Drummoyne Public School

Dear Drummoyne PS Community,

This afternoon, we came together as a school community to celebrate Harmony Day with a wonderful assembly and hands-on activities in class, celebrating cultures and traditions from around the world. It was fantastic to see so many parents joining us to share in this special assembly, which highlighted the richness of culture and diversity within our school.

Students put on fantastic performances and we were privileged to hear from our guest speaker, Mr George Manolakos, a former high school English and History teacher. He shared his personal story of growing up in Australia in a Greek family, giving us valuable insight into the migrant experience.

Coming from a migrant family myself, I know firsthand how important it is to celebrate difference and promote acceptance. Schools and our communities play a vital role in fostering understanding and inclusivity and it was heartening to see our students embracing the spirit of Harmony Day, ‘Everyone Belongs’.

A special thank you to our amazing Community Language team - Ms Nouris, Ms Cameron, Ms Skontos and Ms O’Dowd - for their efforts in coordinating the event. It was especially meaningful to have the assembly conducted in three languages - English, Italian  and Greek - a wonderful reminder of the opportunities our students have every day to learn and connect through language and culture.

A huge thank you to everyone who was able to attend the P&C AGM. It was fantastic to see so many new parents there, with some even putting their hands up for roles within the P&C. Our school is incredibly fortunate to have such an engaged and supportive parent community. Many of the opportunities, resources and experiences we are able to provide for our students only happen because parents have taken the time to come along to see how they can contribute. The school truly appreciates your support and I am looking  forward to another great year of collaboration.

NAPLAN Update

NAPLAN is now complete for another year, with only a few makeup tests remaining. A huge thank you to Ms Russ, Ms Cantlay and Ms Xenos for their seamless coordination of the testing process, ensuring everything ran smoothly for our students. I look forward to sharing the results with our school community. Well done to all our students for their effort and focus throughout the assessments!

Reminder: Beginning of Year Organisation Survey

A reminder to all parents that the Beginning of Year Organisation Survey  will close on Monday. If you haven’t yet had a chance to complete it, I encourage you to do so before the deadline. Your feedback is valuable in helping us plan and improve our school processes. Thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to respond!

Regards,

John Nguyen​

Principal

E: john.nguyen34@det.n​sw.edu.au 

Once again Drummoyne Public School will be entering one junior and one senior student into the NSW Premier's Spelling Bee Regional Finals.

We have a proud record of our students spelling their way to outstanding results in the Regionals, with every student selected achieving a top ten place, including two second places in consecutive years. 2017 and 2019 saw DPS represented at the NSW Premier's Spelling Bee State Final, held at the ABC Television Studios, in which Adrian and Darius finished in the top five, respectively.

Will 2025 be the year of another state finalist?

Look out for further details on how to enter, at the beginning of Term 2. In the meantime, you can start practicing by getting your hands on the official 2025 NSW Premier's Spelling Bee word list at: https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program/nsw-premiers-spelling-bee#word-lists

The password can be obtained from the School Office, students' classrooms or from Mr Sutton. Please direct all enquiries to Mr Sutton.

NSW Premier's Spelling Bee School Coordinator

Last Friday on the 14th of March, the girls and boys PSSA softball teams went down to Enfield park. Both teams played three games each, both with one bye.

In our first the girls won but sadly the boys lost. Even after our defeat, the boys were still determined to win their next game. We had a bye next, so we practised and perfected our skills, like pitching and batting so we would have an even bigger chance of winning. Our next game was a close one, the girls winning again, but the just lost by a good play from the opposition. The boys were really down in the dumps but after a nice lunch and a well deserved break, they finally won 6 -0 while the girls hung on by a thin string, winning 11 -10.

Even though the girls went undefeated, neither teams won a ribbon, but we had a great time and hope to do well again in term 4!

By Hamilton and Claire, 5/60

Over 90 students from Drummoyne PS have been enjoying participating in an AFL clinic over the past 4 weeks. We were lucky enough to have ex-student Harry Cameron - who represented NSW in year 6 for AFL - as one of the trainers. We hope to see him back soon. 

Thank you to the Stage 2 and 3 students who have signed up for the Paul Kelly Cup which will be held at St Lukes Concord on Thursday 3rd April. A few students have asked me about boots - if you don't have any boots normal sports shoes are fine. 

