Principal's Report
Dear Gorokan Public School Community,
As we conclude another term, we welcome the arrival of spring weather. On behalf of the school executive team, I would like to express our genuine appreciation for the diligent efforts made by our students, staff, and the broader school community. It's through dedication and hard work that we have achieved many of our goals whilst making learning fun for the students who attend our great school. As we look ahead to the upcoming school holidays, it is hoped that this pleasant spring weather persists, offering our students and their families opportunities for outdoor activities, relaxation and connection with family and friends.
Staffing Update
Thank you to Mr Richard Johnston who relieved as Assistant Principal during Weeks 8 and 9 this term, supervising and supporting the Early Stage 1 team.
Ms Kelly Lorusso will be joining Gorokan Public School Support Unit at the start of Week 1 in Term 4, as teacher of K-6G. With her skills and experience, Kelly will make an excellent addition to our school community. Sincere gratitude is extended to Kerrie Richardson for her interim service in this position before it was permanently filled.
Congratulations to Nadine Gomes on her successful appointment to the School Administration Officer position at the school. Nadine's success in the recent merit selection process reflects her qualifications and dedication.
Parent Feedback Opportunity
The school is seeking feedback from the community. I encourage all parents and carers to complete the Partners in Learning online survey at the link below. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. This survey will be conducted between Monday 18 September and Friday 27 October. Your responses are very much appreciated and highly valued in assisting the school in its pursuit of excellence.
Externally funded service providers delivering allied health, disability, wellbeing and behaviour support services to students
There are three key steps in managing requests from externally funded services to deliver services at the school:
1. Requests for the delivery of an externally funded service must be made in writing to the Principal and are considered against the needs and interests of the student or group of students who are the intended service recipients, other students in the school and the operational requirements of the school.
2. If agreed, providers need to meet all legal and policy requirements and enter into an agreement with the school.
3. Service provider staff undergo an induction at the school prior to commencing services.
External providers do not have an automatic right of access even if the provider is already delivering a service to another student at the same school, or the provider has been granted access to another school. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the school’s Learning Support Team, considering the individual circumstances of the student or group of students concerned and the wider needs of the school. Any decision takes into account the educational needs and priorities of the student or group of students, including access to the curriculum, the impact on student’s learning programs, the school’s operational context and duty of care obligations towards all students and staff.
The delivery of NDIS services should not interfere with the provision of education in schools. Nor should students be taken out of school to attend an NDIS- funded provision. However, there may be occasions where the delivery of an NDIS-funded service at the school may be appropriate. For further information please refer to the link below.
Transition to School
Our transition sessions for our 2024 Kindergarten students have commenced on Wednesday 20 September. If you have a child who is starting Kindergarten next year, please enrol without delay as only enrolled students are able to participate in this important program.
Click on the enrolment link below to enrol online or drop into our office to pick up paper enrolment forms. All students need to be enrolled in order to attend the transition sessions. We look forward to meeting our future Kindergarten students and their families.
Central Coast Aboriginal Education Conference
The Central Coast Aboriginal Education Conference 2023, was held at Mingara last week. The event began with the official Acknowledgement of Country, a recognition of the traditional Indigenous custodians of the land, followed by a traditional smoking ceremony performed by Uncle Gavi Duncan. This sacred ceremony symbolised the purification and cleansing of the space, as well as a deep connection to the land's ancestral spirits. The keynote address, a pivotal moment in the conference, was delivered by Nova Peris. Her presence and insights provided an inspiring and thought-provoking foundation for the discussions and presentations that followed throughout the event. The conference was a great success providing an opportunity for collaboration of key stakeholders and an enriching and enlightening experience for all attendees.
Bilby Bash
Each year, Aboriginal students from local schools, get together to celebrate Aboriginal culture with the local community. The annual Bilby Bash will be held tomorrow, Thursday 21 September at Budgewoi Public School. The students thoroughly enjoy the day and participate in a number of cultural activities, which include art, music, craft, Dreamtime stories, drama, bush tucker and many more highly engaging topics.
