11 November 2021

Principal's Report

Dear families,

The term continues to be busy and exciting and the past couple for weeks, since the last newsletter, have been no exception. 

Springfest

Firstly, I would like to congratulate Yen Chamberlain, Georgia Pearsall, and the School Association for the very successful Springfest.  Although the weather was by no means conducive to running such an event, the perseverance, determination, and hard work of all involved ensured a wonderful evening.  It was also very pleasing to see the number of families who attended, a true reflection of the commitment and support the school is afforded by its community.  The good nature in which parents accepted and coped with the cold and wet weather so that they could support their children and the school also needs to be acknowledged. The joy on people’s faces whilst watching the different student performances made the evening all the more special.

External School Review

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the school has recently completed a successful external school review and although the official report and its recommendations that will inform and guide the school’s future improvement planning, will be received later in the term, I wanted to share with the school community the affirmations and commendations made by the review panel.

               Affirmations and Commendations:

• A high priority is given to building and maintaining positive and caring relationships across the school. These relationships are used as an enabler for learning. This was also identified as a strength from parents that met with the panel.
• The school has been successful in maintaining learning environments that are welcoming and safe. Classrooms are calm and orderly, and most students were engaged in their learning.
• The school has been successful in creating learning environments that supports and encourages learning. There is a happy and optimistic feel to the school and a strong sense of pride and belonging. Students that met with the panel spoke highly of the school and its staff.
• The school has introduced programs and strategies to identify and address the needs of students in the school and are sourcing and applying resources to meet those needs. Tailored interventions are in place for many students requiring additional support.
• Staff at the school are united and committed to improve the learning outcomes for students – reflected in the wide range of strategies to support student’s wellbeing.

Once received, the review report will be first shared in its entirety with the School Association, and then with the wider school community.

School Athletics Carnival

Another event that requires special mention was the school’s Athletics Carnival held on Thursday 23^rd October.  It was particularly pleasing to have parents in attendance, and the students again this year were outstanding in their display of sportsmanship and encouragement of their fellow house team members.  Mr Warren Iles and Mrs Sarah Hingston deserve great praise for all aspects of the event, and special mention needs to be made of the Soran Bushi Japanese dance that opened the carnival.  In keeping with the Japanese culture theme of past years, the early childhood students again participated enthusiastically in the tabloid Undoukai activities.  The primary carnival concluding with age group running relays and tug of war, epitomised the team event approach for the day.    

Jumping Jacks

I had the pleasure last week of accompanying the Jumping Jacks on their overnight tour to the north west of the state.  The quality of the performances and the outstanding manner in which the team represented the Heart Foundation and Illawarra Primary School reflected all the hard work the students have dedicated to perfecting their routines, and the great support provided by Mrs Nanna Jansen-Munday and Ms Charlotte Genford. Every time I see these performances the importance of the additional opportunities the school provides for students is reinforced.  Below are some examples of the appreciation expressed by schools visited by our Jumping Jacks Skipping Team:

What an amazingly talented group of students we had the pleasure of watching today! Our students were inspired to dust off and untangle our skipping ropes and skipped through to the afternoon lesson. Students performing for other students is such a powerful motivator, we are extremely grateful for your generosity and pass on our sincere thanks!

Thanks again for a wonderful performance. Your students were amazing, and they were impeccably behaved. Such a credit to themselves and their trainers!

Have a great fortnight everyone.

