Dear parents, families, students and community members, 

Last Weeks of Term 4

As we move into the last few weeks of 2024, I am very excited for the events that we have organised to celebrate the 2024 school year. These include: 

• East Coast Cluster Athletics @ Triabunna - 5th December
• Grade 6 Celebration Dinner @ Craige Knowe – 10^th December @ 5:30pm
• Silent Disco, organised by our SRC (thank you to Alcuin Hacker for being our DJ) - 11th December @ 1:30pm
• Presentation Assembly – 16^th December @ 1:15pm
• Last day beach morning - 19th December

2025 Staffing

I would like to take this time to announce teacher staffing and classes for 2025.

• P/1 (Monday and Tuesday): Elise Wells
• K/P/1 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday): Kate Pearce
• 2/3: Saskia Sparshott
• 4/5/6: Leah Kirkham-Phillips

Leah Kirkham-Phillips is joining us from Queensland and is moving into the area. She is an experienced educator and we are very excited to have her join our team. 

While we are very excited to welcome some new staff, some of our current staff will be leaving us at the end of 2024. Sophie Wilson has been successful in obtaining a transfer at the end of the year. Claire Wood will be taking a year off from teaching in 2025. Sophie Walch has obtained extra teaching days at Orford Primary School, meaning that she will not be continuing with us. Sophie, Sophie and Claire are three staff members who are much loved amongst our whole community. I know you will join me in saying that they will all be missed.

It is very exciting as a small school to be able to offer such a wide range of specialist classes. Our specialist staff for 2025 will be: 

• Connecting to Culture: Anna Heath
• Music: Kate Pearce
• LOTE: Elize Brozgul
• Art: Janine Gadd
• PE: to be confirmed

We also have a team of support staff who help our students to learn to their best ability. These include:

• Instructional Specialist & Literacy Support: Jo McLean
• Support Teacher: Anna Heath 
• Wellbeing Officer: Elise Wells
• Launching into Learning, Educational Support Specialist & LiFT: Emily Van Galen

Although we aim for this to be our final teaching model, the nature of a school is that things may change between now and the beginning of 2025. We will make sure to let you know if there are any changes. 

Kind Regards,

Anna Knowles

Principal

Here are some examples of our writing this term. We use a teaching strategy called ‘Draw, Talk, Write’ which we usually do over three days, Wednesday to Friday. This approach allows students to engage with creating texts at an individual level. It also allows teaching staff to support students at their level, encouraging them to push themselves a little further through a sequence of writing skills: drawing and discussing their ideas; reflecting on and editing their ideas and their drawing; hearing sounds in words and writing identified sounds; sounding out and writing whole word labels; and eventually writing simple sentences and more complex sentences and using punctuation. We have seen so much growth this term in KP1 writing. The students are all making progress!

It's been another fabulous fortnight of learning in Grade 2/3/4! 

We've been focusing on many new Maths strategies and concepts, including times tables and symmetry in nature.  We've also been exploring grid references on maps and drawing plans.  We've formulated questions to determine the location of certain features on our maps.

Our writing continues to improve as we work hard in our spelling groups.  We have looked at the structure of personal and formal letters and we're also learning to develop our computer skills by typing our written, edited and polished work.  We'll be looking at addressing envelopes next and then moving onto narratives to conclude the year.

Our visit to Alice in Wonderland at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart was a delight, as was having our woodwork friends come to visit.  We created some beautiful string Christmas trees with Pia and Ingrid, as well as working hard on our watercolour posters in Art with Mrs Gadd.

Until next fortnight, 

Mrs Sparshott

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day. Research has shown that outdoor learning can have huge benefits on student mental health and academic performance. Students are also often calmer and better able to focus when learning in nature and it promotes a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. In light of this we have  been inspired to take learning outside as much as possible this term.

It’s hard to believe, but the end of the school year is upon us!

It’s time to start searching for those library books.

But don't forget to keep reading over the holidays.

It’s easy to join in the Big Summer Read fun.

The Big Summer Read is an interactive and fun way to encourage children and young people to read over the summer school holidays and stop the summer reading slide, or loss of literacy skills.  

After joining the Big Summer Read, children can: 

• track the number of books they read 

• write book reviews 

• complete a range of reading related challenges to win prizes. 

It’s easy to join in the Big Summer Read fun. 

Registration is now open. The Big Summer Read starts on 1 December 2024 and finishes on 2 February 2025. 

Visit libraries.tas.gov.au/Big-Summer-Read for more information. 

A generous member of the community bought four xylophones for use in our music program. The instruments will give much joy and offer increased learning opportunities to your children, and we are very grateful to this anonymous donor. We are now aiming to add marimbas to grow our collection of melodic percussion instruments, and if you know of anyone who would fundraise or donate one, please contact the school. They are made in Tasmania and cost $1600.

NDIS Survey Form

Audience: NDIS Participants, Families of NDIS Participants, Friends of NDIS Participants

This survey aims to provide support and guidance to individuals with disabilities, as well as their family members, community including children.

Our goal is to assist with funding applications, ensure adequate support, and offer education on available options. We are committed to providing support and assistance to meet your needs.

Survey Form (office.com)

Earlier this year, the Department for Education, Children and Young People rolled out Safeguarding Training for staff, volunteers, and service providers.

This training was compulsory for everyone as part of our ongoing commitment to safeguard Tasmanian children and young people and prevent them from harm.

The department has recently released additional advanced Safeguarding training modules.
These are optional and are aimed at anyone who volunteers at a DECYP site, external providers, and anyone in the community who wants to learn more about how to keep children and young people safe.

If you’d like to build your knowledge in this space, the modules are available on the department’s Safeguarding page.

Note: If you require additional assistance to access the modules, please take a look at the FAQs about technical support and additional assistance, which are also on the department’s Safeguarding page.

All public transport fares have been halved.

This fare reduction applies to adult, concession, urban, non-urban, and child / student fares on public buses, school buses and the Derwent River Ferry.

For students travelling on public buses, fare-paying school buses and ferries, the fare has been reduced from $2 to $1.

All services will run as per their usual schedules.

The Department of State Growth will be coordinating with transport providers to ensure services run smoothly for the duration of the fare reduction, which will last until 30th June 2025.

A4_Flyer_Half_Price_Fares_2024_25.pdf

COVID-safe schools plan 2024 (education.tas.gov.au)

Please remember to  continue to test for covid if your child is unwell.

COVID-safe behaviours

Hygiene

• Do not come to school if unwell – this applies to staff, students and visitors.
• Staff, students and visitors are asked to practise all COVID-safe behaviours, particularly as they apply to their personal circumstances.
• Keep your hands clean by using soap and water or hand sanitiser.