Dear Parents,

As I explained in my Principal’s Address that I delivered during last week’s Year 3 – Year 6 Presentation Day Assembly, I believe 2019 has been our school’s most dynamic year since I arrived in 2000. For all members of our school learning community FAMILY, it has been a year of exciting learning, a year of fun, and a year where we all made lifelong memories.

We have always been a high-performing school but we have set new standards of excellence this year in terms of the quality of our:

• Leadership
• Teaching and Teacher Professional Development
• Learning
• Parent Engagement and Participation
• School Cohesiveness
• School Performance

Our year of outstanding successes in these areas are the result of the way in which all members of our multi-award-winning Auburn North Public School Learning Community have worked together tirelessly and in perfect harmony this year.

A little later in this newsletter I have included an extract from my Principal’s Address that outlines some of the reasons why I believe 2019 has been our most dynamic year in the past 20 years.

Each one of our students deserves to be congratulated on a year of hard work, a year of always doing their very best, a year where all or most of their DREAMS were realised, and a year of always being kind and respectful.

I would like to thank and congratulate our parents for being such delightful people who always support our school and who have worked so hard this year for their children. The way in which our parents are raising their children is a model for parents in other schools. Thank you and congratulations Parents.

Semester 2 Reports - A 'Celebration of Success'

Semester 2 student reports will go home this Wednesday, the last school day of the year. I have read and signed each of the 690 reports and each one is a ‘CELEBRATION OF SUCCESS’. The reports reflect your children’s progress over the past six months and demonstrate how effectively and successfully our students, teachers, and parents have worked together collaboratively and cooperatively all year to facilitate student success. Congratulations girls and boys.

I encourage you to sit down with your children Wednesday afternoon to join in their celebration.

Thank You Staff

The quality of education that a student experiences in a school is very much dependent on the quality of a school’s leaders and teachers. Auburn North students have been blessed this year to have been educated, cared for and nurtured by the very best leaders and teachers.

I would like to thank and congratulate all our K-6 classroom teachers and specialist support teachers for their commitment to maximising the learning and welfare outcomes of our students and for working so very hard this year.

I would also like to thank our teachers for making learning fun and rewarding for our students and for assisting our students love their school by providing such a broad range of extra-curricular programs for them. Thank you and congratulations Teachers. You have been an absolute pleasure to work with this year and I wish all of you a relaxing and happy holiday.

I would like to thank and congratulate all members of our leadership team for their inspiring leadership, for their unrelenting pursuit of excellence in everything they have done this year, and for developing their high-performing teams using their exemplary leadership knowledge and skills.

Our leaders have ensured that Auburn North's high expectations have underpinned all 2019 programs and initiatives and the quality of their management and organisation this year has been truly outstanding. Thank you and congratulations Leaders.

Our excellent office team has continued to provide the very best service to and support for our students, parents, and staff, and always with a big smile. Thank you Team.

Our three general assistants, Mr Don, Mr Ray, and Mr Aziz have worked exceptionally well as one team to ensure our school grounds and equipment were well maintained to facilitate high quality teaching and learning, and to enable children to play in attractive surroundings. Thank you Team.

And Johnny, our pedestrian crossing friend, has ensured that our students, parents and staff were always able to cross Adderley Street safely. Thank you Johnny.

Staffing Information and Farewells

A number of members of staff are leaving us this year. They are moving for a number of reasons including starting permanent positions in other schools, moving overseas, or transferring to schools that are much closer to their homes. We certainly are going to miss them.

We would like to thank each one of these special members of staff for being so committed to the education and welfare of our students while they were members of our learning community.

The teachers who are ‘moving on’ are:

• Mrs Turk
• Mrs Rana
• Ms Fysh
• Ms West
• Mrs Alholeilei

We wish all of these members of staff all the very best in their future careers.

Mrs Tieu will be commencing maternity leave on Wednesday and we look forward to seeing Mrs Tieu and “Baby Tieu” in term or term 2 next year.

Happy Holiday

After our school family’s exceptionally successful year it is now time for students, staff and parents to enjoy a well-earned holiday. On behalf of my staff, I wish you a safe and peaceful holiday.

This Wednesday is the last school day of the year. Students return to school on Wednesday, 29th January 2020 (Year 1 to Year 6), while our new 2020 Kindergarten students commence the following week.

