The Grapevine

The Newsletter of Glendore Public School

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land.

We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.

We recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of the Awabakal People.

We celebrate with and respect members of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

Where Everyone Can Succeed

Farewell and Thank You to John Carolan (GA John)

After ten dedicated years of service, we say farewell to our General Assistant, John Carolan, who is retiring from Glendore Public School. John has been an invaluable part of our school community, always ready with a helping hand, ensuring our grounds are well-maintained, and contributing to the smooth running of our school. His hard work and friendly presence will be greatly missed by students, staff, and families alike.

In his retirement, John is looking forward to spending more time with his family, enjoying some well-deserved fishing and camping trips. We extend our heartfelt thanks to John for his commitment and service, and we wish him all the best in this exciting new chapter of his life.

Best Wishes to Casey Tomeski and a Warm Welcome Back to Natasha Santlenban

As we near the end of Term 3, we would like to wish Casey Tomeski all the best as she heads off on maternity leave to welcome her second baby. We are excited for this next chapter in her life and look forward to hearing the wonderful news.

In her absence, we are pleased to welcome back Natasha Santlenban, who will be teaching 6TB on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays throughout Term 4. Natasha is a familiar face in our community, and we are thrilled to have her back on board.

Seeking Your Support: Appropriate Use of Toilets

We are seeking the support of parents and carers in reminding children about the appropriate use of school toilets. Toilets are not areas for playing, eating, or any other activities besides their intended purpose. Unfortunately, over the course of the year we have had to replace multiple toilet seats, repair cisterns, call plumbers to unblock toilets and schedule additional cleaning due to ongoing misuse and vandalism.

By encouraging respectful and responsible use of these facilities, we can ensure that all toilets remain available and clean for student use. If these issues persist, we may need to adjust the playground duty roster to provide closer supervision of toilet areas, which could result in the cancellation of some other activities.

We appreciate your understanding and support in helping us maintain a clean and safe environment for all students.

What is bullying?

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

Bullying has three key features. It:

• involves a misuse of power in a relationship

• is ongoing and repeated, and

• involves behaviours that can cause harm.

Bullying can also occur online. This is known as cyberbullying which is using technology such as the internet or mobile devices to bully someone. It can include sending abusive texts and emails, posting hurtful messages and putting inappropriate comments on pictures of others.

Bullying of any kind is not acceptable in NSW schools, whatever the reason. Schools are committed to working with parents, staff and students to prevent bullying and respond quickly and effectively if it does occur.

At Glendore, we encourage our students and families to report concerns immediately. You can phone the office or email the school. Your communication will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member for follow-up.

The staff at Glendore Public School are always willing to meet and discuss any concerns or queries you may have about aspects of school and your child's education.

To request a meeting, please contact the office on 4955 6644 to arrange a time that is mutually convenient for both parties. You can appreciate that schools (like all work sites) are incredibly busy and complex places and that our staff are not always available without prior notice.

To avoid disappointment, please confirm your appointment before coming to school.

Social Media

Please note that social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram and so on have an age restriction of 13 years +.

We have found that most instances of cyber bullying (brought to our attention at school) occur via social media platforms like those mentioned above. Children do not access these during school hours and we implore you to closely monitor the internet and social media usage of your children to avoid safety risks, peer conflicts and incidents of online bullying.

Our recommendation is to adhere to the age limits to avoid unnecessary upset and exposure to often hurtful content.
We thank you for your support with this.

There are some wonderful support resources for parents and carers provided by the Department of Education NSW. They can be found at - https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/schooling-initiatives/anti-bullying/parents-and-carers

Safe Travel to and From School

We kindly ask all parents and carers to have a conversation with their children about the importance of traveling safely to and from school. Students should go directly to school in the mornings and head straight home in the afternoons.

Recently, there have been reports of children stopping by local shops during these times. For their safety and to ensure they arrive at school on time and return home promptly, please remind your children to avoid unnecessary stops and stay on their direct route. Your support in reinforcing this message is greatly appreciated.

Carols on the Green – November 28

We are excited to announce that our Term 4 community event, Carols on the Green, is well underway in planning! The committee, made up of dedicated teachers and P&C members, met yesterday to organise what promises to be a wonderful evening for our school community. With festive cheer, music, and fun for all ages, we look forward to sharing this special occasion with you. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the event.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone,

Annette Van Egmond

As we finish term 3, our Stage 3 students have embarked on a series of enriching and engaging experiences which have supported their growth across multiple domains.

