When I describe Samuel Gilbert Public School to visitors to the school I refer to the three levels of culture that contribute to and encapsulate our overall school community culture. These are the culture of students, staff and parents. A highly operating and effective school has positive school community culture and this is the collective responsibility of everyone.

Happy teachers striving to be their best = Happy and engaged students who are achieving
Happy and engaged students who are achieving well = Happy and supportive parents
Happy and supportive parents = Happy teachers striving to be their best.

The core business of a school is teaching and learning. There are many influences that help schools excel with this task but to quote Peter Drucker “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”. My take on this is that the best laid plans and strategies are nothing without the people who implement them and you get more buy in and engagement from people when there is a positive culture. The home and school partnership are very positive at Samuel Gilbert PS. We need your help with continuing on our strong positive culture.

Every four years, all schools within the NSW Department of Education complete the external validation (EV) process. This process requires an evidence bank to be submitted that shows how the school is performing against an excellence framework. Excellence in our school is supported by the external validation process, which in turn, supports the development of our Strategic Improvement Plan. The school EV team will  participate in a meeting where clarifying questions are asked, and the school is validated against the NSW School Excellence Framework. This framework consists of 14 elements in the areas of Leading, Teaching and Learning. The school is currently preparing a submission for external validation and will report on the outcome in a future newsletter.

Thank you to all the parents/carers who made times to see their child’s teacher. Teachers very much appreciate meeting parents and sharing your child’s learning goals at an early point in the year. Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive discussion about your child’s progress as the student progress report is issued at the end of each semester. It is a two-way conversation where you will be invited to share information about your child. If you have not yet booked with your child’s teacher please ring or email the school as soon as possible to organise a parent/ teacher interview time which may be arranged for early next term.

This week is Harmony week in Australia. This year’s theme is ‘Everyone Belongs’.  This is a time to signify cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home; from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. Our school enrols students from a wide diversity of cultures and communities with many different religions, beliefs and practices. 

Tomorrow the school will celebrate Harmony Day. Students are encouraged to wear their families’ traditional and cultural clothing. Alternatively, orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. Students can choose to wear something orange during Harmony Day to show their support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

This week our stage 1 students went on an excursion to the NSW Department of Education’s Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre, East Ryde. The students experienced a school yard safari and invertebrates science adventure. The visit linked into themes in the classroom. Well done to our Stage 1 students for their interest and good manners they displayed whilst representing our school.

Two significant religious celebrations are occurring for many members of our school community. By fostering understanding of, and respect for, diverse religious traditions, we promote social harmony and engender positive interactions between students, staff and community.

Easter is a holy time for Christians. Christians celebrate Easter to remember Jesus’ sacrificial love. It is traditionally the day when people exchange Easter gifts of chocolate and share in Easter meals with loved ones. However, Easter events begin before Easter Sunday.

Ramadan 2024 is the holiest month for Muslims. It is a time for fasting, prayer and acts of kindness. The month holds significance as the Quran was revealed and promotes spiritual growth and improved relations.

Students even accompanied by parents are strongly discouraged from walking across Ridgecrop Drive without using the pedestrian crossing. Although it is convenient to cross directly outside the administration building steps it is also potentially dangerous. We are very fortunate to have a NSW Transport crossing supervisor, Mr Lachlan Barners, placed at the pedestrian crossing for the morning and afternoon bell times. 

Greg McLaren
PRINCIPAL

Over the past fortnight Years 3 and 5 have completed their NAPLAN assessments with most students having the opportunity to catch up on those missed. 

Year 3 completed their writing assessment using pencil and paper with all other tests being completed online. 

At this stage only 70% of our Year 6 students have had their High School enrolment applications completed online. Please be aware that every student needs the application completed whether seeking placement at a government school or not. Ideally these will be completed by this Friday, 22 March to enable any errors or omissions to be rectified by the final closing date of Thursday 28 March.

The application can be accessed using the enrolment tab on the school website. Thank you to those who have already finalised this application.

It is wonderful to see that 587 bookings have been made to discuss students' progress and well being at our parent/teacher interviews being held over the next few weeks.

If you have not made a booking, although the online process has now closed, we can assist through the school office. 

Teachers would like to have the opportunity to meet with the parents of every student in their class if at all possible. 

These interviews are scheduled to be 15 minutes. If you feel this has not been adequate to discuss any concerns please reschedule an interview with the teacher for a later date. 

