FROM OUR PRINCIPAL MRS LEANNE SMITH

Wow the last week of Term already.  I would like to wish everyone a fantastic break where you get to turn off your school time alarm, pack away the unforms for the 2 weeks and find time to relax and do something that gives you joy.  Next term begins on Tuesday 26^th July as the Monday is a student free professional learning day for staff.

So so many positive comments about the silent disco on Friday night.  Every student that I spoke to had such a great night.  A huge thank you to School Association for their organisation and to Kombi Krew for the running of the night.  All children had such big smiles on their faces when they spoke about it and many laughed about how noisy a silent disco is.

BUS TRAVEL:

As petrol prices continue to rise if you would like your child to travel on either bus please contact the School Office and they will help organise which bus depending on where drop off and pick up points are.  For afternoon pick-up in the turning circle children will wait near the exit gate for collection.  Please do not stop at the brick path as this blocks cars from entering and we have cars waiting on the road to turn in.  The O’Driscoll bus is now pulling up further along near the MEC gate so it is far safer to see around for cars leaving the turning circle.

COVID UPDATE:

In the past week we have had a significant increase in the number of positive Covid cases in both students and staff.  If your child is exhibiting any symptoms, please administer a RAT test and if they are unwell continue to keep them at home.  If you require any more RATs please let the School Office know and they can organise them for you. 

TERM 3:

As we plan for Term 3 there are a couple of changes of staffing.  We thank Mrs Gilbert for her time on Prep/1 as Miss J will be back with us, and to Mrs Breaden for the amazing job she has done in the MEC with Mrs MacGregor.  Mrs Breaden is not able to continue for Term 3 and Mr Felmingham is not expected back until at the earliest, Term 4.  To support both our school and the MEC Mrs Lani Young will be taking on the coordinating role in the MEC, working with Mrs MacGregor for all the visiting schools.  Mrs Gilbert will be taking over the Grade 4/5 class for the three days.  Mrs Moores will continue in there for the Thursday and Friday.  Mrs Gilbert is very much looking forward to taking the 4/5 class as she has had quite a lot to do with most of the students during their years here.  Mrs Young has a special interest and passion for the environment and is also very much looking forward to running the MEC.  The 4/5 class will start the term with their MEC excursion in the first week.  Mrs Moores has also taken on the Grade 3/4 class for Wednesdays while Mr Hay continues with music across the school. 

Next term we will start Whole School Assemblies again and it will be the perfect time to share with our community all that has been happening in classes as well as many musical and dance items classes have been regularly practising.  Keep an eye on our calendar on the website for the dates of the assemblies. 

Going by all the positive chatter from the students that attended the Silent Disco on Friday in our hall, a wonderful time was had by everyone.  If you drove passed while it was commencing it was said that the children were singing their little heads off to all the amazing music.  Thank you to the Molesworth Primary School Assocation for the organisation of this event.

Yesterday we had our first session with two players from the Hobart Chargers - AJ Harris from Dayton, Ohio and Jamar Sandifer from Dallas, Texas. Before playing for the Hobart Chargers, AJ was playing in Europe, and Jamar was playing in Mexico. AJ hopes to one day play in the NBL for the Tasmanian Jack Jumpers! Both players had a lot of knowledge and experience to share with us. We developed and practised so many different skills including, dribbling, passing, cooperation, shooting, our footwork, our reaction skills and eye tracking.

Last week Mr Rogers put up chain basketball nets on our hoops! They have been a big hit at recess and lunch time.

Thank you to Brooke from Swisherr hoops academy for organising these sessions! Our students won’t be forgetting this opportunity anytime soon. Thank you to AJ and Jamar for your time with us, we can’t wait for our second session with the Hobart Chargers at the start of next term!

"Why won’t any of our kids be travelling these school holidays? Because basketballers aren’t allowed to travel!"

On Monday 4th July, students in Grade 3-4 participated in a disaster resilience education program run by Australian Red Cross, called the Pillowcase Program.

Designed to help children prepare for, cope with and respond to an emergency, the workshop included a discussion about the importance of being prepared, as well as interactive activities to help students prepare their minds for an emergency and consider what to pack in an emergency kit. Each student was given a pillowcase to decorate and take home, to start their own personal emergency kit.

Whether your child participated in the program or not, Red Cross would encourage all of us to get prepared for the emergencies that life throws at us. They have also stressed how important it is to not only make an emergency plan but to discuss and practise that plan with children. 

