Tomorrow afternoon we will have finished our third week of learning for the year, I am delighted by the positive start to the year displayed by our students. I am very pleased to see the students’ energy and excitement for learning. It is encouraging to see students wearing their school uniform with pride.

Student-Parent-Teacher interviews have commenced for Years 3-6. A particular thank you to our staff who dedicate significant time to preparing for these meetings with parents. Equally a huge thank you to parents and carers for investing in this meeting to share more information. This year we have also invited students to attend these meetings to discuss goal setting. These interviews are an essential part of maintaining effective communication and partnership between home and school.

It is very important that parents do not stay on the school site directly after the morning school bell at 8.50am. The teachers are having trouble settling our younger students and walking the students back to class with the walkways often blocked by parents. As soon as the morning bell sounds parents and carers are to exit the school gate.

•via the School App, Deputy Principal, Ms Appave, sent out information last week about student attendance and the need for every student to be punctual each school day.

Thank you, students and parents, for endeavouring to follow the before school procedures, until teachers commence playground duty, however, I have two key reminders: 

• students should arrive at school between 8.20am and 8.50 am. If they arrive before 8.20am they are to come straight to the coloured seating outside the school office and sit until 8.20am. This does not include students attending OOSH or supervised programs e.g., dance and band practice.

• no student is to play before 8.20am regardless of whether their parent is present.

We continue to have contractors working on the school site at various times before school. 

• if parents remain on school grounds after 8:20am, either with the children or catching up with other parents, we remind you that our teachers on morning duty will be ensuring student safety by expecting them to be in bounds and playing sensibly.

I look forward to your support with these matters as it assists to provide a safe environment for our students and preserves that Samuel Gilbert PS community feel.

At our school we have a very strong and professional Learning and Support Team (L&ST). The purpose of this team is to ensure all students are receiving the help and support they need to achieve their maximum learning potential. This includes those students needing extension programs. A key feature of the learning support team is the facilitation of collaborative planning between teachers, support staff, parents and students. The L&ST committee is chaired by Deputy Principal, Ms Appave, and includes school executive members (incl me), Learning and Support Teacher (LaST) - Mrs Noni Medcalf and School Counsellor – Ms Akira Harinath.

The L&ST team meets fortnightly during each term to review the learning programs of students who have been referred. These children are those identified as gifted and talented, needing further numeracy and literacy support as well as others in need of additional learning support. The L&ST also reviews students who are being funded through various State or Commonwealth programs. Both teachers and parents can refer a student to the L&ST. Referrals to the L&ST may be for reasons related to gifted and talented opportunities or support for learning difficulties. If a teacher refers a child, the parent is informed. Conversely, if parents would like to refer their child, I would hope that the parent would have met with the class teacher to discuss the reasons for the referral and then jointly complete the referral forms. In some circumstances, the parent does not want the teacher informed. If that is the case, referral forms can be obtained from the school office, completed and returned to me to take to the L&ST meeting.

We are fortunate to have as our Learning and Support Teacher (LaST), Mrs Noni Medcalf and our English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EaLD) teacher, Mrs Linda Meyers. The role of the LaST is to improve outcomes for students with additional learning and support needs. Students require different levels of support which can be given to them in a variety of ways to suit their needs. The EaLD teacher develops EaLD students’ English language competence across the curriculum, so that they can fully participate in schooling. Working collaboratively with the classroom teacher, planning teaching programs, modelling best classroom practice, providing specialist advice and assisting teachers with Professional Learning are a few strategies the LaST and EaLD teachers can apply when assisting our students and staff.

Planning is well underway for our Year 3 and Year 5 students as they prepare for their upcoming NAPLAN assessments. At Samuel Gilbert PS School, the testing window has been set for Wednesday, 11 March to Friday, 22 March 2026.In the lead-up to NAPLaN, teachers will be reviewing test requirements, guiding students through key skills for navigating the online platform, and ensuring they feel confident and well-prepared. We look forward to seeing our students demonstrate the skills and knowledge we are so proud of at Samuel Gilbert PS.    

A huge thank you to our school P&C for hosting a welcome barbeque on Friday for our Kindergarten. We are extremely fortunate to have an active and considerate P&C, parent volunteers and OOSH staff working to ensure our students and their families have a wonderful experience at the school. Special thank you to Mr Matt Young (Dylan 5C) for coordinating the event. We welcome and encourage all school parents to actively support P&C initiatives.

