Nearing the halfway mark of the school year is a significant time. Teachers are acutely aware of each student’s ability and needs. It is a time to reflect on the progress to date in 2025 for each student. Teachers can plan for further opportunities for student growth at an individual level of support.

Twice a year student progress reports are sent home. Semester 1 reports will be sent home Tuesday, 1 July. The report aims to show your child’s academic results in each of the Key Learning Areas: English; Mathematics; Science and Technology; Human Society and its Environment (HSIE) - History & Geography; Creative Arts; and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE). The report also aims to provide information on your child’s work habits and social development. A student progress report is a time to dually celebrate successes and identify any weaknesses in your child’s academic and social progress. The contemporary method of reporting encompasses the A–E grading scale which allows teachers to report student academic achievement ‘at point in time’ using clear standards. Achievement grade ‘C’ is ‘Expected’ for example, offers a judgement that the student is working at their grade level at the expected standard. Teachers make a professional judgement as to which grade best matches the standard students have achieved through ongoing formal and informal assessments.

A great day for many reasons. I thank the grandparents who were able to attend to obtain a glimpse of their grandchild’s class and school experience. Our dancers, musicians and choralists were amazing. A huge thank you to the school P&C for providing refreshments. Feedback from our special visitors indicated an appreciation for our Grandparents’ Day format.

A reminder that the annual school athletics track and field carnival will be held next Wednesday, 25 June at Alfred Henry Whaling Memorial Reserve, Baulkham Hills with a backup date of 2 July. We seek your support to assist as a volunteer official on the day. Several students from the age groups of 8 years to 12 years will be eligible to represent the school, competing against other Castle Hill Zone PSSA schools on 25 August.

An incentive for student band members to practise their instrument and attend early morning tuition sessions with Mrs Skinner is band camp. Our travelling students headed to Grose Vale for an overnight stay coupled with intensive tuition. It was reported by our band students that they had a great time at camp. A huge thank you to our P&C band committee and especially to the supervising teachers (Ms Barclay, Mrs Medcalf, Mr Lau and Mr Wicks) who volunteered to attend the camp to keep our students safe and happy.

Today as well as tomorrow evening, our talented dancers are performing at the Synergy Dance at Evans Theatre, Penrith. We wish them well. Our performers are very excited to deliver their routines which took hours to rehearse. A preview was offered at Grandparent’s Day. 

At the conclusion of this term Ms Botton, kindergarten teacher and Assistant Principal will be taking up a twelve-month sabbatical as relieving Assistant Principal at another school in the northern suburbs. I personally thank Ms Botton for her direct contribution with establishing learning programs for kindergarten in 2025 and praise her school leadership and her work ethic. During Ms Botton’s absence we welcome Mrs Alam. Mrs Alam is a substantive Assistant Principal with the Department of Education and an experienced kindergarten teacher in the northern suburbs.

If you have a child who is eligible to commence Kindergarten in 2026, or know of families with children who turn 5 years before 1 August, 2026 could you please contact the school for information to enrol. Further information detailing the transition to Kindergarten program will be distributed in Term 3. If you are aware of any families transferring to our area please pass on our contact details so we can make the necessary arrangements for their transition.

As this is the last school newsletter for Term 2, I would like to wish the Samuel Gilbert PS community a safe and rewarding school holidays when they arrive on 4 July.

Students return to school for Term 3 on Tuesday, 22 July. 

Monday, 21 July is a school development day. Families will need to make alternate arrangements for their children on this day as school staff will be involved in professional learning activities.

Greg McLaren
PRINCIPAL

The Boys Softball Knockout team played their first round of the Knockout competition last Thursday against Panania Public School. It was a very tight game but unfortunately in the end we were beaten by time. Despite being up by two runs in the final innings we needed to get Panania out to avoid reverting to equal innings where we were down 10-9.  A disappointing result for the Samuel Gilbert boys despite some excellent talent. I commend the boys on their ability to accept the loss graciously despite their disappointment. 

The Girls Netball Knockout team will play their quarter final of the Knockout against Kings Park next term on Wednesday 30 July at Samuel Gilbert PS. We wish them the best of luck. 

After defeating Schofields PS in Round 3 of the Touch Football Knockout by 10 – 5, our boys will meet either Faulconbridge or Vaucluse in the quarter finals which we hope to play before the end of term. The boys are to be congratulated on their excellent game against Schofields with Lucas S showing great versatility playing well in all positions and the team as a whole showing excellent attitude and sportsmanship. 

