Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 2, Week 4, 2023

Principal's Message

I had the pleasure of attending the Year 6 Leadership Day at Bonville with Quill and Lucy on Friday. We enjoyed connecting with our partner schools from the Plateau and Bellingen Valley to explore student leadership in schools. All students were challenged to many tasks requiring them to think quickly, be physically active, work as part of a team and communicate with others. It was wonderful to see our captains step into a large group of children with confidence and smiles. 

I seek your support in ensuring regular communication with our school for student absences and the prompt return of consent notes. Parents are encouraged to reply to the text message sent home where students absences are yet to be explained. The prompt return of consent notes is essential for school organisation, planning of excursions and special events. Attending special events and days out and about with other schools is integral for our students to establish friendships beyond our small school. Many new skills and interactions are developed via these connections.         

Leah Keough

Every Day Counts

Congratulations to K/1/2 class for being the winning class for the Term 1 attendance challenge. K/1/2 had the most days at school with full attendance last term. Ice-cream cones were enjoyed to celebrate. Yum! Can they achieve this again for Term 2 or will 3-6 take the lead?

What's On For Term 2

• Wednesday 17 May           Preschoolers Afternoon – 1.30pm to 3.20pm & Tennis at School
• Thursday 16 May              Walk Safely to School Day
• Wednesday 24 May          National Simultaneous Storytime – 11am & Tennis at School
• Friday 26 May                    Year 5 & 6 Grip Leadership Conference – Coffs Harbour
• Wednesday 31 May          Tennis at School
• Wednesday 7 June           Tennis at School
• Monday 12 June                Kings Birthday Public Holiday
• Wednesday 14 June         Preschoolers Afternoon – 1.30pm to 3.20pm
• Thursday 22 June            Small Schools Athletic Carnival – Bellingen HS
• Wednesday 28 June        NADIOC Day on the Plateau- Dorrigo HS

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Yr5&6 GRIP Leadership Consent Notes - by tomorrow
• Yr5&6 Sydney Excursion Consent Note & Deposit Money - before Thursday 25 May

District Cross Country - Urunga

Congratulations to Sunny Baff who travelled to Urunga on Friday 5 May to compete in the Bellinger District PSSA Cross Country held at the Urunga Foreshores. Sunny placed 41st and enjoyed the competition.

Fortnightly Awards

Term 2 - Week 4

K - 2 Class

Tom Duckett for great blending of sounds.

3-4 Class

Jaxon Bennett for fabulous effort and progress in writing and maths learning.

5-6 Class

Nikita Cheers for improved handwriting.

Year 6 - CoS Leadership Day

Lucy and Quill had a great time attending the Year 6 Student Leadership Day at the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre at Bonville on Friday 12 May. 

The day commenced with guest speaker, Mr Richard Field who spoke with us about his journey to become a safari guide in Botswana. He explored skills needed to be leaders, such as moving out of our comfort zone, talking and working with people we don't know and building connections. An interesting and engaging way to start the day.
Students then broke into groups to participate in some fun activities to explore team work, to learn to take risks and trust others.

Thank you to Nickey McDowell for transporting us to and from Bonville.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Update

Who would have thought that marshmallows and spaghetti can be used for a construction activity? Our Friday STEM group were put to the test when they were given only 20 strands of spaghetti to build a tower strong enough to hold a marshmallow. The excitement was next level!

Gumbaynggirr Language Learning

K-2 enjoy their language lessons with Leslie each week. We have been learning the names of body parts, as well as action words, numbers 0-3 and animal names.

3-6 have been having fun learning Gumbaynggirr language for family members and the culture around what to call different people in your family and why. They have also been learning to introduce themselves and some action words to help us play games like Hatchi Patchi and Simon Says.

Tennis for Sport

Our weekly tennis lessons kicked off last week. Coach Allan from Harbour Tennis is visiting our school this term as part of the Sporting Schools program. Stay tuned for more hot shots!

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 2

This week we weeded, dug, improved the soil and planted more broccoli seedlings as well as broad bean seeds. We also collected fennel seeds and planted turnip seeds. We harvested silverbeet, shallots, eggs, beans, carrots, parsnips,  and a variety of herbs.

In the kitchen we cooked vegetable taco filling, homemade soft bread rolls and a variety of salad toppings. We also made lemon shortbread biscuits for dessert.

Cooking Award: Well done to Bailey Freeman, who was our Week 2 Cooking Award winner. 

Week 3

We continued to clean up old summer plantings and planted carrot, parsnip, radish  and pea seeds. We also added some additional soil to one of our herb beds. We harvested eggs, shallots, kale, silverbeet, carrots, cherry tomatoes, chillies and herbs. 

In the kitchen we cooked extruded pasta bucatini with two sauces - roasted carrot and tomato balsamic sauce and a cheesy green kale sauce, as well as zucchini fritters and banana muffins for dessert.

Cooking Award: We had three award winners last week in cooking. Well done to Amber Baff, Nash Chambeyron and Tom Duckett.

Preschool Afternoons

Please come along and join us this Wednesday 17 May for our  preschool afternoons from 1.30pm to 3.15pm.

Walk Safely to School

This Thursday 18 May we will participate in National Walk Safely to School Day. Walk Safely to School Day is an annual, national event when all primary school children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a community event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment.

The bus will be transporting students from school to the Community Centre in the morning, where we will all walk safely back to school accompanied by our teachers. Parents/carers are welcome to join us walking. 

Please your child is at school by 8.45am so we can board the bus on time.

National Simultaneous Storytime

We will be participating in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 24 May at 11am. National Simultaneous Storytime is an important annual campaign that aims to encourage young children to read and enjoy books.

Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around Australia, New Zealand and the world at 11.00am. 

The chosen book for this year is “The Speedy Sloth” written by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie.

Yr 5 & 6 - Grip Leadership Conference

Year 5 & 6 students will be attending a Student Leadership Conference at Coffs Harbour Racing Club on Friday 26 May. The conference will be very worthwhile and informative for our school leaders.   The school is paying the cost of each student - $39.00. Students must wear full school uniform on the day and bring a packed recess, lunch, drinks, hat and jumper. Students will need to arrive at Coffs Harbour Racing Club by 8.45am and the day should finish approximately at 2.30pm. Ms McNeill will meet the students at the Racecourse and accompany them throughout the conference.

School Information

2023 Learning Contributions 

Learning Contribution fees for 2023 remain the same - $30.00 for the costs of student items provided by our school and $40.00 towards SAKG program which has ongoing costs each week, such as cooking ingredients, seeds and seedlings. Families can use their child/ren's flood funding to pay the SAKG subject fees if you chose. Please let Melissa know if this is what you wish to do. Thank you to the families that have already let us know.

P&C News and Community News