A message from Margie
Stars of the Uraidla Show
I was so pleased to see that our students' entries well and truly stood out in the Uraidla Show. Each student entered at least one item they had created at school, but in addition to this our kids' individual entries were everywhere I looked! This just shows how connected our students feel to their local community. It was great to see the senior choir and drum ensemble perform so well too!
I always feel the strong connection to the local community is such an advantage for our students here at Uraidla, and there is evidence to back this up too. A 2018 summary of research in this area by Hanover Research concluded that 'when families and community members are involved in student learning, students gain advocates that promote their success, which increases their academic performance and improves attendance and behaviour. '
Congratulations to all students for your participation. Here are a few of our prize winners!
We were so grateful for everyone's donations for the cake stall- thank you! Thank you
especially to all of our wonderful parent volunteers who helped out at the Show, making coffee, selling cakes and helping kids with candle dipping:
Kate Griffiths, Bec Daimol, Seb Geers, Kylie Spry, Marie Chittleborough, Emily Brodie-Tyrrell, Amanda Preskett, Kate George, Belinda Wauchope, Cristina Blefari, Caroline Croser-Barlow, Amelia Ullmer, Laura Vince, Tiff Coulter, Denise Williams, Lisa Pollifrone, Angela Ryan, Jo Cox, Hayley Moulds, Elin Gubbin, Jess Moran, Bianca Wagnitz, Lisa Bond, Greg Sarre and Mignon Johansen
Staffing news
Sadly next year we will be saying goodbye to two of our much-loved teachers.
Carol Measday will be taking Term 1 off as leave and then plans to retire, after 40 years working in education. What an amazing contribution! We will really miss Carol's innovative teaching style, how she always strives for very high standards and intellectual stretch and the great care she shows for each of her students. As a staff we will also really miss her excellent sense of humour! We wish her all the very best in retirement. I know you will want to join us in wishing her well in the coming weeks.
Zac Richards will also be finishing up at the end of the year. We have really enjoyed Zac's professional manner, his great relationships, his fresh ideas and excellent organisation, and I know the students will miss Zac's passion for sport and his exciting Science experiments! We hope to see Zac back here as a TRT, and we wish him all the best in his teaching career.
Transition
We loved meeting our next year's 24 new Reception students and their families at the first transition visit on Wednesday. Everyone had a great time in Katie's class and we are looking forward to the next 2 Wednesday visits when the new students will be playing with the other students in the yard during recess as well. We are lucky that our numbers will stay about the same next year, even though we are losing our Year 7s to high school. Most schools will drop in numbers due to this statewide change, but we are still growing so we should remain close to 140 students, in 6 classes as in 2021.
Cyber safe families
Cyber safe families have provided us with some free parent resources following our parents information evening recently. You can download these resources and information from the following link: https://cybersafefamilies.com.au/cybersafe-families-resource-pack/
Remembrance day
On November 11 we held our Remembrance Day ceremony at the Uraidla District Soldiers Memorial Park next door to the school. It was lovely to have some parents come along to mark this important occasion with the students. Thank you to our 2021 SRC executive for running the ceremony so appropriately, and to all of the students for their respect shown.
Come on in!
Since we are now able to have parents back on site (see details in School News section), we would love to have you come back into the yard at the end of the school day. Children are now allowed to play after school until you collect them. It would be lovely to be able to socialise again, which we can do as long as everyone socially distances from others. Note that masks are not required outdoors, but if you need to enter the school buildings, you will need to QR code and wear a mask.
End of year activities and preparations
Today we sent home information about 2 seasonal activities for our students to be run at the same time on Friday November 26: a Christmas presentation by the Schools Ministry Group, and secular Seasonal Craft activities run by school teachers. Students will be able to choose between these activities, with a note from their parents. Please return the tear-off slip to the front office by Wednesday next week.
Friday December 3 we will be holding Wheels Day. Students can bring scooters or bikes along to ride around the town oval with their classmates. Decorate your bike and you might win a prize! It is also Crazy Sock day run by the Senior Council, so don't be shy to show off your colourful socks while riding. :-)
We are all getting ready for the End of Year performance and Graduation, and we are enjoying this busy but exciting time of year. Please plan to bring along a picnic so that we can socialise as a school community after the Performance (BYO rug, food and drinks) or plan to buy sausages for dinner at our P and F sausage sizzle. There will also be ice blocks for sale.
Margie