THE UPSIDE

30th of November 2022 - ISSUE 19

News and updates from

I am incredibly proud to say that Ultimo PS is a school that welcomes students from a number of diversities and communities. This cross section of diversity provides a rich and welcoming environment within our school. As a community we encourage our members to fully support our model of inclusion. We accept and welcome that diversity is an integral part of our lives in Australian society and we honour this acceptance by treating all members of our community in respectful, inclusive and equitable ways.  These are values we strongly role model as part of our school and hope that as part of our school community,  families respect and support these rights afforded to all.  Should you find that you encounter a diversity represented in our school that you do not understand please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Parry to discuss your questions. We welcome the opportunity to create a space for improving our school community to one which excels at inclusion, dignity, equity, and respect. 

The 2023 Schools Spectacular was held at Qudos Bank Arena on the Friday 24th and 25th of November and a group of our students were lucky enough to be a part of the performance. This was the first time since before COVID that we were able to participate and our students were thrilled to be a part of such a magnificent show. Over 3 800 students from schools across NSW performed and our students who attended have said that the performance is something they will always remember.

Another huge thank you to Ms Chang who has been working with these students throughout the year and for assisting with transport for both rehearsals and the performance evenings. 

If you are interested in finding out more about Schools Spectacular - click here.

The presentation day assembly will be held on Friday 2^nd December from 9.30 - 10.30 am. It is an opportunity for us to acknowledge and celebrate the learning journey of students in 2022. Parents and friends are welcome to come along and they are invited to bring a picnic to share with their child from 10.30 - 11.15 am. 

At the Monday morning assembly we will be saying farewell to Ms Johns who has been with us at Ultimo Public School for 22 years. Ms Johns has held many roles within the school but more recently as Assistant Principal and this year as our librarian. Many of our current and past students would have been taught by Ms Johns and I have no doubt that she has had impact on many of our young students lives. Ms John's last day is Friday.

Ms Johns is looking forward to beginning her retirement in the Blue Mountains and although we will miss her dearly, we are excited for her and this next chapter of her life. 

Yesterday members from our Student Representative Council hosted a visit with the school leaders from Glebe Public School. Both of our schools have only recently re-established SRCs and we both wanted to review our progress and brainstorm about how we can better prepare leaders of the future.

The morning began with a great team building activity and then moved into the sharing of success stories. The highlight of the session was the brainstorm that took place for how we can partner in the future to work on ideas that will support and focus on community. 

I would like to thank Ms Jankovic and Ms Cassel for hosting the visit as well as the teachers from Glebe PS, Ms Pedron and Ms Rush.

The Christmas in Pyrmont event on Sunday was another success and it was wonderful to see so many of our school community at the event. In partnership with the P&C, the school ran the BBQ stall and as usual, the sausage on a roll seemed to hit the spot with the many visitors.

I absolutely loved watching our senior choir and the Chinese dance group perform and I wanted to thank Ms Chang and Ms Xu for preparing and supporting them on the day.

I also wanted to thank Juvanka Roberts, Ms Christie and Ms Karri who were a part of the organising committee and of course to all of the wonderful parents and community members who volunteered their time on day.

I am pleased to announce that a number of new teachers have been appointed to our school as permanent teachers. I would like to welcome, Mr Richard Huntington, Ms Amy Bauer, Mr Angus Roby and Ms Eleni Konstantinidis - they will all be starting at our school in 2023.

I am also sad to announce that Ms Prenter will be leaving at the end of the year. She has been offered a permanent position at Auburn North Public School and will be starting there in 2023. Ms Prenter has been with us for 14 years and has been an inspirational member of our school community. She will be missed but we are excited for her and this wonderful opportunity.

Stage 3 students competed in the 2022 Math Olympiad Competition.
They showed incredible resilience and work ethic when answering these incredibly hard questions.  Here is a sample of one of the questions:

There are 6 cups, equally spaced, arranged in a circle in some order. Each cup has a different colour: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. 

The blue cup is not next to the green cup. 

The purple cup is next to the yellow cup. 

The red cup is next to the green and purple cup. 

Which cup is directly across from the orange cup? 

Feeling confused? Don't worry, our mathematicians are here to help. 

The answer is .....

The cup directly across from the orange cup is the purple cup. 

It helps to draw a diagram and follow the statements. 