Our students are enjoying visiting Harold in his van this week with programs ranging from how to build friendships in Kindergarten to a careful look at the issues surrounding vaping and smoking in Stage 3.
The educator is enjoying working with our students, finding them engaged and responsive in the discussions. Each child will receive a workbook with activities related to their session so we encourage families who have not yet paid the $12.00 cost for Life Education to make this payment.
A flyer advertising the available Harold merchandise is attached to this newsletter. Please send any orders with the correct cash payment in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name, class and order. 

We look forward to celebrating our wonderfully diverse school population and the differences that make us all so unique tomorrow for Harmony Day. 

This is a day to promote respect, inclusivity and a sense of belonging.

We look forward to seeing children proudly wear their country of origin’s traditional dress or other clothing suitable to this day – eg orange clothing – the colour of Harmony Day, country colours etc. 

On Tuesday 9 April we will be holding our Years 2-6 Cross Country Carnival on the surrounding local and school grounds. Children should wear a house coloured tee shirt with a safety pin attached to secure their age group running card. Sport shorts and running shoes will also be required. Hats, asthma medication and a water bottle should be taken with them to the oval. 

The first 6 competitors in each age group will progress to the Zone carnival. Age groups are 8/9 Year olds, 10 years, 11 years and 12/13 years. Children run in the age group which they are turning this year. Eg. Born in September 2015– running as a 9 year old although currently 8. 

Children in Year 2 who were born in 2017 are not eligible to progress to the Zone carnival but will have the opportunity to run an amended course for fun on the day. 

It is an expectation that all children participate unless they have a note from a parent explaining a medical reason for exemption. 

Next Thursday, 28 March, 6 students will be representing Castle Hill Zone and Samuel Gilbert at the Sydney West Swimming Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. Best wishes to Aurora L., Selene L., Zara M., Austin P., Sophia T. and Ava W. 

Congratulations to the students whose craft and art work has contributed to our school Easter Egg entry in the HomeCo schools Easter competition. We hope families have had an opportunity to see it at the centre, located outside Officeworks, and vote for our entry using the QR code at the centre or on our school app.

Our Easter Hat Parade is approaching very quickly and is always eagerly anticipated.

Date: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Time: 9:30am
Venue: School Courtyards (under the blue COLA and in the next courtyard up)
Attire: Regular School Uniform and Easter Hat

Kindergarten will create their hats at school with their Year 6 buddies in the week leading up to the parade. They will parade with their buddies on the day. Years 1 and 2 will make their hats at school. Students from Years 3, 4 and 5 will have the option to make their own hat at home if they would like to participate in the Parade. Year 6 students are welcome to bring an Easter hat they have decorated at home or a colourful/funny hat to wear on the day as they parade with their Kindergarten buddies. 

All students will be involved on the day of the parade. Parents and carers are warmly invited to watch the parade (weather permitting). In the event of rain, other arrangements will be made for K-2.

Cathie Barclay & Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS 

Spelling can be a tricky skill to master but there are ways you can help your child become a confident speller. Use everyday opportunities to draw your child’s attention to words, talk to your child about how you spell and what you do when you don’t know how to spell a word. When your child comes to words they can’t spell, encourage them to look at the new words and first talk about that the word means.

At school, your child learns to understand how words sound, where they come from and how words change form. For example, from ‘jump’ to ‘jumped’. Your child usually spends time each day studying words and they learn that spelling is a tool that is closely linked to writing and reading. They learn that accurate spelling matters and that it’s important to check their writing for mistakes.

Explain to your child that some words can be sounded out, but not all English words can be spelt by correctly ‘sounding out’, for example, the words ‘you’ and ‘said’.

• Talk to your child about how you spell, and what you do when you don’t know how to spell a word.
• Encourage your child to write at home on paper and on the computer, for example filling in forms, writing notes to family members, writing phone messages and reminder notes, making lists, replying to letters and emails, and sending cards.
• Provide a dictionary and use it together. Remember that dictionaries are more useful if your child knows about the alphabet and how a dictionary works.
• Encourage your child to first try spelling unknown words themselves, and then praise the parts of the word that are correct and suggest what else is needed.

• Encourage your child to have a go first, and then discuss their effort.
• Make sure they have access to a dictionary (if they have learnt to read) and know how to use it.
• Simply tell your child how the word is spelt and talk about it together.

• First, encourage your child to check their work and find any mistakes.
• If they have made a mistake with a common word, ask them to try and fix it without your help.
• It’s always useful to show your child the correct spelling of a word.