Rewards Day
Each term the students are able to participate in Rewards Day for recognition of their collective efforts in engaging positively in their education. This term, all students were able to participate in a sporting colours mufti day. I congratulate all the students for their efforts and encourage them to reflect on their achievements to date and to set themselves personal improvement goals to strive towards for the term ahead.
Public Speaking Competition
Congratulations to all of our students who competed in the recent Public Speaking Competition - Logan M, Mark P, Glaiza L, Cooper B, Lucas H, Shanae P, Elijah G and Ruby M. Two of our students, Glaiza L and Ruby M, were successful in advancing to the next round of the competition. The school is proud of their achievement and wish them luck in the upcoming event.
Wallarah Zone Athletics Carnival
Congratulation to the following students for their efforts at the recent Zone Athletics Carnival held at Mingara: Jae-Li W, Kafa T, Taliah L, Anton S, Phoenix H, Charlie C, Ola T and Braden CT.
These students shone on the day, bringing their Gorokan sportsmanship and incredible talents. Our students showed exceptional teamwork and dedication, and we couldn't be prouder. A huge shoutout to our amazing staff for their support and guidance.
Finally, I would like to encourage the students to not forget to read during your holidays! It's not just fun; it helps students learn and develop their imagination. Find a book or something interesting to read. Enjoy your break with a good story!
Have a well-deserved and enjoyable holiday. I look forward to the term ahead when school resumes for all students on Monday 9 October.
Together, we can make a difference. By continuing working collaboratively, pooling our strengths, and supporting one another, we have the power to create positive change in our school community and beyond.
Jesmond Zammit
Principal
School News
Attendance
We are almost at the end of Term 3!
What a wonderful term we have had at Gorokan Public School.
With the warm weather this week, be at school and arrive on time for your chance to win an ice block from our daily attendance draw!
Late Arrivals
If your child arrives to school after 9:00am, an explanation must be given by a parent or carer (a student explanation is not sufficient).
An explanation can be given verbally to our office staff via the front gate intercom, in person at reception, by phoning ahead of the student’s arrival or a note can be given to the class teacher.
If an explanation has not been received by a parent or carer, you will be sent a late arrival SMS.
Dates to Remember
- Wednesday 20 September - K-6 Term 3 Rewards Day- Sporting Colour Mufti- No gold coins collected
- Wednesday 20 September - Kindergarten Orientation Session 1 at 12:00pm
- Thursday 21 September - Bilby Bash at 9:00am
- Friday 22 September - Waru - Journey of the Small Turtle for K-2 at the Art House, Wyong at 12:00pm
- Friday 22 September - Last day of Term 3
- Monday 9 October - First day of Term 4
- Monday 9 October to Friday 20 October - Special Swimming Scheme, Year 2-6
- Thursday 12 October - Australian Reptile Park Excursion for Year 1 at 9:00am
- Wednesday 19 October - Schools' Spectacular at Olympic Park Precinct at 7:00am
- Wednesday 25 October - Gorokan High School Transition Taster Day
- Thursday 26 October - Central Coast Choral Festival
Support Unit
Current Learning
I would like to congratulate all our Support Unit families, students and staff on their fine efforts throughout what has been a very productive term.
Thank you to our staff who have made it possible for our students to participate, not only in quality learning, but in the many extracurricular activities which have occurred this term. It makes me very proud to be a part of such a hardworking, dedicated and generous group of professionals.
What another wonderful couple of weeks we have had in the Support Unit, with many exciting academic and social programs taking place.
The Turtle, Eaglehawk and Echidna classes, delved into the fascinating world of measurement in mathematics. Students in the Support Unit are making impressive strides in this area. Measurement is a skill that not only aids in understanding our surroundings but also plays a crucial role in everyday life. Students have been actively engaging with various measurement concepts, from length and weight to capacity and time.
Practical activities have been the cornerstone of our approach, allowing students to interact with real world objects and apply measurement skills in meaningful ways. We encourage parents and guardians to support their child’s learning by incorporating measurement into daily routines. Measuring ingredients while cooking, discussing time management, and exploring distance during walks are all simple yet effective ways to reinforce these skills.
