Five Dock PS Newsletter Term 3, Week 10, 2024

We Learn on Wangal Country

Term 4 Calendar

Principal's Report

We have now reached the end of Term 3 and as a school community we can all be incredibly proud of our achievements this year. This success is only possible when the school community bands together and works as one unit; all striving for the same outcome - to maximise student learning and engagement. This term, we can be proud of all the teaching and learning and extra-curricular events, such as our performance evening, Tournament of the Minds, PSSA competitions, Stage 3 camp, 3-6 Choir performances with other schools, Education Week, open day, public speaking, debating, Ferragosto festival, sporting events, Book Parade, excursions and many more. These events cannot just happen; they rely on the good will of teachers to take time out of busy schedules to create these opportunities and memories for students. I would like to sincerely thank all teaching and non-teaching staff for promoting this student-centred approach to our school culture; it is greatly appreciated. Thank you also to our parent community who work incredibly hard to raise additional funds for the school and support our school community through events such as providing funds for our choir to participate in external events, raising money for school infrastructure, organising Father's Day stalls, running the uniform shop, organsing lost property, attending school events such as the Book Parade... and many, many more. We appreciate all of your support in contributing to your child's positive experience at school. As I said to students in assemblies this morning, they have worked incredibly hard and represented our school with excellent behaviour at various external events. We are proud of the learning gains that students have made so far this year. 

Years 3 and 4 Choir - Primary proms Event

Congratulations to our Stage 2 choir who performed this evening at Sydney Town Hall. They did an outstanding job representing our school and displayed exemplary behaviour. Students had an enjoyable time and will remember this experience. 

Thanks once again to Miss Bakoulis and to Mrs Tay for accompanying them, but also for all of their hard work over the year in preparing the students to give them this opportunity. 

The Resilience Project

Last week, Mrs Reddy and myself attending an information session on this project that we will be implementing this year. We are excited about this initiative to support student wellbeing. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, the 'why' of this project is to supports young people to form evidence-based habits that will increase their capacity to deal with challenges, changes and stressors in the future. We are hoping to develop a school-wide language of wellbeing. Conversations that you can have with your child, with questions such as the ones below will support the project's purpose. More information will continue to be provided in subsequent newsletters. 

What is something you are looking forward to tomorrow?

What kind acts have you seen today?

What are three things that went well for you today?

More information can be found here: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/

Appropriate use of email addresses

From Term 4, students will not be able to use their school email address to access social media and similar platforms.

To ensure all student email accounts are being used for their educational purposes and reduce cybersecurity risks, the department will be restricting the use of student email addresses for signing up for, and recovering access to, social media, gaming, instant messaging and similar platforms.

We know some students use their school email addresses to access third-party platforms.This means they will also not be able to retrieve password-recovery emails and the like from these platforms.

Platforms that will be restricted include:

• social networking, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X

• instant messaging, such as Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WeChat and Telegram

• online gaming.

Homework Survey 

We have received only 8 responses to our homework survey. In order to ensure that we get a valid assessment of what families think about homework, we would like it if as many parents complete the survey as possible. Here is the link again: https://forms.gle/c3XnUmCE7P1AKEbKA

School Bytes in 2025

In 2025, we will be transitioning to using School Bytes as our only communication platform. To prepare for this transition, we are asking families to ensure they have signed up; access this link for guides on how to do this. https://support.schoolbytes.education/hc/en-us/categories/4414087688847-PARENT-GUIDES

There is now a School Bytes app; we also encourage you to download this app for easy access to signing parent permissions and making payments. The image below will support you with this. If you have any questions, please contact the office for support. 

Mandarin Lessons

Recently we offered two free Mandarin lessons. If you are interested in enrolling for Term 4, please use this link: 
https://forms.gle/2ws6ym2zQM54rJRZ8

Leaving the school in 2025? 

The school executive is currently planning for 2025 and to assist us with structuring our classes for next year we need your assistance. It is vital that we are aware of exactly how many students we will have at the school in 2025. The first day of school for most students next year will be Tuesday 4 February 2025, and new Kindergarten students will be starting on Monday 10 February. It is vital that we know if your child/children will NOT be returning to Five Dock PS or will be returning LATE next year. Some families take extended holidays in January/February and we need to know your return date so that your enrollment can be counted. This information will enable the school to plan for staffing and classing needs. You do not need to complete the form if your child is leaving year 6 to go to high school.This afternoon, you will have received a form to complete on School Bytes. Please complete the form as soon as possible. You do not have to complete the form if you are returning; it is only for families who are not returning, or returning late. 

Tennis lessons @ Five Dock 

Tennis is back for Term 4. If you are interested in enrolling, the flyer is in the newsletter below. 

