13 May 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Hi Families and Community,

Term 2 is well underway, and we are starting to get some momentum, as we creep back towards a more “normal” way of working.

Family/Community Engagement Survey

Please keep an eye out on Facebook, and your classes’ Dojo or Seesaw page, for a short survey that will be sent to you in the next few days. The short survey is just finding out more from you about how connected you feel to our school, especially as we come out of Covid. You have the option of just “ticking the boxes” but if you’d like you can also add comments about what you think we are doing well, and add some thoughts and suggestions about what you think we can do better! Please take the time if you can to complete it for us – we want to hear from everyone, as your opinion really does matter to us.

NAPLAN

The school has completed most of its NAPLAN testing this week. This annual test for our Year 3 and 5 students allows us to see how our students are doing in key areas of literacy and numeracy.

Cross Country

We are looking forward to welcoming you all to school for our annual X Country next Wednesday. Brilliant that we are able to have you here to enjoy it. There will be a designated area for those attending and we ask that you stay in this space, separate from the students who will be racing. The race starts after recess.

Mechanical Support, Bikes – Can you help?

As we have a very keen group of budding mechanics in our Year 6 cohort, we are setting up a club for these students to fix bikes, and possibly other small machines, each week. We would love it if you are mechanically minded, and would be able to help out. Our plan is to run the sessions during lunchtimes, so if there was a lunchtime (12.40-1.40) during the week you would be available to help, please let Mr Curtis know. We are hoping to start with Fridays, but if that’s not possible, are there other days you might be able to make it? Additionally, if you have any bikes that you don’t need that might need a tune up, or a refresh, or any tools you could donate to these students to help them, please touch base too.

Year 6 Daily PE

Its been great to see our Year 6 leaders step up and run daily PE again this term. They are doing an excellent job of working with our younger cohorts before the learning starts each day.

Changes to close contact requirements

Public Health has recently changed the rules for close contacts of COVID-19 cases so that they no longer need to isolate.

This means that if your child is a close contact – and importantly, symptom-free – they can attend school (except for support schools).

They would however need to pass a daily rapid antigen test before leaving home each day, for a seven-day period. Advice for close contacts is available on the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website.

You will only need to let us know if your child is a close contact if they’re not attending school.

Close contacts should practise COVID-safe behaviours including good hand hygiene, physically distancing from others when they can and staying away from school if they have any symptoms.

While primary aged close contacts are not obliged to wear a mask in school, they can still choose to if it is practicable for them and they are happy to do so.

If your child is medically vulnerable and you have concerns with the changes to close contacts, then you may wish to work with your child’s medical practitioner to identify further options to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to them. If you have any concerns, please talk to us about alternative learning options.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our school office.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au  or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Kind Regards,
Blair Curtis
Principal

Kath’s Spot

RESPECT. Everyone wants it, most find it hard to give it. Do you think that’s right? One of our ultimate goals that we want to teach our students, and as parents I am trying to teach my boys, is to give and show respect to others. But what does it even look like in day to day life?

I guess for me as I wander through a shopping centre, respect is shown when I talk nicely to the shop assistant. Respect is when I treat the property of Coles properly, making sure I don’t just fling the trolley off into the distance of the carpark, without returning it to the trolley bay. Respect is when I don’t just cut off the car merging into my lane, but I intentionally let them merge in first, despite the fact that I might be running late for an appointment. All of these things, my boys, who are with me at the time, witness. They are onlookers to how I treat the shop assistant, the property and to my fellow motorists, and they are onlookers to what my values are, but what I am showing them as I go about my day?

A value is something I do more than 80% of the time, otherwise it is just an ideal. So if I think it is a value of mine to treat others with respect, but most of the time when I am shopping I give the shop assistant a hard time for not packing the right way, or having too long a line, then it is not really a value is it? It’s just an ideal. I think we need to be careful to watch what we tell our kids, and to make sure our actions reflect the same as what we are saying. Lets be great model’s for them of what it is to show respect to our fellow neighbours hey, and lets help our community to become a better place. One small gesture can make a giant impact to an individual, and in turn a whole nation.

Many Blessings

Kath Dolliver
Chaplain

Class in Focus – Year 6A

External School Review

As part of our continuous school improvement, we will be involved in an External School Review with a Review Team. The purpose of External School reviews is to support schools to raise achievement, sustain high performance and provide quality assurance to build public confidence in government schools.

All Tasmanian Government Schools will be externally reviewed every four years. The focus of the Review is to evaluate school performance. The Review Team consists of a Review Chair and trained Review Principals. The review will occur on 30 and 31 May.

We will find out the aspects of the school’s improvement that have been verified through the Review processes as well as the improvements that we need to make in the future.

During the External School Review, some students, parents, School Association members and staff will be asked to provide information to the Review Team in a number of ways. These include:

• individual interviews
• group discussions (with students or staff or parents)
• meetings (usually School Association, staff meeting)
• visits into classrooms

We appreciate your support and time in helping us with this External School Review process.

If you do not want your child to participate, please let your classroom teacher know. If you would like more information please contact our Principal, Mr Blair Curtis, on 6267 9230.

Little Sprouts and Little Movers!

Little Sprouts Timetable – Term 2

Little Movers Timetable – Term 2

Book Club

Book Club orders are submitted and paid for online via the Book Clubs Loop. Please go to this link www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP. It’s a very straightforward process to sign up and then super quick and easy to place orders. The Loop for the current book issue will be closed off on 17 May so ensure you have your orders in by then. Books will arrive to school and be distributed to students a few weeks later.

Oakleys Coaches – employment opportunity

A part time fill in school bus driver in the Channel area is required. Applicants need MR license, Working with Vulnerable People ard and PV license. Shifts are approximately an hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon but will be paid for four hours per day. To apply, call Steve Oakley on 0418 142 494 or email oakleyscoaches@bigpond.com

Outside School Hours Care

2022 Information and Enrolment (Including Re-Enrolment)

2022 Enrolment and Re-Enrolment information is now available from the office and OSHC. There is new and important information that families need in these packs, so please be sure to collect one ASAP. Thanks!

Snug Primary School Website

Please check out our school website if you haven’t recently. It’s been updated with all the current COVID data provided to us by the Department of Education, as well as our usual school calendar, enrolment forms, health information, OSHC documents, Little Sprouts updates, links to contact us and so on. The address is snugps.schoolzine.com.

Kids Matter eNewsletter

Kingston Library - What’s On

Coming Events

For more information please see our school calendar by clicking the link below:

2022 TERM DATES