Amanda Keane
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, CURRICULUM and INSTRUCTION  

Thank you to all our 2024 class parents who are listed below. The SGPS Class parents play an active role in assisting the School and the P&C in supporting our families. We are thrilled to almost have a full complement of volunteers to cover every class this year. It takes time to be a class parent and so we thank our 2024 class parents for valuing and supporting our school community this year. A big thank you as well to the School Exec and in particular, Ms Appave for her assistance and support.  

We are thrilled to now have a full complement of class parents for 2024. Thank you to all our parent volunteers. Class What’s app groups are now all established. If you completed the class contact list form last week, revised contact lists will be provided to class parents shortly so that you can be added to your class group. For an updated list of class parents, please see below.  

Please save the date for our 2024 Father/Father Figure and son camp. This is a bi-annual event and is open to all Father’s/Father Figures and sons in Years 3-6 to enjoy a weekend of activities at Camp Yarrumundi. Every year our families provide feedback about how fabulous the weekend is. Don’t miss out. The camp is booked for 26-27^th October 2024. The cost of the camp this year is $200 per person. More details to follow.

At the beginning of Term 2, the P&C will again be hosting a Mother’s Day stall for our children to attend to purchase a special gift for their Mum/Mother figure/Grandma. The stall this year will run by Dannii Meisch and will be held during school time. Classes will be allocated a day and time to visit the stall. Volunteers will be required to help Dannii run the stall on the day and to assist the children the children with their purchases. A link to sign up to volunteer will be provided along with the date that each class is allocated to attend the stall.

The P&C would also like to offer a Mother’s Day BBQ this year. If you would be interested in coordinating this event, please contact Katie at president@sgpspc.org.au.

It was so lovely to welcome new parents to our last P&C meeting. Thank you also to our School Executive who continue to support the P&C and attend our meetings. Our next P&C meeting is to be held on Tuesday 9 April at 7:30pm in the library. Attendance is also available online. A QR code will be provided prior to the meeting to register to attend online.  In the meantime, we wish our families a Happy Easter and a relaxing long weekend. 

Stay Updated: 
Download the School App
Like the SGPS P&C Facebook page

If in the meantime you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our President, Katie Pike at president@sgpspc.org.au. 

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

All families should have access to Bandforte which is the software used for Band. In particular, all absences from Band should be recorded in your child’s Portal. The link to this can be found at the bottom of any email/message sent from Bandforte.

Please email sgpsbandcoordinator@gmail.com of you have not received a Portal Link.

Training Band families keep an eye out for an invitation to the Hot Cross Buns festival on Wednesday, 27^th March! The Training Band are so excited to have their first audience.

Open Rehearsals – Family welcome to sit in on a rehearsal:

Monday 25 and Thursday 28 March – Performance Band

Wednesday 27 March – Training Band Hot Cross Buns Festival

Friday 5 April – Concert Band

Friday 12 April - Performance Band playing at Anzac Assembly

Band Camp – 24-25 June

Briony Geekie
Band Co-ordinator Samuel Gilbert Public School Band

A reminder all donations and raffle tickets are due back by tomorrow Friday, 22 March. The raffle will be drawn on Monday, 25 March.

We need some volunteers to help make up the prizes we will be doing it outside the canteen on Monday at 9am.

We still need volunteers to help this term, so please come and see us or go and sign up on the school app.

There is a shortage of glee drinks this week, hopefully all flavours will be back in stock soon.

Thank you,  
Jenelle, Sue and Kiarn

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.

The Uniform Shop will be closed Good Friday (29/03) and Easter Monday (1/04). There will be no appointments over the school holidays (13/04 – 28/04). The shop will re-open in Term 2 for appointments and walk-ins on Monday, 29 April (pupil free day).

The last of the winter stock  (size 4 polycotton jumpers and, navy and lemon socks) have arrived. Long sleeve polos are due at the end of the month. They should arrive after the Easter break. A top up of sport uniforms is due early Term 2.

We will be swapping our display to winter clothing after the Easter break.

Autumn has very changeable weather, so the Winter Uniform can start to be worn from after the Easter break. Summer Uniform can still be worn until Week 3 of Term 2 if the weather stays warm.

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

Have you seen our new display? The Easter season has begun, come in and have a look at some Easter books, there’s always something egg-citing in the library.

Before I go any further, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful families that have volunteered some of their time to cover some of the new acquisitions for our library, so far around 130 books have been added to the library collection and are being covered in plastic or contact to protect them as their final step to becoming available for borrowing. If you are interested in helping us out, just pop into the library and speak to me. Parental help is always greatly appreciated, and I am always thankful for your support.

