11 February 2021

Principal's Report

Week 2 has continued to be a very positive start to the year for all classes at Illawarra.  We have a new look newsletter and will be sending home a Calendar of Events on the alternate weeks.

Some of the things happening around the school currently and coming up this term are:

• Welcome BBQ and Meet the Teacher event in Week 4, Wednesday 24^th February. This is a great opportunity to get into your child’s classroom, have a look around and see what they’ve been up to. Information re being COVID safe at this event will be sent home later next week. 
• Our first Gd 3-6 assembly is this Monday with 5/6 Waugh hosting – due to continuing physical distancing requirements unfortunately it is still not possible to have parents attend, other than parents of students receiving Onyas.
• The Grade 3-6 Swimming carnival is on Thursday of Week 4 the 25^th of February, at Clarence Pool.  In compliance with Clarence Pool’s COVID Safety plan, parents will not be able to attend this year. We understand this is disappointing and will endeavour to take lots of photos of all the action.
• The Mountain Unit classrooms were repainted and recarpeted over the holidays with new televisions replacing old smart boards in both rooms. We continue to prioritise areas of the school to refurbish each year with nearly all classrooms having been completed.
• You will have noticed two variable radar trailers situated in Illawarra Primary’s school zone. This will be for a period of four weeks, commencing this week.

The Kingborough Community Safety Committee was successful in being awarded grant funding from the Road Safety Advisory Council to run a Safe Speeds for School Project in school zones across the Kingborough municipality.

The Safe Speeds for Schools project aims to improve road safety outcomes for students by influencing driver behaviour, educating road users and drawing attention to the need to drive to the conditions at peak school drop-off and pickup times.

• You may also have noticed we are featuring our Prep and Prep/1 classes this week in the newsletter. Each fortnight a grade team will be sharing what their class is up to and the current learning focus so the school community can see what is happening with learning across all of our classes.
• Yesterday all students did an excellent job in our first practise Fire Drill for the year. Well done!

Lastly, please ensure you are connected to the Seesaw app, this is the way teachers primarily communicate with parents. If you have not received an invitation from your child’s class teacher to connect to the class Seesaw account please let them know. Please be mindful that teachers are only able to respond to Seesaw messages in work hours.

I look forward to seeing as many families as possible at the Welcome BBQ. It is wonderful that our hard working School Association is able to host this event again after missing out last year. The Illawarra Primary community always have a good turn out at these events and enjoy catching up with each other and familiarising themselves with their child’s classroom and class teacher. We thank the teachers for preparing for this session and working late to open their classrooms and meet with parents.

Regards,

Cathryn Kelly-Bounds

Acting Principal

Mountain Unit refurbished classroom

Calendar of Events

Supporting Students with Additional Needs - 2021

As a parent it is quite normal to have concerns about your child’s progress from time to time. These concerns may relate to friendships and social interactions while at other times they may be about academic progress and learning.   When this happens, it is important to talk with your child’s class teacher in the first instance.  They know your child best and in the majority of cases they are able to ensure that your child’s individual needs are met through their guidance and the classroom program, without additional support or intervention. 

However, at times, a child’s needs may require assistance beyond the resources of the classroom, and in these cases our school has a long tradition of being inclusive and ensuring that this is provided.

Our Support Teacher, Mrs Kerry Baker, works with Class Teachers, Teacher Assistants and external specialist providers so that all students with a diagnosed disability or significant learning need have an individual learning plan and appropriate educational and environmental adjustments in place.  Adjustments might include working with a Teacher Assistant individually or in a small group, undertaking a modified learning program, adjusting the classroom environment to better serve their learning style or receiving support for personal care needs. 

In appropriate circumstances, and in consultation with parents and teachers, Mrs Baker and I are also able to facilitate access to our School Psychologist (Ms Lesli Hokanson-McKinnon), School Social Worker (Ms Sam Dobson) and our School Speech Pathologist (Ms Clare Gregory).  These staff are able to provide specialised assessments and interventions, as well as advice. Where a student has a specific learning need related to their literacy,  Mrs Monika Glover, AST, coordinates support such as small group differentiated teaching through the Prep-Grade 2 Flying Start Program, or participation in the Macqlit or Minilit reading programs.

Over coming weeks in the newsletter I will provide further information about how funding is provided to students through the Department of Education’s Educational Adjustments Disability Funding Model, as well as more details about some of our intervention and support programs.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns please make an appointment to discuss these with your child’s teacher.  If you then would like to talk further please don’t hesitate to contact myself or Mrs Baker.

Michael Hayen

Assistant Principal

Prep Platypus (Jordan)

So far in Prep Platypus we have been getting to know each other and exploring all the awesome things in our classroom.  We have been thinking about ‘The Illawarra Way’ – Is it safe? Is it fair? Does it show you care? And what this means in the classroom and playground.

