Hill Street News

 A Connected, Creative, Caring Learning Community. 

Term 4 Week 2

Acknowledgement of Country 

We would like to pay respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay respect to Elders both past and present and future.

Welcome back to the last term of the year! It has been a great start to the term as I have had the opportunity to listen to students read, see improvements in handwriting and hear about so many things students have learnt in lessons when I have visited their classrooms and as well when they have greeted me in the playground. Our wonderful DanceSport team even performed for parents and carers at our whole school assembly last Friday. It was wonderful to greet our K-2 and our support unit students when they returned to school and hear that they had a fantastic and fun day at Featherdale Wildlife Park on Tuesday 18 October.

Students and staff must stay home when they are sick. Students, staff and visitors should only attend school when they are symptom free. We strongly encourage all students, staff and visitors to follow the guidance issued by NSW Health. We will continue to send home students or staff displaying symptoms. Anyone who believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 is strongly recommended to monitor for symptoms and test if they have any concerns, as well as wear a mask. 

We are continuing our COVID-smart measures and rapid antigen test kits for students, are available at the office, if requested by parents and carers. Our school will continue to operate with our baseline COVID-smart measures in place throughout Term 4 to minimise transmission and keep our school open. This includes a combination of layered safety measures such as maintaining hygiene and cleaning practices, using rapid antigen testing (RAT) when experiencing symptoms, maximising natural ventilation, and encouraging mask-wearing particularly when indoors and/or physical distancing is not possible. Please see Advice for families (nsw.gov.au) for more details.

An Anti-bullying parent forum is being held in the library next Friday 28 October 2022 at 2pm. If you are interested in attending, please let the office know by next Wednesday 26 October 2022. We look forward to your valued contributions.

All Year 5 students went home this week with an information book on the Selective High School placement process. Please note that applications for Year 7 entry to selective high schools in 2024 opened on 18 October 2022 and will close on 16 November 2022. 

All candidates are required to sit the Selective High School Placement Test to be held on Thursday 4 May 2023. 

Information about the application and placement process can be found at https://education.nsw.gov.au/publicschools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunityclasses/year-7 

The online application dashboard enables parents to log in to make updates and add attachments even after an application is submitted. Requests for late applications will be approved only under very specific and welldocumented circumstances. Parents/carers are able to communicate directly with the Selective Education Unit through the system’s messages feature. Updates on the selective high school placement process can be found at https://education.nsw.gov.au/publicschools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunityclasses

Have you changed your contact details? 

There have been occasions where we have tried to contact parent/carers and have been unable to do so due to not being informed of changed addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. Please ensure all parent/carer and emergency contact details are up to date. This is a safety issue as we need to be able to contact all parent/carers if your child injures themselves or becomes ill at school. 

Changes can be emailed to the school at: mccallumhi-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au 

We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

We are currently planning for our 2023 enrolments.  Kindergarten enrolments are being accepted for all eligible siblings of those already enrolled at our school. Children must turn 5 before 1 August 2023 to be able to enrol for next year. 

Those parents who do not live in the catchment area and wish to send their child to McCallums Hill Public School are also required to complete an ‘out of area’ application, which will be reviewed by the Out of Area Panel. 

To enrol or to complete an ‘out of area’ application, go to the school website and click on the enrolment tab at the top of the home page Enrolment - McCallums Hill Public School (nsw.gov.au)  or come to the office to speak to one of our staff.

It was so nice to meet some of our new Kindergarten students and their families on Thursday at the Sneak Peek tour of the school. For those who are interested our next tour is Thursday 3 November at 2.30pm. 

Starting school is a big milestone for children and their families. The transition between learning environments can be both challenging and exciting. We have three dates for children and their families to attend our Orientation program.

Kindergarten orientation sessions will be held on: 

• Tuesday 8 November
• Wednesday 16 November 
• Tuesday 22 November 

If you have a child who will be attending next year and haven't enrolled them yet, please do so.

World Teachers’ Day is on Friday 28 October. Our teachers at MHPS have shown great resilience during challenging times, all so they can give our students the best future possible. We are so grateful for our wonderful teachers and appreciate their dedication and commitment.

Looking forward to another wonderful fortnight at MHPS.

Kindest regards

Elizabeth Markovski

Please find attached the term overview for each key learning area for all stages.

Please see information below on Bullying. 

bnw-factsheet-1-bullying-definitions.pdf

Our preferred method of payment is online. This can be accessed through our school app or website. Feel free to contact the front office if you require any help with this.

If your unable to make payment online and wish to pay cash, please ensure you have placed all money in an envelope or zip lock bag clearly marked with your child's name and class and what the payment is for.

