The Link

Welcome Back to the School Year 

Welcome back to all our families and an extra warm welcome to our new families joining the Rydalmere Public School community. We have had a calm and smooth start to the school year with all students preschool to year 6 settling well in their 2024 classes. We welcomed our new kindergarten students who started ‘big school’ on Monday. Thank you to the P&C for organising ‘Tea and Tissues’ for our kindergarten parents. 

Staff Updates

As Mrs Townsend prepares to welcome her second child later this term, we warmly welcome Mrs Adriana Colotouros to RPS. She will be our Relieving Assistant Principal P-2 for the year. Mrs Townsend will be working for most of this term before she takes maternity leave. We also give a big RPS welcome to Miss Cleo Masmanidis and Mrs Terry Kouros who are permanent appointments to our school. Miss Masmanidis will be teaching kindergarten and Mrs Kouros is our learning and support teacher. RPS has two general assistants, and we welcome Mr Glenn and Mr David who are taking over from Mr Tom who has decided to work more days at his other school. On behalf of the school community I would like to thank him for all his efforts over his numerous years at RPS. 

Classes for 2024 

Preschool                 - Miss Yuji Mo and Mrs Simone Danieletto (Wednesday) 

K Magenta                - Miss Cleo Masmanidis 

K/1 Coral                  - Mrs Simone Danieletto (Monday-Tuesday) 

                                   - Mrs Adriana Colotouros (Wednesday-Friday) 

1/2 Sapphire            - Mrs Jacqueline Scalley 

2/3 Amber                - Mrs Belinda Arnott 

3/4 Gold                    - Mrs Amanda Green (Monday-Thursday) 

                                   - Mrs Mia Kenworthy (Friday) 

4/5 Silver                   - Miss Lauren Stumberger 

5/6 Turquoise          - Mrs Angela Taylor  

                                   - Mrs Helen Jaitani (Tuesday) 

Executive Structure 

Relieving Principal                                - Mr Warren Yee 

Relieving Assistant Principal P-2        - Mrs Adriana Colotouros 

Assistant Principal (Term 1)                - Mrs Melissa Townsend 

Assistant Principal 3-6                         - Mrs Angela Taylor 

Assistant Principal Curriculum & Instruction - Mrs Zebann Rana  

Itinerant Support Hearing Team  

Assistant Principal - Mr Stephan Shepley 

Relieving Assistant Principal (Wednesday) - Ms Juliet Schumacher 

Itinerant support teacher - Mr Paul Vogels 

Itinerant support teacher - Ms Natalie Gordon 

Itinerant support teacher - Mr Tim Byatt 

Itinerant support teacher - Mr Cameron Taylor 

Itinerant support teacher - Mrs Sharyn Fyvie 

Itinerant support teacher - Ms Deborah Lamour 

Support and Relief Staff 

RFF - Mrs Melissa James (Wednesday and Thursday) 

RFF - Mrs Helen Jaitani 

EAL/D - Mrs Mia Kenworthy  

Library - Mrs Melissa Townsend (Monday and Tuesday) 

School counsellor - Ms Katherine Crichton (Tuesday) 

Community Hub - Mrs Seetha Srinivasan 

SLSO - Mrs Kathleen Skirde

SLSO - Mrs Sonya Buckingham 

SLSO - Mrs Frances Agostino 

SLSO - Mrs Gunnar Karaman 

SLSO - Mrs Annaleese Francis 

SLSO - Mr Kiran Francis 

Administration, Support and Maintenance Staff 

School Administration Manager - Mrs Dorothy Kushturian 

School Administration Officer - Mrs Ann Brett 

General Assistant - Mr Glen Moss 

General Assistant - Mr David O’Connor 

School Upgrades

During the school holidays there were numerous projects running to upgrade the school, which is why our school was not suitable to be part of the ‘Share Our Space’ program. The projects included new roofing and guttering to different buildings, new drainage pits around the whole school, new signage around the school, new footpath to the oval, new carpets in classrooms and a new kitchen in the administration block, which look amazing. The two projects to be completed are the shade shelter over the playground equipment and access ramps to the administration block and F block classrooms. I would like to thank the community and particularly our neighbours for any inconvenience and extra noise that could be heard.  As well, I would like to thank the students for being so sensible and safe last term and this year despite all the projects and fencing around the school. 

Parramatta Eels Player Visit

Next Tuesday I have organised for the Parramatta Eels to visit our school and meet the students at a whole school assembly. It will be an opportunity for the players to discuss healthy lifestyles and goal setting with the students. 

Parent Information Letters, Meet the Teacher and School Disco 

Next week, parent information letters for each stage will be sent home about information specific to each stage. These letters will complement what the teachers will discuss at our upcoming Meet the Teacher information session held at school from 5pm – 7pm on February 21. While the parents attend their session, students can have fun at the school disco in the hall. As well, the P&C will be hosting a bbq which will be held towards the end of the evening. Further details will be sent home regarding this function, and I look forward to seeing all of you there on Wednesday February 21. 