YSafe Online Safety

Last year we participated in an internet safety session with YSafe. Three sessions were included for parents, students and teachers. We have had access to their excellent resources over that time. Access to these resources will end at the end of October. Next month is Cyber Security Awareness Month, therefore, it i an opportune time to discuss cyber safety with you children, esepcially over the coming holidays. The link for parents to access these resources is here: https://fivedock-p.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

Coding in Term 4

Coding is also back for Term 4. Here are the details: 

Course: Coding
Day: Thursday
Dates: 24th October to 5th December (7 Sessions)
(please let us know if there is a pupil-free day or special event that could affect these dates)
Times: 3:15pm- 4:45pm (75 Minutes)
Booking Link: www.codecamp.com.au/fivedps

Spring Holidays 

Have a look at these websites for some wonderful ideas on what to do these school holidays. 

https://www.ellaslist.com.au/sydney/events/school-holiday-activities-sydney

https://www.timeout.com/sydney/kids/school-holidays-in-sydney

Have a fantastic break. Enjoy spending quality time together as a family. 

See you in Term 4. 

Suzi Chosid 

Years 3 and 4 Primary Proms

SRC Return and Earn

Office News

Thank you to all families who have settled their Term 3 payments. These fees allow our school to continue to provide the best quality learning materials and experiences for our students. This afternoon we will send out a Statement of Account for Term 3 as a reminder for any payments that have not been made as yet. 

During Week 1 of Term 4, we will email you your Statement of Account for Term 4. Please remember that if you would like to discuss your financial circumstances confidentially, you are encouraged to make an appointment to speak with the Principal.

To enable you to plan for Term 4, we have provided information about the Term 4 schedule of fees. The swimming scheme has already been sent out. 

2025 Inner West PSSA

The Inner West PSSA have now developed a gala day schedule for 2025. This will outline the scheduled play and sports available in 2025. More information regarding the competition format and locations will be outlined early in 2025.

Art Competition

Canteen Links

Thank you for all of your support of our new school canteen. Please ensure that you order your child's lunch by 9am. If your child is doing it on their own, please check that you have received the confirmation email. At times, children do not complete it correctly and think their lunch is ordered when it hasn't. A lunch request slip is used for those rare occasions a student doesn't have a lunch, which you can then use to know the amount to pay the canteen. 

In the Classroom - 3B

During Term 2, year 3 read the beautiful, fictional book Wandi about a real-life dingo taken from its family. In our English unit based on the book, students created persuasive texts and posters to educate people about dingoes. Wanting to make a difference, year 3 students raised money for the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary through a cake stall. This week, we connected with the Sanctuary via Zoom, learning even more about dingoes and seeing the real Wandi and other dingoes.

Preschool News

This week our two preschool groups joined together on the same day as a way to transition to Kindergarten. Students enjoyed playing together, eating together and meeting the students that they will be learning with in 2025. Thank you to Miss Jane, Miss Sonia and Miss Michelle for organising the session. The Department of Education has identified the goal of creating better transitions between early education and primary school. We are so fortunate that we have a preschool on site that can support this goal directly. Mr Justic and I visited the afternoon and enjoyed spending time with everyone. 

Kindergarten 2025

All children must be in compulsory schooling by their 6th birthday. Children can start Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year if they turn 5 on or before 31 July that year. Students should start school at the beginning of the school year. We are now taking new Kindergarten enrolments for 2025. If you have a child that you wish to enrol, please come to the office and pick up an enrolment package. It is extremely valuable for us to know how many students we are expecting as it impacts on our numbers and how many staff we are allocated and classes we are able to form. If you have any neighbours with young children about to start, please let them know that we are taking new enrolments now. 

Year 6 Carnival Day

Year 6 organised a fantastic Olympic-themed carnival day on Wednesday. Students from Kindergarten to Year 5 had a wonderful time. Thank you to the Year 6 teachers for supporting the students. well done to the students - they did an incredible job organising and managing their stalls Students were successful in raising over $2600. Money raised will go towards purchasing a gift from Year 6 to the school at the end of the year and pay for their graduation dinner. 

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OOSH News

Dear Families

We are excited to announce that our 2024 Spring Vacation Care is now ready. The program has been based around what are children have been asking and favourite experiences so far.

Vacation Care Period

Vacation Care Week 1: Monday 30th of September to Friday 4th of October
Vacation Care Week 2: Tuesday 8th of October to Friday 11th of October
PUBLIC Holiday: Monday 7^th of October

• The program can be viewed via the link below –

https://sway.cloud.microsoft/TAWJDuwXcb8EINna?ref=Link

• You will be required to fill out a Permission/booking form. Once the form has been filled out we will send you a confirmation that the bookings have been made

https://forms.office.com/r/9WA61UCmFt

All bookings forms must be completed by Friday 20^th of September

Please let us know if you require any further information.

Merit Award Winners

Deadly Award Winners

Bonnie Palmer - 4S 

Zane Ghattas - KW

Top Serve Tennis Lessons at Five Dock PS in Term 4

Play Cricket with Iron Cove & Balmain Tigers