Welcome to Term 3. During the return to school this term we warmly welcome seven new students and their families. We trust they will have wonderful experiences with the school and look forward to the opportunities to participate in school activities. For everyone, I hope that you have been able to be creative and made the most of the recent school holiday break as locally it was a bit chilly. If you have any concerns about your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact us. I also welcome back Mrs Hannah Powell after the birth of her second child.

Next Wednesday, 7 August from 2.30pm the school will celebrate Public Education Week with the community. This occasion will provide the opportunity to not only look at the school but witness amazing talent by our students. We will be showcasing dancing and singing items from our Kindergarten students and junior and senior vocal ensembles. Year 6 will be selling sausage sandwiches and drinks to assist with fundraising for their gift to the school at the end of year.

The 2024 Public Education Week’s theme is ‘Proud to Belong’. Public Education Week is a time for all of us to feel ‘proud to belong’, sharing our pride in being part of NSW public education and the achievements of our students and staff. 

We are looking forward to celebrating Public Education Week with you next week and at our Open Day next Wednesday afternoon.

NAIDOC Week is a time Australia reflects and celebrates the history, culture and achievements of First Nations Peoples. Last week, all classes engaged in an Aboriginal incursion experience. Stage 1 coordinated the events and promoted NAIDOC Week by displaying informative posters around the school to raise awareness and encourage participation.

Kindergarten students used clapping sticks during a NAIDOC Week music lesson, played an outdoor Indigenous children's game, joined in with a few Aboriginal dances and created a frog-themed dot painting. As the students walked out of the classroom in the afternoon, we heard the words, "This was the best day ever!" Stage 1 explored Dreamtime stories and participated in meaningful discussions during a yarning circle. Students also learned about the Aboriginal flag and created beautiful artworks to celebrate Aboriginal culture. Stage 2 students discussed the flora, fauna and natural landmarks of Dharug Country where our school was built. Individually, in pairs or in small groups, students wrote their own Acknowledgement of Country specific to our school and context. Students recorded and presented their Acknowledgement of Country to their peers and teachers. Stage 3 classes have engaged in a variety of activities including, writing acknowledgement of country, researching NAIDOC award winners and their achievements, playing indigenous ball games such as Chuboochuboo, recreating the poster 'Keep the fire burning!’ and created additional art pieces. Some classes have compiled a collage showcasing the students' work.

At the end of term 2 you should have received your child’s progress report for semester 1. The report was designed to be more informative than previous versions from the school. Your child’s teacher used various assessment samples and offered direction for improvement. The school would like your feedback about the new formatting of the report. Please complete and submit the short survey sent last Wednesday via the School App.

Last week via the School App information was forwarded about your child’s term 3 learning experience. This correspondence has important information about events and ways you can assist with your child’s learning and development. You are encouraged to read it and take note of the specific dates of activities.

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3 and 5 sit each year. Parents and carers in those grades should have received their child’s 2024 NAPLaN report. NAPLaN results are reported against proficiency standards, with student achievement shown against four levels of proficiency. NAPLaN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing class assessments delivered by teachers to measure student performance. NAPLaN can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress. It is also a document to further generate discussions between parents/carers and the class teacher.

What a celebration Kindergarten experienced yesterday. It was great to see them actively engaged in both regular learning and other activities. They reported enjoying musical chairs, dancing, eating sometimes food and playing as the best feature of their day. Congratulations Kindergarten students for your first one hundred days of your formal education and being a valued part of the school.

Yesterday was National Out of School Hour Care Educators Day. This is the annual national day to celebrate and recognise the important role Educators play in the lives of children. The 2024 OOSH Educators’ Day Theme is “Limitless Possibilities”. SGOOSH is probably the best OOSH in NSW. The school community is grateful for the care and guidance our OOSH staff provide to our students.

Like many within our local community and the rest of the world, I have enjoyed watching the Paris Olympic Games. It was great to see a local high school student win a gold medal for swimming.
The Games offer our students an opportunity to build on knowledge about sport and countries via these inspirational athletes.
The Olympic Games in Paris started on July 26 and concludes on August 11. The 2024 Paralympic Games run from 28 August to 11 September.
We wish all our Olympians the very best. Special mention to Josh Green, NBA star and former Samuel Gilbert PS student, admirably representing Australia in basketball. https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/from-the-playground-to-paris-how-we-shape-olympians

Go our Aussies!

