Tamworth West Public School

Staffing Updates For Term 2

At the end of term 1, a panel was formed to fill the vacant special education classroom teacher position at Tamworth West Public School. Unfortunately, the panel was unable to fill the position at this time.

As Mrs Rankmore is required to return to the Itinerant Hearing team, I have engaged Miss Hannah Roworth to assume responsibility for 3-6R. Miss Roworth has been teaching at Tamworth West Public School across term 1 in a casual capacity and has already had the opportunity to work with most students across the school.

We are very lucky to have been able to gain the services of Miss Roworth and I know the students will love having her as their teacher. She is extremely excited to be working with 3-6R and will bring her passion and enthusiasm for teaching to her new role. Mrs Rankmore is currently working alongside Miss Roworth to support the transition from one teacher to the next.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Rankmore for providing our students with an amazing start to 2024. I know our students will miss seeing her face in the room every day, but we are very fortunate that she will still be based at Tamworth West Public School, and I know she will be keeping in touch with the class on a regular basis.

As always, we are very mindful of reducing change for students, but there are times when this cannot be avoided. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Caron Morris, Christine Hudson and Maree Ellison who worked with our hearing team across term 1, while we ‘borrowed’ Mrs Rankmore. 

Also, when talking about staffing, the vacant Assistant Principal Special Education position was advertised over the holidays and the panel is hoping to fill the position early this term.

Term 2 School Development Day

On Monday of this week, our staff participated in our term 2 school development day, which focused on curriculum implementation for teaching staff and curriculum implementation and mandatory training for SAS staff. 

The Department of Education provided a professional learning suite to support classroom teachers, middle leaders and school leaders across all comprehensive and specialist settings to implement the new curriculum with consistency and equity for all NSW public school students. 

The day started with an introductory session that backed in the Department’s commitment to explicit teaching. Teaching staff then participated in three professional learning modules. Each session ran for 90 minutes and included participant activities and time to deepen professional understanding. 

Our support staff began the day with the introductory session, before participating in one of the learning modules and then completing some compliance training – including CPR and anaphylaxis training.

The day was full and very worthwhile.

Term 2 Budget Adjustments

At the end of term 1, schools were advised that it is necessary to adjust our budgets for 2024 to respond to reduced enrolments and the teacher shortage across the state. 

Our finance team has worked to meet the reduction in funding for our school and at this stage, there will be no changes to staffing or classes because of the budget measures. 

The Department is working to address the number of classes impacted by the current teacher shortage. I am very happy to report that this has had minimal impact on classes at Tamworth West Public School this year, and in fact, we have had access to more casual teachers then we have had in several years.

Changes to our Release From Face To Face/Learning and Support/Curriculum Reform Timetable for Term 2

This term will see some changes to our Release from Face to Face/Learning and Support/Curriculum Reform timetable. 

Across term 2, Learning and Support will be targeted at Stage 1 and Year 3. To set this up, our Learning and Support teachers will be offline for the first couple of weeks while we collect the data we require and plan for co-teaching. Learning and Support will occur on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and will focus on English and Math. We are looking forward to improved outcomes because of this intervention.

Our Assistant Principals Curriculum and Instruction (APCI) will also be targeting Stage 1 and Year 3 and will be working to meet the framework for APCIs for 2024. 

All executive teachers are provided time to support their teams with curriculum reform. Their curriculum reform release is now on Wednesdays. Our executive teachers will be in classrooms from 9:25 am – 12:50 pm, supporting teachers with curriculum reform. This might involve team-teaching, modelling or releasing teachers to observe other staff. On Wednesday afternoons the executive will be meeting to address whole school curriculum reform. This will involve professional learning, analysis of whole school data and monitoring for school improvement.

Our classroom teachers will participate in one hour curriculum reform sessions every second Thursday morning. These sessions will be led by the executive and will focus on explicit teaching. 

Most Release from Face to Face (RFF) sessions see students rotate through a combination of activities including library, Gamilaraay language and Creative Arts. Classroom teachers will update families with specifics in relation to RFF, however, a general overview of when each class will be participating in RFF is as follows:

Mondays

• KC

• KR

• K/1D

• 1M

Tuesdays

• 3L

• 3W

• 4B

• 4W

• 3-6L

Thursdays

• 2A

• 2H

• 6E

• 6M

Fridays

• 5B

• 5R

• 3-6R

• K-3N

Working With Children Check

Volunteers or parents who have direct contact with children through providing assistance in the school ie: classrooms. library, excursions, canteen etc. will need to complete their Working with Children Check via the link below. A Working with Children Check is a prerequisite for anyone in child related work. It involves a national criminal history check. Click on the following link to find out more information and apply online: 

http://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/working-with-children/working-with-children-check

At Tamworth West Public School all parents and volunteers need to have a current Working with Children Check (lasts 5 years) that will be kept on file in the office.

