28 April 2023

Principals Report

Dear Families,

I often say this but I’m very proud of the settled start our students have had. Wandering around the school yesterday morning all classes without fail were settled and focused on their learning which was wonderful to see. Starting and continuing the term showing the Illawarra Way is the way to be.

Our new sandpit is nearly completed. Many students were already enjoying the upgraded sand pit and hopping around on the wooden stepping circles in the autumn sunshine before school started yesterday. Thank you to Marcus Thalmann for his work over the holidays in improving the sandpit and garden area and to Rotary Kingston for the painting of an alphabet snake in our courtyard Piazza area. The sandpit upgrade has long been the focus of IPSA fundraising and it’s very satisfying to see this finally come to fruition. IPSA continues to work hard behind the scenes to organise fundraising events so they can upgrade our school facilities for the benefit of all students. Please look out for any opportunities to get involved in helping with particular events as the year progresses.

Thank you to Tilly and Ayla for representing our school so beautifully at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Kingston Beach on Tuesday.

We are looking forward to our Gd 3-6 Cross Country at Sherburd Oval next Tuesday, the Swimming and Water Safety program for Gd 3-6 students beginning on Monday May 15^th, the Story Dogs program starting up again and the many other activities that keep our school buzzing and a happy place to be.

Kind regards, Cathryn

Calendar Of Events

Assembly Roster Term 2

ONYAS

Congratulations to all our ONYA recipients. The below awards will be handed out at the next assembly which will be held on Monday 1 May 2:00pm start.

Flynn A: For being an excellent learner, showing confidence in asking for help.

Edan G: For being a keen learner, he is now regularly joining in discussions.

Jake K: For being a positive, friendly and enthusiastic member of class.

Charlie V: For an excellent effort showing his thinking in maths.

Annabel R: For showing improvement in her ability to use a range of strategies when solving addition and subtraction problems. Annabel did a great job practising these strategies during Maths Groups. 

Bailey R: For confidently sharing his thinking and working out during class discussions in Maths. 

Jasper O: For making great progress in his ability to write a detailed persuasive text that follows the correct structure and includes several persuasive devices.

Owen K: For his beautiful Anzac Day artwork and for his outstanding work ethic. 

Brooke B: For her enthusiasm and for her thoughtful contributions to our Anzac Day discussions.

Jordan V: For his amazing improvement in writing – keep up the good work Jordan!

Tess B: For her delightful approach to every school day and for being a helpful class member. 

Henry K: Henry arrives at school with a sunny smile and impeccable manners and approaches all learning activities with a positive attitude. Well done, Henry!

Grace B: Grace has crafted a highly persuasive piece of writing about why everyone should learn to cook and demonstrated a solid understanding of this genre of writing.

Sophie B: Sophie has been striving to develop her understanding of addition and subtraction strategies in Maths Groups. Great job Sophie!

Emerson M: Emerson always puts effort into every task and uses feedback to improve his understanding. He is a thoughtful contributor to our classroom discussions.

Emily G: For persevering in maths with some difficult division work.  Emily used a growth mindset and kept challenging herself.  Keep up the good work Emily!

Will L: For his excellent attitude in class.  He always tries his best, perseveres even when the work is challenging and sets an excellent example to others in the class.  Well done Will!

Maya B: Used carefully chosen, adventurous vocabulary to write an excellent descriptive poem about a wolf.  Great work Maya.

Deva C:  For challenging herself in maths and writing complicated multi step word problems.  Well done Deva.

Ben M: For actively seeking and implementing feedback about how he can improve his learning and understanding.

Wen H: For asking critical questions during class discussions.

Shanti K: For her enthusiasm towards learning her multiplication mental computation strategies.

Leuca W: For crafting a moving piece of poetry about hiking Mount Roland.

Luca G: For his focus and personal motivation to improve his understanding across all learning areas.

Toby N: For applying himself to his science inquiry project and supporting other classmates with their learning.

Eden W: For her positive attitude and persistence to do her best across all learning areas.

Daniel S: For his focus and creativity in our recent focus on Colonisation.

Seraphina W: For her consistent effort towards bumping up her writing.

Mia X: For her positive attitude towards learning across all areas.

Luna C: For her focus and creativity in our recent focus on Colonisation.

Finlay O: Point Finn at the problem, let him go and you'll get one of the most focused, hard working and cheerful students you ever saw. Keep up this excellent work, Finn!

