21 March 2024

Principal Report

Dear Families,

We hope that many of our families and community members will be voting at Illawarra this weekend to purchase a democracy sausage or something yummy from the bake sale. Our IPSA committee continue to work hard to raise funds for our playground improvement goals, the next goal in our sights is the resurfacing of the courts area. Each fundraiser we inch closer to making this a reality. Please consider lending a hand on Saturday with either the BBQ or Bake sale if you are in a position to do so. Sign up details are on our FB page and further on in the newsletter.

Harmony Day – today we celebrated Harmony Day by gathering in unison on the oval in two concentric circles. In the middle circle our First Nation students sang our Welcome to Country song which we are very familiar with as a school community. The circles represent inclusion and togetherness. A drone took a photo from above to capture the shape the children made from up high and this photo will be displayed at school. We take great pride in our inclusive school community and thank Mrs. Nanna, Mrs. Hunn (Librarian), Mrs. Amy and Mrs. P (Art) for their initiative in acknowledging Harmony Day in this creative way.

NAPLAN – I thank our Year 3 and 5 teachers for the time they have taken to prepare students as much as possible to feel comfortable sitting NAPLAN tests. I also appreciate parents supporting students to give their best and viewing NAPLAN testing as an opportunity to show what they know. This preparation has been reflected in the settled and positive manner students have approached the tests this year. Thanks also to Mr. Hayen for the organisation of NAPLAN to enable it to be as stress free as possible for everyone involved.

Supporting Children with Anxiety – Our School Psychologist, Lesli, will be delivering a free workshop for parents on “Supporting children with anxiety” from 6.30 – 7.30 pm Tuesday 9th April in the GP room.  Pop the date in your diary or online calendar and come along to hear about what you might notice if your child or children are showing signs of anxiety, helpful ways to respond and how to support our own stress and stay regulated in relation to children’s anxiety.

Lastly, the substantive Principal position for Illawarra Primary was advertised last week. I will endeavour to inform the school community as soon as I am made aware of the outcome, it is likely this will be known sometime in Term 2.

Kind regards,

Cathryn

Calender

School Photos Monday 25 March

A reminder that School photos will be taken on Monday.

Cut-off for Family Photos is at 4:30pm -Sunday 24 March - the night before Photo Day. Any Family Photos that have not been ordered before the cut-off will not be taken. Unfortunately, we cannot make any exceptions on the day.

All students will have an individual photo taken on Photo Day regardless of whether they have ordered or not. 

Individual student ordering will stay open after Photo Day. 

Orders placed after we have printed the bulk of orders will be sent directly to parents and will incur 
a postage charge per order.

Jumping Jacks Easter Raffle

School Association AGM

Illawarra Primary School Association

WELCOME BARBEQUE - THANK YOU!

Huge thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the 2024 Welcome Barbeque a great success!

Chloe B for taking the lead so well alongside Rachael L, Leah A and Megan R who assisted in all the planning and preparation. 

All the people on prep, bar, canteen, barbeque, and pack up - Lauren C, Rebecca H, Rob K, Craig M, Kimberley A, Jo VB, Georgia H, Jen C, Caroline N, Craig M, Libby B, Allison W, Jane G, Jarrod C, Adele W, Juanita W, Skye D, Dani & Nathan, Siobhan M, Linda & Anthony, Justin R and Oli B, and the Adventure Patch volunteers Adam, Scott & Bec.

Our wonderful, talented bakers - Yen C, Sharon S, Natalee B, Jasmin B, Rosie H, Make H, Libby B, Michellé L, Kimberley A and Amelia S. Thank you again for your time and deliciousness. 

Jane G for helping with the boot swap, and all the soccer and football reps ready to answer questions.

Thank you to the Reids for the donating the onions, Banjos for the discounted bread and some free loaves too, Louisa for organising and running the second-hand uniform stall, Siobhan for her wonderful signs, and Mrs Nanna for the Pop Up Shop and the tunes.

As always the superb group of IPS staff Michael, Cathryn, Cassie, Kelly, Carmen, Tracey & Dylan. Thanks to all the teachers who helped at the barbeque and thanks to the specialist teachers for offering information too. 

Thanks to the principal of Kingston High School who attended our barbeque, and is happy to answer questions about high school. 

Without you these events can’t happen, so thank you from everyone at IPSA. 

Voting Day BBQ & Bake Sale

The Illawarra Primary School Association (IPSA) will be hosting a BBQ and Bake Sale at the Illawarra Primary School Voting Site on Saturday 23^rd  of March. 

This was a great success for the Referendum Voting and we would love your help, either baking, cooking or serving to raise funds toward the resurfacing of the school courts. 

If you can bake some yummy treats (sweet or savoury, individual serves or whole cakes) please bring these by 10am on the day in disposable or well labelled containers. Please also include the list of ingredients.

If you can spare some time to cook or serve, please use SignUp to make a time before or after you vote. 

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/cWTUwgd

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.

Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Canteen

Book Club - Issue 2

Hi all and welcome to Issue 2 Book Club catalogue.  

Scholastic Book Club is a fantastic way to purchase great books selected to suit every child's interests and reading levels, and also a great way to support the school library with new books.  

Orders from Issue 1 achieved over $200 in rewards for the Library to use to purchase new and interesting books for our students to borrow and enjoy.

All paper orders are due back to the office by Thursday 28th March and via the LOOP website by Friday 29th March.

Remember, if you placed an order of $35 or more from Issue 1 via the LOOP, you have a $5 credit for Issue 2.

If your child's catalogue didn't make it home, you can ask the Office for another copy or view it online at Book Club | Scholastic Australia.

Happy Reading!

Launch into Learning

Adventure Patch - Vacation Care

Community Notices