Opportunity Class (OC) Applications

OC Year 5 entry in 2025: Applications are open from 4 April - 20 May 2024

What are opportunity classes?

Opportunity classes are one of the ways the NSW Department of Education supports high potential and gifted students. The classes help students learn by:

• grouping them with other gifted students

• using specialised teaching methods so students can learn concepts in more detail and more quickly

• supporting their wellbeing needs.

Most students in opportunity classes enjoy learning with peers who have similar abilities and interests. Opportunity classes are not zoned.

Where are they located?

There are 86 primary schools with Year 5 opportunity classes in NSW each year.

• 54 schools are located in metropolitan Sydney

• 31 schools are located in rural or regional centres

• a virtual class, Aurora College, for rural and remote students is available in over 600 authorised host schools.

Students successfully placed attend the opportunity class full time in Years 5 and 6 at the relevant public school. In most cases, students who have accepted a place in an opportunity class will leave their current school to attend the school with the opportunity class.

Should you apply?

If your child learns with greater ease and speed than their classmates, they may benefit from placement in an opportunity class. High potential and gifted children need to be challenged so they remain engaged with their education. Discuss the opportunity with your child and look through the information together on the Department of Education website.

Equity provisions

The Equity Placement Model helps to make access to opportunity classes fairer for the following under-represented groups:

• students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds

• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students

• students from rural and remote locations

• students with disability.

The Equity Placement Model holds up to 20% of places at each school for students from these groups to support an increase in their participation. Students from these groups may be considered for equity placement if their test performance is within 10% of general applicants for each school.

Learn more about how to apply, the placement process and the placement test for Opportunity classes at  https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/media/OC_2024_-_Information_for_applicants-procedures_and_guidelines.pdf

A fact sheet for parents and carers about opportunity classes and selective high schools is available in 25 languages at https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/translated-documents/opportunity-class-and-selective-high-school-fact-sheet

Do You Have A Child With Additional Needs Starting School In 2025?

At Tamworth West Public School, we do a wonderful job of catering for our students with additional needs. To help us ensure that we have the right supports in place to make the transition to school as successful as possible, when applying for enrolment, please provide the following:

• Full name of child

• Date of birth

• Residential address

• Diagnosis/medical conditions (provide diagnostic report)

• Details of Pre-School/day care attendance and any reports (if available)

• Specialists Reports (including speech, paediatric or anything else that would support the application)

Thank you for your ongoing support of our wonderful school.

Terrie Kay

Principal

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Monday, 13 May at 5:30 pm in the staffroom. New members are always welcome.

Renae Mumford

P&C Vice President

Welcome to Term 2

As the weather is cooling down the menu will now change to our canteen made Winter Warmers menu. This will start as of Monday 6 May and will run for all of Term 2 and 3.

Tamworth West Public School is a Positive Bevahiour for Learning (PBL) school. PBL is a whole school program that encourages positive behaviour and allows students to become responsible for their own actions. Students and teachers work together to create a positive learning environment within our school using consistent procedures, language and expectations.

We have three expectations that underpin teaching and learning at Tamworth West Public School.

These are:

RESPECT

RESILIENCE

RESPONSIBILITY

We encourage students to uphold these expectations to a high standard. Our PBL motto is:

EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERY TIME

Positive Rewards

We have a school wide behaviour system that recognises and encourages positive behaviour. Students receive raffle tickets for displaying the correct behaviour. 

Weekly Lessons

Students participate in weekly school wide lessons that focus on a specific behaviour which is determined by data. There is a fortnightly focus area taught after each PBL assembly, for example, sportsmanship in games.

RESPECT

• We keep our areas tidy

• We use our manners

• We speak nicely to others

• We keep our hands and feet to ourselves

RESILIENCE

• We accept our consequences

• We use also inclusive

• We seek help when needed

• We solve problems peacefully

RESPONSIBILITY

• We look after our things

• We wear our school uniform

• We are honest

• We stay in the right areas

Welcome Back!

We are delighted and filled with excitement to welcome back out little learners for term 2. The break has been refreshing, and now it’s time to jump back into a wonder filled, busy world of kindergarten. 

ANZAC March

Thank you to our students who marched at the ANZAC Day march last Thursday, you represented our school with pride.

Cross Country

Cross Country was so much fun. Our little guys did an amazing job in their races. They never gave up, and it was delightful to see their smiling faces running around and joining in our games. 

In the Classroom

Term 2 brings new opportunities for learning and exploration. In Mathematics, we will begin the term learning about equivalence with mass and we exploring our number sense. We will also be collecting and analysing data. 

Coming Up This Term

Coming up this term is our P&C Mothers Day stall and our Life Education Van.