Amanda Champion 

Miriam Johnston, mother of Evelyn in 5/6C, has expressed interest in getting a team organised to compete at the Interschools Snowsports Championships to be held in Thredbo in July. 

The Interschools Snowsports Championships is a series of snow sports competitions where students compete for their school as part of a team or as an individual in any of nine discipline events.

The competition is open to school students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Much more detailed information is available at https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/site/u9vgetvblyf9dlji.pdf

If you are interested, could you please let me know before the end of next week, Friday 28th March. Registrations for the Championships need to be finalised by the end of April and we have holidays coming up. My email is leah.pegler@det.nsw.edu.au 

Please note that whilst we may enter a school team, parents will be responsible for transport, accommodation etc for the duration of the event. 

Leah Pegler

Stage 3 Class Teacher & Sports Coordinator

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we have an amazing dragon flying across our library! The dragon has over 420 scales, each decorated by the students of Drummoyne public school. The dragon has wings made of stars and snow-capped mountains to fly over! But up until now, the dragon did not have a name.

Over the last two weeks, every student from Kindergarten to year 6 has written down a suggestion for a name and today that name was drawn at random. Congratulations to Eva Bongers from 3/4D who named our dragon Firework!

Joseph Neufeld

Teacher Librarian

https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/issue-preview/

Please order via the Scholastic Book Club LOOP. Instructions are attached below.

Closing date is Friday 28 March.

Attention Stage 3 Students!

Are you ready to be a Game Changer?

We’re inviting interested Stage 3 students to sign up to the 2025 Game Changer Challenge! This year’s Wicked Problem is: "Ensure sustainable futures for all." Sustainability is about balance—protecting our Planet, empowering our People, and caring for the Places we live, learn, and grow.

In this challenge, you’ll research, collaborate, and design bold, innovative ideas to create a more sustainable future. From reducing waste to rethinking resource use and building stronger communities, your ideas could make a real-world impact! If you’re creative, a problem solver, and ready for a challenge, check out the Department's official web page for information about the challenge: Game Changer Challenge Information

Sign up by joining the using the code: vcgg2kmor via this link: Game Changer Challenge '25 Google Classroom

or see Mr Sutton for more information.The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, 19th March (week 8). Details of the first meeting will be published on the Google Classroom page on Thursday, 20th March (week 8).

Let’s change the game for a better tomorrow!

Ewan Sutton

GCC2025 Coordinator

From 24 February to 21 March 2025 Transport for NSW will be focusing on school student Opal tap data to help plan better bus services. It’s vital that your child remembers to tap on and tap off their Student or Child/Youth Opal card during this time – and every time they travel by bus.   

Why is tapping on and off on the bus important? The use of Opal cards is the primary way bus operators and Transport for NSW analyse demand for bus services. When students don’t use their Opal cards, their trip is not recorded. Therefore, buses may appear underutilised. Tapping on and off provides better data to plan better bus services.

How can you help? Please remind your child to tap on and off and ensure your child has a valid Opal card (either a School or Child/Youth Opal card) and remind them to tap on and tap off on every trip.

To apply for a school Opal card, visit https://transportnsw.info/school-travel-apply.  Students may see onboard bus posters and Busways Community Relation Officers at afternoon loadings.  Together let’s get students into good habits of tapping on and tapping off with their Opal card. 

From Term 1 the uniform shop will be open for face to face sales on Monday mornings from 9am - 10am.

All uniform shop orders are now to be placed on Flexischools.

If you need to contact the uniform shop volunteers please email:

MARCH: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Monday 24th…...10:15am-11:15am…….1

Thursday 27th….. 9:30am-10:30am…….1.         10:30am-11:30am……….1

Friday 28th……...9:30am-10:30am…….1.         10:30am-11:30am……….2

Please register. We really do appreciate any time given.

Canteen and P&C Committee

To register to volunteer:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0B4FA5AA2EA7FBC52-47648005-dpscanteen

To book Gowrie NSW - enrolment forms can be found on the Gowrie website:

https://www.gowriensw.com.au/out-of-hours-care/drummoyne-and-stmarks

Contact Rekkha for more information on 0436 616 744.

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