Mark Harris

Principal

EXTRACT from PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS

This morning’s K-2 assembly and this 3-6 assembly are a celebration of what I believe is our school’s most dynamic year in the past 20 years, a year that has been a year of learning for all of us, and a year where we have all had fun and made lifelong memories.   2019 has been so exciting and so full of highlights in the academic, emotional, social, physical, technological, and cultural areas.

I believe the greatest highlight this year has been the way in which we have worked so effectively together as one united, harmonious school learning community to edge ever-closer to realising our 2018 – 2020 Vision.

As we  know, our 2018 – 2020 Vision is “To be Australia’s most outstanding future focused learning community”. We also know that if we are going to produce this community then two things need to take place.

Firstly, we know if our students are going to be successful now and in the future then they must not only live and breathe our six school values but, essentially, they must develop THREE outstanding sets of skills. We know they must develop outstanding Basic Skills, outstanding Technology skills, and outstanding 21^st Century skills such as critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and communication.

Secondly, we know if our students are going to develop these values and these sets of skills then they must be engaged in an extraordinary education where they are inspired by expert leaders and teachers in partnership with supportive families, where our leaders, teachers, and parents develop the knowledge and skills to assist our students be successful now and the future.

This time last year on this stage I stated that if we were going to realise our Vision then we needed to spread our wings and broaden our horizons in terms of our school’s focus and our teaching and learning programs and practices. 

A range of evidence shows this year we have strategically and methodically broadened our focus and broadened our reach to assist our students START to develop outstanding skills in ALL three areas and this has placed our school in a very strong position to realise our Vision late next year.

One of the most effective integrated strategies we have used this year to make great strides FORWARD towards achieving our Vision has been to place even greater focus than normal on the FOUR factors that research shows have greatest impact on student learning.

These factors are:

1. The quality of a school’s leadership;
2. The quality of each individual teacher;
3. The quality and level of collective teacher efficacy; and
4. The quality and level of parent engagement and participation.

Leadership

We are never complacent at Auburn North and we know we can always do better, especially in these four areas. Despite the fact that we were selected to receive the 2019 Secretary’s Award for Outstanding School Leadership, this year we have effectively implemented a number of strategies to further improve the quality of our school’s leadership across our school to assist students develop those three sets of skills. 

In May, we engaged our consultants, Vic Zbar and Ross Kimber, to conduct our school’s SIXTH external review in 14 years. Focus areas of this review included teaching and learning, parent engagement, and especially our school’s leadership. We have started to implement the review’s seven recommendations. 

To further improve the quality of our school’s leadership this year, our executive members and grade leaders have engaged in high-impact professional learning programs and experiences.

To increase the consistency of high quality leadership cross our whole school the seven members of our executive team, all of whom could be excellent principals in their own right, have:

• engaged in a professional learning program with our education consultants;
• demonstrated an on-going commitment to their own and each other’s professional learning and the development of our school by supporting one another daily;
• engaged in weekly collegial discussions with focus areas including instructional leadership, and the development of collaborative teaching practices; and they have
• developed collaboratively high-impact professional learning programs for all teachers.

To further develop the quality, breadth, and depth of leadership across our school, our seven grade leaders regularly participate in mentoring sessions with members of the executive team. Our grade leaders have also completed the 8-month Executive Ready Leadership Development program and applied their newly developed leadership knowledge and skills to successfully lead the implementation of projects and assisted teachers and students achieve high quality outcomes.                           

Teachers

Of course, research shows the individual teacher has an immense impact on the wellbeing and learning of students. Therefore, if our students are going to live our values and develop outstanding basic skills, technology skills, and 21^st century skills, then it’s essential our teachers develop the knowledge and skills to program and plan for that to occur.

Teaching and learning data clearly demonstrates the quality of each teacher’s knowledge, skills and abilities has significantly improved this year and this, along with their unrelenting commitment to the wellbeing and learning of their students, have assisted students achieve outstanding emotional, social, and physical outcomes, and assisted students develop high quality literacy and numeracy skills, technology skills, and 21^st century skills.

This year all teachers have engaged in high-impact professional learning including participating in on-going coaching and mentoring sessions with leaders, participating in professional learning related to lesson planning and the strategic use of all syllabuses, participating in a wide range of workshops that assisted them further develop their ability to create and maintain orderly, engaging, and stimulating learning environments, and their ability to differentiate learning and to provide meaningful feedback.

