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Term 2 – Week 10 – 3rd July 2019
Principal’s Report
Wow! Wow! Wow! What great things are happening
at Hamilton Public School! We have achieved and
celebrated so much as a school in the last fortnight.
To start with, our NAIDOC celebrations this week
have been exceptional, especially with the opening of
our newly constructed yarning circle. Our official
opening on Monday morning held such meaning and
importance that it brought a tear to many an eye as
we celebrated and highlighted the importance of
Aboriginal culture especially through the eyes of our
local Elders, Aunty June Rose and Uncle Bill Smith
and
the cultural tradition of a smoking ceremony. Our
yarning circle is the culmination of a shared vision,
and a strong commitment and hard work from Jon
Morris, David Mathieson, Alex Nean, the Aboriginal
Education Committee and our students. It will serve
as an integral part of Aboriginal Education within our
school for years to come. Please allow yourself time
to have a close look at the yarning circle and its
associated design and artwork and have a chat with
your child about its significance. I am very pleased to
announce that The Adamstown Lion’s Club are kindly
donating $2000 to go towards the cost of building the
yarning circle. The school greatly appreciates this significant contribution. I would like to express our
gratitude to John Mulhearn and Alan and Lorraine Gelder for attending our opening ceremony on
Monday on behalf of The Lions Club of Adamstown.
In addition, we have participated in the very enriching Koomurri incursion last week and have
enjoyed the wonderful talents of our students in the Performance Centre every afternoon this week,
as they perform dramatic interpretations of Aboriginal Dreaming Stories. In addition, we have a
NAIDOC Assembly on Friday featuring our Didgeridoo Group, Aboriginal Girl’s Dance Group and
the Callaghan College Dance Troupe followed by a kangaroo sausage sizzle. What a way to
celebrate and highlight the culture of the oldest known civilization on the planet. Thank you to all
parents who were able to attend and support some of these activities this week and a huge thank
you to all the parents who have assisted in the activities this week. In addition, a big shout out to
Bianca Price for working with the students to cook delicious damper for official guests at Monday
morning’s official opening. Simply delicious!!
Our school and our students have showcased so many talents in many other areas in the last two
weeks including great results in debating, multi-cultural public speaking, showcases of
learning in open classrooms in Kindergarten, Stage 1 and Stage 3. We have seen QR codes
connected to historical artefacts in Stage 1, Museums in Motion in Stage 3 and goats and boats and
rivers and bridges in Kindergarten. It is so rewarding to be able to showcase our learning and have
so many parents come along to celebrate their child’s efforts. Well done, teachers, girls and boys!!
Class KMA arrangements The community has been previously advised that Mrs Madden (Class KMA) will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 2, and Mrs Eloise Hall will be taking over the class at the beginning of Term 3. We have had to make a little change to that original arrangement as we have just been informed that Mrs Hall is also now pregnant and will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 3 (don’t drink the water in that classroom!!) and Mrs Madden would like to return to work for 3 days a week in Term 4. In response, the following arrangements have been made.
In Term 3, Eloise Hall will work with the students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Tracey Cresnar (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) will work with the students on Thursday and Friday. The children in KMA are very familiar with both Mrs Hall and Mrs Cresnar. Then, in Term 4, Mrs Madden will return to the class part-time working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Cresnar continuing on the class for Thursday and Friday. The children are so lucky to have such talented teachers delivering their curriculum. 2020 enrolments If you have a child starting school in 2020 could you please collect an enrolment form from the office or download a copy from the school website for completion so that we can update our records ready for orientation commencing in September. Attendance Your child’s absences from school this semester are recorded on the Semester 1 school report that went home yesterday. For your child to receive the best outcomes educationally, socially and emotionally, an attendance rate of greater than 95% is expected. Over the course of a year, a 95% attendance rate equates to an absenteeism rate equal to or less than 10 days per year. It is a mandatory requirement that absenteeism is monitored and parents are kept informed. To achieve this end, as of next term, the school will be issuing Attendance Letters to students whose attendance rates fall below 85%. This will ensure that parents are informed and gives families and the school the opportunity to work together to improve a child’s attendance. It is so very pleasing that at our school the majority of our students have achieved excellent attendance rates. Parent Portal Next term, we will be implementing a Parent Portal through the company Sentral which will allow us to provide a one-stop shop for all notes, communication, reports and payments. More information about this initiative will be forthcoming early next term.
