are hoping to

hold our first SRC meeting in week 6.

Kyle Heymans Jonathan Moxon

SRC Coordinator Principal