Teachers have used the additional technology in the school to increase the amount of time students engage with technology in an authentic manner, and coding and STEM education are now successfully embedded in our K-6 school.

The development of 21^st century skills has been prominently programmed by teachers this year and the importance of these skills has increased significantly with nearly 50% of end-of-year student reports referring to at least one 21^st century skill, and at least 15% of all principal’s awards referring to the development of these skills.

Very importantly, our teachers have inspired and supported our students and in 2019 we have achieved the highest percentage ever of students receiving Gold Badges and the highest percentage ever of students achieving Principal’s Morning Tea.

Collective Teacher Efficacy

Collective teacher efficacy means ‘the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students and their learning.’ As research shows that collective teacher efficacy has the greatest impact on student learning, we knew if we were to move closer to achieving our Vision and assist our students develop outstanding Basic Skills, Technology skills, and 21^st Century skills, then we had to ensure that all leaders and teachers believed that our students were capable of achieving anything and everything in all of their school pursuits.

This year, we have focused on further developing some of the enablers that research shows contribute to high levels of collective teacher efficacy. In 2019, we have ensured that teachers have been given more opportunities to contribute to whole-school decision making and we have provided teachers with more school leadership opportunities.

Evidence indicates that all teachers have responded positively to being provided with these opportunities and that our level of collective teacher efficacy has further developed this year.

Next year we will continue to provide these opportunities, and we will provide teachers with greater opportunities to observe one another teach and to learn with and from one another. 

Parent Engagement

We know that our Vision can only come to fruition if our staff, students, and parents are working as one united team, and because Auburn North parents want to be as engaged as possible in their children’s education, and because research shows parent engagement has a very significant impact on student wellbeing and learning, this year we have continued to engage families as partners in their children’s learning.

This has included parents completing surveys and participating in focus group meetings with our school responding to the findings.

This year communication with our parents continued to increase dramatically with more than 20,000 parent interactions on Seesaw, and more than 70% of our families connecting to SchoolZine.

Our ‘Parents as Partners in Learning’ program, that was also selected to receive a ‘2019 Secretary’s Award for Excellence’, continued to expand across our school with data demonstrating that these grade-based workshops assisted parents further develop their knowledge and skills to assist their children’s learning in those three essential areas.

Our Harmony House programs has continued to have a life-changing impact on our parents and provide a home-away-from-home for many of our parents, and Mrs Daujotis’s programs, including her English classes, have enabled our parents to contribute to their children’s learning.

Surveys responses show our 2019 Kindy orientation program was possibly the most successful ever. Some parent feedback included one parent writing “I am constantly impressed and reassured by ANPS and their fantastic initiatives.”

Learning

This year our leaders, teachers, parents, and our collective teacher efficacy have assisted our students further develop their values, and their technology and 21^st century skills, but what about our students’ all important skills in literacy and numeracy?

It would seem that focusing on and resourcing leadership and teacher professional development, and further developing collective teacher efficacy and parent engagement, have led to the achievement of outstanding 2019 school-based and NAPLAN literacy and numeracy data.

• In terms of our school-based learning data, more than 90% of our students achieved their aspirational term and annual learning targets, with the other students being effectively supported by Individual Learning Plans.
• In terms of NAPLAN:
• Our Year 3 students outperformed Similar schools in all five literacy and numeracy areas, and outperformed the State Average in 4 of the 5 areas.
• Our Year 5 students outperformed Similar schools in all five literacy and numeracy areas, and outperformed the State Average in all five areas.

While we are proud of achieving these results, it is our Value-Added results that we should feel most proud.

• In terms of Value-Added or, student learning growth, from the more than 1,600 NSW primary schools:
• Our Kindergarten to Year 3 value-added performance was in the Top 3% of the state.
• AND our Year 3 to Year 5 value-added performance was also scored in the Top 3% of the state.

Importantly, can I add that we have scored in the Top 3% for both for the past four years.