P & C Meeting Last week, we held our 4th P & C meeting for the year at a different venue and in a different time
slot. I believe that the 7.00pm commence time was far more practical for parents as we had a
bigger turnout and a more successful meeting. It was so lovely to see some new faces on the night
(as well as the old ones!!).Please find the Principal’s Report (presented at the P & C meeting),
attached to this newsletter.
Sustainability at Hamilton Public School
As part of the NSW curriculum, there are three cross
curriculum priorities taught in schools. These are
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
and Sustainability. The Sustainability priority provides
the opportunity for students to develop an appreciation
of the necessity of acting for a more sustainable future
and so address the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain
all life and meet the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of future generations.
This priority will allow all our students to develop the
knowledge, skills, values and world views necessary for
them to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable
patterns of living. It will enable individuals and
communities to reflect on ways of interpreting and
engaging with the world. The Sustainability priority is
futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments
and creating a more ecologically and socially just world
through informed action. Actions that support more
sustainable patterns of living require consideration of
environmental, social, cultural and economic systems
and their interdependence.
The Sustainability priority calls on students to act
sustainably as individuals and to participate in collective
endeavours that are shared across local, regional and global communities. Our students are
exposed to these concepts through our teachings and focus on the United Nations 17 Goals for
Sustainability (see below). In addition, at Hamilton Public School we will be teaching students
these concepts through the philosophy of make, break, take, cake, which will provide them with
practical day – to – day approaches in the area of sustainability.
Please take the time to read through these beautiful signs, created by our very wonderful Kate
Murray (thank you KATE!!) which have been placed around the school. We want this to be a
philosophy that students can truly understand and embrace at both home and school. From the start
of next term, we will be focusing on building the knowledge and practise of these concepts across
the school.
It has been a wonderful term and a truly spectacular week of learning that leads us into the school
holidays. (They seem to arrive so quickly!). I hope that everyone has a restful, healthy and
rejuvenating break and I look forward to seeing you in Term 3.
Warmest regards Meredith Lindsay
Debating
Our Premier debaters
participated in a debate against
Newcastle East this week. The
topic was “All school learning
should be completed on a
computer.” Our team was
negative. Unfortunately, we did
not win this round, however, we
all agree that we learnt plenty of
valuable lessons through this
round. Can’t wait for our next
debate in the fishbowl next
Thursday 4th July at 10am.
Audience welcome!
Train on debaters participated
in our second debating gala day last Friday. Hamilton played host to 6 teams from local schools. On
this day, Hamilton competed in 4 debates and hosted a total of 10 debates. We did very well winning
all 4 of our debates. Most importantly, we all had fun and learned invaluable lessons along the way.
Thank you to our wonderful Premier debaters, as well as Isla, Zoe and Jessie who acted as mentors,
chair people, hosts and timekeepers on the day.
Special thanks to Sasha who has joined our Premier debating team.
Library Report It is great to see so many children completing the Premier’s Reading
Challenge these past few weeks. The holidays are a great time to read
those last few books you need to complete the challenge. Years 2-6 can
log these books at home. You need to access the student portal and then
the Premier’s Reading Tab. For Kindergarten and Year 1 children, they will
get assistance from Mrs Nelmes at school to complete this challenge.
New books in our library this week;
Goat in a boat - a book about welcoming others.
The Hole Idea - how to find the perfect idea for a story.
So She Did, The Story of May Wirth - the world’s greatest bareback riding queen.
Book Fair
Coming up next term!!! Hear all about it!! …
We will be having a Scholastic Book Fair! This is an opportunity for children to
purchase books from Scholastic at school during Education Week. There will
be some great titles available to purchase.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability We are currently undertaking the National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). All government and non-government schools participate in the collection of nationally consistent data on school students with disability.