Dylan I: Dylan has been working so well in all of his subjects, but recently, his literacy has really improved due to the amazing effort he's been putting in. All this, and a free smile too - that's what excellent students are made of!

Fenella V: Fenella never gives less than 100%, never stops on a task when she's begun, and never fails to impress with her super positive, friendly, can-do attitude in school. Superb effort Fenella!

Canteen Week 2

Cross Country Grade 3-6

Swimming & Water Safety Program

Dear Parents/Guardians

Our annual Swimming and Water Safety Program will be held from Monday 15 May – Friday 26 May at the Collegiate Pool in Hobart. Students from Grades 3-5 are required to participate, and a small group of at-risk Grade 6 students also attend.  Grade 6 students who are attending will be provided with a separate letter to bring home.

The program develops essential life skills that will support children to safely enjoy water-based activities, such as fishing, boating, water play, swimming and surfing.  

Careful planning has been done to accommodate all learners and to ensure every child feels safe and relaxed throughout the duration of the program. On the first day, students will be organised into ability groupings so that the most effective teaching and learning can occur.  All students will travel on the bus to and from the pool, and Mr Warren Iles will be the Teacher in Charge. The times of each session are:

9:45am   – 10:45am      5 Cooke & 5 Pullen + Grade 6 at risk

10:45am – 11:45am      Grade 3/4 Oettle & Grade 3/4 Bilson

11:45am – 12:45pm      Grade 3/4 Genford and Grade 3/4 Shaw

12:45pm – 1:45 pm       Grade 4/5 Whenman

The Swimming and Water Safety Program runs every day over the two weeks. This will mean that your son/daughter will need to bring along the following items everyday throughout the program:

• Swimming gear – including bathers AND swimming cap (can bring own or one provided).
• Towel and plastic bag to put wet clothes in.
• Any medication (e.g. asthma medication) that may be needed at the poolside.

Goggles: Students must be aware that specific parts of this program involve students not wearing goggles.  For example potential life preserving and rescue scenarios where students would not have been prepared and would need to navigate in the water without goggles.  For stroke development and some other situations goggles can be utilised.

Change Rooms: Students are encouraged to be independent dressers.

Swimming Caps: For health and safety reasons, it is compulsory to wear a swim cap at the Collegiate Pool.  Students will be supplied with a swimming cap free of charge on Day 1 of the program. It is the responsibility of each student not to lose this swimming cap as we have minimal spares.

Major Excursion Consent and Medical Information Forms and the Consent form for Aquatic (water-based) Activities: These were completed at the beginning of the year, if you would like to update these forms with any new information, please send a note/email with relevant information to the school office. If your child cannot participate due to illness/injury, a letter from home needs to be provided. If your child will be away (e.g. family holiday), please inform the office and class teacher in writing.

We are looking forward to all the children progressing in their swimming and water safety skills this year.  If you have any questions regarding the program, please feel free to contact me via the school office.

Yours sincerely                             

 Warren Iles                 PE Teacher

Scholastic Book Club Issue 3

Scholastic Book Club catalogue #3  will be coming home with students this week, with another wonderful array of award-winning books offered for all ages, from old favourites to new exciting volumes! 

Not only is there an AMAZING lineup of New Releases and books for all readers and budgets, but also:

• returning to a kid-friendly catalogue size
  • lowering prices on new releases and including more heavily discounted titles
  • ensuring books for everyone with over 450 age-appropriate, hand-selected titles

Orders can be placed by returning the completed order form and money to school, or by using the online Book Club LOOP platform (scholastic.com.au/loop) for parents which allows you to pay by credit card.

A fantastic bonus is a $5 discount for online orders placed by midnight Friday 28th April (short notice but we have only just received the catalogues!) 

The discount code is MAGIC

Your child’s order is submitted directly to school and the books will be delivered to class. 

Each order also helps earn free books and teaching materials for our school.

Final orders are due by the Monday 8th of May.

Every School Day Matters

Start Term 2 right by making every school day count!

Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow, and connect with their mates and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.

When your child goes to school every day, it helps them to:

• learn better
• find interests
• make friends
• connect with teachers
• be happier
• have a brighter future

If you’re struggling to get your child to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation. We’ll support you, in whatever way we can.

To find out more, visit the Anything can happen website.

Community Notices