Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 1, Week 10, 2024

Principal's Message

Welcome to week 10. I hope the Easter long weekend was relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. With only two weeks left of school, this will be our final newsletter for term 1.

Special Events

Thank you for joining us for our recent special events at school. Our Easter afternoon was loads of fun- colourful and creative Easter hats, a massive raffle draw and an egg hunt made for a enjoyable afternoon together. Our Harmony Day lunch saw a large crowd of parents and friends come in to taste the South American cuisine prepared by our students. A big thank you to Mrs Sangster and Katherine for their well-thought preparations and selection of recipes and ingredients. 

Welcome Uncle Allan

This term we have welcomed Uncle Allan to our school to work with our students and teachers on a special painted mural project. Uncle Allan is a local Gumbaynggirr artist who will work with us each Tuesday afternoon at school to lead the development of an eye-catching mural for the front of school. All students are busy sketching a picture of their favourite local animal to be included in the painting. Watch this space!

Cross Country Reminder

The District Cross Country will be held at Urunga on Friday 3 May, week 1 next term. All students 8 years and older are eligible to compete. Parent transport and supervision is required. Please let us know if you would like your child/ren to attend. 

Have a great week,

Leah Keough

Every Day Matters

Attendance Matters

Please remember to explain all days away from school. This can be done in person, by phoning the school or sending a text to the school mobile: 0411 939 188.

Attendance Reminder-Late Arrivals & Early Departures

If your child/ren arrive late to school in the morning, please remember to sign them in the register book in the office. Alternatively, you can let a staff member know the reason to why they are late, and we will update the roll. This also applies for early departures from school in the afternoon. All partial absences must be explained- the same as for a whole day absence. Thank you.

What's on for Term 1 & Term 2

• Thursday 4 April- Preschool Afternoon from 1:30pm
• Thursday 11 April- Term 1 Assembly & Parents V Students Sports - 2.00pm

Term 2

• Monday 29 April - School Development Day
• Tuesday 30 April - Students Return for Term 2
• Friday 3 May - District Cross Country at Urunga
• Friday 10 May - Finlayson Cup at Chandler PS
• Friday 17 May - Walk Safely to School Day
• Wednesday 22 May - National Simultaneous Storytime - 11am
• Monday 10 June - Kings Birthday Public Holiday
• Tuesday 18 June - Small Schools Combined Science Day - here
• Thursday 27 June - Small Schools Athletic Carnival at Bellingen HS
• Wednesday 3 or Thursday 4 July (TBC) - NAIDOC on the Plateau - Dorrigo High School

Curriculum Reform Information

Parent survey - What would you like to know more about?

I hope you are feeling better informed as a result of our Term 1 Curriculum Reform Updates and Info newsletter snippets. 

Please complete this short survey to help us plan for our future updates to best meet the interests of our families and community.

https://forms.gle/HoiJ2vy9vZUAKutK6

Mrs Bingle

Holiday Dates

The last day for Term 1 is Friday 12 April 2024. Staff will return on Monday 29 April for a School Development Day and students will return on Tuesday 30 April.

Don't forget ANZAC Day is during the second week of the holidays for students who would like to march on the day. 

See you all back at school well rested for Term 2.

Harmony Day Luncheon

Friday 22^nd March saw us invite our families and wider school community to school for our annual Harmony Day celebration. Our students cooked a wonderful spread of South American cuisine. Tacos, salsa and empanadas were just some of the delicious foods to taste.

Thank you for joining us – we love celebrating special days together.

The Big Vegie Crunch

On Thursday 21 March, right on the strike of 10am, we participated The Big Vegie Crunch. We crunched and munched our way through a selection of capsicum, celery, cucumber and green beans. What a great way to encourage healthy snacking, yum!

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 8 

We harvested sweet corn cobs, capsicums, tigerella tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, Barry’s crazy cherry tomatoes, shallots, parsley, marjoram and eggs.  

In the kitchen for Harmony Day we cooked Salsa and Classic Guacamole (served with Carrot Sticks and Corn Chips), Bolivian Quinoa & Black Bean Salad with Summer Salsa Cruda, Locro, Ensalada de Maiz (Corn Salad), Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies), Uruguayan Bean Salad, Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread), Empanadas Mendocinas (Argentinian Beef Empanadas), Pastelitos de Membrillo (Quince and Cream Cheese Pastries), Epic Vegetarian Tacos (with Homemade Refried Beans)
Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Fried Rice), Grilled Chicken Street.

Everyone worked so well in the kitchen it was too hard to chose a certificate for just one person. So instead, congratulations to all our students, you shone so brightly and were incredibly impressive. 

We Can Grow Corn!

On Thursday, just before our Easter break, K-2 children enjoyed harvesting cobs of corn from our garden. They especially enjoyed discovering the corn hidden in the husk. We then nibbled the freshly cooked corn cobs as a lunchtime treat. Yum! 

Easter Hat Parade

Thank you to all parents, carers and family members who came along last Wednesday to watch our students proudly parade their wonderful Easter hat creations. Our School Captain, Nikita, did a fantastic job of welcoming everyone. The P&C drew the mega Easter raffle which resulted in many happy smiles. The afternoon was then wrapped up with our annual Easter Egg hunt which was fun and challenging for all - students and parents.  