Welcome Back to another school term. With the inclusion of semester reports and parent/teacher interviews, this term will quickly disappear before our eyes! 

Digital Technology In The Classrooms

We are fortunate to be able to share photos of how we utilise technology in our classrooms. Thanks to families that quickly signed off permission for students to use various digital technology platforms including Polypad and Essential Assessment.  

Classes 1M, 2A and 2H have been actively learning how to access their individual accounts on laptops. Most students no longer require paper copies to recall usernames and passwords.

Students have become increasingly more competent using technology to enhance their learning. They are becoming quicker answering questions as they become familiar with the location of letters and numbers on keyboards. Students are learning to navigate each platform, expanding their vocabulary and understanding of the limitations and advantages of using digital technology in the classroom. Finally, they are becoming responsible users and displaying the maturity required to use programs safely.

Maths In Action

Students have been learning through games in mathematics lessons. It is exciting to see students actively working and learning through a variety of games. 1M played a variety of counting-on games. The games allowed students to practice the skills of counting-on, identifying the highest number, use double and near-double strategies to add quickly and with confidence. 

Games also enabled students to put into action skills taught in The Resilience Project such as resilience, empathy and mindfulness. Students learn to get along with their peers as they must be resilient and accept that they will not always win the game.  Empathy is explored as students become a ‘good winner’ and learn to be humble when winning. Mindfulness is being on task and not distracting others.

Reports and Parent/Teacher Interviews

Semester 2 reports will be sent home in Week 10 and parent teacher interview times will be advertised via School Bytew. Please keep an eye out for notifications.

Important Information

Keep an eye out for class newsletters being sent home or on School Bytes for changes to timetables and daily schedules. 

All the best, 

-Kirrily Milton, Sam Deaves, Kathleen Harris, Jordan Pollock and Alex Hammond

Stage 1 Teachers

Welcome back to Term 2

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday and enjoyed some special time with their families. Everyone looks refreshed and ready to learn and we are all looking forward to another term of fun and learning. 

ANZAC March

It was great to see some of our students at the ANZAC Day march last Thursday where they represented themselves and the school with pride! Some of our students marched with other organisations such as Scouts, and other students marched in different places around Tamworth including Kootingal. Regardless of where they marched and who they marched with, we are still proud of their amazing efforts! Well done Ryder, Lilly, Isabel, Zac, Harry, Brooklyn, Maddison, Savannah, Myles, Cooper, Flynn M, Alexis, Storm, Thomas and Flynn S-W.

If your child marched with an another organisation or in another area please let us know!

Cross Country

Cross Country was last term and the weather was beautiful. Our students did an AMAZING job with their resilience and persistence, and did not give up, even when they were running out of steam. Well done Stage 2!

Sport

In sport this term, we will be focusing on learning and improving our athletics carnival events. These include high jump, discus, shotput, ball games and running. We look forward to getting back into some of these fun events! Stage 2 sport day will change to THURSDAY in Term 2. Please ensure your child in Yr 3 or Yr 4 are in their sports uniform on that day only.

Dubbo Excursion

A reminder that the excursion deposits are due this Friday, 3 May. Thank you to those parents who have already paid. The number of students attending the Dubbo excursion will need to be given to our bus company on that day. Please ensure that the deposit has been paid by that date. 

We will be holding an excursion information session later in the term. Please keep an eye out for this information. 

This Term

Other things coming up this term including P&C Mother's Day Stall, numerous sporting Gala days and trials for winter sports, Life Education Van plus the NAIDOC week activities at the end of the term.

The stage 2 teachers look forward to continuing to work with you this term. Thank you to our parents and staff for everything you do to support our students at school. 

Felicity Bagshaw

Stage 2 Assistant Principal

Welcome to Term 2!

We hope you had a safe and happy school holiday and are refreshed and ready for a busy and fun Term 2!

ANZAC Day 

On the 25 April, Tamworth West students represented our school with immense pride at the ANZAC Day march and ceremony. Some of our students marched with other organisations such as the Scouts, while other students marched in different places around Tamworth, including Kootingal. Regardless of where they marched, and who they marched with, we are still proud of their amazing efforts! Well done and thank you to these Stage 3 students Carter, Emily, Ava, Max, Scott, Rhys, Eddie, Connor, Tilly, Chelsea, Harlow, Laylah, Matilda, Riley, Cam, Jace, Ashlee, and Eva.  

Please let us know if your child marched with another organisation or in another area. 

Cross Country Carnival 

At the end of Term 1, Stage 3 students had a blast at the school’s Cross Country Carnival. The weather was beautiful, and the students enjoyed running the course, participating in a series of different skilled games, and a sausage sizzle lunch. All students displayed our PBL values of Respect, Resilience, and Responsibility during the carnival, whilst also showing a great deal of persistence to complete the long course to the best of their ability.  Congratulations and good luck to those students moving onto the next stage, the Zone Carnival, and well done to all Stage 3 students for a great Cross Country Carnival! 

