Wednesday, 21 February 2018

SAFE RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

Thank you to the parents who were able to attend the

Meet the Teacher evenings last week. The information

given was about the general running of the classroom

and school but if you have any further questions or

concerns, the classroom teachers are only too happy to

make a mutually convenient time to catch up about

matters specific to your family.

A big thank you to the parents who have already had a

chat to us about concerns that they have and to those

who have let us know about things at home that may be

impacting on their child(ren). This communication with the

school is really productive and we are here to do

whatever we can to work with you regarding the needs of

the students. We spend many, many hours meeting to

discuss how we can best support the learning and social

needs of the children in our care. Any information that

you can provide to help us with this is vital and gratefully

appreciated. This doesn't mean that we will always be

able to say yes to every request that comes to us. We

have to balance the needs of your child(ren) with those of

635 or so other children. Still, we do everything that we

can to assist.

THE IMPACT OF PRIVACY LAW ON THE

INFORMATION PARENTS CAN BE

PROVIDED ABOUT OTHER PARENT’S

CHILDREN

Our school holds information about our students. Some

of this information is highly sensitive. The way this

information is collected, used, disclosed and secured by

our school is subject to NSW legislation including the

Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998,

Health Records and Information Protection Act 2002

These laws limit the circumstances in which your

child’s information can be disclosed to other parents.

They also limit the circumstances in which you can be

provided with information about action the school has

taken in relation to other people’s children.

This means, for example, you may not be provided

with complete details of the action the school has

taken in relation to a student who has engaged in

unacceptable behaviour that has impacted on your

child. You should not assume that no action has been

taken because you cannot be provided with

information about what the school has done to deal

with an issue relating to your child’s interaction with

another student. Our school takes inappropriate

behaviour from students very seriously and responds

to that behaviour consistent with the school’s student

discipline and welfare procedures.If you would like

further information about the school’s general

approach to inappropriate behaviour from students

please contact the school.

FAMILY LAW

Sadly sometimes relationships break down and the

court makes orders that change the contact parents

can have with their children or the role they play in

making decisions about their children’s

education. These can be Family Court Orders or

Apprehended Violence Orders. Parents can also

reach agreement about issues such as contact in a

parenting plan.

If this happens it is important that you provide the

school with a copy of any court orders or plan that

could impact on your child’s education.

In the absence of any notification to the contrary, the

school will assume that both parents continue to

retain a shared and equal parental responsibility for

DATES TO REMEMBER

Wed 21 Feb P&C Meeting 6:30pm (Staffroom)

Wed 21 Mar P&C AGM 6:30pm (Staffroom)

Fri 13 Apr Last day of Term 1

DATES TO REMEMBER Tue 1 May Students return for Term 2 Wed 30 May - 13 Jun Life Education Tue 19 Jun School Photos

This means that the school will recognise that each

parent has equal duties, obligations, responsibilities

and opportunities in relation to matters involving the

school.

If any changes occur in your family relationships which

have the potential to impact on the relationship

between the school and your family, please advise the

school immediately and provide a copy of any court

orders that may be obtained. The orders must be

signed and stamped by the court to ensure

authenticity.

These orders will be stored securely and only

accessed by staff who need to see them in order to

plan for your children’s learning and support and

related issues.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Congratulations to the students who participated in the

swimming carnival last week. By all accounts,

behaviour was excellent and a good time was had by

all. Students going on to the next level will receive the

information about this shortly. At the zone carnival,

Kanwal students will compete against other students

from Wallarah Zone (Blue Haven PS, Budgewoi PS,

Gorokan PS, Gwandalan PS, Lake Munmorah PS,

Mannering Park PS, Northlakes PS, Tacoma PS,

Toukley PS, Tuggerawong PS, Wadalba CS,

Warnervale PS, Woongarrah PS). Thanks also to

Mr Steinbeck for coordinating the swimming events this

year.

SAFETY Please make sure you use the pedestrian paths and

gates when entering and exiting the school. Some

parents have been walking children through the car

parks. We teach the students that the quickest route, it

is not always the safest. The children need to see this

in practice and need help from the adults closest to

them to apply this learning to the real world. Your

support with this is greatly appreciated.

NGARA AECG MEETING

The Aboriginal Education Consultative Group provides

advice on all matters relevant to education and

training, ensuring that this advice represents the

Aboriginal community viewpoint. The AECG believes

that a process of collaborative consultation is integral

to equal partnership and is fundamental to the

achievement of equality, ensuring that the unique and

diverse identity of Aboriginal students is recognised

and valued. You can find out more at https://

www.aecg.nsw.edu.au/

Our local AECG is Ngara. All the members of local

communities can become members of the local AECG

but only Aboriginal adults (18 years and over) can vote

and hold office bearers’ positions. The next meeting is

CANTEEN Thanks again for your patience. It shouldn't be too

long before the beautiful new canteen is fully

operational. Thanks to Jacqui and Sally in the canteen

for their work under difficult circumstances.

Kind regards

Jacqui Buchanan

Relieving Principal

P&C ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

To all School Staff and Parents

The P&C Annual General Meeting will be held on

Wednesday 21 March 2018 at 6:30pm in the school

staffroom.

All positions will be open on the night, and only

members may apply. Members must have been

financially joined and participated for one month prior

to AGM to be eligible for positions.

To join our school P&C only

costs $1.00

Come and join us .

P&C MEETING Wednesday 21 February 6:30pm in the staffroom

Information for all Volunteers All new volunteers who would like to work at the

school must complete an appendix 5 for (Declaration

for Volunteers and non related Contractors) at the

office and show 100 points of ID.

Category 1 (70pts) Category 2 (40pts)

Birth Certificate Current Licence

Australian Passport WWC registration card

Australian Citizenship Centrelink Pensioner Card

International Passport Health Care Card

only 1 form of ID

accepted in

Category 1

All this must be completed and sighted by the

office before you can commence volunteering.

Thank you

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED THEIR BOOK PRIZES FOR

COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE

University of Newcastle

The University of Newcastle Student Podiatry Clinic at

Wyong Hospital is offering children age 0-17 free

lower limb assessments from 5 March to 4 June.

Free foot and leg check

The University of Newcastle Podiatry Clinic at Wyong

Hospital is offering children age 0-17 free lower

limb assessments. Children will be assessed by final

year students, supervised by a podiatrist. Children and

their families can receive advice on footwear, flat feet,

normal development, and receive treatment of foot

warts, foot and leg pain, walking problems, and night-

time ‘growing pains’.

When: Mondays from 2:45pm to 4:30pm

To make a booking, or for more information call

4394 7280.