The Punchbowl Press

It is hard to believe we are halfway through Term 3 already!

We continue to welcome current and new families to our centre to participate in programs and access the services of the SaCC. Term 3 has seen us deliver various programs such as our regular playgroups for our babies to toddlers, transition to Preschool playgroup, parenting workshops and the very popular Step Into Work opportunities for our mothers. The Term 3 SaCC Planner is attached above. 

These photos capture some of the fun, learning experiences our little learners and parents experience by participating in our programs. It is amazing to see some of the wonderful friendships that have been established as parents and children come together, with the common interest of developing their child's learning and engagement.   

Everyone is welcome to the SaCC centre, it is a friendly and a safe environment and our families regularly refer to this space as their 'home away from home.'

Coming up in Jan – Dec 2024 Certificate lll in School Based Education Support

(contact Asenati to register with more information coming out soon!)

Warm regards

Asenati, Farhana and Hasna 

SaCC Team 

Mobile number: 0439487865

The children participating in early intervention engaged in bubble play and enthusiastically joined in various activities during science week. They not only enjoyed bubbles, making jelly and popcorn, but also experienced the value of these activities for their overall development and educational growth. Our collection of photos showcases the immense joy and excitement shared by all. The children are showing they are open to new challenges and discoveries while confidently exploring and engaging with the social and physical environment around them through relationships and play (Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 1). All while learning and having lots of fun!

This term, our kindergarten students celebrated reaching ’100 days of Kindergarten’. The day began with an assembly where all students received a certificate in celebration of completing 100 days of learning. During this assembly, students were eager and excited to perform the song ’Taba Naba’ for their families. Following this, the classroom buzzed with energy as parents and caregivers joined their children in their classroom for an interactive morning of learning and exploration. To finish our exciting day, students enjoyed watching and laughing along to an engaging puppet show. Congratulations kindergarten students on reaching this significant milestone!

This term, 1 Starfish have been learning to tell the time using analog and digital clocks. Students developed their understanding of the layout of clocks and how to read to the hour and half-hour. They created their own clocks and described the position of the hour and minute hands when reading the time. 1 Starfish also had a wonderful time exploring and investigating in Education Week, participating in a range of science activities. They explored chemical reactions and push and pull reactions. 

Students in Stage Two celebrated NAIDOC Week and Education Week to start the term. Read some of their perspectives on the two events below:

"During NAIDOC Week some Aboriginal People came to our school. They taught us some dances and showed us a lot of natural tools. This was a  fantastic day! This year the theme was 'For our Elders'.This means to respect our elders because we never know when they will leave." - Farida, Year 4

"On NAIDOC week we went to K-Orange to learn how to rock paint. We got to work with a kindy and take turns doing dots. For the NAIDOC week incursions we learnt how to throw a boomerang" - Afra, Year 3

"What I liked most about the NAIDOC incursion was the hall and learning about Aboriginal tools. I learnt about the didgeridoo - it was my favourite lesson!" - Zayyan, Year 3

"In NAIDOC week we did a lot of things like throwing boomerangs, dancing and doing hand prints. The thing that I liked the most was throwing the boomerang. When it was my turn I threw it so high that it even hit the trees. Then we had lines drawn on our faces. After we saw different artefacts." - Hamza, Year 3

"I loved the smoking ceremony, it was fantastic" - Naifa, Year 3

"We had an assembly for science week. I won a prize in the science competition for my space alphabet cards" - Jasper, Year 3

What a start to the term it has been so far! Kookaburras celebrated their 100 Days of Kindergarten with an assembly, open classroom and a puppet show. Adam, Ariz, Issa and Omar have made remarkable progress by leaps and bounds, achieving some personal goals along the way. Mr Eliaali congratulates these students on this epic milestone. Both support unit classes attended the science show incursion as part of Education Week. We are also participating in the Footsteps dance program, learning step-by-step dance moves from a dance instructor. 

What an exciting start to Term 3! During week 1, Stage 3 alongside the rest of the school, celebrated NAIDOC week. Stage 3 students learnt a dance from Uncle Dennis which they performed for the rest of the school at the closing ceremony. They also learnt about Indigenous weapons and customs as well as contributed to the whole school art mural. Stage 3 also enjoyed working with their buddy classes, focusing on this year’s theme “For our Elders”.  During Education/Science week stage 3 enjoyed learning about circuits and electricity, which is our focus this term for science. In other news, year 6 went on their long awaited Western Sydney University (WSU) excursion where they learned about marketing, sustainability, and robotics. They were shown what their future could look like if they choose the path of university education at WSU. We look forward to what the stage 3 will achieve throughout the remainder of Term 3 at Punchbowl Public School. 

The students are learning all about Arabic foods, especially the foods that are passed on by our older generations. The students got a firsthand experience making Foul فول which is an Arabic traditional breakfast food. Foul is well known in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt and Syria, but now Foul is eaten by people from all over the world.