Many thanks to those parents who have already notified the office about their child starting Kindergarten in 2025. If any current SGPS parent has a child who will be starting school next year or if any of our families have neighbours in that position, please inform them Samuel Gilbert PS is now taking enrolments for next year. It is important to get enrolments in as soon as possible as this assists our planning for 2025. Enrolment forms are available online https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/enrolment/primary-school-enrolment

Greg McLaren
PRINCIPAL

Kindergarten and Stage 1 teachers have trained in and are beginning to implement the PAX Good Behaviour Game across all classrooms. Our students are being taught the components of this positively focused wellbeing program step by step.

PAX means peace, productivity, health and happiness.

PAX GBG consists of proven behavioural strategies used daily by teachers with students. The 10 evidence-based strategies (components) build self-regulation in children, strengthen peer networks, reduce impulsivity and teach prosocial decision-making in children. The ‘peaceful’ classroom environment supports learning, wellbeing, participation and confidence.

PAX GBG develops students who can be fully attentive and engaged in learning so teachers can use their time and resources to teach. Schools using PAX GBG report:

• Increased time for teaching and learning
• Increased attention to and completion of academic tasks
• Engaged learners
• Improved learning outcomes including reading scores
• Reduction in off-task and disruptive behaviours

This week students have been creating a PAX vision. The vision gives students the responsibility for co-creating what a positive learning environment should look like, sound like, feel like and be like, so each class’ vision might be slightly different.

Ask your child what their class PAX vision is and how they’re helping to create a peaceful, productive and happy classroom.

You may have noticed that our Kindergarten students have been so much more mature and looking so much smarter this week! This is because they have just celebrated their first 100 days of primary school. Congratulations Kindergarten! It was a whole day of fun activities including a treasure hunt for numbers to find a secret code, an activity imagining what students would look like when they are 100 years old, making 100 days brighter magic wands and stamping 100 gumballs in a gumball machine. Thank you to all our families that provided the yummy party food.

Kindergarten has just become party central and they have already started asking when their next party will be.  They’ll have to wait and see…

Our learning and support team helps to assess, track and monitor students with additional learning needs including health needs that can impact learning in the school environment.  If you are new to the school and have concerns about your child’s learning or have a new diagnosis for your child please contact the school and speak to Ms Gilliane Appave. If you are aware of any new Kindergarten 2025 families who are due to start their transition process and who have children with additional needs please also advise them to call and make an appointment with the Learning and Support Team.

Samuel Gilbert is looking forward to celebrating Book Week during Week 5 with our students and families. On Tuesday 20 August we will be holding a Book Character Parade for students, with parents invited to attend. Students may like to begin planning their outfits connected to a book of their choosing. 

Full details of Book week activities will  be sent via the school app.

The Zone Athletics Carnival will be held at Blacktown International Sports Park on Monday 26 August. We are finalising the high jump and any invitationals at present with all other students now notified of their involvement in this event. We wish them the best of luck and congratulate them on qualifying for this representative level.

On Monday 19 August Zac F. and Jones D. will be competing in the online regional finals of the Premier’s Spelling Bee. We wish them the very best of luck.

Congratulations to Ollie H. and Zac F. who competed in the State Cross Country Carnival last week. Both boys placed around the middle of the field which is a fabulous achievement at this elite level. Well done boys!
Congratulations to Jesse A. who will be representing NSW in Diving at the All Schools National Diving Championships in Adelaide later this month. We wish him every success.

Congratulations to the Boys Softball KO team who won their 3^rd round match against Bankstown PS last Thursday. It was an easy win for our boys but I’d like to say how proud I was of their sportsmanship and empathic response to a team that was far less experienced than our boys. It can be difficult to win graciously without being patronising and the boys managed to do this perfectly.

A huge congratulations to Caressa P. (3/4B) who recently competed in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod in the Stringed Instruments – Plucked & Bowed Lower Strings Section.  Not only did Caressa win both the Under 12 and Under 15 sections but she also placed 3^rd in the Under 20 years category! An amazing achievement for a student who has not yet tuned 10. We very much look forward to hearing Caressa play her harp at this year’s Hills Performing Arts Festival on Tuesday 27 August.

Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Touch Football KO teams who played their 3rd round in the State Knockout today against James Erskine Public School. Unfortunately both teams lost by only one point with the boys reaching a drop off at full time. Congratulations on getting to this stage of the competition.  

