Grafton Public School

Grafton Public School
A Tradition of Excellence
Locked Bag 9024 Grafton 2460
PHONE: Primary - 66421000 Infants - 66422286
Email: grafton-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Term Calendar - Click Here
Term 2 Week 10: Monday 27th June 2016
School Website - Click Here
In this week’s newsletter…….
* Athletics Carnival
* NAIDOC Week
*Principal’s Message
Upcoming events
The last day for Term 2 is this Friday 1st July.
Students return to school on Tuesday 19th July
Celebrating NAIDOC Week
This week, we are celebrating NAIDOC Week with our community. Tomorrow, there is Multi-Cultural Public Speaking
at Westlawn Public School which several of our students will attend. Also on Tuesday, our Year 5 students will travel
to Alumny Creek Reserve for a day of Indigenous games and activities, organised in association with Grafton High and
South Grafton High Schools. On Thursday, our Infants campus students will enjoy some rotational activities followed
by a sausage sizzle and kangaroo tasting at lunchtime. Also on Thursday, our Year 2 students travel to Baryulgil Public
School for the day. On Friday, at 8.45am, we are having an official assembly followed by a morning tea “Yarn Up” at
the Yarning Circle for community members. Parents and carers are invited to attend.
Year 6 Excursion
Following overnight bus travel last night, our Year 6 students and teachers are presently
in foggy, chilly Canberra. Brrrr!!! We hope they packed their long johns!!! Over a four day
period they will visit many of Canberra’s attractions including the National Museum, the
Royal Australian Mint, the War Memorial and Parliament House. On Wednesday, they are
visiting the snowfields for their much anticipated day at the snow. For many of the
children, this is the first time they will see snow. It will be a busy week for the group but
an excursion which will be a highlight of the year for many students. No doubt they will
return tired and weary when they get home in the early hours of Friday morning but with
many exciting stories to tell.
Athletics Carnival
Several weeks of field event trials and the running of the 200m and 800m led to the recent annual GPS Athletics
Carnival.
The day dawned with cloud and intermittent rain and we were hoping the sun would appear. The march-past and war
cries were stirring and certainly brought an energy and air of competition to the arena. Age races started the day
and there were some very fast times set down in the heats. Each final consisted of the fastest eight from the age
group and were passionately fought out.
A heavy shower of rain halted proceedings just as the last of the finals was run and won.
The sun reappeared in time for a battle royal with the relays. Notaras seemed to hold sway winning most of these
hotly contested events. Then it rained and rained and rained.
The finals of the field events have been conducted over the past week and with the finalisation of these, we are
pleased to announce the champions and runners up for 2016.
Juniors
Champion
Bobby Hart
Martina Williams
11years
Grayson Reimer
Tae-Arleigh Donnelly
Seniors
Joelyn West
Tyleah Larcombe
Runner up
Tyron Paxton
Maia Adamson and Shelera Williams
Connor Skinner
Gypsy Crouch
Noah Fahey
Madison Carlton
Champion Athlete of the Carnival: Tyleah Larcombe
Champion House: Notaras
Congratulations to all students for their sportsmanship, competitive spirit and flexibility.
Well done to Mr Campbell and Mr Avery for organising a great carnival. Hopefully the weather next year will be
more cooperative.
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week. We will be having a special morning ceremony at this Friday’s
assembly where some of our students will be recognising both the culture and history of our first
Australians, our Aborigines. We now have genetic evidence of our Aboriginal history dating back past
40,000 years to the western coastline and areas of Australia. We also have Carbon Dating evidence of an
Aboriginal presence at Lake Mungo dating back over 60,000 years: Evidence that is irrefutable. Science
provides a wonderful source of evidence within its laws.
This week we have a number of NAIDOC events in which our school students will be participating behaviour/individuality permitting, Year 5 will be at Alumny Creek on Tuesday participating in Aboriginal
Games led by the Year 11 students from South Grafton High, fed by the Y11 students from Grafton High
and in mixed groups with students from Westlawn PS, Gillwinga PS and South Grafton PS. There will be
18 mixed groups. On Wednesday a few of our Year 5 students will be heading to Westlawn PS to
participate in the public speaking. Our Year 2 students will head out to Baryulgil PS for an Aboriginal
Games day on Thursday whilst our Year 1 and Kinders participate in their Aboriginal Activities Rotation,
mid-session, on the Mary St site, with the Support Unit students participating in their NAIDOC
rotational activities on Wednesday. We will be holding a NAIDOC ‘Yarn Up’ morning tea at 9.30am at our
Yarning Circle, after our ceremony on Friday morning, just in time for people to wander over to Grafton
High for their celebration and touch footy matches.
Friday sees in the End of Term 2 and Semester 1. We have been focused upon our quality teaching and
learning in the areas of reading and number as well as providing our students with opportunities in which
they can excel and enrich themselves. It is known that the more we practice a skill – academic or
physical - the stronger the neurological pathways become – memory! That is why we must continue to be
daily readers as adults attaining new knowledge and exercising our brain as well as setting the example
for our children and for our children to build the neurological pathways which will give them better
opportunities in their later life.
Our school reports for students in Years Kindergarten to Year 5 will be issued this Wednesday with your
child being the courier – there should be no surprises. Harkening back to the previous paragraph – daily
reading practice is essential. It is noteworthy, as the principal reading all of the student reports, that
high absences, little or rare home reading practice and little or rare homework completion have a high
correlation with success in reading and in turn – school. Sometimes looking in the mirror can be a
frightening experience yet one cannot succeed if one is a hollow windy vessel. Actions speak louder than
words: one must “Walk your Talk.”