We are determined to see our Vision become a reality by December next year. To achieve this, next year we will do the following SEVEN things:

1. Assess, evaluate, and improve our present teaching and learning programs.
2. Further increase student voice and their skills to reflect on their own learning.
3. Engage leaders and teachers in high impact professional learning programs.
4. Continue to increase our collective teacher efficacy and parent engagement and participation.
5. Continue to use our literacy and numeracy scopes and sequences.
6. Update and use our K-6 Technology Scope and Sequence Plan.
7. Develop and use an Auburn North K-6 Scope and Sequence Plan for each of the six 21^st Century skills.

Girls and boys, whether you are invited onto the stage today or not, you should be very proud of yourselves. This year, each one of you has wanted to do your very best, and wanted to become the very best YOU could possibly become.

And because you have always done your very best this year, I know all or most of your 2019 Dreams have come true for you. You have all lived our school values and you have all further developed your three sets of essential skills. All of you are to be congratulated on your many successes this year.

Finally, girls and boys, I would like to share something with you. I believe you are the luckiest children in Australia. You have the most wonderful school friends, you have the most delightful and supportive parents, and you are fortunate enough to have the most caring, outstanding teachers you could possibly wish for. No child needs more than that.

Mark Harris

We are seeking your feedback on how we can further improve parent participation. We are asking you to assist us by answering the following questions. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

It is the end of another year at Auburn North PS and the end of primary school for our Year 6 students. Below is the speech our Year 6 Captains will give at the Graduation Assembly as they reflect on what 2019 meant to them and their move to High School next year.

Wow!! 2019 has passed so quickly - did you know we’ve been here at Auburn North for 7 years? Let me give you the breakdown: 2556 days or 15,336 hours or 820,160 minutes or finally 55,209,600 seconds. That is a long time in one place.

It has been a very long time but I wouldn’t change the experience for anything, except for maybe students being allowed the sugar-free, fat-free, calorie-free doughnuts Mr. Harris gives the teachers!

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it: if you can dream it, you can become it.”- Willam Arthur Ward.

For the last 7 years Auburn North has embedded this message into every day at this wonderful school. The school has taught us to dream big and to always strive to accomplish anything you want to do. All of our accomplishments have led to this day that some people have been dreading and most people have been excited for the 2nd last day of our primary school lives. We have both been at this school since kindy and what a journey it has been. We have been able to establish great friendships and through them, wonderful memories. 

Then we have had the low key quarrels on the oval playing soccer on lunch breaks…but all of these experiences have shaped us to become who we are today.

We would like to start by thanking Mr Harris for leading all of us to be the best we can be. You are always supportive of the progress and improvements our year group makes. We would also like to thank all of the Year 6 Teachers: Ms.Cortejos, Miss McGrory, Miss West, Mrs Varley, Mrs Harrouk and Mrs Irrgang. You all have put in so much time and effort to assist us to be the “Best of All Worlds”. Year 6 would have been so different if we didn’t have all of you to support us through it the whole way and helping us achieve our fullest potential academically, socially, emotionally, physically and technologically. You have prepared us for the future ahead and we believe that the class of 2019 will go to great places thanks to our wonderful teachers.

We would also like to give a huge thank you to all of the Auburn North staff who have supported and motivated us to push that extra little further. You work so tirelessly to give us support and feedback in our learning and we really appreciate it. 

At the end of every gold badge assembly, Mr. Harris always says that we are “lucky to have such excellent parents raising us”. He also says parenting “is the hardest but most rewarding job you can have”. Looking back on all of the good times and hard times our parents have supported us through, we could not agree more. More than anyone, we would like to thank our parents for being with us through this whole journey. On behalf of all of the students you have given us everything we need to be successful in high school and beyond.

Let’s have a blast from the past, shall we? Of course the 3 day 2-night camp at Vision Valley was amazing! This year, 60 Year 6 and 5 students were able to go on a trip of a lifetime. We made long-life friendships, got to experience the outdoors and got to be involved in a range of activities like canoeing, ziplining and we cannot forget the massive water slide! My favourite part was when Mrs Varley taught us the chant cooee! Cooee is an Australian call so if someone says it you have to say it back.

Speaking about friendships, how many of you remember your first day in Kindy? Well, I do and Mahmoud does, apparently-

No don’t say it-

Don’t stop me now Mahmoud. Ahem, apparently he was crying his head off, how funny. I remember walking into my classroom for the first time and the first thing I said was ‘Can I be your friend?’ to someone and they said ‘yes’ and we have been friends since. This goes to show Auburn North is a truly magical place where people make long life memories, friendships and achievements.

