PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Education Week Open Day:  Last Friday, 30th May, Samuel Gilbert Public School celebrated Education Week.  The theme for Education Week in all NSW schools was ‘A Love of Learning’.  It was wonderful to see the terrific performances of our students through grade items, the Performance Band and Vocal Ensemble.

Thank you to the many parents who joined us for the day, many who made special arrangements to be here.

Zone Cross Country:  Congratulations to the Samuel Gilbert Public School Cross Country Team.  Samuel Gilbert’s fantastic cross country runners all performed magnificently and yet again became the Zone Champion School.  Well done!  Your effort and attitude on the day was outstanding.  Thank you Mrs Johnson and Mrs Marcolin for your organisation of our team.

Book Fair:  Mrs Bridie and Mrs Bell have had an extremely busy week running a very successful Book Fair.  Thank you to all the families that supported this enterprise.

P&C Trivia Night:  It was fantastic to join with parents and staff for an absolutely terrific social time at the Trivia Night.  A big thank you to Tracy Imber and Lynnea McGowan for your organization of this great evening.

P&C Meeting:  Our next P&C meeting will be next Tuesday, 10th June in the school staffroom commencing at 7.30pm.  All are most welcome.

P&C Fete Mufti Day:  Thank you parents for your support of Tuesday’s Mufti Day.  We are planning another Mufti Day on the last day of term.  Details will be sent home closer to the event.

Thursday Assemblies:  Classes that will be performing in assemblies on Thursdays for the remainder of the term are -     Week 8 – Thursday, 19th June – KE and 6S,   Week 9 – Thursday, 26th June – 5PS.

Year 2 Excursion:  Over the coming two Wednesdays, 11th and 18th, Year 2 students are booked into Longneck Lagoon for an excursion.  This is a terrific venue for an excursion with a huge array of hands on science and environmental activities for the students to be involved in.

School Disco:  Friday, 13th June Year 6 is organising a Disco in the evening for different grade groups.  Information was sent home earlier this week.  Tickets will be on sale from next Tuesday, 10th June.

School Photos – 17th June:  School photos will be held in 2 weeks time.  A note went home yesterday informing parents about the arrangements.

In this time of transition to a new school uniform, it will be difficult to achieve uniformity in the photos.  The school has worked with the P&C Uniform Committee to explore the options and solutions.  I ask that parents are understanding about the difficulties we face regarding this.

Sports Uniform:  Just a reminder to families about the days that the Sports uniform should be worn.  The Sports uniform is worn for Grade Sport and if your child’s class is involved in the Gymnastics program, not for Class PE or Dance lessons.

Grade Sports Days:
Kindergarten    -  Fridays
Year One         -  Wednesdays
Year Two         -  Tuesdays
Year Three       -  Fridays
Year Four         -  Fridays
Year Five          -  Fridays
Year Six           -  Fridays
Sports uniform should also be worn on other special sporting occasions such as carnivals.  Occasionally the sports uniform will be requested to be worn at the discretion of the school.

Congratulations to the Performance Band:  They have been selected to be part of Foyer Entertainment at the Schools’ Spectacular in November.

POD Broadcast:  Congratulations to 6C and Mr Crossman with the assistance of Mrs Bell who have made a successful POD cast.  Jonathon and Georgia from Mr Crossman’s class interviewed me.  This interview is available on our school website.

Carlingford West Public School:  Thank you to the staff and parents for your generous donation of $350 which was forwarded to Carlingford West Public School to assist with teacher resources after the recent fire.
Andrew Bowmer

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RELIEVING DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Education Week Open Day
For the first time I was able to attend all performances from Kindergarten to Year 6. I truly enjoyed seeing our students perform and felt very proud to be a part of such a great school. Particular congratulations must go to the talented children who performed musical solos. I am sure all who heard them play were as impressed as I was!

Also a big thank you to the wonderful ladies in the canteen who provided tea and coffee to parents throughout the day.

Lost Property
A reminder that any unclaimed Lost Property will be sorted and sent to the Uniform Store at the end of this term. Please take the time to visit and reclaim any items belonging to your family.

UNSW Competitions
Next Thursday we will be holding the Writing Competition between 3:15pm and 4:00pm. It is important for parents to let After School Care know if their child is attending the competition. If your child usually catches the bus please ensure that alternative arrangements are in place for collection.

Junior State Dance Camp
Congratulations to RF and RR who have been offered places at the 2008 Dance Camp.

Stewart House
Thank you to all families who have donated used clothing in support of Stewart House. We appreciate your support.
Cathie Barclay

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ZONE CROSS COUNTRY
Congratulations to our Zone Cross Country Team for winning the Zone Carnival last Wednesday.

