Rozelle Public School Newsletter

Rozelle is a place where Aboriginal children learned, played and celebrated their culture for thousands of years on this beautiful, natural land. As we learn, play and celebrate together on this land, we honour the Wangal people of the Eora nation and pay our respects to elders both past, present and emerging.

ROZELLE INTERCHANGE

There has been only one thing Sydney-siders have been talking about this week - the opening of the Rozelle Interchange. Never before has our fantastic suburb drawn so much attention! While the traffic issues are managed and rectified, I would encourage everyone to have conversations with their children about road safety. We have had reports of traffic backed up and students having to weave through cars while crossing at intersections.  If your child walks to school independently, you may even consider walking the route with them to reinforce safe habits and practices.

THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

We are lucky to have many amazing volunteers here at Rozelle Public School who every year give their time so generously to assist the students and the wider school community. To show our appreciation for your time and efforts in 2023, we will be hosting a breakfast for the volunteers as a small gesture to show how much we value your support and assistance. You are welcome to stay for the K-2 sing-along following the get-together.

STAFFING NEWS  FOR 2024

In 2024, there will be some changes in staffing across the school. Some of these changes are short term, others for a longer period, some permanent. 

At the end of this year we will say farewell to Mr Tim Hartnett who is moving across to Western Australia. Tim has been with us for the past 18 months and been a highly engaged member of staff - writing plays, leading choirs and performing his guitar. Tim will be missed and we wish him all the very best as he begins a new chapter in the beautiful Margaret River. 

In 2023, Julie Day was seconded to a teaching Principal role outside of Orange. Julie has relinquished her position at Rozelle and will be relocating to South Australia where she was successful in gaining a substantive Principal role in a small school outside of Adelaide. Congratulations Julie and thank you for your time at RPS. 

While Tim and Julie’s  moves are permanent, some staff will be taking leave, including:

Caris Doyle and Karina Wells who will be on maternity leave for most of 2024. We look forward to meeting the newest members of their families early next year. 

Mel Horton has relocated to the Central Coast. Mel is planning to secure a teaching role closer to home before making a final decision about her position at RPS. Good luck with this Mel. 

Nicole Lamsa will be spending a year in Finland with her husband's family. We look forward to Nicole’s return in 2025. 

And finally… I (Andrew Braiding) will be taking extended leave in 2024 to do some extended travel. I am very grateful to have this opportunity and be in a position to travel the world for six months. During my extended leave, Mrs Angela Svinos will be stepping up into the role of Principal. Angela has led the school before and is a very experienced and dedicated leader. RPS is fortunate to have a depth of talented leaders and the school will be in great hands.  I will look forward to returning to Rozelle for the start of the 2025 school year - energised for the next chapter. 

The final newsletter of 2023 - Week 10 will include the most up to date staffing plan for next year. 

3-6 PRESENTATION ASSEMBLY 

Mrs Svinos, our Deputy Principal, is planning for our end of year Presentation Assembly. This assembly is for our 3-6 students and parents are most welcome to attend. The assembly is planned for Friday 9 December commencing at 9.15am.

PRESCHOOL 2024 TRANSITION MORNINGS 

This week the youngest members of our school community paid a visit, as part of our Orientation to Preschool  program.  Sandy and Mika met with new families and presented information regarding the early years program.  Those who have been in preschool with Sandy and Mika know how special the program is and how it prepares them for school the following year. We look forward to having a long partnership with our newest preschool families. 

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

The last day of the school year for 2023 is Friday 15 December. The long standing tradition of the leavers arch will continue as will the special Leavers Assembly. For Year Six and those students leaving the school, the leavers arch will take place at around 2.45pm. 

RPS POP UP BOOK SHOP - THIS WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER 

We’re holding the Rozelle Pop Up Bookshop again this year with all money raised being donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).

Books make the best presents!

Students can do their Christmas Shopping at the ILF Pop Up Book Shop on Wednesday 6 December in the Gallery Space - 8.00am to 3.30pm.

Prices range from 50 cents to $5 with surprise Christmas packages for $2 .

Don't forget to bring in your coins!

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR FANTASTIC FAMILY, KIDS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR 2024!

TERM 1

Welcome Picnic (families)- Friday 23 February

Trivia Night (parents) - Saturday 23 March

Colour Run (kids run & families watch) - Thursday 11 April

TERM 2

Main Event (parents) - Saturday 22 June

TERM 3

Outdoor Movie Night (families) - Friday 20 September

TERM 4

Halloween Disco (kids & parents) - Friday 1 November

NEW UNIFORM ORDERS

Please order new items online from LW Reid Made for Schools with deliveries direct to your home. New orders can be made using this link madeforschool

All uniform orders are delivered direct to your home address by Australia Post. Uniform orders are no longer available for collection from the office. 

SECOND HAND UNIFORM

Second hand uniform shop is looking for donations in particular sizes 6 & 8. Please drop off any uniform donations to the office, ensuring they are suitable for re-sale i.e. not rips, stains or tears

PARENT ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM
RPS is now using the upgraded School Bytes finance system for online payment and permission form consent. If you have not done so already, parents should access the School Bytes portal and register using https://portal.schoolbytes.education.

When logged online, go to the "Activities Section" to give parent consent and payment. PLEASE NOTE: Consent must be given before a payment can be made. 

You can access your portal at anytime, using the portal link https://portal.schoolbytes.education.

You an also access your portal via the Rozelle Public School website - by clicking on the button "Make a Payment" located at the bottom of the home page screen.

If you should have any questions, or have difficulty logging in, please get in touch with the School Office. 

SURF HATS

Rozelle has a supply of Small and Medium Surf Hats for sale from the office for $15 cash.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS
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.

You can help by:

• listening to children read in the classroom
• volunteering on sports days
• helping supervise excursions
• getting involved in fundraising activities
• joining school committees.

Parent volunteers are not required to have a Working With Children's Number, however they are required to fill in a 'Declaration for Child-Related Workers' Form, as well as provide 100 points of ID to be photocopied at the school office (including either a passport OR birth certificate, along with drivers license OR Medicare / bank card.  

THE SCHOOL CANTEEN
The School Canteen operates as an order-only service five days per week. All orders are made online through Spriggy Schools app and delivered to the school in time for students to enjoy at lunchtime and recess. Orders need to be placed by 7:30am on the day or can be placed weekly in advance. Families will need to download the Spriggy Schools app and create a profile for their child. If you need assistance visit spriggyschools.com.au.

NUDE FOOD TUESDAYS
Nude Food Tuesdays are back! On these days, students are encouraged to bring lunch and recess that are not wrapped in foil, plastic or commercial packaging. Please be mindful of packaging that is put into lunch boxes each day to minimise any rubbish that needs throwing away. Instead, opt for reusable containers for packaging food. Each Tuesday, class nude food lunchboxes will be tallied so please help the Green Team with this great initiative to reduce the waste/rubbish in our school.

NUT AWARE
A number of students at Rozelle have been diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to nuts. While it is not advised for the school to declare itself “nut-free” we are definitely a “nut-aware” school. This means that we ask parents/carers to carefully consider the food they provide for their child and avoid foods that contain nuts. Before sending in food for special occasions for your child’s class, please check with the teacher. The school appreciates everyone’s effort in keeping all our students safe and supporting their families to manage this difficult situation.

MORNING DROP OFF
Families are reminded that students should not be arriving at school before 8.30am unless they are attending OSH Club or a before school activity such as band rehearsal. There may be occasions where you need to drop your child off 10 minutes earlier. In these instances, students must go to the middle playground, where they sit and wait for teacher supervision to begin.