We have reached the end of the 2019 school year and what a year it has been for Austins Ferry Primary and our community. The past few weeks have been filled with celebrations recognising the wonderful achievements of our students and wider community.

Last Thursday saw us run our 2nd Annual Christmas Carols event. This event was a showcase of collaboration between students, staff and community members. The musical items were wonderful and supported our community to celebrate in style, our stalls were well received with some selling out in record time. Early estimates have the event raising over $5500 for our school and Claremont Fire Brigade. The funds will support new projects to benefit students and community. I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone involved in the event, without staff support and community engagement this event would not be possible.

I would like to congratulate students, staff and family members for their attendance at last week’s award assemblies. The class presentations showcasing student learning were amazing and attendance from families was fantastic. Our schools 2019 improvement goal of engaging families and our community in student learning has certainly been enacted and well received by our community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the following organisations who have supported AFPS and students this year – PAKT, MONA, Smith Family, Children’s University, Chigwell CFC, Tazkids, ECIS, PCYC, Derwent Waters and Claremont RSL. All of these organisations have supported programs in our school or been a partner in student learning.

Our School Association has also done an amazing job supporting our school and organising events to raise funds for a range of school based initiatives. I would like to particularly thank Rachel Lodge for her tireless work supporting these events and liaising with staff.

Finally I would like to wish our school community and safe and happy Christmas spent with family and friends. AFPS is very proud to support our community and are very thankful for the support we receive from our wider community.

What a fantastic year we have had in 5/6 Lewinski. We would like to thank all community members for a productive, successful, memorable and enjoyable year.  We wish all our Year 6’s the best as they head off to high school. We have had a memorable end to the year with our amazing Christmas Carols event and a morning of activities at Poimena. Have a safe and Happy Christmas!

Tuesday night saw our Year 6 students celebrate their Leavers Dinner at the Claremont RSL. The evening was fantastic and everyone looked wonderful.

Thank you to the staff who attended and to the students for their wonderful behaviour.

Thank you to the many families that donated items for stalls and the raffle and those that attended the Christmas Carols event held last Thursday 12 December.

Special mention to Confetti for the photo booth and Elise Archer MP, Advantage Pharmacy - Claremont Village and Crack'n'Cakes for the raffle prizes.

The event was a huge success!

Raffle prize winners:

1st Prize:     Nicole McLean

2nd Prize:    Teliah Green

3rd Prize:     Jaida Henry

4th Prize:     Ruby Meehan

5th Prize:     C McNamee

6th Prize:     Nicole McLean

7th Prize:     Nicole

8th Prize:     Will Rattenbury

9th Prize:     Deb

Dear Parent / Carer

In 2020 our school has transferred from the Skoolbag app to the SZapp.

SZapp has similar features to Skoolbag: you can view our newsletter and school calendar, send an absentee notification and visit our school website.

Congratulation to all for making it to the end of the school year!  It has been another busy, fun-filled year with lots of growing and new learning for all.  So, with the summer holidays coming up, I’ve come up with a few handy tips to survive these holidays. 

• Stay Sun smart – slip on a top with a collar, slop on some SPF 30+ or higher rated sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek some shade and slide on some sunnies.
• Stay hydrated – Water is the best choice of drink.
• Sleep – try to get the recommended hours of sleep per day. Or, if you tend to stay up a little bit later over the holidays, attempt to get back into a good sleep routine at least 2 weeks before the start of school.  It is recommended that primary school aged students get at least 10 hours of sleep per night.
• Try to have more of your “ALWAYS” foods once the Christmas season is over. These food include all fruit & vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lentils & pulses, lean protein foods, low fat dairy products or dairy alternatives and healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, oily fish, avocado, nuts and seeds. 
• Encouraging your children to brush their teeth morning and night for two minutes to ensure that children can enjoy Christmas without causing any damage to their precious teeth.
• Enjoy precious time with family and loved ones!

I hope all students and their families have a safe and enjoyable holiday period, I look forward to working with you all again in 2020 J

• Nurse Emma

Westerway Primary School will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary on Saturday 29 February 2020.  All past and present students, staff and parents are invited to the celebrations at the school from 10:00am - 3:00pm.