Term 4 Week 10 Newsletter 2021

OUR NEWSLETTER CAN BE TRANSLATED INTO MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES EACH WEEK BY SELECTING THE PREFERRED LANGUAGE IN THE DROP DOWN MENU ABOVE

YEAR 6 FAREWELL

Our graduating Year 6 students enjoyed a great night last week, as they celebrated 7 years of primary schooling at their formal night. The room was beautifully decorated to match the colour theme of black and gold. The decorations were the work of a small but mighty and talented team of wonderful parents. A huge thank you to the parents for helping to make this a memorable evening and to the P & C for donating funds to cover the costs of the decorations. Thank you to Mrs Ratnarajah in the office, Mr Johnson and the Year 6 teachers for their organisation, particularly as details changed on several occasions due to changes to COVID restrictions.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE IN TERM 4

All students in Kindergarten are required to attend school up to and including Thursday 16 December 2021, the last day of teaching for 2021. If parents are seeking permission for their child to be absent from school for a period of time to travel, please submit an Application for Extended Leave (Travel) form.

FAREWELL TEACHERS FOR 2022

• Miss Barrett - will not be returning next year. We are very grateful for her work on class and her flexibility in support roles, and wish her all the best for next year.
• Mrs Brooke-Smith – has secured a position at a hospital school for twelve months, working with children, families and schools. This is a highly sought after position and we are delighted for her. Miss Brooke-Smith is very deserving of this opportunity and I'm sure, will continue to excel in this new role.
• Miss Childs - has secured a position for 2022 which is much closer to her home near Newcastle. We are very appreciative of her outstanding commitment and teaching practices and will certainly miss her cheerful and positive presence. We are delighted for her that she will save three hours of travel each day.
• Mrs Forster - has been working in the office one or two days per week in recent years, and will now be moving to the Central Coast. Mrs Forster is such a pleasure to work with and we are very appreciative of her excellent work.
• Ms Graham - has been successful in receiving a transfer to Waitara Public School, which is closer to her home. We thank Ms Graham for her outstanding teaching service at John Purchase Public School.
• Miss Granziera - has been teaching part time for recent years while pursuing postgraduate study. She has significantly contributed to the HPG program at our school, effectively mentoring teachers of HPG classes and ensuring academically rigourous programs. We enthusiastically congratulate Miss Granziera on submitting her PHD thesis and for her academic appointment as a senior lecturer in educational psychology. We look forward to connecting with her in this new capacity.
• Mrs Green - we are so excited for Mrs Green as she begins her maternity leave and we look forward to news of the impending birth, and then to her return to us in 2023.
  
• Mr Kerrigan - will take up a 12 month position in a rural school. He has recently taught in a rural setting and would like to return. Mr Kerrrigan is passionate about teaching and learning. We wish him all the best for this exciting new experience.
• Mrs Martinez - has been a highly professional and outstanding educator at our school for seven years and has also been an important part of our leadership team in a relieving capacity on several occasions. We congratulate her and her husband on their new home they have built on the south coast and wish them all the best for the move. We are very appreciative that Mrs Martinez agreed to stay with us until December, rather than leaving mid year when the house was built.  Friday 3rd  December (the end of this week) will be her last day at John Purchase.
• Mrs Insuasti - we thank Ms Insuasti for her work at our school and wish her all the best for 2022 and beyond.
• Mrs Lara - we wish Mrs Lara all the best as she takes a 12 month break from teaching, to spend more time with family. We look forward to Mrs Lara's return in 2023.
• Mrs Murray (known to many as Miss McDonald) begins her maternity leave and hopes to return to us in a part time capacity in 2023. We are very excited for her and her husband as they begin a new chapter in their lives with their baby. 

ARE YOU TRAVELLING OVERSEAS IN THE HOLIDAYS?

If you are travelling overseas during the upcoming holiday period, please read the current guidelines below so that you can take this into consideration for the return to school. Please also understand that these may change between now and next year. 

In accordance with NSW Health guidelines for fully vaccinated arrivals, your child must have a COVID-19 nose and throat PCR test:

• Within 24 hours of arriving in NSW
• On or after day 7 after arriving in NSW
• In accordance with the NSW Government guidelines on 28 November, your child must self-isolate for at least 72 hours after arriving in NSW
• These results must be sent to the school via email
• Until the school receives a negative COVID-19 test result via email, students are not permitted to return to school
• If your child develops any symptoms of COVID-19 at any time, they must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until they receive a negative result. Studnets cannot return to school until they are symptom free.