PARENT ONLINE PAYMENTS.pdf

Welcome to Term 4, a term, which is busy and full of excitement. It has been wonderful to see how well students have settled back into the school routine. We are all set for another exciting term of learning, fun and celebration in the Kindergarten classrooms.

We will be starting the term with exploring the book, Amy and Louis by Libby Gleeson. This book is about two friends that live next door to each other and how they engaged in play. Until one day, one of them moves far, far away. Through the exploration of this book, students will be focusing on using capital letters for proper nouns in their writing, identifying emotions and sequencing events in the story into beginning, middle and end.

Maths groups continue to focus on understanding number. In class, the focus is addition and subtraction.

Featherdale Farm was a day filled with fun and excitement. Students got up close to many animals, watched the penguins get fed, patted a snake, lizard, koala and many kangaroos. We even tried to guess which bird was the loudest. There were a lot of birds! We were amazed to find out that it was the Brolga!

As the weather warms up, it is important to be sun smart. Wearing a hat every day is important and part of our school uniform. Please ensure students come to school wearing their hat and their name is on it.

 Stage 1 have had a busy and exciting term 4 so far.After completing a unit on farm animals last term, they were able to go on an excursion to Featherdale Animal Park at Doonside on Tuesday.

K-2 students and Support Unit students travelled by bus and arrived at Featherdale around 10am.The first activity was to walk around the park to observe the farm animals as well as the other wild life. Some of the animals observed were penguins, kangaroos, goats, emus, echidnas, wombats, reptiles and native birds.

The educational talks were next which were very entertaining and informative, followed by lunch then a trip back to school by bus. The students were able to touch a blue tongue lizard, a baby wallaby, a snake and a koala.

Here are some photos of the Excursion to Featherdale.

Stage 2 have  enjoyed being back at school and getting back into their learning routines for Term 4.

Last week we began Dance in Creative Arts. We will be learning a variety of individual, paired, group and circle dances where students will learn actions and movements that are accompanied by music or chanting. We are looking forward to developing our movement and coordination skills when learning dances such as :

“ The Chicken Dance”

“ The Hokey Pokey”

“The Nutbush”

“ Heel and Toe Polka”

“ Agadoo”

“ Milkshake”

“ Hi Joe”

“ Cha Cha Slide”

Stage 2 are continuing their learning about the earth’s Environment and have been creating posters to show the type of plants, animals and landscapes found around the world. We have been working in groups for Geography to draw different biomes and identify different types of vegetation and animals that can be found there. We have been learning about rounding off 2 and 3 digit numbers to the nearest 10 and 100. Some students are working on 4 and 5 digit numbers to extend themselves. We are learning about how this skill can help us when checking calculations quickly or when we don’t need an exact figure and need to mentally complete the calculation quickly. We have also discussed how rounding up or down can help us when using money. 

Last week 3B were delighted when they noticed that a green tree near our classroom had blossomed and rich, red flowers had emerged! Students were inspired to learn more about the Crimson Bottlebrush tree and to recreate its beautiful spring display using paint, card and coloured paper. 3B completed research about the bottlebrush and look forward to sharing our finished work soon! 

4A made Stage 2 very proud last week by winning the Whole School Assembly Award last Friday for demonstrating respectful behaviour and were also specially acknowledged by the Sports in Schools Teacher for being the best class this week.  

3/4S have been bringing in their novels into school every day and have been given opportunities to share with the class about the many different types of texts we have been reading. They are working hard to improve on their Home Reading. 

Welcome to Term 4! This term, Stage 3 will be working hard to enhance their knowledge and skills across the curriculum. Year 5 students have completed the Check In Assessment during Week 1, in which they responded to questions in Reading and Numeracy.

In our English Unit, we are looking at the book Sadako by Eleanor Coerr and it is amazing to see how engaged the students are already. Students will be further investigating Sadako’s life and will be writing a biography during library time with Ms. Drury.

In writing, students will learn about the structure of procedural texts as we link this with our Science unit (Exploring forces) and our Geography unit (A diverse and connected world). Mrs Vander Graaf will be using our Science unit and writing to focus on Grammar with the stage 3 classes.

In Mathematics, we are continuing our Number groups one day per week, with a focus on problem solving. The strands of Maths that will be covered in class this term include: 2D & 3D Space, Angles, Volume & Capacity and Area.

Stage 3 students and teachers are looking forward to camp in Week 4 (3-4 November). Further Information to follow.

Velvet Crab and Barracuda had an excursion to Featherdale Wildlife Park.

In 1-3 Hammerhead, students have been learning about fractions. The have engaged in interactive whiteboard games identifying if a shape is cut into equal parts or non-equal parts. 

They have also enjoyed using playdough to make pizzas and pancakes that they then cut in half. 

Students in 3-6 sharks have been learning about Time in their math lessons. They have enjoyed using the interactive panel and hands-on clocks to demonstrate their learning. 

