The Link

Zing Gymnastics lessons every Thursday

Wednesday 2 April	Harmony Day Parade- K-6
Thursday April 10	School ANZAC Day service
Friday 11 April	Easter Hat Parade Last day of Term 1
Wednesday 30 April	Return to school for all K-6 Students and Preschool Blue Group.
Monday 19 May	Whole School Photos & Preschool Green Group
Thursday 22 May	School Photos - Preschool Blue Group

Our school captains recently had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Student Voice Leadership Forum, where they connected with student leaders from other schools in the Carlingford Network. This forum focused on sharing experiences about school life, discussing what they enjoy and identifying areas for improvement. Our captains engaged in discussions by sharing their insights and listened to others, whilst advocating for positive changes in their school environments. The students all agreed that more opportunities to engage with neighbouring primary and high schools would be beneficial. 

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing you at the Harmony Day Parade.

Warm regards,

Mr Yee

It’s that time of year again! We are excited to offer the swimming program at the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre for Term 3, and we would like to ask all parents of students in Years 1-6 to please complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) form.

By completing this form, we aim to gauge how many students would like to participate in the program. This will allow us to better understand the costs per child and help us plan accordingly.

We are very fortunate to have been successful in securing another subsidy from the Department of Education's School Sports Unit, which will help reduce the cost for families. Your response will be incredibly valuable in assisting us with the planning process and ensuring the swimming program is a success.

The EOI form can be accessed https://forms.office.com/r/c75bxT7jE4. Please complete the EOI form by the 2nd May 2025.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs Colotouros.

Buddy reading in 1/2C is a wonderful opportunity for students to coach their peers in developing reading fluency. Through this collaborative activity, students pair up to practice reading aloud, offering support and encouragement to one another. Not only does this help improve their reading skills, but it also fosters a sense of teamwork and confidence. The students enjoy taking turns as both readers and coaches, reinforcing their own skills while helping their peers grow. It’s a great way to build a positive and supportive reading community in the classroom!

Our Coding and Robotics before-school program has been a big hit with all students involved. They’ve enjoyed working with different types of robots and learning how to program them to perform various tasks. It’s been an engaging and educational experience for everyone! 

Please note that there will be no I Can Spell  sheets or Focus Word worksheets sent home in Week 10 or Week 11. Instead, we will be sending home some sight words for students to practice, along with a Read and Race Track game to help consolidate their letter-sound knowledge.

We would also like students to focus on their diorama project next week. A reminder that the diorama project is due in Week 11, on Monday, April 7th.

Home Reading Reminder: Please remember to send your child's home reading log every Friday so that classroom teachers can check the books your child has read. Once checked, classroom teacher will update the reading log and open the next 3 books for your child.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Congratulations to all of our students who received Learning Merit Certificates and PBL Award Certificates last week! Keep up the great effort!

Our PBL focus for the next two weeks is as follows:

• Week 10: Playground – We are learning how to be safe and respectful before school, during recess, and at lunch.

• Week 11: Library – We are learning how to use the library safely and respectfully as learners.

A blue Aldi bag was found under the cola and is now in the office. If this bag belongs to you, please come by and collect it. You will need to describe the items inside to claim it.

Sick Bay

When your child is unwell and needs to be collected from the sickbay, the school will call you from one of the following numbers: 9638 1568 or 9638 2944. Please save these numbers in your mobile phone as Rydalmere Public School so that you can recognise the number when we call and answer accordingly.

Change of Contact Information

If any of your details have changed, including your contact phone numbers please contact the administration office by email rydalmere-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au We need to have up to date contact details at all times.

Thank you for your understanding.

Lost Property

Our PBL expectations of being Safe, Respectful Learners support our students in taking responsibility for their own belongings at school including jumpers, hats, lunchboxes and drink bottles.

Please label your child’s belongs. Lost property items are donated back to P&C uniform shop at the end of each term.

Support Stewart House – Charity Drive 2025 – Please return envelopes to the office by Friday 19 April 2025. Please donate to this worthwhile Charity Drive….

Stewart House is a registered Australian charity with DGR status. All donations over $2 are tax -deductible. Once your donation is processed, you will receive a tax receipt to the email address provided.

A message from Stewart House

Every year, 1,600 public school children attend our safe haven next to Curl Curl beach at no cost to their parents or carers. During a 12-day stay, they are provided with dental, optical, hearing and medical screening and treatment.

Children participate in educational programs and excursions designed to develop their social and emotional skills, build self-esteem and improve their overall wellbeing.

This experience provides children with a much-needed break from their current circumstances. Our children are inspired to see beyond the present and to have real hope and positive aspirations for their future.

Children in the care of Stewart House attend a specific purpose school onsite for 10 days of their 12-day stay. The NSW Department of Education provides infrastructure and staffing support for this school.

All other costs associated with the children’s stay are met from charitable donations.

For more information please visit About Stewart House - assisting NSW children in need since 1931.

RPS Preschool Enrolments for 2026 are now open.