The Hills Performing Arts Festival will be held on Tuesday 27 August at the Penrith Panthers’ Evan Theatre. Mrs Medcalfs’ Festival Stage 3 singers and Lunchtime Dance Group as well as Miss Stacey’s three Before School Dance Groups and Caressa P. will be performing. More details about the rehearsal schedule and drop off and pick up will be sent via School Bytes. Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Tuesday 6 August. Please be aware that this year there is a limit of 4 tickets per transaction and that tickets can often sell out very quickly. A flyer detailing the sale of tickets was sent out yesterday via the school app. 

Next Thursday 8 August we will be holding an Olympic themed Mufti Day to celebrate our Australian athletes and raise funds for students who represent at an elite level in our PSSA sports, possibly future Olympians themselves one day.  Jesse A. will be representing New South Wales in Diving in the coming weeks. This is an outstanding achievement and we wish him the very best of luck. 

We ask families to discuss their donation with their children to ensure it arrives at the desired location. 

Last Friday Samuel Gilbert celebrated National Schools’ Tree Day with the support of Castle Hill Toyota and Swanes Nursery. A number of students from Years 1 – 6 assisted with the planting and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the transformation achieved through their hard work. A big thankyou to Toyota and Swanes for their generous donation once again this year. The children were provided with hats and gloves and the school a new garden bed alongside the pedestrian pathway near the school driveway.

We look forward to welcoming parents to our Open Afternoon/Evening next Wednesday as part of our Public Education Week celebrations. A slightly edited program of performances and an organisational sheet has been sent via the school app. Please ensure permissions for your child have been completed on School Bytes. Senior Vocal Ensemble students who are not in Dance or Band items will need to complete a permission form as well. This will be sent via School Bytes.

On Friday 2 August 2024, Primary Principal's Day, we would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge Mr McLaren and to show our appreciation of the incredibly valuable work that he does for our students, staff and community every day.  

Cathie Barclay & Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Speaking and listening skills build the foundation for your child’s learning at school. These skills help a child to be able to talk with others, create friendships and actively participate in all activities at school. If you speak a language other than English at home, it’s important you continue to support your child to use their home language.

Handy tips to try at home when talking and communicating with your child:

• Talk with your child about a range of topics, for example, things that happen each day. • Share stories from your culture, your own stories and your child’s stories. 
• Describe or talk about things as they are happening, for example, “We are going to walk to school today and go past the park.” 
• Listen to your child and encourage them to take turns. Show how to listen and interact in a conversation. 
• When talking with your child ask questions that require more than a yes or no reply, for example, “What did you do at school today?” or “Tell me about all the things that happened at school today.”
• Use questions that start with how or why. For example, “How many birds do you see in the park?” When asking questions give your child time to answer. 
• Make conversations fun. Make up funny or nonsense rhymes, talk and sing with your child.
• Retell a story. Talk about what happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story. • After reading, talk about the characters or your child's favourite part of the book. 
• Share ideas on what might happen when going to an event like a celebration or going to school. After the event, talk about what happened and ask them to share their thoughts and feelings. 
• Support your child to create their own story from their imagination. Ask questions such as “What is the story about?” “Who is in the story?” “What happens in the story?” 

Amanda Keane
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, CURRICULUM and INSTRUCTION  

It was standing room only at our recent Band end of Term concert. A big thank you to our Conductor’s, Band Committee and all the wonderful school staff who attended and supported our budding musicians. Congratulations to our Term Band award winners. It was a delight to hear the wonderful standard of music across our three bands. On that note, we are still looking for a Band Coordinator commencing Term 4. Band Parents will receive an email shortly outlining the breakdown of vacant roles. Our Band program has been run by parent and school staff volunteers for over 30 years.  Our current Band Coordinator has been volunteering without having a child in the Band Program. 

If you do have a student involved in the Band program, would you consider joining the Band Committee and taking on a role? We currently have a number of parents on the Committee with students in Year 5 & 6 and to ensure the viability of the program, we need parents who have students in Year’s 3 and 4 to join us. If you have any questions about getting involved, please reach out to Briony Geekie at sgpsbandcoordinator@gmail.com.

Our annual Jersey Day BBQ is scheduled for Friday 30 August 2024 from 7:30am-8:30am. Our students love welcoming their Dad’s, Grandpa’s and special Father Figures onsite to share some time together at school. Cost is $5.00 per person and includes a freshly cooked bacon and egg roll and a drink. Please book and pay by Friday 23 August https://www.trybooking.com/CUALB

Can you help? We are looking for a Coordinator(s) for the Father’s Day Breakfast. We have plenty of experience and can assist and support you and perhaps a friend! If you can help, please reach out to Katie at president@sgpspc.org.au as soon as possible. 