Nick Donnelly

Principal

Calendar of Events

Onyas

Harry B  for being a caring and inclusive friend.  Harry is kind to his classmates and is always eager to include other children in his games. Jasmine S for being a wonderful sharer of her ideas.  Jasmine always has ideas to share with the class and loves to share her work with her classmates too. Albie S for trying hard with his learning tasks.  Albie is showing more and more that he is someone who wants to learn and can work hard. Sophie M for settling in to her new school and for being so quick to learn our routines and to make solid friendships. Zoe P for being a conscientious worker.  Zoe thinks hard about her work and gives it her best effort all the time. Layla C for her persistence in learning her set words and big improvement with her reading and writing. Lilly-Maree C for being an enthusiastic learner and trying her best in reading groups. Henry C for trying his absolute best to be a learner in everything that he does. He is slowing down and concentrating on the tasks at hand.  Henry should be very proud of the achievements he has made! Oliver P for the amazing effort he has been putting into his learning. Oliver has been giving everything his best and as a result, we are seeing the progress!  We are so proud of you Oliver! Eve B-McL for her dedication this term.  Wow!  She has given every learning opportunity her best!  We are all so proud of you Eve! Evelyn X for caring about her learning. Evelyn is trying her best with handwriting and especially participating well in our Flight inquiry. Isla A for caring about her learning and working well in maths. Daniel C for participating well in our Flight inquiry, and working with good effort on our experiments. Isla C for her positive attitude towards work and the kindness she always shows the members of our class. Thank you for being a great friend and classmate, Isla! Zibah D for being a kind and thoughtful member of our class. You are fair when you play and make your friends smile with your funny sense of humour. Toby N for making a huge effort with his writing and spelling. Thank you for trying your best and being a good example for your peers, Toby! Niesha W for being a considerate and kind class member, Niesha! You set a great example for the others in the class with your calm and positive approach to school. Jordan V for being a kind and thoughtful friend. You go above and beyond to make sure new students in the school are happy and safe and you show care to others by checking on them and asking them to play. Thank you, Jordy! Mia J for always trying her best at everything she does. Mia works hard at all subject areas and is always a kind, considerate and fun friend. What a wonderful example you set, Mia! Abigail B for always being an enthusiastic learner. Nathan F-K for practising being organised with his learning. Ryder G for doing his best in class and working out ways to solve problems. Erin P for always doing her best with her learning. Ryan S for working hard to complete his learning tasks on time. Leuca W for having such a happy disposition, which has been evident all this year. Her care and kindness towards her peers has made her a special friend to all. Emerson M for showing a huge amount of resilience this year and consistently showing his kind and polite manner towards both his peers and teachers. Liam O for trying much harder in the classroom, especially with his writing, and trying harder when using the 5 Ls. Max Rigby for showing more respect in the classroom and being more consistent when using his 5 Ls. Jonathan S for being a kind and caring student and a good friend to all his peers. He is always respectful and polite to adults and is a model student.

Kinder to Prep transition - 2022

On Thursday 9^th of December there will be a Kinder to Prep transition parent meeting at 3.15pm in Prep Oldmeadow/Emeny’s classroom (Lighthouse South). This will run for approximately 30 minutes and children can play outside in the playground supervised by a member of senior staff during this time if they wish to.

Prep teachers for 2022 will talk about expectations for Prep and how the structure and curriculum of the Prep year may differ from Kindergarten. Parents have an opportunity to meet the teachers and to ask any questions related to what their child will experience in their Prep year.

We look forward to seeing as many parents as are able to make it!

Catherine Oldmeadow and Renee Jordan

Canteen Menu - Week 6

Launch Into Learning (Pademelons) - Term 4

Springfest

THANK YOU!!

Thank you to each and every one of you that braved the spring downpour and joined us at our 2021 Springfest and Plant Sale.

It was a great night! The entertainment was fabulous - the food was delicious - and the plants were beautiful.

We raised just under $5000 - this will go towards more Playground upgrades - in particular a new sandpit - so thank you!

We would like to take this opportunity to say an extra big thank you to the following people:

Cathryn Kelly-Bounds & Nick Donnelly for your unwavering support

Mrs Nanna, Miss Genford & the Jumping Jacks

Alex Brown & the Illawarra Band

Damien O'Toole & all of our talented singers & musicians

Jill Sward & The Rotary Club of Kingston

Jo Van Berkel & Pete Woolford

Rob Mather - Valley Fresh Farm

Bec Shelley - Veggie Garden Seeds

Chloe Bibari

Rachel Lewis

Amanda Midgely 

Anna Wilcox

Michelle Vout

Siobhan Marriott

Kate Huntington

Danielle Loenneker

Mr Waugh & the SRC

And a HUGE thank you to every one that volunteered their time to fill a shift on the night and during the day - these events are only as good as the people that come together to make them happen and we truly appreciate every single one of you! 

We are so grateful to be able to bring these events to you and to give our children the opportunity to celebrate their beautiful school! 

Happy planting!

Yen & Georgia

Illawarra Primary School Association

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Athletics Carnival

We held our Athletics Carnival on Thursday 29^th October at school. We managed to get a day of reasonably good weather amongst some pretty wet days, and thankfully the rain held off and we could still see our track markings!!

We started with our Welcome to Country, and then the whole school performed the Soran Bushi Dance to prepare us to put in our absolute best effort in our races.  Then the Kinders were off in the Teddy Bear race, followed by our 70 metre runs for Prep/1/2’s.  We then had an hour of fun Japanese traditional Undoukai games, which were great fun and well led by our Grade 6 House Leaders.  After recess it was the Grade 3-6’s turn, and there were many outstanding performances in the 70, 200 & 400 metre races.  Teamwork and coordination skills were also put to the test in the 3 legged race and then a battle of strength in the Tug-of-War competition.  We then finished with some hard fought relay races to round off an exciting day. 