Digital devices are defined as electronic devices that can receive, store, process and share digital information and connect to applications (apps), websites and other online services. They include desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, smartphones and other devices. It has been reported that a small number of students are misusing their smartwatches and phones.As per Department policy, primary school students must not use digital devices beyond their laptops/iPads during class, at recess and at lunch unless approved by a principal or teacher. Exemptions may be granted by a principal or teacher, including allowing students to use a device for an educational purpose, or as part of a reasonable adjustment for student learning and wellbeing.At present no student at the school has permission to use a mobile phone or a smartwatch to communicate to any other person onsite or offsite nor can they capture images during class time, at recess or at lunch. 

Best wishes to the thirty-five SGPS students attending the Castle Hill Zone PSSA trials today with Mr Lau as the accompanying teacher.It has been pleasing to see and hear our bands rehearsing over the last two weeks. Well done to all students who show a commitment to practising their instrument.The school’s various dance groups are underway with students enthusiastically attending rehearsals each week. The Years 3-6 and K-2 Vocal ensembles are being formed following an audition process.

Scripture classes started today. We are grateful to the volunteers available to deliver these services to our students upon parent consent as per the NSW Education Act. Please understand that coordinating class placements during this time and catering for non-scripture/ethics classes is a complex process. We thank you for your understanding.

If your child is covered by parenting (plan) agreements or consent (custody) orders can you please provide an updated copy to the school as soon as possible. 

Greg McLaren 
PRINCIPAL

Our Year 5 and Year 3 students will be completing their NAPLAN testing between Wednesday 11 March and Monday 23 March. Year 5 are planning to complete their three tests in the first week – Wednesday Writing, Thursday Reading and Conventions of Language and Numeracy on the Friday. Year 3 will complete Writing on Wednesday, Reading on Thursday, Conventions of Language on Friday and Numeracy on Monday. Although we will endeavour to catch up students for tests missed, this can’t be guaranteed so we ask parents to avoid appointments and absences where possible during the testing week. As some students will be observing Ramadan during the testing time all tests will be scheduled before noon with most being conducted first thing in the morning to ensure fasting students energy levels are at their highest. 

Find out more in the parent and carer brochure, available in a wide range of languages: https://nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers 

Students wanting to know more about what to expect can visit the NAPLAN demonstration site: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site 

Please ensure that your child has a working pair of easy to use headphones for the tests.

We are looking forward to our school swimming carnival next Wednesday.  If you did not complete a permission form on School Bytes we have assumed your child is not attending. A reminder that all primary teachers will be at the carnival on this day.No late entries will be accepted as the entries are entered by a third party and the file has now been sent. This is a Year 3 - 6 carnival with only those Year 2 students swimming in the 8 years freestyle event attending.

A reminder to families with students in Year 4 wishing to apply for Opportunity Class placement and Year 6 wishing to apply for Selective High School placement in 2027 that the online application portal will close for applications this Friday 20 February 2026. The online application link for parents and carers is available at Selective high schools and opportunity classes until 20 February 2026.

Getting ready for high school! 

On 2 March the window for online high school applications will open. It is important that your current residential address is correct on our system so that you are able to successfully lodge your application for your local high school. Please notify the school office if you have changed address since enrolment at Samuel Gilbert without informing the school. Even if you are intending to have your child attend a private school or hoping for a selective school placement an online application stating this must be completed for every Year 6 student. 

Thank you to all of our Kindergarten families for their patience as our teachers completed their Best Start assessments. Families will receive individual feedback after Week 5, next week, with details of the questions their children answered and simple activities they can have fun with at home to help support learning. 

Our Kindergarten students met their Year 6 Buddies this week. They read a book together and had a chance to ask questions to get to know each other like, ‘Do you have any pets?, ‘What is your favourite food?’, ‘Is there anything that makes you feel nervous at school?’. Our Buddy program will continue all year with regular opportunities for both grades to meet and learn together.

We have been advised by Hills Council that complaints have been received regarding vehicles parking on Ridgecrop Drive near the roundabout at Gilbert Road, as well as in Galahad Cresent near Ridgecrop Drive. The council is proposing to install ‘No Stopping” restrictions on these corners – as per the diagram. 

They have also advised that compliance officers and police are actively providing enforcement of parking and road rules around schools in the Hills LGA. See flyer attached to this newsletter. 

