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- Principal's Report
- Prep/1 Autumn Art
- Medications at School – Parent/Guardian’s Responsibilities
- NAPLAN Online
- Mothers day stall
- Parking and Traffic Flow - Copy
- Tasmanian Premier's Reading Challenge
- Walk Safely to School Day
- 5A Symmetrical Sketching
- Bravehearts
- For Sale - iPads
- Back to school asthma checklist
- Calendar
Welcome back, it has been great to see all the happy faces ready to start Term 2.
This term our focus value will be To Dream. We pride ourselves on promoting a culture of high expectations and high achievement. This does not mean that we have to be the best but we need to give our best effort and work hard so we can be proud of what we achieve and how we act.
Classes will be focusing on unpacking this value over coming weeks. Our merit certificates given out at our assembly on the 11 June will acknowledge students enacting the value within and outside the classroom.
Hats
Based on the Cancer Council’s recommendations, students are not required to wear sun hats outside for Term 2 and the first six weeks of Term 3.
The move to the cooler weather does mean that students will be layering up to protect themselves from the cold. Please make sure that jackets are clearly labelled as quite often students will take them off during outside play and forget to collect them. Jackets are an expensive part of the school uniform and if they are labelled we can easily identify and return to classrooms and students.
Attendance
The cooler weather in Terms 2 and 3 is also associated with an increase in colds and illness and a drop in attendance. A small number of absences is fine if your child is too sick to come to school or they have an illness that can be passed on to others. However, in all other circumstances it is important to maintain regular attendance every day.
Remember it is important that you advise the school if your child is absent. This can be done via a text, phone call or visiting the school office. If you forget to notify us you will receive a friendly reminder via a text message which you can then respond to. If we do not receive a response from this a member of the Leadership Team will either send another text or give you a phone call to check- in.
TAFE Students
We are currently hosting 8 TAFE students who are doing their Teacher Assistant Practical Experience. These ladies completed a full week at the beginning of term and then will work in classrooms once a week for Terms 2 and 3.
At Somerset Primary we are very supportive of being a part of future educators learning journeys and we hope you make them feel welcome.
We have been exploring the beautiful autumn leaves and made a screen print showing the detail of the leaves.
Medications at School – Parent/Guardian’s Responsibilities
Often school staff are asked to administer medications to children.
They can be non- prescribed, (over the counter medicine) or prescribed, (by a doctor), medication.
There are 2 forms for parents/guardians to complete and have completed, before any school staff can assist your children to take any medication. This is also necessary if your child is self-administering medication, e.g. a puffer for asthma.
Parents/guardians must complete and sign Administration of Medication Authorisation Form A (Parent/Guardian). This allows parents to authorise school staff to give medication to their children and tells the staff about the medication, when it should be given and if the child can take it themselves.
Parents/guardians must also supply Administration of Prescribed Medication Authorisation Form B (Doctor/Pharmacist/Practice Nurse) for prescription medication. This tells the school about the medication, any side effects, how and when it should be given. It also includes the use of Epipens for those children who need them. (This can be left blank for children who don’t). It must be signed by either, the doctor, the pharmacist where you bought the medication or a practice nurse from your doctor’s surgery.
It is parents/guardian’s responsibility to inform the school of any changes to their children’s medications and to supply the correct forms.
If a student is required to bring medication to school because they will be staying at an alternative residence, it is required that the medication is handed in at the office to be stored for the day and be collected after school.
Under no circumstances is medication to be left in a child’s school bag.
Dear Parent/Guardian
NAPLAN is moving completely online in 2019. This means moving NAPLAN from paper-based assessments to online-based assessments. NAPLAN Online will provide better assessment and more precise results. The assessments feature a tailored test design where the questions a student receives will depend on their answers to previous questions.
Tasmanian schools will participate in NAPLAN Online from 2019.
NAPLAN Online testing will be held from the 14 to 24 May 2019.
NAPLAN Online 2019 will include four components, Writing, Numeracy, Conventions of Language and Reading. For 2019 Year Three students will be completing a paper based Writing Test. Online Testing will be available for each of the NAPLAN year levels (3, 5, 7 and 9)
Schools will receive results and reports for participants following the completion of NAPLAN Online 2019. Individual Student Reports will have the same format as the results from the paper based testing. The same report format is used for every student in Australia.
Individual student performance in NAPLAN is shown on a national achievement scale for each test. The performance of individual students can be compared to the average performance of all students in Australia.
Security and privacy are key requirements for the delivery of national testing. The online assessment platform has been designed to comply with relevant national data security policies and guidelines as well as data encryption standards. It meets the requirements of the Australian Government’s Protective Security Policy Framework and Information Security Manual to protect privacy of data, including any personal student data, required to be used.
