Without doubt our school has the grandest Book Fair in the State. Owing largely to Mr Hands' organisation and using costume to promote a love for reading. Our students have eagerly purchased books for enjoyment. The school will receive a commission for the book sales that will go directly in purchasing more reading books for school library. We should always remember reading is cool at home and at school.

Teacher/Librarian Mr Hands' as Book Fair-Oh and Tin Woodsman

Aboriginal Education perspectives are experienced throughout our curriculum throughout the year at Samuel Gilbert PS. Across our great country next week is a focus on reconciliation. The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2024 is ‘Now More Than Ever’. National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians and our temporary residents to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to see how we can all take action towards achieving reconciliation in Australia.

A couple of times each term I meet for morning tea with our elected Year 6 student leaders. Airlie T, Evan D, Kate G, Sienna K, Ella G, Alisha R, Harrison T, Austin P, Samuel L and Alexander F. It always amazes me the innovative contribution from this group. They provide insights from a student perspective on how to enhance our school experience for other students. Often their ideas are actioned via our larger student representative council (SRC).

Congratulations to our Learning and Support Teacher, Mrs Medcalf for being the recipient of the Castle Hill Rotary Club’s 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award. We are all proud of Mrs Medcalf.
Well done to Mr Hands for completing his formal qualification in Teacher Librarianship and having his credential recognised by the Education Department. A great outcome for Mr Hands and for our school.

Trivia Night is returning to Samuel Gilbert PS. Save the date: Saturday 22 June. The venue is the new school hall.
Our P&C is seeking a Treasurer to be on the executive. This important role requires someone with an understanding of bookkeeping and/or beyond. If you or a parent you know is willing to assist the school community with this important role please contact president@sgpspc.org.au .
Canteen volunteers are always needed. Parents who assist find this a rewarding opportunity to see their child during the day whilst helping with a service the P&C provides five days a week. If you are available, please visit  https://signup.com/go/iHzBOVo .

Greg McLaren
PRINCIPAL

It was wonderful to celebrate Mothers’ Day at school this year with many of our mums and children enjoying croissants and juice at the P&C hosted breakfast on Friday morning. A huge thank you to the many P&C volunteers, mums and dads who coordinated and supported this event. We hope all mothers enjoyed their breakfast as well as the carefully selected gifts purchased by your children at the Mothers’ Day stall during the week.

Yesterday our school entered a boys and a girls team in the Norwest Basketball Challenge at the Hills Stadium. Coached by Mr Wicks the teams had an outstanding day and played exceptionally well. The girls lost to a very tough Tangara team in the semi final and the boys competed strongly in the final going down 24-20 against Redfield College. Congratulations to both teams on their standard of play and excellent sportsmanship.

Meanwhile the Boys and Girls Touch teams headed out to Bernie Mullane to compete against Kings Langley PS in their knockout competitions. Both teams played strongly and won their games with the girls winning in a close 5-4 match and the boys dominating with a 12-3 win.  Congratulations to both teams and coaches Mr Lau and Evan D.

In Week 6 both the Boys Softball and Basketball teams will be competing in their first Knockout games of the year – we wish them luck. 

Congratulations to Jesse A. who competed in the Sydney West team at the State Diving Championships last week. Jesse place 5^th which is a commendable achievement at this elite level. Well done Jesse.

The Debating season got underway last week with the first round of the Tri Schools Debating Challenge hosted by Samuel Gilbert. For our students this was their very first official debate and they performed admirably. Our first team (Sophia T., Kyra L., Hannah T. and Alaura M.) successfully convinced the adjudicator that it was appropriate for “Schools to force children to wear a school uniform” defeating the Castle Hill negative team. 

It was more difficult, however, for the negative team (Anya V., Jiya S., Amelia C., and Sailor D.) to refute that “Parents should financially reward their children for improving personal school results” resulting in a win to North Rocks PS. Congratulations to all debaters on a fabulous effort and thanks also to our Chairperson Paula S. and timekeeper Zara Y. Thankyou to Mr Wicks for coordinating the competition and coaching our teams. 

Sophia T., Kabiite N., Sailor D., Alaura M., Olivia B., Lincoln G., Sebastian Z. and Bronson D. had the opportunity to improve their debating skills at the Premier's Debating Workshop held at West Pennant Hills Public School on Monday. All students were actively engaged in learning the skills involved in debating and we look forward to seeing their newly developed skills shine in future debates.

Our Premiers Debating Team compete in their first debate as part of the Premiers Debating Competition next Wednesday at Sherwood Ridge Public School and we wish (Kate G,. Zach F., Alisha R., and Amani K.) all the best in their debate.

Over the coming weeks Years 3-6 will be participating in class spelling bees to select 2 students per class to participate in the Samuel Gilbert Spelling Bee finals to be held in Week 8. ( Stage 2 Tuesday 18 June and Stage 3 Thursday 20 June). The winner of each Spelling Bee will then represent us in the Arts Unit Premier’s Spelling Bee. Lists and further details are available from the Arts Unit https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program/nsw-premiers-spelling-bee website using the password provided to our students by their teachers. 