Double parking, Stopping in No Stopping Zones and Bus Zones, parking over driveways and queuing for longer than 2 minutes in No Parking Zones are all offences with fines and demerit points in School Zones. We remind parents using the Kiss and Drop Zone to remain in their vehicles and move forward as space becomes available to eliminate queuing and double parking in Ridgecrop Drive. 

We also request that parents do not cross Ridgecrop Drive in front of the school with their children. Please use the pedestrian crossing to model good road safety practice. 

Band parents are reminded that students should walk to band rehearsals via the pedestrian pathway from Ridgecrop Drive then past the canteen. If you are accessing the staff car park as your child has a large or heavy instrument they must be walked to Burragali from the car park. Parents are not to proceed up the driveway to drop them at Burragali.  

Scripture classes for 2026 have commenced today. Students have placed in Scripture classes according to the box ticked on their enrolment forms. If you believe your child has attended the incorrect class, please let the staff at the front office know and we will amend the Scripture rolls accordingly. 

Families receiving Family Tax Benefit can apply for an Active and Creative Kids voucher for each eligible child. 

The voucher is valued at $50 and:

• is available twice a year

• one voucher is available from 15 January for use by 31 December of the same year
• one voucher is available from 15 July for use by 14 July of the following year

• can be used for eligible active or creative activities with registered providers
• must be redeemed before the expiry date on the voucher.

Eligible families, apply nowExternal link for the Active and Creative Kids vouchers.

Cathie Barclay and Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Reading fluently is a significant part of being an effective and competent reader. So, what exactly does it mean to be a fluent reader? Fluency is reading expressively with accuracy and at a good pace. It is one of the key components of learning to read and is the link between reading words quickly and effortlessly and understanding and comprehending text. Fluency is reading with and reading for meaning. So, it is not just reading with speed or accuracy. It is the integration of speed, accuracy, and prosody.  

Fluency is made up of three core components: 

Accuracy: is the reading of words correctly. 

Rate: is the speed of word identification. It is usually recorded as words read per minute. 

Prosody: is the sound of the reading. This can be explained as the expression used when reading. 

Readers need to have developed the skills of phonological awareness, phonics and have a good sight word vocabulary to develop into a fluent reader. These foundational skills of word recognition need to be recalled quickly to the point of automatic recall. This automaticity of decoding and recall of words is to become unconscious. This then allows the cognitive space for the reader to access the meaning of the text. 

At Samuel Gilbert Public School, fluency is explicitly taught in every classroom. Types of instruction include modelled fluent reading by the teacher, repeated reading of texts, paired reading and wide and deep reading across many types of texts. Through explicit teaching of fluency, students develop their reading skills from surface to deep understanding of texts alongside increased reading stamina. Deep reading refers to repeated reading of the same text. It supports the reader in becoming increasingly automatic and fluent on each read. The reader develops an improved awareness of fluency on each read and it helps the reader to not only improve reading on the current text but also, they can apply these skills to other texts they read. Over time, there is an increased knowledge of language comprehension skills. 

How can you help your child become a fluent reader? 

• Have your child read aloud the same text to you each day.  

• Model reading fluently to your child. Model expression, pace, volume and accuracy of the text. 

• Encourage your child to read widely. Have your child read a range of texts that differ in complexity. 

Amanda Keane
Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction

2M have had a brilliant start to the year! We are enjoying decorating our classroom with snowflakes and beautiful artwork. We have been working hard in English to improve our spelling of the long A and long E sounds as well as the different features of narratives. Make sure to ask us about the new vocabulary we have learnt recently – hark, dawdle and intrepid. In mathematics we have been learning about 2D shapes and patterns. During History lessons, 2M have enjoyed contributing to discussions about past and present communication and sharing stories of different ways they have communicated with others. We are looking forward to the rest of the year!

This week in 1O, our students have been exploring kindness,empathy, and the impact of positive words. Each child created theirown “bucket” and has been writing kind notes to their classmates,helping to fill each other’s buckets with encouragement and support.Students have reflected on how their words and actions can make others feel valued, heard, safe, and included. Every day, they have found new waysto brighten others’ days while also filling their own buckets. We've learned that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

A big thank you to our P&C volunteers and their families, our fabulous OOSH helpers and School for supporting us as we welcomed a number of Kindy and new families to the school last Friday. It was a fabulous opportunity to serve our new families and see our parents and children making connections with one another. We look forward to working together with you as we support our school together.  

