1 July 2021
Principal's Report
Dear Families,
This will be my last newsletter as Acting Principal before resuming my role as Assistant Principal. Mr Donnelly will return next term as Principal of Illawarra Primary after acting in a senior role in the Department. He is very much looking forward to reconnecting with students, staff and the wider school community.
I have been fortunate to act as Principal in a school with such a positive culture and all the experience and challenge this has afforded me. I am also very grateful to the support and collective efforts of all the staff at Illawarra who contribute significantly to our school culture and make leading and working in this environment pleasant and satisfying. We have worked together to revise, refine and promote the 'Illawarra Way' over these last two terms and will continue to uphold high expectations for the learning and behaviour of our students.
Our school community is a very supportive one and I appreciate the efforts of families in working with the school to uphold the Illawarra Way.
Another change to staffing next term is the departure of Cynthia Howard, our very experienced and talented Music Teacher. Cynthia has wanted to change direction in her teaching for some time and has been looking for the right opportunity to come along. She will be joining the Tasman District High team as a primary classroom teacher from next term. Cynthia very much enriched our school through the Music programs she offered. We will miss her expertise and energy and wish her all the best on her new journey. Damien O’Toole will be teaching Music for the remainder of the year. Damien has been a regular relief teacher with the school and is also a trained Music teacher, with 12 years Music teaching experience as well as many years working as a professional musician.
A reminder that the first day back of school next term is a student free day. On this day staff will work together to plan for the teaching of respectful relationships, and the majority of the day will be spent working with teachers from Snug, Blackmans Bay and Bruny Island Primary to benefit from each other’s experience and expertise in differentiating maths tasks. Professional collaborations such as this improve everyone’s practice and strengthen consistency of teaching approaches across schools that serve the Kingborough Community.
Australian Curriculum review: Feedback is currently being invited on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum. The Review looks to improve the Australian Curriculum by refining, realigning and decluttering the content so it focusses on the essential knowledge and skills students should learn. It will also provide a clearer focus of learning content for teachers. A link is below for any parents interested in providing feedback.
The Australian Curriculum | Consultation The consultation period finishes on Thursday 8 July.
Reports: A reminder that reports are sent home today, so look out for them in school bags. Thank you to class teachers for the enormous amount of effort and time that goes into completing assessments, thinking and writing to ensure families are clear about where their child/ren are at in their learning and where to focus efforts.
Lastly, enjoy making the most of our beautiful state over the next two weeks as it looks like everyone will be staying put these holidays.
We look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for school again on Tuesday the 20th of July.
Kind regards,
Cathryn Kelly-Bounds
Acting Principal
Calendar of Events
July 1 | Mid Year reports sent home |
July 1 | Last day of Student Banking |
July 1 | Year 6 Combined Primary Schools Band 3.30-4.30pm |
July 5 – July 18 | Term 2 Holidays |
July 19 | STUDENT FREE DAY - Teacher/Teacher Assistant Professional Learning |
July 20 | Term 3 begins for students |
July 21 | Prep J and Prep O/E Excursion - Marine Discovery Centre |
July 22 | Prep/1W Excursion - Marine Discovery Centre |
August 4 | Australian Maths Competition |
August 18-19 | Year 5 Band Workshop – C3 Convention Centre |
August 20 | Winterfest – Further details TBA |
August 24 | Winter Sports Carnival |
September 10 | KidsMatter Day – Further details TBA |
September 17 | School Disco/Free Dress Day |
Kinder Excursion
Last week the Kinder Possums and Wombats went on an excursion to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery as part of our enquiry into Place. We visited the Children’s exhibition called mapiya lumi - around here
Library News
The Giant Book Swap! - It's Out of this World!
Wednesday August 25th
Click here to see the shortlisted books CBCA
Have you got books at home you no longer read?
Save them for the Giant Book Swap during book week in Term 3.
At Illawarra Primary School to celebrate Book Week we alternate each year between a Book Swap and a Dress-Up Parade. We hope you will enjoy the Book Swap this year. It is a wonderful opportunity for children to understand the value of recycling and enjoy the excitement of choosing a “new” book to take home.
PE News
It has been a busy last few weeks in Physical Education. We have just finished up our Badminton unit which, despite some bad weather which kept us inside at times, was great fun. A big thanks to Lasse who came in to help us all with our Badminton. It’s not often you get a coach who has been to the Olympics to come and help you hone your skills!! The students all seemed to enjoy the game and learning the finer points. There are some Holiday clinic flyers attached to the newsletter today for any students interested in more Badminton.
We also had Mike from Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) come in to tell us all about Boat Safety. They were very informative sessions with some great questions and answers from our students. I’m sure a few parents were asked about what safety equipment is kept on the family tinny and the servicing of lifejackets!! The safety flare demonstration was also very popular. We then had the opportunity to do some practical work at the Swimming and Water Safety Program around boat safety. Thanks Mike!!
Our last two weeks have been full on with the Swimming and Water Safety Program at the Collegiate Pool. It has been great to see our students demonstrating some great skills, but also those who were a little nervous really give it their best in the pool and are making great progress in both their confidence in the water and also their swimming skills. A big thanks to the staff at Collegiate Pool, and especially our own Pete McKenna who has been amazing working with our group and giving confidence to our developing swimmers.
Finally, we have had two University of Tasmania Practical placement students who have worked in PE & Health at school for two weeks, and then have also been with us at the pool for the two week Swimming and Water Safety Program. Connor O’Brien and Alanna Monks have been doing a great job assisting and running activities in badminton, netball & swimming over the past month. They have done a great job and hopefully have gained some invaluable experience at Illawarra Primary to help them develop as teachers. Well done, Connor & Alanna!!
House Emblems
Under the watchful eye of Mrs Petersen earlier this term, students in grades 5 and 6 created a range of unique designs to represent their house emblem.
Yesterday, the House Leaders of Bombora, Waratah and Wattle conducted a whole school vote to decide which student design would be used on our new house flags. From setting up before school, to packing up at the end of lunch, our student leaders did a fantastic job coordinating a slick operation. The voting was very close and at the beginning of next term we will announce the winning designs. We would like to acknowledge the fantastic work of our students and leaders. We all look forward to seeing our new designs come to life next term!
Launch into Learning (Pademelons) - Term 3
Canteen Menu - Term 3 Week 1
Empowered Kids
Lisa Ford (Clinical Child Psychologist) has presented at Illawarra several times for parents on topics such as risk taking, resilience and mindful parenting. She also worked with our grade 5/6 students in term 1 on bullying and empathy. Lisa has an online package for parents called ‘Empowered kids’.
Topics include:
- CONNECTION and slowing down, simplifying childhood
- Allowing independence and Independent problem solving
- not rescuing our children from every struggle- the importance of healthy stress
- Risky play benefits
- Gratitude and compassionate action
If you are interested in purchasing access for $22 you can find the package here:
High School Intentions - 2022
The Department of Education are collecting information in regard to High School Intentions from Grade 6 to 7. If your child is transitioning to high school in 2022, please log onto the link below and complete the information form. Alternatively, paper copies can be collected from the Illawarra Primary School office.
Kindergarten 2022
School Zine App
Please click on the link below for instructions on how to access the Newsletter via the School Zine app. Contact the Office if you have any issues downloading the app.
Community Notices