Students are also learning about Stuffed Warak Enab ورق عنب محشي and the Arabic ingredients needed to make this delicious dish.  Students researched and found out that Warak Enab (or grape leaves) is a Middle Eastern dish that dates back to the Ottoman Empire. In Turkey, they call it Dolma; in Iraq, it's Itdolma. In Palestine, it’s Warak Diwali, Mahshi in Jordanian, or Warak Enab in Lebanese. Students practised making Warak Enab using a paper template of grape leaves. The results were promising and teachers, along with the students, have decided to make this dish using real ingredients. Wait for the yummy taste in Week 8.

Great Book Swap

During NAIDOC Week celebrations, the Library Team, students and our PPS community enjoyed another successful fundraising campaign by hosting a Great Book Swap. Students were able to exchange a gold coin for a pre-loved book, which raised $1077. Many students were thrilled with the variety of titles they could get for only a dollar. All funds were donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). The ILF provide much needed resources to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children unable to gain access to books. We thank you for your continued support of the Great Book Swap.

Get Ready for the annual Book Week Celebrations with the much anticipated -

-Scholastic Book Fair

-Book Character Parade (Wednesday 23 August)

Only TWO WEEKS are left before we begin Book Week, which starts on 21 August. During Book Week, we highlight the joy of READING and all the fantastic book characters we bring to life with homemade costumes.

We encourage you to think about your favourite book character or author and consider dressing up as that character. Remember to use recyclable materials to create your costumes – there's no need to buy anything. Book voucher prizes will be awarded for the most creative home-made costume. One student from each grade will be eligible for Best Book Character costume prize. An additional category will be for team entries, who will also be eligible to win a prize.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held during Book Week, so make sure you start saving so you can buy one of your favourite book titles.

There’ll be plenty of opportunities to get involved throughout Book Week to reignite your love for literature and reading!

Education-Science Week 2023

During Education-Science Week celebrations we witnessed highlights of the many learning opportunities offered at our busy school. Among the highlights were the experiences of students involved in gardening, cooking, chess, choir, dance, Robocop and Rubik’s Club.

We participated in engaging Science lessons with real scientists. There were experiments to check which items would keep us warmer. There was a woollen blanket, a Mylar blanket used in ambulances and hospitals, gloves made from wool, leather and polyester.

 “Science is about testing things, writing data and seeing if it matches the hypothesis.” Selena, 1 Eels

 “I predicted that the woollen blanket would be warmer than the Mylar blanket. I was surprised that the Mylar blanket was warmer, that’s why it’s used in ambulances and hospital operating rooms.” Jannah, 4 Inspire

 “I was surprised that lemons and potatoes could give enough electricity to power a watch. I learnt from the scientists that the acidity in the lemon reacts with the copper and zinc metals to create electricity. It’s the movement of electrons that gives electiricty”

Shaheda, 6 Victory

The Green Team, in conjunction with Toyota Ferguson, planted trees to offset our carbon footprint. The students worked collaboratively to plant  fruit trees around the school. Mr. Weeks helped us by teaching us how to get the holes ready for the trees.

We had a meeting and discussed what kinds of trees we would like planted at our school.

Here are some of the anecdotes from students who took part in the tree planting.

"On National Tree Planting Day, the Green Team and the Toyota Reps decided to team up to plant trees in the garden. The Toyota Reps gave us hats to keep and gloves to wear when planting. This’ll have a good outcome because the more trees we plant the cleaner air there is to breath in. We will also be able to pick the fruits and eat them when they’re finally grown. Special thanks to the Toyota Reps and Mr Weeks."- Alan, year 6

"On Thursday the Toyota reps came to our school with plants for National Tree Planting Day and they met the wonderful Green Team. They had also bought us some merch like hats and gloves. The plants they had bought were an apple tree, 2 Passion fruit tree and many more that day we had helped our school environment and also our own community"  - Arisha, year 4

"On Thursday the Toyota Reps came to our school with plants for National Tree Planting Day. We planted fruit trees and we had so much fun.  Thank you, Toyota, for coming to our school." Elaria, year 4.

"When the Toyota Reps went to our school on National Tree Planting Day to meet the Green Team, they came with the fruit trees that they would plant in the garden to create cleaner air in our school. The Garden Club and the Green Team received hats and gloves that they could keep as a memory of making Punchbowl Public School a greener place. The benefit of these fruit trees was that the school could get fresh fruit for cooking projects and clean air in exchange for carbon-dioxide (CO2), that the trees would trap in their roots to stop the CO2 from warming up the globe. The more trees that the Green Team plants around the school, the more the school community’s carbon footprint would be balanced. It would be really great if the Toyota Reps would come back to the school to give us more trees to plant in the garden of the school.Thank You To the Toyota Reps, for making Punchbowl Public School a greener place." - Kathy, year 4.

This term the gardening club have been actively growing some plants. They were also looking after herbs and vegetables that have been planted previously, like parsley, rocket, peas, corn, garlic, and succulents. They enjoy learning about how the plants grow and what climate they need. They also came up with some great ideas to raise funds for the school through an edible garden.