Dear JPS Families,

Happy Education Week! 

Cold and flu season is well and truly here. Our staff and students have felt the impact of this in the recent weeks. While we encourage students to attend everyday, we thank you for keeping your child home when they are unwell to prevent the spread of germs. 

A big thank you to our wonderful staff for their support and flexibility last week during my absence. I’m especially grateful to Mrs Galea for her leadership, and to Mrs Green and Mrs Peterson for their work and support for students in the MADD event. Thank you also to Mrs Galea for stepping in to attend in my place, and to Mrs Green and Mrs Behl-Shanks for all the behind-the-scenes organisation in the lead up to the big performance.

Education Week – Ignite Your Potential

This year’s Education Week theme, Ignite Your Potential, is a powerful reminder of the impact of public education and the important role every member of our school community plays in lighting the spark for lifelong learning.

At Jamberoo Public School, we are proud of the way our students strive to achieve their personal best, our staff commit wholeheartedly to nurturing growth and our families continue to support and engage in their children’s learning. Together, we create a place where every child’s potential can be discovered, nurtured and celebrated.

Thank you to all the students, staff and families who help make our school a vibrant and supportive learning environment. Education truly is a team effort, and your commitment helps shape bright futures every day.

We look forward to having parents in classrooms on Wednesday (those who have signed up) and our open day on Thursday for a fun classroom session and picnic lunch. 

MADD Night

Congratulations to all the JPS students involved in the MADD production. From what I have heard, you represented our school with enthusiasm and talent, and we are so proud of you! Well done! 

A big thank you to families for your support in getting students dressed, organised and ready to perform. We appreciate your efforts in helping to make it such a success.

P&C Meeting

Please join us at 7pm on Thursday, 7th August at Club Jamberoo for our next P&C Meeting. We hope to see you then! 

District Athletics This Friday 

We wish all our students heading off to the District Athletics Carnival the very best of luck! Whether they’re competing in field events or on the track, we’re so proud of them. Go JPS!

Calling for Expressions of Interest: Picasso Cow Redesign Project

Did you know our three Picasso Cows were painted over 20 years ago as part of a national initiative that blended art with agriculture? Since then, these colourful creations have proudly stood in our school grounds, celebrating student creativity and honouring the town's rich dairy heritage.

After two decades of sun, rain and admiration, the paint is now chipping and the colours have greatly faded. It’s time to breathe new life into these beloved cows!

We’re inviting expressions of interest from families who may have a special connection to the original project—or from anyone passionate about being part of their next chapter. If you would like to be involved in the redesign, or if this project holds special meaning for your family, please email the school. Depending on the level of interest, we may form a small team of representatives to help guide the redesign process.

We’re also exploring a collaboration with the Kiama Art Society and we are considering donating one of the refreshed cows to the township of Jamberoo. It could be placed near the town’s welcome sign as a symbol of our creative spirit and community pride. 

Attendance Monitoring 

Every school day counts! Research states that consistent attendance improves academic achievement, boosts wellbeing, builds confidence and maximises future career and life opportunities. We understand absences may stem from health, family concerns or anxiety. Please reach out to us if you are concerned about your child's attendance so we can work together to support them. 

Kind regards,

Katie Louttit

Relieving Principal

Congratulations to our incredible performers. We are so proud of you! 

A huge thank you to the parents and carers who gave up their time to help out at our school working bee on Saturday 26 July - Maureen, Kerrie, Guy, Pippa, Jeanine, Erica, Sarah, Heath, Tanika, Annabel, Augustin, Nora, Joe, Martin, Claire, Beth, Sarah and all the children who attended with their parents and were hard at work. Also, a thank you to Mr Reed, Mrs Behl-Shanks, Mrs Peterson and Mrs McCormack who also spent time in the gardens and cleaning out storage areas.

It was a massive effort, and the results have made a real difference to our school grounds. The front of the school received a much-needed tidy up and weeding, the rose garden near the basketball court was cleared and remulched, garden beds were relocated to replace rotting beds and the veggie garden received a layer of cardboard and mulch. Parents also removed dead branches from the forest area, and refreshed and tidied our Cultural Garden.

Your hard work and community spirit are appreciated. It's a small school, but not a small site. Mr Chad walked in and was amazed at the efforts. THANK YOU! 

Friday was Australian Primary Principals' Day – a special opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible leadership, dedication and care our principal brings to our school community every day. We are grateful for the way Miss Louttit leads with integrity, supports students, staff an families, and always places the wellbeing and success of our learners at the heart of every decision. Thank you for your committed work and for being such a positive and inspiring presence in our school.

Happy Principals' Day!

Mrs Galea

We are delighted to invite all grandparents and grand friends to join us for Grandparents’ Day at Jamberoo Public School — a special morning dedicated to celebrating the cherished role grandparents play in our children's lives.

