Five Dock Public School, Newsletter, Term 4, Week 10, 2023
- We learn on Wangal Country
- Principal's Report
- Changes to the times for the school day
- Elevate Dance Classes at Five Dock PS
- Year 6 Farewell Dinner
- Changes to High School Enrolments
- Changes to our Positive Behaviour for Learning policy
- Mr Sharp's Cooking Lessons
- Four generations of the Smith Family at Five Dock Public School.
- Year 6 working with their buddies.
- Five Dock's Got Talent
- Good News Story
- Summer School Holidays
- SRC Return and Earn
- City of Canada Bay Library Summer Reading Challenge
We learn on Wangal Country
Principal's Report
We have made it to Week 10 and we are now in the final stages of wrapping up the school year. It's been an incredible year for Five Dock PS, and for myself personally and professionally. It is a huge privilege to lead this fantastic school and it's community. The last six months have been extraordinarily busy for myself, but it has been an extremely enjoyable experience and I have appreciated getting to know the students, staff and parents. It has been a wonderful year of learning for all of the students and they should all be extremely proud of their achivements throughout the year, whether they be academic, physical, social-emotional or creative. The students are indeed are a highlight of the community and I feel privileged to be a part of shaping their primary school experiences.
I’d like to express my thanks and appreciation to the outgoing student leadership team for their commitment to the role and the responsible way they have carried out their duties. They have represented their school with pride and should be proud of themselves and the way in which they led the school this year.
To the Year 6 class of 2023, I would like to sincerely wish them all the very best as they transition to high school, starting a new phase in their lives. This will be a significant milestone for all of them and I encourage them to take every opportunity to further their learning, find a tribe of friends that will support them and become involved in as many different experiences as possible. I would also like to thank them for their contribution to shaping our school's culture over their time at Five Dock PS. Have a wonderful time in high school Year 6 and we wish yopu every success academically and socially.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Five Dock PS community for all of your support over the last 6 months. It has, I believe been a very successful year with community events, in particular the Halloween event, community breaksfast, mother's day and father's day stall, cake stalls, Easter celebrations, colour fun run and many more. These events are not possible without the hard work of our P&C committee and supporters. This week you will have received a copy of the P&C newsletter, letting you know about all of the wonderful things the P&C have done over this year. Please take time to read this newsletter and think about how you can contribute. I would also like to acknowledge parents who are leaving us at the end of the year. Thank you for your enormous contribution to our school and for helping to make it a better learning place for all of our students. Welcome to the new committee members elected; I look forward to working with you all in the future. I thank everyone for the warm welcome I have received during the last six months. I have throughly enjoyed getting to know this vibrant and energetic community and I truly appreciate everyone's kind words and support. I am excited by the opportunity of working alongside everyone and watching this community continue to grow and prosper. I look forward to using the strengths of the community to work in partnership with you all so that students can maximise their learning potential. We have already made some plans to tap into the community's expertise for the school engaging wuth Elevate Dance Studio. More information is below regarding this. Please consider this initiative for your child next year. The classes will be held at lunchtime and we are working with Elevate to negotiate a reasonable cost that supports the business and families. We are very excited about bringing dance to Five Dock PS.
Thank you to the P&C executive and wider community for creatively engaging with the school and helping to raise funds to support the learning of students. The school acknowledges your significant contribution and we thank you for voluntary work you undertake to support this community and its students. In particular, I would sincerely like to thank the P&C for their enormous support with the purchase of interactive panels (smartboards) and the MultiLit program (see image below for more information. The P&C have generously donated $30, 000 for this initiative. We would like to introduce this InitialLit program, which is evidence-informed for our K-2 students. Stage 2 will be working with the Spelling program called, "Spellex". Information on their website describes the rationale for the program in the following way:
MultiLit has as its core belief the conviction that effective instruction is the key to growth in any area of the curriculum. Our aim is to bring about learning by whatever means scientific research has shown to be most effective. We subscribe to a continually evolving approach to literacy instruction, changing as more scientific evidence becomes available from either within the MultiLit research team or from the international scientific reading research community.
Thank you very much to the P&C for their generous donations. Please read the P&C newsletter that you will receive today for more information about the P&C and how you can join. I look forward to what we can achieve in 2024, building on the successes and achievements of the P&C this year.
