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- Principal's Report
- Attention: Parents and Carers of students in Years 4, 5 & 6 - Student Wellbeing Survey
- Do you have a child with ASTHMA?
- Cross Country
- Term 3 in 3A
- Term 3 in 3B
- Premier's Reading Challenge - Hawka's Visit
- Swimming & Water Safety Program
- STAS Eligibility Changes
- Book Club
- Lost Property
- Canteen
- Review of Education Regulations
- Upcoming Events
- Kinder 2021
Wellbeing Priority
This year one element of our school improvement plan has been student wellbeing. This has not only involved our work on the Zones of Regulation but we have also implemented a 10 minute relaxation time at the end of our lunch break. During this time our whole school engage in mindfulness or relaxation.
We all know that wellbeing is essential for learning. Regular opportunities for students and adults to recover and engage in mindfulness helps to calm bodies and minds, resulting in greater focus and engagement. Studies have shown that children who practice mindfulness have:
- Better emotional regulation
- Better academic performance
- Lower anxiety
- Better social skills and behaviour.
As a school we have noticed the positive benefits, with children being more settled and displaying less behaviour issues in the afternoon.
Below is a picture of students enjoying their mindfulness session outside.
Update Parent Group
I met with a few members of the Parent Group last week to review our fundraising initiatives in light of COVID-19. After discussion we came to the following conclusions:
- Fathers’ Day Stall – unfortunately we will not be able to offer the stall this year. Members of the Parent Group have been unable to order gifts due to not being able to meet during Term 2 stop, drop and go restrictions. We are also not permitted to sell baked goods form home.
- Trivia Night – at this stage we are very doubtful that the trivia night on the 6th November will be able to take place due to restrictions on gatherings.
- Christmas Lunch for students – we are hopefully this might be able to go ahead with a few adjustments.
- Colour Run – at this stage we have planned to run the colour run on the last day of the year as part of our Big Day In.
Assembly Date Change
Our upcoming assembly has been changed to the 9th September. As outlined in our last newsletter, we are unable to have parents/carers join us. We are hoping to film different sections and place them on Facebook, depending on student permissions.
Attention: Parents and Carers of students in Years 4, 5 & 6 - Student Wellbeing Survey
The wellbeing of our students is important to us.
To get an understanding of how students across Tasmania feel about their own wellbeing, students in Years 4-6 at Somerset Primary will be taking part in a wellbeing survey.
The Student Wellbeing Survey is part of the Department of Education’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy.
The details for the survey are:
When: |
Monday 31st August – Friday 4th September |
Who: |
Grades 4, 5 & 6 – unless parents/carers returned the form requesting their child/ren not participate. |
What do I need to do: | You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way |
A letter with more information has been sent home with all Year 4-6 students, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to the school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.
If you would like further information, please contact Amanda Lloyd (Assistant Principal).
Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are safe, feel supported and are able to flourish, so they can engage in learning.
Do you have a child with ASTHMA?
Somerset Primary have many students that are diagnosed with Asthma. It is a requirement that parents provide the school with up to date medical information each year, or after a review throughout the year, to support school staff to provide the best care for your child. This includes:
- Updated Medical Action Plan
- Form A – Parental permission to administer medication
- Form B – Doctor/Practice Nurse/Pharmacist permission to administer medication
It is also a requirement that parents provide the medication that is required for their child. At present, we have a number of children presenting to first aid with asthmatic symptoms who do not have their puffer at school. As a part of our duty of care, we do stock a spare Ventolin in case of emergency and will always administer according to the Medical Action Plan or in the case of no action plan, first aid guidelines. However, students who have been prescribed Ventolin to relieve symptoms of asthma should be bringing their puffer and spacer to school each day.
If your child no longer requires Ventolin and you would like us to remove this from their record, please give us a call to arrange.
If you have any questions regarding this information, please call the office to discuss.
The Cam Two and a Half cross country for grades 3 to 6 will again be run jointly with Cooee Primary on Wednesday 16th September and will commence first thing in the morning at 9.15am. In the event of poor weather it will be postponed until Wednesday 23rd September. The event will be held at school and the children will have the choice of entering the medal event (this involves two laps of the course, double points for the school house, participation certificate, first to fourth placegetters certificate and will be in the running for the overall medallion) or the fun run event (this involves one lap of the course, participation certificate and single house points).
The Somerset Primary cross country for Grades Kinder to 2 will be held on the same day commencing after recess at 11.05 pm and run on the school oval and surrounds.