Sport 

Term 2 sports day will continue to be held on Wednesdays this term, with a focus on learning and improving our athletics skills, ready for the upcoming athletics carnival. These skills will include high jump, discus, shotput, ball games, and relay running. The athletics carnival will be held on Thursday of Week 10. 

Milson Island Excursion 

A reminder that the excursion deposits are due Friday, 3 May. Thank you to those parents who have already paid. The number of students attending the excursion will need to be given to our bus company on that day. Please ensure that the deposit has been paid by that date.  

We will be holding an excursion information session later in the term. Please keep an eye out for this information.  

Milson Island Excursion 

Week 2 -Thursday - Mother’s Day Stall 

Week 3 - Friday -Touch Football Gala Day 

Week 3 - Friday - 5B’s assembly 

Week 4 - Friday - Netball Gala Day  

Week 4/5 - Life Ed Van  

Week 5 - Monday - Reconciliation Day  

Week 5 - Friday - 5R’s assembly 

-Kahla May, Cody Edstein-Boyes, Emily Roworth, Dee Burns

Stage 3 Teachers

Welcome back to Term 2!

We hope everyone had a happy Easter break and an enjoyable holiday. This term will be a busy one with lots of different learning activities and school events.

Sport

In sport this term, we will be focusing on athletics in preparation for our athletics carnival. Tis includes high jump, discus, shotput, relay races and ball games. 

Cross Country

Cross Country was great with all students in K-3N participating. The students did an amazing job in their races. They never gave up, and it was delightful to see their smiling faces running around and joining in our games.  

We have assemblies for K-2 every even school week and 3-6 assembly is every odd school week. We look forward to seeing familiar faces in the crowd! 

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. We are straight into a very work heavy term so it is great that everyone looks refreshed and ready to learn. 

ANZAC Day

I was so excited to see s many of our class at the ANZAC Day march. It was my first time marching with the other veterans in a very long time so it was extra special to have the support of the students.

Cross Country

Cross Country was last term. There were some epic efforts from the entire class, and I am very proud of them all.

Term 2 Changes

Some changes to the general running of the classes have happened over the break.

For 3-6L

• Library is now on a Tuesday with Mrs Ward.

• Years 5 & 6 have sport on Wednesday.

• Years 3 & 4 have sport on Thursday.

For 3-6R

• Our RFF stays on Fridays.

• Library is now on a Tuesday with Mrs Ward and Miss Roworth.

• Years 5 & 6 have sport on Wednesday.

• Years 3 & 4 have sport on Thursday.

Upcoming Dates

Thursday week 2 will be our Mother’s Day stall – check the P&C section of this newsletter for more information.

Life Education is in the school weeks 4 and 5.

The athletics carnival is planned for week 10.

I am sure we will have a fantastic term!

Alexis Neilson   Chris Lyon Tracey Rankmore/Hannah Roworth

K-3N                                       3-6L                                 3-6R

Baseball

On the first weekend of the school holidays, three students from Tamworth West participated in the Tamworth Invitational Zooka Ball (junior baseball) Representative Carnival, a two day round robin carnival with three teams. Storm O’Brien and Emily Vesey represented Tamworth Gold and Charlotte Vesey represented Tamworth Blue. Both Tamworth teams played their hearts out against a strong South-West Sydney team, with many great hits and some fantastic fielding, and more importantly, new friendships made and many learning opportunities for the kids to improve their skills. In a surprising outcome, both Tamworth teams finished equal second, with the travel up team taking home the winning medals. Congratulations to Storm, Emily and Charlotte on a wonderful weekend of baseball! You displayed amazing sportsmanship and improved each time you walked up to the plate or out into the field! 

Off the back of a successful and ever-growing summer junior competition, Tamworth Baseball is reinstating a junior winter competition this year. All equipment is supplied, and all experience levels are welcome! This winter, come along with Storm, Emily and Charlotte to learn new skills and make new friends!! For more information, see the promotional flyer at the end of the newsletter or Tamworth Baseball Inc – NSW Australia Facebook page.

Jonathan Willis

Sports Coordinator

We know that classroom talk is a powerful tool for both teaching and learning. The Department of Education English and Mathematics units of work include opportunities for rich, dialogic talk that supports students in making sense of complex ideas. 'Talk moves' are the tools used by teachers to support rich, meaningful classroom discussion in not only English and Mathematics, but also other Key Learning Areas.

TURN and TALK - Mathematics examples:

• Students justify their answer as to whether a number sentence presented is true or false.

• Students share one of the number sentences they created to reach the target number provided.