Welcome back for term 2. Hopefully your family created wonderful memories during the Easter, ANZAC Day and school holidays. It was wonderful to see our school community back for what promises to be an exciting and enriching Term 2. With a busy calendar ahead and some very special moments already unfolding, we are off to a strong start.
Thank you to our student captains, Sophia T and Ted G for joining Ms Hayley and me at Kellyville for the Castle Hill RSL Sub-Branch ANZAC Day Dawn Service.

The teachers and school staff returned last Monday for a productive professional development theme of ‘High Potential and Gifted Education’.

A reminder Grandparents’ Day is scheduled for Tuesday, 10 June.

This week our students actively engaged and learnt about different cultures through performing and creative arts. Kindergarten to Year 6 classes rotated through activities including Yalla Arab Dancing, Polynesian Infusion, Chinese Drumming, Cool Capoeira, Indonesian Shadow Puppetry and Aboriginal Storytelling through Art. We thank Ms Barclay for coordinating these events.

Two elected representatives for 2025 from each class met on Monday to propose ideas to enhance the student experience at the school.  To maximise student voice in the school the SRC discussed how to conduct meetings in their class and approach ideas with their teacher as well as record ideas and actions in their SRC book. We should see some positive changes to further improve our school through this forum. We thank Ms Botton, Ms O’Connor and Mr Whybrow for overseeing our SRC program.

In Term 2, the Department of Education would like our Years 3-6 students to participate in the NSW Public Schools Student Survey. The survey asks students their thoughts and feelings about life at school, including questions about their engagement, learning experiences and wellbeing at school. The survey is confidential, takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and will be conducted online during school hours. Participation is voluntary. If you prefer your child not to participate, please complete the opt-out consent form, which will be sent to parent and carers via a School Bytes email. Further information about the survey is available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/npss

Together we make a difference. We welcome parents and when appropriate other members of our community into our school. You would agree, student learning is strengthened when school staff, parents and carers are actively and positively involved in their education. We all share a responsibility for providing a safe, supportive and productive environment, free from bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence. Parents and carers and other visitors to our school support safety by ensuring communication and conduct at school and school activities are respectful. Every student, staff member, parent or carer has the right to feel safe and be safe at our school.

• It is expected that parents, carers and/or visitors through their interactions with our school will:
• be mutually respectful
• act as positive role models
• actively help to solve concerns
• responsibly use the school’s communication channels and processes to address concerns.

Parents, carers and/or visitors through their interactions with our school demonstrate this by:

• appreciating that school staff may not be available to respond immediately
• knowing that staff will respond to appropriate communication when they are able
• requesting a meeting to discuss any concerns about your child’s education — allowing staff time to prepare and appreciating their time may be limited
• not using offensive, insulting and derogatory language; and inappropriate conduct
• being kind when interacting with others.

Students and school staff were introduced to beautiful baby Aurora and beautiful baby Oscar this week. Coupled with their mums (and SGPS teachers) Mrs Greenaway and Ms Laws. We congratulate both families and wish the mums to have a special day this Sunday.

Our school is always a busy polling place predominantly due to our school community run barbeque and cake stall. Our reputation comes through thorough planning by a selfless P&C. A huge thank you to all P&C executive/committee members as well as specifically the event coordinators, Mr Matt Young and Mrs Katie Pike. They were ably supported by a thoughtful group of other school parent volunteers and students. The cake stall was a success due to the generous donations from our school community.
A huge thank you to the Samuel Gilbert P&C for attracting the necessary additional funds to enhance the learning programs and school experience for our deserving students.
All school parents are encouraged to contribute to the school P&C. 

The fourth 2025 Parent & Citizens (P&C) meeting will be held next Tuesday night at 7.30pm in the school library. Thank you to all parents for being part of this important school community forum. 

Each meeting is a great opportunity for all families at the school to be part of the significant roles the P&C undertakes. As this is the year of the Great Fete we would like as many families as possible to contribute to making events like the fete a memorable occasion for our deserving students.

We warmly invite all the wonderful mothers and motherly figures of our school to the Mother’s Day Breakfast this Friday 9 May from 7:30 to 8.30am coordinated by our P&C. Best wishes to all our mothers and grandmothers celebrating Mothers’ Day on Sunday. We hope you are pampered by those who love you and the day is one of enjoyment. We also remember those mums and grandmothers who are no longer with us. 

Thank you to our parent volunteers for providing a splendid range of gift options at our P&C Mothers’ Day Stall. Our students really felt special having the purchasing power to select gifts. The stall was diligently coordinated by school parent, Mrs Michelle Pratley.