We were delighted by the enthusiasm of our Dad’s who volunteered for our Mother’s Day BBQ. Similarly, we are hoping for some enthusiastic Mum’s and Grandma’s who can assist to cook and serve at the Jersey Day BBQ. We are looking for 12 volunteers to help in the morning. If you can assist, please sign up here: https://signup.com/go/fRAgyrB.

Our Father’s Day Stall will be held during Week 6. More information regarding class allocation to the stall and a link for our volunteers to help serve on the stall will be issued shortly.  

The SGPS P&C will be holding a BBQ and Cake Stall for the upcoming NSW Local Elections on Saturday 14 September. Please save the date as we will be calling on volunteers to assist with providing baked goods for the Cake stall as well as volunteers to help cook and serve on both the BBQ and Cake stall on the day.  

Do you want to be part of all the action? The Great Fete is a bi-annual event and a major fundraiser for our P&C. The Great Fete is recognised as an event that brings our families and wider community together, forming a core memory of our students’ time at SGPS. Initial planning for the Great Fete in 2025 is about to commence. The first stage of planning requires the formation of the 2025 Fete Committee. The Fete Committee is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the Fete. It is a team effort, and it is a lot of fun to be involved. To register your interest to be involved in the 2025 Great Fete Committee, please complete this EOI form by Friday 9 August 2024.

Please join us on Tuesday, 13 August at 7:30pm for our first Term 3 P&C meeting. We have busy end of year planned and we would love to see you in person in the School Library or alternatively online. If you have attended a P&C meeting online this year, you will automatically receive the meeting link next term. If you have not attended online before but would like to join us for our next meeting, please contact Lauren Wright our P&C Secretary for the meeting link at secretary@sgpspc.org.au and the link will be provided to you prior to the meeting.

The P&C has scheduled an evening of Interrelate family sessions for Tuesday 17 September 2024. 

Interrelate’s Tricky Talks program involves two one-hour live online presentations:

• Session 1: 'Where Did I Come From?' 6:00pm - 7:00pm (recommended Years 3-4)
• Session 2: ‘Preparing for Puberty’ 7:15pm-8:15pm (Years 5-6 and optional Years 3-4)

More details will follow on the School app shortly. However, if parents would like to register to attend, the link is open now: https://events.humanitix.com/samuel-gilbert-ps-tricky-talks-17-09-2024. Registrations are capped at 120. 

Please note that when completing the registration form, there is a drop-down menu that enables parents to register for the session that they wish to attend with their child. Both sessions will be an hour long with a small break in between. Whether you choose to attend only one session or both, the cost is $41.50 per family including GST.

• P&C Meeting Tuesday 13 August, 7:30pm
• Jersey Day BBQ Friday 30 August 7:30am-8:30am
• Election BBQ Saturday 14 September
• Interrelate (Years 3 – 6) Online on Tuesday 17 September ( Where Did I Come From: 6:00pm-7:00pm and Preparing for Puberty: 7:15pm-8:15pm)
• Parent/Son Camp Saturday 26 Sunday - 27 October

Want to know more?
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 Vice President
etye@sgpspc.org

We were treated to a wonderful night of music at the end of Term 2 at the Band Performance evening. All three Bands played to a very high standard and thoroughly entertained a very big and supportive audience of family and friends. As always we thank the school staff who attended to support our Band program. 

Please keep an eye out for an email to Band Families coming later this week with more detail about dates and important band matters. Please make sure you have the following dates in your calendar:

• Monday, 5 August - Friday, 9 August
• Open Band Rehearsals for all Bands
• Wednesday, 7 August
• Open Afternoon Band Performance at school 3:45-4:15pm ALL BANDS
• 12-15 September (exact day and time to be confirmed shortly)
• NSSWE Spring Music Festival at Chatswood Concourse –– PERFORMANCE BAND ONLY

There are some more performances in the planning and dates will be announced as they come to hand.

Kind regards,
Briony Geekie
Band Co-ordinator Samuel Gilbert Public School Band

A warm welcome to Term 3 in the library, one of my favourite times of the year is fast approaching, Week 5 this term is Book Week, on the Tuesday of Book Week we will be holding our character parade, all students and staff are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite book character, parents and siblings can come in costume too! We will parade in our costumes for everyone to see. So come along and enjoy the fun and entertainment of all the creative and interesting outfits on display – yes, I have selected a new costume for the event!

