The Punchbowl Press

Welcome back to Term 4!

We are thrilled to have you and your children with us.

The SaCC has been hard at work continuing to offer a variety of programs and playgroups designed to benefit early learners, school-aged students, and parents alike. 

Here's a glimpse of what's happening in our centre on a weekly basis: 

• Monday: Mum2Mum English Conversation class and Learning Club for school-aged students 

• Tuesday: Play to Learn playgroup for babies up to 3 years old 

• Wednesday: Parent Child Mother Goose program playgroup for babies up to 4 years old 

• Thursday: Play2Learn playgroup for babies up to 4 years old, along with our Community/Family Drop-in service 

• Friday: Transition to Preschool for children aged 3.5 to 4 years old 

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the Canterbury City Community Centre for bringing back the Mum2Mum class. This program has provided a wonderful platform for women and children to learn English while enjoying each other's company in a safe and welcoming environment, resulting in new friendships. 

We were also delighted to have an orthoptist visit our Tuesday playgroup to inform families about orthoptist services and vision screenings available in the Canterbury Bankstown area. 

We want to express our sincere gratitude to The Junction Works Ltd, who generously provided backpacks and lunchboxes for our Transition to Preschool playgroup. The little ones responded exceptionally well to the "How to open and close your bag” presentation on the day. 

Mark your calendars for the Certificate III School-Based Education Support (SBES) course enrolment: 

• Date: 9:30 am, Thursday, 30th November 

• Location: Punchbowl Community Centre, Punchbowl, 44 Rossmore Avenue, Punchbowl 

• What to Bring: Photo ID 

We are eagerly looking forward to the start of ASPECT services in 2024, and we believe it will be a valuable addition to our offerings. 

For any questions or inquiries, please don't hesitate to reach out to our facilitator, Asenati Mareko, at 0439 487 865. 

We're excited to have you with us for Term 4 and can't wait to continue our journey of learning and growth together.

Library Update 

Inspired by visits from two successful authors, Robert Vescio and Sue Whiting, students are eager to publish their own books. They are researching the topic Celebrations ranging from Christmas, Eid, Chinese New Year, Ramadan and much more. Students are using Book Creator, an online app, to create their eBooks. They are excited to be sharing their eBooks with the school community soon. 

Rubik’s Club – From student to mentor 

Many students continue to find the Rubik’s cube a challenge they cannot resist. Some have finally managed to solve the cube, while others are showing their grit, determined to persevere. Rehan from 4 Inspire has earned the nickname “Cuber” from his peers and is now a mentor, helping others overcome the challenges of solving the cube. Baffled by how it is solved, Maria.M (3 Optimism) said: “he makes it look so easy!”. 

Chess 

On 26 October 2023, our students enjoyed a few friendly games of chess at Wiley Park Public School. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, all students exerted their best efforts to win. When asked about noteworthy moments during the games, students had this to say: 

“I liked the idea of playing with other people” Yasser, PPS 

“I enjoyed meeting new and old friends from Punchbowl Public School” Ali, WPPS 

 A focus for this term has been on being safe by wearing hats on the playgrounds and fields. Students have explored the importance of wearing hats while outside. As part of this focus students have been taking part in a school wide hat challenge. The class with the highest percentage of hats will get an ice block at the end of the week.  The winner will be announced on the radio show every Friday till the end of the term. 

On Tuesday 24th October, the children were filled with immense excitement as they actively participated in an engaging incursion by our local Lakemba Fire Brigade. They had the wonderful opportunity to not only witness but also be a part of the action by using the firehose and exploring the Fire Brigade carriage. This hands-on experience allowed them to better understand fire safety, making the entire event a memorable experience. The students learnt about getting down low and Go Go Go when faced with a fire.  

Learning outcome 2: Children are connected to with and contribute to their world. 

2.1: Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens.  

This term, Kindergarten students are exploring the Science units “Living Things”. To support this unit of work, Kindergarten students visited Calmsley Hill City Farm in week 2. Students interacted with a range of native and farmyard animals. They had a wonderful time learning how to milk a cow, petting farm animals, riding on a tractor around the paddock and watching sheep getting sheered. They also had a go at cracking a whip and watching an entertaining dog show. Students had such an enjoyable day exploring the farm and learning about different farmyard and native animals. This excursion provided Kindergarten students with an opportunity to see their learning come to life!  

Stage 1 mathematicians participate in quick daily number talks to build deep number sense. Their number talks help to build problem-solving skills, communication skills and reasoning skills as students share which strategies are efficient and why.  

1 Dolphins and 1 Starfish have been learning about teen numbers. They have been working on representing them in different ways and describing their teen numbers using the language of tens and ones.  

2 Sharks have been learning about arrays. They have been learning efficient strategies to work out how many by looking at how many objects are in each column and row.  

Independent research is a key skill for students to develop as they move through Primary School. In Stage 2, students have been preparing and planning speeches about places in the local environment. This has involved them deciding what areas they want to research, thinking carefully about how to phrase their research questions, and approaching sources with a critical lens.

By doing this, students have not only had an opportunity to expand their geographic knowledge, but also improve their independent research abilities and foster a sense of confidence around public speaking.

In the support unit this term we have been busy using vegetables from the garden to make some spinach and cheese rolls. Kookaburras have started to learn about the importance of brushing their teeth and keeping their gums healthy. Kindergarten visited Calmsley Hill City Farm in Week 2 and enjoyed a unique and interactive experience with the animals. We would like to wish four of our students (Mohammed, Katerina, Kosta and Sajid) all the very best as they compete in the Ten Pin Bowling grand final in Week 4. Our 2024 kindergartens have started their transition program into the support unit this term and we are super excited to have them in our classes to learn alongside our current students. 

During the 2023 Year 6 camp, students experienced a once in a life-time moment that gave them the opportunity to spend time with their friends, and acquire new knowledge. The camp provided a range of exciting activities that challenged the students physically and mentally. They were able to participate in several activities such as kayaking/canoeing, chariot building, and archery tag, which required teamwork and cooperation to do so. The activities were not only challenging but also enjoyable to experience. 

Once they are scheduled to their cabins, students get their own personal time for the night to brush their teeth, take a shower, and get settled for the next day. Majority of students enjoyed their own night feasts with cabinmates, and there was even a television room per each cabin.  

Peace Lee - 6 Success  

Arabic teachers have been working hard to make Arabic learning easy and fun for Stage 1. Community Language teacher know that engaging students in fun, hands-on activities increases their love for learning. Students have been learning words on the topic “It’s party time!” Students in Years 1 and 2 have learned phrases in Arabic such as “Happy birthday!” and “Happy celebrations!” This week, Year 1 students made fairy bread. They followed the procedure of making fairy bread and learned the words bread, butter, and eat, ز, زبادي وناكل    

We are proud that all students are positively developing their language skills.