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Coronavirus
At the moment the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a huge topic of conversation. To provide consistent messages around COVid19 I have listed some important information below that is relevant as of Wednesday 25th March:
- As was nationally agreed on Sunday night, schools will remain open, however, parents and carers may choose to keep their children at home. If you elect to keep your child home we have put together a pack for every child so they can maintain continuity of learning. These packs were given to children on Tuesday 24th, if your child was away from school on this day they can be collected from the front office. Remember, you are not expected to provide a full education like in the classroom. Lots of opportunities to talk, read and play games will help your child feel safe, connected and engaged during these challenging times.
- Peter Gutwein announced on Wednesday 25th that the last four days of Term 1 will now be student free days. This means the last day of Term 1 will be Friday 3rd April
- To keep everyone healthy and stop the spread of germs, please avoid sending students to school who are unwell with such things as high temperatures, persistent coughs or stomach bugs.
- If you or your children have returned from an overseas or inter-state trip you will need to self-isolate for 14 days. If a person is in self-isolation, those living with them only need to self-isolate if that person becomes sick or becomes a confirmed case. Information about self-isolation can be found via the following link https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-information-about-home-isolation-when-unwell-suspected-or-confirmed-cases
- Based on further restrictions outlined by our Prime Minister on Tuesday night, we are asking that parents pick up and drop off their children from our car zone or outside the classroom. Once you have dropped off or picked up your children we ask that you respect the new social distancing requirements and leave the school grounds, including the carpark. Also, we can no longer have people staying after school for a play or a chat. We appreciate everyone’s support with this to keep our community safe.
- We are being vigilant in implementing all of the safety and hygiene requirements outlined by the DoE, such as: giving extra time for hand washing, increased cleaning of hard surfaces, talking to students about coughing and sneezing into their elbow and where possible social distancing.
- As an additional mitigation measure we have restricted play areas for each pod of classes to reduce students' circle of contact.
A few more updates:
- Canteen will no longer operate after Friday the 27th
- Our breakfast club will not operate, however, if there are individual needs for this we have the capacity to make toast for students who present to school without breakfast.
- At this stage we have consulted with other schools in the area and have cancelled LiL until further notice.
- All unnecessary large group gathering such as assemblies and special events have been cancelled.
AGM School Association
On Tuesday the 17th March we held our School Association AGM. Below are the names of our new members and office bearers
- Jarrod Cole – Chair
- Kara Bonney – Vice Chair
- Letisha Kirkland – Treasurer
- Susan Jones – Secretary and Vice Treasurer
- Amanda Lloyd – Vice Secretary
- Ben Jones – Staff Representative
- Melissa Carpenter – Parent Group Representative
- Ray Yaxley – Parent member
- Helen Clarke – Parent member
- Bec Evans – Staff member
- Paula Pearce – Principal
A big thank you to our outgoing members for their involvement and dedication to making Somerset Primary a special place (Louise Wisniewski, Michelle Tassicker and Samantha Burr).
Progress Reports
Last Thursday the 20th March, all students from Prep-6 brought home their Progress Report. The Progress Report is an extra report that schools can provide to give a short snapshot of how your child has settled into the school year. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your child’s progress so far, please make contact with your classroom teacher via a phone call.
Please note: reporting is being reviewed by the DoE this year ready for 2021. Due to this our reporting schedule and format from last year will not change but our School Association will give feedback on the new requirements for 2021 when they become available.
Colour Fun Run – returning money and ordering prizes
As you are aware we unfortunately had to postpone the Colour Run. We have had a few conversations regarding the best time to reschedule, one suggestion is that we combine it with our Big Day In on the last day of the year. Hopefully by then all the restrictions will be lifted and the weather will be warmer.
Just a reminder - students will be able to fundraise until 27th March. If you have raised cash donations, please ensure you bring them along with the back panel of the sponsorship form to the school office before the 27th March.
Students can start ordering prizes from the 27th March right up until to the 3rd April. Remember, ordering online is the best way to ensure you get what you’d like, so please get online – even if all your money is raised in cash.
If you need assistance with this, please contact the school and we will arrange a way to help you with this.
Retiring Staff
We have been advised that Ms Kate Smith and Mrs Kaye Tidey will retire at the end of their Long Service Leave this Term. We have been extremely fortunate to have had these skilled, experienced and passionate educators in our school. Both Kate and Kaye have been wonderful mentors to our teachers as well as beloved colleagues and friends to all staff. Ms Smith came to Somerset 10 years ago, transferring in from Boat Harbour Primary. She taught Grade 3 and 4 during this time becoming an invaluable member of the grade team. Kate is a generous colleague, she shares her knowledge, tips and tricks and offers her wealth of teaching ideas and resources. Pod 2 team will miss the collegial support that she offered. Ms Smith is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about local indigenous history and took many lucky classes on memorable excursions to Fossil Bluff, Sisters Beach Caves and Rocky Cape National Park.
Kate’s class was characterised by settled, engaged learners pausing for a shared laugh with their teacher. You would see students striving to improve within Kate’s steady guidelines and high expectations- she really believes in every learner. On more than one occasion Kate’s class have entered their marvelous creations in the local art gallery display and her students have achieved many places and honourable mentions in the annual Burnie Eisteddfod poetry competition. Most years the memorable smell of local bull kelp heralded Kate’s sharing of knowledge as students tried their hand at traditional Aboriginal kelp holders.
This retirement is the well-earned reward at the end of an outstanding teaching career positively impacting the learners of the North West coast. We wish Kate every happiness in her garden, walking the beach and enjoying watching her grandchildren grow.
Mrs Tidey transferred to our school from Romaine Park Primary in 2015. Mrs Tidey taught Grade 2 and 3 during this time before taking on the role of Flying Start teacher. Kaye is a passionate Literacy educator- it is a real treat to listen to a story read by Mrs Tidey. In Mrs Tidey’s class students were always thinking and talking about new words, great books and the techniques authors use to make us remember their stories. Kaye’s easy laugh and warmth will ensure she is remembered by every one of her students fondly.
As Flying Start teacher, Mrs Tidey was the boost many students needed to make huge growth in Literacy. Her steady support was always delivered with calm and surety. Students feel comfortable to have a go with Mrs Tidey helping them. Similarly, in this role Kaye has been able to be a role model to many of our teachers. She is always prepared with a useful resource, a thoughtful suggestion and deep understanding of best practice Literacy teaching. This wisdom and generosity will be missed by the teachers at Somerset.
Mrs Tidey’s move to retirement is a celebration of her many years with the department of Education in Tasmania. The community of Somerset Primary wish her well as she finds the time to enjoy her book club, silk painting hobbies and time for international adventures (as soon as these travel bans lift!).
In Prep A and B we have been learning and singing nursery rhymes. We discussed ways we could save Humpty Dumpty and for our STEAM challenge we created something to save him when he falls. We thought of some great ideas. The two prep classes came together to test our creations. Some of them stopped Humpty from cracking after he fell off the wall.
Story Box Library is an Australian website dedicated to sharing wonderful stories. It has a collection of new and classic texts read by authors and other well-known Australians.
Through LIFT (Learning in Families Together) our school has subscribed to this platform as another way to bring engaging texts and reading enjoyment to our students. We believe that parents, carers and teachers work together as literacy educators. Being read a range of texts by a variety of readers helps develop oral language skills, literacy understanding and comprehension.
To access Story Box library go to http://www.storyboxlibrary.com.au and select “log in” in the top left hand corner. Both the username and password are set as: somersetprimary.
Enjoy a range of great stories together with your child.