From the School Leadership Team
Staffing News
Mrs Liesel Smallfield will be moving back to New South Wales for family reasons at the end of week 10 of this term. We are thankful that 'Goose' has been able to join our school community this year and appreciate all that she has contributed over the short time that she has been with us.
Please also take the opportunity to wish her well over the coming weeks as she continues to care for our students, as well as preparing for the move back. Whilst we will miss Goose and had hoped that our season with her would be longer, we also understand that unforeseen family matters are important and respect her prioritising those at this time.
We are currently advertising for a new teacher to join us on Year 3/4 for the remainder of the year.
School Band Programme
It is a pleasure to announce that we are launching our school band programme for students in Years 3 - 6. This provides students who are interested to be able to learn a range of instruments including flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet or trombone. Students will be able to participate in a range of weekly group tutorials and rehearsals as part of the programme. A letter from Mrs Ali is attached outlining details of the programme and the opportunity for students to try out a range of instruments to discover what they might be best suited to. Mrs Ali has been able to negotiate an excellent price for the programme at $30 per week to cover the cost of tuition, plus the cost of instrument hire.
Upcoming P & F events
It was an absolute pleasure to celebrate our first middle of term breakfast for the year with our families, where we enjoyed hot cross buns, tea and coffee together. It is a great privilege for us to be able to gather together as a community - parents, students and staff alike - and enjoy this kind of fellowship together. A huge thanks as always to our P & F who support this event so well each term.
We are looking forward to the next few P & F events coming up in quick succession:
- Foundation Parents Welcome BBQ on Friday 15 March and
- BBQ on Sports Day on Friday 22 March.
Foundation Classrooms
Work is continuing on our Foundation classrooms, and it is great to see them taking shape week by week! This week, there was more work that took place on the concrete slab, which is now largely completed and the steelwork frame is still on track to be installed over the next few weeks. The retaining wall and ramp to the oval and basketball courts will also be rebuilt in late March and early April. We are certainly excited at the prospect of having the ramp back! We are awaiting a final engineering inspection on the middle (Junior Primary) playground following the installation of a new retaining wall there, and envisage that this should reopen during March as well.
Eisugakkan Visit and Japan Study Tour
We are looking forward to a number of year 5 students from Eisugakkan visiting our school in the first week of Term 3 - from Wednesday 24 July through to Sunday 28 July. We are seeking expressions of interest and assistance in a few different areas.
- We are arranging an optional camp for year 5 and 6 students who would like to spend the night with the Eisugakkan students at AFL Max on Friday 26 July. The cost will be $160 per student for those students that would like to 'opt in' for this experience. It will prove to be a valuable time for the students to be able to make new friends, practice their Japanese and make some great cross-cultural connections.
- We would love the opportunity for our visiting Eisugakkan students to be able to have a 'homestay' with our students and families. We have about 20 students visiting from Eisugakkan this year and would love to have enough parent volunteers for them to be able to spend Saturday and Saturday night on the 27th of July with our students and families, being dropped back to their hotel on the Sunday morning of the 28th.
We are finalising costs for the year 5/6 study tour to Japan later in the year. We plan to travel to Japan and visit Eisugakkan school, as well as a range of other sites around Japan, from Monday 23 September - Friday 4 October (the last week of term 3 and first week of the school holidays).
Our travel agent is currently updating the prices to reflect 2024 fares, and Sensei Bishop is working to find some savings in the itinerary, as the current projected cost is about $5500 per child and $6000 per adult. We plan to hold an information session in the next month once these details are finalised.
If you are interested in hosting a homestay student for one evening (this is open to all families across the school) or are interested in you and your year 5 or 6 child attending the Japan Study Tour (and you have not already completed an expression of interest), please contact Melissa Bishop, our Teacher of Japanese via bishop.melissa@goldengrove.sa.edu.au
Harmony Day
Harmony Day is coming up on Monday 25 March. We are excited about this special day where we can celebrate and share the range of different cultures that make up our school community. The children love coming in their traditional cultural costumes on the day.
We will hold a special assembly and worship service on the day at 9.00am, andall families are welcome.
Please note that this means that Foundation sharing at Assembly will now happen on Monday 8 April (in Week 11), rather than on Monday 25 March. We apologise for the change and hope that it does not inconvenience any families.
Community Library
A reminder for families that our community library in the courtyard underneath the mural is available for children to sit and read with parents to sit and read together before or after school, or to borrow a book to take home and read and then return.
Chapel
A reminder that Chapel will be held on Thursday 21 March at 8.50am rather than Friday 22 March, as we have Sports Day taking place on the Friday.
Strategic Plan
We have an exciting year ahead as we embark on the implementation of our new strategic plan. We are energised by our purpose to enrich the lives of children and each individual in our school community, and beyond the school environment. With a Christ- centred foundation, we foster an inclusive environment where everyone can belong, explore and thrive. Equally exciting are our new values - love, collaborate and explore, which will underpin all that we do, as well as our strategic priority areas of:
• Excellence and innovation in learning
• Well-being and culture
• Community and Partnerships
• School Development
Parent Lounge
We are excited that our new parent portal, Parent Lounge, has been launched this year. This is a great way to be able to check that your contact details and your child's medical details are up to date, as well as to be able to view the school calendar.
Please check your email for the login information sent in Week 1 of term, and you are most welcome to be in touch with us if you have any queries around the login process.
A few reminders
Please be reminded of some of our key events to commence the year:
- Monday 11 March - Adelaide Cup Public Holiday
- Wednesday 13 March - NAPLAN commences for Years 3 and 5
- Friday 15 March - Foundation Parent Welcome Evening
- Monday 18 March - P & F Meeting - 7.30pm
- Friday 22 March - Sports Day
- Monday 25 March - Harmony Day (please note changes to assembly on this day)
- Friday 29 March - Good Friday
- Monday 1 April - Easter Monday
- Tuesday 2 April - Parent - Teacher Interviews
- Wednesday 3 April - Parent - Teacher Interviews
- Friday 5 April - Messy Church (evening)
- Monday 8 - Wednesday 10 April - Year 3/4 Camp
- Friday 12 April - Closing Service - 2.20
Will Wallace
Principal
The PYP describes the capacities of an effective learner in the ‘Learner Profile’. These capacities name 10 attributes that all International Baccalaureate programs, including the Primary Years Programme, the PYP, value. At GGLPS, we reflect on these attributes, acknowledging when students grow, set goals around and display these attributes. Some attributes can be seen as personal, attributes developed within the person of the learner. Others are seen in the relationships that people share when they share and collaborate with others in learning. As we work with our students, we discuss each of these attributes and, within units of inquiry and a wide variety of learning, we give opportunities for students to focus on building these capacities. Below, are the 10 attributes and descriptions of what they each may look like in a learner. Within the GGLPS community, we are all learners, and it is a worthy exercise to reflect on these attributes to understand who we each are as learners, identifying our strengths and areas for growth.
Jayne Zadow
Director of PYP, Teaching and Learning