14 December 2023

Principal Report

Dear Families,

This will be the last newsletter for the year, however we will communicate with families again on the last day for students next Thursday through our Calendar of Events.

I am happy to let you know that Nick Donnelly has been successful in winning the position of Principal of the Tasmanian e-School. As a result I have received confirmation that I am able to continue acting in the Principal role for Term 1 next year. The role will be advertised substantively towards the end of Term 1. This means that Lisa King and Kerry Baker will also continue acting in their AP and AST roles respectively. We are pleased to go into the holidays with some certainty in regard to our senior staffing at least for the first half of next year at this stage.

Farewells – A few staff are leaving us at the end of this year. Kat Wood has taught Grade 6 Catterall each Friday in Term 3 and 4 and will not continue in this role in 2024. I am sure we will still see Kat around the traps for relief teaching when she is not working in her main role as a teacher at Franklin Primary.

Kristen Anstice, who has been teaching a Grade 2 class part time, has secured a position at Waimea Hights Primary next year. We wish her well at her new school and thank you for her support of our school over the past 3 years.

Sam Dobson, our Social Worker, will not be placed at Illawarra next year. Our Social Work allocation has increased and due to Sam's roles at other schools she is no longer able to juggle all her commitments. Sam has been an invaluable support to many families over her 6 years with us and a source of guidance and reassurance for staff. She will be missed.

We are also farewelling Deb Bevan, Teacher Aide, at the end of this year after 30 years of service to our school. Deb has an even longer association as her children also attended Illawarra Primary. Throughout my time at Illawarra I remember Deb supporting a variety of students in her work as a TA, such as Jessica, Karlan, Oscar and Poppy to name a few. Deb’s calm demeanour, knowledge, insight, perceptiveness and experience in ensuring all children are included meaningfully in the life of the school and progress in their learning was highly valued by our school and families of the students she cared for. We wish her the very best for a well-deserved retirement.

Our end of year Music Assemblies were held Monday and Tuesday afternoon. The performances were a credit to the teaching and organisation of Mandy Brown, our Music teacher, and to the hard work and practise of every student who performed. They were a pleasure to attend and I've heard many positive comments since. The Music Assemblies also highlight the important role music plays in all of our lives and how it enriches the lives of children and their experience of school. We are lucky to have such an experienced and knowledgeable Music teacher as Mandy at our school.

Next week sees our Grade 6 leavers participate in their Big Day Out, the Leavers Dinner at Brookfield Shed and the Leavers Assembly on Thursday. Having known this current cohort of students since they arrived at Illawarra it will be very hard to see them go as they are an intelligent, funny, kind bunch but it is also satisfying in knowing they are ready for the challenges of high school and to spread their wings. We will include some snaps of the Leavers activities next week in our Calendar of Events.

On Monday students will bring home their report and class placement letters for 2024. Please look out for these in their bags.

At the beginning of next year teaching staff are working with Jodie Davey, from Professional Partnerships, on Tuesday 6th February (a student free day) along with Snug Primary staff, to further explore quality teaching practices at the Tier 1 level. A Departmental priority is for all schools to have clear Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), therefore our work with Jodie will support us in ensuring we are deepening our Tier 1 teaching practices. The focus of our collaborative work in the first part of the year will be to update our school Instructional Model to ensure it is aligned with effective Tier 1 teaching practices and subsequent planning documentation will be developed to support planning and teaching at the Tier 1 level.

Lastly, I wanted to thank the School Association for their work this year in delivering the Welcome BBQ, Quiz night, Discofest, Christmas stall, the provision of a canteen service once a week, the provision of organic, fair-trade uniforms, the Referendum BBQ as well as various smaller fundraisers. The sandpit and early childhood dry creekbed play area was upgraded and we are slowly making a dent in our goal to resurface the courts area. These efforts not only improve the quality of the school experience for our students but create a sense of belonging and connection for our school community and collective pride in our school. I am very grateful for the support our school has from its very invested and capable parent body.

Thank you to all our parent volunteers, committee members and the executive of IPSA for their efforts this year. I look forward to thanking them in person at the volunteers morning tea on Friday. Thank you in particular to Lisa Nisbett, President, for her drive, determination and calm under pressure

I wish everyone a well-deserved break over the new year. Stay safe and cool over the predicted hot summer and we look forward to working in partnership with you in 2024.

Kind regards, Cathryn

Calendar of Events

Office Opening Hours

Merry Christmas from the Admin Team! 

