FROM OUR PRINCIPAL MRS LEANNE SMITH

Winter is certainly upon us but that doesn’t stop our students getting out of the classroom and enjoying the outdoors.  Last week Mr Rogers set up a new outdoor table tennis table and there has been lots of fun learning just how hard it is to control a tiny light ball.  On the oval we continue to see great AFL games each break with lots of participants from all grades.

As we head towards the end of this term I would like to sincerely thank both Mrs Gilbert and Mrs Breaden for their commitment to making this school the great place it is. Mrs Gilbert has been teaching the Prep/1 class while Ms J has been away recovering from an injury and Mrs Breaden has been working with Trish in the MEC and as always all visiting schools are so positive about the amazing program offered here at Molesworth. 

Thanks to the School Association fundraising efforts we now have a new stage space in our hall.  This will definitely be great when we start our whole school assembles next term.

Parent/Teacher Interviews:

Thank you to all families that have booked a time for a conversation about their child’s learning with their child’s teacher.  This year, with the change of reporting and assessment structures, these times are vital to support your child’s learning and wellbeing.  If you have not yet made a time please book via Schoolzine or contact the School Office and they are more than happy to assist.  If the times available do not suit please contact your child’s teacher to discuss alternative options.  I know the teachers are looking forward to sharing with you all that your child has been doing so far this year and future goals for the rest of the year.

COVID Update:

As of Monday 27^th June masks are no longer required to be worn at school.  It is a choice and both students and adults are encouraged to continue wearing them if they choose.  Thank you to all families who are keeping their children home if they are unwell.  We do understand that extended absences can impact on learning however the health of all is priority.  Teachers work very hard to make sure, on their return, they are given extra support to catch up.  All our processes at school will continue including the use of hand sanitiser, the washing of hands regularly and the extra cleaning of high use areas including classroom tables.

Bus Travel:

As petrol prices continue to rise families are considering their options for travel to and from school.  If you are wanting your child to catch the bus at any time please contact the School Office and they can give you all the relevant information. 

The next time you are at Tolosa Park and need some help navigating your way around, just call upon a student from 2/3 and 5/6 and they will be able to assist you!

On Friday 17^th June, the Grade 2-3 and 5-6 class jumped onto the bus and travelled to Tolosa Park. Mr Mike Calder from Orienteering Tasmania met us at Hut 10 Leatherwood to test our orienteering skills! Everyone spent their time navigating around the different courses that took us all around Tolosa Park to find checkpoints. At each checkpoint we scanned our P cards and when we finished the course we were able to scan these into Mike to see if we missed any checkpoints and to see how fast we completed the courses!

Mike was very impressed with our students’ attitudes! He said many students completed 3 courses at Tolosa Park which was very impressive.

Here are some of our favourite moments on the excursion:

We would like to pass on a big thank you to Mike for organising and setting up the courses for us at Tolosa Park. We would also like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Ferris, Ms Goggins and Mrs Duncombe for accompanying our students on this excursion.  

If you are interested in Orienteering and exploring this sport, there are a lot of permanent courses around Tasmania and lots of events throughout the year. If you would like more information about Orienteering, check out the following Orienteering website as it has a lot of great information: https://tasorienteering.asn.au/

On Tuesday 21^st June, more than 1800 of Tasmania’s most aspiring primary school runners for 2022 competed at the Athletics Tasmania’s all School’s Cross Country at Symmons Plains. Out of all these competitors, just a small number were representing Molesworth Primary School!

An outstanding achievement by these students to be chosen from our Divisional B Cross Country Carnival. A very well done to these students on their outstanding long distance running efforts!

Thank you to our parents and carers who were able to transport our students to their events!

We have been learning about narrative writing and techniques writers use to add interest and skill to their work.

Here are some of the passages of writing that we are the most proud of. Hopefully you enjoy our descriptive language, similes and exciting range of punctuation and sentence lengths.

Our Prep/1 class have been writing about their friends.  They have been endevouring to use descriptive words other than the word "nice".  Here are some examples of their amazing work.

In PE we have had the absolute pleasure of having Chelsea come out to Molesworth Primary and run AFL Tasmania’s North Melbourne Football Club Next Generation School Program. AFL has been a popular recess and lunch time activity on our oval with our school roster and posts out. Thank you to Mr Rogers who painted our boundary line and goal squares.

It was great to have Chelsea come and assist us further develop our AFL skills through playing many new activities and games! Chelsea currently plays for North Hobart and is a representative in the Tasmania Devils Women’s state team and shared her football knowledge and skills with us. We practised our marking, dodging, catching, kicking, communication, hand balling and ball movement. We played many new different modified games. For our Kinders it was the first time some of them had kicked and handballed a football. We had some very excited students!

In the future we may see some talent in the AFL and AFLW from Molesworth so keep your eyes opened! Thank you Chelsea for visiting us and passing on your knowledge and skills!

Friendly reminder.  We are beginning to complete Rumbles Quest with students from Prep to Grade 3.  Thank you to all the families who have completed their child’s electronic permission.  If you haven’t already done so, please check your email and return as soon as possible if you would like your child to participate.  Thank you.

An update on face masks

Public Health has advised that from Monday 27 June 2022, face masks are no longer mandatory in schools and Child and Family Learning Centres. This is because of reduced COVID-19 cases in our community.

It’s important to continue to:

• stay at home if unwell, and get tested
• practise COVID-safe behaviours such as frequent handwashing and sanitising
• be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations.

Students, staff and visitors are supported to continue to wear face masks if they choose to. Face masks are still available from the School Office if you need them.

When face masks are required

If you’re a close contact, you are still required to wear a face mask indoors as per current Public Health advice.

From time-to-time Molesworth Primary School might identify activities or situations where masks are required to be worn. We ask for your support when this happens and know that it is in the best interests of our students, staff and our school.

Our staff will continue to wear masks when working closely with students who are vulnerable to COVID-19.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly to discuss.

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.

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