Important Dates From the Principal’s Desk...From the Principal’s Desk I am so thrilled and honoured to be a part of the Toongabbie East PS community. Thank you to the students,

From the Principal’s Desk I am so thrilled and honoured to be a part of the Toongabbie East PS community. Thank you to the students, parents/carers and staff for their warm welcome. I have been blown away by the kind and sweet students who have happily introduced themselves and told me about the things they did in the holidays or the things they’d like to see in the school. Their wish lists ranged from a book to a swimming pool and they have all put an enormous smile on my face. I enjoyed reading the cards that 3-6 R made for me (some pictured below) and appreciate the time they took to welcome me. The teachers at TEPS have also made a positive impression as their dedication, care, love of teaching and desire to make a difference in the lives of your children is clear to see. Your children are in good hands here. I would like to warmly welcome the students and families to our Support Unit (SU). Students have begun to form relationships with the educators and are beginning to get use to school routines. Welcome also to any new families to the school. I’m certain our school community will make you all feel as welcome as they have me. If I haven’t yet met you and you would like to come and have a chat, there will be a ‘Meet the Teachers’ afternoon on Tuesday the 25th February, from 3-4pm in the library. Please come along and have some cake and a cup of tea and say “hi” to the school staff. I am extremely passionate about community and building strong relationships with parents/carers as to enhance students’ enjoyment at school and improve their learning outcomes. “Together we make a difference”. I am looking forward to working alongside you all.

Mrs Kristy Haggett Principal Current TEPS staff for 2020 Principal-Kristy Haggett Deputy Principal and Instructional Leader-Adele Koulouris Assistant Principal Support Unit-Nerida Duncum School Administration Manager-Coralie Hulley School Administration Officer-Diplai Jani Senior Psychologist/DGO-Sarah Cooper School Counsellor-Jason Cull 3-6R class teacher-Shannon Reinhard 1-3F class teacher-Cameron Fisher K-1B class teacher-Joel Brock SU class teacher- Jaime Gibson Learning and support teacher-Helena Suess Relief from face to face teacher-Savanna Murphy Speech Pathologist-Michelle Buckman SLSO staff-Morena Nation, Tanya Devoy, Kathy Constantine, Roxanne MacDonald, Elyce Wallis WSU Art Therapy student-Renae Curran 2020 A new year has begun at TEPS and we are already off to a great start!

Term 4 Week 4 Harris Road, Constitution Hill 2145 4th November 2016 Phone: 9631 3996 Fax: 9896 3191 Email: [email protected]

Term 1 Week 2 Harris Road, Constitution Hill 2145 7th February, 2020 Phone: 9631 3996 Fax: 9896 3191 Email: [email protected] Principal: Mrs Kristy Haggett School website: www.toongabest-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

Important Dates

Term 1 11th February – Active after School - Yrs 3-6 25th February – Meet the Teacher afternoon • Playgroup Every Monday • Story Factory Every Thursday • RunWest Every Wednesday

Meet the Teacher Night When: Tuesday, 25th February Where: TEPS school library

Details: All families are invited to an afternoon tea to meet your child's classroom teacher, new school staff and principal. We hope to see families along to enjoy some delicious cakes, tea and coffee.

Woolworths Earn and Learn Our order of maths resources and some outdoor games have finally arrived. The students and teachers have already begun using this much needed equipment.

Story Factory It is with great excitement we welcome back the wonderful team of volunteers from Story Factory. They will be coming every Thursday morning again this year to work with our students in Years 3, 4 ,5 and 6 to further improve upon their writing skills. Run West Our students in years 3-6 are participating in a unique opportunity to improve their endurance running this term. RunWest has partnered with Athletics Australia to deliver a FREE 8 week physical activity program exclusively for schools in Western Sydney. These sessions will be conducted for 50 minutes every

Monday over the next 8 weeks. The students started their training on Monday learning how to control their breathing when running long distances and using their arms for balance and coordination. Students are encouraged to where appropriate sports shoes and uniform every Monday so that they may fully engage with this wonderful fitness program. Art Therapy We are excited to announce another wonderful program we have put into place for 2020 to further support our students and we warmly welcome Renae Curran. Renae will be working with students in the specialised area of art therapy. Art therapy uses art materials and the creative process to explore emotions, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem. Kindergarten Our new Kindergarten students both in our main stream class and the support unit have transitioned into “big school “very well. The new students have already begun forming friendships and have adjusted very well to school routines. Our students in years 1-6 have been very welcoming and helpful to both students and families. Breakfast Hub Help We are asking for parental help to run our breakfast hub in the mornings. Our breakfast hub runs every morning from 8.30-8.55am. The students are offered toast and spread, fresh fruit and milk. Parents/Caregivers that are able to assist would be required to set up, make toast and clean up. Parental

help would allow us to run this service much more efficiently. You do not have to be available every morning as we could have a roster system in place and of course grandparents are more than welcome to assist us if available at this time. If you are able to commit some time to the breakfast club each week please speak to Ms Koulouris or Miss Murphy as we would like to get a helpers roster up and running ASAP. 3-6 R "The start of 2020 has been an exciting one for our 3-6 R students who spent their first week completing STEM projects in small collaborative groups. STEM projects encourage students to think creatively and critically and incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Through these rich learning tasks the students were able to engage with new classmates in a fun and structured learning environment. Below are some photos of the students first day of school where the STEM task involved designing and making ping pong tracks. I was very impressed with the variety of creative ideas the students thought of for their constructions." Miss Reinhard Book Club If you are ordering book club please be aware that we are changing the way you order you books and going cashless. The online ordering method is on the back of this newsletter so please refer to it if you are wishing to purchase anything through the school book club.

Mobile Phones The Department of Education has released a new policy in regards to digital device usage in primary schools. In line with the department’s new policy and our own school policy, students with a mobile phone or personal digital device including smartwatches must hand them into the office at the start of the school day and collect them at the end of the school day. Parents wishing to contact their child during school hours must do so appropriately via our school office on 96313996. The new policy can be found online at the Department of Education website. TEPS Fortnightly Assembly Our fortnightly assemblies will begin on the 12/2/20. They will again be every second Wednesday afternoon beginning at 2.30pm. We hope to have the Carer’s Café up and running at 2pm this coming Wednesday too for any of our parents/caregivers that would like to drop in prior to assembly. Our support unit students will not be joining us for assembly at this point in time as these students require a little longer to settle in to school routines. Staff Car Park The Department of Education recommend schools DO NOT allow parents and carers to drive onto the school site to pick up or drop off students. Schools are directed to reinforce this by:

• placing signs at the school gates • reminders in the school newsletter, website

and enrolment information • close school gates to prevent entry. Only open

for authorised entry, such as staff or contractors

As a result we will be closing the gates to our staff carpark as our students are being put at risk due to many parents and caregivers using the staff carpark without correct authorisation. There is ample street parking around our school that parents and caregivers can use and there are 3 entry gates from the street that students can use to enter the school grounds safely. Your cooperation in abiding by these rules to keep our students and other community members safe is greatly appreciated by all school staff.

Our PBL School Values

Be Safe

Be Respectful

Be A Learner

How to order books with Book Club: Step 1 Go to – www.Scholastic.com.au/LOOP

Step 2 Register yourself as a parent, put your child’s/children’s details with school name as per requirement.

Step 3: SUBMIT the registration. Once you register you can search for the book by entering book club issue and book item number.