Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 2, Week 2, 2024

Principal's Message

A warm welcome back to school for term 2. We had a great start last week kicking back into our learning routines.

ANZAC Day

Thank you to Bailey, Beth, Carter, Lachie and Nikita for joining me for the Dorrigo ANZAC Day service of April 25th. I was proud to march with such a sensible and respectful group of students. Our ANZAC learning continued into the classroom last week with a visit from Mr and Mrs Ditchfield from the Dorrigo RSL Sub-branch. They spoke to our students about the meaning behind their medals and ANZAC Day. Mr Ditchfield even gave us some marching tips and pointers as we prepare for Finlayson Cup.

Sporting Preparations

This term will see our students prepare for both the Finlayson Sports Cup and the Small Schools Athletics Carnival (8's and over). We've planned for regular practice of track and field events at school in the lead up to both competitions. Be sure to stay tuned for updates and go Dundurrabin!

Attendance

Term 1 saw an impressive improvement in whole school attendance. I seek your assistance in continuing to explain absences and minimising unnecessary days off school.

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.

Term 1 Attendance Winners

Congratulations to K/1/2 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. Frozen yoghurt treats were enjoyed to celebrate. Yum! Can they achieve this again for Term 2 or will 3-6 take the lead?

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 2

• Friday 10 May - Finlayson Cup at Chandler PS
• Friday 17 May - Back-Up Date for Finlayson Cup - if postponed                   
• Wednesday 22 May - National Simultaneous Storytime - 12noon
• Wednesday 22 May - Preschoolers Afternoon - 1.30pm to 3.15pm
• Friday 24 May - Walk Safely to School Day 
• Monday 10 June - Kings Birthday Public Holiday
  
• Wednesday 26 June - Preschoolers Afternoon - 1.30pm to 3.15pm
• Thursday 27 June - Small Schools Athletic Carnival at Bellingen HS
• Wednesday 3 July - NAIDOC on the Plateau - Dorrigo High School

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Change of Contacts and Details Forms - By this Wednesday 8 May
• Special Lunch Order - By Monday 13 May

Fortnightly Awards

Term 2 - Week 2

K - 2 Class

Tom Duckett for focus in reading and increased independence in writing.

3-6 Class

Nikita Cheers for outstanding effort in all learning areas every day

Sharpening our Teaching Skills

School development days are used by schools to build on the knowledge and skills of our teachers and school leaders.

Last Monday we hosted the school development day for all plateau primary teaching staff right here at Dundurrabin. The day saw teachers from Hernani and Dorrigo Public Schools join us for professional learning to help us plan and prepare for curriculum changes. These days are an important measure for all teachers and leaders as we seek to continually improve what we do. 

Australian Early Development Census- for Kindergarten students

This term, our school will complete the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) for Kindergarten students.

This census is a population-based measure of how children in Australia have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school.

The AEDC provides a national measurement to monitor Australian children’s development.

It provides evidence to support policy, planning and action for health, education and community support. The AEDC can assist governments to develop flexible approaches to policy and planning that address the evolving needs of children and families in the future.

The AEDC involves the collection of data across five developmental domains:

• physical health and wellbeing
• social competence
• emotional maturity
• language and cognitive skills (school-based)
• communication skills and general knowledge

Mrs Sangster will complete the census forms at school in the coming weeks. There is no action required from parents and/or families however, please call us if you have any questions.

More information can be found at Australian Early Development Census (aedc.gov.au) or by contacting the school. 

Finlayson Cup Sports Day - Chandler PS This Friday

We will be attending Finlayson Cup Sports Day at Chandler Public School this Friday 10 May. 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.

Students are to wear full school sport uniform. Please remember to pack a jumper for cooler weather. If your child/ren are not ordering lunch, please ensure they have food packed and water bottles.

Our back-up date if the carnival is postponed due to inclement weather will be the following Friday 17 May.

ANZAC Day March

Thank you to our student representatives Bailey, Beth, Carter, Lachlan and Nikita who marched at the Dorrigo ANZAC service on Thursday 25 April. Our School Captain Nikita laid the wreath on behalf of our school community. We are extremely proud of our students for their thoughtful participation.

RSL Visit

We were honoured to have Mr Bill and Mrs Gwenyth Ditchfield visit our school last Thursday. Bill recited the Ode of Remembrance to us and spoke about his experiences in the service. Gwenyth talked about the medals she was wearing which were her father's and what they represented, along with the Bill's medals for his years in the service. We were also very privileged to have Bill give us some pointers and demonstrate correct marching, which is perfect timing leading up to the  Finlayson Cup this Friday. 

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 1- Term 2 

Wet weather meant that we did not work outside on the gardens and instead, began work on another garden artwork. The children all did an amazing job learning how to accurately draw and then paint cherries and orange slices. 

We harvested pumpkins, the last of our sweet corn, capsicums, yellow cherry tomatoes, lemons, shallots, parsley and a single egg.

In the kitchen we cooked homemade yellow Thai curry paste and used it to make creamy pumpkin soup with coconut cream, garlic naan bread, golden oaty carrot cookies, as well as a yummy kumquat and kaffir lime marmalade with donated kumquats for Leonie Pankhurst.  Thank you, Leonie.