If your child is NOT fully vaccinated (which would be most of our children at this stage, apart from a few Year 6 students who may be eligible for vaccinations), they must have a COVID-19 nose and throat PCR test:

• Within 24 hours of arriving in NSW
• On day 5 or 6 after arriving in NSW
• They must self-isolate for at least 7 days after arriving in NSW
• They must receive a negative COVID-19 test result, taken on day 5 or 6 after arriving in NSW
• These results must be sent to the school via email at johnpurch-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au before your child's return to school.

If your child travels overseas during the December/January school holidays and returns to Australia within 7 days prior to 1 February 2022, please adhere to the above advice and email their negative COVID-19 test result to the school prior to returning to school.

PROUDLY PRESENTING OUR 2022 SPORTS LEADERS 

Congratulations to our sport leaders who were elected by their peers.

PARENTS ON SITE

As previously advised, parents and carers are unable to come onto the school site unless it is for a specified reason eg volunteering in the canteen. An exception has been made for the Year 6 Graduation Celebration of Learning assembly, and separate details have been sent home regarding this event. Parents must be fully vaccinated to attend the site.

Parents/carers must check in  using the Service NSW School Check-in QR code, show proof of vaccination and follow mask wearing requirements.

We thank parents/carers for following the physical distancing advice and avoiding gathering outside school gates.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.

CONGRATULATIONS CELESTE

Congratulations Celeste - performing with Delta Goodram this Saturday evening 11 December from 7.30pm on Channel 9. This is such a wonderful opportunity and achievement. Congratulations Celeste. We are so very proud of you!

HOLIDAYS in 2022

I understand that many of you will be planning holidays for the 2022 school year and beyond so have included school holiday dates below:
• Fri 17 December 2021 to Mon 31 January 2022. Fri 28 January and Mon 31 January are school development days.
• Sat 9 to Tues 26 April 2022, which includes Tues 26 April as a school development day.
• Sat 2 July to Mon 18 July 2022, which includes Mon 18 July as a school development day.
• Sat 24 September to Sun 9 October 2022.
• Tues 20 December 2022 is the Term 4 school development day, preceding the 2022 - 2023 summer vacation.

We do ask that students take their holidays in school time.

LAST DAY OF TERM 4

The last day of Term 4 for students is Thursday 16th December 2021 (less than two weeks away). 

All students are required to attend school until Thursday 16 December 2021, the last day of teaching for 2021. 

If parents are seeking permission for their child to be absent from school for a period of time please submit an Application for Extended Leave (Travel) form.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2022

• Office open for new enrolments - Thurs 20 Jan
• Staff Return - Fri 28 Jan
• Students Years 1 to 6 return- Tues 1 Feb
• Kindy Best Start Assessments - Tues 1 Feb
• Kindy begin full day of class - Fri 4 Feb

STAFF GIFTS : REPEATED

As we approach the end of the school year and the festive season, some families like to give small gifts to their teachers. While this is a lovely gesture, it is certainly not expected. While cards with special messages and other small tokens of appreciation convey thoughtful appreciation, please be advised that Department of Education staff members are unable to accept gifts with a value greater than $50 (unless it is a combined class gift valued at less than this amount per contributor). Staff members must declare and then politely decline gifts greater than this value, as well as any cash or cash vouchers (of any amount). 

STAY UP TO DATE WITH SZAPP: REPEATED FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we will now be using SZAPP to send out updates and notifications and we encourage all of our families to download this app onto your phones. This will replace use of the Skoolbag app, effective  today, 18th October.

CLASS PLACEMENT CONSIDERATIONS FOR 2022 : REPEATED

(Please complete this form by Monday 6 December.)

This form below should only be completed if you would like to share relevant information which may need to be taken into consideration when staff are forming classes for 2022. Please note information sent to the school in previous years may not be automatically considered. Circumstances often change, so please resubmit considerations if they continue this year.

PLANNING FOR 2022: REPEATED FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS

If your child is leaving the school at the end of this year or returning to school late at the beginning of 2022, please complete the relevant Google Form in the blue box below.

Until next week, keep safe, happy and well!

Mrs Leonie Black

Welcome to Week 10!

Year 6 students were resplendent in their formal attire, as they celebrated the end of their school lives at JPPS, last Wednesday evening. Huge thanks to the parent committee, who decorated the hall so beautifully, and to Mr Johnson and the Year 6 teachers, for organising such a special occasion.