Our Year 5 students had an adventurous Day Camp at Pt Wolstoncroft. This trip was designed to enhance their physical education, sports skills, and overall health and well-being. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to engage in outdoor activities, develop teamwork, and enjoy the great outdoors.

Meanwhile, our Year 6 students experienced an insightful excursion to Canberra. This journey delved into Australian history, offering a hands-on approach and fostering a deeper understanding of our nation’s heritage. It was also an invaluable experience for their personal growth and student wellbeing.

All our Stage 3 students look forward to a range of High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) activities, including STEM Days. These termly events are set to ignite curiosity, creativity, and a passion for learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Another fantastic HPGE opportunity is for selected Stage 3 students to accompany Miss Cook to the High School for some CAPA enrichment opportunities.

None of these experiences would be possible without the dedication and hard work of our incredible Stage 3 staff. Their commitment to providing our students with opportunities for growth and exploration is truly commendable. A heartfelt thank you to all our teachers and staff for your unwavering support and enthusiasm.

Here’s to the remainder of the year being full of learning, adventure, and achievement for our Stage 3 students and staff!

Online safety for every family

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety.gov.au) has released resources to help parents and carers from all backgrounds to protect their families online.

The Online Safety for Every Family resources cover how to:

- get started with social media

- enjoy safer online gaming

- help your child if they are bullied online

- to make sure more families can start a conversation with their children about online safety

The resources are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Hindi, Nepali,

Punjabi, Sinhalese, Swahili, Tamil, Tigrinya, Uyghur and Vietnamese.

Visit eSafety.gov.au for more information.

We are excited to announce a drawing competition to help raise money for a special cause. With just a gold coin donation to enter, students can showcase their creativity while contributing to a fantastic initiative—supporting our local wildlife!

All funds raised will go towards purchasing bird baths for our school playground, providing a safe and welcoming environment for local birds. It’s a great way for students to get involved in making our playground more wildlife-friendly.

Please submit your drawing of an Australian native animal, along with a gold coin, to Kayleigh M and our Ministers Alexis H and Zara M throughout the first week back after the holidays. They will be at the front of the school each morning to collect entries.

Prizes will be awarded for the best drawings in each stage, so get creative and have fun while supporting a wonderful cause! A special thank you to Kayleigh in Year 5 for this wonderful initiative.

Student leadership provides an opportunity for students to actively participate in the decision-making processes at our school. Students are encouraged to take on leadership roles in an endeavor to increase their own leadership skills and to act as effective role models for the student body.

At Glendore Public School, we believe that by encouraging student leadership, we are helping to develop our community leaders of the future.

The expectations of Year 6 and, in particular, the elected student leadership team: Prime Ministers, Ministers, House Captains and Junior AECG representatives are generally higher than those held for the general student body. They are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting our school values in order to be an example to the other students and an asset to the school.

Important Dates:

-Tuesday, 24th September, Term 3, Week 10 – Leadership Day Permission Notes sent home via SchoolBytes

- Monday, 21st October, Term 4, Week 2 – Leadership Day

- Friday, 1st November, Term 4, Week 3 – Leadership Nomination forms due

- Wednesday, 13th November, Term 4, Week 5 – Ministers Speeches

We strongly recommend that any student interested in any leadership role, participate in our Leadership Day. Information will be sent to all Year 5 families via SchoolBytes

6L have continued to show their resilience and skills to overcome the challenges put to them this term through the various changes to routine which I am sure will be very useful to them in their future at high school.

They have continued to be engaged in the variety of learning tasks undertaken in class. In Geography, we are exploring the countries in Asia, and the connections Australia has with these countries along with learning about the customs, cuisine, natural landscape and similarities and differences between their chosen country and Australia.

In Writing, we have been undertaking various lessons with the help of Mrs Mountford to develop engaging and well written persuasive pieces, carefully crafting detailed, yet succinct paragraphs, applying high modality language to manipulate and influence the opinions of others.

Term three, as always, has been a busy term with our recent Year Six Canberra excursion visiting the various sights and attractions of our nations capital. Some major standouts included the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Questacon. Students have also enjoyed visiting their local high schools for their Year 7 taster lesson days and soon they will be undertaking their year 7 transition days.

Mr Lawrence is happy to be back in the classroom with them and looks forward to a great end of Term and a successful Term 4 to end their years of Primary School.

6B are continuing to work very hard and have engaged in a variety of learning tasks and extra activities during Term 3.

In Writing, they have been practicing their skills of persuasion by carefully crafting and applying high modality language to manipulate and influence the opinions of others. Something tells me, however, that their parents and carers may have already been well aware of their amazing persuasive skills.