Please see the Department of Education’s NAPLAN Online Privacy Notice (https://documentcentre.education.tas.gov.au/Documents/NAPLAN-online-privacy-notice.pdf) for more information.
Thank you, in anticipation, for you and your child’s participation in this important national initiative.
If you have further questions, please contact Amanda Lloyd at the school.
This week we held our annual Mother’s Day Stall which is not only one of our bigger fundraising events but provides a special opportunity for our students to purchase something for their Mums or special ladies in their lives. I always enjoy walking past the students as they are choosing or have just chosen their gift as they are so excited to share what they have purchased and explain why their mum will love it.
Thank you to everyone who donated items and worked on the stall, your time is much appreciated.
This year we do not have a formal Parent Group and it is a big thank you to a couple of dedicated parents who pulled together to plan and organise this much valued service for our students. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to you as I know you have spent many years driving our Parent Fundraising Group and are keen to have a bit of a break.
Our Parent Fundraising Group plays a very important function for our school, as we often rely on their fundraising efforts to provide additional experiences for our students or much needed equipment. In our recent School Association meeting we talked about ways that we could inspire more parents to be involved and re-establish this group. Due to this we will soon be sending home an invitation for interested parents to attend a meeting to form a new group and brainstorm fundraising initiatives for the remainder of the year. So, if you have some spare time and some fresh new ideas for this group please feel very welcome to come along.
Parking and Traffic Flow - Copy
The increased number of people reversing out of these spaces at the end of the day is causing some congestion by holding up traffic flow. To assist with this could you please be mindful of the following:
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While talking about parking it is probably a good time to give safety reminders at pick up and drop off times:
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Tasmanian Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) challenges students from Prep to Grade 6 to read 10 books in 10 weeks. This year the challenge runs during Term 2, commencing 29 April. Students will receive a PRC reading log so they can keep track of the books they have read. Students are free to choose which fiction or non-fiction books they read for the challenge.
More information can be found at:
or ask your child's teacher.
This year is the 20 Anniversary of ‘Walk Safely to School day’.
To increase our participation in Walk Safely to School Day with the theme of ‘Active Kids are Smarter Kids’, adults from our school community will be supervising groups of students to walk to school on Friday, 17 May. I really encourage children to join these groups and for mums and dads to walk in to school for the morning with us.
Findlater & Co. (old City Mission sight) Bass Highway leaving at 8.20am with Miss Fisher & Mrs Type-Farrell
Lyons Street (top of Zig Zag Track) leaving at 8:30am with Mrs Jaffray
Somerset Basketball Centre leaving at 8:35 with Cindy, Mrs Pearce and Matt.
Oak Avenue/McKenzie Drive leaving at 8:35 with Mrs Lloyd & Mrs Smith
In Art we have been drawing symmetrical sketches of faces. We hope you enjoy our gallery.
Bravehearts: Monday 20 May 2019 for Kinder to Grade 2, 9:15am or 10:00am
Plus a parent session at 8:45am in the staffroom
EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR EARLY YEARS & LOWER PRIMARY
Children can begin learning valuable lessons to help keep them safe from as young as 2-3 years old. Providing age-appropriate information around body ownership and the right to be safe from an early age allows for these messages to become part of the child’s everyday language and helps to build self-esteem and resilience in children.
Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show is Bravehearts’ personal safety program for young children. Starring Bravehearts’ lovable lion cub Ditto, alongside a specially trained presenter, this fun, interactive live show teaches children essential personal safety skills and knowledge using age appropriate language, song and dance.
ABOUT THE DITTO SHOW
Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show is aimed at children aged 3 to 8 and is delivered in early learning centres and lower primary schools to children of all abilities. This fun and interactive personal safety program has reached hundreds of thousands of Australian children since its inception in 2006.
Delivered by experienced facilitators, the show duration is 30 to 40 minutes.
What will children will learn?
Following is an overview of the Ditto show content. Both the Early Years and Lower Primary School versions of the Ditto show are underpinned by the following six principles of personal safety:
- Differentiating ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feelings
- Recognising the bodies ‘warning signs’
- Body ownership
- Helping children identify language and feelings associated with secrets
- Reinforcing that there is no secret that children cannot tell someone
- What to do if you feel unsafe or unsure
We aim to teach children these essential principals through songs such as ‘Run and Tell (someone you can trust)’ and ‘Private Parts (they belong to me)’.
Children also learn ‘Ditto’s 3 Rules’, which are:
- We all have the right to feel safe with people.
- It’s ok to say NO if you feel unsafe or unsure.
- Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it.
We have 10 iPads for sale. They are the older style from 2012/13 for $20ea. Any enquiries please contact the school office.