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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE:
SOUTH WEST SYDNEY REGIONAL FINAL MULTICULTURAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
It is with great pleasure and pride that I report the success of Annaliese in winning the junior division of this prestigious competition. Mrs Annabel Geale and Mrs Dianne Fogarty were in the audience and both reported the exceptional way that Annaliese performed in the prepared speech and especially in the impromptu speech on the topic “Out of control.” Annaliese will now proceed to the State final in November.
STAFFING
I would like to welcome Mrs Raman Bhatia who has been appointed to fill the vacancy created by Ms Hoad’s resignation and who entered on duty on Monday. Mrs Bhatia spent a day last week with Mrs Comber, who had taught the class pending the appointment, to ensure as seamless a transition as possible.
You may remember earlier in the year that when Mrs Allan-Smith, Deputy Principal [DP], accepted the deployment to the Educational Measurement Directorate that I split the Relieving DP position between Mrs Dianne Fogarty and Mr Brian Lambert. Mrs Fogarty’s 14 week tenure finishes on Friday 28th August and Mr Lambert will commence as Relieving DP on Monday 31st.. I would like to thank Mrs Fogarty for her time as DP and the way she handled the many and varied demands and issues of the role.
The vacant Assistant Principal’s position should be resolved by next week as applications closed last Wednesday. Mrs Fogarty expects to convene the Merit Selection panel early next week. Depending on where the successful applicant comes from and negotiation with the school will determine when they commence in the position.
BOOK WEEK Theme for 2009 is “Book Safari”
Next week a celebration of literature and costume creativity will be held with the schools’ celebration of Book Week. The highlights will be: Shared readings in classrooms; Discussions of all aspects of the Children’s Book Council Short listed and especially winning Books of the Year; Book Fair which ; and the Book character parade which will highlight the creativity and ingenuity of parents/carers, relatives and teachers.
2010 KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS and ORIENTATION PROGRAM
Thanks to the promotional and organisation skills of Mrs Jacinta Vale and Mrs Debbie Rossi two orientation meetings were held for prospective parents, especially those considering Kindergarten enrolment in 2010 last Tuesday.
The morning session following my brief welcome address included:-
 | An excellent introduction to Homebush Public School by our Year 6 SWSR Public Education Ambassador Rishika. |
| A PowerPoint presentation by Mrs Rossi and Mrs Vale highlighting some of the excellent programs offered at the school. |
| Video filmed and edited by students entitled “What I like about Homebush Public School”. |
| School tours conducted by members of the Students Representative Council and scones cooked by the schools Cooking Interest Group |
| and A question and answer session. |
The night session was essentially the same but without the tours.
Overall more than 50 parents/carers attended and the feedback was very positive.
Key dates for the diary are: 5th November – Orientation meeting and student classroom experience 12th November 19th November
It is planned to provide child care on the Orientation meeting to ensure all who can attend do so.
STUDENT WELFARE
Attendance
Please note that students should attend the school each day that it is open,
with the exception of the three designated School development [Pupil free] days
which currently are the first days of Terms 1, 2 and 3. Any absence must be
advised in writing and where a child will be absent for more that 15 school days
a special exemption request must be lodged. Our attendance software
automatically generates letters where absences are unexplained.
NO student should be on-site before 8:30am when formal teacher supervision of
the playground begins. The difficulties of families where both parents/carers
commence work early are appreciated, but to ensure the safety of your child
alternate arrangements, such as HOOSH or friends/relatives, should be explored.
RAMADAN
Homebush PS is a highly multicultural school that values and celebrates the wonderful diversity we have in our school community. At Wednesday’s Year 3-6 Assembly students were given a talk on the importance and significance of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. Ramadan, will be observed from this weekend. The exact timing of Ramadan depends on the sighting of the moon and this differs from country to country. During this time, Muslims refrain from a number of activities, mainly eating and drinking, between sunrise and sunset.
LEAVE
I am taking some long service leave during September and October to travel and visit my daughter who is living in London. During my absence Mr Mark Pearce, Deputy Principal Hampden Park PS, will be Relieving Principal. Mark had an orientation visit last Monday, had extensive meetings with Mrs Fogarty and myself and met the staff. He will visit again next Wednesday so that there is a seamless changeover.
Regards
Chris Russell
Principal
19th August 2009.
P & C INFORMATION
Father’s Day Raffle
All students have been issued with Father’s Day Raffle Tickets. A letter accompanied the tickets details the wonderful list of prizes. Funds raised will go toward the purchase of additional interactive whiteboards for classrooms
P & C — Next meeting
The next P & C meeting is to be held on Tuesday 9th September at 7pm in the library.
FROM THE CANTEEN
Wednesday Specials—please place orders in a paper bag—not envelopes. They must be placed on Mondays - late orders NOT accepted. Thank you for support—Margaret Benbow
STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
At the beginning of this term, the staff attended various venues in Parramatta to develop familiarisation with the educational programs that are available in this historical precinct. Teachers participated in an 1815 Classroom setting and were taken on a tour of Old Government House where a number of early Governors of the colony lived. After that we visited The Experiment Farm Cottage where farming was first established and to finish the day teachers were shown the hands-on activities available at Elizabeth Farm where John Macarthur lived and where the first merino sheep were bred. Staff evaluated the day as being of immense value for their teaching programs about the colonisation of Australia. As a result of this day a partnership has been formed with the National Trust to develop interactive resources for schools to access.
DEBATING
The past week has been very successful for our two debating teams participating in the Premier’s Debating Challenge. The Year 5 team debated ‘that Australia should have more public holidays’ against Hampden Park Public School and were announced as winners and the Year 6 team successfully argued ‘that Australia should have three day weekends’. As a result of this win the Year 6 team have won their zone for the third consecutive year and now progress to compete against other zone winners to in the South West Sydney Region. The students should be congratulated on their efforts as they have shown continued improvement with each debate.
STAGE 3 CAMP
The Stage 3 camp will take place from 28th to 30th September. All outstanding payments must be finalised by Thursday 27th August by 10am. This is necessary so that final numbers can be forwarded to the camp organisers and other administrative issues can be planned.
2009 BOOK WEEK PARADE
The annual Book Week Parade will be held in the school assembly hall at 2.00pm on Wednesday 26th August. This year’s parade will involve children in Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two. The children need to bring a costume to school so that they can dress up as their favourite book character. We do not encourage them to buy ready made outfits as we would like to see them use their imaginations and create one of their own. The children do not need to wear school uniform on this day. Please come along to this event and see all the wonderful creations on display.
The book fair, which is being held in the library from Monday 24th August until Thursday 27th August, will open from 8.30 am to 9.00am. Please come along to buy a book to donate to the library. We are looking for volunteers to help sell the books at the book fair. If you can help on any day during Book Week please fill in the form below and return to the Front Office as soon as possible.
Mrs Creech Teacher/Librarian
PERFORMANCES
This week we have been fortunate to have a talented performer present a show to the students. When notes were issued a date for final payment was indicated as last Thursday which was a week before the performance. Performances such as this are organised to offer our students experiences that will enrich their appreciation of the arts and are an important component of the Creative and Performing Arts curriculum. It is therefore disappointing that a number of students have been denied the chance to participate as they did not return the payment on time or, it seems, have chosen not to attend. These performances are a part of every student’s learning and it is expected that they be fully supported by parents and students.
Dianne Fogarty
Deputy Principal (Rel)