The Link

Last Friday it was great to see a number of families involved in the 25th Year of National Walk Safely to School day. There were two walking groups, one began at Rydalmere Fire Station and the other began at Rydalmere Ferry Wharf. Both groups enjoyed their short walks to school and finished at the Community Hub where they were provided with fresh fruit and water. Thank you to Woolworths Ermington for supplying the snacks for our students. Thank you to Ms Mo, Mrs Srinivasan, Miss Masmanidis, Mrs SKirde and Mrs Green for coordinating this event for our community. 

Here are some tips to help make walking to school a regular part of your routine: 

Safety first: 

ALWAYS hold your child’s hand until they are at least 8 years old. Closely supervise them until they are at least 10 years old. 

Teach your child about being a safe pedestrian: This includes watching out for driveways, walking facing traffic when there are no footpaths and always Stop, Look, Listen, Think, everytime you cross the road. 

Avoid distractions: Set a good example by putting your phone away. Focus on your surroundings. If you need to use your phone, stop in a safe place. 

Make it fun: Keep the walks enjoyable by talking about what you see and about your day. This can help make the time go quickly and make walking to school something your child looks forward to. 

Join forces: Coordinate with other families in your neighbourhood to walk to school together. Not only does this make it more fun for the kids, but it also provides additional safety in numbers. 

Celebrate achievements: Celebrate achievements along the way to keep motivation high. Whether it's reaching a certain number of walks or noticing improvements in fitness, acknowledging progress can help reinforce the habit. 

Practise, Practise, Practise: The more supervised pedestrian experiences your child can get the better, so they will be ready to safely travel by themselves when they are older. 

Last Tuesday and Wednesday the P&C provided our students with a range of delightful gifts that could be purchased as Mother’s Day gifts. Thank you to the P&C team for coordinating this for the school, and thank you to the small handful of parents who were able to help prepare the gifts and to those who were able to help sell them on the day too.  

I hope all the mother’s and significant women in our student’s lives had a lovely Mother’s Day Weekend and were pampered. 

On Wednesday 15th May the Rydalmere Fire Brigade came to visit our preschool blue group and K Magenta. They learnt about the importance of fire safety and were taught a range of strategies to help them identify fire danger. Students even had the chance to use the water hose on the fire truck! The rest of the school will have a visit from the fire brigade later on in the term. Thank you to the Rydalmere Fire Fighters for being so friendly and generous with their time, and to Mrs Srinivasan for organising this free incursion. 

Congratulations on a big effort by all the students of RPS who competed in the school cross country on Thursday 16th May.  They displayed excellent school spirit when running and cheering on their peers. Thank you to Mrs Arnott, Miss Stumberger and Mrs Kenworthy for their coordination of the day. 

Good luck to the students who will be representing the school at the upcoming Zone Cross Country Carnival which will be held at Greystanes Oval on Wednesday 22nd May.  

Congratulations to Oliva D who was awarded the 11 Years Age Champion for the Merrylands Parramatta Zone Swimming Carnival. We hope you keep up your dedication to swimming in future years. 

On Wednesday 15th May the Rydalmere Fire Brigade came to visit our preschool blue group and K Magenta. They learnt about the importance of fire safety and were taught a range of strategies to help them identify fire danger. Students even had the chance to use the water hose on the fire truck! The rest of the school will have a visit from the fire brigade later on in the term. Thank you to the Rydalmere Fire Fighters for being so friendly and generous with their time, and to Mrs Srinivasan for organising this free incursion. 

Last year RPS underwent External Validation, where our school was assessed on a number of ‘elements’ under the headings of Learning, Teaching and Leading. 

From feedback through the External Validation process, our school undertook a thorough self-assessment or situational analysis where we address the questions of, 'Where are we now?', 'How do we know?' 'What are our next steps?' Through this process we formulated a new Strategic Improvement Plan which will run from 2024 – 2027. 

Oue new Strategic Improvement Plan consists of three Strategic Directions. 

Strategic Direction 1 – Student growth and attainment. 

This focuses on implementing evidence-based teaching pedagogies that are responsive to the learning needs of individual students, through the implementation of the new curriculum. 

Strategic Direction 2 – Wellbeing strategy 

This focuses on having a whole-school approach towards wellbeing and student voice, which creates a positive learning culture for all of our students. 

Strategic Direction 3 – Quality teaching practices 

This focuses on continually developing and supporting our teachers at RPS to maximise the learning needs of all of our students. 

The RPS Strategic Improvement Plan 2024-2027 is now available to view on our school website. 

Have a wonderful fortnight. 

Regards, 

Mr Yee 

Relieving Principal 

Kindergarten students enjoyed a wonderful excursion to the Field of Mars Reserve. During the trip, they explored the various features of the reserve, learned about its different characteristics, and discussed ways to take care of it. They also had the opportunity to listen to Aboriginal stories and knowledge, participate in creating shelters, use a map to find treasure, and engage in sensory investigations and nature play activities.

Please check out our school's Facebook page for more photos.

Rydalmere Public School Facebook

Stage 1 had a fantastic time on their excursion to Buffalo Creek. We went on a bushwalk through mangrove and eucalypt forests to the banks of the Lane Cove River. We explored and investigated the natural and human features of these places, considering how they are utilised by animals and people and how they can be cared for.During the excursion, we engaged in a variety of hands-on fieldwork and sensory experiences such as invertebrate hunts, exploring the mangrove forest, creating banksia creatures, and crab hunting.