We wish all students the best of luck and encourage regular practise of the words.

Congratulations to Ted G. who successfully auditioned to be a member of the Arts Unit Primary Dance ensemble. Ted will have the opportunity to perform in the State Dance Festival in September and the Schools Spectacular in November as well as additional opportunities as they arise throughout the year. Congratulations Ted on this outstanding achievement. 

I encourage parents to visit the Arts Unit https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program website as there are multiple opportunities available to students across the arts. 

The standard of art work produced for this year’s Operation Art competition was outstanding and made the judge’s task of selecting only two works to send away extremely difficult. Congratulations to both Zara Y. and Jessica H. on having their entries selected to represent Samuel Gilbert PS in the Operation Art Competition.

Congratulations also to the grade winners on their fabulous artworks. Thank you to Mrs Palmer for her coordination of this year’s competition. We raised $570 for the Westmead Children’s Hospital School, and thank the families who did contribute to this worthy cause. If your child has not yet contributed their $2.00 it can be delivered to the office. 

Cathie Barclay & Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

A number talk is a purposefully planned, brief (10 to 15 minutes) daily practice where students mentally solve computation problems involving number and talk about their strategies. They allow for students to think out loud and explain their thinking.

At Samuel Gilbert PS, number talks are embedded into everyday practice allowing for students to talk to their peers about their mathematical reasoning whilst learning from others when sharing their thinking with the class. The process of number talks is guided by the teacher who assists in the process and helps students clarify their thinking.

What can you do at home to further support your child?

You can engage with your child in number talks at home to help further support your child’s understanding and development of number sense. When working with them at home, the following guiding questions may help in assisting you both in reaching mathematical goals.

Questions include:

• Can you share your thinking?
• Could you solve this problem in another way?
• Explain how you figured this out?
• I noticed you have used….,can you share your thinking?
• I am wondering how you worked this out?
• How can you prove your thinking?

Also, it is important to give your child wait time to think about their solution before they explain it. This allows for them to think carefully about the solution to ensure they are provided with opportunities to develop efficient numbers sense and mathematical reasoning in mental computation.

Amanda Keane
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, CURRICULUM and INSTRUCTION  

Students absent from the attached group photo and submitted wonderful artworks for the Operation Art competition are Ayla M.(3S) and Sia J.(3SB).  

We can now report that the Mother’s Day Stall successfully raised $4,094.81. Amazing! Thank you to our community and school staff for your support. Our inaugural Mother’s Day Breakfast raised $500. A big thank you to Dannii Meisch and to all our volunteers across the stall and breakfast events for your time and effort. We would like to host a Mother’s Day Stall and Breakfast again in 2025. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Elizabeth at etye@sgpspc.org.au.

As reported at the last P&C meeting, we had hoped to have our fundraising bricks laid during the last school holidays. The bricks were ready to be laid and the landscaper attended the site however a change in policy by the Schools Asset Management Unit has meant that the works are subject to review and we are now awaiting a response. We apologise for the delay.

Grandparents Day will be held on Tuesday 11 June. This is one of our most loved and well attended school events of the year. Thank you to our canteen staff for their continued support with this event. Parents are invited to help by providing cakes, biscuits, scones or slices for our Grandparents (and Grandparent figures) to enjoy on this special day. Volunteers will also be needed to help with serving coffee and tea and preparing platters (9am-11am). Food can be brought to the canteen on the canteen before school on the day. A note will be issued shortly by the Canteen. Thank you in advance for your support.

Book the babysitter and save the date for our upcoming Trivia Night to be held on Saturday 22 June 2024 from 7pm in the new school hall. This will be a parent only event with tables of 10. More details will follow however if you love trivia and would like to help bring this event together please reach out to Katie at president@sgpspc.org.au. 

The P&C are co-ordinating an evening of Interrelate family sessions. The P&C usually host this evening biannually however following community feedback, the P&C will again offer these sessions in 2024. Interrelate offer sex education via their Tricky Talks program for primary schools and their sessions are held online for both students and families to attend together. The program provides the opportunity to facilitate communication between parents and their children and we continue to receive positive feedback from our families who attend the sessions.

Please save the date for Tuesday 17 September 2024. We expect that there will be two sessions offered as follows:

Session 1: 'Where Did I Come From?' 6:00pm - 7:00pm (recommended Years 3-4)

Session 2: ‘Preparing for Puberty’ 7:15pm-8:15pm (recommended Years 5-6 and optional Years 3-4)

A link to pay and register you and your child’s attendance will be made available closer to the date.

The year will almost be half gone but it is not too late to make a difference in our school community in 2024! Why don’t you come along to our next P&C meeting for Term 2. Join us on Tuesday 11 June at 7:30pm. We would love to see you in person the School Library or alternatively, online. Further details to follow.  

