Newsletter: Term 2 - Week 6

A Message from the Principal

School Start Time -

To maximise the teaching and learning time for our students and in line with relaxed restrictions we are requesting that students arrive at school for a 9:00am start. Gates will remain open until 9:15am for late arrivals, however, we request that you have your child at school for a 9:00am start.

Student Absence -

A number of families may have received a letter from the school regarding student absence. Generally these letters are sent out after we have seven days of absence (consecutive and non-consecutive) where we have not received an explanation for this time. We ask that you action these letters and provide reason for non-attendance.

Parents and carers are required to ensure your child attends school every day or provide an explanation for their absence. As a school we are legally required to maintain an accurate register of attendance of every student on every day when the school is open for attendance. Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children. Our school contacts parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence via an Absence Notification SMS. If you do not reply to the SMS your child’s absence will be marked as unexplained.

Rostrum -

I had the pleasure of being one of the judges for the Rostrum Public Speaking competition school final on Tuesday. It was fabulous to see the talent we have at our school in this area and in particular the apparent lack of nerves that our students have when addressing an audience in excess of 600 viewers. Congratulations to all finalists - a significant feat. Adjudicating the contest proved a challenging task given the quality of speeches, however, after some deliberation it was decided Alisha in Year 6 was our overall winner and Nicholas, also from Year 6 was the runner-up. Alisha will go on to represent the school in the next round of the competition. Congratulations to everyone involved in Rostrum.

Cross Country -

The North Gungahlin region cross country carnival is being competed today, where a number of our students are competing. Congratulations to all involved and thank you to Richard and Janet for being there today to support and marshal our students.

Week 10 Interviews -

Following the handing out of reports during week 9, we will be giving families the opportunity to meet with teachers during week 10, with a late evening option on the Tuesday. Families will have the choice whether they bring their child to these meetings, or wish to discuss their child’s progress without them present. Detailed information will be sent out to families next week with the usual booking procedures on the www.schoolinterviews.com.au website being available.

Reconciliation Week –

I mentioned in our last newsletter, that Monday was Reconciliation Day in the ACT, part of Reconciliation Week. Whilst our school didn’t have a large event it was certainly recognised. If you voted a fortnight ago at Neville Bonner Primary School you may have noticed the updated art display in the foyer of the hall featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inspired works from our students which were the contributions from across the school. This week, our previous staff member Viv shared a resource for classes to increase the understanding and need for reconciliation entitled ‘What is Reconciliation? Explained by a child – for other children’ .

Dates to Remember

Friday 27 May to Friday 3 June - Reconciliation week

Wednesday 1 June - Second hand uniform shop open (morning)
Friday 3 June - Round 1 enrolments close
Friday 3 June - District cross country - Stromlo park
Wednesday 8 June - Second hand uniform shop open (afternoon)
Monday 13 June - Queens birthday public holiday
Wednesday 15 June - Second hand uniform shop open (morning)
Friday 17 June - Book club orders due online
Monday 20 June - Year 1 reptile zoo excursion
Monday 20 June - P & C meeting
Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 June - Year 5 camp 'The Tops'
Friday 24 June - Pupil free day
Thursday 30 June - Athletics carnival - Amaroo oval

Friday 1 July - Last day of term 2
Sunday 3 -10 July - NAIDOC week - Get up! Stand up! Show up!
Saturday 30 July - P & C second hand book fair

Communications Sent Home This Week

Notes and Emails Home

COVID-19 exposure letters
Year 1 reptile zoo excursion

SMS Texts Home

Absences

Student Stationery & Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to all parents/carers who have paid for their student stationery packs and made voluntary contributions for 2022. These funds are essential for providing much needed resources for your child/ren to assist with their learning.

A reminder for all parents/carers who have yet to pay for their child/ren's stationery pack or make a contribution, it is not too late. To make a payment online, please go to https://www.nevillebonnerps.act.edu.au/payment

If you have any questions regarding the stationery packs or voluntary contributions, please contact reception.