Our office will be closing at 12pm on Friday December 22, re-opening on Monday 15 January. Office hours will be 9:00am to 3:00pm daily during this time.

Have a safe and Happy Christmas with all your beautiful families 

From Cassie, Kelly and Carmen 

2024 Back to School Uniform sales

Tuesday 30^th January and Friday 2^nd February.

Open between 9.30 am to 12.00 noon and 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm

Kindergarten Christmas Art Work

Basketball - Grade 2 Illawarriors

Most of the boys were new to the sport but over the 8 weeks their skills really developed, they relished in the competitive spirit of the game and formed a wonderful team bond.

Their highlight of the competition was a visit from a very special spectator.. Mrs Brinkhoff! They have never played better than with their beloved teacher on the bench supporting them! Great work Illawarriors!

Schools Triathlon 2023

On Friday 1 December a team of 73 Illawarra students headed to Bellerive Beach for the annual Schools Triathlon.  We did a fair bit of preparation at school, learning how to do the transition between each leg and  this was evident in the smooth changeovers on the day.  Some competed as individuals, some in teams and some even did both on a perfect day for swimming, riding and running.  Everyone gave their maximum effort and there were some great finishes to races with every athlete striving to do their best.  A massive thanks to Mr Waugh and Mrs Copeland  as well as a number of parents who made sure everyone got to their events, helped set up and pack up the school marquee, drew race numbers on arms and legs, sunscreened, found extra swim caps, racked bikes, pinned on race numbers, as well as most importantly cheered on our Illawarra team.  Also a big thanks to Tim Smith who always organises a wonderful event to celebrate an active and healthy lifestyle for our students.

See you next year!!

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Lost Property

Our lost property is overflowing!  Please come and have a look if you believe something may belong to your child. At the end of the school year any unamed item of clothing will be donated to our second hand uniform shop. 

A note from the Illawarra Primary School Association (IPSA)

It’s been a big year for events and we wanted to share with you what we have managed to raise with all of your generous help. 

• $2,198.88 Welcome BBQ
• $699.63 Walkathon BBQ
• $6,706.64 Quiz Night
• $4,027.05 Discofest
• $444.86 Christmas Stall
• $983.07 Referendum BBQ
• $347.27 School Years Photo Frames

TOTAL $15,407.40 

We still have the icy pole sale next week, so let's see if we can push it over $16k for the year. Currently all the IPSA fundraising is going towards resurfacing the courts, a project that is estimated to cost around $60k

‘FOR EVERY CHILD’ Campaign

IPSA would like to support the Australian Education Union with their ‘FOR EVERY CHILD’ Campaign and make you aware of what the School Funding Plan is. Please follow this link - https://www.foreverychild.au// for further information and to sign up and show your support for our public schools to be fully funded by 2028.

Leaving IPSA Members 

A huge thanks has to be given to Georgia Pearsall and Kate Huntington for years of contributions to the association and the school, these two ladies and their historic knowledge of all things IPSA will be very much missed.

Treasurer for 2024

We are looking for a new Treasurer in 2024, if you would like any information or just a chat about whats involved then please get in touch - ipschoolassociation@gmail.com

Committee Members

IPSA will hold an AGM in Feb/March 2024 and is always looking for more members. If you are interested, please approach a member or email us at the above address. Associations only work if we have a splash of new faces, ideas and passionate drive from parents and carers each year. Take a look at the poster attached for more information.

Illawarra Primary School Welcome BBQ 2024

Save the date for the 2024 Welcome BBQ - Wednesday, 28th February 2024

Teachers Appreciation Lunch

All the staff do an incredible job keeping our kids safe and happy at Illawarra Primary School and so to give a little thanks IPSA (Illawarra Primary School Association) is hosting an appreciation lunch for them on their last day of school. If you can contribute then please see the link for more details; Link - https://signup.com/go/tRhqzEx

Icy Pole Sale Day 

Tuesday, 19th December - Lunch Time - Canteen - $2each - Remember your cash 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to IPSA this year, great or small, we appreciate every hand that is given and please know that we can not do this with out you. 

See you in 2024!

IPSA (Illawarra Primary School Association) 

Uniform

When buying your new uniforms, you might want to consider choosing an organic cotton and fair trade polo shirt that looks the same and cost the same as the polyester shirt. We have a display of those in the School foyer along with the woollen jumpers which are made in a small factory in Tasmania from Australian wool. Both option allow parents/ carers to chose for more sustainable uniform options. Note that both are machine washable in cold wash. 

Community Notices