Dear Parents,

Our new term got off to a fabulous start last week and I am sure this term will be  a term of great achievements for our students, staff, and parents.

During a staff professional development meeting last week, all leaders and teachers talked about our ‘School Culture’. We defined our Auburn North ‘culture’ as the “Set of shared values, beliefs, and expected behaviours that influence the way students, staff, and parents think, feel, and behave in OUR school.”

All members of our staff explained they were very proud to be members of our school community and they believed some of the qualities of our school culture are:

· We have a sense of community – the ‘Auburn North Family’

· Purpose-driven

· Student-centred

· Welcoming

· Respectful and kind

· Positive

· People take the time to help one another.

·Collaborative with students, staff, and parents working together in perfect harmony.

· All children and adults feel valued and important.

· Structured and strategic

Later this term we are going to ask our students and our parents to let us know what they think are some of the qualities of the Auburn North school culture.

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HARMONY HOUSE

The Schools as Community Centre (SaCC) program has operated in our school since 2004. Since 2004, we have called this program ‘Harmony House’.

The facilitator/coordinator of the program was the wonderful Christine Daujotis. Christine retired at the end of last year and I have selected Hafsa Ashfaq as the new relieving facilitator/coordinator until at least the end of this year.

I believe Hafsa Ashfaq will become an excellent leader of our Harmony House programs. Please find below information provided by Hafsa regarding her background, why she wanted to become the leader of the Harmony House programs, and what she hopes and expects to achieve in her new and exciting role.

“I moved to Australia 10 years ago and Auburn North Public School was in our area so I enrolled my daughter here thinking that we might move to another suburb in a couple of years. While my daughter was at school, I loved attending the school assemblies every morning, which is where I became familiar with Harmony House and its programs.

The Playgroup program was the first Harmony house program that I attended with my daughter. I met people from different cultural backgrounds, and we used to sit together, chat with each other, celebrate special occasions, as well as having the end of term parties. The 'Parents Learning to Swim' program was one of the best experiences that I had.

I applied for the Auburn North SaCC Facilitator position mainly because of my personal experience of leaving my country, family, and friends to move into a new environment. I know how the cultural shift can present challenges in raising children,  the kind of support that parents need, and the support that can be provided by the person in this position at Auburn North.

I am very excited about this role because I believe that it will allow me to make a difference in the lives of parents and families to improve their health and wellbeing.

My long-term vision would be to become a trustworthy and reliable friend for the parents. I want Harmony House to be a place where they would come to learn, relax, and enjoy each other’s company. I wish for them to feel welcomed, respected, and valued as equal members of the community.

This year I would like to start with the Playgroup for children and English language classes for the parents.

A lifestyle change program, a breakfast program, a basic computer skills for parents program, and a cooking group for mothers are some of the other programs that I really want to have by the end of this year.

My goal would be to involve as many parents as I can so they can enjoy the Harmony House experience.

I can assist our parents in any way they need. If they need any emotional support, or just to do a simple task like filling a form, or if they need advice about anything, I will always be there for them.

In the beginning of this term, I will be in the COLA area every morning from 8.30 am until the end of assembly. When the programs start, the parents can come and see me in Harmony House.

We will soon have a Facebook page for Harmony House, where the parents can access all the information about the new and excting programs.”

On behalf of all members of the Auburn North Family, I wish Ms Hasfa all the very best in her new very important role.

ANTI-RACISM CONTACT OFFICER

The Department of Education does not tolerate racism or racist behaviour in NSW public schools. Auburn North is proud to be a respectful and harmonious learning community and we will continue to facilitate this for you and your children.

All NSW public schools select a teacher to be the Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO). The ARCO is a teacher in the school who assists the principal in promoting anti-racism in the school community. Ms McGrory, one of our year 2 teachers, has been to be our school’s 2022 ARCO.

Along with the principal, the ARCO is responsible for:

· Promoting anti-racism education.

· Resolving issues related to possible racism.

The ARCO is trained to provide advice to parents, families, teachers, and students about the procedure for resolving issues related to possible racism. If necessary, the ARCO can also support school community members through the complaints process.

If your child is experiencing racism at school, you should encourage them to report it to a teacher, to me, or to Ms McGrory. You may also report it on your child’s behalf by ringing the office and making a time to speak to me or meet with me.

Class Reports

For your reading pleasure please find attached to this newsletter class reports from 2/1N and 5C. We would like to thank the 2/1N  students and their teacher Mrs Nalbantoglu, and ther 5C students and their teacher Ms Chan.  

We have had a fantastic Term 2 in 5C! After we worked hard to prepare for NAPLAN, Year 5 delved into a novel study of ‘Wonder’ and successfully composed chapter reviews.  5C have resumed Term 3 with more determination and interest in their learning.  

 During Week 1, we celebrated NAIDOC Week to recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 5C had the opportunity to explore the traditions and cultures which Indigenous people did to pass on collective ancestorial ties to younger generations.

Literacy

This term year 5 will focus on writing fractured Fairy tales. Using well known Fairy tales as inspiration, they will be composing their own stories with a twist! We began the week by revising structures of narratives and the types of language used in them. 5C are excited to produce marvellous narrative stories with a sprinkle of Fairy tale elements.

Numeracy

Last term we participated in hands-on Maths lessons as we had the opportunity to learn about length using trundle wheels and position using Ozobots. In addition to the fun Maths lessons, we all worked very hard to reach our targets for our fundamental Maths skills specifically in addition and subtraction, multiplication and division and fractions and decimals. All students should be proud of their achievements. This term we are looking forward to learning about angles and 2D shapes!

Art

5C have engaged in many art opportunities in the classroom, ranging from appreciating to creating art. They have explored different mediums throughout the semester and some have excelled! This term Year 5 will be incorporating CAPA with Book Week.

semester and some have excelled! This term Year 5 will be incorporating CAPA with Book Week.

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2/1N had a great start to term 3! We started the term by reflecting on some of our goals. We discussed which goals we met and which goals we will be working towards this term. 

Numeracy

During maths lessons this week 2/1N students learnt about place value. We used hands on materials to identify the hundreds, tens and ones in a number before using blocks to make them. We even skip counted by 10’s to find the total. During numeracy lessons this term we are also focusing on achieving our own individual learning goals, it’s so exciting to see students take ownership of their learning!

Technology

This term during technology lessons students will be practicing their typing skills and exploring great resources such as blue bots. Last week 2/1N students practiced logging into a computer, opening a word document, typing and saving their work. Here is an example of the great sentences students were able to independently compose.

 Art

In 2/1N we love art! Last week we coloured and painted an artwork inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ painting. Student’s displayed creativity and character by taking pride in their work.

We are now welcoming enrolments for Kindergarten 2023.

If youre child turns 5 before July 2023, please contact  the school office for an enrolment pack.

If you know any neighbours, friends or relatives who live in our school's catchment area, please share with them that they can call the school office for an enrolment pack. 

area, please share with them that they can call the school office for an enrolment pack.

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