Everyone did their best on the day and tried very hard.  Well done!

Thank you to all parents and supporters for your help on the day.  Your support is greatly appreciated.
Mrs Johnson & Mrs Marcolin
Zone Cross Country Coordinators

 

SPORTS REPORT
Zone Cross Country
Well done to our School Cross Country Team and congratulations to those who will represent the Castle Hill Zone at the Sydney West Area Carnival next Wednesday, 11th June at Castle Hill Showground.  Keep practising!  Thanks again to Mrs Marcolin and Mrs Johnson for their preparation of the School Team.

Area Cross Country Carnival
At this year’s Area Carnival we have been asked to provide a canteen with all profits coming back to the school.  I am looking for a band of helpers to serve and cook a barbecue throughout the day.  Please, if you can help out for an hour or so on Wednesday, 11th June (next Wednesday) down at the Castle Hill Showground, come and make yourself known to me.  The more we have, the lighter the load ….. no experience necessary.  Your child does not need to be competing, we just need volunteers.  Remember 100% profit comes back to our school, so your child will benefit in the long run.

Area Rugby Union - Congratulations to RZ who has made the Sydney West Area Rugby Union team.
Elaine Cater

PREMIER’S SPORTING CHALLENGE
Please keep up the good work and encourage the physical activity out of school hours.  This program will continue next term.  Thank you to Carol who has kindly offered her services to enter our data on line for us.  Just to remind you that children in Years 3-6 can accumulate up to 85 minutes maximum per day.  This does not have to be organised activity but can be as informal as walking the dog, riding a bike, walking to school etc.  If you would like more information on the program, please visit https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/psc/home.html. 
Each class is working as a team and the school total works as a second team.
Elaine Cater

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RELAY FOR LIFE
What a weekend!  Congratulations to all those families who braved the elements and took part in this most worthwhile community charity.  It was great to see some of our families who had registered with other organisations drop by our tent and also be part of our team.

This year, to break the monotony of walking lap by lap, we decided to record each lap that our team walked.  Mrs Elliott and Mrs Davis started with 20 laps and challenged others to “match it or beat it!”  What an incentive!  Shall I say, this challenge was taken by quite a few and a quick total of our tally points saw our team manage around 350 laps.  This equalled approximately 140 kilometres.  What an effort!

Our donation to the Cancer Council was just over $700.  So to all who took part, a huge thank you from the Cancer Council.

Let’s see if we can make a bigger impact next year.  Keep the third week in May free in 2009.  It is truly an amazing atmosphere whether you come for an hour or the whole 24 hours.  Some come and go over the two days to fit in and around other commitments.  Well done team!
Elaine Cater

YEAR 5 CAMP
What a busy term it has been for our Year 5 students.  Cross Country Week 1, Band Camp Week 2, NAP Testing Week 3 and a 5 day experience of the Australian Goldfields and camp at Lake Burrendong Sport and Recreation Centre, Week 4.  For many this was their first time away from their families.  It was a huge step!

The immediate families have no doubt heard many stories since we arrived home.  A wonderful time was had by all.  It was a very full on week and “Cooney Nuggets” were eagerly contested.  All children are to be congratulated on their behaviour and survival skills.  They were a pleasure to take away.  Well done Year 5!

Special mention goes to RR, TL, JM, MW, GP, LC, RN and JS for the number of Cooney Nuggets won throughout the week.

To Mrs Percossi and Mrs Cooney, who rearranged their family lives, a huge thank you.  Without your support, such excursions could not take place.
Elaine Cater

 

FROM THE LIBRARY
First of all I would like to thank all the teachers and parents for their help and support last week during our Book Fair.  Over $11,400 worth of books were sold altogether, a very good result for both Scholastic Australia and Samuel Gilbert Public School.  In particular I would like to thank the kind parents who donated books to our School Library.  Over 40 books were donated by Samuel Gilbert families.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Special thanks must go to the following parents who gave time to come and assist with the Book Fair – Barbara, Donna, Cheryl, Kim, Emily, Carlijn, Melissa, Hayley and Antonia.  These parents did a tremendous job and their help was invaluable.  Thank you again, ladies.

Heart felt appreciation goes to the following staff members for assisting with both the sales and the packing up of the Book Fair – Sue Bell, Cheryl Nelson, Ingrid Samuels, Jutta Smith, Lyn Elliott, Janet Davis and Louise McLeod.

If I have accidentally left anyone out, please forgive me.  Overall, a very successful Book Fair – the result of a fabulous team effort!
Deidre Bridie,
Relieving Teacher Librarian

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BAND REPORT
The Band Report contains two very exciting good news stories.