Can you please ensure to bring library bags to school on your library day so that you can borrow books to take home? 

If you forget to return a book or borrow you are more than welcome to come into the library at lunch time to do so.

Book sale to Support Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Monday:  Humpback Whale, 1 Wobbegong, 3 Barramundi, 3/4Stingray, 1 Barracuda,

Tuesday:  Hammerhead, 6 Tiger Shark, K Starfish, 5 Manta Ray,

Wednesday: 2 Kingfish, K Octopus, K Krill, Velvet Crab, 6 Koi,

Thursday: 5 Eels, 2 Goldfish, 4 Angelfish, Sharks

Birthdays are wonderful milestones to celebrate and for many of our students they wish to share this experience with their class and peers. Unfortunately, due to the increase in food allergies, we are unable to share any food, cakes, cupcakes, lollies or treats at school. Parents are advised that teachers will not be able to share any edible birthday treats as they may contain ingredients that some students are unable to eat. As an alternative you may like to consider some party bags with pencils, stickers, stamps etc 

At the end of each day, a large collection of clothing and containers are left behind. Please ensure all belongings are clearly labelled so that items can be returned. Lost property is placed in the container outside the office. Parents are encouraged to go through this to check for lost property at drop-off or pick up time. 

Please note that when making cash payments at the office, please ensure that you have the correct amount as we do not have any change. If this cannot be done, we will put the balance into Fees In Advance where it can be used for later payments.  

Our Parent Online Payment (P.O.P) system is quick and easy. POP can be accessed via the "Make a Payment " tab in the school app or on the McCallums Hill Public School website and you do not need your child's SRN to make a payment. Please note that if cash is your only option, the correct amount must be placed, in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name and class, into the payment box in the office by 9.30am each day. Please also remember that all payments for excursions and programs have a final payment due date. This final due date will be indicated on all excursion and permission notes. All payments should be made in full by 9:30am of the final due date stated on the permission note. Late payments will not be accepted, and your child may miss the excursion or program.

School uniforms are now available for purchase from: 

 Midford Schoolwear

1608 Canterbury Rd, PUNCHBOWL  2196 

Opening hours:

 Monday - Friday: 9am-5pm  

Saturday: 9am -2pm    

Please read this very important information about student attendance.

Please see images below of driving offences in school zones.

During week 3 our student leaders will be conducting parent surveys before and after school. 
At MHPS we believe that a sense of connection and belonging for parents, carers and students is essential to building and maintaining strong relationships, and ultimately better outcomes for our students’ learning and wellbeing.
We would like to know more about connection and belonging from your perspective, the parents and carers of our students. Please share your thoughts and ideas on how we could improve your sense of connection and belonging by completing the short survey.  This survey is anonymous.

We appreciate your time in doing this and look forward to reading your ideas. 

Ms Gardner

The School Community Charter outlines the responsibilities of parents, carers, educators and school staff in NSW public schools to ensure our learning environments are collaborative, supportive and cohesive. 

We all play a part

Parents and carers play an important role in the school community. The School Community Charter informs parents and carers on how to engage with NSW public schools. Read the School Community Charter (PDF 1.4 MB) to ensure you understand how important it is to create a positive learning environment for our students.

Parents and carers can expect:

• to be welcomed into our schools to work in partnership to promote student learning
• communication from teaching staff will be timely, polite, informative and solutions focussed
• professional relationships with school staff will be based on transparency, honesty and mutual respect
• to be treated fairly. Tolerance and understanding are promoted as we respect diversity.

Our staff will find a time to talk to you when they can give you their full attention. Please remember that while our staff are in class or dealing with other matters, they may not be available to answer your questions immediately.

Respectful communication is a right

In all workplaces, people have the right to feel respected. Unacceptable and offensive behaviour has no place in our school communities. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and the community in our schools, steps will be taken to address unacceptable behaviour. This may include restricting contact with the school community or, in more serious cases, referral to NSW Police.

Unacceptable behaviour in schools

Unacceptable behaviour may include but is not limited to:

• Aggressive or intimidating actions, such as violence, threatening gestures or physical proximity.
• Aggressive or intimidating language, including the use of obscenities, making sexist, racist or derogatory comments or using a rude tone.
• Treating members of the school community differently due to aspects such as their religion or disability.
• Inappropriate and time wasting communication.

We look forward to connecting with our community to ensure we have a collaborative, cohesive and supportive culture that has positive outcomes for all.

Please see attached code of conduct required of parents, carers, visitors and other persons on school grounds.

Code of Conduct Parents on School Grounds.pdf 

Roselands Early Learning Centre.pdf

02 9759 4396
mccallumhi-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
McCallum Street, Roselands NSW 2196
mccallumhi-p.schools.nsw.gov.au