I would also like to thank all of the teaching staff at Five Dock PS who have once again worked extraordinarily hard during this year. It is a job that teachers never stop thinking about and we are so fortunate here at Five Dock that we have extraordinary teachers who are so committed to providing the best learning opportunities for your children. Though they deserve more than thanks, we would like to acknowledge and thank them for their commitment and dedication to ensuring that each child is known, valued and cared for and receives an education that supports their individual learning needs. I would also like to acknowledge our non-teaching staff - School Administration Officers, School Administration Manager, School Learning Support Officers and our General Assistant. We are indeed fortunate to have a dedicated team of non-teaching staff that work in partnership with teachers and families to support growth in student learning.
Thank you to all of the executive staff who have been instrumental in supporting my transition and for their contribution to the leadership and management of the school. They have worked tirelessly on professional learning for themselves, designing professional learning for others and with leading their teams to support them to become better teachers so that student learning outcomes are continually improving.
Staff Changes
At the end of this year we say goodbye to Ting Wang who has been teaching Mandarin at Five Dock over the past year. Ting leaves the school to focus on family and a new professional opportunity. I would like to thank Ting for providing students at Five Dock PS with the opportunity to experience learning a language and on behalf of the school, we wish her all the best. This means that in 2024 Italian will be the sole language taught to K-6 students. Mrs Koroinivalu will be taking a year's leave to have her second baby and we wish her all the best for this special time. We look forward to sharing her news when her baby is born. We welcome to our staff Ms Rose Rassaby who will join us as a temporary staff member for 2024. We also welcome back Ms Kelly Bakoulis who will be working as a temporary teacher in 2024. Both of these teachers are well-known to the students as regular casual teachers. We also welcome Ms Lisa Pivato who will be joining our Support Unit in 2024. She will be taking the place of Ms Candice Chan who is taking a year of leave. Mrs Losh Reddy will continue in her role as Relieving Assistant Principal as Mr Tyler Broyles remains on leave. Ms Michelle Holmes will continue as Relieving Assistant Principal against Ms McGee's position, who is still working for the Department of Education. Mrs Kylie Edwards returns to Five Dock PS as Assistant Principal after a few years on leave. Mrs Edwards's return means that Mrs Alessi will return to her substantive classroom teaching position. On behalf of all of the staff, I would like to sincerely thank Mrs Alessi for her outstanding work as relieving Assistant Principal. She has done a wonderful job leading and managing the students and staff of Stage 2. Mr Michael Buthcher will return to day to day casual teaching and we thank him for his contribution to teaching Stage 3 this year.
We have advertised to fill the Teacher Librarian position for 2024. Shortlisting and the appointment will occur early in 2024. On behalf of all the teaching staff, I would like to thank Robyn for the wonderful work she has done this year with the library. She has done a fantastic job in a position that was new to her at the start of the year. We thank her for her enthusiasm and commitment to making the library a wonderful hub of learning and literature. Mrs Christopoulos will return for the first two weeks until an appointment has been made.
Strategic Improvement Plan
We are getting extremely close to finalising this plan. We have as a school community engaged in extensive consultation, through a deep analysis of various data sources. These include student perfomance measure, parent and community feedback (if you have not had your say yet, there is still time to complete this survey: https://forms.gle/v7BRSwYU6vQA3oeC8 ), external validation, student voice feedback and teacher reflections and feedback.
School Development Days
This Monday 18 December staff will be engaged in professional learning in the form of collaborative planning in new stage teams. As mentioned in a previosu newsletter, we have already done additional professional learning for Tuesday 19 December. This means there will be no staff here at school on this day, aside from cleaning staff. The school will reopne on Tuesday 30 January. Wednesday 31 January will be a School Development Day as well. This means the first day of school for students in Years 1-6 is Thursday 1 February. Kindergarten will begin on Tuesday 6 February.