Cooking Award: Hunter McGuire for being a great group leader and for his naan bread making skills.

Year 6 Jumper

Congratulations to Nikita, our Year 6 student and Captain, who received her personalised jumper at the Assembly last term. This is a special tradition for our Year 6 students.

Term 1 Assembly & Parents V Students Sport

Thank you for joining us for our end of term 1 Assembly. K-2 shared some of their writing work and a brain break demonstration with us. They sure do make for cute robots. 3-6 recited 'We're All Australian's Now' by Banjo Patterson . Their presentation skills, pace and clarity must be commended.

Congratulations to our Year 6 Captain, Nikita for leading us through a joyous assembly. 

The fluffy hockey game following the assembly was full of excitement and healthy competition. Great fun was had by all. Congratulations parents on your 3-1 win!

World of Rocks!

We're digging deep into the world of rocks! Term 2 STEM lessons have begun and we're learning to be geology pros. Let's get this rock party started!

Preschool Afternoon

On a drizzly afternoon, we welcomed Tahn, Natasha and Harvey for our preschool afternoon. We began by bouncing energetically with Danny Go, then counting with bunnies before listening to Mrs Sangster read Bin Chicken's Eggsellent Easter. Then time for some crafty fun in the COLA. We created amazing paper cup bunnies, dazzlingly decorated cardboard eggs and colourful stamped bunnies with paint. Finally, we all enjoyed creative and cooperative play with Duplo, play food and a wooden train set. With an Easter theme, everyone got a chocolate egg to enjoy at the end of the day. Yummy!

Our Preschooler afternoons for this term are Wednesday 22 May and Wednesday 26 June from 1.30pm to 3.15pm. All children from 0-5 years of age are welcome to join us for a fun afternoon of activities.

Walk Safely to School

Due to the Finlayson Sports Day being held on Friday 10 May (original date) we will participate in National Walk Safely to School Day on Friday 24 May instead.

Now in it's 25th year, National 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 from the Community Centre. 

Please have your child/ren at school by 8.45am, so we can board the bus on time.

P&C Special Lunch Day

P&C are organising a special lunch day on Tuesday 21 May. Lunch orders are being sent home tomorrow. 

Please return them and money by next Monday 13 May, on time, as it makes organising catering so much easier.

National Simultaneous Storytime

We will be participating in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 22 May at 12noon.

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 12noon. 

The chosen book for this year is “Bowerbird Blues" written by Aura Parker. 

School Reminders

Updated Details Form

An updated details form is being sent home tomorrow. It is important to have accurate contact details in case of accidents, evacuations and possible temporary school closures. To ensure our contact details for each family are correct, we are requesting each family provide up to date contact details. If your phone number and email have changed, please indicate that on the form. We would also like to know if any of your child/rens medical details / health conditions have changed as well as dietary requirements or preferences for our SAKG cooking. If you have no detail changes, please still return the form with your child/rens name written on it and stating “No Changes” by this Wednesday. 

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.

P&C News and Community News

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. 

P&C Mothers Day Raffle - Drawn Thursday

The P&C is having a Mother’s Day raffle with a wonderful pampering prize to spoil mum or someone special on Mother’s Day. Tickets are $1.00 each and were sent home last term. Tickets and money will need to be back at school by this Wednesday 8 May. The raffle will be drawn this Thursday 9 May.

P&C Firewood Raffle

The P&C are having a firewood raffle this term. Tickets will be sent home during Week 4. Tickets will be $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. All tickets and money will need to be back at school by Monday 1 July. The raffle will be drawn at our Term 2 Assembly (date to be advised).

P&C Meat Raffles at Ebor Hotel

Below are dates that our P&C are holding our Meat Raffles at Ebor Hotel on Thursday evenings -

• 9 May
• 6 June
• 4 July
• 1 August
• 26 September
• 24 October
• 21 November
• 19 December

Tickets available at Tyringham shop or phone Leonie Pankhurst on 0413 158 466

Upcoming Youth Fishing Trips

Yoga & Relaxation Classes with Shakti

Yoga & Relaxation Classes with Shakti - Term 2 started last Tuesday 30^th April

Tuesdays - 4.00pm to 5.15pm at Dundurrabin Public School

Thursdays - 10am to 11.15am at Dorrigo Uniting Church Hall Myrtle St

Please Book:  0448 879 642 or E:  shakti.mudra@gmail.com

Disaster & Emergency Planning Workshop

Sunday 23^rd June - Join NCN, RFS & SES to get your emergency plans up to date E: blicks2453@gmail.com

Neighbourhood Care Network NCN

Neighbourhood Care Network NCN – Preparing for Emergencies                                                                              Phil Sedgman 0433 504 355 & Deb Thornhill 0423 686 610 for Dundurrabin village. Leonie Pankhurst & Shakti are NCN Area coordinators for Dorrigo Plateau. Anyone can sign up to the NCN to get text messages during emergencies.                                                                                                                                                  Contact: 6655 1121 & leave a message.  www.neighbourhoodcarenetwork.org.au