21 Feb 2024
Good afternoon to all families,
It has been a truly wonderful start to the school year. Children have all settled well into their classes and it is an absolute joy to hear the wonderful learning and playing occurring throughout the school. Thank you to our families who attended our recent parent information sessions.
Welcome BBQ
Next Wednesday 28 February 2:00-4:00pm, our P&C will be holding our annual Welcome BBQ. This is a wonderful opportunity to welcome all families to the 2024 school year and especially to new families to our school community. All community members are welcome to join us for this special afternoon. Please note that parent/carer supervision will be required for all children remaining at school after 3pm.
Assembly Area
It is very exciting that in the recent school holidays our assembly area was re-concreted to provide a new and safe area for children to play in. Later this week, handball courts will be painted onto the surface of this area, which I am confident will be very popular with our children.
Zen Zone
To support all children at our school have a fun and safe play area at lunch, including our children with sensory and emotional needs, a new area is being installed in our playground. The area is called our Zen Zone and is adjacent to our school hall. Additional equipment is being installed in this area in the coming weeks and the Zen Zone will be fully operational soon. We are so proud of our new and inclusive play area.
Growth Groups
As part of our school’s commitment to developing potential in all children across a broad curriculum, our school will be implementing Growth Groups each Monday this year. This will provide talent identification and development opportunities and differentiated teaching experiences. For one hour each Monday, children will learn in K-6 groups. They will participate in an activity of their choice across 4 domains.
Intellectual
- STEM
- Lego Club
- coding
- chess
Creative
- cooking
- Glee Club
- drama
- basket weaving
- circus skills
Social-emotional
- mindfulness journaling
- “Around the World”
- pen pals
- water colour painting
- knitting
Physical
- yoga
- calisthenics
- dance
- gardening
Every 5 weeks, children will have the opportunity to select a new area of learning in a different domain. Children have already submitted preferences for which activity they would like to participate in first and will commence the activities in the coming few weeks. Staff and students are buzzing with excitement about this new initiative.
Wellbeing initiatives
Each week, our school will have a new wellbeing focus at our school. Our first whole school focus was wearing hats when playing outside. I encourage all parents/carers to support your child to bring a hat to school each day. School hats are available for purchase at our Uniform Shop.
The focus for this week is borrowing sporting equipment from our shed to play with at break times. Children are being taught the procedure to follow to borrow and play safely with a variety of sporting equipment
Attendance
Improving student attendance continues to be a priority for our school in 2024.
We want to do all we can to be sure your child achieves their potential and enjoys being in school.
We know that school is the best place to learn. By attending school every day your child will get the most out of their learning and improve their career and life options.
When your child is absent it is important you let the school know, including the reason why, on the day or the day before. This helps make sure we know where our students are and offer support for you and your family if needed.
If you are having trouble getting your child to school every day or on time, please talk to our school staff so we can work together, because every day counts.
Missing a day here or there may not seem like much, but absences add up and can negatively impact your child’s learning and wellbeing. When your child misses one day per fortnight, that's 4 weeks of missed learning in one year. Over an entire school journey this adds up to 1 year of lost learning.
If you and your family would like support in helping your child attend school each day, please reach out to your child’s class teacher.
Cross country carnival
Our school cross country carnival is occurring on Tuesday 27 February. Further information will be distributed in the following days.
Student Leadership Induction
On Thursday 29 February at 9:15am our school captains, sporting captains, SRC members and Indigenous Mob Leader will be inducted. Families of those students in student leadership roles in 2024 are warmly invited to attend this special assembly. An invitation will be sent to those families in the coming days.
Kind regards,
Michelle Barnes
Principal