Miss Renee

Prep Emus (Oldmeadow/Emeny)

Prep Emus are settling into school and already showing fabulous learning assets. We have created a big poster to show The Illawarra Way, how we are Safe, Fair and how we Care in our classroom and in the playground. We are working on establishing our class agreement for how we can be the best learners that we can.

 The photos are of some students playing a maths game where the children were learning about ‘subitising’. Developing a common mathematical language that everyone understands is an important part of our maths program. We have also included some gorgeous self portraits that the children have painted. We are going to have a fantastic year together!

Mrs O and Miss Helen

Prep/1 Williams

The children in Prep/1 Williams have had a very settled first week, getting to know each other and establishing the classroom routines and expectations for optimal learning.  Together we have made our class learning agreement, created ‘All about wonderful me’ posters and painted our beautiful self-portraits. We are focussing on the 4 Zones of Regulation and will be creating our own tool boxes to help us recognise and manage our emotions. 

Mrs Tracey and Miss Sykes

Onyas

Brax A for showing he cares about his learning by completing tasks successfully. Jobe S for encouraging others and persevering when he was playing a challenging maths game. Anabelle S for contributing very insightful ideas and predictions when we are reading our class novel. Haven S for setting an “arriving to school” goal and achieving it within days! Haven has demonstrated care for her learning by arriving to school independently and ready to start on morning routines in a settled manner. Isobel T for demonstrating care for her learning by approaching all tasks in a focussed and mature manner. Welcome to Illawarra, Isobel, and congratulations on a great start and settling in so well! Finn O for being a helpful and considerate class member. Finn demonstrates care for our classroom environment by always offering to lend a hand to keep things running smoothly. Toby A for demonstrating care for his learning by being an engaged participant in our class novel and making thoughtful contributions to discussions and predictions. Millie D V for showing respect to others by listening attentively to teachers and her classmates during class discussions. Luca G for demonstrating care for others by looking after another classmate who was upset and encouraging them to ‘keep going’. Ocean L for showing confidence in her learning by sharing her understanding of shape with her peers during our Maths learning. Christian H for the care he puts in to present his work to the best of his ability and the smooth transition he has made back to Illawarra Primary. Charli P for beginning the year with a positive growth mindset towards her learning and social interactions with her peers. Sylvie M for Supporting the learning of her peers.

Launch into Learning - Term 1

Please click the link below to access our Launch into Learning timetable for Term 1.

Canteen Menu - Term 1

Please click the link below to access our Term 1 Canteen Menu.

Uniform Shop hours

Due to office staff availability, the uniform shop will be open on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8:30am to 9:30am.

Order forms are available from the office if you are unable to attend at these times.  If you place an order it will be filled on Monday and Wednesday and can then be collected from the office.

Pop Up Shop

The very first Pop Up Shop for the year will be on tomorrow after school, Friday 12 February. We will be selling homemade cupcakes, potatoes, and a few vegetables from the school garden. Cupcakes cost $1.00.

Hobart Run The Bridge

This year Illawarra Primary have entered a school team in Hobart Run the Bridge. The Hobart Run the Bridge run will be held on Sunday February 28^th , with the option of completing a 10km run starting between 7:10am-7:20am, 5km run starting at 7:50am, 5km walk starting at 8:00am or a 1km run starting at 9:30am. These runs are a great opportunity to set yourself a personal goal to achieve, represent Illawarra Primary School in our sports shirts and potentially win some great prizes for our school.

I will be running in the 5km race and will organise closer to the date a meeting spot for those students and parents running in this race. Parents not running with their children will need to be at the finish line to pick them up at the conclusion of the race. We are encouraging students to run in our sports shirts to stand out amongst the crowd of runners and supporters. These shirts will be handed out to students at school on the Friday before the race. If you are a parent running with your child on the day, there will be extra shirts available if you would like to support our team.

If you think you may be interested in joining the team, feel free to jump online and register at 2021 — Hobart Run the Bridge — Race Roster — Registration, Marketing, Fundraising   The cost ranges between $10-$35 per child. Our team name is Illawarra Primary in the drop down box when you fill out your online registration form. Race bibs will be available for collection from the Princes Wharf Shed 1 (PW1) on Friday 26th and Saturday 27^th February at the following times;

• Friday 26th February: 2pm-6pm
• Saturday 27th February: 10am-3pm

Parents will be responsible for picking up their child’s race bib and timing chips during these times. Feel free to pop in and see Mr Waugh or contact the front office if you would like further information. See you at the start line!

Chris Waugh, AST

Netball

The KNA winter netball roster is beginning in March for Grades 3 - 6 students (boys & girls) and it would be great to get a couple of Illawarra teams up and going again this roster.  Games are on Monday after school at the Sports Centre.  If you played last roster and are keen to play again, or wanted to give it a try for the first time please let Mr Iles know at school.  More details can be found on the Kingborough Netball Association Facebook page.  There is also information here on the NET SET GO program which runs for Grade 2 boys and girls, also starting in March.

Community Notices