The Girls Touch Knockout team will be playing Glenbrook in Round 3 of the competition on Castle Glen field next Monday morning, 23 June. They had a convincing win against Pitt Town PS in Round 2 defeating them 14 – 6. We wish the girls good luck!

Two weeks ago Riley K, Flynn DP and Archie P competed in the NSWPSSA Australian Football Championships, representing Sydney West. Over the three days the team played six matches. 

They got off to a great start winning their first two matches convincingly. A loss in the third match against Polding meant the next game was a must win. Despite trailing 8-20 at one point, two goals in the final quarter secured the win against North Coast 27-26!

The Riverina team proved way too strong for Sydney West and were the ultimate winners of the carnival. 

A loss to Hunter saw Sydney West placing 8^th overall which was a huge improvement on their 12^th placing in 2024. 

Well done boys on a successful carnival.

The Paul Kelly Cup State final will be held at Blacktown International Sport Park next term on Wednesday 30 July. We wish Mr Lau and his team the very best of luck.

Debating at Samuel Gilbert continues to go from strength to strength. We are currently competing in two competitions - The Premiers Debating Challenge and the Trischools Debating Challenge.

We are currently undefeated in both competitions with 4 wins from 4 debates. With wins over Dural Public School in the elite Premiers Competition and 2 wins against Sherwood Ridge and 1 win against Castle Hill Public Schools in the local Trischools Competition.

All students are fully dedicated to learning the skills of debating and public speaking and attend weekly workshops with Mr Wicks and Mrs Pelizzari where they engage in mock debates with each other to improve their argumentative skills.

Our next debate is next week against Castle Hill in the Premiers Debating Competition and the team is looking forward to their debate.

What a wonderful day this was! Grandparents and children were able to spend time together in the classrooms, in the playground sharing morning tea and enjoying a variety of our creative arts performances. Thank you to all the grandparents and grand friends who attended and helped to make this such a special day on our school calendar.

It was a pleasure to accompany our students to band camp this year to the beautiful Benedict XVI Retreat in Grose Vale. It was fabulous to have nearly all our band members in attendance. The weather was beautiful with sunny days and very crisp mornings and evenings. The bands made great progress over the two days thanks to Mrs Skinner and her team of tutors. We look forward to hearing them showcase their talents at this weekend’s Greater Western Sydney Band Festival and also at our end of term band evening on Monday 30 June. 

A huge thanks to Jaimy McGilvray and the team who assisted her for a meticulously planned camp. Also to Greg Pratley and Andrew Cameron in particular, for the transport of equipment to and from the venue. The children loved the Motiv8 Sports program and many declared the Monday night dinner as one of their best dinners ever! (Sorry mums and dads!)

Thanks also to Mr Wicks, Mr Lau and Mrs Medcalf who gave up their out of hours time to attend and supervise the children at camp.

Next Wednesday we will be holding our annual Athletics Carnival for students in Years 2 -6. 

It is an expectation that all children participate in their own age race and the novelties as a minimum. We ask that children not bring games and books to the carnival as it is a day for participation in the activities on offer. 

Sports uniform with a tee shirt in their house colour is helpful when judging races. Ideally Allunga students wear a plain yellow tee shirt rather than the sports shirt. These are available very cheaply from K Mart. 

Parent volunteers are still required to assist on the day.

Stage 1 Boys and Stage 3 Before School groups are looking forward to taking to the stage tomorrow evening in the Synergy Dance Festival. We wish all dancers the best of luck. A reminder to be there by 7:00 ready to perform. 

Cathie Barclay and Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

NSW Education Standards Authority’s (NESA) annual WriteOn competition is an exciting opportunity for schools to focus on writing while developing students’ skills as young writers to express their ideas. The competition is for talented writers from Stage 1 to Stage 3 who had an opportunity to explore their writing abilities. Students were required to create an imaginative text of up to 500 words, inspired by a provided stimulus: Could they be changing?

While only 3 entries could be chosen across the school, all students who participated should be extremely proud of their exceptional writing. Over the past several weeks, our inspiring writers have been working hard on refining their writing skills as talented authors and creating a range of wonderfully descriptive imaginative texts.  A very special mention to our Samuel Gilbert Public School finalists Zachary B (Stage 1), Aria F (Stage 2) and Estelle C (Stage 3) whose writing entries have been entered into the competition. NESA selects winning entries to become published authors in The Best of WriteOn anthology as well as being celebrated in a prestigious WriteOn Awards Ceremony event later this year at the State Library of NSW. We congratulate all three outstanding students. Their writing works will be published in upcoming school Newsletters.

