22 March 2024
Principal’s Report
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
School Photos - Monday 25th March
A big reminder that school photos are this coming Monday.
Please Note- FULL SUMMER SCHOOL UNIFORM to be worn on the day. Not the sports uniform.
Family photos will start before school at approximately 8.30am for families who may like to have this photo completed early.
Induction Assembly for New SRC Representatives and House Captains
The Student Representative Council (SRC) and House Captain Induction Assembly was held last week, on Monday 11th March. Congratulations to all 2024 SRC Representatives and House Captains. I am sure they will represent the school with great integrity and pride.
SRC Representatives
Natalia Emeterio | Penny Burns | Deyaan | Joanne Li |
Om Patel | Varshini Aravinthan | Tisya Parikh | Johnathan Daaboul |
Rachel Edwards | Shamyudha Sudhagar | Adeena Fatima | Gursimran Kang |
Mia Ramos | Judah Edwards | Rayan Mir | Natalie Walsh |
Viven Maru | Avi Patel | Bob Trinh | Ved Yajnik |
Jhanvi Faldu | Kaveen Vijayaragavan | Prethyun Prasanth | Riva Bhavsar |
Xander Roble | Giruththik Sivathasan | Leela Voola |
Balsdon | Dennis |
Ari Herd | Katie Park |
Geeah Kadirvel | Matthew Muradian |
Moore | Nicholls |
Aaron Job | Natasha Walsh |
Ava Van Trier | Divit Vishnu |
NAPLAN
National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students has now been completed for 2024. I would like to acknowledge the great efforts of our Year 3-5 students and their teachers over these busy two weeks.
Easter Hat Parade – Wednesday 27th March
Our annual Easter Hat Parade for Kindergarten to Year 2 students will be held on Wednesday 27th March starting at 9:45am. Weather permitting, we will hold this event on the Ball Court Area near the Library. Parents and Caregivers are welcome to attend.
School Cross Country – Wednesday 10th April
On Wednesday 10th April, the last week of the term, starting at 9.30am and finishing by 12noon we will be holding our School Cross Country Carnival. This year we are extending the Carnival time in an attempt to provide more students the opportunity to complete the run.
All students in Years 3-6 are encouraged to enter, and Year 2 students who turn 8 in 2024 are welcome to participate. Sports Uniform should be worn on the day. Students may wear a t-shirt in their house colour. Parents and caregivers are most welcome to attend.
Information about this activity will be sent home in the coming weeks.
Summer PSSA
The Blacktown PSSA has returned to a modified Summer and Winter Friday Interschool sport program. The summer sport competition will run during Term 2.
Permission notes for students selected for the various summer sports teams will be sent home early next week.
Please note: We will be collecting cash on a weekly basis for the cost of the bus. No payment for this activity will be collected through School Bytes.
P&C Harmony Day Donuts
Thanks to the P&C for your fundraising efforts on Thursday, with the sale of many Harmony Day Donuts.
Harmony Day 2024 – Wednesday 22nd May - Term 2
This Year Harmony Day will again be held in Term 2, on Wednesday 22nd May. We have been forced to make this change of dates because NAPLAN was held in Term 1 and we could not hold major school events during the two week NAPLAN period.
Our school celebration and parade will be held next Term.
Notes have been sent home for students who wish to be part of the parade.
School Events - Term 1
- Year 6 Parent High School Enrolment Support session - Wednesday 27th March
- School Cross Country – Wednesday 10th April
- P&C Disco – Thursday 11th April
- Last Day of Term 1 – Friday 12th April
End of Term 1 and Term 2 Dates
Friday 12th April: Last day of Term 1 for students and teachers.
Saturday 13th April to Sunday 28th April: School Holidays
Monday 29th April: Staff Development Day- Staff only attend.
Tuesday 30th April: Students return to school.
Andrew Bowmer- Principal
Cultural Calendar for March & April
Dear Parents, I endeavour to include as many cultural events as possible, unfortunately I do accidently miss some. If I have missed an important cultural event for your culture or religion please inform me so I can correct it in the coming newsletter. Thanks for your help.
March 23rd – National Day – Pakistan
March 24th - Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
March 24th -Purim/Festival of Lots (Jewish) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official.