Getting your household prepared:

Red Cross have provided a checklist of actions to prepare our households and children for emergencies. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to complete these as a household. 

• All the children in our house know what an emergency is (a serious, dangerous and scary situation where help might be needed)
• All the children in our house know how to stay calm by ‘breathing with colour’ (slowly breathing in their favourite colour and then slowly exhaling their least favourite colour to regulate their breathing)
• All the children in our house know how and when to call for help (For guidance visit triplezero.gov.au)
• We have a safe meeting place outside our house and have practised how to get there
• We know who to call if we can’t find each other
• We have an emergency kit packed ready to go if we have to leave our house quickly.

Thank you so much to Margaret and Lissa for visiting us! For further guidance or to create a household emergency plan you can download Australian Red Cross’ Get Prepared app or visit  redcross.org.au/prepare.

On Monday 27^th June our Grade 4/5 class travelled to Moonah sports stadium to participate in para sport! We played wheelchair basketball with Richard and modified wheelchair rugby with Kevin from Para Quad Tasmania. Richard told our group that we were very lucky to have Kevin join us for our session and that we were actually the first school group to have ever used the rugby wheelchairs! How exciting!

Our students had a lot of fun participating in the different activities and found them quite challenging. The session was run in collaboration with Kevin and Richard from Para Quad Tasmania and we thank them for this amazing opportunity for our students.

Thank you to Mr Turner, Mrs Duncombe and Mr Roberts for assisting us on our excursion!

Term 2 has been a busy, fun filled term of exploration and learning for Rock’n’Rollers (Kinder/Prep).  We have talked a lot about friendships this term.  We have been identifying qualities of good friends and things we can do that help to make people feel safe, secure and happy around us.

In Week 4 Mr Warman joined us to work with our Prep students on Mondays and Fridays.  They have been busy creating new routines in the Prep classroom and showing off their amazing skills and energy through lots of reading, writing and mathematics.

We have particularly liked exploring our local community and going to the Molesworth Environment Centre for our Term 2 excursion.  It was fantastic to get out in the bush and test ourselves on the walk up to Possum’s Playground.  After the recent rain, dam building was popular with children co-operating together to build the ultimate wall!  Our trip out into our local community got many of us thinking about the community  building our own community villages at school – both inside and outside. These have been complete with carparks with boom gates, cafes and science labs developing new and essential vaccines.

We have also enjoyed noticing the changes in the seasons and the  opportunities that these changes bring.  We thoroughly enjoyed raking, sorting and moving Autumn leaves around the playground, and have found great delight hunting for ice, now Winter has hit and the mornings are colder.  The delivery of our gumboots have been a much welcomed addition helping us to keep our toes warm and dry.   A big thank you to the School Association and to the New Norfolk Hotel for their kind donation.

Our fitness fun sessions have continued of a Wednesday afternoon.  Under Keema’s guidance, children have been enhancing their balance, core strength and cardio.  Their skills are amazing, and it is a delight to witness their ongoing development.

We are looking forward to the holiday break where we can rest up ready for an exciting Term 3.

Getting kids to school isn’t always easy. But being at school is the best place for our kids.

If your child is unwell, they need to stay home. But if your child is well enough to attend school, they should be at school. Every day, Monday to Friday.

Reality of missing school

Data shows us that regular school attendance is one of the best things a child can do to set them up for success. But if they don’t attend, things get harder for them.

Let’s do the maths:

• If your child misses even just one day a fortnight, that adds up to 20 days of the school year. That’s the same as missing four whole weeks of school!
• If they miss one day a week, that doubles to eight weeks of school they’ll never get back.
• Over the course of their childhood, that equals two and a half years of vital education they’ll never receive…

We mean it, every school day counts. It all adds up.

Bright futures begin at school

The data also tells us something else: the better a child’s attendance rate, the better off they’ll be. Their future will be filled with more opportunities.

School is where they learn and grow alongside their friends, and where they benefit the most. Going to school not only promotes academic success, but also helps build important social skills, relationships and confidence.

Good attendance habits in primary school lead to good attendance habits in high school. This will help expand your child’s options even further as they grow older.

Watch this video to see the benefits of going to school.

It’s ok if you need help

If you’re struggling to get your child to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation. We’ll support you, in whatever way we can.

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