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

Kind regards,

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

There are so many exciting things coming up for our Band Students this term. Please take the time to mark important dates in your calendar.

• Band Camp
  All Band students should have received a permission note for Band Camp from the school. Just a reminder that permission and deposit are due by Friday 24 May. If you did not receive the note, please contact the school office.
• Grandparents Day
  All Bands will be performing between 10:50-11:30am on Grandparents Day, Tuesday 11 June. All students will need to bring their instrument and music on this day. 
• Greater Western Sydney Music Festival
  All Bands will be performing at the Greater Western Sydney Music Festival on Sunday 16 June at Rouse Hill Anglican College.

The Bands will need to arrive promptly at the following times:
Concert Band – 1pm
Performance Band – 3pm
Training Band – 3:30pm

Please RSVP in Bandforte to this event. It is essential that all students attend so that each Band can perform at their best.

• Band Performance Evening
  Please save the date for the end of Semester Band Performance Evening at Samuel Gilbert PS on the evening of Wednesday 3 July. An invitation with more details will be sent shortly.

Kind regards,

Briony Geekie
Band Co-ordinator Samuel Gilbert Public School Band

Just a quick reminder that deliveries to the canteen baskets are on Mondays and Fridays.

Thank you for all the donations. They are greatly appreciated. My lovely volunteers Sammi, Janine, Nil and Lillian have very kindly sorted everything into sizes to make it easier for you when selecting items.

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 basket.

Kind Regards,

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

Grandparents day is on the 11 June we ask for donations of cakes , biscuits slices etc. A note will be sent home with information. We will need volunteers to assist with serving tea/coffee and plating up morning tea. If you can help please let us know in the canteen.
 
 There are still spots available on our roster for the term. Please use the sign up app available on the school app or come and see us.
 
 Thanks Jenelle, Sue and Kiarn

Wow! What an exciting time we have had so far this term! Our big event – the 2024 Book Fair has just ended and I must say it was hugely successful. A massive thankyou to all the staff and families who bought and donated books to the library, 32 new donations including many picture books, graphic novels, senior fiction novels as well as some non-fiction items of interest. We were visited by many new characters, Dracula appeared first, then came the Book Fair-Oh, the Tin Woodsman from the Wizard of Oz, Julia Donaldson’s Stickman and finally the Yowie – Australia’s legendary Bigfoot from a previously shortlisted book; Yahoo Creek. Did any of you guess any of the characters beforehand?
This term we are going to be looking at many of the Children’s Book Council of Australia – Shortlisted books for 2024, the students are going to explore how a critique is written for each of these books, explaining the positive qualities of the books and why they were included in the shortlist. Students will then be writing their own critiques of their favourite books. This will support the students in developing their critical thinking skills and ability to evaluate reading material for the purpose of reading for pleasure or educational reading. 

I will be going on a two-week break in Week 5 and Week 6, however library lessons will continue as normal with more shortlisted books to be studied with the relieving teacher.

HOPE IS THE THING
Erica Wagner
A & U Children (Allen and Unwin imprint)

“Initiated in 2019 following the devastating fires on Australia’s east coast, this book is a celebration of hope and renewal. Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s poem, depicting hope as ‘the thing with feathers and wings’, it explores this theme through the metaphor of the glory of birds, captured in beautiful mixed media collages. Backgrounds blend watercolour, acrylic, gouache, and ink, while collages combine fragments of old artwork, paper, monoprints from leaves and cutouts from a book of maps and an old encyclopedia. This medium provides the opportunity for the artist to explore a sense of childlike possibility through selection, playful arrangement and layering of elements, resulting in a visually 15 stunning picture book. Each spread immerses the reader in a bird’s journey—from soaring over sunlit beaches to nestling in grassy plains or scavenging in city bins—making every page an artwork in its own right. Together, they form a unified sequence that gives the poetic narrative wings, elevating the text to new heights.” 

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 going to have a two-week break while I am away, however, it will be back on in Week 7 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.

Once the final counts are all sorted and the paperwork completed, I will finalise the outcome of the Book Fair and what this means for our school, so stay tuned! 

The new display is growing out of this world in the Non-Fiction section of the library, so far we are seeing stars with many constellations on display and did you know that stars can be different colours? Each different colour represents a different temperature range. So many fascinating discoveries can be made in a visit to your school library.

Reminders

• 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.
• Treasure Hunt #3 will commence when I return, I am working on a whole new set of clues and a fun new set of experiences to help students explore the library and the different services at resources we have on offer. With so many students completing each treasure hunt I am going to have to increase the challenge level!

Yours in reading,
Adam Hands,
Librarian.

Week 4
Thursday, 23 May
Zone Cross Country
Kindy AEDC
Friday, 24 May 
Kindy AEDC 

Week 5
Wednesday, 29 May
Premier's Reading Challenge at Sherwood Ridge P.S