22 February 2024

Principal Report

Dear Families,

Thank you for your support of our Welcome BBQ event next Wednesday evening! The response to our call for volunteers has been fantastic and we can confirm we are able to go ahead with the BBQ and Bar component of the evening. We really value the Welcome BBQ at the start of every year, we have a very supportive school community and this is a lovely relaxed way to come together and enjoy each other’s company while grabbing a bite to eat and visiting classrooms. Many parents are not able to visit their child’s classroom during work hours and the Welcome BBQ gives them the opportunity to meet the teacher and familiarise themselves with the space their child will spend much of their time in this year. We look forward to seeing lots of families next week at this event.

A few quick reminders:

• Please bring a keep cup for drinks if possible;
• Cashless payment is available but also bring cash for the icypoles and cakes;
• Parents are responsible for the duty of care of their children at the event at all times;
• All volunteers must have a WWVP card and have completed the safeguarding training.

Last week our Grade 6 House Leaders for Bombora, Wattle and Waratah were elected by their peers ready to support their House at the Swimming Carnival today. Students prepared a speech and presented this to their peers. Congratulations to the successful students who are featured further on in the newsletter, and well done to all the students who were courageous enough to put themselves forward to take on a leadership responsibility in the school.

This year our School Improvement Plan has three priorities tied to the current Strategic Plan for the Department. These are Reading, Safeguarding, and Attendance/Student Well-Being. Reading is a  statewide priority in all schools. At Illawarra our Reading priority actions encompass:

• Ensuring all classes are supported with literacy teacher support 3 x a week (Prep – Gd 3 classes) and Teacher Assistant (TA) literacy support (Gd 4-6 classes).
• A robust Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) ensuring all students with identified reading difficulties have access to intervention as needed. Intervention programs comprise of Mini-Lit, MacqLit, Read 3 and small targeted literacy groups.
• All grade 1 and 2 teachers are being trained in the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach to teaching phonics in a 5 day course finishing in March.
• Grade 3-6 teachers will continue to teach a daily reading/spelling routine with a focus on morphology as learned through professional learning with Linda McKillop (Speech Pathology Tasmania) in Term 3 of 2023.
• All teachers and TAs will complete the Qualiteach modules for reading as required by the Department in Terms 2 and 3.

All classes have been continuing to work on establishing their class culture and ways of working. Please see examples of Learning Agreements from Kinder Wombats, Prep Oldmeadow, 2 Brinkhoff, 5 Cooke and 5 Pullen that reflect the values of Growth, Courage, Respect and Responsibility as well as our mantra of ‘Safe, Fair, Care’.

Lastly, for the first time this year the Kinder teachers conducted family interview sessions before school returned to connect with Kinder students and their families. Kinder students were able to explore and familiarise themselves with the room and the teachers were able to reassure parents, clarify any queries, and identify any issues that may be of concern. This has been a positive initiative as the start to Kinder has been one of the most settled we have had and we are very proud of the way our Kinder students have settled quickly into routines and being at ‘big school’.

Kind regards, Cathryn

Calendar of Events

Values Award

Congratulations to the following students being awarded a Values Award (formally ONYAS). These awards will be presented in the Prep to Grade 2 assembly on Monday 26 February 2:00pm start. Parents are welcome to attend.

Alexandra L: For showing the value of Responsibility by always being prepared to help her peers and the teaching staff. Thank you for being so supportive and considerate, Alexandra! You have made the first couple of weeks much easier because of your thoughtful attitude.

Zander M: For showing the value of Growth by always trying his best with his work. Zander asks for help if he needs it and tries his best with every task, big or small. I appreciate your effort and positive attitude, Zander!

James W: For showing the value of Respect by always listening to the others when they are talking. James has had a settled start to the year and always sets a wonderful example for his peers. Thank you and keep up the great work, James!

Annika L : Annika is an independent and capable class member.  She has settled beautifully into Prep and is a kind and caring classmate.

Ethan B: Ethan is a happy and cooperative Prep classmate. He is a kind and bubbly Prep member.

Rafael A: For the value of growth: Rafael aspires to always do his best in class. He is an excellent listener!

Elsie M: For the value of growth: Elsie aspires to always do her best in class and demonstrates wonderful learning assets.

Gabe N: For the value of courage: Gabe has embraced his new school and is getting to know his classmates.

Lottie T: For the value of responsibility: Lottie is confident to speak up and do what is right! She treats others with kindness and is very inclusive.

Eloise F: For growth in her writing by asking for helping and having a go.

Evie S: For respect by including and supporting her peers all the time.

Daniel K: For growth by extending himself with his writing and being willing to spend more time on his work.

Louis F: For showing the value of Respect by following our class rules, doing extra jobs to pack up the classroom and always being ready to listen and learn.

Olive W: For showing the value of Growth by embracing learning tasks with enthusiasm, trying her best and using feedback to improve her work .

Henry J: For showing the value of Courage by embracing the opportunity to share his wonderful general knowledge with the rest of the class.

James W:  For showing the value of Connection for helping a classmate with a tricky problem.

Luca H: Luca has shown the value of Courage by stepping up to the expectations of his new class. Well done on a great start to your grade 2 year, Luca!

