3 February 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Families,

Twilight Eat, Meet and Greet

Thank you for attending our Twilight Eat, Meet and Greet last night. This is a good way for you to be informed of class expectations, rules and routines for the year.

Thank you to year 6 students, parents and grandparents who assisted in hosting a successful barbecue, funds raised will go towards the year 6 camp.

Primary Progress Report

On Friday 10th March teachers will send home the Primary Progress report. This report includes an assessment of work habits and is an indication of how your child has settled in for the year. Please do not hesitate to make contact with class teachers and book a parent conversation if you feel you would like to chat further about this. This can be via phone or in person. Remember that we are a team and our goal is to work together to ensure your child has a successful year both emotionally and academically.

School Association

Our School Association had their first meeting this week. It is a privilege to work alongside this team of dedicated parents who are the voice of all parents in our school. If you have any ideas on how our school can improve or have any feedback then they would love to hear from you snugschoolassoc@gmail.com .

The School Association AGM will be held on Tuesday 21st March at 6.30pm, we would love to see you there.

NAPLAN Assessments

NAPLAN assessments occur between 15 to 27 March. The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a national set of paper and online tests that assess literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. Students are not expected to study for these.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school's assessment and reporting processes. Teachers regularly assess students in class and this information is used by teachers to create an on-balance judgement and rating for reporting.

This is the first year that the NAPLAN will be held in March. This change has been made so that school can access results earlier in the year and use this information to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

This year the Year 3 students will complete the Writing test on paper. All other NAPLAN Tests are online including the year 5 writing assessment. Feedback from students is that they find the online testing more engaging than the previous style of testing.

If you require any further information regarding NAPLAN testing please see the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website or the NAPLAN parent page below.

Harmony Week 2023

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Harmony Week takes place from Monday 20th March to Sunday 26th March 2023.

During Harmony Week, Snug Primary will be sharing stories from our families who are either First Nations people, or First or Second-generation Australians. If this sounds like you it would be great if you could let your child’s teacher know your background. Likewise, if you would like to share a story about a particular custom or practice that your family still observes (and you would like to share this on either our Daily News or school Facebook page), can you please write a short description of the custom and what it means to you. Please also feel welcome to come and place a ‘homeland pin of origin’ with your family name on our world map in the office!

On Friday 17th March, we will be holding a special Harmony Week assembly at 10am. Children (and parents) may wear traditional clothes or costumes and share a short story about themselves with the rest of the school. Students do not have to speak in assembly if they choose not to and may simply wear their traditional dress. All students may show their support for their fellow students by wearing orange for the day.

Any queries please contact either your child’s teacher or Ange Andrews.

Arriving on time

Finally, congratulations to families who have been arriving early. Class teachers have noted that this has helped with students settling quicker when the bell goes, and some students have said they have made some new friends. Research indicates that students are less anxious about their day if they arrive prior to the start of the day. Classroom doors open at 8.30am each morning.

Kind Regards,

Loretta Woolley
Principal

Kath’s Spot

This fortnight the students have been working on the habit of the mind of “Everyday is a learning day. We come to school on time to make sure every moment counts”.

I know sometimes it is hard of a morning. I remember those days when I had three under the age of four or five, and it seemed like such an event to even get everyone clothed, fed, bags packed, and out the door and looking at least some sort of resemblance of awake! But you know what - we made it!! We all survived through that stage, and by the time I got to No 4 child he was packing his own lunch box and I finally had sorted some sort of system for the morning, so that we had a routine that worked well for us all. I don’t envy you if you are still in these stages, but please sing out if there is any way we can help to survive through these challenging times. Remember, there are ages and stages, and everyone moves through those stages, so there sure is light at the end of the tunnel!

When they were younger especially, I noticed that, for one of my boys in particular, he really benefitted if he was one of the first to enter the classroom. He then had a moment to arrive and settle, to chat with the teacher, and to show me anything, before the volume increased significantly and his classmates enveloped the space. I remember this making it a challenge to get out of the home earlier, but it did make it quicker to drop off and leave the classroom because he was less attached having arrived ‘well’ and feeling that he had had the time to show me what he had needed. I used to always say “I’m just about to leave, is there anything you want to show me?”, and then after he showed me, I would say “have a great day” and leave straight away, making sure he couldn’t see me hanging out front of his room (so he didn’t just run after me). It was only for a short period that he found it challenging, but it really helped in that moment. I know lots of you have found some great strategies for this, I wonder what has worked well for you?

We know that every moment that students spend at school, they are learning and embracing new experiences. When they are not here, they miss those moments, and when they arrive late, they often miss the instructions and find it harder to settle in socially and also to complete their work.

We want to help each young person to succeed the best way possible, so yell out if there is any way that we can to help you to have your child here more often, or if there are struggles along the way. We are a caring community, your teachers and support staff are always willing to help to find ways for us all to win in this journey of parenting. I know I get it wrong all the time, I have to wipe the slate clean and start afresh the next day, so lets help each other when we need it most.

Many Blessings

Class in Focus –5-6C

Term 1 in 5/6C

We have been very busy:

• Learning about narrative through picture books and crafting some amazing stories during our writing sessions
• We written and published our own autobiographies
• Studying prefixes, bases and suffixes in word inquiry
• Finding out about the impact of British Colonisation
• Looking at how we convert measurement units and place value using decimals in Maths
• Creating some fantastic artwork
• Improving our reading stamina by completing more books – this will help us with our writing and spelling by increasing vocabulary. Read! Read! Read!

Message from School Nurse ‘Joss’

Snug Primary School Website

If you haven’t already, please take the time to check out our website:

You will find many helpful links including:

“Our School Calendar”

“How to Report an Absence”

“Newsletter Archive”

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) information and enrolment forms, Early Learning (Little Sprouts Movers and Little Sprouts Explorers) term plans and contact forms, Health information and various enrolment forms and documents (Travel, Medical and Asthma forms, Uniform policy etc) and lots more!

Kitchen-Garden News

Kitchen

Lunch Provision options for next Wednesday:

Garden

Volunteers always welcome, classes start at 2.00pm.

A reminder that volunteers will need a Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP). Details are here if you need to apply:

Little Sprouts and Little Movers

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 Friday 17 March so ensure you have your orders in by then. Books will arrive to school and be distributed to students a few weeks later.

Outside School Hours Care

2023 Information and Enrolment (Including Re-Enrolment)

2023 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!

Kids Matter eNewsletter

Kingston Library - What’s On

Coming Events

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

Community Notices

Woodbridge Soccer Open Day

Kingborough Council ‘A Day at the Park’

Walk for Mental Health

2023 TERM DATES