ST MARYS SOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOL I NN OV AT E C RE AT E C O LL AB O R AT E C OM M UNI C AT E T H I N K C R I T I C AL L Y

|Phone: 9623 1745 | Website: www.stmarysth-p.schools.nsw.edu.au|

Tuesday 17 March 2020 - Term 1 Week 8

PBL AWARDS

Michelle Finau

Michelle is always kind,

caring and respectful

towards her teachers and

peers.

Sophie Lewis

Sophie is a kind, caring

and respectful student.

She is helpful towards

others and is always ready

to learn in the library.

Chelsea Kirkham

Chelsea displays a kind,

caring and helpful

attitude towards her

teachers and peers.

Ivy Sa

Ivy is always a kind and

compassionate friend. She

demonstrates positive

behaviour both in class

and in the playground.

M e s s e n g e r

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you are aware the World Health Organisation has declared COVID-19 a

pandemic. The situation in regards to COVID-19 continues to evolve with an

increasing number of countries having sustained community transmission. In Australia

the majority of COVID-19 cases are returning travellers or close contacts of cases, but

there is evidence of limited community transmission in some states including NSW.

The situation is evolving quickly and we will continue to respond to the advice from

NSW Health as we receive it.

As of Tuesday 17 March 2020, our school will be implementing a number of proactive

actions to support the Department of Education’s Pandemic Plan and to protect all.

These include:

• The cancellation of all planned school excursions for this year (incl overnight

excursions) until further notice.

• The cancellation of all school community events, (Gold Badge Assembly,

Harmony Day, Easter Hat Parade, Parent workshops) until further notice.

• Parent teacher interviews will be conducted over the phone. If you wish to

contact a teacher, please contact the office (Ph 9623 1745) with details of

whom you would like to speak to and the teacher will contact you when they

are available.

• Arriving and leaving school: Parents and carers are asked to leave the school

once their children are in the school grounds. When picking up students,

parents and carers are asked not to enter the school grounds until the gates

are opened at 2:55pm.

We are working with students to take simple, but effective actions, such as;

1. Washing hands regularly and thoroughly.

2. Sneezing into elbows or tissues, disposing of the tissue straight away and then

washing hands.

3. Staying home if they are unwell, the school will contact parents/carers if your child

is unwell.

I understand there is significant public debate regarding school closures. This and

other public health responses to COVID-19 are being considered daily in meetings

between Australia’s chief health officers. At this stage our school remains open and

we continue to deliver quality lessons.

We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

MERIT AWARDS

Imaan Adnan

Melody Brundall

Ashar Haseeb

Cooper Husband

Ellexis Moy

Adeeb Tariq

Arjan Ghumman

Zara Zipevski

Noah Vaquerano

Ulijana Raber

Malav Patel

Jaxon Fotakopoulos

Angel-Lee Pierce

William Wilson

Zechariah Kalolo

Alana Keil

Madelyn Shersby

Elliana Lam

Jacob Juan Villanueva

Israel Patiole-Johnson

Aashrita Chekkaraj

Dominic Williams

Charlotte Delph

Fauzan Khan

Aaditya Naicker

Cassie Hartage

Madison Baxter

Henry Gordon-Dove

Zehra Alanzi

Paris Kefalianos

Aleighya Panuve

Liam Petilla

Georgia Toleafoa

Ellayas Muhammad

Seraphim Crichton

Elsa Hurley

Cooper Wood

Kaitlyn Husband

Michelle Finau

Seentahna Melek

Brodie Bokor

Amelia Chmielewski

Annabelle Hindy

Nicholas Vasiliou

Nevaeh King

Amelia Trimingham

Zainab Al Karaawi

Jazmine Fortades

Elaf Alkassar

Kobe Rubelj

Bella-Rose Woodyatt

UPDATE COVID-19 (FORMERLY REFERRED TO AS NOVEL CORONAVIRUS)

Dear parents and caregivers,

The NSW Department of Education is

working closely with the NSW Ministry of

Health in response to the unfolding

international COVID-19 (formerly referred to

as Novel Coronavirus) situation.

Further travel restrictions

Effective of 5 March 2020, the Federal

Government has issued updated advice on

travel restrictions on foreign nationals

(excluding permanent residents of Australia)

coming to Australia from the Republic of

Korea (South Korea) and Italy.

Current advice from the NSW Government

for parents and affected staff is:

or transited through mainland China since 1

February, Iran since 1 March , the Republic

of Korea (South Korea) since 5 March or Italy

since 12 March is excluded from child care

services, school or work for 14 days from the

date they left mainland China, Iran or the

Republic of Korea (South Korea).

-19 will be

excluded until they are medically cleared to

return.

COVID-19 will be excluded for 14 days since

last contact with the confirmed case.

Students and staff who have returned to

Australia and have shown no symptoms

during the 14-day self-isolation period are

able to return to child care services, school

or work.