Please check out our school's Facebook page for more photos.

Rydalmere Public School Facebook

This month our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school (Kindergarten).

The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years. Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information. 

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

If you do not consent to the collection of your child's information, please contact the school office on 9638 1568 or via email rydalmere-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au before 20/05/2024 and no information about your child will be collected. 

This term, students in Years 3-6 have settled in well and are working hard in class.

We want to remind you about the Year 3-6 excursion to the Australian Reptile Park on the 28th of May. Please sign permission notes and make payment using the Schoolbytes app. If you have any problems with the online system, please contact the school office for help.

Students in 4/5S are currently developing argumentative writing pieces. They're learning to develop strong, well-supported arguments on different topics, using evidence and persuasive techniques to convey their viewpoints effectively. This skill enhances their critical thinking and empowers them to engage in meaningful discussions.

In 5/6T, students are currently exploring genre, perspective, and context. They've been analysing the informative genre through the book, Deadly Science Wild Weather, and through websites and videos, such as, The Bureau of Meteorology: Indigenous Weather Knowledge and Behind the News: Bushfire Recap to understand their purpose, structure, and language. Students will use this knowledge to write and publish their own informational pieces about historical extreme weather events in Australia.

The P&C is delighted to announce the appointment of Chris Mackenzie-Harrow to the role of P&C President. We thank Chris for taking on this important and fulfilling role.

Last week the P&C hosted the annual Mother's Day stall for all students from Preschool to Year 6. The stall was a great success, with all items selling out and making a $700+ profit towards our fundraising efforts for this year. Thank you to the P&C members and volunteers who coordinated and ran the stall and also thank you to the school leaders who thoughtfully assisted students with their purchases. We are so proud of this great result and we hope all the mothers and carers enjoyed receiving their gifts and had a wonderful day on Sunday.

Uniform Shop:

The uniform shop has received a delivery of stock, and we are now taking orders for uniforms items across all sizes - including short sleeve polo shirts! Please send your uniform order to: rydalmerepsuniforms@hotmail.com with payment confirmation. Please note orders will not be fulfilled until payment has been received. Bank details can be found on the order form.

Canteen - please note that the canteen will be closed this Friday 17 May. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Save the Date! 

The P&C are hosting a BBQ fundraiser on Saturday 20 July at Bunnings Rydalmere. We will need volunteers to help us on the day - please stay tuned for updates of how to get involved!

RPS is working towards funding a new school playground and we are excited to announce that our P&C fundraising activities this year will help contribute to this exciting project. 

Dates ahead:

17 June - P&C Meeting (Week 8)

20 July - Bunnings Rydalmere Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser

Hello families!

Term 2 is off to an exciting start! On May 8th, Mitch and Josh from Rydalmere Fire Station, along with their team, paid a visit to our school.

The highlight? A real, live fire truck! Our Playgroup families, Preschool, and Kindy children were completely engaged as they received important fire education.

The kids even got to participate in a fire drill, crawling to safety just like they'd do in a real emergency. And the fun didn't stop there - they explored the fire truck and even got to try out the hose, spraying water everywhere!

Don't worry if you missed out - the wonderful team from NSW Fire and Rescue has promised to visit again soon, so all our children will get to experience the excitement.

Last Friday, May 10th, our school took part in the "Walking Safely to School" program. A huge thank you to Ruben and Adam from Ermington Woolworths, who generously donated fruit and water for all the children who walked to school.

We're also grateful to our school staff and volunteers from AFL - Celeb, Jack, and Lauren - your support made the day a success. And to top it all off, many of our students received tattoos encouraging them to keep walking to school.

Mark your calendars for May 22nd, when we'll be hosting a special story performance just for our Playgroup families and Preschool students. The fun will run from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. Interested in joining in? Just reach out to Seetha.

And finally, Hub is exploring a partnership with Parramatta Community College to offer a one-day beauty workshop for our families. Sound intriguing? Contact Seetha to express your interest and learn more.

Hub this week in a glance:

Mondays (9:30 am - 12:30 pm): Drop by for our Conversational English class—no appointment needed!

Tuesdays (9:30 to 12:30): Floristry to Gardening course by TAFE 

Wednesdays: One Box Collection Exclusively for those who've signed up. Playgroup with SDN Children's Services (9:30 am - 11:30 am) ** Just walk in and play! (Started on 8th of May)

Fridays: (9:30 am - 10:30 am): Dance Fitness with Sophie Just sign in at the office when you arrive and come along in your comfortable gear with drink bottle.

Hub is turning 10 this year. Please save the date 28th June for the celebrations. We need more handson deck to help up with the celebrations. Please let me know if you are willing to help.

For those I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I'm Seetha, your friendly Community Liaison Officer at the Community Hub.

You'll find me around the school from Monday to Wednesday and on Fridays. The Community Hub is your gateway to forging meaningful connections with fellow families, the school, and local services. It's a welcoming space where all parents can meet, mingle, and build lasting friendships.

So why not pop in for a coffee and a chat, or jump into an activity? I'm eager to meet all of you. If you want to learn more about the Hub or find out how you can get involved, give me a call at 0448331588 or shoot me an email at seetha.srinivasan@det.nsw.edu.au.

See you at the Hub!