A big thanks to all staff who helped the various parts of the day to run smoothly.  To Sarah Sensei for organising the Undoukai games and Green Tea Ice Cream.  To the crew of Kingston High School students (some returning to their old school!!) who helped out with the finish line and the 3 legged races.  And finally to the parents who came along to support!!

Some students have been selected to go to the Huon Channel Division 1 Athletics Carnival this Friday at the Huonville Athletics Track and we wish them all the best competing against other local schools.

Well done, everyone!

Mr Iles

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Jumping Jacks update

• Last week the Jumping Jacks were on their overnight tour and performed at six schools across the state. The team were brilliant, and their persistence and stamina was astounding. There was lots of laughter, good humour and fantastic skipping by everyone! Every school we visited was impressed with the students' skipping skills, the tricks they performed, and the impeccable conduct they displayed.

• On Saturday the 20th of November, the Jumping Jacks have been invited to participate in the upcoming City of Hobart Christmas Program. This year, the Christmas Pageant will be a series of city-based Christmas activities that are being held instead of the Christmas Pageant. Our performances will be at 12:10 pm and 1 pm. If you happen to be in town, come along and cheer the team along.

• Over the next few weeks, the Jumping Jacks will be holding workshops for students from grades four and five. The team will demonstrate skipping skills and help any students who are keen to try out for next year's team.

Salvaged Art Project

This week kicks off Planet Ark National Recycling Week. We thought it was a great opportunity to share what students have been creating from our school waste.

Over the last few months, students from all grades have made an art piece from discarded materials with the focus being a message of hope.

Here are some student’s thoughts about ‘What is hope?’

Hope can be a dream you think in your head.

Hope is something that is likely to happen.

Hope is something good.

A rainbow is hope.

Hope is wanting.

Students up-cycled an old mailbox with materials which are no longer useful, and have been found around our school.

The sculpture is a part of the Salvaged Art Exhibition at the Kingston Community Hub, which is opening this Friday 12 November at 6 pm, all welcome. If you wish to attend, RSVP to Mel Staples on 6211 8228.

Pop Up Shop

The school's Pop-Up Shop will be open for business this Friday after school. We will be selling our famous homemade cupcakes and popcorn, as well as lemon icy poles (limited numbers!!), lemons, and much more!

The team will also be selling fun fluffy play dough and some fabulous knitwear: baby hats and booties, scarves and beanies, which would make a great gift during the unpredictability of spring. These were very generously donated to the school from Margate Stitch & Share.

Thank you for supporting this fabulous program. 

Uniform reminder

Only Grade 6 students are permitted to have uniform items signed on the last day of school. Before the last day this is not permitted nor are students who are not in Grade 6 allowed to do this.

Changes to student bus fares 2022

The full student fare will increase by 10 cents on 1 January 2022.

If you use cash for a single trip ticket, the new fare will be $1.90.

If you use a smartcard or purchase a 10-trip ticket, the new fare will be $1.52.

Smartcards like Greencard and Transportme can be topped up online. You can buy a 10-trip ticket for $15.20 from the bus driver.

It costs the same on every trip - it doesn't matter how far, where, or when you go. Bus routes that travel only in a rural area, to the local school, don't charge a fare.

Some students can travel or transfer between buses for free. You may be eligible for a Student Bus Pass for Free Travel if you are:

• listed on a Health Care or Pensioner Card
• travel wholly within the rural area where there is only a fare charging service
• must use more than on ebus between home and school and/or school and home
• are under a Care and Protection Order.

The student fare last increased in 2019. The next increase was scheduled for January 2021 but was delayed to January 2022. This fare increase is set by government policy.

For more information talk to your bus driver visit www.transport.tas.gov.au/student or call 6166 3343 (9am to 5pm weekdays).

Combined Primary Schools Annual Concert

Ticket information

End of year gifts

While school staff never expect or ask for gifts, we know that some parents like to give  teachers or teacher assistants a present at the end of the year.

If you do this, it is very important to keep in mind the following rules that school staff are required to follow:

• No gift cards or vouchers can be accepted
• No gift valued at $100 or more can be accepted under any circumstances, even if the gift is bought by a group of parents.
• Any gift valued between $50-$99 must be declared by the staff member to the Department of Education (eg. if a group of parents buy a gift valued at $80).

We appreciate your support and please remember, a thank you is the most valued gift we can give.

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.

https://www.schoolzine.com/szapp-installation 

Community Notices