Radio Interview

Our School Captains, Frankie and Cai, will have the opportunity to participate in a radio interview tomorrow. If you would like to tune in, please listen to Phoenix FM 106.7 from 1pm. It's sure to be an engaging and fun interview.

Harmony Day

Our school celebrated Harmony Day on Monday. The day focussed around inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. We started the day with a short assembly that featured a number of students talking about their culture.

The middle of the day was a mixture of activities that celebrated many of the cultures that make our country so special and unique.

After lunch, students returned to their normal classrooms and contributed to a whole school 'hand tree' art work. Each student received a hand template that they decorated. Each student was then able to stick their 'hand' to the tree.

Special thanks to Mrs Hamilton for coordinating this activity. Thanks also to all staff for their contributions and ensuring the day was a big success.

Please check the Engagement & Wellbeing page for lots of photos!

School Council Summary

Our March School Council meeting was held on Monday. Many items were discussed and/or ratified, including:

Annual Report

The draft Annual Report was shared with School Council. This document needs to be shared with the Department of Education by April 30.

Roles & Responsibilities: the function of School Council

Some information was shared with School Council members so that they fully understand their important roles.

Election of Office Bearers

School Council President – Ronnie Lowe

School Council Vice-President – Jessica Herdman

School Council Treasurer – Jen Kurz

School Council Secretary – Kim Ross

Curriculum Days

The following curriculum days were endorsed for 2022. They are:

Thursday, 5th May – Reading Professional Development with our Learning Specialists

Friday, 19th August– Mathematics Professional Development with Rob Vingerhoets.

Wednesday, 16th November – Assessment & Reporting Day

Enrolments

On census day (28/2) our confirmed enrolment was 412.

Staffing News

We recently advertised two Education Support positions. The successful applicants were Abbey and Aimee, both trainee teachers.

Mrs Hamilton, our Music teacher, is scheduled to take maternity leave from Wednesday, 6th April. We are currently finalising a replacement Music teacher. Mrs Hamilton will return from family leave at the start of Term 3.

We wish Mrs Hamilton, and her husband Daniel, all the best for the impending birth of their first child.

New Shade Sails

We have been successful in our application for three additional shade sails. These will be placed in the following locations:

- above the horseshoe seat near the junior playground

- in front of the portable building near the basketball court

- between the two existing shade sails above the junior playground (this will attach to the existing structure).

Education & Community Development

Policies - The Camps & Excursion policy, Communication Procedures & Schedule policy and Cash Handling policy were updated and endorsed by School Council.

Instagram - The pros and cons of having a school Instagram account were discussed. These discussions will continue at the next School Council sub-committee meeting.

Parent Club

Approval was given to hold the traditional Easter Raffle, along with various other fundraising event and community gatherings later this year.

New Cleaning Tender

Unfortunately our amazing school cleaners, Gen and Graeme, will be finishing their long association with our school soon. As a result, we will need to go through a tender process to appoint new cleaners.

Positive Start in 2022 Initiative

The new State Government initiative was discussed. It was decided that we would run two additional school camps in 2022. One will be a combined Grade 3/4 camp and the other one will be a combined Grade 5/6 camp. Our existing camp program will still remain for Grade 2, Grade 4 and Grade 6. The two additional camps will run at no cost to parents.

Easter Hat Parade, Easter Raffle and Tickets

As mentioned last week in a Compass alert on Monday, Parent Club will once again run the Easter Egg Raffle in conjunction with the Easter Hat Parade on the last day of Term 1. This is a whole school event and parents, grandparents, friends, aunties, uncles etc. are most welcome to attend. All students will have the opportunity to share their Easter hat from 9am in the Hub, as part of our traditional Easter Hat Parade.

We would love some donations of Easter goodies to make up lots of great prizes. Donations can be left at the office at any time. Raffle books were sent home yesterday and extra books are available at the office, if required. Tickets are $1 each.

This event is always lots of fun and a great fundraiser for the school.

The SGPS Cross Country will be conducted later in the day. Please see Mr Smith’s section for more details.

National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

This year NAPLAN will be conducted from May 10th-20th. The assessment program tests Years 3 and 5 students in reading, persuasive or narrative writing, grammar and punctuation, numeracy and spelling. This year NAPLAN will continue to be largely completed in an online format for students. Students will be involved in a School Readiness Test (SRT) this week to test the school’s online capabilities and systems.

School Photos

We had our school photos last Wednesday. Everyone looked excited to have their photo taken, except one staff members who overlooked the date and didn't leave enough time to get into the hairdresser for a colour treatment! If you're wondering, it wasn't me :).

We anticipate that the photos will be sent to our school early next term. If you forgot to place an order, you can still do this online by going to www.leadingimage.com.au. To place an order online you will need the special school access key, which is Y8GT9PAX. Late orders can be placed at any time, however, you may be required to pay for your photos to be posted directly to your house if an order isn’t made soon. The postage cost is approximately $10.00. Please contact the office if you have any questions.

Early School Finish - End of Term 1

Term 1 concludes on Friday, 8th April. Students will be dismissed at 2:15pm. An assembly is scheduled for 2:00pm on the Friday and students will be dismissed from The Hub area. Term 2 commences on Tuesday, 26th April.

Grade 5/6 News