The NSW Ministry of Health has processes to

identify any close contacts of cases

confirmed in Australia. Advice about not

attending school would be provided to

these close contacts by the NSW Ministry of

Health.

Consistent with current guidelines, students

who are unwell with respiratory illness should

remain at home until symptoms resolve. In

accordance with the NSW Department of

Education’s current practice, if any student

becomes unwell, the school will implement

infection control guidelines and follow the

advice provided by the NSW Ministry of

Health as appropriate.

Maintaining good hygiene standards is an

important way to reduce the risk of

acquiring and spreading respiratory

infections. Parents and caregivers are asked

to promote good hygiene, including

handwashing with soap as handwashing is

the single most effective way to reduce the

spread of germs that cause respiratory

disease.

Dear St Marys South students, staff and

parents,

My name is Mrs E. Most of you will know who I

am. For those who do not, I am the

ambassador of Student Wellbeing for our

school. What does that mean? It means that I

am here to listen, help and support all students

to make you feel safe and happy at school.

If you want to share something with me,

whether it is happy news or if you are upset

about something, please write me a note and

place it in Mrs E’s mailbox in your classroom.

Next week on Friday 20 March, we will be

recognising the National Day of Action (NDA).

The NDA encourages all students to stand

together against bullying and violence,

providing an opportunity for schools across

Australia to showcase bullying prevention and

response initiatives. Whether you’re a parent,

teacher, student or member of the broader

community, everyone has a role to play. Let’s

Take Action Together. On Friday next week,

students will be discussing and partaking in

activities to prevent bullying in our school.

The National definition of

bullying for schools is an

ongoing and deliberate

misuse of power in

relationships through

repeated verbal, physical

and/or social behaviour

that intends to cause

physical, social and/or

psychological harm. It can

involve an individual or a

group misusing their power,

or perceived power, over one or more persons

who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Bullying can happen in person or online, via

various digital platforms and devices and it

can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).

Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the

potential to be repeated, over time.

Bullying of any form or for any reason can

have immediate, medium and long‑term

effects on those involved, including

bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or

fights between equals, whether in person or

online, are not defined as bullying.

MRS E

P & C 2020

We would like to acknowledge

and thank our 2019 P&C

participants for their outstanding

work and efforts. Your

contributions in our whole

school continuous improvement

have been very much

appreciated.

On Thursday 5th March we held

our Annual General Meeting,

electing our 2020 Executives. It

was pleasing to see fourteen of

our school community members

attend, and we hope this

number continues to grow.

Our P&C contribute significantly

to the school’s resources,

influence school policy and are

the voice of the parents/carers

and families. This year, we will

strengthen our family-school

partnerships even further,

encouraging a greater

representation of our parent/

carer and community members

in the strategic directions of our

school.

It is a pleasure to announce our

2020 P&C Executives, and look

forward to working with you

throughout the year.

PRESIDENT

Amy Brundall

VICE PRESIDENT

Emily Scotman

SECRETARY

Brooke Senior

TREASURER

Jey Williams

The next P&C meeting will be at

2:15pm on Thursday 2nd April, in

the Centre of Excellence.

STEM - PROBLEM PF THE WEEK

Noah wants us to soar with this design thinking

task. Imagine you could make any aeroplane

in the world just by drawing it?

If you could bring an aeroplane to life, what

would it look like? Remember there is a Step-

up for every student who provides a solution.

From the beginning of Term 2 2020 our school is working towards offering Sikh

Special Religious Education (SRE) classes.

The Sikh Special Religious Education (SRE) classes will be conducted as part of our

organised SRE program which is held on Thursday afternoon between 2:00pm and

3:00pm.

A feature of the public education system in NSW is the opportunity to provide time

in class for religious education.

The school website https://stmarysth-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ provides information

on these options to support parent/carer choice.

A parent/carer may at any time notify the school in writing to change their

choice of SRE classes.

For more information about Special Religious Education (SRE) and Special Education in

Ethics (SEE), including the list of approved providers, please visit: https://

education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-

curriculum/religion-and-ethics

SIKH SCRIPTURE

You must not stop on a length

of road to which a No Parking

sign applies unless you are

dropping off, or picking up,

passengers or goods.

You must not leave the vehicle

unattended (i.e. be more than

3 metres from the closest point

of the vehicle) and you must

complete the dropping off, or

picking up of passengers or

goods within 2 minutes after

stopping.

Where times of operation are

shown on the sign, the sign only

applies at those times.

NO PARKING SIGNS

I thank all our parents who

share the pick up and drop

off zone on Monfarville

street in a safe and

responsible manner.

As you are aware there is

limited parking in this area

and it is important that we

share the area and keep

the safety of all children at

the forefront of our actions

at all times.

I ask all parents to be

mindful of all students and

other motorist around the

school during entry and exit

times.

Join the many families who receive this newsletter electronically.

Help us save paper.