In Geography, we have been researching the countries in Asia, and comparing these countries with Australia. They have worked collaboratively in small groups to complete some outstanding research projects focusing on one country in Asia of their choice.

We had a fantastic time away on the Canberra excursion, exploring our Nation’s capital and providing context to our learning about the Australian parliamentary system. Also, lots of fun was had and unforgettable memories with friends were made.

Throughout the term, students have demonstrated their various strengths in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, CAPA, STEM and Sport and continue to shine in all that they do. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year holds for our fabulous class.

Our students have been working hard to collect Glendore GOTCHAS by upholding our school behaviour expectations. As a result, the whole school GOTCHA bucket has been filled and our students have achieved a whole school reward.

The Challenge2bfit reward day will occur on Wednesday 25th September (Week 10) and there is no cost for students.

Students will have Fun whilst getting FIT and learning new skills on an array of inflatables and equipment. Challenge2bfit is designed to achieve 70 of the PDHPE Syllabus Outcomes and Indicators incorporating circuit training with a wide variety of age-appropriate exercises, sporting equipment and inflatable obstacles to develop skills and provide exciting new challenges every session. Each grade will spend 40min on the activities.

Safety:
Student safety is Challenge2bfits top priority, all equipment utilised in the program to enhance the fitness sessions will be safely secured and continuously monitored. A Safety checklist is signed off at each event before commencement and monitored throughout the day

Thursday 26th September, Kindergarten are going to Oakvale Farm to learn more about where our food comes from.

Students will need to bring their lunch, drink bottle and wear sunscreen on the day.

Students will wear their full school uniform and hat as well.

Passports are due Wednesday, 16th October (Week 1) as final hours need to be submitted to Children’s University.

How many hours do you need to graduate? If it is your first year in the program – you need to do at least 30 hours to reach a bronze award.

If it is your 2nd plus year – you need enough hours to move up a certificate level from what you received last year. Eg if you recorded 65 hours in your passport in 2023 and got a silver award at graduation, you must get at least 35 hours this year to take you up to a cumulative total of 100 hours to get a Gold Award.

Mrs Queenan has already contacted all families in Week 9 who are at risk of not graduating due to shortage of hours.

If you don’t move up a level, unfortunately you don’t graduate however any hours you do earn will carry over to next year.

Students are encouraged to bring their passports into Mrs Queenan or to classroom teachers.

Stage One students will attend a 7-week swim and survive program on Tuesdays in Term 4. Each lesson will go for 45 minutes. This time will consist of 30 minutes of swimming instruction and 15 minutes of water survival instruction in the pool. Children will be placed in groups according to their swimming skills on the first day. Groups will contain 6, 8 or 10 students depending on their skill level.

Swim School Dates

Wk 1: Tuesday 15th October

Wk 2: Tuesday 22nd October

Wk 3: Tuesday 29th October

Wk 4: Tuesday 5th November

Wk 5: Tuesday 12th November

Wk 6: Tuesday 19th November

Wk 7: Tuesday 26th November

Important Reminders

• Students will need to come to school in their swimmers with their school uniform over the top.

• Please pack underwear for your child to change into after their lesson.

• Students will also need to bring a plastic bag to put their wet clothes in, a towel and goggles.
• Please label your child's clothing.

• Students will need to pack fruit break, lunch, recess and a bottle of water.

• Break times may be altered due to the swimming lesson schedule.

• Please do not order a hot lunch from the school canteen on swimming lesson days as your child's class may be at the pool during our normal school lunch break.

Any current (2024) Year 6 students who started at Glendore Public School after Kindergarten are kindly asked to bring in a copy of their Kindergarten photo and give to the office or email a copy of it to the school. Hard copy of photos will be scanned at school and returned to the student.

If you have any questions, students are to ask their classroom teacher or Mrs Queenan.

Join Us for Our Book Parade and Grandfriends Day!

We’re excited to invite our Grandfriends and families to our upcoming Book Parade and Grandfriends Day on Wednesday, October 30th!

Schedule of Events:

• Grandfriends Visit: 9:00am to 9:30am, Grandfriends are welcome to explore the K-2 classrooms.

• Book Parade: Join us on the Pebble Crete area from 9:45am to 10:15am as students from Kindergarten to Year 6 showcase their fantastic costumes.

• Classroom Visits: After the parade, Grandfriends can visit 3-6 classrooms, while K-2 students can take their Grandfriends to the Library’s Book Fair.