We will be collecting information already available in the school about the support that is being provided to students with a disability. Better data will help the Government plan for students with disability. The data collection will have no direct impact on your child and they will not be involved in any testing process.
The data provided to the Australian Government by the NSW Department of Education and Communities is provided in such a way that it cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.
The NSW Department of Education and Communities follows the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Schools will collect, record, store and use data about individual students in line with these requirements. Data security and protection is a priority and students’ personal details will be kept confidential.
Further information about the national data collection can be found on the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website at https://www.education.gov.au/notices
If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Stage 3 excursion
A quick reminder that the second instalment for our Stage 3
excursion is now due.
Koomurri Incursion
All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 enjoyed a full day incursion with the Koomurri group last
week. On this day students enjoyed participating in a variety of activities including storytelling,
digeridoo, art, artefact analysis song and dance. We thoroughly enjoyed learning from such a
knowledgeable and talented group of people. The students all contributed to a major artwork
depicting Aboriginal culture. The challenge now is to work out how to mount this large piece and
where to hang it! It is a beautiful creation and we are looking forward to finding the right place to
showcase this collective piece. Keep your eyes open!
Save the Tigers
Congratulations to those students who organised this
worthwhile event.
We raised $340.
Museums In Motion Last Wednesday, Stage 3 hosted a Museum in Motion afternoon. This was a highly successful day where students had an opportunity to show their hands-on work and showcase their research skills. All students prepared a diorama of a specific event in Australia’s history and prepared a presentation on one significant Australian. Students dressed up and impressed us with their amazing characterisation skills (not to mention their vast knowledge). The activity was not only fun and highly engaging it was purposeful and allowed students to demonstrate a wealth of knowledge. FANTASTIC work Stage 3! Thank you to all those family and friends who came along to enjoy the displays and demonstrations by our talented students.
Yarning Circle Opening
Nature News
Nature is full of loose parts that can be moved, manipulated, constructed, deconstructed and used creatively. Loose parts stimulate children’s natural curiosity and inventiveness, and provide opportunities for open-ended play.
The theory of loose parts states that “in any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it” (Nicholson, S. 1972)
At HPS we are providing opportunities for children to engage with loose parts play with natural and synthetic materials. This makes their play environments more inspiring and engaging.
As the year progresses we will be adding more parts such as pipes, ropes and crates (and asking for your help to get these!). In the meantime please continue to bring natural objects into the play spaces to enhance our children’s play.
“I love the imagination and natural engineering skills the kids have & are figuring out –it makes my
engineering heart sing! To me the essence of engineering is thinking of something to build, trying to build it,
but if/when it doesn't work then you think some more & try it another way, persevering until you get there.
You can see this happening all over HPS!” Parent of 2 HPS children.
Nicholson, S. (1972). The Theory of Loose Parts, An important principle for design methodology. Studies in Design Education Craft & Technology, 4(2).
Star Struck 2019
Congratulations to our amazing Star Struck Choir and Star Struck Dance group who were sensational on stage as part of Star Struck 2019 No Limits. We are very proud of our shining stars!
Mrs Mullard (choir) and Mrs Forrester (dance)
Principal’s P & C Report 26th June 2019
School Organisation
Office Staff Changes
We have had a rocky period in the office this year and especially this term with our wonderful Martine Campbell on leave due to a broken shoulder injury. Martine will be returning next term along with Jessica Llowreach who will be moving into the position of School Administration Manger. Jessica is highly experienced and confident in this role and we are all very excited to welcome her to our wonderful school. I am looking forward to now getting systems streamlined and processes brought up-to-date. I would like to thank members of the community for their patience with the office administration this last semester and school staff for stepping in and assisting.
RSL thank you
Merewether-Hamilton -Adamstown RSL Sub-branch has extended an invitation to myself and a member of the P & C to attend a luncheon to be held on Sunday 7 July 2019 at South Leagues Club Llewelyn Street Merewether to recognise the contributions of Hamilton Public School to the success of the 2019 Hamilton Anzac Day Dawn Service, This is a very generous gesture and I look forward to representing our school at this event.