The morning will begin with a morning tea at 9:30am, where families can reconnect and enjoy some light refreshments. From 9:45am, our students will take the stage to share performances filled with heart and joy — a true highlight of the day!

Following the performances, families are welcome to step inside the classrooms for a closer look at student learning during our classroom visits from 10:10am. Grandparents will have the opportunity to see students in their learning spaces, share a story, and admire the work they’ve been doing.

To wrap up the morning, our Book Fair will be open from 10:40–11:00am, giving grandparents the chance to help their grandchildren pick out a book or two — the perfect keepsake from a memorable day.

We can’t wait to welcome you to our school community and share this heartwarming celebration together.

In Term 4, our Year 5 and 6 students will have the exciting opportunity to attend an educational tour of Canberra, our national capital. During the excursion, students will take part in a range of engaging and informative programs designed to deepen their understanding of Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy.

To support families with the cost of this valuable experience, our school will receive funding from the Australian Government through the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program. This funding provides a rebate of $30.00 per student, which is paid directly to the school after the excursion has taken place.

We look forward to providing students with this memorable and enriching learning experience. Further details about the tour, including itinerary will be shared soon.

Welcome back to Walabi students, for Term 3. We've had a strong start, with students engaged and eager to learn. The highlight of Week 1 was student presentations of their Ned Kelly speech that they had prepared at the end of Term 2. They took the perspective of a person (but not Ned Kelly himself) who was at the Last Stand at Glenrowan and argued that Ned Kelly was either a hero or a villain. Students should be extremely proud of their speeches. They worked on both 'manner' (they way they presented) and 'matter' (the content of their speech). They have now been given feedback which will be helpful as they write and present their Jamberoo Jabber (our school wide public speaking competition) speech in Term 4.

Students loved their first Dharawal language lesson with Tyrell and Dylan, on Monday. We learnt the parts of the body through games and a song. We are looking forward to more lessons!

In Year 4 geography, we are starting our unit, 'the Earth's Environment.'  I have some photos of the salt dough maps we started making this week in geography. These will be labelled and painted. They represent the Illawarra region, with the escarpment, the coastline and Lake Illawarra, and the coastal plain. Year 3s have just begun their history unit, 'First Contacts.' Thank you to Ms Louttit for stepping in for Mrs Behl-Shanks as Year 3's geography teacher, while Mrs Behl-Shanks was away sick. A note has just gone home regarding our Stage 2 geography excursion to Mt Keira in Week 9, so please check your emails. This will be a great day and we hope all Year 3 and 4 students can attend.

Mrs McCormack

It’s been a productive few weeks in Cooinda! We've been building our comprehension skills using rich text adaptations from 'Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief', drawing out key grammar and punctuation elements to target Year 5 learning goals. In writing, students are confidently experimenting with figurative language, using similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole to enhance characterisation.

In maths, we’ve dived into decimals, making strong connections to capacity. A highlight was our Mad Scientist’s Lab activity, where students mixed imaginative potions, calculated totals in millilitres and litres, then multiplied quantities to craft their own magical recipes, using real-world maths with a creative twist!

We also enjoyed our visitors from Dharawal Language program and the Oz Tag clinic this week!

Keep up the good work, 5 Cooinda!

Mr Reed

Our learners have hit the ground running, showing enthusiasm and curiosity as we dive into new learning experiences. One exciting focus this term has been incorporating Thinkers’ Keys into our classroom. These creative question stems are designed to extend and deepen students' thinking across all subject areas. It’s been wonderful to see students embracing the challenge and developing their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

In mathematics, we’ve been exploring composite 3D shapes, investigating how two different solids can be combined to create a new figure. This hands-on learning has sparked some great discussions and discoveries about shape properties and spatial reasoning.

As part of our commitment to embedding culture and language into our classroom, we’ve started a Language Program. This week, we had fun learning to sing "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Dharawal. It was a joyful and respectful way to connect with local Indigenous culture and language.

We were also lucky enough to have enjoyed a special Oztag clinic on Wednesday, where students had the opportunity to develop their passing, tagging and teamwork skills. A huge thank you to the coaches for making it such a positive and active experience!

We're looking forward to the rest of the term and can’t wait to see where our learning journey takes us next!

Ms Stehr and Mrs Milligan

Throughout Term 2, our whole-school PDHPE focus was on the important concept of consent, as part of our Child Protection Unit, supported by the Grow Your Mind program.

At a primary school level, consent is about recognising and respecting personal boundaries. This might be as simple as asking a friend if they’d like to play or give a hug—and learning to look for an enthusiastic yes in response. 

Learning to understand these cues requires real communication skills and confidence. Our students also explored how it can be brave and important to say no if they’re not comfortable doing something, even with their friends.

Several classes studied the “Golden Rules of Consent”, which you may have seen in the poster sent home. If your child is in the older grades, ask them if they can explain these rules to you—many of them can!