In the Frog class, we have been working on learning to recognise our numbers and our letters of the alphabet. We have been doing a lot of writing, drawing and painting which has been helping us learn how to hold our pencils correctly.
Student writing is coming along very well in Semester Two. We have seen some tremendous improvement with this specific focus and students are really trying hard to add detail to bring their sentences alive. We will continue to work on this again next term, using picture prompts for writing and providing additional detail with wow words, adjectives, senses, adverbial phrases and figurative language.
We have also been working on our fine motor and cutting skills. Most of us have learnt to hold a pair of scissors properly and we are getting better and better at using them. We have all made some special friends and have learned some very important skills such as sharing and caring for our friends. We are learning to be gentle with each other and to take turns without being sad if it is not our turn straight away.
Reminders
Hats
As the weather heats up, please ensure that your child wears their hat to school every day to protect them from the sun when they are outside playing. All uniform items need to be clearly labelled with your child’s name. This helps us to return lost or misplaced items of clothing.
Hygiene
We encourage you to engage in an open and supportive conversation about personal hygiene with your child. As students transition into adolescence, their bodies naturally begin to produce more sweat and develop distinct body odours. This is a normal part of growing up. Introducing deodorant as a part of their personal care routine can manage body odour and ensure they feel fresh throughout the day. It also helps create a pleasant atmosphere for everyone in shared spaces.
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Celebrations of Learning
Every Friday afternoon the Support Unit has their Unit gathering, where we all come together to celebrate student learning and to present merit awards and awards for being on the Open Road. This week's award winners are:
Week 9
- Turtles - Charlotte D and Johnny C
- Eaglehawks - Jaxon C and Atticus D
- Echidna - Zachery W
- Frogs - Anthony
Week 10
- Turtles - Whole Class
- Eaglehawks - Whole Class
- Echidna - Whole Class
- Frogs - Georgie
Mrs Shauna Crook
Deputy Principal Support Unit and Wellbeing
Early Stage 1
Current Learning
This fortnight Kindergarten students have enjoyed reading their new focus story “No! Never!”. They have been learning to identify the actions and feelings of the characters in the story and have been using adjectives in their writing to describe the characters.
In mathematics Kindergarten students have been participating in hands-on activities to learn more about length and area. They have also been continuing their number work with sharing and forming equal groups.
We would like to thank Miss Tonner for her time spent with KB this term. All Kindergarten students have enjoyed getting to know Miss Tonner and KB have loved participating in her lessons. We look forward to seeing Miss Tonner around the school in the future.
Term 3 holidays start at the end of this week. Please keep reading with your children and enjoy playing counting games together (Uno, Yahtzee, Trouble, Rummikub are all fun family number games). We also encourage your child to continue accessing the Reading Eggs and Mathseeds apps.
The Kindergarten teachers wish all students and their families a safe and happy holiday break. We look forward to hearing about your child’s great holiday adventures when they return in Term 4.
Reminders
Homework Folders - Have you been returning the homework folders each week?
Every child has a blue folder with small decodable readers, Heart Word lists and Reading Egg/Mathseeds passwords. Please try and sit with your child for 10 minutes a day to read and/or complete these activities. It is a great way to consolidate the learning from school and a great way to support the academic growth of your child.
Celebrations of Learning
Well done to all Kindergarten students for their amazing effort this fortnight. We would like to congratulate our class award winners:
- KB - Callum M, Octavia R, Layla S and Zaylen E
- KC - Pamela D, Kai P, Isabella G and Nullah A
- KJ - Jackson D, Ava E, Reyn M and Lucas M
- KLF - Koda D, Layla W, Jayden H and Jordan P
- KTF - Jasper S
Students receiving Open Road Awards:
- KB - Maya B, Zarah G, Taelan K and Isabella M
- KC - Imogen N, Amber M, Riley C and Mahalia A
- KJ - Sandra A, Layla N, Harley B and Roccii M
- KLF - Jakobi B, Alexi G, Logan M and Maddox O
- KTF - Electra N and Sophie P, Mark P and Lachlan S
Congratulations to all of our award winners this fortnight.