I am looking forward to recognising the successes of every student, as we host five Celebrations of Learning assemblies, this week.

Don't forget that your child's Semester 2 report, is now ready to access from the JPPS Parent Portal. Access details are repeated below for your convenience.

Regards

Mrs Adela King
Deputy Principal 

With the support of CTHS, all parents and carers are cordially invited to join the live-streaming of the

Celebrations of Learning

2021

Parents of Year 6 students, may attend the Year 6 assembly in person, today, Monday, 6th December. Evidence of Covid vaccination must be provided upon entry.

Please refer to the live-streaming details and programs attached below, for your convenience.

Farewell Year 6!

Bronze Awards

Silver Awards

Gold Awards

Bronze Medallions

Silver Medallions

Semester 2 Student Reports 

Semester 2 student reports are available from the JPPS Parent Portal. New parents are encouraged to register their email address with the school before creating a JPPS Parent Portal account. Please refer to the detailed instructions below.

Expectation of the Week

Respect: Care for school property and the envionment

Congratulations to all students, demonstrating our school expectations of               Respect, Responsibility and Aspire.

Purchase Pride Badges

When students receive ten Purchase Pride award cards, these should be left in Mrs King’s ‘award shelf’ in the administration corridor. The ten awards need to be bundled together and clearly labelled with the student’s name and current class. Purchase Pride cards have a tear off strip. This strip may be removed by the recipient and placed in the appropriate stage box outside Mrs King’s office, to go in the lucky dip draw for a canteen voucher. Currently, we are not having school assemblies, so badge recipients, whose names have already been published, will be presented with their awards in classrooms, the week after publication in this newsletter.

The last day for receipt of Purchase Prides, this year, was Thursday 25th November. (Note: exceptions will be made for Year 6 students!) Students are encouraged to store awards safely at home until the new school term.

I will distribute the final sets of Purchase Pride badges, direct to classrooms, next week.

Congratulations to:

Anna H (KE), Jade N (KE), Isabella (KM), Riley (KM), Willow J (KM)

Class Awards System

JPPS has an incremental class awards system. When a student has received ten class awards, these should be left on Mrs King’s ‘award shelf’ in the administration corridor. The ten class awards need to be bundled together and clearly labelled with the student’s name, current class and award level reached. Students need to be responsible for their own awards, as replacements are not issued. 

10 Class Awards = Bronze   20 = Silver   30 = Gold   40 = Bronze Medallion  
50 = Silver Medallion   60 = Gold Medallion  75 = Platinum Medallion and Principal for the Day!

The last day for receipt of class awards, this year, was Thursday 25th November. (Note: exceptions are made for Year 6 students!) Students are encouraged to store awards safely at home until the new school term.

An awards assembly to present Silver, Gold and higher level awards, was held last Thursday, 2nd December.

Silver Awards

The last day for receipt of class awards, this year, was Thursday 25th November. (Note: exceptions are made for Year 6 students!) Students are encouraged to store awards safely at home until the new school term.

An awards assembly to present Silver, Gold and higher level awards, was held last Thursday 2nd December.

Congratulations to:

Atticus D (6C), Saatvika D (6C)

Gold Awards

The last day for receipt of class awards, this year, was Thursday 25th November. (Note: exceptions are made for Year 6 students!) Students are encouraged to store awards safely at home until the new school term.

An awards assembly to present Silver, Gold and higher level awards, was held last Thursday, 2nd December.

Congratulations to:

Kavan K (6LG)

Bronze Medallion

The last day for receipt of class awards, this year, was Thursday 25th November. (Note: exceptions are made for Year 6 students!) Students are encouraged to store awards safely at home until the new school term.

An awards assembly to present Silver, Gold and higher level awards, was held last Thursday, 2nd December.

Congratulations to:

Lilianne D (6G)

Kiss and Drop Zone Safety Message

The safety of our students is paramount. Staff on duty at the Kiss and Drop area have noticed parked cars in the bay. If your child is not waiting for you at the shelter, parents are reminded that you cannot park your car to go look for children.

Please remember the following:

• Kiss and Drop zones are for drop-off and pick-up only.
• 2-minute maximum stays apply.
• Enter and exit the zone safely.
• The driver must remain inside or within 3-metres of their vehicle.
• Do not leave your vehicle unattended, to go searching for children.
• If you are waiting for your child, please move forward, as directed by staff, to allow other vehicles to enter the zone.
• Traffic infringement penalties can be imposed by police.
• Please be courteous to supervising staff and other road users.

