A message from Troy
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to Term 3! We hope everyone enjoyed a well-deserved break, whether relaxing at home or visiting warmer destinations. It has been wonderful hearing students share stories from their holidays and the quality family time they've had.
This term promises to be an exciting one, with a variety of activities planned—including Footsteps, class excursions, the Festival of Music performance, and several SAPSASA events. We look forward to keeping you updated and sharing these experiences as the term progresses.
A warm welcome back to Stephen Tsiaprakas, who returns from Long Service Leave and will be teaching in the Year 3/4 class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
We also extend a special welcome to our mid-year Receptions, who are settling in this term in the OHSC space. Welcome back to Jaya Thomas, who will be teaching this class for the remainder of the year.
Margie will be returning from leave next week. With her return, I will resume my role as Assistant Principal and continue with Physical Education and teaching Year 4/5 on Wednesdays.
We look forward to a positive and productive term ahead!
Being Community Minded
This term, our "Learn Stand Give Fly" focus is all about being Community Minded. During the first two weeks, students have explored the concept of community—what it means, and the various types of communities we belong to.
We are incredibly fortunate to live and work in Uraidla, a town with a strong and supportive sense of community. Throughout the term, students will be learning about the different layers of community—including our classrooms, the school as a whole, our families, and the wider Uraidla area. Staff are also connecting with local groups to bring real-world community experiences into the classroom.
Students have been discussing what makes a positive classroom community and setting goals to strengthen their own rooms. A few years ago, we made a conscious effort to ensure every student and staff member knew everyone by name. With new faces joining and some moving on since then, we are now renewing that focus so everyone feels a sense of belonging.
We are emphasising the importance of how greetings can help build a stronger sense of community. Students are learning to:
- Use eye contact with the person speaking to them.
- Address people by name when greeting or conversing.
- Ask a follow-up question (e.g. “How was your weekend?” or “How was netball last night?”).
Be inclusive of everyone when greeting or interacting with others.
We look forward to sharing more throughout the term as we continue to explore, practise, and celebrate being community minded at Uraidla Primary School.
SAPSASA Netball
Congratulations to our Year 5/6 students for their outstanding performance in the second round of the Statewide Knockout Tournament, held on Tuesday, 21st July at the Uraidla Netball Courts.
The team played three impressive matches, securing victories against:
- Woodside: 27–4
- Hahndorf: 15–2
- St Michael's: 17–6
Their exceptional effort in all matches has seen them progress through to the Statewide Netball Final, which will take place at the Lights Community and Sports Centre.
Thank you to Hayley Moulds and Mignon Johansen for coaching the team, and to Jo Cox for umpiring across all three games.
Well done to all involved, and best of luck in the finals!
Footsteps program kick off!
On Wednesday, students began their Footsteps dance lessons. Classes worked together with our instructor, Maddi, to learn a choreographed dance routine. Over the remainder of the term, students will continue developing their skills, learning dances that will form part of their end-of-year performance.
The Footsteps program is carefully aligned with both the Arts and Health and Physical Education curriculum, supporting students’ creative expression, physical development, and confidence.
It was wonderful to see such a positive response from our students during their first session—everyone did a fantastic job learning an entire dance in just one lesson!
A big thank you to our Parents and Friends group for supporting this valuable learning opportunity.
We look forward to seeing our students’ creativity and skills shine as the term progresses.
New Equipment!
You may have noticed new equipment being installed in the yard over the past month. This is to replace the old balancing ropes that were previously along the fence. Thank you to Darren, who has done a wonderful job installing the new equipment.
Premiers Be Active Challenge
The Premier’s be active Challenge is a physical activity program introduced by the Premier in 2007 to:
- Encourage students to be more active more often
- Improve the health and wellbeing of South Australian students.
The Challenge requires students to do at least 60 minutes of physical activity on at least 5 days of the week for at least 4 weeks during this term.
After 4 weeks of daily physical activity, students will be rewarded with a medal at the end of the year. After 10 weeks of daily physical activity, schools are in the running to win $1000 to promote physical activity.
Forms will go home with students on Monday to complete. Exercise can include walks, bike rides or anything physical.
We look forward to seeing how many students complete the challenge this year.