Mrs Alicia Duke
Assistant Principal Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Current Learning
2S have been using concrete materials which can aid and enhance children's understanding of different maths concepts. This has involved 2S using base ten blocks, paddlepop sticks, assorted 3D and 2D shapes and making fairy bread.
Reminder
School Uniform
Our school uniform policy is in place to create a sense of unity, pride and discipline among our students. It is essential that all students adhere to the uniform guidelines consistently. This includes correct footwear, jumpers and hats be worn at all times.
Why Uniforms Matter:
- Promotes a Sense of Belonging - Uniforms create a sense of belonging and equality among students, fostering a positive school culture.
- Reduces Distractions - Uniforms reduce distractions related to clothing choices and fashion trends, allowing students to focus on learning.
As the weather is warming up please remember to pack a hat and drink bottle labelled with your child’s name.
Reptile Park Excursion - Year 1
Payment for the Reptile Park excursion needs to be finalised as soon as possible please.
Important dates:
- Wednesday 20 September - Rewards Day - wear your favourite teams sporting colours
- Friday 22 September - Story of the Lost Turtle at Wyong Art House
- Friday 22 September - Last day of Term 3
- Monday 9 October - First day of Term 4
- Monday 9 October - Special Swimming Scheme, Term 4, Weeks 1 and 2
- Thursday 9 November - School Disco
- Tuesday 17 November - Year 2 Rumbalara excursion
Celebrations of Learning
Well done to all Stage 1 students for their amazing effort this fortnight. We would like to congratulate our class award winners:
- 1P - Isabella, Pipah, Kian and Harley
- 1Y - Nate, Natalie, Harrie and Siannah
- 1E - Rylan, Valin and Emilia
- 1/2M - Adalene, Charlie Marcus, Poppy and Ivy G
- 2J - Reuben, Daisy, Kelsey and Mila
- 2S - Levi, Ell, Max and Abbie
Students receiving Open Road Awards:
- 1P - Harley, Charlotte and Hunter
- 1Y - Beau and Nayt
- 1L - Summer and Joseph
- 1E - Felix, Isaac R, Tyler and Kyannah
- 1/2M - Max and Lucas B
- 2B - Joachim
- 2J - Morgan, Zach, Ruben and Samara
- 2S - Harrison, Jacob, Ayden and Hunter
Mrs Jo Lee
Assistant Principal Year One
Mr Mitchell Gibbs
Assistant Principal Aboriginal Education Year Two
Stage 2
Current Learning
The staff would like to thank all parents and carers for your ongoing support this term. The students have had a productive term and are looking forward to their well earned break. We wish all families a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you next term.
We would like to thank Mr Roger for completing his teacher training in 3/4F this term. The students and staff have enjoyed having Mr Roger in the Stage 2 team and thank him for teaching a range of enjoyable learning experiences to the students. Please see some of the lessons below.
3/4F Passion Projects
This term the students in 3/4F embarked on a journey around the world using Sphero robots as aeroplanes. The students worked in groups to research their selected country and produced trioramas to showcase the information they found. This included information about beautiful native plants, traditional clothing, famous landmarks and landforms. They also used CANVA to create a poster persuading people to visit their selected country. Learning outcomes from English, geography, science and technology and visual arts were covered in this project.
In culmination, students were able to visit each other's country and collect information for their passports. They collected a flag stamp to signify the countries they visited. All 3/4F students should be proud of their outstanding work and the respect they demonstrated towards other students’ work.
The students worked in pairs to learn how to program the Sphero. This included driving and giving nonverbal directions such as forward, backward, left, right and stop before they piloted their Sphero (plane) around the world.
Mr Zammit, Mr Clenton and Mrs Jeanpierre enjoyed seeing the students' amazing projects.