Thank you also to Mrs Samantha Crow and Mrs Olivia Simmons for organising our wonderful Mothers' Day Breakfast and activities. This morning was a great success. The old hall proved to be a popular place to sit for mums and their children to enjoy coffee and pastries, play dress ups, colour in and take some fun photos. We equally thank our SGPS dads for welcoming, serving and at the end of the morning packing up and providing our staff with some extra morning tea.

Greg McLaren
PRINCIPAL

This year we were able to commemorate our ANZACs on our school oval looking onto our new ANZAC Memorial Garden. Brigadier Phillip Bridie presented a moving tribute to our Australian and New Zealand Army Corps servicemen and our students were lucky enough to be able to see a beautiful army teddy bear that Mrs Bridie bought and sent him whilst he was serving in the Middle East. The Samuel Gilbert Performance Band supported the commemoration perfectly and Mr McLaren wore his family medals with pride.

1.2 – All students who are enrolled at school, regardless of their age, are expected to attend that school whenever instruction is provided

1.3 – Principals must maintain an attendance register in a form approved by the Minister. Attendance registers must be available for inspection during school hours by an inspector or by an authorised person

1.4 – Parents of carers are required to explain the absences of their children from school promptly. An explanation for absence must be provided to the school within 7 calendar days of the first day of any period of absence

2.1 – Regular attendance at school is essential to assist students to maximise their potential. Schools, in partnership with parents and carers, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students

Thank you to our families who diligently explain student absences. Letters of explanation are coming home on Friday 9 May and fortnightly thereafter.

If your child has been absent from Samuel Gilbert for 3 consecutive days with no medical certificate sent to explain and no contact made, your class teacher will make a wellbeing to check on the reason for their absence.

Ongoing absences will be forwarded to the Deputy Principals for further support.

See below Information for parents flyer from the Department of Education.

Over the next few weeks families will receive correspondence from their local high school regarding first round offers for 2026. If you have had an alternate offer, for example from a private school, we ask that you let our office know, as well as the public high school your child will no longer be attending. If still awaiting confirmation of a placement at a private school or selective school we suggest you accept the local high school placement pending this outcome and then let the high school know if the placement is no longer required. 

It was fabulous to be able to celebrate the cultural diversity of our students by engaging in a variety of workshops this week representing Asian, Middle Eastern, Australasian and South American/African cultures. Students danced, sang, drew and drummed with the day culminating in the Indonesian Wayang Kulit puppet show. 

We loved seeing a number of children proudly wearing their cultural dress. We hope the day encouraged students to appreciate and respect cultural traditions and differences.

Next Thursday 15 May, 48 students will represent Samuel Gilbert at the Zone Cross Country.
Apologies to Keaton W., Hayden J., Asher T. and Archie P. who were left off the table in the last Newsletter and will also be representing us next week.
We wish all competitors the best of luck.
Please contact the school as soon as possible if for any reason your child will not be competing. This will enable us to give our reserves ample time to participate.
A reminder that parking can be difficult so please allow plenty of time on arrival. 

In the final week of term 1 Selene L represented Samuel Gilbert and Sydney West PSSA at the NSW PSSA Swimming Carnival. Congratulations to Selene who placed 23^rd in the Backstroke event which is a commendable result racing against students from all schools in NSW. Well done Selene!.
Isabella K. successfully competed at the end of term 1 in the final selection trials for Sydney West. This week she has been in Bathurst representing both our school and Sydney West.
The week started well for Isabella on Day 1 winning her first two games against the Riverina ( 6-4) and North West ( 6-2) and securing a victory in the doubles. Congratulations Isabella!
In the last week of Term 1 Harry W, Porter B & Charlie L. represented Samuel Gilbert and Castle Hill Zone at the Sydney West Softball carnival. All boys were integral players in the team and contributed to their second placing in their pool. A very tough match in the semi finals saw them beaten 2-1 by a strong Blacktown team. The team finished 4^th overall on the day. Congratulations boys!
Congratulations to Ben K.( 6K) who during the recent school holidays competed in the NSW International Open Taekwondo Competition, where he achieved an outstanding result, earning a bronze medal. Well done Ben - a fabulous achievement.
Congratulations to the Senior Girls Netball Knock out team who won the first round of their knockout competition against Carlingford West PS by 23 -6. The girls played an excellent game working well as a team despite this being their first game together. Their next round game will be against Parramatta East to be played by the 23 May.
Congratulations to Jarlath and Cooper who represented the Castle Hill PSSA Rugby League zone team on Friday, 4 April 2025. Castle Hill came 5th overall after losing, drawing and winning a game. Great effort by the boys.

