Primary School
Assembly
Our next assembly for Term 2 will take place on Monday 27 May in The Farrall Centre commencing at 2.15pm. We welcome and invite all Primary School families to attend the assembly, which will commence at 2.15pm. Please remember that due to privacy concerns and to respect the photo permission choices of other families we ask you to refrain from taking photos and videos during assemblies.
Families are also invited for a complimentary coffee or tea in The Farrall Centre Foyer after the Assembly from 2.45pm.
Stranger Danger Conversations
Families are reminded about the importance of "stranger danger" talks with their children, after Police issued a warning for the public to be vigilant after receiving reports of a man in a white van approaching children and offering them lollies outside southern Tasmanian schools. Information to support families is available in the following article.
Parent Information Sessions
Friday 31 May | 9am
In Week 5, on Friday 31 May at 9am, we will host our next Parent Information Session in the Primary School Library. This session explores important aspects of the teaching and learning of Literacy and Language across the Early Learning Centre and Primary School. This informative morning will begin with a presentation from Wendy Crow and Fiona Zinn and then feature a series of snapshots of practice with our classroom teachers, exploring literacy as it is taught across the Early Learning Centre and Primary School. After the information session parents are encouraged to visit their child’s classroom and engage with the learning that happens in classrooms.
For more information please contact Fiona Zinn.
Please reserve your attendance here.
Primary School Soiree
Tuesday 4 June | 5.30pm in The Farrall Centre
This is an intimate concert, where Primary School instrumental and vocal music students have an opportunity to gain performance experience. Please contact Estelle or Christine for further information.
Japanese Cultural Day
Tuesday 28 May
On Tuesday 28 May the Primary School will be celebrating its Japanese language program with a matsuri (festival) titled Mizu Festival. Students will be learning about Japanese water-based mythical creatures and making connections between Japan as a nation of islands and lutruwita/ Tasmania, our island state. The day will see our students enjoy an Opening Ceremony together followed by activities in vertical groups and classrooms. Our Year 6 students will support younger students with Japanese activities.
At the completion of the activities families are invited to join us at 1pm - 1.30pm for the Closing Ceremony where we will hear about the day and enjoy a performance from Taiko Drums.
Year 3 - Outdoor Education Excursion - Mount Field
Friday 31 May
On Friday 31 May, as part of our Outdoor Education program, all Year 3 students will be visiting Mt Field National Park. The bus will depart at 9.00am and return at 3.00pm. The bus will drop us off at the visitor centre and we will walk through the forest exploring the vegetation and waterfalls. We will make connections with our Unit of Inquiry about how people explore, explain and create to understand the world. Students will be required to wear their PE uniform with comfortable shoes for walking and carry in their backpacks an additional warm jumper, waterproof raincoat, hat, beanie, drink bottle, lunch and snacks. Please make sure students come with sufficient warm clothing and food and water for the day. There should be no lunch orders. Emily Ardas, our Outdoor Education Teacher, will be accompanying us. As this excursion is outside the greater Hobart area, the School requires the permission of families for students to attend. If you have not already done so, could you please complete the Operoo permission form by Friday 24 May.
Year 5 - Consent and Relationship Education (CARE) program - Parent information session
Wednesday 29 May
This term the Year 5 classes will be participating in a Consent and Relationship Education (CARE) program delivered by the Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS). This service is running a 'Come and Chat' session at 8.30am on Wednesday 29 May in the Primary Library for any parents who would like to find out more about the program content and ask questions. The first student session will begin in the classrooms on Thursday 30 May.
The parent brochure is attached.
Prep - Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)
From May 2024, our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years.
Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information. The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities and governments to better understand children and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need.
AEDC data is reported at a school, community, state/territory and national level. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool.
Some teachers have found that completing the AEDC made them more aware of the needs of individual children and their class, and that the data was useful for planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing programs.
Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.
The census will be completed in our Prep Classrooms during the week of Monday 3 - Friday 7 June. For more information about the AEDC, please read the frequently asked questions section on the AEDC website or phone 1800 092 548. If you do not consent to the collection of your child’s information, please contact the Primary School Office.
Year 3 - Excursion to UTAS and Long Beach Sandy Bay
Friday 7 June
Year 3 will visit the Geology Department at the University of Tasmania and then travel to Long Beach Sandy Bay as part of their inquiry into Where we are in place and time. Students will visit the Geology Department to gain an understanding of the geology of Tasmania. We will learn how to identify rocks during an interactive gemstone hunt and explore the university's collection of rocks. We will then travel to Long Beach in Sandy Bay. We will have lunch and play in the park. After lunch a university lecturer will take us to a volcanic site and talk about the geology of the area. We will be departing school at 9.30am and return at 1.30pm. Students will need to bring a packed lunch and drink bottle. Students will be in uniform and will need to bring a coat/ rain jacket and any medication they usually have at school.
Parents are welcome to meet us at Long Beach in Sandy Bay during the lunch break and for the walk to the volcanic site. You will also need to complete a Volunteer Registration Form.
Environment Council - Waste Free Lunch Day
Wednesday 26 June
In Term 1 the Environment Council promoted a Waste Free Lunch Day to launch a discussion in the Primary School around the impact of litter in our environment. It was a great success with many students making the effort to limit the amount of packaging they brought to school. Our next Waste Free Lunch Day will be in Week 9 on Wednesday 26 June. Let’s build on the success of Term 1’s event by keeping waste out of our school. On this day we are encouraging students to avoid bringing rubbish to school in their lunch boxes. Any non-compostable rubbish that is brought to school will be collected and weighed. We will compare the results from this term with those of Term 1 to examine the impact we can achieve.
Kindergarten Earthcare Days Term 2 - Lenah Valley
The Kindergarten children will be visiting a site near the Lenah Valley Linear Park for their Earthcare Days this term. We will be going out each week, on Thursdays, from Weeks 2-9. We will travel to and from the site by bus. In Weeks 2-4 (9, 16 and 23 May) we will leave school on a bus at 12.15pm and will return by 2.30pm. This is to support children to allow them more time to get their wet weather gear on and to pack them away when they return. In Weeks 5-9 (30 May, 6, 13, 20 and 27 June) we will leave at 11.50am and will return by 2.45pm. Collection time for all children will be at 3pm from the Kindergarten area, at the end of the Kindergarten day as per usual.
On Earthcare days, the children come ready for active learning, in their sports uniform. Your child will need appropriate warm clothing for the forecasted weather and spare clothing packed for the excursions as we will be playing outdoors, even if it is raining. The school has special wet weather jackets and overpants that the children will wear as necessary, depending on the forecasted weather. You can also support your child by encouraging them to carry their own bags to and from school - they will be doing this independently on our Earthcare Days too. We are looking forward to seeing how their natural curiosity and wonder is expressed while we are there and what we can learn about the land we live on as we come to know a place slowly across these weekly visits. Please contact the Kindergarten team if you have any questions.
Absentees
If your child will be absent from school for the day please advise the Primary School Office (phone: 6210 2228, or email: primaryschooloffice@friends.tas.edu.au ) and the classroom teacher before 9.00am. We appreciate your support in this process.
Important Dates
Term 2 Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July
Monday 10 June – King’s Birthday