Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 3, Week 4 2024

Principal's Message

Parent / Teacher / Student Meetings- This week

Thank you to all families for booking a meeting time for our parent/teacher/student meetings this week. We look forward to meeting with you to update personalised learning plans and to set goals for semester 2. 

2024-2025 Bushfire Season

Further in today's newsletter I have included information about our emergency management arrangements for the upcoming bushfire danger period. Please take time to read this to familiarise yourself with our schools' procedures for a day with a catastrophic fire danger rating. There's also a number of helpful links to assist in bush fire planning at home. 

Track and Field Success

Best wishes to our students attending the Mid North Coast Athletics Carnival on Monday 19 August at the C.EX Stadium, Coffs Harbour.

• Nikita: 11yrs long jump, discus, shot put and 400m race.
• Odie: 8yr 100m sprint.
• Relay team: Jaxon, Bailey, Odie and Jack.

Good luck!

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 3

• Tuesday 13 August to Thursday 15 August - Three Way Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews
• Wednesday 14 August - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 12noon
• Thursday 15 August - Crazy Hair Day
• Friday 15 August - Tennis - 9.45am to 10.45am
• Monday 19 August - MNC Athletics Carnival - Coffs Harbour
• Tuesday 20 August - Book Week Parade -"Reading is Magic" - 9.15am
• Wednesday 21 August - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon -Dundurrabin PS
• Friday 23 August - Tennis - 9.45am to 10.45am
• Monday 26 August - Years 3-6 STEM Incursion - 12.30pm to 3pm
• Wednesday 28 August - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 12noon
• Thursday 29 August - P&C Special Lunch Day
• Friday 30 August - Tennis - 9.45am to 10.45am
• Wednesday 4 September - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon -Dundurrabin PS
• Friday 6 September - NC Athletics Carnival - Lismore
• Monday 9 September - P&C Meeting - 4pm
• Wednesday 11 September - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 12noon
• Monday 16 September to Friday 20 September - Yr 5 & 6 Lake Ainsworth Excursion
• Wednesday 18 September - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon -Dundurrabin PS
• Tuesday 24 September - P&C Special Lunch Day
• Wednesday 25 September - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 12noon
  
• Thursday 26 September - Term 3 Assembly & Adults Vs Students Sports - 2pm

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Years 3-6 STEM Incursion Permission to Publish Consent Notes - Return by tomorrow
• Part or Full Payments for Lake Ainsworth Excursion - Year 5 & 6 Students only
• P&C Special Lunch Order and Money - Return by Monday 19 August

Fortnightly Awards

Term 3 - Week 2

K - 2 Class

Odessa Budd for application in learning short dance routines.

 3-6 Class

Bailey Freeman for excellence in Gumbaynggirr language lessons.

Three Way Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews - This Week

We will be holding our Three Way Parent / Teacher / Students meetings starting tomorrow Tuesday 13 August to Thursday 15 August. Each meeting usually only take 15 minutes per student. 

Please phone the school on 6657 8133 to request a day and time that is suitable for you, if have not already done so. We are looking forward to meeting with each learner and their parents/carers. 

Crazy Hair Day - This Thursday 15 August

Ready to go crazy! This Thursday 15 August we will have a Crazy Hair Day gold coin fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis.

Students may come to school dressed in red clothes (official CF colour) and with the craziest hair they can think of: teased, coloured, gelled, twisted, wigs and scarves, punk or just plain messy! 

Cystic fibrosis (also called CF) is the most common, life limiting genetic condition affecting Australians. 3,500 people are living with CF in Australia and 1 in 25 people carry the recessive CF gene change.  1 in 2,500 babies in Australia are born with CF, both parents must carry the recessive gene. There is no cure for this mortal disease which affects the lungs and digestive system. Cystic Fibrosis NSW is there to support children and young adults with CF.

2025 Kindergarten Transition Program

Our next kindergarten transition program will be this Wednesday 14 August to welcome our 2025 Kindergarten students to our wonderful school. 

Mid North Coast Athletics Carnival

The Mid North Coast (MNC) PSSA Athletics Carnival is next Monday 19 August 2024, at C.EX International Sports Stadium, Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour. Jaxon, Bailey, Nikita, Jack and Odie are attending.

• Nikita: 11yrs long jump, discus, shot put and 400m race.
• Odie: 8yr 100m sprint.
• Relay team: Jaxon, Bailey, Odie and Jack.