Science
The students have been investigating how the shape of a material contributes to its design strength. They had to:
- Make 3 columns using different shapes (square, triangle, circle)
- Place books (one at a time) on top of the column, to see which shape is the strongest.
Please ask your child what they discovered from this investigation.
Mathematics
4O had a great time outside in the sunshine using their 1cm² grids in their maths books to measure the area of irregular shapes. They had to trace leaves into their books and then count the squares to calculate the area of the leaves.
Get Happier Project
Our in-depth focus this fortnight is the Accepting Road. In the Get Happier lessons students have discussed how we can accept others for being different and accept ourselves for our different qualities. Thank you for all of your support with reminding the students to be safe, respectful, successful learners.
Reminders
Return items
If your child has mistakenly taken home any items from school that do not belong to them, can you please return them to school. Students become very upset when their belongings are missing and we are trying to build peer trust.
Headphones
Please remind yourself to send in a set of headphones for your child to use during technology lessons.
Swimming Scheme
If your child is participating in the swimming scheme next term, it begins day 1 of Term 4. Please ensure your child has their towel and goggles labelled and packed in a reusable bag. We recommend students wear their swimmers under their uniform to school to make it easier for them to change before leaving for the pool. They need to bring a pair of underwear to change into when back at school. Students may need an extra snack in their lunchbox to provide them with extra energy on these swimming days.
Important dates
- Monday 9 October - First day of Term 4
- Monday 9 October - Friday 20 October - Special Swimming Scheme
- Tuesday 21 November - Year 3 & 4 Science Incursion, further information will be provided in Term 4.
Celebrations of Learning
Congratulations to Lucas H and Shanae P for competing in the Central Coast Public Speaking Competition on Wednesday. Unfortunately they do not go through to the next stage of the competition but we congratulate them for their amazing achievement this far.
Congratulations to the following students for being Week 9 class award winners:
- 3S - Elliot and Blair
- 3D - Tyrone S, Latalea N, Lucas H and Sophie C
- 3/4F - Lilly H, Zane B, Ayla C and Marley D
- 4B - Henry, Bella, Bronte and Jye
- 4O - Shanae, Lucas, Violet and William
- 4/5M - Brock and Alyssa
Mrs Di Jeanpierre
Assistant Principal Stage 2
Stage 3
Current Learning
Wow! We can’t believe it’s the last week of term. Year 6 have been completing their Check In Assessments over the last 2 weeks.
The Colour Run was a huge success. The event proved to be a highly successful fundraiser for our Year 6 students, collecting 60% of the $30 000 raised in sponsorship ($16,530), and money raised from the raffle and sale of the fun packs, bringing the total to over $19 500 for the school to utilise . This money will go towards the Year 6 gift to the school and the Year 6 Farewell. Thank you for all of your support. Congratulations to Alina from 5F for raising the most amount of money in the school and to Hailey from 6P for winning the prize for the highest earner in each class.
This Term, our Year 5 classes have thrived engaging in gardening lessons as part of our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. We have taken part in learning how to prepare our garden beds, maintain them and harvest our veggies. We can’t wait to see what we get up to next term when we get back in the kitchen!
Reminders
School Uniform
All Stage 3 students are reminded that they are to wear their correct school uniform everyday with the correct school jumpers and school hats. All clothing should be clearly labelled with their name and class.
Year 5 ZooSnooz Overnight Excursion to Taronga Zoo
Notes and more details will be coming out soon. Please ensure we have your correct email details.
Arriving late to school
A quick reminder some Stage 3 students are arriving late to school. We encourage all our students to be on time and ready to learn each and every single day as every day counts and matters. All students who are late must be accompanied to the office by an adult to be signed in with a valid reason for being late. We thank you for your support with this.
Year 6 Farewell
Save the Date! Our Year 6 Farewell 2023 will be on Monday 11 December 2023 with more details to come in Term 4! Please save this date to your calendars!
