Primary 

Well, here we are in Semester 2 already. It has been good to be back at school without lockdowns this year and resume some sort of normality to our lives. Having said that, we are still feeling the effects of Covid with higher absences than usual, but this is where we find ourselves in these times. The students have returned to school refreshed for the most part and ready to get on with their learning and all that term 3 will bring. 

We kicked off the term with a visit from the Smile Squad, who took over our OSHC space for a week. They were here doing dental checks on all those students whose parents opted in for this free service. Thank you to those parents who chose to take advantage of this free service. Dental visits can be costly, so this service can be helpful in preventing issues with children’s teeth.

We are continuing on our journey of implementing our new school values of Achieve, Respect, Connect with the students. Teachers are embracing the new positive focus, and we are seeking opportunities to acknowledge the students through merit certificates and positive verbal feedback. Further to this, the students’ names go into a draw each time they are awarded a merit certificate, which offers them a chance to win a $20 Visa card to spend as they wish. This is drawn at the end of each semester.  I would like to congratulate Sarah Biju in Year 5, as the recipient of semester one’s prize. You can see our Value’s Tree on display in the corridor in the Early Years building. We add a leaf for each time a student receives a merit certificate. It has been very full by the end of the last 2 terms, so we hope this will continue as the students display positive behaviours and attitudes.

The Year 4,5,6 students will continue their interschool sports program this term. They will be representing our school in Soccer and Bat tennis. The students are very motivated this term and have initiated their own training at lunchtimes on top of our scheduled sessions in class time. It will be great to be able to use our new sports area for Bat tennis and show off our facilities to other schools. 

Our Year 4,5,6s are also looking forward to their camp this term. They will be heading off to Manyung Camp run by the YMCA on August 23rd -24th for an outdoor educational experience which includes climbing an enormous tree, with harnesses of course. It has been 2 years since we have been able to take these students on camp, so it will be a lot of fun for them to finally have this experience. 

I am very excited to share with you our plans for some changes to our primary uniform. We met with Dean from our uniform supplier, Noone, late last term to discuss possible options for updates to the primary uniform. The premise for these changes is to incorporate our everyday and sports uniforms together so that students will have one uniform. Our discussions included options for a polo shirt with our school lion logo, black track pants with a reinforced knee, and a soft-shell jacket in place of the current jumper. 

We are including a representative group of students to give us their views and feedback on our uniform also, as they are the ones who will be wearing it in future. Our intention is not to totally change the uniform we have currently, but merely to add some updated options to enhance it. These changes will be introduced over 2 years to give our families time to accommodate them. 

Karen Butterworth

Primary Leader