Term 2 Week 8

Principal's Report

Road Safety- Reminder

As we approach the school holidays, please take the time to discuss with your children the importance of wearing helmets and crossing the road safely.

Community members and teachers alike, have noticed a number of students forgetting their helmets when riding bikes, particularly scooters to school, and children attempting to cross roads in locations with obscured driver views or on roundabouts.

An occasional walk with your kids can be an opportunity to discuss safe ways to navigate traffic and be safer when crossing or around our busy roads.

Please join us in taking the time to provide these important reminders.

Playgroup

When Daniel Tuckwell left, one of the programs, that had to take a hiatus, was our playgroup program.

This program played an essential role in preparing our preschoolers for school, forging strong links with our preschools, forming a network of parents/carers and in providing a time and space for our pre-kindergarten students to be screened by a speech therapist and occupational therapist.

Our new Community Wellbeing Officer, Ben Sterland has been working hard with Jigsaw OOSH, the Learning Support Team and Daniel himself to revive this important initiative.

We are aiming to have the program up and running again by early Term 3.

Please watch this space as we release more information and send out an Expression of Interest.

Farewell Ms Syslak

Earlier this week, mentioned to the P&C and emailed Iris’ parents/carers with the sad news that Taran Syslak will be unable to continue teaching Iris as of Term 3.

Ms Syslak’s fiancé has been offered a job in London, meaning that her time at Vardys will soon come to an end.

This obviously necessitates the sourcing of a replacement. The school has recruited a very experienced and accomplished teacher. Her name is Cait Kavanagh.

Ms Kavanagh will officially start teaching the class on Tuesday 22 July.

I am sure you will join me in offering a warm welcome to Cait as she embraces the opportunity that Iris will offer next term and as Week 10 approaches, thank Taran for her tireless efforts and boundless enthusiasm in her efforts this year.

Screen Time- An article from a previous newsletter that is just as important as ever! 

It will come as no surprise that the evidence suggests that excessive screen time has a negative impact on emotions and readiness to learn. Therefore, it is a good idea to reduce excessive screen time.

How much screen time is excessive?

A good place to start is the Australian Government guidelines for screen time, 24-hour movement guidelines. The guidelines recommend:

• No screen time for children younger than two years
• No more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2-5 years
• No more than two hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day for children and young people aged 5-17 years (not including schoolwork)

Any amount of screen time above the guideline recommendations is excessive.

It is also important to note that even though this is the recommended average, it does not mean that hours can be stored up and used in one go e.g. There is no screen time Monday to Friday so we can have 14 hours over Saturday and Sunday.

Over two hours on any one day is excessive.

Screen time in the guidelines excludes schoolwork. Screen time is defined as sedentary recreational screen time, where children are sitting or laying down to watch video, scrolling social media, or playing games.

The Australian Institute of Family studies estimates that only 15% of 5–12-year-olds meet the screen time guidelines, and that the amount of screen time increases dramatically between the ages of 10 -14. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there is a rise in the percentage of students spending more than 20 hours a week on a screen.

What happens if children have an excessive amount of screen time?

We are still in the early stages of studying the impacts of screen time on children, but the early indicators of the research strongly suggest that excessive screen time can contribute directly to:

• Increased impulsive behaviour, anger, and aggression
• sensory overload that causes poor focus, inattention, and depleted mental energy
• Overstimulation that causes children to have difficulty in managing stress and regulating their mood

Evidence also suggests that excessive screen time contributes indirectly to:

• Obesity and poor physical health
• Poor quality sleep and a lack of sleep
• Reduced imagination and creativity

It should be noted that these are the potential outcomes of excessive screen time regardless of what they are doing on the screen. The symptoms and consequences amplify dramatically when you include the impact and risks of social media, exposure to mature content and violence.

What can we do to reduce screen time?

1. There is a strong relationship between parents’ screen time and that of their children. So, model separating yourself from the screen.
2. Limit or eliminate screen time at certain times of the day. 2 great areas to target are:

• the time immediately before bed, aim for more than an hour screen free time before sleep.
• before school

These strategies are just a few of many, and screen time is just one of many topics that are critical for supporting students regulate their emotions and come to school ready to learn. For more information I strongly recommend the support available from the Australian Government esafety commissioner; link to more support.

Enjoy your families,

Ian Short 
Principal

Hatching Chicks!

The beginning of Term 3 is very exciting for Kindy!

Besides our 100 Days of School celebrations and going to the farm, we are also welcoming some eggs from the 'Hatching Chicks' company (https://hatchingchicks.com.au/). We will get a delivery of eggs in an incubator and see the process of them hatching into baby chicks. 

Observing the needs of the chicks will assist the students in understanding the needs of living things, the key outcome from the Science syllabus in our current area of study. The incubator will primarily be in the K Daisy classroom but the Brooder Box will have visits in all Kindy rooms. 

Students with egg allergies or have a respiratory risk (eg. asthma) have been identified and won't be split to Kindergarten if the circumstance arises. Students in Kindergarten identified have been emailed personally. If you have any further questions on this, please call the school or email Beck Anderson (ES1 Assistant Principal) directly. 

