Newsletter | Term 3 Week 8

Principal Message

High Potential Gifted Education (HPGE)

At our school, every learner’s potential is our priority. We foster a culture of high expectations, equity and excellence, ensuring every student, regardless of background, has the opportunity to develop their potential.

Our school offers a range of opportunities across the four domains of potential: creative, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional. Some examples of our offerings include:

• Student Representative Council (SRC), which supports students' potential in the social-emotional domain
• HPGE groups focusing on the intellectual domain (English and mathematics)
  
• Passion project group for Years 4–6, focusing on students demonstrating high potential in the creative and intellectual domains
• PSSA Sports Association
• School band and choir, which support students across the school in the creative domain

Our offerings engage and challenge every student, including a strong focus on talent development for high potential and gifted learners.

Colour Run is coming

The Colour Run is just around the corner! This exciting event is a huge effort, organised entirely by our dedicated P&C volunteers who generously give their time to fundraise and give back to our school community.

Recently, our P&C proudly donated $38,000 to the school to support a range of resources, including student laptops, bookshelves, electric pencil sharpeners, sporting equipment and uniforms, band shirts, and much more.

We encourage all students to get involved, fundraise, and enjoy a fun-filled day. This year, the P&C aims to raise funds to upgrade the furniture in our school library—a request made directly by our students.

Please support the P&C if you can by volunteering on the day or helping your child with their fundraising efforts. Your contribution helps make the Colour Run a memorable day for students and enables the P&C to continue their valuable support of our school.

As an added bonus, Ms Yeo and Mr Garner will be slimed at the end of the day by the student who raises the most funds and the teacher of the class that raises the most.

Excursions – celebrating our students and staff

The last two weeks have been filled with exciting learning adventures for our students across various year groups, and we would like to extend our thanks to the dedicated staff who made these experiences possible.

A special thank you to our Year 1 and 2 teachers who accompanied our students on their visit to the Hunter Valley Wildlife Park. Your enthusiasm and commitment helped bring this hands-on learning experience, giving our younger learners a wonderful opportunity to explore and connect with nature.

Our Year 4 students enjoyed an engaging two-night stay at the Great Aussie Bush Camp. We commend the staff who gave their time and energy to supervise and support our students throughout this excursion, fostering teamwork, resilience, and outdoor skills.

Meanwhile, our Kindergarten students had an enriching visit to the Newcastle Museum this week. The staff’s dedication to providing meaningful experiences beyond the classroom continues to inspire and motivate our youngest learners.

We also congratulate all our students for their excellent behaviour and enthusiastic participation in these excursions.

Thank you once again to our wonderful staff and students for making these excursions successful and enriching. Your efforts and attitudes ensure that these opportunities are enjoyable, educational, and rewarding for everyone involved.

Kirstie Yeo and Nick Garner

Principal

Celebrating Success: Kobi in KM

We are excited to celebrate Kobi’s wonderful progress in KM as he continues to develop his phonemic knowledge and letter-sound matching skills. Kobi has been working to connect sounds with their corresponding letters, an essential foundation for reading and writing.

Today, Mr Garner visited KM and was impressed by Kobi’s confidence and hard work. Kobi proudly wrote his dictation sentence, carefully applying his sound knowledge to spell the words. After writing, he confidently read the sentence back to Mr Garner, demonstrating his growing reading skills.

Nick Garner

Year 5 Students visits to partner pre-schools

In Term 3, our Year 5 students have a wonderful opportunity to build meaningful relationships with the youngest members of our school community by visiting our feeder pre-schools. These visits play an important role in preparing our newest students for their transition to Floraville Public School in 2026.

Students with permission visit one of the following pre-schools: St Luke's Pre-school (Belmont North), Discovery Garden Childcare (Floraville), Kindy Patch Floraville, or Kinda Kapers (Belmont North).

Building strong connections early helps create a welcoming and supportive environment for our incoming students, easing their transition and fostering a sense of belonging from the very beginning.

We look forward to nurturing these important relationships as we welcome the next generation of Floraville PS students.

Kirrily Katen
Early Stage 1 Assistant Principal

Stage 3 Discovery Day

This week, some of our Year 6 students had an exciting opportunity to attend the Science Discovery Day at San Clemente High School. They engaged in a variety of STEM activities, including constructing bridge, plane, and windmill models, as well as exploring coding concepts. Working in small groups, students enhanced their teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity skills.

A big congratulations to Tilly, Evita, Aylah, and Crystal, who achieved first place in the bridge building challenge – their bridge successfully held a cart weighing 9kg! A sincere thank you to the parents who helped make this experience possible by providing private transport.

Early Stage 1

What are we learning in Kindergarten?

 Literacy

When writing, we are learning to ‘stretch’ our sentences. This means we need to include

• Who or what?
• What did they do?
• When did they do it?

When you are writing at home, make sure your sentences have a capital letter, a full stop, and finger spaces. How can you ‘stretch’ your sentence?

Our next focus in English is a Unit entitled “Behind the Art”. Students will explore how art is used to communicate ideas and share information.

Here are some links if you would like to watch the stories at home;

Finding Winnie
Shirley Purdie
Matisse’s Garden

Numeracy

We are learning about measurement.

Here’s a fun activity you can do at home with your child to explore size and weight using everyday items!

What to do:

1. Ask your child to think about a time they helped with the grocery shopping or carrying things at home.
2. Gather a few household items together (for example: a box of tissues, a bag of flour or sugar, a can of food, a small toy, or a packet of chips).
3. Talk with your child about the items and ask:

• Which item is the biggest? How do you know?
• Which item is the smallest? How do you know?
• Which item is the heaviest? How do you know?
• Which item is the lightest? How do you know?

HSIE

This term, Kindergarten students have been exploring the places they live and those that are important to them. Through hands-on investigations, they are developing an understanding of how locations can be represented on maps and discovering what makes a place special. Students are learning that different people may value places for different reasons, helping to build empathy and appreciation for diverse perspectives.

As part of their geographical inquiry, students have been conducting fieldwork by collecting data about their local environment. They have created pictographs to represent their findings and shared their observations with their classmates, strengthening their skills in data collection, representation, and communication.

To extend this learning at home, families are encouraged to try the following activities:

• Map Your Favourite Places: Help your child draw a simple map of your home, backyard, or local neighbourhood. Talk about the important places on the map and why they are special.
• Explore Together: Take a walk around your neighbourhood and discuss the places you visit regularly. Ask your child what they like about each place and if different family members feel differently about them.
• Create a Pictograph: Collect data on something simple at home, such as favourite fruits, pets, or colours. Help your child create a pictograph to represent the information and talk about what the data shows.

These activities support children’s understanding of geography, data skills, and communication, while connecting learning to their own experiences.

Kirrilly Katen
Early Stage 1 Assistant Principal

Stage 1

Literacy

Mathematics

In Year 1, students will develop knowledge, understanding, and skills of division and fractions as part measures of a whole length. Students are provided opportunities to: 

• Explore that a fraction, such as one-half, can mean half of a collection, half of a length, or half of a measure 

• Investigate that when a whole is cut or partitioned into equal parts, the number of parts increases, but the size of each part is smaller 

• Understand that a fraction that describes two equal parts of a whole, and four equal parts of a whole, has the names half and quarter 

• Recognise that division can result in leftovers or a remainder. 

In Year 2, students will develop knowledge and skills in understanding that a fraction can mean half a collection or half a measure. Students are provided opportunities to: 

• Engage in meaningful activities using repeated halving to explore halves, quarters, and eighths 

• Create and explore collections of objects that have or have not been divided into halves, quarters, and eighths 

• Investigate division through sharing and grouping a collection, including leftovers.

Stage 1 Excursion

Last week, Stage One students enjoyed a wonderful day at the Hunter Valley Wildlife Park. Excitement began from the moment the bus departed and continued throughout the day as students had the opportunity to see a wide variety of animals up close, while learning interesting facts from the informative talks delivered by the park staff.

The excursion provided valuable outdoor learning, allowing students to deepen their understanding of wildlife while also enjoying time with friends and creating lasting memories.

Elleina Martinez
Stage 1 Assistant Principal  

Stage 2

Last week, Year 4 students had a fantastic time at The Great Aussie Bush Camp. They participated in a variety of activities, stepped out of their comfort zones, and created lasting memories. The experience encouraged students to develop new skills and work together as a team. Many students left the camp feeling more confident and ready to take on new challenges.

4L

Class 4L are currently incorporating peer feedback into their writing process. Students use checklists aligned with the established success criteria to guide their reviews of each other’s work. This method is designed to help students identify areas for improvement and enhance the quality of their writing. The use of structured peer feedback aims to develop both writing skills and evaluation abilities.

2/3K

2/3K are learning about the concept of area, with a focus on finding the most efficient methods to calculate the area of squares and rectangles. Students engaged in discussions about different strategies and shared their ideas with each other. As part of their learning, they were challenged to calculate the area of a Minecraft world. This hands-on activity helped students apply their mathematical skills in a fun and meaningful way.

4/5D

In 4/5D, students have been learning all about characterisation in their recent literacy lessons. After reading their class novel, students examined how authors build characters by looking closely at speech, thoughts, actions, and appearance. Using evidence from the text, they broke down these elements to gain a deeper understanding of each character’s personality and motivations. This activity has helped students strengthen their comprehension skills and become more thoughtful, critical readers.

3A

3A have been busy building their skills in measurement, focusing on the language used to describe length and weight. Students have been exploring different ways to compare, estimate, and measure objects, strengthening both their mathematical knowledge and vocabulary. They have also been getting creative in the art room by recreating Sidney Nolan’s famous Ned Kelly paintings.

3/4O

3/4O have also been exploring measurement using the newly purchased digital scales provided through the P&C Enrichment Tree. Students have been practising their skills by estimating the weight of different objects and then comparing their guesses to the actual measurements. The class are enjoying the opportunity to use new equipment to support their learning.

Adam O’Shannessy
Stage 2 Assistant Principal

Stage 3

6C

6C has continued learning about fake news. Students are writing their own fake news stories using Microsoft Word and Canva. Their stories sound real but are entirely fictional, and they must be about Floraville Public School. This activity is helping students understand what fake news is and why it’s important to be careful about what they read. They are also practising their writing skills and learning how to use headings, different fonts, and various sentence types such as declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative. In maths, 6C has been learning about coordinates. Students have practised finding and drawing points on a grid. They have explored the Cartesian plane, which is a grid made up of four sections called quadrants. The class has learned how to plot points in all four quadrants. To make learning fun, the class has played online Battleships, which helps them understand how to use coordinates. The students have also learned how to draw shapes by plotting and joining points, as well as how to flip (reflect) these shapes on the grid. It has been a fun few weeks with lots of new things to learn in both English and maths!

6N

Students from classes 6N and 6C have been combining their art lessons to explore the fascinating world of photography. Using our school’s technology resources, they have been developing a range of photography skills that go beyond just taking pictures. Throughout their sessions, students have learned about the rule of thirds, effective use of natural and artificial light, capturing unique perspectives, and incorporating elements of nature and colour into their compositions. Each student has been uploading their best work to their personal OneDrive portfolio, showcasing their growth and passion for photography. We are proud to share some of their stunning photographs captured during these art lessons, reflecting both their technical skills and artistic vision.

5A

5A students engaged in collaborative group work focused on exploring the characters and themes in the book, particularly through the lens of August and Jones. They worked together to answer questions and discuss the connections between the characters and the broader themes throughout the story. This activity encouraged critical thinking, teamwork, and a deeper understanding of the text. We are proud of the insightful discussions and enthusiasm the students demonstrated during this learning experience.

5/6F

5/6F have been exploring multiplication and division concepts, working with both whole numbers and decimals. Through engaging in real-life examples, students have developed important problem-solving skills while investigating the order of operations. Using the BODMAS acronym, they are learning to approach calculations in a clear and logical way of building a strong foundation for future mathematical learning and everyday decision-making. 

• Brackets
• Orders (i.e., powers and roots, such as squares and square roots)
• Division
• Multiplication
• Addition
• Subtraction

It represents the order of operations used to solve mathematical expressions correctly.

Year 5 leadership journey begins

We are excited to announce that our Year 5 cohort will begin their leadership journey with a special session on Wednesday, 24 September, from 12pm to 2:55pm in the school hall. During this session, students will learn about school leadership and how to embody the six core values: confidence, getting along, persistence, quality, resilience, and organisation. They will also receive a clear outline of the next steps in the leadership process. Stay tuned for updates as our young leaders grow and shine!

Ryan Cox
Stage 3 Assistant Principal 

School News

Living Smart Festival – Saturday, 20 September

Despite the recent rain, Floraville students have been working hard growing potted organic plants to proudly take to the festival. Join us for a fun-filled day at the Living Smart Festival from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM! Come along to see the students’ hard work and enjoy the vibrant community celebration.

There are two exciting competition categories with great prizes: a main prize of $1000 and a runner-up prize of a garden bed. Permaculture Hunter will judge the “Best in Show” category, while festival-goers will decide the People’s Choice Award by voting for their favourite garden bed.

Please come along and vote for Floraville to help us shine in the People’s Choice Award. We look forward to seeing you there!

Carissa Watson

Star Struck 2026 - Vocal Audition Information

Sports News

Hunter PSSA Athletics Carnival

Last Friday, Floraville PS sent 13 of our budding champion athletes to the Hunter PSSA Athletics Carnival to compete against the best of the best in the Hunter region for the chance to compete at the NSW PSSA Athletics Carnival. We congratulate our athletes who competed with enthusiasm and teamwork across a range of events. A special mention to Audrey K and Zahra B, who will now be heading to the NSW PSSA Athletics Carnival as members of the Hunter PSSA team. Again, a massive congratulations to all our athletes on their efforts!

Infants Sports Carnival is approaching

The Infants Sports Carnival is just around the corner, and excitement is building among our students for this much-anticipated event! Students can look forward to a fun-filled day packed with exciting activities, games, and movement!

If you haven’t already done so, please ensure that your child’s permission is completed in School Bytes. Our wonderful P&C is organising a BBQ lunch if you wish to place a pre-order.  

We look forward to seeing all our students participating, cheering, and having an amazing time at the carnival!

Macquarie Cup netball wrap-up

What a wonderful two terms it has been travelling with a group of 53 students to our Macquarie Cup Netball on Fridays. Throughout this time, we have faced some wild weather, adapted with flexibility, and demonstrated true Floravillian sportsmanship.

Netball has provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to foster new friendships and connections, build confidence and skills through both playing and umpiring, and experience personal growth by learning perseverance and the importance of always doing their best.

As our Macquarie Cup season comes to an end, our teams are gearing up for the upcoming semi-finals and finals. We wish all our students the very best of luck!

A big thank you to Mrs Lindsay, Mrs Newton, and Mrs Hodgson for their time, dedication, and support throughout the season. Your commitment to the sport and our students is truly appreciated.

PSSA Netball State Knockout Competition

This week, Floraville Public School showcased exceptional skill and determination as they competed in the regional finals of the PSSA State knockout competition against Tomaree Public School. The match was held at Tomaree, setting the stage for a thrilling contest between two talented teams.

From the moment the whistle blew, the game was intense and fast-paced. Floraville got off to a shaky start, facing tough opposition and trailing behind in the second quarter. Despite this early challenge, the girls demonstrated incredible resilience and teamwork. They quickly regrouped, adjusted their strategy, and fought back fiercely to regain the lead.

Once ahead, Floraville maintained their momentum and kept their opponents at bay for the remainder of the game. The final score was an impressive 28 to 18, securing Floraville Public School’s position as the Hunter region champions.

Their success in the regional finals now propels them forward to the quarter-finals, where they will face Yamba Public School in the coming weeks. Congratulations to all the girls! We look forward to cheering you on as you continue your journey in the PSSA State knockout competition.

Elizabeth Lindsay

P&C News

🌈 Colour Run – Thursday, 25 September! Only 2 Weeks to Go!

Register now at www.myprofilepage.com.au and share your page with family & friends to sponsor your child!
✅ So far, 110 of 500 students have started fundraising – let’s get everyone involved!
✅ Just $10 in fundraising unlocks your first prize (and helps us get closer to slimming the teachers 🎉).
Many schools charge a participation fee for their Colour Run – we don’t, but we ask every child to please try to raise at least $10 to help us hit our fundraising target.
✅ Our goal: $15,000 as requested by the SRC for new library furniture & resources. We’ve reached 43% of our target! This will benefit everyone from Kindergarten through to Year 6.

🏆 The P&C will reward the top 3 fundraising classes:
1️⃣ 1st place – Slime Ms Yeo & your teacher + pizza party lunch
2️⃣ 2nd place – Slime Mr Garner & your teacher + cupcakes for the class
3️⃣ 3rd place – Slime your teacher + ice blocks for the class

🏢 Business owners

Want to sponsor this event or one of our Colour Run obstacles? Contact Cheryl, VP (Fundraising), at fpsfundraising1@gmail.com for more information.

🙋 Volunteers 

COLOUR RUN = LOADS OF FUN! To make it happen, we need many helping hands! Our last Colour Run in 2022 was a blast for students, teachers, and helpers alike — don’t miss it! Sign up for:

• Set up crew (8:30–12pm): Help build the obstacle course & get everything ready.
• Event & pack down crew (12–3:30pm): Cheer on the kids, throw colour, keep the course running smoothly, and help pack away at the end.

Sign up for one or both timeslots here: Volunteer Sign-Up.

Thank you for helping us create a super fun day to celebrate the last week of Term 3!

🎉 Infants Sports Carnival BBQ – Wednesday, 17 September

The P&C is firing up the BBQ again for the Infants Sports Carnival! 🌭

✅ Student lunches: Order forms have been sent home, and were due today.  Note: K-2 students will not be able to purchase lunch from the canteen on this day. Students must pre-order their BBQ lunches so they’re ready during the allocated student lunch break!

🍰 On the day: Families can purchase sausage sizzles, drinks, cakes & ice blocks over the counter.

🙌 Volunteers needed! Helpers are needed from 9am–1:30pm for setup, cooking, packing & sales. We have 30-minute time slots so that we will have more than enough helpers, and you won’t miss your kids’ events!

Sign up here: Volunteer Sign-Up.

📅 September P&C Meeting Highlights

We had a productive P&C meeting this week. We welcomed some new members, as well as some regular attendees. Some of our discussions included:

NAPLAN 

Ms Connolly, Mr Garner, and Ms Yeo explained the results for NAPLAN this year, implications, and future planning. It’s so beneficial to hear the discussion about these in person and be able to ask questions to help us understand what this means for our kids – a great reason to attend a P&C meeting!

Kiss & Ride

The school survey results were discussed, including responses to each of the survey points. 

SRC Requests

It was exciting to hear that many of the items the SRC requested at our last meeting have already been ordered and are on their way to the classrooms and playgrounds!

Year 6 Canteen Helpers

For term 4, year 6 students will be invited to help in the canteen. This means our canteen will be open on Mondays in Term 4 for ice blocks, drinks, and snack sales only (no lunch orders). The year 6 students have loved this opportunity in previous years, so we welcome them back into Marg’s Food Shack this year! Permission forms will be sent home to Year 6 parents soon, and teachers will assist in compiling a roster so that all interested students have the opportunity to participate. 

Uniform Updates 

Some of our school community have asked if the P&C can look into changes to some of our uniform items. This was raised at the meeting, and it was agreed that the P&C could review other options. This is just the beginning of a process, which will include community consultation, so watch this space so you can have your say on the Floraville PS uniforms of the future!

Volunteer of the Month

August Volunteer of the Month is Karen Clement! Thank you to Karen for her regular volunteering efforts in the canteen and at events. We’ll share some more about our recent volunteer of the month recipients in upcoming newsletters!

Performing Arts Shirts

Currently, our school band members wear black polo shirts for performances and competitions. These shirts make our school easily identifiable at events, help us stand out on stage, and foster team spirit by uniting band members as one cohesive group. However, our current band shirts are well and truly worn out and ready for a glow up! Parents have asked the P&C to consider replacing the shirts and also to extend the option to our fabulous choir, so they can be showcased too. Enter the idea of Performing Arts shirts!

With input from our performing arts teachers, two shirt designs have been shortlisted as the best representation of Floraville Public School. Now we’d love to hear from you!

🎼 There are 2 unisex design options to choose from.
🎼 Please follow the survey link and place your vote by 7 October. Floraville Public School Performing Arts Shirt options
🎼Don’t forget to ask your kids for their favourite!

Mango Fundraiser 

Will be back this year! This is always popular for our families as the weather warms up. Ordering details to come before the end of the Term. 

OOSH Vacation Care

Bookings are open. Please ensure you have completed the permission forms for any excursions your children are booked to attend. Check out the Vacation Care timetable at Floraville Spring 2025.

🗓️ Upcoming P&C Dates for Your Calendar! 📅

🏃‍♀️Colour Run: Thursday, 25 September 

📅Term 4 P&C Meetings: 14 October and 11 November

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details on these exciting events! 🎊

P&C Communication

Stay up to date with the latest P&C information and events.

📨Email us: fpspresident@gmail.com
🌍Visit our website: https://floravillepublicschoolpc.square.site/
📘 Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/p.c.floraville

Amanda Bailey  
P&C President on behalf of the P&C Committee

OOSH - Spring Vacation Care