Can you help? If you are a parent with a student in either 5W or 5G, please consider being a class parent this year. If you have any questions or have not been a class parent before and would like to know more about the role, please contact Elizabeth Tye at etye@sgpspc.org.au.

Form will close this Friday 20 February! If you have not yet signed up to join your 2026 class parent contact list, please do so before Friday. Class contact lists will be distributed to our allocated class parents shortly. Parents who sign up are agreeing to the P&C Communication Code of Conduct.  If you would like to stay up to date with your child’s class this year, please register your contact details as soon as possible here or via the QR link below:

Can you help this Term? We need your help to keep our canteen costs down. We rely on our parent volunteers, and we still need help for Term 1. Perhaps you or even a Grandparent can help? Your children love to see a familiar face on the other side of the counter! You can sign up to volunteer at the Canteen this Term using the link below: 

Our P&C is a growing group of hardworking parents and carers who volunteer their time to build community and facilitate events and fundraising to benefit all students. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 10 March at 7:30pm in the Library and online.

Are you a P&C Financial Member? As a financial member of the P&C, you can have a vote on matters that can impact you and your child. It costs $1 and the member form can be found here: https://www.sgpspc.org.au/services. You can return the completed form and the $1 membership fee to the School Office. As a P&C Financial Member, you also receive the Meeting Agenda, meeting link and minutes directly in advance of the P&C Meeting. It is an easy way to get early insight into upcoming events and feel more involved in our school community.

Your voice matters. If you would like to give the P&C some feedback that will help shape future events and activities, please use the following link: P&C Feedback Survey 2025

The P&C has scheduled an evening of Interrelate family sessions for Thursday 19^th March 2026. 

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-19th-march-2026

Registrations are capped so we invite families to register early to ensure that they can attend. 

Please note that when registering the Ticket information, there will be a drop-down menu that allows you to register for the session you wish to attend with your child. You may select Session 1 or 2 or the Family Evening Session which provides access to both Session 1 and 2.  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 $45.01 per family including GST.

If you have any questions regarding the program, please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth at etye@sgpspc.org.au. 

· P&C Meeting   – Tuesday 10 March 7:30pm in the Library or Online. All welcome. 

· Interrelate for Years 3-4 & Years 5-6: Thursday 19 March 2026. 

 Download the School App

   Like the SGPS P&C Facebook page

  Visit the P&C Website

    Connect by signing up for the class contact page

If in the meantime you have any questions regarding the P&C, how you are get involved or how we can support you, please do not hesitate to contact our President, Paddy Jessing at president@sgpspc.org.au. 

Elizabeth Tye
SGPS P&C
etye@sgpspc.org.au 

Rehearsals are now in full swing, and I am pleased to share that both Mrs. Skinner and Mr. Goddard are working diligently to ensure our band has a fantastic start to the year. Their dedication and hard work are greatly appreciated, and I am confident that with everyone's support, we will have a successful and enjoyable year ahead.

As always, we have many exciting events planned for this year, and we will be updating Bandforte with all the details as they are confirmed. We encourage all parents to regularly check Bandforte for the latest information regarding upcoming performances, rehearsals, and other band-related activities. https://www.bandforte.com.au please email the Band Coordinator for your personal link if required.

A heartfelt thank you to all the parents who have ensured that their children have secured a Tutor and that they arrive promptly for rehearsals. Your ongoing support plays a vital role in the success of our band program, and it helps create a positive and productive environment for our students to learn and grow.

Additionally, I have been distributing an updated 2026 Tutor list to assist parents who may still be seeking a Tutor or whose previous Tutor is no longer available. If your child is still in need of a Tutor or if you require any guidance in finding one, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Band Coordinator. We are here to help and can provide recommendations or assistance to ensure your child’s musical journey continues smoothly.

Looking ahead, we are excited to announce that we are planning a few more events for this term. These will include performances, community engagement opportunities, and possibly some fun social activities. As soon as details are finalized, we will notify all parents via email and update Bandforte accordingly, so please keep an eye out for these updates.

Once again, thank you very much for your continued support of the band program. Your involvement and encouragement make a significant difference in the success of our students and the overall vibrancy of our music community. We look forward to a fantastic year filled with music, collaboration, and memorable experiences.