We are looking forward to this egg-cellent opportunity! 

Mrs Kelly's News

Book of the Week:
The Gerald and Piggie books are very popular in the library. If you enjoy 'Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus' you will love this series!

It is very easy to read for a child that has just learnt to read independently. 

Fun in the Library: 

Senior Book Club Shadow Judging: 

Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 are invited to join the Senior Book Club.

This year the Senior Book Club will be participating in the CBCA Book of the Year Awards Shadow Judging Competition.

If you have a child in those grades and they love to read, then please ask them to join us in reading the nominated books and deciding which books should win the Book of the Year Awards.

Authors are always proud to know that their book was a winner voted on by students.  

Scholastic Book Club:

Orders are due Thursday 19th June.

From The Office

We kindly ask for your patience while waiting at the counter during pick-up and drop-off times, including when collecting your child from the sick bay. If school staff are not in the office when you arrive, they may be assisting others or attending to duties elsewhere in the office block.

Please rest assured that someone will be with you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Mrs Catalanotto, Mrs Anderson, Mrs Alonso and Miss costa

Do you know someone eligible for Kindergarten in 2026?

Apply on-line now (through our website) for 2026!

Term 2 K-6 Assemblies and Class Items

Term 2 marked the exciting return of class assembly items, with standout performances.

 We’re thrilled to continue these class presentations during our K-6 Assemblies in Term 2.

Assemblies will be held at 2:10pm on Mondays in Weeks 3, 6, and 9.

Participating in a class item helps students build self-confidence, fosters a strong sense of belonging, and gives them the opportunity to showcase a glimpse of their learning to peers and family members.

Our Term 2 Program:

• Week 9 – 1/2 Apple and 5 Aqua 

P&C News

Uniform Shop:

This term, the shop will be open during the following days and times:

• Mondays: 8:30am - 9:30am
• Tuesdays: 2:15pm - 3:15pm
• Thursdays: 9:00am - 10:00am
• Fridays: 2:20pm - 3:20pm

We are awaiting our order of long sleeve polos and fleecy zip jackets; they are due in by Term 3. 

Online ordering is always available, and orders should be delivered to your child’s classroom within the next day or two (be sure to include your child’s name and class in the Notes section at checkout):

https://www.vrpspc.org.au/s/shop  
 

Events/Fundraising:

SAVE  THE DATE!

Spring Twilight markets are coming to Vardys Road Public School on Friday 12th September 2025!

Contact fundraising@vrpspc.org.au for any enquiries.

P&C Meetings:

The P&C met this week on Monday 16th June. Thank you to all who attended in person or online.   

At the meeting we discussed: 

• Positions vacant: 
• Secretary – no nominations were received 
• Planning & Projects Coordinator – Nesha King has put her hand up for this role. Welcome to the elected members team, and thank you! 
• Upcoming events for Term 3, including Father’s Day Stall, Spring Twilight Markets and School Disco & BBQ. 
• A price increase for girls Hallam pants, which was approved as the cost price has become higher than the sale price. It was also agreed to investigate alternative girls pants options. 
• Members voted to approve spending of some of the funds raised at last year’s Colour Run on play equipment installations for the library garden area. 
• A proposal to raise funds by becoming a Return and Earn donation partner. It was agreed to investigate this opportunity. 
• Mr Short gave updates about what has been happening at the school and what is coming up.  
• Questions and issues discussed included NSW government plans for enhancement of cleaning contracts, staff changes, notifiable diseases, the school’s external validation process, and inclusion and diversity. 

All members of the school community are welcome to attend our next meeting, which will be our Term 3 Week 4 general meeting. 

We love welcoming new members, or welcoming back old ones, so if you’ve been meaning to join or rejoin we’d love to have you! Send through your membership form or get in touch with any questions via email: team@vrpspc.org.au , or check out our website: https://www.vrpspc.org.au for further information. 

P&C Role Vacancies:

We still have 1 volunteer role vacancy, which is a crucial one for keeping the P&C running, so currently the elected members are sharing the responsibilities on top of their elected roles, which is difficult to sustain. Please consider whether you'd have the time and organisational skills to make this important contribution to our school community. See the Roles & Responsibilities document for more details, but here's a summary of what's involved:

• P&C Secretary – Responsible for the day-to-day organisation of the P&C, including: 
• checking the Team email account,  
• following the meeting schedule for requesting agenda items, preparing meeting papers, and recording the minutes,  
• maintaining the member register and volunteer register, and  
• assisting other P&C roles with documentation if needed, e.g. to notify our insurance company in preparation for P&C events. Note: there are templates and processes set up to help streamline these tasks. 

Please contact team@vrpspc.org.au to express interest in, or to ask questions about this role. 

Recipe of the Week

Apple & Toasted Muesli Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup (150g) raw sugar
• 1 cup of toasted muesli (see related recipe)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk
• 1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup (85g) raisins
  

Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add sugar and muesli (see related recipe), then stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, oil and milk. Add to the dry ingredients with apple and raisins. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined (don't overmix). Divide among prepared muffin pans.

Step 2

Bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are firm and golden, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Thought of the Week