We say farewell to a number of staff this Friday – either retiring or taking leave prior to a posting at
another location. These staff include: Mrs Suzie Tozer in our office; Mr Kevin Bennett our Assistant
Principal this year working as our Learning and Support Teacher; Ms Abby Chapman our relieving Learning
and Support Teacher, Mrs Fiona McCormack, class teacher; Mr Paul Farrell, ex-class teacher who has
been at District Office the past couple of years; and Mrs Beverly Walls our Itinerant Support Teacher
(Hearing). We extend to them our best wishes for the next part of their life journeys.
I hope you enjoy some time with your family as well as find time to read and share your reading with
others. Students return to school on Tuesday, 19th July.
Until then travel safely and may your ‘GOD’ watch over your journey.
Will Randall
Principal
Canteen
Primary Roster
Infants Roster
28/6/16
Narelle Rankin
29/6/16
Help needed
30/6/16
Help needed
1/7/16
Roxie Collett
T3 Tues 19/7/16
Help needed
28/6/16
Mandy Pierse
29/6/16
Kelly James
30/6/16
Dannielle Chamberlain
1/7/16
Rhonda Adamson
T3 Tues 19/7/16
Help needed
Volunteers are needed for several days, particularly Tuesdays at Infants. If you can help, please let us know! The
canteen has a 300 litre chest freezer for sale. It is in good working order but does require a new seal. If you are
interested, please contact the Canteen Supervisor, Bec, and make an offer.
Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking
Congratulations to Hannah Watkins, Rory Sapienza, Cindy Counsell and Oskar Robertson, who represented our school
at the District Final of the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition last Thursday. Although none of
the students were successful in gaining selection to progress to the next level of competition, they no doubt enjoyed
and benefitted from the experience. They deserve the heartiest of congratulations for preparing themselves so
thoroughly to participate in this challenging arena. Well done all!
School Photos
Group photos such as SRC, Prefects, Sporting House Captains, Library Monitors, Band, Choir etc are available for
viewing in the Primary Office. Should you wish to order one of these, order envelopes are available from the office and
orders must be paid for by the end of Week 2 next term, Friday 29th July. Orders can also be made online.
If you wish to purchase additional copies of class or individual photos, please check at the office as there is a special
school code you need to input when ordering these online.
Planning is well underway for Kindergarten 2017, with the Kinder Kritters Orientation program
commencing in early Term 3. If there are any little brothers and sisters, friends or cousins who are
starting “big school” next year, please call in to get forms as soon as possible so that they can be a part
of this program. Please spread the word to friends and neighbours who may have pre-schoolers starting
with us next year.
Bike Bus
The lucky recipients of the Grafton City Cycles voucher for riding to school over the
last few weeks are; Jack Lougher, Samuel Smith and Marisa Menzies. Thank you to
Grafton City Cycles for their ongoing support of the Grafton Public School ride to
school program. Shandeep Singh was the very excited recipient of a brand new horn last
Friday. Grafton City Cycles also provided this prize to recognise students who ride to
school.
Assembly Awards
Each week we will try to acknowledge the children who received awards at their grade assemblies in the previous
week. Congratulations to the following students who received awards last week:
Kinder: Tully Clarke, Makybe Sinclair, Hannah Plunkett, Oscar Woods, Sebastian Worrell, Cayden Blanch, Bella Brady,
Kaelah-Rose Ballard, Caleb Bird, Marcus Holten, Rebecca Beilby, Fletcher Purnell, Matthew Quirk, Elsie Childs,
Samantha Gardiner, Jerome Morgan, Nathanual White, Olive Pereira, Lilly Childs, Kloe-May Chellew, Ardra
Rauntenberg, Bryce Collins
Year 1: Ciarna Gardiner, Nathan Shiels, Hudson Michael, Kaiva Gillies, Lilly Fahey, Matthew Hoade, Jaxson Haynes,
Jasper Tobin, Madison Durrington, Eliana Jackson, Amber Child, Deacon Konemann, Nyokah Duroux, Bella
Leaegailesolo, Harrisan Dendle-Duroux, Riley Tobin, Charlie Rainbow, Paige Tilse
Year 2: Daisy Ada, Keira Reynolds, Harvey Watts, Zahli Laverty, Noah Reti, Neve Rhodes, Toby Smidt, Elissa
Whatley, Kalysta Williams, Kelani O’Dwyer, Lillian Lougher, Nash Boyd, Harper Davison, Cooper Gilkinson, Chloe Wills,
Lei-Kiesha Armstrong
Year 3: Kayla Ellis, Mia Nagle, Xander Young, Chad Carlsson, Riley Smidt
Year 4: Timathy Collins, Summer Loadsman, Sophie Coles, Jackson Duroux, Bodhi Derrick, Tyron Paxton, Tyson
Hartog, Todd Roberts, Chaniqueka Kershaw, Willem Clark, Billy-Bob Winters, Teven Gallagher, Jordan Hure, Tae Cole,
Emmit Green, Violet Larcombe, Paris Scott, Charlie Beadman, Samiuela Lehauli, Liam Cooper, Chelsie Gordon, Maia
Adamson, Catie Holloway, Isabella Riepon, Erica Power, Hayley Tucker, Kayleb Williams
Year 5: Abbi Goodwin, Blake Felton, Connor Cowley, Caitlin Chevalley, Liam Mitchell, Ambrosia Relf, Joshua DonovanSkinner
Year 6: Liam Gorham, Ashley Cole, William Simmons, Hope Endean, Zayn Cribb, Riley Connell, Keilan Thomson
Support Unit: Brodey Bemrose, Miah Johnson, Sammy Gleeson
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