Semester 2 Reports
This week you will all have received your child's Semester 2 report. The report for 1-6 will grade the students according to the mandatory grading systems that all NSW public schools are required to use. As discussed in a previous newsletter, this means the majority of students should be in the "Sound" category if they are working at their stage level. Please take time to look at your child's strengths and focus on these. Congratulate your child on these strengths and discuss potential goals for next year. Goals for next year can be found in the "Next steps in learning" section. Here is a helpful article that can support these discussions: https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-their-school-report-99640
Praise your child for their improvement and achievements – and try to be specific with your praise. For example, “I’m really pleased with your progress in science. You have been working so hard and have improved so much since the beginning of the year”. Focus on their effort, not the grades. Focusing on marks rather than a ‘learning orientation’ can mean they become less likely to enjoy learning and challenge themselves. The teacher’s comments can often tell you more about the effort and the learning your child has made than the grades.
Every child has achieved something this year and whilst we need to consider what the next steps are in learning, it is important that we take the time to celebrate achievements.
Thank you Mr Wilson and Mr Sharp!
A huge thanks to Mr Wilson and Mr Sharp for all of their work on reorganising our new sports shed, which was the old loose parts storage location. They have done a wonderful job and it will be great to have a central location for these important resources. Thanks so much to Mr Wilson and to Mr Sharp.
I would like to wish all of the Five Dock PS community a wonderful Christmas and Summer holiday. I hope that you all get to spend time with loved ones and enjoy the beautiful extra time with families. I look forward to working with you all in 2024.
Changes to the times for the school day
We have made a decision that from next year will be making a slight adjustment to the school day. Start times and finish times will not change; these will remain at 9am and 3pm. The changes occur during the day. It will mean students will have a longer break first - which is lunch and a shorter break in the afternoon. The first and most important reason is that the students will be outside for the longer break earlier when it is not as hot. The second reason is that the school day needs to be 4 hours and 45 mins and we currently have 10 mins less than this. We will making an even greater effort to have all students with a hat every day. Please support your child to help them be reponsible for bringing a hat to school every day.
The times are as follows:
Session 1 - 9:00-11:00
Eating time - 11:00 - 11:10
Lunch 1 - 11:10-11:30
Lunch 2 - 11:30 - 11:50
Session 2 - 11:50-1:35
Recess - 1:35 - 2:00
Session 3 - 2:00 - 3:00
Elevate Dance Classes at Five Dock PS
At Five Dock Public School, we're always seeking innovative ways to enrich our students' experiences. That's why in 2024, we're thrilled to announce a potential collaboration with Elevate Performance Arts Studio to bring engaging and quality dance programs during lunchtime for K-2 and 3-6.
We believe that offering diverse opportunities for our students to explore their interests is essential to their holistic development. If your child has an interest in dance and would love to be part of this exciting program, we encourage you to express your interest by filling out the Google Form linked below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekO7flmFKuG1IYYdXTxf-NeiX4SBEdWHzRZ9iqOd_PpUAM6g/viewform
Year 6 Farewell Dinner
Last night Year 6 had their farewell dinner at Club Five Dock RSL. They had an absolutely fantastic evening and made memories that will last a long time. Thank you to Mrs Ellwood and Mrs Tay for their organisation of the evening. We would also like to express our gratitude for the amazing work our Year 6 parent helpers have put in to make farewell dinner fabulous. From organising the Year 6 graduation book to the beautiful farewell dinner decorations and delicious cake, and the Year 6 video they have put together. Thank you, for all that you have done. We express our gratitude to the following parents.
Jade Hsu- Organised the Year 6 school gift, helped with Year 6 book, farewell dinner decorations and video montage
Sarah Milner (Griffin’s mother - Designed and created the Year Book and the graphic design on the cake •
Kylie Ombico (Olivia’s mother) Created the dinner decorations
Charmayne Wright (Naomi’s mother) - Designed and baked the Year 6 Cake
Thank you also for assisting this team: Joan Knoblauch (Sienna’s mother) • Alison Sinclair-Kydd (Fergus’ mother) • Amanda Watts (Oscar’s mother).
We are very grateful for all of your hard work.
A huge thanks also to Zing Activ for their wonderful work in providing the music for the night. The students loved it! Great job, Zing Activ!
Fun at the Year 6 Farewell Dinner
Changes to High School Enrolments
Please note that there are changes to support the NSW Government commitment that every student will have guaranteed access to co-educational public high schools by 2027.
