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It is fantastic to see everyone back at school. There was definitely an excited buzz on Monday as for many students it was the first time that they have been outside of home environments and away from school for an extended time. Due to this we have had a big focus on reconnecting and establishing rules and routines.
It has been great to see everyone trying their best to follow the new protocols that are in place to keep our students and staff safe:
- Stop drop and go
- Communicating via phone or email rather than entering the school office
- Limiting the items coming from home to school
- Keeping physical distancing on school grounds
Many of these safety measures are not our preferred way of working, however, for the time being it’s what is required so students can be back at school.
Thank you to our whole school community for your support during learning at home. We understand that this was a challenging time but hopefully you can look back and appreciate the positive moments. I know as a staff we have discussed some real positives, such as the greater sharing, communication and engagement with families on Class Dojo.
Veggie Beds
This year we were successfull in gaining a Local Schools Community Grant which was funded by the Australian Government. The grant was provided to each Federal electorate to benefit students and school communities in advancing small scale projects. We received $7,500 to go towards the establishment of a new garden area which involved clearing old vegetation, spreading ground covering, laying stepping stones, plumbing a new tap, and building six vegetable garden beds.
The vegetable gardens are a welcome and much needed addition to our school environment. The previous beds were falling apart and situated around the back of school which restricted access and use by classes. The new location will allow for greater visibility and use. This area will enable more opportunities for students to engage in hands on learning and authentic inquires, such as researching plants that grow at different times of the year, measuring growth, experimenting with optimal growing conditions, care for plants growth and cooking with the harvested vegetables.
Colour Run Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who was involved in our Colour Run Fundraising. It was a great success and we raised $7,341.73. As stated in the fundraising correspondence, towards the end of the year we will look at the money we have raised over the last year and decide on some priorities on how this money will be used. This usually involves parent, student and staff input.
At this stage we are looking at holding our Colour Run on the last day of the year in conjunction with our Big Day In.
Taking inspiration from the current series of advertisements on ABC television, all Somerset Primary School students are learning the song “I Am Australian” as part of their music lessons.
Week by week a new verse is being added with the goal of a school-wide virtual singalong taking place at the end of Term 2. Students are extending their oral language skills, working memory (memorising song lyrics and structure), transferring knowledge gained from their classroom HASS learning, engaging with poetry and working together in a musical way to rebuild our sense of community after the recent changes that saw our school community engaging with school and learning in a different way for the start of Term 2.
The lyrics are below (we are doing a shorter version than the original version by The Seekers) for those who wish to practice.
It has been lovely having our students back making music together this week during our lessons.
Mrs Matthews
Music Teacher, Somerset Primary (Wed/Thurs).
Canteen will resume on the 12th June. At this stage it will most likely only operate on a Friday with a reduced menu. We will inform you more once details are known.
School photo days are Wednesday 17th & Thursday 18th June!! Order forms will be coming home soon so please keep an eye on your childs bag.
Please refer to the attached flyer for further details on how to place your order.
Some children will be bringing home either a validation form or consent form as they are yet to be updated for 2020. Please check your child/ren’s bag and if they have one, complete and send back to school as soon as possible to ensure that we have the most up to date contact, medical and consent information.
