Dudley Public School Newsletter

We are so incredibly proud of our students as they take to the stage to showcase their amazing performing arts talents in SKYHIGH: The Musical. This production is the culmination of months of work from staff, students, families and community. We are excited to share the show with our school families and are confident that you will have a great time. Many thanks to all who have contributed to the show in any way. A special thanks once again to Mrs Murray who has held a steady ship in leading the staff, students and community through our first musical production after covid.

Just a reminder that supervision before school begins each morning from 8:35am. It is at this time that we have a teacher assigned on duty and actively supervising students in the playground before our bell goes at 9:00am. Students should not arrive before 8:35am. Those students who need to be at school earlier than this time should seek placement at before and after school care. If a child arrive a few minutes before 8:35am then they should sit quietly in the quad area until the teacher arrives for duty. Students are reminded that games of any sort are not played during this time before a teacher can watch them safely. Many thanks for your assistance with this.

We have had an increase in anti-social behaviours in our school over recent weekends. This has led to the school having to address excessive rubbish, graffiti, vandalism of property and removal of drug and alcohol paraphernalia using school funds, which should be spent on teaching and learning. We ask the school community to keep a vigilant eye out during the holiday break for any anti-social behaviour on the school site during the fortnight of school holidays. Please report any suspicious behaviour or damage to the police or the NSW Department of Education Security Hotline on 1300 88 00 21.

During the holiday period, the demountable classroom that was previously occupied by 4/5M will be removed from the school site. This removal will involve a lot of heavy machinery and trucks. We ask that if you come in to use the school playground facilities and this removal is taking place to be mindful of safety practices and know that the onsite managers may ask you to leave the area for safety reasons.

Congratulations to all the students who registered and participated in the Read-a-thon fundraising event this term. Collectively you raised a phenomenal $15000!!! What an amazing effort from the school community. The P&C have dedicated part of the fundraising amount toward the upgrade of our concert lighting in the hall. Many thanks to the Fundraising Committee for their efforts in coordinating the event and sourcing great prizes. A huge congratulations to each of the students who raised the most money in their respective grades – Annika (Kindergarten), Darcey (Year 1), Sophia (Year 2), Harry (Year 3), Orlando (Year 4), Abel (Year 5), and Maddie (Year 6). Well done to Sophia for being the highest fundraiser in the school with a total of $1090. Our prize winning classes were 1/2W, 1/2M and 2/3M. They will get receive their class parties from the P&C soon.

Many thanks to those parents and carers who contributed to the discussion on updating the Student Leadership Policy regarding the selection of students based on leadership qualities rather than gender quotas. The P&C consultation session provided a mixed bag of comments and perspectives which have been presented to the school executive and staff for further deliberation. We wish to make an informed decision when considering the amendments and therefore have decided to engage in further consultation with all stakeholders before making any proposed changes. Please keep an eye out for ways in which you can share your thoughts and feelings on this matter during Term 4.

Many thanks to everyone for a fantastic term. It certainly has been a busy, yet productive one. All the best for a wonderful September Spring Break. We look forward to welcoming you back in Term 4.

Kind Regards,

Chad Tsakissiris

Principal

Thank you for your patience as we transition to our new finance system School Bytes. We are now out of our financial freeze and are accepting all school payments. Please see flyer below to register for your parent portal to make online payments and track your accounts.

The School Bytes portal provides flexibility for you to conveniently:

• Make school payments online (including paying for multiple siblings at once)

• Use a family credit to pay for an activity or school contributions • Download a receipt for payments made

• View all historical payments in one place

• Complete and submit digital permission notes

• View the status of all permission notes

Through the portal, you will easily be able to download a receipt once a payment has been made and have access to view all historical payments when needed. Online payments are processed in real-time and can be viewed by school staff immediately.

While our preference is for payments to be made via the portal, we will still accept payment via cash, cheque, money order and EFTPOS.

Students from our school attended an education tour of the national capital in Week 7 this term. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Australian Government contributed funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate was paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion and was factored into the reduced price paid by families.

The Game changer Challenge is a school activity where students compete and try to come up with a solution for a wicked problem. This year’s wicked problem was, “Invent or innovate something that will leave a lasting impact.” We had two Stage 3 teams enter the competition, but only one made it into the semifinals. On Thursday 31st August under the guidance of Miss Mac and Mrs Adams, Piper, Al, Emily, Sofia and Lachie tried really hard to solve the problem with their invention ‘Flowers to Friends’ garden bus. They put so much effort in, but unfortunately didn’t make it into the grand finale. The team was amazing and one tiny setback will not keep them from continuing to be game changers!

Written by Piper

This term, Quiet play has been running for 2 lunch times per week-Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As a group we decided to add CREATIVE to our name! Wow these students are creative! We have budding designers in our midst along with original thinkers and problem solvers. These children work together, help one another, share the resources…AND they have learnt to clean up together now too! They are such a wonderful group to supervise and I’m constantly in awe of their creations.

If you are having a clear out in the holidays, we would love more donations of the following:-

*ribbons

*string

*feathers

*buttons

*scraps of fabric

*sticky tape

*toilet roll tubes/cardboard tubes

*old greeting cards ((used for decorating)

*blu tac

*elastic

*patty cake liners

*CD’s

*beads/thread

*stamp pad/stamps

*small boxes

Any “bits and bobs” that you have that you feel could be useful would be much appreciated.

Big shout out to the wonderful, generous families who have donated so many wonderful resources for our group. THANK YOU! Mrs P & the kids.

AGM 23 October - Call for nominations 

Dudley Public School Parents & Citizens Association (P&C) is delivering great things for our school. This year alone we helped establish the school band, fund lights for the school production and relocate and revitalise some of the school’s garden beds. 

Being part of the P&C is an incredibly rewarding way to give back to the school community. It meets twice a term.

All executive positions within the P&C will be declared vacant at the upcoming AGM and some of the executive members have indicated they will not be nominating for re-election for 2024. 

That offers a great opportunity for new members to continue to drive the great work of the P&C. 

The executive roles’ main duties include: 

President: Chair P&C meetings, liaise with school staff, and work with the executive to develop vision for fundraising and projects. 

Vice president: Coordinates with the president, supports and fills in as necessary. 

Treasurer: Keeps records of the P&C’s expenditure and handles accounts. Prior book keeping experience would be a benefit. 

Secretary: Keeps minutes of meetings, distributes correspondence and creates content for public distribution. 

There are also fundraising, canteen, uniform and sustainability coordinator positions. 

Importantly we will be losing our incredibly dedicated uniform coordinator this year and are on the lookout for someone to take on this incredibly important role. 

If you would like to know more, or to nominate for a position, please email Dudleyschoolpandc@gmail.com

It's that time of year again! Your children have been busy producing some amazing artwork this year as part of the school's Crazy Camel fundraiser. The online ordering is now open and will close on Friday 22nd September (Last day of term 3). Please note, this fundraiser is ONLINE ORDERING ONLY and no cash or orders will be accepted through the school office. 

This has always been a popular and effective fundraiser for the school and a favourite of the kids as they see their creativity come to life. If you are new to Crazy Camel, all you need to know is that the children have created a unique artwork which can be turned into a selection of products you choose from, including sketchbooks, calendars, diaries, pillowcases, tea towels, tote bags and gift cards. These make fabulous gifts for family and friends and wonderful stocking fillers for friends and family too, all while helping to raise important funds for the school. 

Once orders are processed, the final products are delivered back to the school and distributed to families. This is expected to be mid-November this year. Any questions can be directed to Sarah Sillar - 0421 477 538.