Below are some excerpts of our writing enthusiasts. Look out for them all in the next several editions of the Newsletter. Congratulations to all our wonderful writers at SGPS!

The sun sat low on the horizon, casting a golden hue to spread across the beach. Waves crashed on the flaming hot sand. A salty aroma lingered close to my face. The sun gleamed a soft glow on my cheeks. The wind danced through my hair, teasing it into a wild dance. Waves below thrashed about, fierce and furious. My dress flowed, swaying to the beat of the crashing waves. It was a truly beautiful sight. – Atrina Z – 6K

On Belle’s lovely morning stroll to school, she passed the pond that she sees every day, usually containing neon orange goldfish popping in and out of the water but today she only saw 2 of them…floating on the surface of the water. The delightful melody of the hummingbirds turned to an unrecognisable shriek. The delectable scent of the flowers and its eye-catching colours now looked dull and dead and had lost its scent that used to make her smile. The once fresh air that made Belle feel free and alive had now been polluted and difficult to inhale. – Arielle G – 6F

Later that night, as Leo was sound asleep in his cosy bed, engulfed by blankets, Wobbly was on a shelf. As his eyes drifted over the peaceful room, Wobbly felt a peculiar twitch. As Wobbly directed his eyes to his arms made of fleece, he felt the temptation again. He forced his arm to move. Then he spotted it, a twitch, a small movement but it surely was there. So, he thought, “Maybe I’m alive, I surely saw myself move.”  - Yiming C- 4O

Today was the day. I had fifteen hundred valiant armed troops marching to Government House ready to arrest the Prime Minister and all his fellow ministers.  “Oliver,” one of my officers said. “What if they send their entire army and they completely annihilate us?” he said, trembling with fear.  

My boy,” I stared him in the eye, his fear showing, “Even if you die you will die knowing you died for the right reason,” I whispered into his ear. 

“O my troops, advance with courage and fight with all your might!” I screamed, making sure everyone could hear. As we approached, we expected huge stones to come hurling towards our faces, but nothing came out all. 

“Have they already surrendered?” one of my troops asked. 

“They most likely have hidden somewhere with their weapons to try and take us off guard, but that will never happen!” I shouted - Ismaeel K – 4W

The clouds were so fluffy on this perfect summer day. It was almost too perfect… The wind was still, and it paused the lakes and rivers that now looked like glass. There was something in the air. Something that would send shivers down your spine. If you listened hard enough, you might’ve heard whispers. Little murmurs in the air. The once lively neighbourhoods now felt dead. It felt as if something or someone had plucked the life out of every little building. One by one. -Ted Geekie – 6W

I walked through the wild, overgrown, tangled grass, trying to get to the faint golden glow that was emanating from deep within. I fought through the grass, almost drawn to whatever was there. I made my way to the object and put my hands on it, trying to get it out. It felt warm, and was pulsing like a heartbeat, as if it had a life of its own. The light grew brighter by the second. It looked like an ancient relic. I picked it up, all the heat left it, and it was suddenly ice-cold. Then it disappeared in a flash of light. – Leela S – 5S

74-year-old Kristina Anne Smith gazed wistfully out the stained window of her petite cottage. The golden sun shone through the coloured panes. 63 years ago. That felt more like a lifetime ago, when she was playing ecstatically with her sisters on Sunday mornings, when they were dressed in their Sunday bests. The birds were chirping. The sun had just broken over the horizon, and the lawn was still blanketed with dew. The three sisters had run across the lawn, laughing gleefully. Then – RING! The old landline that sat on the small table near Kristina’s  rocking chair was ringing deafeningly. What a way to break a daydream!  - Kirsten L – 5L

Because of Jaxon’s athletic skills, he managed to land on his feet. The atmosphere was damp and cold, the taste of squished crimson grapes. In the middle of the dark room, a chair stood. 

“Hello child,” said the familiar voice.

Jaxon stood there, frozen in terror, a man with half the face of a robot sat in the chair. Riaan K -3M

The scorching hot burning sun blasted through our window to wake us up. I was miserable this morning. We’d always love clocks until this very day because this morning it was meant to be six o’clock but it was three. – Aaryav M – 2S

Amanda Keane
Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction

Thank you to all those parents and carers who donated morning tea and volunteered for last week’s Grandparents day. Thank you also to our canteen staff for their organisation and catering support. Grandparent’s Day presents a wonderful opportunity for our Grandparent’s to attend on site and celebrate our children’s education. Thank you to our hardworking staff for facilitating this event. 

