Lifelong learners- How good can we be? Strive today, succeed tomorrow

At Ryde Public School we believe that every student should be challenged to learn and continually improve in a respectful, inclusive and engaging environment of high expectations. 

Our vision is to be partners in learning and collaboratively empower all students to become confident, resilient, self-directed and successful learners. 

Wellbeing is the bedrock for all activities across all strategic improvement strategies, reflecting our core beliefs that success and acceptance breeds a culture where all stakeholders feel valued and cared for and prepared to take on challenge. 

Lifelong learning, excellence, and happiness are the states of mind promoted in classrooms with the ever present question of 'How good can we be?' being asked across our community daily.

School Holidays 8 July - 19 July 

School Development Day - Monday 22 July - No Students

Students return Tuesday 23 July

Term 2 has been a very busy yet productive term. Our students have enjoyed the struggles of learning together and I am so proud of the way they have performed as learners at Ryde PS. During these school holidays, I hope all students will have the time to relax and unwind with family and friends. I know as a parent myself that sometimes we want to plan for a fun filled school holiday to keep the children entertained. But if you asked them what they really want... you will find that the answer is very simple and their answers often lead to wanting more time with you. I would like to thank you for bringing up such delightful children and want you to know that the staff here at Ryde enjoy teaching each and every child that walks through the gate each and everyday! Thank you for your partnership and ongoing support. You help make this work enjoyable when you help to promote a positive school culture.  I hope everyone stays safe and enjoy your beautiful children!

Staffing Update

We wish Mrs Duffy and her family well as she heads into the school holidays on maternity leave. She has done an amazing job at leading  the team of Early Stage 1 staff and students! I am sure you will join me in wishing her well and we look forward to receiving an update from her soon! We look forward to welcoming her back in the near future!

External Validation

Ryde Public School was Externally Validated on 27 June 2024  and the outcomes indicates we have much to be proud about!

The External Validation (EV) process is an important component of a system-wide approach to school excellence. Schools regularly self-assess their improvement efforts using evidence to support their reflections and an external validation panel considers the school's evidence, providing assurance to the school and the system that the process being made either through the school plan or as part of their ongoing school focus areas, aligns with the standards articulated in the School Excellence Framework (SEF).

There are three stages at which the school can assess ourselves against. They are :  Delivering, Sustaining and Growing, Excelling

Staff at the school have been instrumental in producing and submitting the School Excellence Framework (SEF) self-assessment and a set of evidence to the EV Panel. There was a tremendous amount of collaboration and team work to compose the Ryde story for the panel to see and hear. The panel verified that they could see strong evidence of staff maintaining a culture of high expectations and a strong focus on students being at the centre of all that we do. 

The EV panel were presented with 46 pages of evidence to consider whether the school was on-balance with our SEF self-assessment. In this document, we presented evidence for each of the elements below 

Learning Culture

Wellbeing

Curriculum

Assessment

Reporting

Data Skills and use

Learning and Development

Educational Leadership

Our self-assessment and evidence of each of the above elements indicated that we are 'Sustaining and Growing'. The EV Panel supported our assessment and agreed that we are operating at the 'Sustaining and Growing' stage in 6 Elements. However, they believe an upgrade should be awarded for the elements of Wellbeing and Learning and Development . They strongly believed the evidence presented indicates the school is operating at the 'Excelling' stage. This is a tremendous acknowledgement of the work and commitment of Ryde Staff! It's also an acknowledgement of Ryde being a student-cantered school that is excelling in the areas of learning and development. 

Ryde PS Communication Guidelines

Last year the school was fortunate to have the Department of Education's Community Engagement team and Woolcott (an external research company) working with us to understand how the what community engagement looks like at Ryde PS. 

The study acknowledged the many things that we are doing well and also made a some recommendations for further improvement. The school has actioned many of these recommendations and we hope you have seen many improvements. 

One of the recommendation that was highly ranked by the community was the development of a Ryde PS Communication Guidelines. A few weeks ago we released a draft of this guideline to the whole community. We consulted with both staff and parents through surveys and focus groups. 

Thank you to all parents and staff who have given the school feedback on the draft Communications Guidelines. We value your feedback and as a result we will be making further amendments to the guidelines to accommodate your recommendations. 

We hope to be able to share the final Ryde PS Communications Guidelines with you early next term.  

Ryde Public School Education Day celebrations will be held on Thursday 8th August. Please read the program here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16r0YR5hDC1h-1rR1Gq8PsNGXVjAcRUO_/view?usp=sharing

As part of the celebration there will be dance performances for all students K-6.All students are requested to wear their black dance outfits to school on Thursday 8/8 (not school uniforms)

• long sleeved black shirt/jumper

• long black pants or leggings

• black school shoes/joggers

What to wear: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RXSg-nvUS23BMBWnDuFOKz24GkicrhQW4xOBdnaULWg/edit?usp=sharing. Additional costuming elements for the day will be provided by the school. 

Performances on C block Asphalt commence at 9:20am. Classrooms will open from 10:30-11:10am. Please do not enter rooms until the teacher and students are present.

At lunch time, from 11:10-11:50, you are welcome to join us for a BYO picnic lunch on the grassed slopes. 

After lunch, at 12:00pm you are invited to the school hall to enjoy some Performing Arts performances.

In the event of wet weather, the event will be cancelled. All communication will be through Sentral Parent Portal.

We look forward to celebrating Education Day 2024 with you.