As this is a school house competition all children participating will earn points for their house.
Cross country running is challenging, and the children will be encouraged to complete the course to the best of their ability. For this reason all participants Prep to 6 will receive a certificate of participation for completing the course.
Could parents pack a complete change of clothes including underwear and shoes for your child as some parts of the course will be wet under foot.
On the day of the cam two and a half we do require at least four parents to man checkpoints around the course (a wwvp card is required), could you please leave your name at the office, if you can assist.
Unfortunately this year due to COVID-19 restrictions we cannot have parents /carers as spectators at this event.
Term 3 has been off to a very busy start for 3A. We have been working very hard on setting routines and reaching our goals for learning and behaviour. We were very lucky and excited to celebrate our growth with a pancake breakfast! Here are a few snaps of just a tiny bit of our hard work.
We have written letters about our Covid-19 experience, created open minded portraits from out class novel The BFG and completed some beautiful art works with our friends in 3B exploring warm and cool colours. Our vegie patch grew so well we cooked up some bok choy and ate it. We also crafted some pompoms to brighten up the winter bare tree outside our classroom. Mrs Type-Farrell and Mrs McGaffin are very impressed with the swimming developments 3A have made this week.
In 3B, we have been learning to write letters. As part of our whole school writing seed, we wrote letters for the Australian Post campaign ‘Dear Australia’. We reflected on the highs and lows, the moments of joy and surprise, as well as our own experiences from the past few months about the Covid-19 pandemic. Our letters send messages of hope, community spirit and describe how this major life event has impacted upon and changed our lives (now we have to do a lot of hand washing and sanitising!). We hope you enjoy reading them.
We have also been very creative during the Winter season. We have created some beautiful art pieces with tape, water colours, permanent marker, white paint and a sprinkle of glitter! We hope you enjoy our scenic forest pictures and snowflakes. We love the atmosphere they bring to our classroom!
Premier's Reading Challenge - Hawka's Visit
We were lucky to receive a visit from Dave Cox (Hawthorn State Manager) and Hawka earlier this week. Our visitors presented a reading cushion to Marli; a weekly winner of a statewide draw during the Premier's Reading Challenge. Isla M was also a lucky recipient of a book voucher for the reading she did during the Challenge. Dave spoke to a few of our classes about how important reading is for exercising your brain. Well done to all our students who completed the Premier's Reading Challenge this year. And, thank you to Dave and Hawka for your visit.
Swimming & Water Safety Program
Our Swimming and Water Safety program for students in grades 3-6 is going brilliantly. Students are developing their confidence, stroke technique and safety awareness with the four highly trained swim instructors. It is a very busy couple of weeks and the children are much quieter on the bus trip back to school after working very hard in the water! It has been wonderful to see how far they’ve come in such a short time.
A huge thankyou to Ms Evans for all her efforts organising this opportunity.
The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards.
The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.
Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055.
We have an overflowing basket of unnamed lost property. These items will be washed and rehomed if they are not collected by the end of this term. If your child is missing a jacket (mostly not school jackets), long sleeve shirt, shoes, toys, jewellery and many other items please come and check our basket.
Reminder that our canteen is open for lunch on Thursday and Friday of each week for the ramainder of the year.
Review of Education Regulations
The Tasmanian Government has commenced a review on the governance framework for the three statutory entities that regulate education in Tasmania - the Office of the Education Registrar, the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification, and the Teachers Registration Board.
These entities provide critical education regulatory oversight and support services.
What they do impacts:
- the quality of the teaching that learners experience
- how learning is assessed and recognised
- the quality and safety of our learning environments
- the extent to which students are participating and engaged in learning pathways that are right for them.
A Steering Committee, including representatives from all three education sectors (government, catholic and independent) has been set up to guide the Review.
They are seeking community input into the review through the release of a Discussion Paper. Your feedback is invaluable to ensuring broad community views are captured and reflected in a future governance framework for education in Tasmania.
For further information and to view the Discussion Paper please visit https://www.education.tas.gov.au/about-us/legislation/review-of-education-regulation
Responses to the Discussion Paper close on 4 October 2020.
7-11 September |
E-Smart Week |
9 September |
Assembly – DREAM/ BELIEVE (PM) |
10 September |
NWPSSA Cross Country |
11 September |
Walk Safely to School day |
16 September |
Cross Country |
23 September |
Back up Cross Country |
25 September |
End Term 3 |