Our annual Book Fair is coming early in term 2! Last year set a new record for the school, with over $3,000 in resources raised by proceeds of the bookfair added to our school. What costumes will I wear this year? Pharoh? Dinosaur? Cowboy? Roman Emperor? You will just have to wait and see. More details to come in our next newsletter, I’m so excited, I can hardly wait!

The Thursday Morning Read is back on this week 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. I came across an important article about the value of humorous books in helping children’s well-being and enjoyment of reading, take a short moment to read it.

Dani Vee - English Head Teacher, children’s author, Words and Nerds podcast host (one million + plays)

Last Saturday (16 March), Larrikin House spoke to the amazing librarians at the SLANSW Conference. The word on the street was loud and clear, kids want funny books!  Humorous books have been undervalued, but without them we risk losing young people as readers. Funny books encourage critical thinking because humour comes from unexpected and original thoughts. Humour pushes boundaries, challenges stereotypes and reminds us that the world is joyful! Remember those COVID lockdowns? Funny books reminded my kids that the world was still a wonderful place - even if it didn't feel like it! 

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare state that 20% of young people aged 11-17 had high/very high levels of psychological distress and is increasing. 

The books we place in our kid's hands have never been so important.  

The Premiers Reading Challenge opened on 26 February 2024. 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 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.

A new display is coming! Keep your eyes peeled for a new display in the Non-Fiction section of the library, it will be out of this world!

On Tuesday 19^th March the CBCA announced their shortlisted books for 2024, please have a look at these fantastic collection of potential award winners in their official critiques, see the attached link.
https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2024 
Keep a look out in our library as many of these titles will be added to our collection.

• 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.
• Hurry in and complete Treasure Hunt #2, it will finish at the end of Week 10!

Yours in reading,

Adam Hands,
Librarian

On Monday of Week 6 our school leadership team attended the Halogen National Young Leaders Day at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. The National Young Leaders Day is a day where students are inspired to lead to make a positive contribution to their schools and communities.

The day was a very inspiring one with our leadership team listening to the following guest speakers:

• Anastasia Woolmer – 2 times Australian Memory Champion
• Bryson Klien – Multiple times Ninja Warrior Champion
• Stephen O’Keefe – Australian and NSW Cricketer
• Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove – Authors of the book series “Worst Week Ever”

The speakers educated our students about the need to grow in knowledge and practise their skills in excellence and leadership. They did this through the recounting of their failures and successes as being leaders in their chosen fields. Here is what some of our leadership team said about the day:

At Halogen we all learnt that no matter what happens you don't give up and keep going. You might not start off as “leader material” but don't let that put you down just remember that you will eventually become better than you think you were at the start. - Airlie

At Halogen we learnt a lot, but the most important lesson was to try. If you don’t try, then you will never know what the outcome will be. Even if you do but fail at least you will know that you gave it your best shot.  - Kate

I learnt to persevere when life is hard and never give up. Always give your best and try, try, try. - Harrison

I enjoyed the speakers at Halogen especially the cricket player Steven O'Keefe. I learned when life gets hard that you never give up and always live life to the fullest. At least try to accomplish your dreams and if you don't that's ok. - Evan.

Samuel Gilbert is going to be a better place because of our student leaders attending the Halogen Young Leaders Day and I look forward to seeing what differences our leaders can make in the coming months.

Mr Jerome Wicks
Classroom Teacher

Kindergarten have had a very busy start to 2024!

Every day we count how many days we have been at school and we are currently up to day 33! 

We practice counting forwards and backwards and discuss how many tens and how many ones.

In our morning sessions we have been practising our sounds, starting to blend sounds together to read words and practising writing letters in the correct way. Look at the sounds and words in KM’s window!

During the week, we spend time at the Fixed Equipment to get braver and stronger! We love spending time with all of Kindergarten together because we get to make friends with students in other classes.  

This week our highlight has been visiting Healthy Harold!!

Week 9
Monday, 25 March 
NAPLAN ends
Open Band rehearsal
Wednesday, 27 March
Open Band Hot Cross Buns Festival
Thursday, 28 March
Easter Hat Parade
P&C Easter Raffle
Scripture service
Friday, 29 March
Good Friday Public Holiday 

Week 10
Monday, 1 April
Easter Monday Public Holiday
Tuesday, 2 April
Life Education ends
Friday, 5 April
Concert Band Open Rehearsal
Whole School Assembly – SRC Induction

Upcoming events: Tuesday, 9 April (Week 11) P&C Meeting in the library or on-line at 7:30pm