Absences Messages

If your child is going to be absent from school for the day you do not need to contact reception.

An SMS alert is sent each morning for children absent from school and we ask you to reply to this message if your child is sick or on leave to advise the reason for the absence.

This is our preferred method of communication as it is recorded as an approved written absence from a parent or carer. We ask that you only contact reception to notify us of extended leave or for COVID-19 reasons.

Medical Information

Please update your child’s medical action plans (asthma, anaphylaxis and allergies) and medication at reception. If you are unsure if these have lapsed or are out of date please contact reception.

It is important to have theses up to date so we can assist your child with management, in case of an emergency and for upcoming excursions.

ACT health now offer a free asthma clinic in Gungahlin every second Tuesday between 8.30am-3.30pm. See the ad later in the newsletter for details.

In other medical related news, Neville Bonner primary school now has its own defibrillator. Located in the first aid room at reception. This could be a life saver in our community. Previously the closest one was at Woolworths at Bonner shops.

Assembly Schedule

We have returned to our regular Assembly Schedule and are pleased to invite parents back onsite to join us in the hall. Please see below classes hosting assembly this term.

2023 Enrolments

Round one enrolments for Preschool and Year 7 close on Friday 3 June.

Offers will be sent out from Monday 25 July.

Apply through the ACT education website: Enrolling in a Public School - Education (act.gov.au)

Kindergarten Learning Page

Seasons

This term, the Dynamic Dolphins have been learning about the four seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. The children were asked about their favourite season.

I like spring because I can see baby animals and flowers that bloom. Caitlin.

I like autumn because animals start having babies and the flowers and fruit grow. Tanvi.

I like winter because it is cold. Connie.

I like spring because of the pretty flowers and the baby animals. Cady.

Maezika. I like autumn because all the leaves are falling.

Zahli. My favourite season is summer because I like the hot weather and I can go to the beach.

Daniel. I like playing with my friends in Autumn.

Aarathi. I like spring because of the flowers, the sun and the rainbows after the rain.

Jacobo. I like to swim at the beach and see the animals in summer. Winter is my favourite season because I can go to the snow. Isaac.

I like spring because it starts to get warm and I like seeing the baby animals at the zoo. Callum.

My favourite season is winter because I get to play in the snow and stay in a hotel. Dakota.

I like summer because we celebrate my birthday and Christmas in December. Enyah

I like winter because I can build a snowman. Lachlan.

Thomas. My favourite season is autumn because I get to kick the leaves.

Lovele. I like spring because I look for chipmunks.

Akol. I like autumn because I can play soccer.

Reyan. In winter, I like playing in the snow.

Ethan. I like spring because there are lots of flowers.

I like summer because I can play at the beach. Mishal.

Year 5 Learning Page

Y5 Ocean Savers

Year 5 Ocean Savers

share their joy for Reading Books.

Music Learning Page

Specialist Music Lessons

This term in specialist music lessons, as well as making music using percussion instruments, ukuleles and digital technologies, children have been learning and performing our 2 school songs.

Our School Welcome song encapsulates Neville Bonner's ongoing influence on our school.

Click here to view the lyrics and click here to listen to a recording performed by the Kindergarten 'Fairy Penguins'.

Yunggaballi is our main school theme. Yunggaballi is a Ngunnawal word for sing, and the song also uses the words Murranga - hand, and Gadi - search for knowledge.

Click here to view the lyrics and further history of the song, and click here to listen to a recording performed by the Year 5 Ocean Rescuers.

Parents' and Citizens' Association

2022 NBPS P&C Committee

Keep an eye on the School Newsletter and the Facebook group for the event notices.

P&C Constitution Review - Special Resolution

We are proposing a new constitution be adopted for our P&C. A Special Resolution, "for the Neville Bonner Primary School P&C Association to adopt a whole new constitution to align with current best practice" is proposed. In order to adopt a new constitution, the Special Resolution must be passed at a Special General Meeting. This meeting will be held, just before our next Committee Meeting, at 6.30pm on Monday 20th June 2022 in the staff lounge. To obtain a copy of the proposed constitution for review, please email nevillebonnerps.pandc@gmail.com.

