South George Town Primary School eNewsletter

Welcome back to Term 2! The weather has changed and so has the need for additional clothing at school. Please ensure that your child has enough warm clothes to wear and that it is appropriately labelled so that if they do lose it, we can return it from lost property.

Our school wide priority of improving student reading comprehension through writing and oral language development is in full swing. Our teachers are working on their own professional learning each week, whilst working in their teams to implement strategies and teaching practices to ensure improvement. Recently I attended the Northern Principal Forum where experts on the teaching of reading conducted professional learning for principals. I was very proud of where we are at as a school in our journey of implementation, and it affirmed all the great work we have undertaken over the past 6 years. Our work in implementing the “Big 6” of reading and many aspects of the “Science of Reading” have ensured that we are seeing fantastic improvement across our school.

Our students (and teachers and parents) endured some inclement conditions at our Cross country on Monday afternoon. All students participated with great endeavour, and all put in fantastic performances. The upgraded track was fantastic to run on and we look forward to some more work on Wombat Walk to finish off the remediation work in the near future. We also look forward to our team representing us with pride at the Tamar carnival on Tuesday.

Our school and community have been invited to participate in a consultation with an external provider to give feedback to the department on the barriers to attendance and to help formulate solutions to the problem. Teachers, students and parents will be invited to be part of the process in the coming weeks. More information of how parents might be involved will be available soon.

Tuesday 21 May	TPSSA Cross Country Carnival - Selected students
Wednesday 22 May	Simultaneous Storytime - Grade 1/2 to the George Town Library
Friday 24 May	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Friday 31 May	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Thursday 6 June	Assembly - 5/6 White & 3/4 Scilini Sharing
Friday 7 June	Moderation Day - Student Free Day
Monday 10 June	Public Holiday - King's birthday
Friday 14 June	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Friday 14 June - Friday 21 June	Fissure Sealant Program - Kinder, Prep & Grade 1,2,6 students
Friday 21 June	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Friday 28 June	Round 1 - 5/6 Winter Sport - Rain Day 7 July
Friday 28 June	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Thursday 4 July	Assembly - 3/4 Garwood & Prep Quinn Sharing
Friday 5 July	Launching into Learning Playgroup @ the CFLC
Friday 5 July	Last Day of Term 2
Monday 22 July	First Day of Term 3
Friday 26 July	Round 2 - 5/6 winter sport - Rain Day 2 August
Thursday 1 August	Country Gold Selections - selected students
Friday 2 August	Assembly - Prep Grace & 5/6 Timms Sharing
Thursday 8 August	Whole School Photo Day
Friday 9 August	Round 3 - 5/6 Winter Sport - Rain Day 16 August
Friday 23 August	Round 4 - 5/6 Winter Sport - Rain day 30 August
Thursday 5 September	Assembly - 1/2 Locke & 3/4 Clancy Sharing
Friday 6 September	Round 5 - 5/6 Winter Sport - Rain Day 13 September
Friday 27 September	Last Day of Term 3
Monday 14 October	First Day of Term 4
Thursday 24 October	Assembly - 1/2 Edwards & 5/6 White Sharing
Friday 1 November	Professional Learning Day - Student Free Day
Monday 4 November	Public Holiday - Recreation Day
Thursday 22 November	Assembly - 3/4 Scilini & 3/4 Garwood Sharing
Thursday 19 December	Students Last Day of School

Support your child’s online learning at home

Digital skills are critical to every child’s success, but supporting online learning can be overwhelming.

The Digital skills for families team are delivering a program to help Tasmanian families support online learning at home. Spending time online at home gives children an opportunity to practice what they are learning at school. Positive home environments help children develop the skills and independence they need to succeed in a digital future.

Learn about communicating online with schools, digital education at school and how to support online learning at home.

Digital skills for families is offering free:

information sessions
workshops
one-to-one help

In libraries, schools and community locations statewide.

Email the team at digitalskillsforfamilies@libraries.tas.gov.auto find out more and book a free session.