As we have said before we cannot thank the Year 6 teachers enough for what they have helped us with. Everything you have done for us will always be greatly appreciated in our hearts.

2019 has surely been a memorable year where we as the Auburn North Family have achieved so much. We wish all the best for the Year 6 students and hope that they all have a great experience in high school. Remember to always be yourself and don’t change for anyone.

Thank you.

Mahmoud and Beyza

What a great year the 2W family has had and will continue having untill the end of the term! We’ve been hard at work all year round with loads of different fun events such as Community Festival Day, Book week, ANPS Sports Day and many more. 2W has had a great time learning about the material world in science, drawing and representing 3D objects in maths and creating a word cloud of true, kind words that describe our peers.

In science, we have been focusing on designing sun protective gear for our teddy bear to wear as he will be spending a day at the beach. Some of the sun protective gear we have been designing are long sleeved tops, pants, sunglasses and a wide brim hat. We will be using a variety of different materials such as stretchy material, elastics, pipe cleaners, card, felt, cellophane and much more so our teddies can be sun safe at the beach.  

In maths, 2W has been focusing on representing and describing 3D objects. We began representing the 3D objects by following the 5 simple steps to success. 2W began by plotting the face of the shape we could see first, next we joined the dots, after that we plotted the opposite face, then we joined the dots together, finally we joined the two opposite faces. By following these simple steps, we were able to represent 3D objects by drawing, labelling and describing their properties successfully.

Throughout the year, 2W has been having a fantastic time getting to really know each other’s likes, dislikes, habits and personalities so we thought it would be a great idea to brainstorm a variety of words and values that are a true representation of our friends. Using the brainstorming chart, we had one minute to write a word that represented our friends on their head poster before rotating to the next friend. Each of one us then got the opportunity to read through some of the values and kind words that were used to describe us.

The 4B students were actively involved in 2D Space this term by demonstrating our learning through the use of interactive technology. We proudly displayed our tessellating patterns on our computer screens while ensuring that there were no gaps or overlaps in our pattern. All students demonstrated their knowledge of symmetry by translating, rotating and reflecting shapes. All students combined 2D shapes to form another shape and recorded our results on an iPad. We also split a shape into 2 or 3 other 2D shapes and described our results on an iPad. We now know so much about two-dimensional objects!

Mission: Auburn Schools as Community Centre or Harmony House seeks to provide a holistic service to parents, families and individuals to promote their health and wellbeing.

Term 4 2019 Week 8 Parent Initiatives

• Parents are learning ENGLISH by teachers on Mon . Thanks to Alison and Gemma two fabulous teachers this year and a great group of enthusiastic parents.
• Eat a healthy BREAKFAST for children on Mon, Wed & Fri. Thanks to Food Bank NSW for their support with some items for the breakfast program this year.
• Parents learn to have fun with your child and see them grow & develop at PLAYGROUP Tuesdays
• Excursion to Circular Quay was fun with loads of photos by 22 people last week.
• PLAYGROUP for children with developmental needs
• PLAYGROUP at Auburn Public School. Wednesdays
• Beginning School Well Program. Some of the children that attended the preparation to school program and they are looking forward to 2020.

Beginning School Well Program	Water safety by Surf Life Saving Society

Harmony House: 100 Adderley St. Auburn 97487606

Twitter: @AuburnHarmony 

Website https://auburnnth-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/

Links to Auburn North Public School Plan 2018-2020 Strategic Directions 3. Engage families as partners in learning.

We Request Your Assistance

We are in the process of forming 2020 classes. Attached to today’s newsletter is a note. The top section is headed '2020 Leaver - Transferring to Another School.' The bottom section is headed 'Holidays - Returning Late'. To ensure that there will be minimal changes to our classes in Term 1 next year, we request your assistance.

1.  If your family is moving during the holidays and your child will not be returning to Auburn North, could you complete the section '2020 Leaver - Transferring to Another School'. Please return this note to school by 3^rd December this year.
2. If your child will be returning to Auburn North but will be returning later than Wednesday 29^th January 2020, could you complete the section 'Holidays -Returning Late'. Please return this note to school by 3^rd December. If you are travelling overseas can you provide the office with a copy of the flight tickets.