The carnival will run from 9.00am to 3.30pm. Ms McNeill (Teacher) and Katherine Lean (SLSO) will be the staff members attending on the day and will meet students at the entrance of the stadium at 8:45am ready for the carnival to commence at 9am.

Private / Parental transport is required for this event. 

All competitors must wear footwear. Spiked Shoes are permitted except in the 1500m, 800m, shot put and discus. Competitors must wear school sports uniforms and will change into the district singlets that are picked up on the day and returned at the conclusion of your competition. Students must sign in and out with the Bellinger/Nambucca Team Manager who will be in the stands in the Bellinger/Nambucca section.

Please ensure your child has packed recess and lunch on the day with plenty of water to drink. A canteen will be operating at the Stadium on the day. Students may bring a small amount of money to spend if they wish.

Book Week Parade

We will be holding our Book Week Parade on Tuesday 20 August. This year's Book week theme is "Reading is Magic". The Book parade will start at 9:15am. Parents, carers and friends are invited to attend.

Our school theme this year is 'Harry Potter'. The school will be known as Hogwarts for the day, and we invite students to dress as a Harry Potter character. Dumbledore looks forward to welcoming you all!

Celebrating Public Education- Proud to Belong.

We we're scientists last week as we celebrated Public Education Week with our friends from Hernani Public School. Environmental science, photography, cooking science, fizzy experiments and a game of beat the base to conclude the fun. What a wonderful way to acknowledge the excellence of public education in our local small schools. 

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 2

In the garden we explored our Aeroponics 'airgarden'  kits which are on loan from the Department of Education as part of the STEM.T4L Library. We learnt how to put the kits together and how to get our plants started. Then we planted a variety of seedlings into the grow pods, watered them and placed them in a warm spot to sprout.

We harvested eggs, lettuce, lemons and a variety of herbs.

In the kitchen we prepared a selection of tasty sandwiches and cooked donut muffins.

Cooking Award: Congratulations to Henry Tyler for excellent leadership in the kitchen!

Week 3

In the garden we planted a very substantial apricot tree as part of Schools Tree Day. Everyone helped fill the hole with soil and watered it well. We are looking forward to seeing it bloom and fruit in the future.

We harvested enormous turnips, shallots, thyme, kale and silverbeet.

In cooking we made spinach & ricotta ravioli, tomato sauce hand cut fettucine, turnip, potato and sweet potato gratin, baked egg custard to go with leftover sweet shortcrust pastry, meringues, raspberry curd and kiwi fruit.

Cooking Award: Congratulations to Carter Freeman for amazing gratin making!

We have included one popular recipe from each week, the Donut Muffins and Baked Egg Custard, please find them through the links below.

National Science Week

This week is Science Week. The theme for 2024 is Species Survival - More than just sustainability. The theme aims to highlight the importance of science and innovation in ensuring the survival and thriving of different species in an ever-changing world.  

Arrangements for the upcoming 2024-2025 bushfire season

Dear Parents, Carers and the Dundurrabin Public School Community,

I am writing to you to inform you of our emergency management arrangements for the upcoming bushfire danger period.

Our school is in a bushfire prone area and is identified as Category 1 on the NSW Department of Education’s bushfire risk register.

This means our school will be non-operational when the NSW Rural Fire Service declares catastrophic fire danger ratings for our area or as directed by the NSW Department of Education in consultation with emergency services due to local bushfire activity or in higher risk conditions.

Fire danger ratings do not mean there will be a bushfire, but rather the weather conditions pose a high risk if a fire were to start in the area. The measure is proactive to ensure staff, students and the community remain safe.

We will inform the school community after 4 pm if there is a change to the operational status of the school for the following day. To assist us in contacting all families in an emergency, please ensure you have updated your contact details with the school.

We recommend you download the NSW Education Parent App and select to monitor advice from our school which send you notifications if the school is non-operational. Up-to-date information is also available on our school website or School operational status.

We also recommend you stay up to date with bushfire and grassfire activity by using the Hazards Near Me app (set a watch zone for your school area) and by monitoring local media.

We recommend all our families follow the NSW Rural Fire Service advice and ensure your family knows what to do if there is a fire. Develop a fire plan and discuss it with your family using MyFirePlan.

Please call our school on 0266578133 if you would like more information or have any questions.

Leah Keough

Principal

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Mrs Sangster will be conducting the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check at school this week. Parents are encouraged to phone the school if they have any questions.