Firstly, the Performance Band has been selected to play in the foyer at the Entertainment Centre to greet the arriving audience for the Schools Spectacular on Friday, 28th November.  What an exciting performance for these Samuel Gilbert musicians.  Well Done!

Secondly, there are excellent results coming through from the current AMEB exams.  Well done to these students:
KS           Grade 2            Flute
SL            Grade 2            Saxophone
MK          Grade 1            Clarinet
EC            Grade 1           Clarinet
CB           Grade 1            Clarinet
SS             Grade 3           Clarinet
ZS             Grade 1           Saxophone

Please let us know via the Band Box if you have passed an AMEB exam so you also can be acknowledged in the Band Report.
Sue Lack, Band Committee

 

FROM THE UNIFORM SHOP
The Uniform Shop has now received winter skirts in sizes 6 and 8 and long sleeved blouses in sizes 6 and 10.  We are still waiting on long sleeved polos size 6, 8 & 10 to arrive and blouses size 14.
Remember your winter uniform options are: 
Boys Uniform
1.         Plain navy gabardine trousers with long or short sleeve polo shirt
2.         Plain navy gabardine shorts (not sport shorts) with long or short sleeve polo shirt
3.         Navy tracksuit pants* with short or long sleeve polo

Girls Uniform
1.          Plain navy straight leg gabardine dress pants with long or short sleeve polo
2.         Plain navy straight leg gabardine dress pants with long sleeve lemon blouse
3.         Skirt with long or short sleeve lemon blouse
4.         Tunic* with long sleeve lemon blouse
5.         Tunic with lemon skivvy
Girls can choose to wear either lemon socks or tights with the tunic or skirt. 

*  Items which are part of the old uniform policy and will be phased out.
Karen Pike & Jackie Coleman

TRIVIA NIGHT
A great night was had by all on the Trivia Night.  Despite this not being a fundraiser we still raised $770.  It was great to see so many teachers attend the evening. Congratulations to the many winners on the night, I am sure you will enjoy your prizes.

Many thanks to our sponsors Brokenwood Wines, Patricia Crews (NRL), Knightsbridge Pharmacy and Knightsbridge Pizzeria.

See you at the next one!
Tracy Imber

 

FROM THE CANTEEN
Position Vacant
The Canteen is looking for a Supervisor to work a 4 day fortnight at the School Canteen.

You will be responsible for the daily operation of the canteen involving food preparation, general daily cleaning, counting and banking of takings, serving students and teachers and supervising volunteers.

Payment will be made as a part-time casual in accordance with the Shop Employees Award.  You must have or be prepared to obtain a Food Safety Health and Hygiene Certificate (6 hour course at TAFE) and enjoy working with people and for the school.

If you are interested please send your resumé to the School Office by Friday, 20th June marked to the attention of Wendy Speechly.
Canteen Committee

 

SAMUEL GILBERT OOSHCC
We currently have vacancies for a Friday afternoon which includes care until 6.00pm at a cost of $13.50 (CCB rebate where applicable).  Care includes a 3 course afternoon tea, choice of indoor/outdoor experiences with fully qualified staff.

Why not give your child an extra opportunity to socialise in a fully accredited, high quality environment within the SGPS community.

Please call Lesley Soper on 9899 2729 if you are interested in permanent or casual afternoons.

Vacation Care
In the coming school holidays Samuel Gilbert OOSH will be operating vacation care from Monday, 14th July to Friday 18th July, 2008 inclusive.  Vacation care includes excursions and in house activities. 

If you are interested please contact Lesley on 9899 2729 to make a booking.
Lesley Soper, OOSH Director

 

FREE PIANO
A beginner’s piano in good working condition is available free of charge.  You will be required to transport the piano from Round Corner Dural to your home.  For enquiries please contact Barbara Campbell on 9634 6857 or 0414 789 701.

 

OF COMMUNITY INTEREST

.       Seminar on Childhood Obesity is being held at William Clarke College on Monday, 16th June at 8.00pm.  Gold coin donation covers the cost of tea and coffee.  Seminar is presented by Professor Louise Baur from the University of Sydney where she will present “Globesity – what’s the problem?”  - How can parents help their children eat well and be active?  If you would like to attend please ring 9629 9901 or email dma@wcc.nsw.edu.au by Friday 13th June.

.       Children’s Holiday Camps at Berry – a wide range of camps are being held at the NSW Sport & Recreation Centre at Berry in the next school holidays.  If you wish to make a booking please contact 1800 811 387 or 13 1302.

- 2007 Fete Sponsors -

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