General Guidelines

Public preschools enrol children for one year only, the year before they start school.  Children can enrol from the beginning of the school year if they turn four years of age before 31 July that year.

Priority is given to:

• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children
• children living in low socio-economic circumstances
• children who are unable to access other early childhood settings due to financial hardship

The Principal will then offer enrolment in the following order:

• children living within the school's catchment area
• children living outside the catchment area but have siblings at the school
• other applicants       

For further information, please go to the NSW Department of Education link below:

Enrolment in a public preschool (nsw.gov.au)

Our office staff are happy to be of assistance with any further questions or with the enrolment process. 

Greetings from the P&C!  

Thank you to The Camellia Hotel 

This week we’d like to start by extending our heartfelt thanks to The Camellia Hotel for their incredibly generous $250 donation. The donation will be put towards our K-2 Home Readers Fund. This contribution is deeply appreciated and will go a long way in helping us reach our goal. The support from local businesses like The Camellia Hotel is invaluable in fostering the educational growth of our students. We encourage the community to show their appreciation by visiting the Camellia Hotel and supporting their wonderful establishment - https://camelliahotel.com.au. Thank you once again for your kindness and generosity! 

2025 Committee

We recently held our Annual General Meeting, and we are pleased to introduce you to our 2025 Committee: 

• President – Chris Mackenzie 
• Vice Presidents – Ramana Kirubagaran and Naomi Woolley 
•  Treasurer - Melissa McMurtry 
• Secretary – Kate Reilly-Casali  
• Canteen Convenor - Vivian Sham 
• Uniform Shop Manager - Melissa McMurtry 
• Parent Representative – Suzie Purcell 

The P&C is here to collaborate with the school and enhance the educational experience of our children. This can only be achieved with the support, help, and commitment of our school families. We encourage any level of involvement and participation from all members of our school community. 

If you have never been to a P&C meeting, we warmly invite you to our next general meeting on Monday, 12 May at 7:00 PM (Term 2, Week 3). Meetings are held in the School Library and online via Teams. In the meetings, we hear about school updates from Mr Yee, plan fundraising events and more. 

Easter Raffle 

Starting on the Tuesday of Week 10, the Year 6 School Leaders will be helping us sell Easter Raffle tickets at school! Tickets will be $1 and students who wish to purchase at school will automatically be entered into the raffle. The prizes will be drawn at the Easter Hat Parade on Friday, 11 April.  

You can also still enter the raffle by transferring your amount to the P&C into the bank account with ‘childs name, Easter’ as the description. 

Rydalmere Parents Association

 BSB: 062 167 ACCT: 1013 3599 

If you wish to contribute beyond the ticket purchase, we welcome monetary donations and THANK YOU! All raffle ticket proceeds will go towards purchasing home readers for our K-2 students. 

There is still time to donate an Easter related prize (chocolate eggs, lollies, basket, etc). The donations will be made up into prize baskets, to be drawn at the Easter Hat Parade. Please drop off your donations to the School Office by Wednesday 2 April. 

Thank you to all the families who have purchased tickets or donated items so far! Your generosity is much appreciated, and we are grateful to you!  

Mother’s Day Stall 

Save the Date! Our annual Mother’s Day stall will run in Week 2 of Term 2, on Tuesday 6 – Wednesday 7 May.  

More information will be shared via the Audiri app before the end of Term 1 with a reminder in Week 1 of Term 2. 

2025 Colour Run  

We are pleased to share that the Colour Run (our major fundraising event) is confirmed for Friday, 7 November 2025, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Fundraising will start in September, and more details will come as we get closer to the event. We are aiming to raise $10,000 to go towards the design and installation of a new playground, along with continuing to raise funds for the K-2 home readers. 

We are asking everyone to consider helping us to plan and run the event on the day. 

Example of tasks include: 

• Event admin planning 
• Event set-up during the week/day of the Colour Run 
• Sourcing donations  
• On the day volunteers - BBQ, race marshals, attendee check-ins, general volunteer 
• Event pack-down, and more... 

If you have an interest in event planning and would like to help make the 2025 Colour Run a memorable event, please reach out to secretary@rps-pandc.org.au and we will add you to the Colour Run event planning sub-committee. 

If you can’t help planning the event, but would still like to help, don’t worry! As the Colour Run gets closer, we will reach out with more details about volunteer roles on the day of the event. 

Dates for your diary 

• Friday, 11 April: Easter Raffle at Easter Hat Parade assembly 
• Tuesday 6 May – Wednesday 7 May: Mother’s Day Stall 
• Monday 12 May: Term 2, Week 3 General P&C Meeting – all are welcome! 
• On or before 17 May: Federal Election BBQ and Cake Stall 
• Monday 16 June: Term 2, Week 8 General P&C Meeting – all are welcome! 
• Term 3: Father’s Day Stall, SLSO Appreciation Morning Tea, General Meetings in Weeks 3 & 8 
• Term 4: Colour Run (7 November), Teacher Appreciation Morning Tea, Last Day Lunch, General Meetings in Weeks 3 & 8 

Have a lovely week and we’ll see you around school!