Dear JPS Families,

It has been a big week for our students out and about representing Jamberoo! A group of students took part in the Inclusive Ten Pin Bowling Competition this week, which was a wonderful opportunity to connect with other schools and compete in a fun and inclusive environment. Mrs Dowling and I accompanied these students and were very proud of the way they represented our school.

We were also incredibly proud to host the Multicultural Public Speaking Regional Final here at our school. It was a privilege to welcome students, teachers and families from right across the South Coast to compete, and a testament to our historical public speaking prowess that we were chosen to host such a special event. A huge thank you to Mrs Behl-Shanks for all of her hard work in organising the day. And most excitingly — a huge congratulations to Zahli, who won the Stage 3 competition and will now go on to represent our school and our region at the state final in Sydney. We are so proud of you, Zahli!

Back in the classroom, Kindergarten have had their own very special excitement this week, firstly with a visit from Tucker's brand new baby brother, and then with the hatching of their very own baby chicks! I think it's safe to say they have been the talk of the school. I had to agree with Penny, who informed me that they are the luckiest class in the whole school!

A reminder that Southern Stars is fast approaching. If you'd like to come along and see what is shaping up to be a spectacular show, make sure you get your tickets soon before they sell out.

Next week is Science Week, and we're looking forward to inviting you in to the library to see some of the fabulous work our students have been doing with Mr Ross in Science this term. Science displays will be open in the library from 8.45am - 9am and 3pm - 3.15pm from Monday to Wednesday, so please pop in!

Kind Regards, 

Bec Gavin

Principal

We’ve had a fantastic start to Primary Sport this term, with tennis proving to be a real hit with our students! It has been wonderful to see so many students getting involved, building their skills and enjoying being active on the court.

A big thank you goes to Coach Andrew and Coach Sophie, who have been fantastic in supporting our students and making each session fun, engaging and challenging. We are very lucky to have their expertise and enthusiasm throughout the term.

We were also fortunate to secure a Sporting Schools grant, which has helped fund our tennis coaching this term and provided our students with this wonderful opportunity to develop their skills.

Some of the highlights so far have included our Tennis Cricket sessions and our exciting Doubles Tournament, where students have had the chance to put their skills into practice while working as a team and enjoying some friendly competition.

We’re looking forward to plenty more tennis fun throughout the rest of the term!

Cooinda was lucky enough to head out on an exciting excursion to Bee Inspired, where Mrs Mahoney’s class had the incredible opportunity to learn all about the amazing world of bees! 🐝

Our students discovered the important role bees play in pollination, explored the lifecycle of bees, learnt how honey is made, and even got to see something truly amazing — they caught a swarm! How incredible! 🐝🍯

A huge THANK YOU to the wonderful team at Bee Inspired for providing our students with such an engaging and memorable learning experience. We are so grateful for the opportunity to get up close and learn more about these fascinating little creatures and their important role in our environment.

If you’d like to learn more about bees or check out one of Bee Inspired’s upcoming workshops and events, be sure to head over to their socials and see what’s buzzing! 🐝💛

On Tuesday, you might have spotted many 'blazered' nervous students, with their numerous support crew in tow, making their way to our Jamberoo school library. That’s because we were lucky enough to host the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition Regional Final. Of the tens of thousands of students that entered the popular statewide competition, these were the top 11 Stage 2 and Stage 3 finalists in the Illawarra and South Coast.

At the regional final, our very own Zahli faced an incredibly strong field of talented speakers travelling from as far afield as Goulburn, Milton and Coledale. Zahli delivered an insightful and persuasive prepared speech on ‘Multicultural Lunchboxes’, exploring the importance of ‘taking a bite’ from what many countries have to offer and encouraging us all to step beyond the metaphorical Vegemite sandwich. Her speech was thoughtful, engaging and delivered with the confidence and personality we have come to expect from Zahli.

It was her impromptu speech , however, that truly made her stand out from the field. Given the topic ‘On Top of the World’, Zahli explored the fight and resilience it can take to reach the top and stay there. She drew on the experiences of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. With very limited preparation time, Zahli crafted a compelling speech that demonstrated her remarkable ability to think deeply, make meaningful connections and captivate an audience.

The 3 adjudicators from the NSW Arts Unit agreed with her fan club, and Zahli was named the Regional champion! This is not Zahli’s first trip to the State Final. Our homegrown public speaking star has now reached the top ten NSW speakers an exceptional THREE times! This is an extraordinary achievement and a reflection of Zahli’s talent, determination and love of public speaking. 

So, strap in! On Thursday 22 October, we’ll be gathering a JPS support crew and boarding the train to Sydney to cheer on zealous Zahli as she takes the stage at the State Final. We know that she will hold her own, and we couldn’t be prouder.

What an exciting week we have had in Kindergarten! We have welcomed two very special new additions to our classroom.

Firstly, we are very excited to welcome our new prac student, Miss Miles. Miss Miles will be joining us for the next six weeks, and we are looking forward to having her as part of our Kindergarten classroom and helping her learn all about life in a busy Kindergarten classroom.

We have also welcomed some very cute and fluffy additions: chicks! 🐥 We have been so excited to watch our eggs hatch and see the chicks grow. The children have loved observing them and talking about how they change and grow. Next week, we are looking forward to welcoming some ducklings into our classroom too!

In Mathematics, we have been learning about our Friends of Ten,  pairs of numbers that add together to make 10. We have been using games and hands-on activities to practise finding different combinations that make ten.

In English, we have been learning about time connectives and using words to help us sequence events in the correct order. We have been practising using first, next and last when talking about and retelling events.

Last Friday, we had a wonderful morning with our Kindergarten families. Thank you to all the parents who came along, visited our classroom and shared in our learning. It was lovely to have you join us!

We are looking forward to another exciting week of learning, exploring and growing together in Kindergarten! 🐥🦆

At today's assembly, we had a special visit from Sassy the Cow — our positive behaviour mascot! Beginning next week, students will receive Sassy's Stars whenever they display our positive behaviour focus of the week. The class that collects the most Sassy's Stars by the end of term will earn a prize, and our SRC students are currently gathering ideas on what prizes each class would like. Students who are regularly noticed displaying our behaviour of the week may also earn a "Sassy's Star of the Week" award, presented at assembly by Sassy herself.

There will be no school assembly in Week 6, as many students will be out at Southern Stars, both performing and watching the show. Students will receive awards on Monday, 31st August at morning assembly.  

Our students have been working hard to care for our garden and learn more about what plants need to thrive. This week, we relocated our blueberry plants to help increase the pH of the soil and create better growing conditions for them. 🫐🌱

We also planted Paris carrots in our garden beds and are excited to watch them grow! 🥕 The best part of gardening, of course, is getting to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables!) of our labour — and we’ve been busy eating even more fresh lettuce from our garden! 🥬😋

It has been wonderful seeing our students getting their hands dirty, working together and learning about gardening, healthy food and caring for our environment. 🌱💚

Who knows what delicious vegetables will be ready to harvest next? 🌿🥕

This year is flying by and Father's Day is coming up.

Save the date for our Father's Day stall - more information next week.

Thanks!