This week we will be sending home a Digital Device Agreement to all students in Years 3-6 who either bring a mobile phone or wear a smart watch to school. The agreement clearly outlines the school’s expectations for the appropriate use of these devices and the considered reasons for its implementation. We ask families to speak to their children about the expectations and sign the agreement before returning it to school.

As a consequence of some ongoing conflict between groups of students playing ball games, we have made the decision to limit the practice of bringing balls to school, to handballs only. Basketballs and footballs of all types will be available to borrow from the sports storeroom each day but should not be brought from home. We are hopeful that this will make games more inclusive and eliminate control of the game associated with ball ownership. 

Our Book Fair was delivered today and Mr Hands is looking forward to giving students a “Sneak Peek” at what the cases contain tomorrow. Next week the books will be available to purchase. We thank Mr Hands for coordinating the Book Fair and families for their support. The Book Fair provides students with the opportunity to enrich their reading and foster their love of literature while the school receives a commission from all sales enabling us to put more books into our library and classrooms for our students.

Next Friday 16 June is Walk Safely to School Day. We encourage families to support this event by walking to school. If this isn’t practical park your car a distance from the school and walk the remainder of the way. The day is designed to encourage physical activity and better health, reduce car dependency and improve air quality and teach children improved road safety. With a little planning friends could meet up and walk to school together under the guidance of a responsible adult or older student. 

We look forward to hearing from students next Friday if they walked to school. 

It was exciting to learn that the Stage 1 Boys and Stage 3 Before School dance groups were successful in their audition for the Synergy Dance Festival. They will be performing at the Evan Theatre on Friday 20 June at both a matinee and evening performance. Unfortunately due to the number of entries received by Synergy our other groups will not be performing on this occasion. Information regarding the festival will be sent to these groups via School Bytes. 

Tickets go on sale at 10:00 tomorrow https://penrith.panthers.com.au

Assemblies are held after lunch each Friday with K-2 assemblies held in the odd week and Years 3-6 in the even weeks. 

This term the following classes will be hosting the assembly.

Week 2 – 6H/6W  Week 3- 2S  Week 4- 5L/5S  Week 5 – 2Z   Week 6 – 5C/5P  Week 7 – 2T  Week 8 – 4W   Week 9 – KF  Week 10 – Whole School Assembly

Cathie Barclay and Gilliane Appave
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Samuel Gilbert Public School recognises that all students should be known, valued and cared for. Every child should be given the opportunity to be engaged and challenged at school so they can grow and succeed. Having a strong focus on high expectations ensures a whole school learning culture is established, encouraging quality learning for all students.

Students with high potential are found in all schools and from all backgrounds. By targeting students’ individual needs, learning can be grouped in useful ways, known as differentiation. Providing a range of opportunities enables more students to develop their abilities.

Supporting your child at home

Support your child according to their age. Some ideas include:

• provide explorative activities in your child’s areas of interest
• engage in discussions and conversations about the world around them
• encourage questioning, exploration and curiosity
• place value on learning
• monitor play activities to ensure a healthy balance, particularly when younger
• discuss how learning is about making mistakes, struggling at times, and not always about being the best at everything all the time. Try using role model examples in their area of interest, so they understand that life doesn’t always give them what they expect
• praise and celebrate effort – working together to understand that effort and achieving one’s personal best are important in maintaining a healthy perspective. Try discussing characters from the books they are reading to highlight the types of behaviours that return positive outcomes
• champion your child’s successes and coach them through their setbacks – point out that mistakes are evidence of learning and experiencing struggle often encourages resilience, persistence and eventual success. Try discussing the great inventions we experience in life today, which are thanks to those who paved the way in making mistakes and yet persisting despite initial failures
• work on areas of strength without ignoring those areas which also need support
• access extra-curricular opportunities

Amanda Keane
Relieving Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction

A huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers who donated baked goods or who volunteered to cook or serve on the Election Day BBQ and Cake stall on Saturday. Our school was a hive of election activity all day and it would not have been possible without the full support of Matt & Fiona Young and Katie Pike. Thank you to every parent and carer who supported the event.  

