FROM OUR PRINCIPAL MRS LEANNE SMITH

As we head into the last half of Term 4 we see on the calendar the year getting extra busy.  Please make sure you regularly check our calendar with upcoming events which can be accessed via our webpage, the newsletter and the SZapp app. 

SWSP and MAST:

Last week we completed our Swimming and Water Safety Program for the year and yesterday we had the MAST (Marine and Safety Tasmania) program presented to our children in PE.  Both these programs give our children a great understanding and new set of skills to employ when around water, to stay safe not just over summer but all year.  Thanks to Miss Gourlay for the coordination of the program and the organisation of the MAST session. 

SPSSA INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING:

Last Thursday we had our Interschool Swimming Carnival with all students giving 100% effort in each race.  Congratulations to 9 of our students who have been invited to participate in the Champions Carnival next Tuesday 23^rd November.  Good luck to each of them. 

SCHOOL ASSOCIATION:

Tuesday 30^th November at 4:30 pm in the staff room is our final School Association meeting for the year.  If you have any thoughts or ideas that you would like discussed please have a conversation with any of our parent reps, Jess, Anna, Andy, Tonie and Kara.  You are also more than welcome to attend any of the meetings.

BAGS OF HOPE:

Thanks to the SRC for organising the Bags of Hope event.  We have attached the list of ideas again and anything you are able to send along to add to the bags will be very much appreciated.

FRONT OF SCHOOL:

The front of the school continues to be worked on. A very big thank you to all vehicles coming into the turning circle for your patience and care as we organise children safely around this space each afternoon.  We should see the paths being poured early next week and the works finished by the middle of the week.  It is going to be so much better for the movement around the front of the school and look really great all tidied and neat.

Hello everyone,

It's that busy time of the year where the all the students from Prep to Grade 6 are working towards performances for end of year.  No spoilers today sorry but we will be big, bright bold and moving on the day.

Otherwise we have been exploring how songs are put together or the form of the Music with the Grades 4/5 and 6 students using a program called Incredibox.  They are able to create their own digital DJ loop mixes to explore song structures by changing the shirts on the 'singers' and bring them in and out of their songs. For those who'd like to try it at home here's the link: https://incredibox.com

The Grade 2/3 and Grade 3/4 classes are launching into recorder alongside our ukuleles with them working together and learning more about note reading while they play.  

Prep-1 is sing dance and play every day as we keep working on our xylophone mallet skills.  Ask them about 'Aunt Em' the 'Cows and the Chooks' and 'Please Don't Bother Bees.'   Lots of fun and learning going on as we head towards our end of year assembly.  Can't Wait!

Mr Hay

This term, our class has been learning about Living Things and Life Cycles.

We have been investigating seed and plant life cycles, tadpole and frog life cycles as well as caterpillar and moth lifecycles.

We have been lucky enough to have some of each of these living things in our classroom so we can observe changes each day.

We have been considering what living things need and how these needs impact where they live and grow.

We experimented with different art techniques including paper collage, sketching, crayon and dye work to create a ‘pond scape’ to demonstrate our understanding of what frogs and tadpoles need in their environment.

We hope you enjoy them!

The beginning of term saw the Bicycle Network Ride2School Program visit Molesworth! Our students learnt about safely adjusting helmets, completing A (air), B (brake), C (chain) and D (drop) checks on our bikes, adjusting seat levels, how to start in the power position, safely navigating through cones and giving way to others on the road.

Thank you to the parents and carers who organised pick up and drop offs of bikes and helmets during the program.

Shane from the Bicycle Network Program loaned his equipment to us to use during Outdoor Classroom Day. The students put their bike riding skills to the test, navigating through a figure of 8 course and a bend. They had a go at pedal powering a smoothie bike! It was very hard work pushing the pedals but worth it for the yummy smoothie at the end.

Here are comments from our keen bike riders:

• Harry – I loved the bike program!
• Oscar – I enjoyed riding the bikes.
• Jaidah - I liked riding a big because I usually ride a small one at home.
• Jett – I enjoyed the smoothie bike.
• Ethan – I rode a bike for the first time! It made me feel happy!
• Maddison – I liked how we learnt how to be safe while riding.

We pass on our many thanks to Shane from the Bicycle Network Ride2School Program for coaching and sharing his bicycle knowledge with us!

During weeks 4 and 5 of this term, our Year 3, 4 and 5 students were busy learning important Swimming and Water Safety skills at the New Norfolk Pool. The program went swimmingly! This program supports our students to become competent swimmers and be water safe. The program has a strong emphasis on; water safety, including boat safety, using personal floatation devices, survival swimming, reach to rescues, entreating aquatic environments safely, stroke development and building swimming stamina.

If you have a swimming and water safety questions and see one of our Year 3, 4 or 5 students you should ask them and they will be able to share their knowledge with you!

Here are some of the activities our swimmers have learnt and enjoyed:

It has been so lovely to see all our students’ progress in the pool. Thank you to our Swimming and Water Safety instructors, Babs, Fran, Carolyn, Nikki, Renee and Terry from the New Norfolk Pool.  

To tie in with our Swimming and Water Safety Program, on Tuesday 16^th November our classes had a visit from Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST). They developed their skills and knowledge of many important boating skills; what you need to think about before and during any boating activity, how to use inflatable jackets, how to check life jackets to make sure they work and are the new standard life jacket, what is required to take with you when boating and what these look like and how to use them, how to check fire extinguishers, how to use flares and how an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) works.
We would like to pass on many thanks to MAST for visiting our school for a second consecutive year! If you are interested in further information check out the MAST website: https://www.mast.tas.gov.au/

Splish splash! On Thursday 4^th December, 15 of our fastest swimmers travelled to the Doone Kennedy Aquatic Centre to represent Molesworth Primary at the SPSSA Division D Swimming Carnival.

With the smallest team in the stand, Molesworth students represented our school with their best efforts! All our students received a ribbon in each event which is an amazing achievement for our school. We did a score check before relay teams and we were coming equal 3^rd overall! With our efforts we finished strong in 6^th position. It was a good experience for our students to swim at the Aquatic Centre against other schools.

A very big well done to all our competitors. Thank you to our school community for coming to support our students and adhering to the covid restrictions of the Aquatic Centre. Thank you to Mr Peter Jelkic and Mrs Stacey Benson who volunteered as our school officials on the day.

From the SPSSA carnivals, students are invited to the Champions Carnival. Molesworth will be sending 9 students to the Champions Carnival and we wish them the best of luck! We have no doubt they will try their hardest and enjoy this experience!

On Wednesday October 27^th, Prep-1J travelled to the Hobart Gymnastics Academy in Bridgewater for the first of our early childhood PE gymnastic excursions.

The Prep-1J students practiced many fundamental movement skills and movement sequences. We practised our safe landing positions on the big blue floor. We climbed ladders, over ramps, under beams. We jumped and hopped along beams, trampolines, and mats. We hung off bars and ropes. We finished the excursion with a ‘floor is lava’ challenge. There was a lot of fun to be had at the Hobart Gymnastics Academy!

Here are some of our thoughts from the excursion:

Thank you to the coaches for helping us through many different activities and for demonstrating how to move in a safe way.

Thank you to the parent and carer helpers who volunteered to assist in these excursions!

Ruby Rainbird from our Year 5/6 class went to try outs in late September for the Tasmanian Tigers State Under 14’s team. There were approximately 50 other kids trying out to make the team!

At the try outs, they had timed running trials, shooting drills and some set plays to test their knowledge. Ruby is a point guard and currently plays for the southern Wolves under 14’s and was successful in making the Tasmanian Tigers State Under 14’s team!

With Ruby’s keen eye to read play and strong basketball skills she is a great asset to the team. Ruby will train with the state team in December ready to fly off to Adelaide in early January and will play against other state teams.

We wish Ruby all the best in her basketball endeavours representing Tasmania - Good luck Ruby!

For 90 years, our School Banking program has helped children learn about money, reinforced the importance of regular savings and provided structure for parents to support their children to save.

Though the program continues to have strong support from schools, parents and teachers, recent decisions by some state and territory governments because of a review by the corporate regulator mean we are unable to continue providing programs in schools, and we have had to make a difficult decision to close our School Banking program for all government and non-government schools across the country.

Our School Banking program was established in 1931 at a time when having a bank account was not commonplace, and since then we have helped more than 15 million Australians take their first financial steps. This would not have been possible without the wonderful support we have received from schools like yours, including all the parents and volunteers, and for this we are deeply grateful. Thank you.

Even though this is a sad time, School Banking has taught so many young Australians, past and present, the value of money and we believe this should be celebrated. We have created a place for you to share your stories, fondest memories and lessons learnt through the program. To share your story and access our financial education resources, please visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking 

Even though the CommBank School Banking program will not be returning to your school after this year, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any CommBank branch. If you need further information please phone 132 221 or visit your local CommBank branch.