The department has finalised the school intake areas in collaboration with stakeholders including Transport for NSW and school leadership and considering the community feedback.
You can view the finalised school intake areas on the department website, so you can see which high schools your child is able to attend in Term 1, 2025. The finalised school intake areas will also be made available on School Finder in Term 1, 2024.
Please visit this site for more information.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/strategies-and-reports/coeducational-school-access
Changes to our Positive Behaviour for Learning policy
As part of the consultation process for our new Strategic Improvement Plan, we have made a slight adjustment to our school rules. We would like to have a greater focus on students owning their learning, designing learning goals and becoming their own teachers. Teachers will support students in this process, particularly with providing feedback that lets students know, where they are going, how they are going to get there and what they have to do in the process.
Our rules will be Respect Everyone, Participate with Pride, Belong with Pride and Be an Active Learner. More information will come next year.
Mr Sharp's Cooking Lessons
Mr Sharp's little group had a great time harvesting, making, preparing and of course eating basil pesto. They had to endure a range of questions from their very curious peers. It was pesto, baby tomato and bocconcini on mini toasts. Yum! Mr Sharp is very keen to do some more cooking with his groups next year. Thank you, Mr Sharp!
Cooking with Mr Sharp
Four generations of the Smith Family at Five Dock Public School.
After four generations at our school, it comes to an end with Meg Smith leaving this year in Year 6. This means that the family has been attending the school for over 100 years. I had the pleasure of meeting Joyce Smith, former Assistant Principal at Five Dock PS recently, who informed me about this special event and end of an era. Joyce sent me the article that was written in the local newspaper about their family history and association with Five Dock. We thank the Smith family for their contribution to our school community and to Joyce Smith for her significant contribution to public education.
Year 6 working with their buddies.
Year 6 and their buddies
Five Dock's Got Talent
Five Dock Public School's annual "Five Docks Got Talent" show was an absolute blast! From mesmerizing performances to incredible talent on stage, it was a day filled with unforgettable moments. Huge shoutout to our amazing hosts Meg, Aurelia, Layla, Oscar, Troy, and Isaac for steering the event flawlessly!A round of applause for the incredible teamwork of Mr. Butcher, Miss Burgess, Mr. Pigott, and Mrs Alessi for putting together such a great show. Your hard work truly paid off!And how could we forget the electrifying guest performances? Mr. Justic, Mr. Phillips, and Miss Walton wowed the crowd with their stellar renditions of "Hot Potato" and "Let It Go." Thank you to everyone who made this day a huge success! Here's to celebrating the phenomenal talent at Five Dock Public School!
Five Dock's Got Talent
Good News Story
We keep getting wonderful feedback from the community about the Christmas bus decorations our Year 4 students did a few weeks ago. Here is another good news story by way of an email we recently received.
I had the absolute pleasure of catching a wonderfully decorated bus full of Christmas cheer yesterday, as done by the Five Dock Public school children.Everyone who stepped on that bus had the biggest smile on their face, and this was during the morning peak hour to the city, amongst all the recent traffic chaos in Drummoyne. It absolutely made everyone’s day so much better :)I wanted to personally THANK the FDPS children, as they should feel very proud of how happy they made everyone feel and how their efforts brightened the day of all who rode that bus yesterday. Their wonderful decorations were greatly appreciated.
Summer School Holidays
Here are some wonderful ideas you can do during these Summer School Holidays. Visit these websites and enjoy this time with familes and loved ones.
https://www.sydney.com/things-to-do/family-holidays/school-holidays
SRC Return and Earn
This year the SRC delved into the Return and Earn program to earn some extra cash. With the support of Mrs Virgona and Ms Walton, they put the call out each week for plastic bottles and aluminium cans from our school community from Term 2. This term we decided to have one big EXTRAVAGANZA day, encouraging students to bring in at least 10 bottles/cans and in exchange they could have a free ice block. This approach was definitely the clear winner! After two car loads down to the recycling centre this morning, we came back with $143.20! The SRC will decide what the funds raised will go towards. We are excited to see where we can take this next year and beyond. With $322 raised so far, that's 3200 bottles and cans recycled! What a great way for our school to contribute positively to our environment.
City of Canada Bay Library Summer Reading Challenge