Welcome to our Kindergarten students who had their first day at ‘big school’ this Monday 5 February.

What a great start everyone in kindergarten has made to school. We are amazed by the children’s eagerness and adjustment to school routines. It’s wonderful to begin the day with smiling faces that are happy to be at school.

Stage One had a fantastic first week back, engaging in "getting to know you" activities and familiarising themselves with their peers and new classroom teachers.

Please ensure your child brings their home readers back to school to return to their class teacher. Kindly refrain from leaving them in the street library. 

We look forward to a fun and productive first term across K-2.

Helping out at school is a great way to get involved in your child’s education as well as get to know the staff and other parents and carers.

Research shows that children benefit when their parents or carers are actively involved in their education and school life.

You can help by:

• listening to children read in the classroom
• volunteering on sports days
• getting involved in fundraising activities
  

The role of parent helpers and volunteers is to support student learning as directed by the classroom teacher. Please speak to Mrs Colotouros or Mrs Townsend if you would like to know how you can become a volunteer at Rydalmere Public School.

Every new Kindergarten student is allocated a Year 5 or Year 6 student for the duration of their first year at school. A buddy is someone who students can quickly recognise and befriend and who can offer peer support on the playground. The Buddy system works on building a relationship between an older student and the Kindergarten child based on trust, affirmation and acceptance.

The Buddy system encourages Kindergarten students:

• to feel welcome
• to feel part of the community
• to become familiar with school rules, buildings, and daily routines
• to have channels to act through when experiencing difficulties
• to develop skills through cross-age tutoring

Welcome back to our new and existing families. My name is Zebann Rana and I am the Assistant Principal Curriculum & Instruction. My role will involve an explicit focus on leading our school with evidence-based teaching and assessment practices to improve student literacy and numeracy outcomes. The APCI role supports strong instructional leadership, coordination of professional learning for teachers, monitoring of student outcomes, and supporting families to be key partners in learning.

This year all students in K-6 will be engaging and using the new syllabus. Our K-2 students and teachers have already been engaging with the new English and Mathematics curriculum. The new curriculum will give students more time to focus on learning areas so that they can acquire a deeper understanding of central concepts. Students have been exploring and learning through rich texts, analysing vocabulary, and engaging in a range of writing experiences, while also investigating in mathematics through hands on and concrete materials to find links to other mathematics concepts. 

I have completed a whole school audit of mathematics resources. These resources and newly purchased ones were allocated to all classrooms to ensure teachers are ready to implement the new curriculum. 

This year we will be hosting parent workshops across K-6 for English and Mathematics.  These workshops will provide information about how English and Mathematics is  taught in the classroom. They will also be an opportunity to gain ideas and resources for how can you help your child  at home. More information will be coming.

Monday, 12 February - P&C Meeting

Tuesday, 13 February - Parramatta Eels Player Visit

Wednesday, 21 February - School Disco/Meet the Teacher

Friday, 23 February - Swimming Carnival

Wednesday, 6 March - Zone Swimming Carnival

The executive team and teaching staff have reviewed our PBL procedures and rewards for 2024. We have added school expectations and changed some of the rewards students will receive for completing a personal PBL chart to better reflect students needs. 

Hello Wonderful Families,

It's time to dive into another exciting year filled with new knowledge, shared experiences, and communal growth. Our Hub is brimming with engaging programs for this term, and we can't wait for you to join us!

Hub week in a glance:

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

-Tuesdays: (9:00am to 10:00am): Walking Group. Meet at the walking gate for a casual walk near the wharf.

-Tuesdays and Fridays:  All slots are currently filled, but stay tuned for updates!

- Wednesdays:  One Box Collection Exclusively for those who've signed up.

(9:00 - 9:30 am or 2:30 - 3:00 pm):  Playgroup with SDN Children's Services (9:30 am - 11:30 am) Just walk in and play!

-Fridays: (9:30 am - 10:30 am): Dance Fitness with Sophie Get your groove on—no need to sign up, just show up!

(10:30 am - 1:30 PM) Cupcake Decoration Course by TAFE Starting February 23rd, a few spots are still available. Grab them before they're gone!

The Cupcake Decoration Course, led by the talented folks at TAFE, will kick off right here at our school on the 23rd of February. To participate, make sure you're an Australian citizen, a Permanent Resident, or hold a humanitarian visa. Questions? The Hub is here to help!

**Mark your calendars for March 8th, Friday—International Women’s Day Celebration!**

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. We host a variety of activities, both regular and special, that are open to everyone from all walks of life.

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!"

Seetha Srinivasan