Book Fair Details:

The Book Fair will be open during lunch for all students and their families to browse and purchase books. We’ll also have a selection of books available for donation to the school library, each featuring a plaque recognizing your generosity.

Important Reminders:

• Please check in using the QR code, iPad check in or paper sign-in upon arrival.

• If any students need to leave early, they must be signed out at the office.

We look forward to welcoming many Grandfriends to our classrooms plus families to the Book Parade and Book Fair!

• Kate and Jol Temple will be visiting our school on Monday the 28th of October. As part of their visit, they will be signing copies of their books.

• Books can be ordered online through Larrikin House and delivered to the school for free. Online orders open Friday 20/9/24.
• A percentage of sales will be given to the school to purchase books for our library. Students may bring their own copies for signing.

The Creative and Performing Arts showcases will take place on Thursday 12th of December. There will be two showcases during school hours for students and staff and one running from 6:30pm to 7:30pm for parents and caregivers.

All performing students are asked to arrive at school by 6pm for the evening showcase.

CAPA teachers will collect the students from the school commons and take them to the holding rooms for dressing and performance preparation.

GROUPS INVOLVED

Junior Drama

Senior Drama

Primary Proms Choir

Junior Dance

Senior Dance

Musical Theatre

Aerobics Teams

More information to come regarding costumes and hair.

As we move into Term 4, we are moving towards the end of the school year and it is time to celebrate the fantastic achievements of each and every student. There are some changes to our special assemblies this year.

Celebration Days (K-6)

This year, we will celebrate our students with our grade-based Celebration Days. At these Assemblies, every student will receive a certificate recognising one of their many achievements in 2024. All parents and caregivers are invited to attend and join in the celebrations at the assemblies.

Presentation Day (Yrs 3-6 selected students)

This year, students in Years 3-6 who are receiving a book award or special award, will be presented with the award at our Presentation Day Assembly. At this Assembly, selected students will receive a book award or special award. If your child is receiving a book award or special award, you will be contacted in Week 5.

Please read the information on the posters below for more specific details.

Students in Stage One had a wonderful time at the Newcastle Museum this week. They participated in the following activities:

• Sweet Vibrations Science Show in the Theatrette

• Supernova Investigation

• Newcastle Story History Walk

• BHP Sound and Light Show

A few highlights included learning about how sound travels, investigating all the ‘hands on’ activities in the Supernova area and taking the Newcastle Story Walk to hear about our local history. All the students displayed excellent manners and behaviour throughout both excursions

Students in the Stage 3 Senior Drama Group attended a 1-day workshop at Callaghan College Wallsend on Wednesday the 18th of September. They built on their skills and learned new techniques. Students participated drama games, improvisation, characters and play building. They got to perform their play building to Year 10 Drama students and watched their performances too. The whole group were engaged the whole day, had a wonderful time and were commended for their bravery getting up and performing in front of students from other schools. Miss Cook and the Callaghan teachers were really impressed by their enthusiasm, engagement and respect.

Year 6 students participated in a STEM Day on Wednesday 21st August where they explored the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Students enjoyed coding with the Micro:bit Maqueen, a recently donated resource valued at over $2000 that was sourced by Mrs Patterson from Deadly Science. This programming robot allowed students to quickly learn graphical programming in an entertaining way while nurturing their interests in science and logical thinking.

Students also participated in other activities including medieval marshmallow catapult building, designing and constructing Lego bridges that could withstand certain weights, and computer coding including scratch and music lab.

On Wednesday 4th September, students from 6Q served up 285 ice-cream spiders to students across K-6.

This initiative raised $995 that will be put towards the gift to the school from Year 6.

Thank you to all the families who supported this initiative and to the Year 6 families who donated supplies.

Students will receive a Glendore GOTCHA tokens when they are displaying our values of Respect, Safety, Engagement for the weekly focus. The Glendore GOTCHAS go towards a whole school reward. Our first whole school reward is on Wednesday, week 10 and will consist of inflatables, games & fun obstacle courses. Please ensure you give permission via School Bytes by Monday 23rd September.

The Behaviour Expectations for Weeks 7 & 8 are:

Our Week 9 & 10 Behaviour Focus’ are:

• Bags

• Going Home Routine

We are seeking your help to support the students in our school with severe allergies.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening. The most common causes of anaphylaxis in schools are allergies to food and insects (bees). To help manage allergies, our school is following the National Allergy Council’s Best Practice Guidelines for Anaphylaxis Prevention and Management in Schools.

