Week 5 Term 4

Term 4 is always an exceptionally busy term so remember to keep your eye on all our channels of communication for important information relating to curricular and extracurricular activities coming up across our school community.

UPDATE ON COVID-19 GUIDELINES

The updated Term 4 operational guidelines now allow for a range of school activities to restart and I look forward to joining our students in a range of excursions and activities throughout the term. Information relating to these updated guidelines can be found on the NSW Department of Education website at the following link https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

SCHOOL LEADERS 2021

The Year 5 Prefect Speeches have been set down to start at 9.15 am on Friday 4 December. Importantly, COVID-19 guidelines are now allowing one parent/carer to attend the speeches. This is great news. The parent will have to remain seated and at 1.5m apart however, we feel this is a positive step in the right direction. This will help students relax their nerves on the day. We look forward to your attendance. Invitations will be sent home to applicable families shortly.

A number of exciting events and activities completed so far this term include.

K/1 EXCURSION TO THE PEACH FARM / POOL

This wonderful excursion took place last Tuesday. By all accounts, it was a delightful day and the weather held. The students are still talking about this one. Thank you teachers and support staff. 

NAIDOC DAY

On Friday the school celebrated NAIDOC Day. Students enjoyed dressing in traditional colours and after recess participating in a number of cultural and meaningful activities. Teachers prepared exciting lessons and there was a great feeling at the school. Seeing all students, K-6, working together so well was an absolute privilege. Thank you Mr Speirs and Mr Jones, teachers and support staff for a terrific day. 

STAGE 3 ACTIVITIES - SURFING 

Stage 3 students this week have a number of exciting activities to attend. For the next 3 days, the Year 5/6 class will be learning important lifesaving skills and surfing on Yamba Main Beach. Then, on Friday the Stage 3 students will finish the week off with three very exciting activities at the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre in Coffs Harbour. 

COFFS COAST ADVENTURE CENTRE

To finish off a fabulous week, the Year 5/6 students will be undertaking three activities at Coffs Coast Adventure Centre, Coffs Harbour on Friday. Students will be riding the Zipline, hanging out in the Z Balls and then challenging themselves on the Commando Obstacle Course. Parents/carers please see the note that went home for the full details on what students need to bring. I have no doubts there will be photos to view at a later date. Stay tuned!

JOHN COLLIS VISIT

The school wishes to thank Mr John Collis for speaking with our senior students yesterday. John was a former student of Iluka Public School. His stories were informative, especially during the World War 2 period, and most enjoyable to listen to. The session was recorded, with the school donating a copy to the Iluka town library. 

BOOK FAIR

Thank you Mr Jones for organising another wonderful Book Fair. Students have enjoyed being able to purchase from a large number of books and stationery supplies. It has been a big success. 

ATTENDANCE

All children of compulsory school age who are enrolled at school are expected to attend every day the school is open for their instruction. If your child is away it is required that parents or carers provide an explanation for absences by means such as a telephone call, written note or email to the school within 7 days from the first day of any period of absence. Some justified reasons for absence include illness, injury, and approved travel and specialist appointments. Most importantly, if your child is unwell it is important they stay home and get better before returning to school.

2021 Kindergarten Transition

To assist in building school readiness in preparation for the 2021 school year, last Wednesday Iluka Public School hosted its third and final transition day for our 2021 kindergarten cohort. It was great to see them all here. The school continues to accept applications for all 2021 enrolments. If you, a neighbour or even a friend are interested in learning more about the school please don't hesitate to contact the school on 6646 6149 to arrange an appointment to discuss enrolment.

HAPPY TEACHERS DAY

Internationally, World Teachers' Day was celebrated Friday 30 October. It was remiss of me not to mention this in last week’s newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the incredible contribution made by our teachers at Iluka Public School. This year has been particularly challenging and I am very proud of our teachers and all support staff for providing quality learning opportunities for our students throughout the pandemic. ​

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS 2021

The Department of Education has changed the start days to the 2021 school calendar, to allow an extra day of planning before students attend school. There will now be staff planning on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 January. This will mean the first day of school for all students in K-6 is Friday 29 January 2021. Our 2021 Kindergarten students will complete their Best Start assessments during Week 2.

MHS YEAR 7 ORIENTATION

Year 6 are off to high school orientation. Year 6 students will be traveling by bus on Wednesday 18 November to Maclean High School for their long-awaited orientation day. This orientation is for all Year 6 students.

RAFFLE TICKETS

Yesterday, every family received one set of raffle tickets from the Year 6 class. Year 6 is fundraising for an end of year gift for the school and are asking for our support. Raffle tickets cost $2 each. Each book has 10 tickets to sell. The raffle book stub, any unsold tickets and all cash is to be returned before Thursday 10 December 2020. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 11 December 2020 during the Whole School Assembly. There are four fantastic prizes to be won (see the Year 5/6 news for further details). Good luck.

Have a safe and happy week, Phil.

CLASS K NEWS

‘Yarn Up’ Meeting - In our ‘yarn up’ last week, our discussion focused on what skills are needed to be a reliable and responsible leader. This week the Kindergarten students take on the leadership role of putting out and returning the sandpit toys each day. Well done to last week’s leaders, Amelia and Belinda, for standing up in front of the students at our Tuesday whole school assembly and explaining the sandpit organisational procedures.  

Home Reading - This is the last week for students to take home books of interest to read. 