Celebrations of Learning
Congratulations to Ruby M in 5/6G and Elijah G in 6P for competing in the second round of the Central Coast Public Speaking competition. Another big CONGRATULATIONS to Ruby M for making it to the next round which will be held in October. Good luck Ruby.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please phone your child’s class teacher as your first point of contact. Wishing you all a wonderful and safe holiday 🙂
School with resumes on Monday 9 October.
Mrs Kate Day
Stage 3 Assistant Principal
Parenting Ideas
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Raising Kids Without Bribes: The Secret to Winning Their Cooperation
There’s one type of statement that I try to avoid when I’m talking with my kids.
“If… then” statements.
You know the ones I mean.
If you eat all your vegetables, then you can have dessert.
If you are good at the shops, then I’ll buy you a treat at the checkout.
If you behave when Grandma comes over, then we can watch TV when she leaves.
The problem with these statements is that they’re essentially bribery. And bribery is just a threat in disguise. You might as well say “If you don’t eat your vegetables, then you won’t get any dessert”.
Bribery, rewards, and punishment are an effective parenting tool… if your only goal is to secure immediate compliance. That is, if you want your child to do what you say when you say it. Which probably sounds like exactly what you want.
However, when you think about it, immediate compliance probably isn’t the real goal… at least, not most of the time (but sometimes it is. We all know it!)
What you really want for your child is moral internalisation.
That is, you want your child to understand the rules and the reasoning behind them so that they will do what is right even when adults aren’t around to tell them what to do. Sounds better, right?
Moral internalisation requires a completely different set of tools. We can’t rely on bribery, rewards, and punishments if we’re aiming for moral internalisation.
However, moving away from the tool of “If… then…” statements isn’t easy. This form of fear-based discipline is automatic for so many parents because it’s such a simple formula to follow. It doesn’t require much effort.
But if you’re ready to expand your parenting toolbox, here’s a few tools you can try:
Do it with them
It’s time to pack up the toys, but instead of yelling out “If these toys don’t get picked up, then I’m throwing them away”, try getting down on the ground with them and working as a team. Our kids want to be involved in our world. So, if we’re doing something, and we invite them to join in, chances are that they’ll say yes, even for something as routine as tidying up the toys.
Make it fun
Kids love to play! In fact, it’s been demonstrated that kids learn things much easier and quicker if play is involved. So next time you’re at the shops, see if you can make a scavenger hunt. Challenge them to find the biggest capsicum, or maybe you can set the timer and see how quickly you can make it down each aisle. There are so many ways to make even simple tasks fun.
Collaborate to find win/win solutions
When we talk with our kids and value their input, we can often find compromises that work for everyone. That might go like this: “I really would like you to eat some vegetables at dinner time. What vegetables would you like us to cook today?”
Explain the reason for a rule
When you let your child know why you would like them to behave a certain way, and set up expectations in advance, they’re much more empowered to behave the way you would like them to. By explaining to them, for example, that Grandma doesn’t like loud noises, so we need to be a bit quieter when she’s visiting, you’re setting them up for success. It can also be a good idea to plan contingencies in advance for if expectations aren’t being met. For example, “if you’re having a hard time being quiet when Grandma is here, you can go outside for a bit to get some of your energy out before you come back in.”
Be proactive
Asking your child to be well behaved at the shops when they’re hungry is just not going to happen. Likewise, your child just isn’t going to be as helpful when it comes to packing up the toys if they’re tired after a long day. Try shifting the timing for these activities, reducing your expectations, or making it easier to meet your expectations by setting up the environment for success.
Stick firmly to loving limits
They’re getting rowdy in the store. Carry them out calmly, explaining that we can go back when they’re ready to use walking feet and quiet voices.
Getting out of the habit of using bribery to control our kids isn’t easy. It requires trusting that internalising morals is better, which is hard when we’ve been conditioned to believe that good children are compliant children. It requires expanding your toolbox. It requires admitting that not every tool will work in every situation. It requires patiently acknowledging that sometimes you won’t be able to secure compliance.
However, turning to connection and away from coercion is so much better, both for our children and also for our relationship with them. If you’re ready to give it a go, pick a tool, try it out, and see what happens.