March 25th - 27th March - Hola Mohalla also called Hola- is a one-day Sikh festival which most often falls in March and takes place on the second day of the lunar month of Chett, a day after the Hindu spring festival Holi.
March 25th – Holi is a Hindu spring festival, originating from the Indian subcontinent, celebrated predominantly in India, also known as the "festival of colours" or the "festival of love.
March 25th - Independence Day – Greece
March 26th - Independence Day – Bangladesh
March 28th –Maundy Thursday is the Christian Holy Day falling on the Thursday before Easter. It commemorates the foot washing (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.
March 29th – Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.
March 31st - Easter Sunday (Christian) or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion.
April 4th - Independence Day – Senegal
April 4th - Qingming or Ching Ming festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day.
April 6th – Laylat al Qadr/ Night of Destiny (Muslim) is a day that observes the night when the Prophet Mohammad received the first versus of the Koran.
April 7th – Daylight saving time ends.
April 8th - Hana Matsuri (Buddhist- Japan) is a celebration of the Buddha's birthday, observed in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, where it is known as Kambutsue.
April 10th Eid Al Fitr (Muslim) also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.
April 13th – 15th April: Songkran New Year. In Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand the new year is celebrated by cleansing images of Buddha in homes and temples, young people sprinkling water on older people, tying strings around the wrists of others and expressing good wishes for the new year. In Thailand this festival is known as Songkran.
April 14th – Hindu New Year: The Hindu New Year is based on Panchang, the lunar calendar and therefore the date changes annually. 2021 is 2078 in the lunar calendar. Different communities celebrate on different dates around the beginning of spring. Celebrations vary across India but usually people go to the temple to pay their respect and seek blessings, and gifts and sweets will be exchanged between friends and family members. The Goddess Lakshmi and the elephant-headed God Ganesha are especially venerated on this day.
April 14th - Silk New Year –Vaisahki (1 Vaisakh 551). (Sikh) This date is significant as it marks the founding of the Khalsa Panth and commencement of the Sikh Baptism (referred to as taking ‘Amrit’). It so happens that this date also coincides with a culturally significant ancient harvest festival which marks the beginning of a new solar year and harvest season.
Important Australian Milestones
March 25th - 1949- Indigenous ex-service men were granted voting rights.
April 3rd - UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People endorsed by Australia 2009
Attendance Matters
Attending school every day allows your child to get the most out of their learning and improve their career and life options.
This includes attending school for a full day. Regular school attendance can help expand your child’s learning and create positive relationships with their peers.
If you require support in getting your child ready and motivated for school, please reach out to us. Being at school for full days is our goal. Being late is counted as an absence. Leaving school early is counted as an absence. Let's all work together to make sure children attend school every day the school is operational from 9.15am to 3.15pm. We need your help as the parent to make this happen.
Don't forget, if your child is absent it is a requirement that there is an explanation - even if they are late or leaving early. Contact the school via sZapp or send in a written note upon their return. Keeping your child's attendance explained helps to build a positive communication flow between school and home.
Remember #Attendance Matters.
Kathy Price – Deputy Principal
Grade Article Year One
Year 1 have made a fantastic start to the school year, settling into their new classrooms and making many new friends.
Students have been working very hard in class and are learning so many new things. They have been participating in lessons that include writing, literacy centres, mathematics, sport, science, health, history and drama.
The Year 1 teachers have been so proud of the Year 1 students this term and look forward to the wonderful learning that will continue to take place as the year progresses.
PBL Article
Have A Go, Blacktown South!
Welcome readers to Week 8 of what is proving to be a very busy term.
For the past two weeks students at Blacktown South Public School have been learning about the importance of asking questions and having a go to become the best learners possible.
Asking questions is an important learning strategy because it:
- Supports better understanding of the topic being studied.
- Supports understanding of instructions necessary to realise success.
- Supports collaborative skills to learn with peers, as well as teachers.
Essential for learners to ask questions, which teachers at Blacktown South Public School focus on, is that students are encouraged to be curious, be reflective of what they need to find out and have a growth mindset. In other words, have a go!