This learning fits seamlessly within our Child Protection curriculum, as understanding and respecting consent is a key foundation for staying safe. A core message we reinforce is: “My body is my body”—only I decide what is okay for me.

As we conclude this unit, now is an ideal time to follow up at home. 

Students also spent time identifying their trusted circle of adults—people at school, at home or in their community (such as coaches or family friends)—who they can turn to when they need help or someone to talk to.

Thank you for continuing these vital conversations at home.

Mrs McCormack

Thank you to the Year 1 and 2 students who came to gardening club this week. They helped with putting dahlia flower seeds into packages. They took one package home, and made some more to be sold at assembly. Students also helped with planting and watering and took home lemons, finger limes, lettuce, parsley and flowers, as well as their dahlia seeds.

I'd like to also express my upmost appreciation to all our community members who helped with mulching the veggie garden area last Saturday! Wow! What a difference it has made. Parent volunteers also moved two unused metal garden bed frames up to the veggie garden to replace wooden bed frames that were rotting.

 Mrs McCormack

Get ready for a magical week filled with stories, costumes, laughter and a celebration of reading!

Book Week 2025 is just around the corner, and we have an exciting lineup of events planned for our students, families, and community. From our colourful Book Parade to our heartwarming Grandparents’ Day, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. And don’t forget to visit our Book Fair, packed with books to inspire every reader!

Monday 25 August

The Book Fair will open for student viewing only during the school day. Students will get a chance to browse the books and start planning their wish lists!

Tuesday 26 August

The Book Fair is open to families from 8:30–9:00am and again in the afternoon from 3:00–3:30pm. Come along and discover a new favourite story.

Wednesday 27 August

A day full of excitement! Our Secret Teacher Swap where a surprise teacher swaps classes to share a story and an activity and our beloved Book Parade will run from 12:10–12:50pm. The Book Fair will be open 8:30–9:00am, after the parade, and again from 3:00–3:30pm.

Thursday 28 August

We welcome our grand friends and grandparents for Grandparents’ Day! Join us for a beautiful morning together, and visit the Book Fair before school (8:30–9:00am), after the event, and again from 3:00–3:30pm.

Friday 29 August

Our final day of Book Week! The Book Fair will be open from 8:30–9:00am and 3:00–3:30pm. It’s your last chance to grab a book or two before it wraps up for another year.

📖✨ Let’s come together to celebrate curiosity, creativity and the joy of reading. We can’t wait to see your amazing costumes, welcome our wonderful grandparents and share in the excitement of Book Week 2025!

Get Ready for Our 2025 Book Week Dress-Up Parade! 

Book Week is just around the corner, and it’s time to get creative — our much-loved JPS Book Week Dress-Up Parade is happening on Wednesday Week 6! This year’s exciting theme is “Book an Adventure!” — a celebration of bold journeys, mysterious maps, magical worlds, and unforgettable characters who take us places we've never been before. Whether the adventure happens by sea, sky, forest, or bookshelf, students are invited to come dressed as a character from their favourite book! 2025 is also a milestone year for us as we celebrate 80 years of Children’s Book Week! For 8 decades, CBCA has been dedicated to inspiring young minds to journey through the countless worlds that books offer. 

Costume Ideas to Inspire Adventurers: Here are some bookish adventure-themed costume ideas if you're stuck!

Nature & Animal Explorers:

Bluey or Bingo (Bluey by Joe Brumm)

• Fern Arable (Charlotte’s Web)
• Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon
• Sam or Frightening Falcon from My Side of the Mountain
• Slinky Malinki (series Picture books)

Fantasy & Magical Journeys:

• Harry Potter, Hermione, or Hagrid from Harry Potter
• Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia
• Percy Jackson from Camp Half-Blood
• Matilda with her magical books

Real-World Travelers:

• Alfie or his mum from Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
• The family from We Live in a Bus (a 2025 CBCA Shortlist title!)
• Phileas Fogg from Around the World in 80 Days
• Tintin the reporter adventurer

Sci-fi & Space Explorers:

• Rocket from Look Up!
• The Little Prince
• An astronaut from any space book (like Mousetronaut, Astro Girl, or There's No Place Like Space!)

Mystery Solvers & Secret Agents:

• Harriet the Spy
• Detective Dog Nell
• Agents from the Secret Agent Mole series

Ocean, Pirate, & Underwater Adventurers:

• Moana (for her sea journey)
• Captain Hook or Peter Pan
• The Rainbow Fish
• Pippi Longstocking (who sailed the seas!)

Just to name a few!

No need to buy anything fancy! Use what you have at home — hats, scarves, capes, backpacks, or face paint can work wonders. Please ensure costumes are comfortable and school-appropriate and please NO COSTUME WEAPONS.

We can't wait to see your wild, wonderful and imaginative outfits — let’s all Book an Adventure together and make this Book Week one to remember! Happy reading and dressing up!

Mrs Green