20 Jul 2022
NEW COVID GUIDELINES
Many of our existing COVID-smart measures continue into Term 3, including:
- staying home if unwell, even if you have a negative RAT, until you are free of symptoms
- rapid antigen testing for symptomatic students and close contacts able to return to school
- strongly encouraging mask wearing, particularly for the first 4 weeks of term
- The latest NSW Health advice also recommends wearing a mask for people who have recovered from COVID-19 and recently completed their 7-day isolation period for an additional 3 days (from days 8 to 10 after receiving a positive COVID-19 result). Additionally, regarding close contacts, mask wearing is strongly recommended for staff and primary school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 school days.
- strongly encouraging all eligible students and their families to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu
- maximising natural ventilation
- good hygiene practices
- strict requirements for close contacts attending school
- responding to local COVID-19 conditions
Some things are changing this term and the COVID-19 vaccination policy has been updated:
– the mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccination will be lifted for staff in most school settings from 1 August 2022. We will continue to encourage all staff, students and our school community to keep up to date with their vaccinations, including getting a booster shot when eligible.
- Boosted day cleaning – our cleaning model has shifted slightly and will now be more concentrated during school hours.
Finally, it is important to note NSW Health’s advice to reduce our risk of not only COVID-19, but other illnesses that may affect our school at this time of year such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, both of which can be serious in younger people. We can all protect our loved ones and our community by:
- staying home and getting tested if unwell or displaying any symptoms
- keeping up to date with our vaccinations – including the flu vaccine, which is available from your local GP, pharmacy or Aboriginal Medical Service now
- flu vaccines are free for all children aged 6 months to under 5 years, or for a small charge for those aged 5 years and older
- getting tested immediately for COVID-19 if you become symptomatic and isolating until you receive a negative result and are symptom free
- practicing good hand hygiene by washing regularly with soap and water
- taking a RAT before vising vulnerable loved ones or going to large gatherings and events (the department will send another round of RATs to our school early this term, which we will provided to you in the form of 1 multipack of 5 RAT kits per student).
STAFF UPDATE
Mrs Foo is now on maternity leave. Miss Wright (returning to CPS) will now teach 5F. Mr Norman has taken over Mrs Foo’s relieving Assistant Principal role and will lead Stage 3 throughout semester 2.
Congratulations to Miss Skibola who was successful at interview last term in acquiring a permanent classroom teacher position at Epping Public School. She commenced at EPS on Monday. KL will now be taken by Mrs Jones (Mon and Tues), and Mrs Skocic (Wed – Fri).
Welcome back to Mrs Morabi who has returned to CPS on Mondays and Tuesdays to teach Kindergarten technology (Mrs Jones' former position).
DANCE EISTEDDFORD
Good luck to our K-6 Dance Group students who are performing at the City of Ryde Eisteddfod at Ryde Secondary College this Saturday.
KINDERGARTEN 2023 - OPEN MORNING
We will be holding an Open Day for 2023 Kindergarten families this Thursday 21 July commencing at 9:45am. The morning will consist of a ‘Welcome to Carlingford Public School’ address in the hall, a tour of the school, a visit to the Kindergarten rooms and conclude with morning tea. We look forward to meeting our new students and their families. Please inform any potential 2023 Kindergarten families of our Open Day and our wonderful school.
OPPORTUNITY CLASS PLACEMENT TEST
The Opportunity Class Placement Test will be held at our school on the morning of Thursday 28 July 2022.
Authorised students must arrive at school by 9:25 am. Their parents should have received by email a 'Test authority' letter which students are required to bring as a printed copy on the day of the test. Students may also bring a lead pencil, eraser, and sharpener in a clear zip lock bag. They will NOT be permitted to wear a smart watch or any device that contains internet access or calculator during the test.
Go to https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5 to find the 'Test information for parents and students' bulletin which contains very important information about the test, including how to access the familiarisation test. This bulletin should be read carefully.
EDUCATION WEEK – OPEN DAY CELEBRATIONS
We would love to invite our community to join us in celebrating Education Week this term. Education Week celebrations will take place in Week 3 of Term 3, 1-5 August. Our Open Day will be on Wednesday, August 3. On this day, our wonderful performance groups will be showcasing their incredible talents and parents will have an opportunity to visit classrooms. Our friendly P&C will be organising lunch. Information regarding the program of events will be sent home in coming days.
PEER SUPPORT TRAINING
Our whole school will be starting Peer Support sessions this week. The children will be participating in a module, Moving Forward which focuses on resilience. The experiences in the module help children to identify their qualities and strengths, develop skills, respond with a range of strategies, and seek support when faced with challenges. In this session, the children will establish connections with the other members of their group and develop their group agreement to enable them to work well together. The children will discuss an example of a challenging situation and some resilient and non-resilient responses.
You might like to discuss with your child what they can do to help them take an active role in Peer Support.
Thank you to our Stage 3 students and teachers for their efforts. Special thank you to Mrs Bickham, Mr Bhandarkar and the Stage 3 team for organising 2022 Peer Support.
NATIONAL CONSISTENT COLLECTION of DATA on STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about support provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
year of schooling
category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.This information assists schools to:
formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
PRE SCHOOL / SCHOOL CARPARK SAFETY UPGRADE
Work has commenced on our pre - school entrance safety upgrade. This project involves the creation of a new entrance to the pre - school, relocating it to the school’s boundary which borders the Macquarie Business College. This new entrance will allow safe pre – school access for families, no longer having to travel through the staff car park. The vehicular entrance to the CPS carpark will also be automated, preventing non authorised vehicles and pedestrians from entering the car park.
SCHOOL CROSSING PROGRAM JOB VACANCIES
The School Crossing Program are advertising for casual school crossing supervisors in the Parramatta and Holroyd local government areas. https://jobs.transport.nsw.gov.au/job-invite/71014/
Neil Hinton, Principal