Burwood BUZZ
Aiming for the Stars

Friday, 2024 - Term 1  Week 5

With voices clear, all at Burwood Public School Acknowledge the Wangal Clan as the Traditional Custodians of this place. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

With Deeds Not Words we learn, grow and care for Country together with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, Aunties and Uncles.

The demountables have both been removed. Thank you so much to staff, students and parents and carers for being so safe and cooperative while this was done. The fencing will remain until the area has been repaired and made safe by the Department of Education.

We have had quite a bit of lost property already. It is extremely important that student’s hats, jumpers, lunch boxes and drink bottles are clearly labelled with their name. Lost property is located in the corridor between the school hall and the canteen.

Information will be coming out through SchoolBytes about the voluntary contribution. The voluntary contribution is $50 which has been unchanged since 2019. I would like to emphasise that there is no obligation to pay this and no impact if you do not pay. This money is used by the school to purchase resources for all students and no child misses out if the contribution is not paid.  

I would like to remind parents and carers that Student Assistance is available to support students to participate in school excursions, camp  and incursions. We do not want any child to miss out on these curriculum opportunities. As sport is offered at school as an alternative to PSSA, we are generally not able to offer student assistance in this area this year due to budget cuts and an expected increase in needs for Student Assistance for excursions and camp. If you require Student Assistance for excursions, incursions or camp, please do not hesitate to contact me through the school office. This will remain confidential. 

Naplan will take place this term for Year 3 and 5 students. Information was sent to Year 3 and 5 parents via ENews on 18th February. These tests are benchmarking tests and only one way that we assess students progress. 

• These dates are subject to change. In the event of any changes notification  will be communicated via School E-News

• Make up tests for students who are absent on the day of the test will be completed by 25/3/24

If you have any concerns or questions about this, please do not hesitate to talk to your child’s teacher or the stage Assistant Principals.

Yr 6 applications open at the beginning of March. Application forms are available online on our school website in the Enrolment section: https://burwood-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/enrolment.html

You can also check on your local high school by using the School Finder link.

Scroll down to Moving to High School and click on the link to enrol 

We do have a small number of paper enrolment forms that are available from the school office. 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Mr O’Neil, the Stage 3 Assistant Principal, or myself. 

We understand the challenges with school times for parents who work. However, there are no teachers on playground duty until 8:30 am. Unless your child has an organised activity such as sport training or music tuition, we remind parents that students should not be at school before this time. If you need care for your child before or after school, please contact one of the two Out of School Hours (OoSH) providers that serve our school: 

• YMCA
• Weldon

Our students have been busy in our school garden. This term their harvest includes bitter melons. The students at the YMCA OOSH harvest the plants and are encouraged to try them.

This term they are planting carrots in honour of Ms Chami as she loved carrots! 

Thank you to Abbas for working with the students to take such good  care of the garden.

Families are encouraged to travel during school holidays. If travel during school term is necessary, please make an appointment with the school. An Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Absences relating to travel will be marked as leave on the roll and therefore contribute to your child’s total absences for the year.

The NSW Department of Education and Burwood Public school recognises that working collaboratively with students and their families is the best way to support the regular attendance of students at school. We look forward to working in partnership with you to support your child to fulfil their life opportunities.

We recently held our annual swimming carnival and it was excellent to see all our students from Years 3-6 participating in a variety of water events.

In the 50m pool, there was a lot of talent on display as students raced down the pool. Students who placed in these events received their ribbons at this weeks assembly.

This years swimming champions were:

Junior Girls: Lana M

Junior Boys: Logan K

Senior Girls: Kate K 

Senior Boys: Noah L

Our winning house for the day was: Jacaranda

19 of our super swimmers will represent Burwood PS at the Inner West Zone carnival next week. We wish these students the best of luck in their events!

Ms Mitchell

This term Burwood has resumed non-competitive tennis clinics at Strathfield Sports Centre. This program gives students an opportunity to engage with specialised tennis professionals and develop key fundamental movement skills. 

Over the past two weeks, students have been excited to get onto the court and have a rally or two with their schoolmates. It has been a great way to spend a Friday afternoon in a positive sporting environment with every student looking forward to participating each week.

A big thank you to the fantastic coaches at the courts. We all look forward to continuing the program later this year.