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

sgpsbandccrdinator@gmail.com

Thank you to all our volunteers that  have completed the Food Handlers course and sent in their WWC numbers. We had a fantastic response. We have had many new volunteers do shifts this week or have put their name down for future shifts. Please continue to help us out.
We do need one volunteer on Friday afternoon, so please check the sign up and put your name down.
Sushi is now available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday only via Flexischools.

Thanks,
Jenelle, Sue and Kiarn

The new animal and character displays have been excitedly explored by the students, SpongeBob and Zootopia have been amongst the most popular displays. Don’t worry if your favourite animal group is no longer on display, it will return later in the year with new information added to it. 

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. Kindergarten is a special situation and are only borrow a single book in Term 1, two in Term 2, etc. until they have shown the responsibility to borrow 4 books at a time. 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 is starting very soon, 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. For more information, please read the Premier’s Reading Challenge section below.

We have a complete Lunar New Year display in the library, along with a complete collection of each year’s Lunar Zodiac animal on display in Lego. Visit the library to find out more about the Lunar New Year and the twelve zodiac animals of legend.

The Thursday Morning Read is on every week, 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 some 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. I look forward to seeing lots of you on Thursday morning.

Our first Treasure Hunt of 2026 has begun! How good are you at unscrambling the names of famous children’s authors? Read the clue, search the library for biography posters and unscramble the authors’ names. Give your completed sheet to the teacher on duty in the library and collect your 3D-Printed prize (one prize per student per term). Try a practice one here:

A very well-known author, who famously uses nonsense words in a rhyming pattern. He has written about a talented hat-wearing cat and some strangely coloured eggs and ham.

SUS REDS =________________________________

If you are interested in helping in the library, I often have books for covering. Keep an eye on the School App for notifications that there are books in need of covering. If you have some time, please pop in and see me for a bag of books and some clear contact to cover some of our new acquisitions for the library collection. This is a great opportunity to see some of the popular books that your children may be interested in borrowing and give you the opportunity to encourage them to borrow some new books to read.

Scholastic Book Club orders for Issue 1 will close the afternoon of Friday 20^th February, please get your orders in, following the online ordering procedure on the brochure to order some great books. You may see some of the Thursday Morning Read titles on offer

The Premiers Reading Challenge opens on Monday 23 February 2026. Please use this information to access the Premier’s Reading Challenge to register your child/ren for the challenge:

2026 Key Dates:

Challenge opens: Monday 23 February 2026

Challenge closes to students: Friday 18 September 2026

Challenge closes to coordinators: Friday 25 September 2026

How to Log-on to the Premier’s Reading Challenge:

Log into 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 DET Portal, please speak to your child’s class teacher. 
 
 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.   

Rules:

For all the rules and booklists for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge website.

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.

Alison Lester taught for a while before starting a family and writing. She was also an illustrator for 5 years. Her first book was published in 1986. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make themselves special.Lester has written a series of picture books about seven children and their favourite things. This series of books is very popular among young children. The books have been published in many different languages. The titles are: When Frank Was Four, Tessa Snaps Snakes, Rosie Sips Spiders, Clive Eats Alligators, Ernie Dances To The Didgeridoo and Celeste Sails to Spain.Some of her other well-known books include: Imagine, The Journey Home, Kissed by the Moon and Noni the Pony. Both The Quicksand Pony and The Snow Pony became best-sellers in Australia.Her 1990 best-seller, Magic Beach, was adapted as an animated film by Robert Connolly in 2024.

Borrowing Commences

(wk3) Monday 9 February – Years 1-6 Borrowing commences.

(wk4) Monday 16 February – Kindergarten Borrowing commences.

Book Club 

(wk3) Monday 9 February – Issue 1 will be distributed to classes.

(wk4) Friday 20 February – Orders for Issue 1 close.

(wk6) Monday 2 March – Issue 2 will be distributed to classes.

(wk9) Monday 23 March – Orders for Issue 2 close.

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC)

(wk5) Monday 23 February – Challenge opens.

PS. The Answer to the Treasure Hunt’s jumbled author is: DR SEUSS

Yours in reading,

Adam Hands
Librarian.
 

Week 4

20th February - PSSA Starts

Week 5

23 February - Life Education program commences

25 February - Swimming Carnival @ Waves

27 February - Clean Up Australia Day SGPS

Friday, 19 February
PSSA Sport Trials Day