P&C Committee Meeting

The next Committee meeting is at 7pm on Monday 20th June in the staff lounge.

All school families are welcome to attend.

Items coming up

- School Disco!! It's back. We're looking at theme ideas now and will have more information coming out about the when and how it will be organised. All year groups will be catered for, from Preschool to Year 6.

- Second Hand Book Fair - Planning is underway for Saturday 30th July. We are getting closer to looking for donations, very soon, but not yet.

Parent ACTion magazine

The Term 2 edition of the ACT Council of P&C Associations ''Parent ACTion'' magazine is now out. You can view it here!

Canteen

Our canteen is open for lunch five days a week, orders are via Flexischools website (https://flexischools.com.au/), the Flexischools App or cash direct to the canteen. Any cancellations must be advised prior to 9am on the day.

Remember, if you happened to forget to pick up some lunchbox items over the weekend, we have some great meal deals on Mondays and Tuesdays to ease the stress!

Over the counter sales are still on!

Every Thursday and Friday during break two for snack time.

Our canteen will have some delicious snacks available for the children to buy during the afternoon. There will be freshly baked muffins and pikelets, popcorn, crackers, potato sticks, pretzels, fruit, yoghurt, juice, flavoured milk and more! Gluten free and halal options will be available.

Prices start from $1.00, and this is a great way to learn and be responsible about handling money.

Come and support your canteen and grab a yummy snack!

Birthday cupcakes

Our amazing canteen team offers birthday cupcakes! Cost is $30 per class, with orders required one (1) week in advance. To place an order, or for more information, please email canteennbps@gmail.com.

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 3 orders have arrived and will be sorted for delivery early next week.

Issue 4 catalogues will go home shortly with a closing date of 17 June.

Unfortunately, we can not accept cash orders through the front office, please place orders through the Scholastic Book Club LOOP website

There is an option to select 'gift' during the order process if you do not want your child to receive the order. If you select this option you will receive a phone call to collect your order at a different time.

Don’t forget 20% of every sale is given to us in ‘rewards’ that the school can use to purchase resources from the catalogues.

Second Hand Uniform Shop

For the remainder of Term Two, the Uniform shop will be open on EVEN Wednesdays in the morning and ODD Wednesdays in the afternoon.

Upcoming open periods are -

** Week 7 - Wednesday, 8th June from 2:30pm to 3:30pm in the Mabo Bvd car park; and

** Week 8 - Wednesday, 15th June from 8:45am to 9:45am outside the school hall;

We have loads of pre-loved uniforms for sale. Preferred payment is via EFTPOS, however cash will be accepted. The photos provide an idea of the availability of stock.

If you have good quality Winter school uniforms (tracksuit pants, jumpers, long sleeve shirts) you no longer need, the P&C will gratefully accept your donation to our second hand uniform stall through the canteen.

Return-It Scheme

The P&C have registered with the Canberra Return-it scheme, you can donate to the P&C by using the QR code (or phone number) attached to the newsletter.

The process is:

- Place your bags of cans or bottles into a semi-see-through bag.

- Scan the QR code, or enter the phone number, from the flyer, at the return point, follow the remainder of the instructions and attach the printed sticker to the bag.

- Deposit the bag(s) into the hopper.

- A deposit notice will be received by the P&C - Thank you!!!

There are two, close to school, return points located at:

- Gungahlin - O'Brien Place - near the carwash, vet and Goodyear tyres

- Amaroo - near the school oval off Horsepark Drive.

The returns generated from the scheme will assist the P&C to support the school, from sports equipment, school discos, Year 6 end-of-year surprises, etc.

Contact Us

Want to touch base with your P&C? You can email us at nevillebonnerps.pandc@gmail.com, or connect through FB at https://www.facebook.com/NBPS.PandC.