Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 4, Week 2 2024

Principal's Message

Welcome back to a new school term. We certainly have an exciting, fun filled term ahead of us. 

Best Wishes Nikita

Nikita is off to the State Athletics Carnival this week to compete in the Multi Class Senior Girls Discus and 200m Dash events. We wish Nikita the best of luck and an enjoyable experience. We will all be cheering on from here!

Congratulations Mrs Sangster

I had the pleasure of presenting Mrs Sangster with her 20 years service certificate at our end of term 3 assembly. We thank Mrs Sangster for her endless commitment and dedication to our students and school. Congratulations!

Term 4 = Exciting Times Ahead

Term 4 is shaping up to be very exciting. Our students will be busy on a number of extra-curricular events, some out of school. We look forward to the upcoming UNE Far Out Science Day for years 5 and 6, the Dorrigo Farm Safety Awareness Day, 2 weeks of Swimming Scheme and a surprise Big Day Out excursion for our end of year celebration. Parents are encouraged to return all permissions notes promptly to assist in the organisation of these special events. 

World Teacher's Day

This Friday 25 October we celebrate World Teacher's Day. We are fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and vibrant teaching staff here at Dundurrabin who teach and care for our students in a magnificent way. Happy World Teacher's day to all in our teaching team.

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 4

• Monday 21 October - Years 5&6 Interrelate Session 
•  Wednesday 23 October - Waterwise Update
• Wednesday 23 October & Thursday 24 October - NSW PSSA State Athletics Carnival - Sydney Olympic Park
• Thursday 24 October - Life Education at Ebor PS
• Friday 25 October - World Teachers Day                                                                                                                                                                                     & Red Cross Pillow Session - 10am
• Monday 28 October - P&C Meeting - 4pm
• Tuesday 29 October - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 3.15pm
• Wednesday 30 October - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon                                                                                                                                          &  Year 5-6 Far Out Science Day at Armidale UNE
• Thursday 31 October - Year 6 DHS Transition - 12noon to 3.15pm
• Monday 11 November - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 3.15pm                                                                                                                                         &  REMEMBRANCE DAY - 11am
• Wednesday 13 November - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon                                                                                                                                          & Year 6 DHS Transition 8.55am to 12noon
• Friday 15 November - Farm Safety Day - Dorrigo
• Monday 18 November to Friday 29 November - 10 Days of Intensive Swimming Scheme                                                                                                                                            at Dorrigo  Pool from 10am to 11.30am Daily
• Wednesday 27 November - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon
• Monday 2 December - P&C Meeting - 4pm
• Tuesday 3 December - Year 6 DHS Transition Day - 8.55am to 9am
• Friday 6 December - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 3.15pm
• Tuesday 10 December - Kindergarten Transition - 9am to 3.15pm
• Wednesday 11 December - Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon
• Friday 13 December - Presentation Assembly & Luncheon - 11am
• Tuesday 17 December - Clean Up and Water Fun Day
• Wednesday 18 December - End of Excursion "Big Day Out" & last day of Term 4 

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Farm Safety Awareness Day Consent Note
• Yr 5-6 Far Out Science Day UNE Permission to Publish Consent Notes

Fortnightly Awards

Term 4 - Week 2

K-2 Class

Amber Baff for persistence and being a great team player.

3-6 Class

Jack Duckett for a great return to Term 4. 

Term 3 - Week 10

K-2 Class

Tom Duckett for improvement in spelling knowledge and applying this when writing.

3-6 Class

Hunter McGuire for being a fantastic role model for all students. 

State Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Nikita who will being travelling to Sydney to compete in the NSW PSSA State Athletics Championship at Olympic Park on Wednesday 23 October and Thursday 24 October.

Nikita will be competing in the Multi Class Senior Girls Discus and the Senior Girls 200m dash. We wish her lots of luck and hope she enjoys her trip away.

Term 3 Assembly

Our skipping extravaganza was a sure hit at our Term 3 Assembly. Thank you to everyone for joining us for a recap of our learning for the term. Students proudly showed off their writing and photography work. Congratulations to all our award winners and our Year 6 Captain, Nikita, did a great job hosting the assembly. To finish off the afternoon, we enjoyed a shared game of modified tennis with our parents. Congratulations to the students for their win.

World Teachers Day

It's Hats Off to Teachers this Friday 25 October!