Just let the school know your preferred email address

2020 SWIMMING CARNIVAL RESULTS

8 YEARS GIRLS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Hannah Bokor

2nd. Piper Johnson

9 YEARS GIRLS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Azalia-Grace Drollet

2nd. Ruby Rankmore

10 YEARS GIRLS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Hollie Brodie

2nd. Indyana Johnson

3rd. Sienna Sarkissian

11 YEARS GIRLS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Izabella Adamou

2nd. Georgia Wheaton

3rd. Leah Lewis

JUNIOR GIRLS 50M BREASTSTROKE

1st. Hannah Bokor

2nd. Hollie Brodie

3rd. Azalia-Grace Drollet

11 YEARS GIRLS 50M BREASTSTROKE

1st. Georgia Wheaton

2nd. Kristina Nader

JUNIOR GIRLS 50M BACKSTROKE

1st. Hannah Bokor

2nd. Hollie Brodie

3rd. Anastasia Adamou

11 YEARS GIRLS 50M BACKSTROKE

1st. Leah Lewis

2nd. Kristina Nader

3rd. Georgia Wheaton

JUNIOR GIRLS 50M BUTTERFLY

1st. Hannah Bokor

2nd. Hollie Brodie

11 YEARS GIRLS 50M BUTTERFLY

1st. Kristina Nader

CONGRATULATIONS

BOYS OPEN 100M FREESTYLE

1st. Liam Petilla

2nd. Brodie Bokor

3rd. Tyler Bokor

9 YEARS BOYS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Kobe Rubelj

10 YEARS BOYS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Liam Petilla

2nd. Jacob Villanueva

3rd. JJ Drollet

11 YEARS BOYS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Brodie Bokor

2nd. Tyler Bokor

3rd. Bailey Archer

12 YEARS BOYS 50M FREESTYLE

1st. Tane Tonga-Puata

2nd. Aaditya Naicker

3rd. William Wilson

JUNIOR BOYS 50M BREASTSTROKE

1st. Liam Petilla

2nd. Dean Tonga-Awhikau

3rd. Jacob Villanueva

11 YEARS BOYS 50M BREASTSTROKE

1st. Brodie Bokor

2nd. Tyler Bokor

3rd. Bailey Archer

SENIOR BOYS 50M BREASTSTROKE

1st. Aaditya Naicker

2nd. Ben Howard

3rd. Tane Tonga-Puata

JUNIOR BOYS 50M BACKSTROKE

1st. Liam Petilla

2nd. Stratos Kountourogiannis

3rd. Jacob Villanueva

11 YEARS BOYS 50M BACKSTROKE

1st. Brodie Bokor

2nd. Bailey Archer

3rd. Tyler Bokor

SENIOR BOYS 50M BACKSTROKE

1st. Ben Howard

2nd. Tane-Tonga Puata

3rd. Aaditya Naicker

JUNIOR BOYS 50M BUTTERFLY

1st. Liam Petilla

11 YEARS BOYS 50M BUTTERFLY

1st. Brodie Bokor

2nd. Tyler Bokor

3rd. Bailey Archer

SENIOR BOYS 50M BUTTERFLY

1st. Tane Tonga-Puata

2nd. William Wilson

JUNIOR BOYS 200M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

1st. Liam Petilla

SENIOR BOYS 200M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

1st. Brodie Bokor

2nd. Tyler Bokor

3rd. Tane Tonga-Puata

Congratulations to all the students who attended and competed in this year’s school swimming carnival. Your citizenship and team

work is to be congratulated.

Last Thursday, our Stage 3 students

participated in the First Foot Forward

program.

The First Foot Forward program

encourages students in Year 5 and 6 to

see Higher Education as part of their

future by sparking an interest in lifelong

learning. Students enjoy engaging,

interactive, and fun learning

experiences on campus at Western

Sydney University and at school with a range of activities

designed to stimulate interest in further education. The on-

campus experience (later this year)

also gives students the chance to start

imagining life as a uni student by

experiencing a day at WSU.

Our students worked collaboratively to

assemble and test a solar powered

car. The students had a fantastic time

learning about engineering as a

possible future career.

FIRST FOOT FORWARD

During February, many of

our Stage 3 Students, along

with students from other

local primary schools,

attended the St Marys

District PSSA trials.

We would like to

congratulate the following

students from St Marys South

for being selected for district

teams.

BEN HOWARD, 5/6B

St Marys District Cricket

Team

St Marys PSSA Touch Football

Team

TYRELL MUMU, 5/6B

St Marys PSSA 11 Years

Rugby League Team

KINGSTON TALIU, 5/6H

St Marys PSSA Opens Rugby

League Team

SIPILIANO SENE-LEFAOSEU

5/6B

St Marys PSSA Opens Rugby

League Team

JAMES TAUFUI, 5/6B

St Marys PSSA Opens Rugby

League Team

We wish all the competitors

the best of the luck for their

upcoming games.