Our Band students enjoyed a fabulous time at the SGPS P&C Band Camp this week. The students enjoyed the opportunity to work on their music for upcoming performances as well as participating in all the fun activities. Motiv8 sports, the talent show and the camp fire were a highlight. 

A huge thank you to our Band camp coordinator, Jimy McGilvray, Greg Pratley our Band Co-Ordinator, our Conductor Heather Skinner for organising all the workshops and tutors and of course our school staff who generously gave their time to support our students. 

We with our Bands all the best at their upcoming performance this Sunday at the GWS Music Festival and at their Winter Concert at the school on Monday 30 June 6:30-7:30pm in the new hall.  

The Great Fete is just around the corner. Save the Date for Sunday 17 August 10am-3pm – rain, hail or shine! 

The Great Fete is the P&C’s major event Fundraiser for 2025 and we are looking to raise funds to be invested back into our school for the benefit of all our students. The Fete is a wonderful community event and we need your help to make it a success. 

We are looking forward to welcoming the entire community to this event, and we can’t do it without the support of the school community. Please reach out if you’re able to support the event:

Become a sponsor – Do you own a business or can your place of employment sponsor the Grete Fete? We are still looking for monetary donations as well as donations of goods and services to reduce costs and make our Great Fete a success. Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated. If you or your business are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please email sponsorship@greatfete.com.au for more information.

Our next P&C meeting will be held in Term 3 on Tuesday 12^th August at 7:30pm. This will be our last meeting before the Great Fete so please come along and support our hard-working P&C. We would love to see you in person the School Library or alternatively, online. If you would like to join the meeting online and have not previously done so, please email a request for the online meeting link to  secretary@sgpspc.org.au. 

• Band Concert Monday 30 June arrive 6:15pm. Concert 6:30-7:30pm.
• P&C Meeting @ 7:30pm Tuesday 12 August 2025 
• The Great Fete Sunday 17 August 10-3pm 

For more information about the SGPS P&C, who we are and what we do, please check out the following:

• Website: https://www.sgpspc.org.au  
• Facebook page: https://ww.facebook.com/SGPSPC  
• School website: https://www.samuelgilbertnsw.edu.au   
• School app: You can find the link to the school app on our front page of the https://www.sgpspc.org.au  website       

Kind regards,

Elizabeth Tye
SGPS P&C

Last week, our students celebrated Grandparents Day. A big thank you to Mrs. Skinner for preparing all three bands to perform—it was wonderful to hear them all sound so fantastic! We also sincerely appreciate everyone who attended and contributed to making the day a success. We hope our grandparents enjoyed hearing their grandkids play.

This week, we had 103 students at Band Camp on Monday and Tuesday. The weather was kind to us, and both students and teachers reported having a wonderful experience! Special thanks to Mrs Skinner and the Band Committee for stepping up and helping out when needed, as well as to the parents who volunteered—you all made it possible!

Looking ahead, on Sunday, all three bands will participate in the GWS Music Festival. If you haven't already, please login to Bandforte and tick Yes or No to indicate your availability. Band members should wear Band Shirt with school uniform bottoms.

GWS Music Festival  
Date: Sunday, 22nd June  
Venue: Rouse Hill Anglican College

We are excited to host a fun-filled evening showcasing all three bands. We invite families and friends to come along and enjoy the performances.
Date: Monday, 30th June
Venue: New Hall
Students Arrive: 6:15pm
Concert Start: Approximately 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Our Concert and Performance Bands will participate in the prestigious ASBOF (Australian School Band and Orchestra Festival):
Date: Sunday, 10th August  
Venue: Wenkart Theatre, Knox Grammar School

All event details, including rehearsals, are posted on Bandforte. Please click Yes or No to attend all upcoming Events for your child. If you do not have the link to Bandforte please email sgpsbandcoordinator@gmail.com and we will send it to you.

The Hills Shire Symphony Orchestra is also holding a concert on Saturday 21st June at The Hills Grammar School- flyer below. Our very own Mrs Skinner will be performing with the Orchestra. If you and your child would like to experience a musical performance opportunity please follow the link to purchase tickets https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/hsso-presents-symphonic-heroes-tickets-1129213831969?aff=oddtdtcreator

Thank you for your ongoing support of our band program. We look forward to celebrating these upcoming performances with you!