Year 3-6 Measurement Fun

Today the 3-6 students were measuring areas of the school and comparing it with the length of a kilometre. Students then had to calculate how many of their chosen areas would make up a whole kilometre.  It was such a beautiful day to be able to spend some time learning outdoors.

Preschool Afternoon

Please come along and join us for our next preschool afternoon this Thursday 4 April from 1.30pm to 3.15pm. 

Term 1 Assembly & Adults V Students Sport

Please join us for our Term 1 Assembly on Thursday 11 April at 2pm. Parents and friends are invited
to stay on after the assembly for a student V parent game of FLUFFY HOCKEY. Don't miss out, it's sure to be a hotly contested game!

ANZAC Day March

ANZAC Day is Thursday 25 April, which falls in the second week of the school holidays.

Students are invited to attend the 11:00am March and Wreath Laying Service. We will assemble at the front of the Dorrigo RSL Club at 10.40am, ready for step off at 11.00am.

Mrs Keough will march with our students. Young marchers are encouraged to wear their families’ medals and decorations.

Parental transport and supervision before and after marching is required. To look our best, full school uniform (school sports shirt) and navy hat must be worn.

Please return the consent note to indicate if your child/ren will be attending. Thank you to those who have already return their consent notes.

District Cross Country

The Bellinger District PSSA Cross Country will be held on the first Friday in Term 2, 3 May at Urunga. It starts at 10am for a walk of the course for the runners. Races start at 10.45am. If your child is 8 years old and above and interested in participating, please talk to Mrs Keough for more information and a permission note.

It is not compulsory for all students to attend, and school will operate as normal. Parents will need to provide supervision and transport for this event, as no teachers from Dundurrabin PS will be attending on the day.

Finlayson Cup Sports Day - Chandler PS

We will be attending Finlayson Cup Sports Day at Chandler Public School on Friday 10 May (Week 2 - Term 2). We will be travelling on Wykes bus. There will be no cost for this excursion as the school will pay for the bus hire.

Students that catch the bus can catch Wykes high school bus run in the morning and return home on the high school bus. Students who do not catch the bus run will need to be at Tyringham Store by 7.50am in the morning and picked up at 3.45pm in the afternoon.

Cup days are always enjoyed as they are about participation, giving it your best and socialising with other students. Everyone has the opportunity to try each event, and points earned throughout the day will go towards our school's total score.

Students will need to be at Chandler PS by 9am. This is a whole school excursion. All parents and carers
are welcome to attend the event.

Consent notes are being sent home again today. Please return them by this Thursday. Thank you to those who have already return their consent notes.

Daylight Saving

Just a reminder that daylight savings is going to end this weekend.

Daylight Saving ends Sunday, 7 April, 2024. At 3:00am clocks need to be
turned backward 1 hour to 2:00am.

School Reminders

2024 Learning Contributions

Learning Contributions for 2024 remain the same

• Voluntary School Contribution - $30.00 for the costs of student items provided by our school
• SAKG Program Fees - $40.00. This goes towards our SAKG program which has ongoing costs each week, such as cooking ingredients for our weekly lunch meal, seeds and seedlings.

Thank you to those families who have already paid.

Share Our Space

Our school is participating in Share Our Space over the coming school holidays. Through the program, we are opening up our playground and oval for the whole community to enjoy. During the school holidays, the gates will be opened from Saturday 13 April to Sunday 28 April from 8am to 5pm, including ANZAC Day. Children will need to be under adult supervision and responsibility. 

P&C News and Community News

P&C Easter Raffle

Congratulations to our Easter raffle winners - Thane Bird, Robyn Coombe, Chase Freeman, Susie Freeman, Melissa Harrison, Niomi Lettice, Charlie McGuire, Hunter McGuire, Katherine Sangster, Cassie Sharman, Susie Tompkins and Wayne Tompkins.  

Thank you to everyone who donated to the raffle to help make it a success, we raised $308.00.

P&C Meeting

Our next P&C meeting will be Monday 13 May at 4pm. We would like to have as many people as possible attend. This is a wonderful opportunity to find out about and get involved with what is happening within the school. Please come along, share a cuppa and enjoy a relaxed and friendly gathering. We’d love to see more faces for new ideas and support. 

The newly elected  Office Bearers for 2024 are:  President: Cassie Sharman
                                                                                                   Vice President: Leonie Pankhurst
                                                                                                  Treasurer: Nickey Tyler                                                                                                                                                                           Secretary: Susan Freeman

Youth Week Activities

Wearable Art

Monday 15 April - 10.00am to 12noon at Dundurrabin Public School. Please phone Allira on 0428 420 908 to book a place.

 Youth Movie

Tuesday 16 April - Dorrigo. Please phone Leonie Pankhurst on  0413 158 466 for more information.

Soil Week Competition

Soil Week Australia is a not-for-profit dedicated to creating awareness about the importance of healthy soil for our health and the environment.

Head over to our website www.soilweekaustralia.com.au for all of the details and to register your interest.

Competition is free to enter and entries close 30th of September.