The Best Practice Guidelines recommend an Allergy Aware approach, which means we are supporting students at risk of anaphylaxis in the following ways:

• training staff
• educating students about allergies and anaphylaxis
• teaching students that we all have different needs and to be respectful of others
• teaching students the importance of getting help immediately if their friend with allergy looks sick.

For food allergies, we are also:

• encouraging students with food allergies to wash their hands before and after eating
• encouraging students to wash their hands after eating something their classmate or friend is allergic to
• teaching students not to share food with friends who have food allergy.

Food allergies are common in school aged children and avoiding the food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction. Therefore, we have put a range of different things in place to help keep these students safe. In younger primary classes, we may send letters home to suggest ways to support a child with food allergies that are additional to those listed above.

On Friday 13th September Mr Lawrence and Mr Cousins had the pleasure of taking both the Junior and Senior PSSA Soccer teams who competed in the finals of the Crossroads Cup.

For our Juniors, it wasn’t the start we had hoped for in our 2nd vs 3rd playoff game, going down 3-2 to Edgeworth PS after two great goals from Jayden. We then played in the playoff for 3rd place beating Maryland. A fantastic achievement for our Junior team, well done boys!

For our Seniors, we were unlucky not to come away with the trophy in the end. We again, played in our first 2nd vs 3rd match to determine the finals beating Edgeworth Heights 4-0. We then played a final game for 1st against a strong Wallsend South side narrowly going down.

Congratulations to the seniors for finishing 2nd overall, you should be proud of the season we had this year including our successful run in the NSWPSSA Hunter Boys Football knockout competition.

A final, thank you to our parents for their continued support for both the training sessions throughout the year and for the various gala days. Without your help, it would not be possible.

Jersey Returns – Students are asked to return their washed Jersey, Shorts and Socks to the front office in a labelled bag. We will then issue you with a $20 credit to your school bytes account.

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior PSSA Netball Teams who represented Glendore at the Crossroad Cup PSSA Netball finals on Friday 13th September.

The staff and students at Glendore Public School are extremely proud of the achievements of both the Junior and Senior teams this year. Our determined Juniors finished 4th overall with our talented Senior team finishing 3rd.

Although the results did not go Glendore's way, the students should walk away from the season with their heads held high. Every player represented the school with pride and demonstrated consistent commitment to the sport throughout the season.

Miss Borrow would like to thank the parents for all the support on the day. It is wonderful to see the Glendore school community supporting our students with such enthusiasm.

Feedback from parents and caregivers, teachers, as well as students provides an accurate and complete picture of a school climate and culture. The Tell Them From Me® Parent Survey can aid in strengthening parent, teacher and school collaboration by providing schools with a deeper understanding of parents’ perceptions of their child’s experiences at home and school.

The TTFM survey window is open from Week 8 Term 3 to Week 4 Term 4 (Monday 9th September - Friday 8th November 2024). Parents access the survey through a URL unique to your school and can choose the option to complete the survey in multiple languages other than English.

The parent survey is mobile-responsive, which means it can be completed on all smartphones and tablets with internet access. The unique URL will be provided on via Sentral Parent Portal from Monday 16th September 2024.

Callaghan College Wallsend Campus Library organised a Creative Writing and Art Competition in celebration of the Sesquicentenary of the town of Wallsend. This competition gave students the opportunity to showcase their creative and artistic talents and express their appreciation for the post-colonial history of Wallsend, as well as the suburb's emergence as a strong multicultural community. The theme of the competition is ‘Celebrating Wallsend's Heritage and Community’.

Students were encouraged to explore the post-colonial history of Wallsend, as well as the suburb's emergence as a strong multicultural community. Participants selected one of the historical images provided within the Wallsend 150 Years booklet as inspiration for their entry. The images within depict significant moments in Wallsend's history, showcasing its evolution over the years. Entries reflected the unique heritage and cultural diversity of Wallsend and celebrated the contributions of the community to the city's growth and development. This opportunity was open to all feeder schools in the Callaghan College Wallsend Campus.

Congratulations!

Winner:

Damon P

Highly Commended:

Hailey J

Zac R

Peyton O

Complete your child's enrolment and enrolment interview by the end of Term 3 (Friday 27th September) to receive a free school hat, valued at $13.50. This includes all parents who have already completed their child's enrolment and interview.

Hats will be sent home with children during Session 3 of our Kindergarten Orientation program.

CLICK HERE TO ENROL -

https://ehub.enrol.education.nsw.gov.au/schoolenrolment/...

We are looking forward to meeting you!