Class KMA arrangements
The community has been previously advised that Mrs Madden (Class KMA) will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 2 and Mrs Eloise Hall will be taking over the class at the beginning of Term 3. We have had to make a little change to that original arrangement as we have just been informed that Mrs Hall is also now pregnant and will be going on maternity leave at the end of Term 3 (don’t drink the water in that classroom!!) and Mrs Madden would like to return to work for 3 days a week in Term 4. In response, the following arrangements have been made. In Term 3, Eloise Hall will work with the students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Tracey Cresnar (Stage 1 Assistant Principal) will work with the students on Thursday and Friday. The children in KMA are very familiar with both Mrs Hall and Mrs Cresnar. Then, in Term 4, Mrs Madden will return to the class part-time working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Cresnar continuing on the class for Thursday and Friday. The children are so lucky to have such talented teachers delivering their curriculum.
Parent Portal
Next term we will be implementing a Parent Portal through the company Sentral which will allow us to provide a one-stop shop for all notes, communication, reports and payments. More information about this initiative will be forthcoming.
Playground Improvement Project
Timber Creations have visited our school and worked on a couple of designs to provide climbing structures for the students in the junior playground. I am currently waiting for the quotes to come through so that we can start working on a plan moving forward.
Nature play at the school is thriving. We are aiming to move forward with the next stages (brush fencing, more clay, natural resources, pipes, storage, plants and shrubs etc) once the school raises enough funds to cover the costs. Any donations of old pots and pans etc. for the bush kitchens would be wonderful.
Blue Gate Garden
We are very excited to have Suzy Bates come on board to work in the Blue Gate Garden. We are looking forward to working with Suzy in ensuring the garden flourishes and becomes an enriching learning environment for the students.
School Maintenance Fence
We have a neighbouring fence behind the basketball courts that is falling due to a weakness in the retaining wall. This will be repaired and restored during the upcoming school holidays.
Renovations
The school ramps and office reconstruction will commence early next term and will be completed before the end of Term 4. As soon as I have the overall plan and timeline I will communicate the process moving forward.
Aboriginal Education Yarning Circle Official opening
Next Monday, July 1st will be the official opening of our new yarning or learning circle. The opening will commence at 10.15 and we will enjoy the boy’s Didgeridoo group, the girl’s Aboriginal Dance group and a smoking ceremony conducted by Uncle Bill Smith. We will also have special guests attending including an Aboriginal elder from our area, Aunty June. We are very proud of our yarning circle and the amazing contributions and hard work of Alex Nean, Jon Morris, David Mathieson, our Aboriginal Education Team and our students. What wonderful things we can create when we all work together.
NAIDOC Week and NAIDOC shirts
This week we started our NAIDOC celebrations with the Koomurri Incursion which was an absolutely brilliant opportunity for students to learn more about and participate in various aspects of Aboriginal culture. Next week students will participate in a lot of activities culminating in a kangaroo sausage sizzle on the Friday. Any student who has purchased a NAIDOC shirt will be able to wear the shirt every day next week. It is going to be a wonderful week of celebration.
Upcoming Events Term 2
Upcoming Events Term 3
Day Date Time Event Monday-Friday 1st-5th July NAIDOC Celebrations
Thursday 4th July 9:30-2:00pm Children’s University On-Campus Excursion
Friday 5th July 9.15 NAIDOC Week Assembly and Performance
ICAS Test permission deadline
Day Date Time Event Monday 22nd July All day Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 23rd July Students Return To School
Wednesday 24th July
Thursday 25th July Allocated Time Sports Swimming
Friday 26th July National Tree Planting Day
Monday 29th July Hunter Dance Festival (HDF)
Tuesday 30th July Newcastle High School Information Evening/HDF
Wednesday 31st July 11:00 – 2:30 Year 2 Civic Theatre Excursion “The Twits”/HDF
Thursday 1st August Train On Debate Gala/Sports Swimming/HDF
Friday 2nd August