Mr Daley

As part of our commitment to promoting cyber safe practices to students and families, on Wednesday this week, all the Stage 3 classes took part in a Webinar presented by the eSafety Commissioner. The topic was on creating a positive gaming culture for children.

The webinar discussed what games were popular amongst children and helped them identify the positives and negatives of gaming. They also debunked many myths around gaming, such as the average age of gamers (35), and also highlighted the need to never give out personal information online. We encourage families to closely monitor their children's gaming to help promote it as being a positive and enjoyable experience.

Mr O'Neill

Stage 3 - Assistant Principal

Kindergarten 2024 are off to a great start! Students have been busy getting to know each other and learning the routines of school. New friendships are being formed and we are already seeing greater confidence in the classrooms. 

Students have been practicing and learning lots of new skills such as cutting and pasting, counting, sorting and writing their name correctly (only using a capital letter at the start!).

This week we sent home reading folders containing books for you to read with your child. We encourage you to make this part of your daily routine. Folders need to be returned EVERY Monday.

Kindergarten have met our school’s music teacher Ms Wijngaarden and our librarians, Ms Lu and Ms Stead. We even had our first sports lessons. It’s been a busy few weeks!

If you have not already done so, please return the ‘families’ survey to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Thanks to those who have already sent in their family photo. We will be using these in the coming weeks.

We look forward to a wonderful year of learning together. 

Mrs Hensley 

Assistant Principal, Kindergarten

We have had an amazing start to the year with enthusiastic students playing and singing new music. 

We are still welcoming new students into the groups below. 

• Beginner Orchestra 

Any students who have been learning the Violin, Viola, or Cello for at least two terms are invited to join our ensemble on Monday mornings in the music room at 8:00 am. There is no charge. 

• Senior Orchestra 

All students who learn an instrument below are invited to join our ensemble on Tuesday mornings at 7:45 am.

All students start at 7:45 am.

• Primary Proms Choir 

Students in Year 3 and 4 are invited to join our Choir on Wednesday morning 8:00 am.

• Performance Choir

Students in 5 and 6 are invited to join our Choir on Thursday morning at 8:00 am. 

Recorder groups 

• Recorder Karate 

This is for students in Year 2 - 6 to extend and support their recorder playing. They work through levels towards their ‘black belt’. Recorder Karate will begin in Term 2

• Advanced Recorder 

Students in Years 3-6 are encouraged to join our ensemble to extend their skills and work towards performances at the Opera House and with the Senior Orchestra. Advance Recorder is on Wednesday 11:10 am in the Music room.

Instrumental lessons

Is your child interested in learning an instrument? We have many instruments available to hire and learn. 

Violin        Viola        Cello 

Flute        Clarinet    Saxophone

For more information scan the QR code.

 https://forms.gle/TXfhjHCWESruSP998

If you are interested in one of the following instruments please scan the QR code or follow the link below.

Any questions please see Mrs Wijngaarden. 

BPS Music ensemble timetable

Burwood Public P&C is now on Instagram, WeChat and Whatsapp! Please make sure to give us a follow to stay up to date with all the latest P&C news and events. 

Join us today for our Meet the P&C welcome event! Come by to say hello and meet other parents and the P&C. All kids will receive a FREE gelato cone when a parent or carer gives us a follow on Instagram or signs up to our mailing list. 

We hope to see you all there! 

Please join us for a welcome morning tea on Friday 15 March 2024 at 9am in the School Hall. This will be followed by the 2024 P&C Annual General meeting. 

We would love more parents and carers to help with the running of the P&C! Attending meetings and being part of the P&C is a wonderful way to hear about what's happening at school and to connect with other parents and carers. Annual membership only costs $2 and current members are encouraged to renew their membership. P&C membership allows you to vote at the AGM and monthly general meetings and to stand for election on the P&C committee. At the AGM we will vote for a new President, 2 Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and up to 6 executives for sub-committees if required. 

If you're interested in any of these roles or would like to know more, please contact us at hello@burwoodpandc.org.au  

Please note, the advertisement placed in the newsletter are either community users or local community activities. Their inclusion in the newsletter does not imply that the school endorses the products or services. Payment is paid directly to the company.