7 March 2024

Principal Report

Dear Families,

It has been a busy few weeks with NAPLAN just around the corner next week for our Grade 3 and 5 students. The Grade 3 and 5 teachers have been supporting students to be familiar with the test format, the wording used and the types of questions they might be asked. Test familiarisation is very important, particularly for the Grade 3s, and helps students to know what to expect and feel more comfortable participating and giving their best.

Mr. Illes will provide more detail re the swimming carnival further on in the newsletter but I would like to mention that although the day was very warm (as was the inside of the pool!) the students behaved beautifully, participated with enthusiasm and even had time for a free swim at the end! As always Warren Illes organisation of our sporting events means the day runs smoothly and is enjoyable, with both novelty and competitive races to be part of. The House leaders of Wattle House were presented with the new IPS swimming trophy in Tuesday’s Whole School Meeting. Congratulations to Wattle!

During the Whole School meeting this week our SRC reps were also presented with their badges and in the previous Prep - 2 assembly two Class Captains for each class were presented with their badges. 2 Hannah and 4 Shaw also shared their class learning agreements detailing how the values of Growth, Courage, Connection, Responsibility and Respect are enacted in their class every day.

Thank you again to all of our families for your support of our Meet the Teacher – Welcome BBQ night last Wednesday. I love nights when our school community comes together and children are zipping about and having fun playing with their friends. Thank you to our teachers for their preparation for this night. I know that teachers appreciate the interest families take in their child or children’s learning. Family connection with school strengthens children’s sense of connectedness and supports their learning and engagement. Thank you also to our volunteers, Adventure Patch staff and IPSA committee – particularly Chloe, Leah, Rachael and Megan for their hard work.

Lastly, our inclusive Lunch Club play has been up and going in the piazza area of our courtyard for a few weeks now and is run by Renee Jordan. All children are welcome to join in with bubble and pony play, tea parties, fairies, shop play and so on. The piazza has been upgraded by the Rotary Club of Kingston and additional play pieces comprising a cubby and wooden boat were put together by Renee Jordan and Kerry Baker over the holidays. The piazza area and craft tables by the gazebo, as well as the library being open at lunch time and additional playground areas, mean children can find an area to play that suits their needs and mood each day.

Kind regards, Cathryn

Calendar Of Events

Smimming Carnival

The Illawarra Swimming Carnival was held on Thursday 22 of February at the Clarence Pool.

On a very hot day the pool was a great place to be as our students swum, waded, kicked and splashed their way through a packed program of events.

Well done to all those students who gave their best in every event and challenged themselves to swim for points for their houses.  A big thanks to the staff here at Illawarra for supervising on the day and also to some amazing Kingston High leaders who marshalled our finish line and helped with novelty events too.  Some great leadership was shown from our Year 6 students running events in the novelty pool.  Everything ran so smoothly we even had time for a free swim at the end!!

The final house placings were a win for Wattle with Waratah in second place and Bombora in third.

Well done everyone

Notices have gone home for those invited to the Huon & Channel event on Tuesday 26^th March and these are due back this Friday (tomorrow)

Warren Iles - PE Teacher 

Canteen

School Photos 2024

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.

Easter Raffle

Voting Day BBQ & Bake Sale

The Illawarra Primary School Association (IPSA) will be hosting a BBQ and Bake Sale at the Illawarra Primary School Voting Site on Saturday 23^rd  of March. 

This was a great success for the Referendum Voting and we would love your help, either baking, cooking or serving to raise funds toward the resurfacing of the school courts. 

If you can bake some yummy treats (sweet or savoury, individual serves or whole cakes) please bring these by 10am on the day in disposable or well labelled containers. Please also include the list of ingredients.

If you can spare some time to cook or serve, please use SignUp to make a time before or after you vote. 

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/cWTUwgd

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.

Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Naplan 2024 Grades 3 & 5

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

Reminder to families regarding dogs in the school grounds

To ensure we create an inclusive environment for all, please be mindful of section 28 (1) of the Dog Control Act 2000 (Tas) which states:

A person must not take a dog into –

Any grounds of a school, kindergarten, creche or other place for the reception of children without the permission of a person in charge of the place

The only exceptions to this are guide dogs, hearing dogs, or other assistance animals in schools or on school property.

For a special occasion or need for a dog to be on site during school hours, please contact Cathryn Kelly Bounds (Principal) in advance.

Please share this information with friends and/or family members who may support in dropping off or collecting your child/ren.

We thank you for cooperation with this matter.

Library Bag

Supporting Anxiety

Community Notices