Hats off to Australia's teachers this World Teachers' Day! Australia is coming together to celebrate you for your skilled work in educating, inspiring and supporting students. Let's celebrate our teachers and thank them for all the work they do to inspire and empower learners across Australia. It's tine to tip our hats to the incredible educators who shape the future. World teachers' Day is an opportunity to recognise all the primary, secondary and early childhood teachers worldwide. It's a chance to celebrate teaching and for communities and students to thank teachers.

We are lucky to have wonderful teachers here at Dundurrabin PS who go above and beyond for our students. So from all of us here at school and the community, thank you Mrs Keough, Mrs Sangster, Ms McNeill, Mrs Bingle, Mr Williamson, Ms Cunningham and all our casual teachers. School would not have such a happy and positive place without your hard work and dedication. Hats off to teachers this World Teachers' day!

Thank Your Cleaners Day

Thank Your Cleaners Day was last Wednesday 16 October.

Thank Your Cleaners Day recognises the hard work cleaners do and lets them know how valued and appreciated they are. We are lucky to have our wonderful hard working cleaner here at school.

Laz keeps the school clean and sparkling. So if you see him around at any stage, don’t forget to say thank you!.

Life Education

Our students will join Ebor, Hernani and Chandler Public Schools on Thursday 24 October at Ebor Public School to participate in a fun and educational day with Healthy Harold. We will be travelling by Wykes bus.

We will need to leave Tyringham Store at 8.00am sharp to ensure we arrive at Ebor Public School before 8.45am and will return to school by 3.15pm for normal pick up and afternoon bus run.

The cost is $12 per student to attend Life Ed lessons.  The school is paying for the cost of the bus.

Students must wear full uniform and hat. Extra water is recommended as Ebor PS has limited drinking water available. Students have already ordered lunch for the day. 

A big thank you to everyone for returning the consent note and lunch order forms in such a quick timeframe, it was really appreciated. 

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 10

This week some of us set up our second Airgarden ready to add seedlings that had developed roots, and the rest of us learnt about growing potatoes in a no dig garden so we can plant some seed potatoes next term.

We harvested some magnificent broccoli heads, lots of eggs, rhubarb, asparagus, silverbeet, shallots, parsley and used some pumpkin in storage.

In the kitchen we made baked beans, soy sauce grilled broccoli & asparagus, crispy pumpkin fritters, extra thick French toast, a pear & rhubarb fruit compote and a fresh fruit platter. 

Week 1

We started the term utilising additional cool technology on loan from the T4L STEM Library with our Airgardens. Everyone got to investigate man made and natural things in our environment using microscopes that attach to iPhones. We were fascinated by how things look when highly magnified and managed to take some detailed photographs.

We harvested shallots, eggs, broccoli, lettuce, broad beans, sugar snap peas and asparagus.

In the kitchen we made a variety of garden fresh vegetables with a sour cream & shallot dip, big soft pretzels with a warm cheesy dip, crispy radish fritters and warm mulberry muffins with a crumble topping.

STEM -azing!

Last term Group 2 students finished their solar system displays. Don't they look fantastic?

Moving into term 3 we're excited to commence work on lifecycles with Ms Cunningham. Keep an eye out for what's in store.

Chess Tournament

We have started our annual chess tournament. Students have been having fun participating in the competition. Games are held during our recess break and the children look forward to the competition each day. Our semi and grand final games will be played during this week and next week. Good luck to all our students.

Ear and Sinus Health

Last Term, we had a special visit from a hearing teacher named Lauren. Lauren has cochlear implants and can fluently sign AUSLAN. She taught us about ear and sinus health and what we can do to keep our ears healthy. We all enjoyed her visit and learnt lots of useful information. Below are some of the tips we learnt.

Gumbaynggirr Language

Students have been enjoying  learning about animals with Lesley in our Gumbaynggirr language lessons.

2025 Kindergarten Transition Program

A warm welcome to Tyler, our 2025 Kindergarten student. He has had a wonderful start to big school transition days, enjoying English and maths activities and tennis lessons. 

Our next kindergarten transition program will be Tuesday 29 October.

Year 5&6 - Far Out Science - UNE Armidale

Years 5 & 6 students will be travelling to Armidale on Wednesday 30 October to participate in Far Out Science at the University of New England. The day will kick off at 9:30am in Lazenby Hall at the University of New England campus in Armidale, and finish at 2.45pm.

There is no cost for this excursion. Travel will be by parental transport. Ms McNeill and Katherine Lean will meet our students at Armidale UNE and attend the event with our students on the day.