ICAS Certificates

I have been notified that due to the delayed schedule of the ICAS tests this year, coupled with the national postage backlog, the certificates for ICAS will not be available until Term 1 of next year. 

Miss Brennan

SPORTS REPORT

PSSA Representative Shirts

If you have represented John Purchase this year in a PSSA team or at the zone cross country, please return your PSSA representative shirt to Mrs Murray ASAP. It is necessary that all of these shirts are returned so our representative teams can wear them next year. 

Mrs Murray
Sports Coordinator

Kindergarten 2022

Do you have a child enrolling in Kindergarten at John Purchase Public School in 2022?

With the year flying by, it is time to start thinking about Kindergarten enrolment for 2022.

If your child will be starting Kindergarten at John Purchase Public School in 2022 please go to the link below and complete the online school enrolment application.

https://enrol.education.nsw.gov.au/#/?schoolCode=4572

We look forward to welcoming our new students to John Purchase Public School in 2022!

Miss Claire Eiffert
Relieving Early Stage One Assistant Principal

Band Program

The P&C are hiring a new Band Co-ordinator to join our team in 2022. The role supports our band program and our team of conductors by overseeing the administration of the program. You can find out more details about the role, including a job description and how to apply from the P&C Website here: https://jppspandc.org.au/band-co-ordinator-2022/

Our School Canteen 

The canteen will be operating under the following revised Covid guidelines from 8th November:

- Lunch orders should be placed online using the flexi schools system.

- Students will now be permitted to place lunch orders at the canteen windows before school, using the especially allocated stage areas.

- As we are still required to limit interactions between student cohorts, each stage group will be given time during recess (Early Stage 1 & Stage 1) or lunch (Stage 2 & Stage 3), to purchase additional treats at the canteen. Food/drink available will be limited.

- Parents are reminded to keep these limited purchasing times in mind, when ordering from the canteen. It may be prudent to supply recess for students in Years 3-6, particularly.

Volunteers are now permitted in the canteen, adhering to these guidelines prior to entry:

• The P&C must have provided the school office with the P&C’s signed WWCC clearance form for each volunteer;
• Volunteers must sign in to the NSW Health QR code (if the volunteer does not have a mobile device) at school and then sign in to the school, as usual;
• Volunteers must provide evidence of double vaccination to school staff on entry; and
• All adults in the canteen must wear masks and maintain social distancing, while implementing effective hygiene practices, using the cleaning products provided.
  

Mrs Adela King
Deputy Principal

FROM THE CANTEEN

Lunch Orders - With the end of term fast approaching, we are starting to run down on some lunch items. We encourage you to order lunches via Flexischools to avoid disappointment if your child hands in their lunch order over the counter in the morning and what they want is not available.

Closed for Class Parties Tuesday 14 December - The canteen will be closed for lunch orders on Tuesday 14 December due to class parties. 'Recess' treats will be sold on the day.

Last Day Thursday 16 December - Our last day of operation is Thursday 16 December.

Outstanding amounts - If you receive an email in the next week regarding an outstanding amount, it is due to your child receiving recess or lunch from the canteen when their either had no lunch, dropped their lunch or the birds ate it.  We ask that you kindly pay this amount before the end of the year.  If you have any queries, please email us on jpps.canteen@gmail.com for further details.

 UNIFORM SHOP IMPORTANT DATES

This is the last week we will be open for uniform shop purchases this year, our last day being Friday 10^th December.

You can still buy two ways this week: either come to the store on Mon, Wed or Friday between 8:30 to 9:30 AM to buy, or purchase online. The cut off for online sales is this Wed 8^th December at 9:00 PM for final pick up on Friday 10^th December.

We are closed the last week of term for stocktaking.

With regards opening times in 2022, we will be open one day in the holidays on Thursday January 20^th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Years 1-6 students return on Tuesday 1^st February.  We will be open the day before on Monday 31^st January from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

We then return to our normal ongoing hours of Mon, Wed & Fri 8:30 to 9:30 AM starting on Wednesday 2^nd February.

Thank you for all your support this year. Wishing you all a safe and happy festive season.

Sarah
jpps.uniform@gmail.com

Please note our school publishes events for the convenience of families but does not endorse any activity, organisation, person or product.