There are many opportunities to ask questions every day, from simply putting your hand up during lessons or to privately talking to your teacher about your specific learning needs.
The best question to ask is ‘Could you please help me better understand this?’ as this is a curious mind, a reflective, growth mindset and a never give up attitude in action.
It is this mindset and attitude that is essential for learners to overcome challenges and to enjoy their success and growth.
At the end of the day, asking questions and having a go will always result in:
- Increased motivation to learn.
- Stronger problem-solving skills.
- Celebrating personal achievement.
- Greater curiosity and increased participation in learning.
- Capitalising on opportunities for quality learning through failing.
- Developing a positive mindset and healthy thinking habits.
And that’s what life-long learning and reaching your full potential is all about. 🙂
Be a Safe, Respectful Learner
Have a wonderful fortnight,
The PBL Team &
PBL reporters from 3/4L
P&C Committee / Fund Raiser
Parents & Citizens Committee NEWS:
Our P&C is run by a handful of parent volunteers, our goal is to connect with our school community and raise funds to help our school do things for our children.
Our current fundraising project is to raise funds to put weather shelters around the school. And we are happy to advise we will be contributing $50,000 towards Stage 2 Walkways. Thankyou to the whole BSPS community as this money has been raised from fundraisers we have held.
Some P & C events coming up include the following
- Easter cookies & plasters: Tue 26 March
- Easter hats: Tue 26 March
- Easter raffle: Wed 27 March
- Welcome GLOW Disco: Thu 11 April
- Mothers' Day Stall; Tue 7 May
- Mothers' Day Stall: backup: Wed 8 May
- Loose Change drive: June
- Crazy sock day: Term 2
The Easter raffle has some great prizes, including Easter show tickets, raging water passes, Sweet Indulgence vouchers, Gotcha Tea vouchers, Timezone/bowling vouchers, Flipout vouchers, Hoyts vouchers, Event vouchers, plush toys, Easter bags, candles, chocolates, crafted soaps, dinner vouchers etc.
We will also have our Mothers' Day stall in May. We have worked hard to source gifts that will allow us to keep the gifts at $5 each and there will be a large variety of gifts to choose from for all Mum’s, Grandmother’s, Auntie’s and all other Mother figures. Vouchers will be available for purchase from our P & C website also.
We would like to thank the following businesses for their donations:
- Woolworths; Blacktown, Prospect and Seven Hills
- Royal Easter Show
- Raging Waters
- Flipout Blacktown
- Time Zone Blacktown
- Gotcha Tea
- Sweet Indulgence
- Hoyts Cinemas
- Event Cinemas
- Circus Illusion
Thank you to those who have been purchasing the entertainment book from our website, our P&C gets $14 for every membership.
Business donations are very much welcome. Please share this link with any businesses that may help.
Easter Hat Parade!
We have been busy crafting some wonderful hats for our Easter Hat Parade for parents to purchase.
We are also running an Easter Raffle for all our families to participate in. So dont forget to purchase your raffle tickets.
Welcome Disco
April 11th – Get ready to dance! Look out for the notes closer to the date.
Crazy Socks Pre-order
From February 12th – Secure the funkiest crazy socks early for maximum craziness for our SRC crazy sock day in term 2.
Please like our P&C/Uniform shop Facebook page for updates.
If you too would like to join our volunteer team please contact us at
pc.bsps@outlook.com.au or Renee 0415859158
Kind Regards
Your P&C
Digital Entertainment book
This fundraiser is available to be purchased all year.
Membership starts from the day of purchase and every family member can use it as long as they have the app with the same login details.
It's an app full of savings on entertainment, dining, travel, activities and much more.
If you purchase through our link the P&C get a percentage.
Purchase through the link below:
Kind Regards
Your P&C
Uniform Store
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Uniform Shop operating hours:
TUESDAYS and FRIDAYS from 09:15am-10:00am
Or you may purchase from the P&C website at any time and the uniforms will be delivered to the student’s class.
Greetings to our wonderful school community!
