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Welcome back to Term 2. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break and got to spend some time with family and friends. I spent my holidays on the East Coast relaxing, going for walks along the beach, playing scrabble and watching for satellites at night.
Now that we enter the winter term the temperature is going to become chilly. This means that students are going to need to wear their school jackets (we discourage the wearing of hoodies and non-school jackets during the school day). Please make sure these are named as they are an expensive part of our uniform and when students are running outside they often take them off and forget to collect. If they are named they are easily returned.
Coming into the cold and flu season, it’s important that we all continue to keep healthy and safe. To ensure we can keep on top of COVID and also cold and flu, make sure you:
- be alert to any symptoms of cold or flu that you or your child may exhibit
- get tested for COVID if you or your child have symptoms
- practise good hygiene, such as washing hands regularly
- if you or your child do get sick, stay at home until symptoms has passed, even if a COVID test is negative.
Remember, symptoms include fever, tiredness, cough, headache, sore throat, sniffling and sneezing.
To keep our school safe, we are still:
- continuing with increased cleaning
- making sure there is plenty of soap, sanitiser and tissues available
- avoiding large gatherings and mixings of different pods
- increasing classroom ventilation with more air purifiers and tower fans.
Please see attached information in this newsletter about the change to close contact restrictions.
COVID-19 UPDATE: CLOSE CONTACTS
From Monday 2 May, close contacts of people with COVID-19 will no longer need to quarantine for 7 days.
What this means for our students...
Students who are a close contact are able to attend school if they meet the following requirements:
- Are well and not showing any COVID symptoms
- Have returned a negative RAT or PCR test upon realising they were a close contact
- Continue to test daily before leaving the house to attend school during the next 7 days
- Secondary school students must wear a face mask in indoor settings
Current face mask requirements continue with school staff and secondary school students required to wear face masks while indoors on school sites.
There are no requirements for students/parents to notify the school that they are a close contact.
If you develop symptoms at any time whilst a close contact, you must stay home.
Please note, there is no change to the isolation requirements for people who have COVID-19. You must isolate at home for at least 7 days if you test positive for COVID-19.
Introducing our Specialist Team
We are fortunate to have a dedicated specialist team, comprising of Mrs Kathleen Matthews (Music), Mrs Lorraine Evans (PE) and Mr Brett Mullins (Digital Technologies). Unfortunately Mrs Evan has been on leave but we are looking forward to her return later this term.
Mrs Matthews
What do I like about teaching at SPS?
I like that I get to teach music to all the Grade 1 – Grade 6 students in our school and see them grow as they make their way through the school.
Fun fact
I studied solo Classical Trombone Performance at the Conservatorium of Music and even after doing lots of exams I still get stage fright!
Mr Mullins
What do I like about teaching at SPS?
I enjoy being able to follow a passion for digital technology and passing all my skills to the children that come through my classroom door. I have always dreamed of this and now it's a reality which makes me happy and brings a lot of joy.
A fun fact
A long time ago in another life I was an infantry solider in the Australian Armed forces. I spent most of my time in Townsville, Queensland, in out of helicopters and Armed Personnel Carriers, which was exciting as a young man. Spending months in the Queensland jungles or the dry dusty Northern Territory.
Somerset Primary’s Term 2 focus value is: To Dream – a culture of high expectations and high achievement. In an interview with two students from each class in Pod 2 these are some of their thoughts about our value of To Dream.
Isabella and Eben believe that a culture of high expectations means concentrating to do their best. This means not talking or getting distracted when doing their work; finishing their tasks with their best effort; and doing lots more work than before and with more detail.
Macklin and Sophia think that a culture of high achievement is using the Bump Up Wall to make their writing better. They self-check if everything is included in their writing, do a teacher conference and a peer conference then finish editing and publish their work.
Jonty and Jovi feel that a culture of high expectation and achievement is also in the playground and other subject areas like Music. Jovi says that when he plays Gaga Ball at recess and lunch he has to work well with at least 15 other people to get to the end. He gets better by practising as much as he can. Jonty said that in Music he has to learn patterns and then remember what comes next when doing body percussion. He feels like he is getting better and that he is achieving.
Lilly and Jamison believe that a culture of high expectations and achievement is like keeping on trying (persevering) when doing things like learning maths or emotion regulation. Lilly says she is improving with her maths even though she still has more to learn. Jamison says controlling emotions can be challenging and sometimes he would snap easily, but now he keeps himself calmer and uses strategies from his toolbox, then he can get back to focusing on his work.
Let’s make every school day count
Being at school is the best place for our kids. It’s where they learn and grow alongside their friends, and where they benefit the most.
The Department of Education’s new communication resources on School attendance highlight the importance of regular school attendance – watch the television commercial here.
Going to school not only promotes academic success, but also helps build important social skills, relationships and confidence. Every COVID-safe measure is being taken, so that every student can learn in class safely.
What we do know is that every school day counts. Bright futures begin at school, so if your child is well enough to attend school, being in the physical school environment is the best place for them.
For more information, please visit the Department of Education website.
If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, our canteen will not be operating in Term 2 at this stage.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
One of our whole school priorities is to improve our writing outcomes; helping students to become more effective authors. One way we have done this is through the feedback students receive. This term our teachers have been working with students on how to ‘bump up’ their writing. It has been rewarding seeing students take responsibility for their writing and refer to the Bump It Up wall to make improvements.
This year is the 23rd 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, 20th May.
Hotondo Homes (old City Mission sight) Bass Highway leaving at 8.20am with Cindy, Mrs Fisher and Mrs Gale
Lyons Street (top of Zig Zag Track) leaving at 8:30am with Mrs Barker and Mrs Jaffray
Somerset Basketball Centre leaving at 8:35 with Mrs Pearce
Oak Avenue/McKenzie Drive leaving at 8:35 with Mrs Lloyd
Term 1 Reading Night Certificates
Congratulations to the following students for achieving 50 nights of home reading. This is quite an effort because it means they have been reading nearly every single night since the start of Term 1. We look forward to awarding many more certificates at the end of Term 2.
3/4C have been learning about how our mindset affects the way we see ourselves as learners. We have learnt that if we have a Fixed Mindset, we consider talent to be fixed; we are either capable of something or we are not, and no amount of practice will ever change that. Those with a Fixed Mindset fear failure and consequently avoid challenges. Whereas if we have a Growth Mindset, we appreciate that failure is part of learning, so we take on challenges knowing that the more effort we put in, the better the outcome will be. We become proud of ourselves for conquering hurdles and we grow as individuals. Having a Growth Mindset is fundamental to learning so please remember don’t give up! Keep practising and with effort you can achieve your goals. Below are some slides from the PowerPoints we made.