Students will need to bring a packed lunch and water bottle. UNE will provide morning tea (muesli bar, piece of fruit and juice box) on arrival.

Students must wear full school uniform (sport shirt), bring a jumper and a hat (some activities will be outdoors) and have enclosed shoes (no sandals). All students and adults attending must wear appropriate clothing and in particular shoes (these must be fully
enclosed as the students will be entering labs). Students wearing open shoes will not be permitted entry into some activities. It is also advisable that anyone with long hair brings something they can tie their hair back with. Please also ensure your child is prepared for any weather. Hats/sunscreen if it is hot and jackets etc. if it rains.

It will be a fun filled day with hands-on workshops where students take on experimental challenges and get to see what happens in real university science laboratories with the scientists who are at the forefront of research and education. They will get to understand chemistry in our everyday lives, connect neural pathways in neuroscience, learn about the science of food, try and unravel forensics, build a rocket launcher, and discover other amazing things in physics, animal science, botany, agriculture, maths and IT, and much, much more.

Image Release Form - UNE will have a photographer on site during Far Out Science to take photographs for UNE to use in web materials, marketing collateral, and future UNE Discovery programs.  Please sign and return the  Image Release Form that was sent home on Friday by tomorrow.

Please sign the consent note sent home last week and return it by tomorrow so travelling arrangements can be finalised. 

Gubi Gabun Playgroup at Dundurrabin PS

Year 6 - Dorrigo High School Transition

This term, Year 6 will begin their High School orientation. During these days, they will become familiar with Dorrigo High School, participate in lessons and learn how to read timetables. They will get the opportunity to meet the other students from the plateau who will also be attending high school next year.

The dates and itinerary are as follows:

• Tuesday 31 October – 12noon – 3.15pm - (Periods 4 to 6) Period 4 – Year Meeting with Year Advisor / Period 5 & 6 - mini lessons

• Wednesday 13 November – 8.55am - 12.00 noon - (Periods 1 to 3) Period 1 & 2 – mini lessons / Period 3 – Year Meeting

• Tuesday 3 December – 8.55am - 3.15pm - Official Statewide Yr6 High School Orientation Day (Whole Day) Periods 1-3 – mini lessons / Period 4 – Year Meeting & Peer Support Activities / Period 5 to 6 - Swimming

School Swimming and Water Safety Program

Our school swimming will be run over ten days during weeks 6 and 7. The School Swimming scheme will begin on Monday 18 November and finish on Friday 29 November.

Thanks to grants from Sporting Schools and NSW School Sport Unit Swimming and Water Safety there will be miminal cost, if any, for swimming this year. More cost details next newsletter.

Please advise the school if you are a season ticket holder for Dorrigo Swimming Pool and show your ticket pass for a reduction in our swimming costs.

Travel will be by Wykes bus to and from the pool daily. We will leave school at 9.15am each morning and return to school by 12noon for normal school activities.

Students must come to school dressed in their swimmers (rash shirt and hat) and either sandals or thongs, as there will be limited use of the pool change rooms. They must have a packed uniform (shirt, shorts, trousers, jumper, underwear, socks & shoes) to change into, as well as a towel (or 2) to dry themselves with.

The school will provide SPF50+ sunscreen. All children will need to have sun protection reapplied throughout the day, so please send any special sunscreen with your child on the day.

Students will need to pack a big recess, lunch and plenty of water as swimming can make students extra hungry.

Students will only be able to purchase from the kiosk on the last Friday with a minimum of $3.00 each.

Consent notes will be sent home next newsletter week. 

Presentation Day

Save the date! Friday 13 December - 11am.

We will be holding our End of Year Presentation Assembly on Friday 13 December starting at 11am. Followed by a shared lunch. Everyone is welcome! More information to come later in the term.

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.
  

Please phone the school if you are unsure to whether you have paid or not. Thank you to those families who have already paid.

Book Club Issue # 7

Bookclub Issue#7 brochure was sent home today. If you wish to place an order from this issue, please have your loop online order completed or your order forms and money (cash) back at school by next Monday 28 October.

P&C News and Community News

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 -

• 24 October
• 21 November
• 19 December

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

Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival

The Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival is a weekend of concerts, workshops, jamming, dancing and kids events. Focused primarily on old-time, bluegrass and folk traditions, it is a family friendly festival with something for everyone. We encourage participation from all ages and are dedicated to sharing our love of music. 

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 

Farm Safety Awareness Day