As a parent or carer, you are an important part of our school community. We know that you play a crucial role in helping your child become a motivated learner. Communication between our school and our community is critical for us to partner together.

To give our teachers the opportunity to recharge, spend time with their families and bring their best creative selves to work, we are setting clear expectations for when and how they respond to communication outside school operating hours. This means teachers may not reply to non-emergency messages or emails outside of school operating hours.

Please use the school’s email address for non-emergencies in the first instance. Our staff will respond to your queries within 2 school days under normal circumstances.

For longer discussions or complex matters, we ask parents and carers to make an appointment to speak to teachers directly, at a time that works best for everyone.

For emergencies, please contact 9809 3181. Emergencies include serious student health, safety and wellbeing issues.

Our staff will always stay in touch because open communication is what’s best for your child and their education. We don't want you to stop communicating with your teachers – we still want to hear from you if you have any questions or need to discuss a matter about your child. We know it’s often easier to send emails or messages after work. We will make sure we read and respond in school operating hours.

Our dedicated teachers want to help our students achieve their best – we’re on the same team.

Thank you for treating our staff with kindness and respect.

Kind Regards, 

Thanh Ta

Principal

For 175 years, NSW public schools have been at the heart of education, preparing today’s children to succeed and build better communities for tomorrow.

We do this every day at Ryde Public School by ensuring that students are at the heart of everything we do.

So for the best education money can't buy, choose your local public school.

 Find out more: https://education.nsw.gov.au/schools-near-me 

Did you know you can still enrol your child in Ryde Public School for 2024 classes?

If you have a friend or a neighbour who is unsure about enrolment eligibility, please share this link or tell them to call us. We are here to help! 

https://ehub.enrol.education.nsw.gov.au/schoolenrolment/?schoolCode=3021

Click ENROL NOW to start! Its never too late!

.......and this is what parents are saying about Ryde Public School: 

"Teachers are so supportive in regards to my child’s learning and development"

"My kid's teacher always has a happy face and positive energy, I really appreciate her efforts. "

"The teaching staff are always able to share personalised and easy to understand feedback on my child's academic and social progress at school. I’m always impressed with the quality of teachers at RPS"

"________ is lovely. Engaged, responsive and genuinely invested in the children in her class"

"_____________ were so friendly and kind that made me feel safe and welcome. They shared their insights and perspectives on my child's learning and I could tell how much they care and how well they are equipped with professional knowledge. I really appreciate their hard work and love for our children"

The SRC and P partnered to run the Mother’s and special person day. The students in the SRC supported their peers with this opportunity and learned about the intricacies involved in organising and selling merchandise. The profits of the stall go towards the Year 6 farewell. 

Students in the Diverse Learning Space have had a busy term shopping, cooking and actively participating in a range of activities to support their growth and development. Students are consistently being provided with opportunities to showcase their learning and abilities in different learning areas. In particular, students have enjoyed taking part in our new Music program, Amplify.  Amplify provides students with music lessons that allows them to engage with modern music in the classroom. The K-2 students have also enjoyed participating in an Athletics program run by Sportspro to learn new skills and have fun. Overall the students have had a wonderful term and have especially enjoyed collaborative play and using lego to engage in positive social interactions. 

This week ES1 participated alongside the whole school in National Simultaneous Story time. The story that we read was Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker. The story was about a Bowerbird who is longing for connection and as the bowerbird went on a search for that connection, it sent him soaring across the sea. A fun fact that ES1 found out about Bowerbirds, is that they love to collect blue things. Kindergarten also followed Aura Parker’s step by step drawing video on how to draw a Bowerbird just like the ones she illustrated in her story. 

Kindergarten students then completed fun activities with their class buddies. KG and KDY met their buddies on the oval and created videos of them pretending to swoop at a blue thing like a Bowerbird does. Their buddies then helped them write a sentence about what they were doing. KL and KJ met with their buddies in their classroom and they participated in a Bowerbird Blue artwork. The buddies helped them draw Bowerbirds and also helped them cut and glue blue items onto their artwork. ES1 had a great time participating in the National Simultaneous Story Time!

This term, Stage 1 visited Sydney Zoo for an educational excursion. Students explored diverse habitats, including rainforests and deserts, and observed various animal species. Through interactive exhibits and hands-on activities, they learned about biodiversity, ecosystems, and the importance of conservation for endangered species. Stage 1 students gained valuable knowledge about animal and environmental protection by listening to the zoo rangers. Not only did they learn about external features of animals, they also got the opportunity to touch Spaghetti the snake!  

Students in Year 3 have gained a deeper understanding of the textual concepts of imagery, symbol, connotation, and characterisation. They explored how authors used imagery and symbols in the literature and identified how figurative language influenced its meaning. Salience was utilised to create a multimodal text. Finally, students have learnt to make connections to characters in a text through their journal writing. 

Year 4 students investigated narrative and produced writing that included figurative language and free verse poetry. They developed skills to use language purposefully by applying their understanding of the textual concepts to produce writing that evokes feelings or creates images while engaging the reader. 

This term, students have been participating in the Footsteps Dance Program. Students have developed their confidence through regular dances, learning to express emotions and tell stories through movement while building focus, and resilience. Collaboration and teamwork is emphasised, teaching interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively in group settings. The program instils skills such as perseverance, time management, and goal setting, empowering children to thrive both in dance and in their personal growth and development. 

There are many ways that you can give us feedback, such as: 

• Emailing the school (ryde-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au). Your email will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member through the office.

• Access our feedback link via the school website or 

• the Community inFocus. It looks like this: