24 September 2025

Principal’s Message

Principal’s Award for Term 3

Congratulations to the following students who received the Term 3 Principal’s Award for outstanding achievement in a curriculum area at the end of term assembly:

Gold Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received their Gold Awards at the end of term assembly:

Year 1: Milana M (1B), Claire Z (1B), Hugo C (1C), Isabel C (1C), Stella H (1C), Sara K (1C), Sam S (1C), Colin S (1C), Ian Z (1C), Ryan A (1M), Derek C (1M), Amy F (1M), Nathan H (1M), Isla Z (1M), Sophia C (1S), Luis H (1S), Anthea J (1S), Eliyas K (1S), Emily X (1S), Harry C (1T), Orlando C (1T), Ken I (1T), Bilge S (1T), Royce W (1T)

Year 2: George S (2A), Elisa R (2B), Lucas W (2B), Ryan A (2BW), Lucas L (2BW), Maggie S (2BW), Terrence W (2BW), Kiran M (2M)

Year 3:  Sam A P (3J), Anjali A (3J), Bella B (3J), Cayden C (3J), Ivy D (3J), Ruby D (3J), Liheon W (3J), Adhira B (3LH), Caitlyn B (3LH), Gia L (3LH), Lydia L (3LH), Benedict W (3LH), Chloe Z (3LH), Ryan F (3MW), Gurnoor G (3MW), Joshua G (3R), Iris Z (3R)

Year 4: Marcus B (4B), Lillian L (4B), Havana N (4B), Olivia W (4B), Elsie H (4H), Alice N (4H), Isabella M (4M), Adrina S (4M), Carley Y (4M), Serena H (4P), Harvey B (4T), Olivia H (4T), Anna H (4T), Ellie H (4T), Diana K (4T), Ethan N (4T), Audree P (4T), Chloe Y (4T)

Year 5: Frederik B (5G), Natalie G (5G), Leo J (5G), Travis W (5G), Bahar B (5N), Eloise T (5N), Oscar S (5N), Hugo X (5N), Chloe A (5P), Baran B (5P), Alexandra G (5P), Travis L (5P), Andy W (5P), Fiora X (5P), Caleb B (5W), Caitlyn Y (5W)

Year 6: Lucas L (6H), James M (6H), Lorcan T (6L), Abby L (6GC), Ethan M (6GC), Nicole W (6GC), Isabel Z (6GC), Gordon C (6T), Evan M (6T), Matilda S (6T)

Outstanding Band Performances

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior Concert Bands on their excellent performances at The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood on Thursday 11 September. The venue was magnificent and being able to watch our students in this venue was a privilege. A big thank you to Mr Rob Jardine and Dr Luis Madrid for the continual high level of effort you put in to ensure our bands are always outstanding. Both bands also performed at UNSW in the Clancy Auditorium on Sunday 14 September. Well done on a busy week of performances!

Kindergarten Excursion

On Friday 12 September, Kindergarten went on an excursion to Bobbin Head National Park and had such a fun day exploring the bush. On our walk we searched for animal habitats, like hollows in trees, and were excited to spot a possum. Some of us were even lucky enough to see a goanna! One of the highlights was discovering an Aboriginal rock carving, which helped us think about why this place is so special.

We also had the chance to use binoculars to look more closely at nature and explored the mangroves, where we found crabs hiding in the mud. Afterwards, we used clay to make models of crabs or other animals we had seen. To end the day, we listened to a story about an owl and even got to see a preserved owl up close, which was very exciting. We had a fabulous day!

Year 6 Pizza Day

Thank you to our Year 6 parents for organising a fun mufti and Pizza day for all of the students on Thursday 11 September. The funds raised will assist the costs of the Year 6 Dinner Dance as well as helping to fund their charity of choice.

Movie Night

Can you believe we were able to hold our Movie Night despite the torrential rain we experienced earlier in the week! Having artificial turf is a godsend as it dries out quickly. The weather was balmy, the food choices perfect for Movie Night and the crowd had a brilliant night watching the new Minions Movie. This annual tradition at our school is a big winner. Thank you to Kate Kirk and her team - Ally Keramea, Zeinab Baghi Zadeh, Nelly Watson, Patrick Faucher, Julie Samowitz and Adam Ritter.

Story telling with Generative Ai 

We are hosting the Hour of Impact program over two days (4-5 November 2025) for Years 4 and 5. This is a free program organised by Accenture that is run by volunteer staff for students at schools across Australia and New Zealand. One of our parents is the driving force behind the program, hence our school has been offered the program. 

The program being offered at our school has Storytelling with Gen Ai and Reality Quest as the key initiatives. Additionally, they will touch on Virtual Reality + 3D Printing so students can explore these emerging technologies. Each class will have a session and the class teacher will remain with the class at all times. If you do not want your child to participate for any reason, please contact the school office.

Attendance for Term 3

Congratulations to the 460 students who have earned an Attendance Merit Card for excellent attendance throughout Term 3. These students earned a merit card this term for 96% of days at school. Well done!

Term 4 Dates for the Diary

Not returning in 2026?

Planning is now underway at St Ives North for 2026. If your child is not returning to us in 2026, we would be grateful if you could advise the School via the following email address: stivesnth-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

We employ some teachers on contracts and need to be able to offer enough contracts for the number of children we have. We don't want to start the year short staffed or overstaffed.

We know that our Year 6 students are heading off to high school, so there is no need to respond for these students.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this matter.

Using Student Toilets

Adults please do not use the children’s toilets when you come to pick up your children. Please use the single cubicle toilet opposite the front office if you need to go to the toilet when you arrive for pick up. If you have an elderly grandparent picking up your children, please reiterate this message with them as well. Please do not use the toilets under the old building block where the toilets are not individual cubicles.

Happy Holidays

Thank you for another wonderful term. I sincerely appreciate the support our families provide and the way in which you collaborate with our school. Have a safe and relaxing holiday break and we will see you back at school on Tuesday 14 October.

Christine Taylor
Principal

Deputy Principals’ Message

Silver Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received their Silver Awards at assembly:

Kindergarten: Charlie H (KB), Hugo R (KC), Hannah R (KC), Evie D (KG), Lachlan F (KG), Ryan L (KG), Jarl D (KL), Alessio S (KL), Andy S (KL), Heidi X (KL)

Year 1: Danielle A (1B), Enoch L (1B), Skye L (1B), Nayeli W (1B), Stella Y (1B), Hannah A (1C), Calvin L (1C), Ariel R (1C), Hara O (1M), Clayton C (1S), Viktoria P (1S), Isaac T (1S), Conrad K (1T), Olivia L (1T), Isabella Z (1T), Patrick Z (1T)

Year 2: Mika T (2A), Olivia X (2A), Olivia Y (2A), Max H (2BW), Bradley J (2BW), Chuchen S (2BW), Mark N (2M)

Year 3: Rebecca A (3J), Brian N (3J), Matilda R (3J), Candice H (3LH), Zoe H (3MW), Nathan M (3MW), Adharv K (3R)

Year 4: Cora H (4B), Ryder L (4B), Connor P (4B), Harry B (4H), Ralph D (4H), Ava M (4H), Aiden F (4P), Kaylan G (4P)

Year 5: Matilda H (5G), Macey A (5N), Doris H (5N), Trevor N (5N), Myra P (5N), Oscar S (5N), Emma T (5N), Daniella W (5N), Mary W (5N), Kiara Q (5P), Ryan S (5P), Zoe P (5W)

Year 6: Daniel H (6GC), Avi P (6GC), Giules S (6GC), Caden L (6H), Liam S (6H), Sophia S (6H), Yuli C (6L), Alina Y (6L), Vianna F (6T), Dylan L (6T), Evan M (6T)

Bronze School Spirit Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received their Bronze School Spirit Awards at assembly:

Year 2: Harvey L (2Z)
Year 5: Eloise T (5N), Emma T (5N)
Year 6: Sophia S (6H)

Naomi Shacham and Daniel Gorrie
Deputy Principals

K-6 Years News

Grade Spotlight - Year 6 Shark Tank Exhibition

This month, the halls of SINPS were buzzing with creativity, innovations, and a little bit of friendly competition as students across Year 6 participated in our highly anticipated annual Shark Tank project!

Inspired by the popular TV show, our version of Shark Tank challenged students to step into the shoes of entrepreneurs. The task? To invent or innovate a product that solves a real world problem, and pitch it to a panel of “Sharks”. This project required the students to think deeply about what issues they can solve with their products, and how it will actually work. This project took over Term 3, allowing the Year 6 students to show their teamwork and creativity. A team of teachers, and students were to choose if they wanted to invest in a group’s product.

From eco-friendly solutions and gadgets to clever everyday inventions, students impressed everyone with their originality, teamwork and business “professionalism”. Weeks of research, brainstorming, making the prototype, and rehearsing their speeches resulted in an exciting day where ideas came to life!

Jae A J (6H)

Library News

Library News

It's been a busy few weeks in the library as we have added many new books to our catalogue. Keep your eyes out for new titles as well as new sets of well loved classics on the shelves.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge has now closed for 2025.  Congratulations to the 101 students who successfully participated this year. A special congratulations to the following students who were our final group to complete the challenge before it closed.  Well done Charlie H (KB), Andrew Y (KC), Laura C (KW), Benjamin C (1T), Nathan H (1M), Lexie H (2BW), Sophia M (2BW), Lea M (2M), Leo M (2M), Candice H (3LH), Madeleine S (3R), Rubyna C (3R) and Liam C (4M).

Good News

Junior Chess League

Congratulations to the following students who competed in a Junior Chess League team during Term 2 and 3 and they finished in 4th place overall:

Jingyan C (3J), Aram G (3J), Ege S (3J), Marcus B (4B), Alex D R (5G), Ervin G (5G), Eric R (5G), Travis W (5G), Timothy C (5P).

A great effort!

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Championship

On 14 September, Alan L (KG) competed in the CompNet Australian National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025 and won the Gold Medal in his division. Well done Alan!

State Artistic Gymnastics

Cadence W (2BW) competed in the Level 4 State artistic gymnastics trial on 10 August at Epping YMCA. Cadence won a Silver Medal overall (2nd beam, 3rd floor).

Cadence has qualified to represent the Northern Region team and will compete in The State Championship on 31 October - 2 November at the Sydney Gymnastics and Aquatics Centre in Rooty Hill.

Congratulations Cadence and good luck at State! 

Sport News

Tennis - Primary Schools Challenge

On Saturday 6 September, SINPS had the following students take part in the Primary School Challenge:

• Ethan N (3J) and Peini Y (3J) - 1st (Green ball)
• Jayden C (2BW) and Cayden C (3J) - 1st (Green ball)
• Joshua S (6T) and Jack T (6T) - 2nd (Green ball)
• Macey A (5N) and Zoe P (4T) - 2nd (Green ball)
• Jaydon L (5G) and Ryder L (4B) - 2nd (Yellow ball)
• Alfred S (4M) and Jasper A (3MW) - 2nd (Orange ball)
• Andy W (5P) and Mark W (4P) - 3rd (Green ball)
• Emma L (3R) and Madeleine S (3R) - 4th (Orange ball)
• Adele B (5P) and Lauren K (5W) - 5th (Green ball)

They all performed exceptionally well against 37 other schools including both private and public schools.

It was the best performance SINPS has ever had as a school - they came 4th overall.

Congratulations team!

2025 Area Athletics Championships

Congratulations to all the students who competed at the Area Athletics Championships on Monday 22 September at Homebush. Bailey V (3MW) has made it to the NSWPSSA State Championships for the 9 years 100m on 22 and 23 October. We wish him all the best of luck.

It was great to see so many SINPS students with smiles on their faces and enjoying themselves. Please click on the document below for the results.

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Pymble Fun Run

The brand new community event went ahead on Sunday 21 September with a 5 km run and a 2 km run/walk around the streets of Pymble. SINPS had 31 participants - 13 students and 18 parents/carers.

Included in the event was the Interschool Cup where the fastest school takes home the trophy! The average pace of the fastest five students across all distances was calculated to determine the winning school and SINPS came away with the perpetual trophy which will be engraved with our school name on and presented to our school soon.

Congratulations to the team of five who won the trophy:

Sophie C (3MW), Harry C (1T), Angus C (KL), Matilda R (3J) and Brooklyn M (2Z).

Every participant received a special Pymble Fun Run medal as they crossed the finish line to celebrate their achievement.

Congratulations team, we are very proud of you.

P&C News

New P&C Sponsor

We are excited to welcome our newest sponsor!

We are very fortunate that our local business sponsors are so enthusiastic in supporting SINPS. Thank you for backing our students, staff and school community!

Please find out more about our sponsors at www.sinpspnc.org.au/about/our-sponsors. Our new sponsorship program is part of the P&C's ongoing efforts to source funding beyond our SINPS families.

SINPS Festive Fair 2025 - Markets Stallholders & Performers Wanted!

The SINPS Festive Fair has been locked in for Sunday 23 November!

Last year’s Market Day has now become our Festive Fair – this year, we’re adding more family fun as well as up-and-coming musical acts!

If your child would like to perform on stage – whether they sing, play an instrument, or are part of a group – we’d love to hear from you!

• Submit an expression of interest at ly/festive-performers
• Submissions close Friday 17 October

We’ll still have performances from our school bands and string ensembles - and of course, our SINPS family market stalls.

• To hire a market stall, order on Flexischools now!
• Numbers are limited and second-hand stalls are capped, so don't miss out

Grant Success

We’re thrilled to announce that our P&C has been successful in securing another grant this year - this time $1,000 from the Australian Government!

This grant has been awarded under the 2024-25 Volunteer Grants Program, for funding of our Music Program's student management software. This supports our parent volunteers in delivering a high quality experience to our music families.

We’re proud to be achieving real improvements for our school by bringing in funding from beyond our immediate community.

Kate Kirk
SINPS Treasurer

NSSWE Winter Concert

Our Senior Concert Band and Junior Concert Band participated in the non-competitive NSSWE Spring Concert on 11 September, showcasing their talent to the audience at the Chatswood Concourse. We sincerely thank the parents for their support during what was a long weekday evening.

Mrs Taylor, our big supporter, and her family enjoyed our musicians' performances!

ASBOF

We are proud to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of our bands and ensembles at the ASBOF, where they earned well deserved medals on Sunday 14 and Sunday 21 September. Their dedication and hard work have truly paid off, and each participating student has now received their certificate. A special thank you goes to the parents who dedicated their Sundays to supporting the bands - your encouragement makes a real difference.

Primary Proms – Brindabella Concert 

Our String Orchestra, selected by the Arts Unit through audition, impressed the audience with their quality performance on the Town Hall stage on 22 September. Thanks to Mrs Howe for her dedicated support in making this event possible.

Music Information Night

We presented our music program to parents interested in joining in 2026 on 17 September. The program details can be found through https://www.sinpspnc.org.au/music. Thank you to Mrs Shacham for her support during the evening.

Stage Band

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Stage Band, conducted by Mr Jardine. This ensemble will focus on Jazz music, and we will be trialing it in Term 4 to evaluate the possibility of making it a permanent part of our music program.

Ali Shahnazi
SINPS P&C Music President
https://www.sinpspnc.org.au/music-program

Community Noticeboard

Parenting Class Course

Please click on the flyer below for more information about a free parent support group hosting a talk on youth wellbeing and emotion support skills. The aim is to help parents of teens facing academic and emotional challenges.

Normanhurst Boys Open Day

Please click on the below flyer for the Normanhurst Boys High School Open Day on 14 October.

Hornsby Girls High School

Please see below flyer for their Year 5 Open Day being held on Tuesday 14 October 2025. The program starts at 9 am and concludes at 11 am.

Musical Fireworks Fundraising Concert

Please click on the flyer below for details about a Musical Fireworks Fundraising Concert on 28 September performed by The Occasional Performing Sinfonia (TOPS) and players from Knox Grammar School, Hornsby Girls High and North Sydney Girls High.

St Ives Preschool Family Fun Fair

Please see the flyer below for more details about the upcoming Family Fun Fair on Sunday 26 October.

Manly Warringah Basketball Association

Please see the flyer below for details about their upcoming holiday camp and Term 4 programs.

Ku-Ring-Gai Swim Club Summer Competition

Ku-Ring-Gai Swim Club (KASC) has just opened registrations for its summer competition at West Pymble Fitness and Aquatic Centre every Saturday morning.

This is a great family oriented and community club which encourages families of all abilities to be active together. Please see the flyer below for more information.

Narrabeen Nippers

Narrabeen Beach Surf Life Saving Club is currently taking registrations for their Nippers program. Narrabeen nippers is a warm and friendly club with a focus on fun and surf safety, everyone is welcome. Please see the flyer below for more details.

Ku-Ring-Gai Phoenix Football Club Trials

Ku-Ring-Gai Phoenix, which is a joint venture junior development league team between Gordon Football Club and North Turramurra Football Club, is holding trials at the beginning of November for their 2026 teams. These trials are aimed at dedicated and committed junior players who are looking for a more competitive standard or structured pathway to representative football. Please see the flyer below for more information.

After School Public Speaking Classes

Please see the flyer below for more information about after school public speaking classes at SINPS.

TalentMind Robotics and Coding after-school programs for Term 4

The schedule for all classes remains the same as before:

• Robotics with LEGO WeDo2.0 - for Y1 students in 2025 on Wednesday afternoons.
• Scratch Coding and Video Game Design - for Y3+ students in 2025 on Friday afternoons.

Please click on the below brochures for further details.

Useful Information

SINPS Extra Curricular Activities

In addition to our magnificent strings and band program which is run by our brilliant P&C, the following extra curricular activities are available before and after school. The choirs and dance groups are run by our teachers and the other activities are run by external organisations. The school will also hold auditions for the 2026 Hip Hop dance, Junior Jazz dance and Senior Contemporary dance groups later in Term 4.

Extended Leave Application Form 

For travel of four days or more, please complete the online form through the link below or in the School Bytes parent portal in the Forms section: 

Volunteer Declaration Form for parents/carers wanting to volunteer at our school

The Department of Education has digitised their screening process and you now only need to complete a digital declaration. Parents and carers who would like to volunteer at our school for any reason (e.g. canteen, class helpers, reading groups, athletics carnivals, special events, etc.) are required to complete a Digital Volunteer Declaration. 

Prior to commencing volunteer work, please contact the office to provide your full name, email address and mobile number. The Department of Education will then send an invitation via email to you to complete an online Digital Declaration. Next time you attend the school, you will need to present a photo ID to finalise the screening process.  

We understand you may have already been through the screening process, but we are asking you to redo your declaration form through this new process.

Change of Student Details Form

Parents can now update student contact and address details by completing the online form through the link below or in the School Bytes parent portal in the Forms section: