Five Dock PS Newsletter, Term 4, Week 6, 2024
We Learn on Wangal Country
Principal's Report
We are now truly heading towards the finish line for 2024. The next few weeks will be over before we know it.
Student Progress Reports
Teachers are now in the process of finalising Student Progress Reports for Semester 2.
Student reporting is the process of communicating information about student learning, their level of attainment and the progress they have made. Student reports show progress and allow this progress to be monitored over time.
Reporting provides feedback to students, parents and other teachers about student progress. The A–E grading scale or equivalent provides a common language for reporting. Teachers use the grading scale to report student levels of achievement.
The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of five grade levels.
A
The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
B
The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
C
The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
D
The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
E
The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.
Parents can be reassured that teachers take this process very seriously and approach the task with a high degree of professionalism. A lot of thought goes into the content of the report; this includes the grades students are given, their effort levels and the written comments.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our teachers for the time and effort they are taking in preparing these reports.
The Department of Education has a syllabus for each curriculum area that outlines the outcomes to be achieved in each Learning Area.
Schooling in NSW is organised into seven stages of learning across primary and secondary school
Primary School from Kindergarten to Year 6 (K-6) encompasses four stages of learning.
Early Stage or Foundation = Kindergarten (starting from five years of age)
Stage 1 = Years 1 and 2
Stage 2 = Years 3 and 4
Stage 3 = Years 5 and 6
For more information about the NSW Primary Syllabus, use this link to download the booklet.
Please note: Semester 2 Student Reports will be released via the Sentral Parent Portal on Friday 13 December. Please ensure you are able to access the portal to retrieve the report. Should you have any questions, please call our office.
In 2025, we will report using the School Bytes platform, so parents will need to download all reports before the end of this school year.
Year 2 Band Expo
We strongly encourage Year 2 students to join our school band for 2025.
This blog will provide you with 10 benefits to learning an instrument: https://moderntonestudios.com/blog/10-reasons-every-child-should-play-musical-instrument/#:~:text=Learning%20to%20play%20an%20instrument%20stimulates%20the%20brain%20cells%2C%20improving,for%20creativity%20and%20their%20emotions.
Please consider enrolling your child in the band for 2025.
School Bytes
Next year, we will be moving away from Sentral for our communication and move solely to School Bytes. This should not be a huge transition for families as almost 100% of our families are registered with School Bytes. School Bytes has an app for your phone, to make it easier to access permission note requirements and payments for events.
Leaving the School in 2024?
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 Thursday 6 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.
Selective High School and Opportunity Classes
Application period for Year 5 entry to opportunity classes and Year 7 entry to selective high schools in 2026 will be open until 21 February 2025. The online application link for parents and carers is available at Selective high schools and opportunity classes.
We have attached some documents that are relevant if you wish to apply for one of these positions, which include:
1. A Fact Sheet all about applications for Selective High Schools and Opportunity Classes
2. Application guide for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2026
3. A guide to selective high schools and opportunity
classes
4. A guide for Applying for your child to attend an opportunity class or selective high school
If you have any further questions, please contact the school.
Lost Property
Last week we received a new cupboard for our lost property. This cupboard will be able to store the lost property with hangers and tubs underneath. The cupboard is located in Block A next to Ms Ellwood's classroom. Of course, we encourage all students to in the first place take care of their belongings and have their
Student Behaviour Support Management Plan (SBSMP)
By the start of Term 1 all schools will need to have this SBSMP published on their school's website. This plan needs to have high expectations for student behaviour, in line with the Behaviour code for students.
Paents are encouraged to work in partnership with the school to implement the SBSMP, supporting their child to abide by the Behaviour code for students, resolving issues about their child’s behaviour, and communicating with school staff and the school community respectfully and collaboratively consistent with the School Community Charter
The SBSMP should provide specific whole-school and targeted strategies, interventions and programs that support student behaviour. Our plan will incorporate our revised PBL framework, aligned with the behaviour code, s well as our dispositions that we outlined at the beginning of the year in our new school plan (curiosity, empathy, resilience, reflective learners and active learners). Alongside these dispositions, we would like to hear from parents and carers for:
* values that they feel are important ti instil in children (e.g. kindness, honesty, etc)
* any suggestions for what this SBSMP should include
If you would like to contribute to this plan, please use this link. We will provide you with the plan when we are closer to publishing it.
https://forms.gle/WPcDLDXn2jRuYzTQ7
Kindergarten and Preschool Orientation
Over the last two weeks the school has been engaged in welcoming new students who are starting preschool and Kindergarten to Five Dock PS. These events have been very successful and students have already settled in so well into their new environments. We have the last of three Kindergarten orientations left next week, where new parents will also get an opportunity to interact and meet each other. Congratulations to all students on the way in which they have started this transition.