Assessments - Over the next several weeks, Kindergarten students will be participating in different curriculum assessment tasks.

Reminders:

Please ensure that your child brings their communication folder to school each day.

Lynne

CLASS 1/2 NEWS

Hi All,

I’m happy to report that the 1/2 class are continuing to work hard in all areas of their schoolwork.

Everyone had a great time on the excursion last week to the Peach Farm and Yamba Community Pool. I hope you all enjoyed the fruit they brought home with them.

Not as many children returned their Homework last week. It would be great to see an improvement this week. 

Please take the time (5 minutes) to listen to your child read each day and encourage them to exchange their home readers regularly. They have a box of mixed text to choose from in the classroom, with something to interest everybody.

Have a good week.

Cathie Leseberg

CLASS 3/4 NEWS

NAIDOC Day - Last Friday IPS celebrated NAIDOC Day and we all had a fantastic time. It was a wonderful opportunity to work with all students across the entire school and I thank them for their interest in the activities undertaken and their outstanding behaviour.

Remembrance Day - Congratulations to the Year 4 students for stepping up into the (usually senior) role of conducting the community Remembrance Day service tomorrow. You have all demonstrated excellent leadership qualities throughout your practice sessions.

Excursion - Please be assured that the Stage 2 students have not been forgotten. An excursion is currently being organised for early December, but the final details are still to be confirmed. However, I can say we will be visiting Coffs Harbour and it is going to be a very long and action-packed day.

Reading Hour - On Monday afternoon students participated in Australia Reads by reading for one hour. It was wonderful to witness the excited students bringing in books from home, purchasing a book from the book fair or borrowing a library book at lunch time to participate in this nation wide activity. While one hour seems like a long time, it was surprising to see how engaged students were and it allowed their books to take them to amazing places and events.

Have a lovely week.

Kristy

CLASS 5/6 NEWS

It is Activities week, our 2020 alternative to camp. 

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will be heading off on the bus at 9:15am to Main Beach in Yamba. We will be learning how to surf and importantly beach safety. Please ensure that you pack a packed lunch, water bottle, hat, sunscreen, towel, rash shirt or wetsuit. 

On  Friday morning we are heading down to the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre. The bus will be leaving school at 7:00am for an early start to what is going to be a fun filled day. We will be testing out the Giant Flying Fox, the Z Ball and the ever testing Commando Course. Luckily we have been Ninja training at school :) Please ensure that students wear joggers and that they have a water bottle, hat, sunscreen and also change of clothes

Transition to High School - is next Wednesday the 18th of November.

Canteen Kids - Unfortunately, there will be NO Canteen Kids this week. However, for next week only, we will be having Canteen Kids on Tuesday 17th November (as Wednesday is Transition Day). We will be selling Nachos for $3. Order forms were sent home yesterday and need to be returned to school by Monday 16 November. 

Home Benefits - As we are super busy this week there is no Home Benefits set for this week. Although I strongly encourage every student to read for at least 30 mins. The data suggests that we need to work on sustaining reading. 

Raffle - Year 6 are fundraising for an end of year gift for the school. We are kindly asking if you could help us by selling a book of tickets in our FANTASTIC Christmas Raffle. Check out these awesome prizes:

First prize - 2 nights accommodation in a beautiful Queen Deluxe Cabin at the Anchorage Caravan Park (value of $200).

Second prize - 5 kilos of King Green prawns donated by Sean Speirs (value of $125). 

Third prize - Two fishing rods (value $40), kindly donated by an Iluka Community member.

Fourth prize - Doterra Introductory Kit (value of $35) donated by Belinda Jones.

We appreciate your efforts and ask that all sold or unsold raffle tickets and money be returned to school before Thursday 10 December, as the raffle will be drawn on Friday 11 December 2020 during the Whole School Assembly. 

LIBRARY/TECHNOLOGY

Welcome to Week Five of Term 4. Over the last few weeks borrowing and returning has become more consistent with all students in all classes. The year 3/4 class should be commended on their consistent borrowing and returning. They have been outstanding all year. 

BOOK FAIR

This will be the last week that the Book Fair will be available in our school, and this will be the last one for the year. I would like to thank all students and family members that have made a purchase from the Book Fair. So far we have raised around about $1200. The school receives 30% of this, so so far you’ve helped raise around $360 to go towards new books and library resources. 

OVERDUE BOOKS

There are still a few students throughout all classes that have overdue books. It is important that these books begin to be returned, otherwise overdue notices will be issued and these books will need to be replaced. I will begin Stocktake at the beginning of Week Nine and is important that I have all books returned by this date. Thank you in advance. 

I hope everyone has a good week. Matt.

CANTEEN NEWS

Volunteers for Friday 13 November - Sandy and Mark 

Volunteers for Monday 16 November -  Leonie and Tracey

Class donations for next week: Year 5/6 

If you could offer some time assisting in the tuckshop, please see the Office Staff or contact Karla on 0405638768. Thank you

BANKING NEWS

Congratulations to our School Banking savers!

Congratulations to our School Banking students who have earned 10 Dollarmites tokens. They are now eligible to redeem these tokens for an exclusive School Banking reward item!  

Eligible students can redeem for a reward by bringing their completed rewards slip to school, along with their 10 tokens, on Tuesday. Please note: the last day for ordering your Treetop Savers rewards will be Tuesday 1st December. All orders after this date will be held until 27th January, 2021.

Keep up the great work and remember, School Banking day is every Tuesday.