Ivy M: Ivy has shown the value of connection through her kind and thoughtful way of looking out for others. Ivy always makes sure others are included and valued. 

Niamh M: Niamh has shown the value of respect by taking a leading role in looking after our classroom to make it a great learning space for everyone. Niamh, your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated!

Welcome BBQ

Canteen

House Leaders 2024

This week at our 3-6 assembly, our Grade 6 House Leaders were formally introduced to the students and staff.

There were a number of great speeches delivered to students from grades 3-6 last week, which ensured the final tally of votes across the houses were extremely close.

As House Leaders, these students will be supporting and developing a number of new initiatives and ideas planned for 2024, starting with the Illawarra Primary 3-6 Swimming Carnival this Thursday.

With these positions comes added responsibility, and we look forward to seeing these students further develop their leadership skills and promote the values of Illawarra Primary through both their actions and their words.

Congratulations again to our 2024 House Leaders.

Wattle: Benny, Ben, Jacob & Marni

Waratah: Daniel, Dan, Ollie & Frankie

Bombara: Marcel, Luca, Ollie & Stella 

Nurse Lilli

School Photos

School photos will be taken on Monday 25 March.

Please find below the access key to order your child's photo for 2024.

PHOTO ORDERING:

• Cut-off for Family Photos is at 4:30pm the night before Photo Day. Any Family Photos that have not been ordered before the cut-off will not be taken. Unfortunately, we cannot make any exceptions on the day.
• All students will have an individual photo taken on Photo Day regardless of whether they have ordered or not. Individual student ordering will stay open after Photo Day. Orders placed after we have printed the bulk of orders will be sent directly to parents and will incur a postage charge per order.

School Levies

Levy invoices for 2024 have now been processed and will be posted to you shortly. These are due for payment by the end of Term 1. If you are experiencing any difficult paying, please talk with the School Business Manager, Cassie Steele, to arrange a payment plan.

Some families may be able to apply for Student Assistance, so please enquire at the Office for eligibility criteria. Alternatively, you can log onto www.decyp.tas.gov.au, email: stas@decyp.tas.gov.au, or phone 1800 827 055 for assistance.

Statements are sent out by the Department on a monthly basis until the account is paid in full.

Book Club

Hi all and welcome to the first Book Club catalogue of the new year!  Scholastic Book Club is a fantastic way to purchase great books selected to suit every child's interests and reading levels, and also a great way to support the school library with new books.

All orders are due back by Friday 23rd (this week) - a short turnaround for the first order due to our later start to the school year.  However, as a bonus, if your order is placed through the Scholastic LOOP online ordering system (LOGIN (scholastic.com.au)) your order of $35 or over will get a $5 credit voucher for Issue 2's orders later in the term.

If your child's catalogue didn't make it home, you can ask the Office for another copy or view it online at Book Club | Scholastic Australia.

Happy Reading!

Naplan 2024

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2024

Information for Grade 3 and 5 Parents and Guardians

This year, NAPLAN will be conducted from 13 March – 25 March. Grade 3 and 5 students will complete a Writing task, Reading task, Language Convention and Spelling task, and Numeracy task.

There will also be catch up sessions run for any student who misses a scheduled task. 

The Grade 3 Writing task is done using pencil and paper and will be undertaken in classrooms.  All other tasks will be completed online in the GP room so that we can best ensure devices are properly set up and working correctly.

NAPLAN provides valuable information on how your child is progressing against national minimum standards of literacy and numeracy skills expected for each year level.  Later in the year you will receive an individual report that shows your child’s results and a comparison of your child’s performance against all other Australian students in their year level. 

Our teachers use the NAPLAN results to inform class and school planning and to allocate resources and support, including informing decisions around targeted programs and initiatives for individuals and groups.

The best preparation for the tests is a high-quality learning program based on the Australian Curriculum, and this is what we focus on at Illawarra Primary School.  We also recognise that students need to develop familiarity with the testing format and conditions as these are quite different to the way in which our students commonly work. 

In line with this, we are helping our students to develop strategies, so they can perform to the best of their ability on the day.  These include: understanding how to approach the types of questions that may be asked; managing time effectively and checking answers; using effective problem-solving strategies, including working out paper; and leaving a question that is too hard and coming back to it later.

The best way you can assist your child is by helping them to feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the tests and assure them that the tests will give them an opportunity to show what they have learned in class.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at michael.hayen@decyp.tas.gov.au or on 6229 6295.

Michael Hayen

Assistant Principal

Validation Forms

A reminder that all paperwork that was handed out in Week 1 needs to be returned to your child's class teacher as soon as practiable. If you have misplaced it or need another copy please contact the school office 62 296 295 or illawarra.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au 

Mandatory Reporting

School Uniform Woollen Jumper

The uniform shop is offering woollen jumpers that are made in Tasmania from Australian wool in a small factory that supports workers with disability.

If you want one, let us know as we are about to put an order in.

Please contact the office to get your order in.

Price ranges from $70-$85 depending on sizes.

These jumpers are extra comfortable and warm and are machine washable in cold wash.

Look good, Feel good, Do Good!

Your IPSA committee

Chess Club Term 1

Worlds Greatest Shave

Wisby Bus Notice

Community Notices