A huge congratulations must also go to the Year 5 students who have done an extraordinary job as buddies to the new Kindergarten students. I was extremely proud of all Year 5 students in the way they conducted themselves and supported the new students. The success of this transition was largely due to the Year 5 students and I would sincerely like to thank them all for their maturity, independence, responsibility and care taken in this important job. Congratulations to all Year 5 students - outstanding job!
Thanks also to Mr Justic and Ms Roche for organising these events.
Year 5 Student Leadership Process
Congratulations to all of the students who are vying for a position as Prefect or House Captain. On Monday we announced the names of the students who will be going forward with to the next stage. We wish them all the very best for their speeches and no matter the outcome we are proud of them putting themselves forward in this way.
Have a wonderful fortnight.
Suzi Chosid
Kindergarten and Preschool Orientation
Deadly Award/ Merit Award Winner
Congratulations to this fortnight's Merit Award winners and Deadly awards.
Planting Seeds Project with Mr Sharp
A message from a parent whose children have been inspired by Mr Sharp and the Gardening Club.
I’ve attached a photo collage of our apartment unit’s balcony. Our children, Owen and Natalia, have transformed it from a dull, pointlessly small space into a beautiful, productive garden, full of life.
I wanted to share this as it is in no small part thanks to the efforts of Karl Sharp and garden club. The kids have attended for a few years and it’s been a very positive influence in so many different ways.
About two years ago my parents were hit by a car while crossing the road. They both eventually recovered, but my mother was really bad - broken pelvis and a serious brain injury. I decorated her hospital room in Dunedin (NZ) with lots of family photos, including one of their visit to garden club with Owen and Natalia, as I knew it would invoke happy feelings.
We just want to thank the school and Karl for providing such an invaluable opportunity. Any help you need, please let us know.
We have also attached a photo of Mr Sharp and the team responsible for planting the tree with Stephanie di Pasqua, when they received their special awards.
Garden News
Hello to all Parents and Carers from the Garden Club
I want to inform you about the fabulous Biodiversity Incursion we all enjoyed in week 4. Kate and Nicole from the Planting Seeds project delivered their biodiversity workshop, the B & B Highway, to sixty of our Garden Club and Koori students for half a day. The program was professionally delivered, allowing for spontaneous student interaction with an interactive slide show, activity resources, and natural artefacts. I cannot thank them enough for engaging the students like they did and for the scientific learning opportunity that arose from it.
The B & B Highway program perfectly complimented our current gardening activities by highlighting the importance of attracting pollinators to our garden and creating insect "foraging sites" throughout the community. The B & B Highway program has had an instant effect on our student's scientific interest and further bolstered our connection to the land and the ecosystem that sustains us all. Mr Kubala reported his students couldn’t stop talking about it when they got back to class and Zoe and Eibhlin from year 4 have asked if we can we do activities like the B & B Program at Gardening Club. Sustainability is a subject our students are willing to embrace.
Courtesy of the B & B Highway program FDPS have their own page on the iNaturalistAU website and through the website we can upload photos to create a database of our school’s plant and insect biodiversity. All schools who have been part of the B & B Highway program have begun uploading photos and I noticed for a bit of fun there is a school’s leader board. Hopefully our students can get a chance to document some of our plants and insects before the end of the year and upload them onto the site for identification and climb that leader board. I will post more about this website in the next newsletter with login details etc.
Thanks to the B & B program, we look forward to broadening our garden program to make sustainability the subject of today.
Outgrown Items of Clothing Wanted!
On another note, the students and I are interested in "dressing up" for the garden club. We would appreciate shirts and hats that your kids have grown out of! Highly prized articles of clothing are shirts and hats that resemble working on the land. You can drop them into the office with my name on them.
Come and Join Us
There are only 4 Garden Club meetings left for the year. If you have meant to make it but have yet to get around to it, come and join us from 8:30 am on Fridays. We would love to see you there.
Kind Regards,
Mr Sharp
SRC Report
P&C Meeting/ NSW Teachers' Federation Update
Last Wednesday night at our monthly P&C meeting we had an information session from one of our teachers, Mr Matvi Caplan. Matvi is the Teachers' Federation Representative and he was there to provide an insight into the government funding for public schools. More information from Matvi is included in this newsletter via the presentation below, however one important piece of information that he delivered was that funding for public schools is well below that of private schools. If you are interested in reading more, and having your say, please read through Matvi's information and follow the QR codes for ways you can have your say.
Trading Card Masters/ Burwood Girls HS News