We wish all our Mums', Mother Figures and Grandma’s a wonderful weekend ahead. We are sure that Mothers' Day will be particularly special when celebrated with gifts from the P&C Mothers' Day Stall this year! Some classes visited the stall yesterday with more students to attend the Stall today. Left over stock will be sold near the canteen this Friday 9^th May from 7:30am. A big thank you to Michelle and Greg Pratley for their time and effort in organising the stall this year and to all our wonderful volunteers for their time and effort in making the much-loved stall a success.
 

We are looking forward welcoming our Mums and Mother Figures to our Mothers' Day Breakfast this Friday from 7:30am-8:30am in Courtyard 1 (near the Canteen). We have a special morning planned with a video booth, activity sheets, tables and chairs, a tea and instant coffee station and a coffee van (look near the uniform shop!). A huge thank you to Samantha Crow and Olivia Simmons for their organisation of this event. 

Dads, if you have an hour to spare tomorrow morning, why not come down and assist with the packaging and serving of the breakfast? We only have one volunteer registered to help serve between 7:30am-8:30am. We would appreciate your help! Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/eBWMvTx. 

As many of our parents and carer’s have already seen, our P&C fundraising pavers were laid during the recent school break. They look fabulous! A huge thank you to our former and current parents and students who have been patiently waiting. The laying of these pavers included both former custom pavers and new ones. The original custom pavers formed part of an old pathway that was removed to make way for the new buildings and the P&C took the opportunity to invite the existing community to contribute as a fundraiser. Thank you to the School Executive for their support in helping to complete this project and our community for their patience as we navigated changes in Department Policy. We are also very grateful to Ben Evangelidis for the professional job he and his team from Greenscape Landscapes did to lay the pavers. We are delighted with the result. Next time you or our former parents and students visit the school, please come and spot your paver!

Our first P&C meeting for Term 2 is to be held on Tuesday 13th May at 7:30pm. We are an active P&C which reflects the wonderful school community that has been built through many years of active parent involvement. How can you make a difference to your child’s school while your child is at SGPS? Join the P&C, we would love to welcome you. If you have previously attended an online P&C meeting, you will already receive a meeting link. If you have never attended a P&C meeting online but would like to, please email secretary@sgpspc.org.au to receive the meeting link.

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

Download the School App

Like the SGPS P&C Facebook page

Kind regards,

Elizabeth Tye
SGPS P&C

Congratulations to Our Band Captains!
A huge round of applause to our newly appointed Band Captains! We’re so proud to have you guiding the band this year. Congratulations!

ANZAC Day Performance – A Proud Moment
Well done to our Performance Band who participated in the ANZAC Day service. Your respectful and moving performance was a tribute. Thank you for your commitment to learning the repertoire and for being part of such a wonderful service.

Hot Cross Buns & First Notes!
Our Training Band had their first performance recently, and what a fantastic debut it was! The Hot Cross Buns breakfast was a great success, thank you to everyone who came along to support and enjoy the morning. The band sounded great, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to grow this year!

Band Camp Reminder – Not to Be Missed!
Band Camp is just around the corner, and it’s always a highlight of the year! If you haven’t given consent or paid your camp fees yet, please do so as soon as possible so we can finalise numbers and planning.

Why is Band Camp such a great experience?

• 🎼 We bring in specialist tutors to work with students in small groups, helping them build skills and confidence.

• 🎉 There’s a fun, well-rounded program with games, activities, and social time—perfect for bonding and building relationships.

• 🎺 Students return from camp inspired, more connected, and musically stronger.

It’s going to be a fun, music-filled few days with lots of learning, laughter, and lifelong memories. Don’t miss out!

If you have any questions regarding band camp or joining the band committee and contributing to the band program, please ONLY email the band coordinator email sgpsbandcoordinator@gmail.com otherwise, your email may be missed.

• June 10 – Grandparents’ Day – Performance Band (all bands will perform)

• June 16–17 – Band Camp

  • Arrive at school: 7:00 AM (June 16)

  • Return: Approx. 5:00 PM (June 17)

• June 22 – GWS Music Festival (All Bands) – from 12:30 PM (Strongly recommended attendance, see below)

• June 30 – Term 2 Concert (All Bands) – 6:15 arrival for a 6:30pm start

• August 10 – ASBOF Performance (Concert and Performance band only – Strongly Recommended Event)

  ASBOF is a wonderful event and an important part of our band calendar. By committing to the band program, students also commit to participating in key performances like this one.

  Being part of a band is like being part of a team—we can’t succeed unless all members are present and playing their part. Every student contributes to our sound, our spirit, and our success.

  Please save the date and ensure your child is available to attend. This event will be held at Knox Grammar School and the schedule will be provided closer to the day.