We're thrilled to introduce our new P&C committee for 2024
- Renee Tsingolis: President
- Mandi Ashraf and Breamini Maniraj: Vice President
- Karishma Agarwal: Treasurer
- Hayley Hutchison: Secretary
- Position Vacant: Assistant Treasurer
- Danielle Flissinger: Assistant Secretary
- Melissa Wilson: Fundraiser Coordinator
Their dedication will surely enhance our P&C Community. Speaking of which, mark your calendars for the upcoming events:
Please like our P&C/Uniform shop facebook page for updates.
Welcome New Volunteers: Alongside myself and Mandi, a warm welcome to Jacqui, Hayley, and Melissa – our fantastic new uniform shop volunteers! Your presence will certainly enhance our school experience. If you to would like to join our volunteer team please contact us at
pc.bsps@outlook.com.au or Renee 0415859158
Stock Update: 2024 is off to a great start! All items are currently in stock, but please note, we are running low on our winter fleece and tunic line. Expect replenishments just in time for winter around May.
Second-Hand Uniform Rack: Back in action from Friday, February 9th, with items priced at $2 & $5. Have old uniforms to spare? We gladly accept donations – drop them off at the uniform shop door or the office.
Bagless Uniform Shop: We're eco-friendly! If you have unwanted bags, we'd love to have them.
Payment Options: Exciting news – Afterpay is now available in-store! Note: PayPal doesn't work online yet, but we're working on it.
FREE Hijabs and Swimming Caps: Limited stock of sky blue Hijabs available – one per student.
School swimming caps are also available for purchase at the uniform shop. $10
Art Smocks: Get your royal blue school colour art smocks at the uniform shop for only $15
Waterproof rain jackets in royal blue school colour is also available for purchase at the uniform shop $25
Uniform Shop Hours: Tuesdays and Fridays from 09:15 to 10:15. Please remember, all gates, apart from the main gate, close by 09:50 am.
Extended Sizes: We've got you covered! The uniform shop stocks the majority of our range up to 4XL. If you need larger sizes, come and see us.
Thank you to everyone who attended the P & C meeting on Friday, it was especially good to see some new faces. We also welcomed our new Assistant Secretary, Danielle Flissinger, who was voted in at the meeting. We still have an Assistant Treasurer role vacant, please reach out to one of the Executive members if you are interested.
Please like our P&C/Uniform shop facebook page for updates.
If you to would like to join our volunteer team please contact us at
pc.bsps@outlook.com.au or Renee 0415859158
Thank you
Renee Tsingolis
P&C President
Notes
Please click below for any notes that have gone home in the past that you might have missed:
Community News
At Blacktown South Public School, we support our local community. Click on the links for further information.
School Contacts
Blacktown South Public School
183 Flushcombe Road
Blacktown NSW 2148
Ph: 9622 6034, 9622 2449
Fax: 9831 2379
Email: blacktowns-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Principal: Mr Andrew Bowmer
Deputy Principals: Mrs Kathy Price, Mrs Renee Radecki (Monday to Wednesday) and Mrs Sathiya Segaram (Thursday to Friday)
Assistant Principals - APCI: Miss Raelene Rillera, Ms Amanda Sheaves and Mrs Sathiya Segaram.
Assistant Principals: Kindergarten Mrs Sarah Hayes
Year 1 Ms Matilda Lee
Year 2 Mrs Fiona Pearce
Year 3 Mr Patrick Lee Eyles
Year 4 Mrs Charlesworth
Year 5 Mrs Jami Edwards
Year 6 Miss Alyce Rogers
Enrichment/OC Mr Matthew van Trier
Specialist Teachers Mrs Panayiota Zouriakas
Senior Administration Manager: Mrs Claire Dobbie
School Administration Officers: Mrs Robyn Taylor, Ms Doris Mifsud, Miss Daphne Manivong, and Mrs Melissa Gregoriou.
School Counsellor: Ms Lisa Harvey, Ms Ronda Maxwell and Ms Olivia Parrott
P&C Association
President: Renee Tsingolis
Vice President: Mandi Ashraf and Breamini Maniraj
Treasurer: Karishma Agarwal
Secretary: Hayley Hutchison
Assistant Secretary: Danielle Flissinger
Assistant Treasurer: Position Vacant
Canteen Team
Clothing Uniform: Mrs Tsingolis, Mrs Maniraj, Mrs Ashraf