Gubi Gabun Playgroup at Dundurrabin PS

Year 3-6 STEM Incursion

On Monday 26 August our 3-6 students will be participating in two STEM workshops delivered by Engineers Without Borders here at school from 12.30pm to 3.00pm. It will certainly be a fun and interactive afternoon for all.

A Permission to Publish Consent form is being sent home again today with your child/ren to be filled out, signed and returned to school by tomorrow. A big thank you to those that already returned their permission notes by the due date.

This form is to give permission for photos to be taken during the workshops and used for Engineers Without Borders marketing materials. Please phone the school if you would like anymore information about the consent.

P&C Special Lunch Day - 29 August

We are lucky to be having another Special Lunch day on Thursday 29 August.

The menu will be spaghetti  bolognese and a delicious slice.

Please return your child/rens lunch orders and next Monday 19 August.

Years 5 & 6 - Lake Ainsworth Excursion

Some of our Year 5 & 6 students will be joining with Dorrigo Public School for an excursion to Lake Ainsworth from September 16 to September 20, 2024 (Week 9).

The total cost of the excursion is $646.00 per student. The school will contribute $100 towards the cost per student. Last week the Dorrigo Rotary Club kindly donated $50.00 per student for this excursion, which now reduces the remaining cost to $496.00 per student.

Raffle tickets were sent home at the end of last term with children attending the excursion. Tickets can be sold to help raise money to fund the excursion. Please do not lose these as they will need to be returned to school sold or unsold. The money your child raises will be deducted from their cost of the excursion. This is a great opportunity to help fund the excursion as well as the chance to win some fantastic prizes.

If anyone wishes to purchase some tickets in the below raffle, please let us know. We have some spare tickets for sale at school.

Please ensure all students return their raffle tickets and money to our school by Friday 30 August.

Families may wish to make weekly payment contributions towards the excursion as suits. Please remember the full cost of the excursion must be paid by Monday 9 September (in 4 weeks time). 

Thank you to all  families for completing the online camp registration information. More information and notes as we receive them.

SAVE THE DATE- Farm Safety Awareness Day.

P&C News and Community News

P&C Meeting - Monday 9 September

Our next P&C meeting will be Monday 9 September at 4pm. It would be nice 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 Meat Raffles at Ebor Hotel

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

• 26 September
• 24 October
• 21 November
• 19 December

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

Dorrigo Swim Club 2024/25

After many years of being in recess the Dorrigo Swim Club is trying to start up again. Previously the Swim Club only ran for children and youth. The number of children and youth for potential members of the club is much smaller than it used to be so logically the club needs to start again with a different and bigger target group. Thus, it is envisioned that the swim club would also have adult members. Bellingen has a very successful adult swim club and the all age Dorrigo swim club should presumably work well.

There is a small executive member group, who at present, are hanging in there to support the Swim Club’s potential recommencement but will leave as soon as the club can stand on its own feet. Obviously, that means there will need to be some adults, whether parents of young swimmers or swim club members, who will be willing to take on executive roles.

It is very hard to gague whether there will be enough interest or not. The Dorrigo Swim Club proposes to have its hybrid AGM at The Top Pub on 16^th September at 7pm - (a hybrid meeting is one which is online via zoom and also face to face).

At this meeting a committee will need to be formed. Due to the constitution and by- laws, nominations for these positions should be received by 11:59 on 15^th August 2024. To nominate each person needs to be a financial member of the Swim Club. Dry Swimmer fees $38:50.

This is a very tricky “catch twenty-two” situation. How do we know how much interest there is, will there be people willing to give assistance where needed etc. There are many questions with unknown answers at this stage.

There is a sixty-day grace period for any financial commitment to be a member of the Swim Club except for Board members who need to be financial. This period can be used to see how popular the Club is going to be.

Swimming members compete weekly against their own personal times - these times are recorded and the swimmers try and better their own personal bests. Historically, twice a year there are club competitions where the swimmers race against others who are in the same age groups.

The swim competition evening is still to be confirmed but it would most probably start at 5:30 and last for up to 2 hours.

Robin Burley- Public Officer

Any general enquires and expressions of intended interest can be made to Robin Burley 0490303082

Email: wkrlburley@gmail.com

Art Exhibit

Seeking Expressions of Interest from local artisans to exhibit at our exhibition of local talent at our refurbished Dundurrabin Community Centre in November. Suggested date 8 to 10 Nov. Contact: philipsedgman@gmail.com or text 0433 504 355 

Yoga & Relaxation Classes with Shakti

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