ETTA AND THE SHADOW TABOO
Jeremy Worrall

A well-designed, high-quality hardcover with an interesting story about the First Nations (Gamilaraay) tradition of respecting personal space by not stepping on another’s shadow. Visually, this book is captivating. From the beautiful and quite detailed cover, the illustrator takes us on Etta’s journey of discovery. Using an earthy palette consistently throughout, illustrations enhance and expand on the narrative and mood. The intricacy of some pages is exquisite and beautifully executed. In contrast, other pages use simplicity of style and composition for impact. Using silhouette for the central characters and shadows emphasises their role on the page, dominating when written text specifically relates to character and diminishing when narrative relates more to environment. 

THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA
A useful guide including all critiques from our panel of 2024 CBCA expert judges, arranged by category. 

The Thursday Morning Read is returning for Term 3 and will be continuing every 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. We will be reading some fun and entertaining books as well as some other books celebrating the many different cultural events that occur throughout the year.

Just a couple of friendly reminders about the twice a term Book Club catalogues that are sent home. 

• Book Club is sent home twice a term, early and mid-term. 
• Closing dates for ordering are usually Friday Week 5 and Friday Week 8 to allow for deliveries before the break. 
• Orders need to be made online via the Scholastic Book Club website, instructions can be found at the back of the Book Club catalogue.
• NO CASH PAYMENTS can be accepted by the school, please don’t send cash to the school.

The Premiers Reading Challenge opened on 26 February 2024. 

You must complete your online Student Reading Record by Friday 23 August 2024 (11:59 pm) to complete the Challenge. 

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:
Go to the NSW Department of Education portal login page, https://portal.education.nsw.gov.au/studentPortal/portal.education.nsw.gov.au 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 websiteusing their Department of Education (DoE) username and password.  These are the same details a student would use to access the Student Portaland 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.

• All students are permitted to borrow up to 4 books at a time, however they must use a book bag to carry and protect their books, this bag may be the excursion bag available from the uniform shop, a canvas shopping bag or any other suitable bag, the only requirement is the books must fit inside the bag. 
• If you have any concerns about lost, damaged or overdue books, please come and see me in the library before or after school to discuss what actions (if any) are needed to satisfy your concerns.
• The Premier’s Reading Challenge has started, please register your children to participate in this wonderful program, successful completion of the challenge will earn a certificate for your child’s efforts and, if the challenge is completed consistently across a number of years, a medallion at the end of the challenge. 
• When registering for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please remember to FIRST log into your child’s departmental page, this has a link to the PRC which, when clicked, will automatically log you in and register your child as a participant. For more information, please read the Premier’s Reading Challenge section above.
• To complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge, you must complete your online Student Reading Record by Friday 23 August 2024 (11:59 pm). 
• Treasure Hunt #3 has begun with a added level of challenge for a fun new set of experiences to help students explore the library and the different services at resources we have on offer. Have you found all 22 ghosts hiding in the library?

Yours in reading,

Adam Hands,
Librarian

Monday 8.30am -9.30am & Wednesday 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Only one family per time will be served in the shop. Appointments will take priority.

It is expected that all students should now be in winter uniform. Please refer to the P&C website for details. Please note that plain navy blue track pants can be worn only on sport days, not as general uniform.

Thank you for all the donations. They are greatly appreciated. 

Please bag the item/s, label the bag with your child’s name and class, explain what you want done and return to the school office or canteen. I will collect the item/s, exchange as requested, and return the item/s to the classroom.

Kind Regards,

Sheryl Naylor,
SGPS P&C Uniform Shop Manager
Email: //uniformshop@sgpspc.org.au

Welcome to term 3. The roster should be on the school website by now if not very soon. 

We appreciate everyone that can help us and your children love when you help.

Regards,  
Jenelle, Sue and Kiarn

Week 3
Monday, 5 August
Year 1 Sydney Zoo Excursion
Tuesday, 6 August
Year 2 Sydney Zoo Excursion
Wednesday, 7 August
Tri Schools Debating Round 3 vs Castle Hill PS at Castle Hill
Open Evening 2:30-5:30pm
Thursday, 8 August
Basketball KO vs Regentville PS at Regentville
Olympics Mufti Day   
  
Week 4
Monday, 12 August
Premiers Debate Round 4 at Ironbark Ridge PS 
Tuesday, 13 August 
FOCM Final Rehearsal and Performance 12:30pm
Boys Football KO vs North Rocks PS at Murray Farm Reserve