Kind Regards,

Jana Luchmun
Band Co-ordinator Samuel Gilbert Public School Band

Term 2 is off to a massive start! Our Annual Book Fair is arriving this week, Kindergarten has begun exploring the shortlisted Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Books of the Year, Stage 1 is involved in exploring the symbolism and imagery of texts, Stage 2 has started to explore the Symbols, Emblems and Significant Events of Australia and the World and Year 5 has begun using greenscreens to prepare information reports in the form of documentaries.

A big reminder to everyone, please make sure you keep your books safe in your library bag and remember to bring them back to school on your library day.

It’s that time of year again, our highly successful Book Fair will be arriving THIS WEEK!  Friday 9^th May will be our students’ “sneak-peak” day with purchases commencing Monday 12^th May. 

The Book Fair times:

This lunchtime challenge has now closed, well done to all participants. A new challenge will commence after the Book Fair, keep your eyes peeled for it in just a couple of weeks. A new challenge will be on offer at lunchtime in the library each term – they may challenge your knowledge of characters, authors, library locations or any other literary knowledge. Keep your eyes peeled for clues and solve the puzzles to win a prize.

The Thursday Morning Read has been growing in popularity with more new faces appearing each week, it is on 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. 

The Premier's Reading Challenge opens on Monday 24 February 2025. 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: On the PRC website homepage, click on the NEW STUDENT SITE image. https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/studentExperience.html#/ It will take you to the PRC student site.
Then click on LOGIN in the top right-hand corner. This will take you to 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 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.

Book Fair
(wk2)   Friday – preview day
(wk3)   Book Fair Sales (all week)
(wk4)   Book Fair Sales (Monday to Wednesday)

Book Club
(wk2) Issue 3 will be distributed to classes.
(wk4) Orders for Issue 3 close.
(wk6) Issue 4 will be distributed to classes.
(wk8) Orders for Issue 4 close.

Yours in reading,

Adam Hands,
Librarian.

Welcome back to term 2. The roster is now available on the school app so please check availability and help us out.

We have  some new meals available on the menu

Beef Nachos, Cheesy Vegetable bake and Chicken Pesto. Sushi is now not available for term 2 and 3.

Grandparents Day is coming up on Tuesday 10^th of June we will need some volunteers in the morning for 1-3 hours.

If you can help please contact the canteen

Thanks Jenelle, Sue and Kiarn

Once again this year our school has registered to participate in the NSW Premier’s Sporting Challenge.

The purpose of the Challenge is to encourage students to participate in sport and physical activity to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Over a ten week period during Term 2 our school will be monitoring physical activity levels during class time, at recess and lunch as well as during sport lessons. Physical activity outside school hours will also count towards the Challenge award. The aim is to work towards an average at least 60 minutes of activity a day for ten weeks.

Our school will be working towards an individual student award at the conclusion of the Challenge.

We would like to invite families to support us in encouraging students’ healthy use of leisure time and to experience the joy of being active together.

Each student in years 3-6 can record their daily physical activity on the activity tracker https://10wctracker.com.au (students will receive their team code and password next week) whilst K-2 students will work towards a Gold class award level.

Students completing the Challenge will receive a personalised certificate (Diamond, Gold, Silver or Bronze), signed by the Premier of New South Wales.

Physical activity is valued for its physical, social and emotional benefits. It also helps young people to develop communication skills, confidence and resilience.

Award levels for the 10 week challenge reflect a daily activity time commitment- as an individual. All types of moderate to vigorous physical activities can count toward an award. Activities may include time spent in a broad range of sports and recreational pursuits during lunchtime, in school sport programs, class time, before or after school and on weekends.

Week 3
Monday, 12 May- Friday, 16 May 
Book Fair purchasing open
Wednesday, 14 May
Tri-Schools Debating Round 1
DigiEd Year 6
Thursday, 15 May
Zone Cross Country 

Week 4
Monday, 19 May
Book Fair purchasing open
Tuesday, 20 May
Book Fair purchasing open
Wednesday, 21 May
Last day for Book Fair purchasing
Early Stage 1 Science Incursion
Premier's Debating Round 1 at Dural Public School 9am-11:30am 

Week 5
Monday, 26 May
Year 1 Excursion to Hambledon Cottage and Elizabeth Farm
Tuesday, 27 May
Paul Kelly Cup
Year 2 Excursion to Hambledon Cottage and Elizabeth Farm
Wednesday, 28 May
HPAF Rehearsal at SGPS