Special mentions 

• Charles 5/6L: Equal 1^st place in Ultimo P.S Math Olympiad Competition. Achieved top 10% results in exam.
• Isabella Y 5/6N: Equal 1^st place in Ultimo P.S Math Olympiad Competition. Achieved top 10% results exam. 
• Sohpie 5/6P: Achieved top 25% results in exam. 
• Grace 5/6P: Achieved top 25% results in exam. 
• Evan 5/6N: Achieved top 25% results in exam.  

Stage 1 traveled to Centennial Park to explore the geographical features and local creatures. Students enjoyed a range of hands-on activities led by the park rangers that included collecting data from the pond, observing flying foxes in their habitat, making maps from sustainable materials and exploring the grounds. We were also lucky enough to spend time in the Ian Potter Playground and surroundings, making the most of the beautiful weather with soccer and imaginary games. It was a fantastic day!

Please be reminded that families wishing to apply for Extended Leave (travel) must do so prior to leaving the school. Applications can be collected from the school admin team or downloaded HERE.

Parents are requested to make sure that any changes in address ,telephone number,medical information or emergency phone numbers registered on their child's school records are kept up to date.If any of these details change please inform the school immediately  with the updated information via our email address ultimo-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au or via the school app.

Please be reminded that the last day to order uniform will be the 2nd of December . All orders after this date will be processed in the first week of  February upon returning to school in 2023. All orders are to be  placed on Flexischools to be delivered to your child's classroom by the end of Term. If your child has lost any uniform please come and have a look at our lost property box located on level 3 beside Wahoos. If you are interested in buying OR donating some 2nd hand uniforms please contact the school office.

On Wednesday some  Year 5 students participated in the school leader speech for 2023. We congratulate all the students for giving it a go and giving outstanding speeches.We wish all the participants the very best of luck. 

This week's value is responsibility. Responsibility is being accountable for your individual and community’s actions towards yourself, others and the environment. Taking responsibility means making decisions, taking action,setting high standards and learning from our mistakes. Being responsible means that you take ownership of your decisions and actions. Being responsible can help you become a dependable person and a problem solver. Responsible learners think things through and use good judgement before they take action. 

We look forward to  Friday's assembly. It is a special assembly that will celebrate our learning and achievements this year at Ultimo PS .Presentation day will start at 9.30 a.m.  We are so excited  because  we will get to know the new school leaders for 2023.After the assembly we will have a picnic on school grounds ,don’t forget to get your blankets! We hope everyone is having a nice last few weeks of term and remember to always try your best

Next week is Student Wellbeing week. On Monday we will be participating in kindness day by doing something nice for a friend or buddy in our class. Tuesday is Cultural day, where we can bring or wear something from our cultural background to share with our class, we still need to follow school rules and not bring food to share or valuable items. On Wednesday, teachers and students will compete against each other in a soccer game. Thursday is calm drawing/ colouring day, students will be engaging in mindful artworks or colouring in with their class. On Friday, we will be dancing in the COLA from 2pm until 2:30 pm in a whole school dance party!

Wellbeing week is a week of education and fun. The SRC representatives for each class take ideas from their class and share it at our meetings. The SRC then votes for the ideas that are most popular and achievable. We also announce the ideas to our class and at assembly. The SRC created the poster for Wellbeing week, thank you to Olive in year 1 who worked hard to create the Term 4 poster. We follow this process every term, everyone is always so excited about planning Student Wellbeing Week. We hope you will have a fun wellbeing week!

 Written by: Isabella P (Stage 3) and Edrea C (Stage 2)

Please see the attached flyer .There is a  box to place your much appreciated donations in the school office foyer.

December

Thu 1st- Stage 2 Incursion Ranger Jamie

Fri 2nd - Presentation Day Assembly 9.30-10.30a.m.

               -School Picnic    10.30 a.m.

Fri 9th- 5/6 Lobster  Assembly (Stage 2 and 3 ) 12.55 p.m

            - Dancefever Multi Sport Fundraiser prize Stage 1

Tue 13th- Year 6 Farewell Dinner

Wed 14th - Talent Quest and Stage 2 and 3 drama group performance

Thu 15th- Year 6 Fun Day Bowling 

Fri 16th- Year 6 Farewell Assembly

Fri 16th- Last Day of Term 4 

January 

Tue 31st- First Day back for students from Year 1-6