Band Co-ordinator
Samuel Gilbert Public School Band

It is time to start looking forward to Term 3’s Library event – Book Week (August 16-23) and our Book Character Parade! Time to start planning and preparing your costumes, hmmmm, what should I wear? The theme for this year’s Book Week is “Book an Adventure”. We will be having our Annual Book Character Parade on Monday 18^th August, remember to wear a BOOK character costume. We will also be having an author visit on Wednesday 20^th August, Mr Matt Rankin will be introducing his book Sapphire Millie and the Quest for the Unknown Destiny and talking about the writing and publishing process. I will also be holding additional morning read sessions to celebrate Book Week.

Recently I have been approached by some parents wishing to donate books to the library, I am happy to accept donations for evaluation, and I follow the following procedure:

1. Books are checked for their health, any that are damaged or defaced are usually recycled.
2. Books that are of good quality but not suitable for addition due to already existing in the collection, are not age appropriate or are too old are saved for donation to a community library.
3. Books that are of good quality and fulfil a niche within the collection are then accessioned and added to the library collection.

A big reminder to everyone, please make sure you keep your books safe in your library bag and remember to bring them back to school on your library day.

The Thursday Morning Read has been growing in popularity with more new faces appearing each week, it is on Thursday Morning at 8:20 am in the tiered Learning Space in the Library. All are welcome, students, siblings, parents, and grandparents, come along and listen to two fun stories before school. 

Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, Eric Carle moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old; he was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart. But his dream was always to return to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories. So, in 1952, with a fine portfolio in hand and forty dollars in his pocket, he arrived in New York. Soon he found a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. Later, he was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.

One day, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask Eric Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Bill’s eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Eric had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration.

It is still a favourite with children everywhere. This was the beginning of Eric Carle’s true career.

Soon Eric was writing his own stories, too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon afterward by the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Eric Carle’s art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His artwork is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension—die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket’s song as in The Very Quiet Cricket – giving them a playful quality: A book you can play with and a toy you can read. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations.

Taken from: https://eric-carle.com/about-eric-carle/eric-carles-biography/

The Premiers Reading Challenge opens on Monday 24 February 2025. Please use this information to access the Premier’s Reading Challenge to register your child/ren for the challenge:

How to Log-on to the Premier’s Reading Challenge: On the PRC website homepage, click on the NEW STUDENT SITE image. https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/studentExperience.html#/ It will take you to the PRC student site. 

Then click on LOGIN in the top right-hand corner. This will take you to the NSW Department of Education portal login page, students need to enter their username and password here.

If you do not know your username or password for the PRC website, please see the PRC coordinator at your school, or ask your teacher to help you find out your login details. 

A link to the Premier’s Reading Challenge website can be found in the Student Portal under the Learning section.  Students are also able to add a link to the PRC in the My Link List section to make the PRC easier to find.  The URL to use is: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/studentExperience.html#/.

Public school students can also log in directly to the PRC website using their Department of Education (DoE) username and password.  These are the same details a student would use to access the Student Portal and the computer network at school.  If you are unaware of your username and/or password, please contact your class teacher and ask for your Student Portal username and/or password.

Rules: For all the rules and booklists for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge website: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/logon.html

Rules for the Premier’s Reading Challenge can be found here: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/rules.html

Booklists can be found here: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html but make sure you read from the right level of books.

If you have any questions, please, come and speak to me before or after school in the library.

Week 8 - Orders for Issue 4 close.

Yours in reading,
Adam Hands,
Librarian.

Last week on Thursday we had a fundraiser for Stewart House. Last year we raised $800 but this year we raised about $1300 in just silver coins! Every SRC rep turned up to school early to start getting on their hands and knees and put coins down on the very cold concrete all ambitious to see what the final product would look like. We finished the first layer so fast but there were still coins coming in as fast as a jet. So we kept on going and going until the coins eventually stopped at about 9:30am. In the end, we made six layers of coins and that was a lot of coins!

Bronson D.- SRC for 6K

Week 9
Monday, 23 June
Girls Touch Football KO
Tuesday, 24 June
Early Stage 1 Milo Party Day
Wednesday, 25 June
School Athletics Carnival
Thursday, 26 June
Premiers Debating Round 2 vs Castle Hill PS

Week 10
Monday, 30 June
Cultural Expo Band Evening
Band Evening
Tuesday, 1 July
Festival of Choral Music Rehearsal
School reports sent home 
Friday, 4 July
Last day of Term 2