A big congratulations to Grade 6 student Ella who received a ‘Highly Commended’ award in this years Brixhibition display over the holidays. Ella spent many hours planning and constructing her pug which was based on her real life pet Frankie.

Welcome back to Term 2, we hope you enjoyed your break!

By showing up to school every day, your child will have the best opportunity at a bright future. It gives them every chance to be around friends, learn new things, and find interests.

We have lots in store for this term, including cross country carnival, National Simultaneous Storytime, start of winter sport.

Good attendance habits can sometimes be hard to stick. Keep trying to create a solid routine, to set your child up for success for the rest of the year.

If you’re looking for tips on how to create better attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website.

Please always talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help.

We all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe.

This year, there is important training that anyone who works with children or young people must complete. This includes all our volunteers and service providers. e.g. parent helpers, volunteers at sports carnivals etc.

The training is compulsory under new laws designed to better safeguard children and young people in Tasmania.

It will help you understand what to do if you believe a child or young person is or may be being harmed, and to make sure you are doing all you can to prevent this from happening. The training will also tell you what you must report under the new laws.

This simple, online training must be done as soon as possible, and you will need to complete it before you work with any children and young people this year.

Once completed, you will receive a certificate, which you can save. You will need to show your certificate to the office.

To complete your training, simply visit

http://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/.../safeguarding-training/

For more information please talk to our Safeguarding Lead, Janine Spicer.

Thank you for leading the way in caring for our children and young people safe so that they can focus on living bright lives with positive futures.

Prep Quinn
Calan	Always showing kindness and understanding towards others. Thank you for being such a thoughtful member of our class
Savannah	Being an enthusiastic learner who always works hard and tries her best
Prep Grace
Ephraim	Applying himself to all learning and working hard on blending sounds
Sophie	Working hard on blending sounds
Ella	A fantastic start at South. She is working hard in the classroom and has shown kindness towards others
Cullen	Working very hard to learn sounds
1/2 Locke
Riley	Making an exceptional start to term 2. Riley is showing a wonderful work ethic
Tyler	Making a fantastic start to 1-2 Locke. Wonderful to meet you!
Archie	Making a brilliant start in 1-2 Locke. It is great to have you!
Brock	Working really hard to improve his attendance! Thanks for coming Brock!
1/2 Edwards
Kobi J	A calm and safe start to term 2. Well done!
Korbyn	Working super hard to be organised independently
Ellee	For being a positive role model and asking for help when needed
Abatha	Her improved focus during learning time
3/4 Garwood
Skyla	Always being a kind and caring classmate and she is also welcoming and accepting of others
Logan	Showing a positive attitude about learning and for trying to encourage others to do the same
3/4 Clancy
Esther	Working like a super star to improve the fluency of her reading
Elsie	Working independently to improve her understanding od place value
3/4 Scilini
Ellouise	Having a friendly attitude in class and always being kind and helpful
Coby	Improving his stamina to complete learning tasks, especially spelling
5/6 White
Peyton	The class vote for the most improved student for term 1
Avaya	The class vote for the student who most displays our school values: learning, respect, responsibility and relationships
5/6 Timms
Lucas	His excellent start to second term
Charlotte	Her positive attitude and application to learning

https://youtu.be/6RZEARgJ-KM

Here is our Aussie of the Month for April. This student was selected because she upholds the Aussie traditions of mateship and a fair go for all, as well as our school values of 'learning', 'respect', 'responsibility' and 'relationships'.

Here are some of our latest 'Reach for the Stars' recipients. These students have demonstrated our school values over several years. Congratulations on this very special award!

On Monday we held our whole school cross country. Students from Kindergarten to grade 6 competed and staff were impressed with their 'have-a-go' attitude and sportsmanship. We were particularly impressed with our grade 6 students who supported our younger runners. Thank you to families for braving the weather and coming along to watch. We appreciate your support!

There are many more photos of the carnival on our social media.

Seagulls to Chips 2024 – applications now open!

Co-designed by young people during the term 1 Ideas Lab, the Seagulls to Chips Youth Leaders Program has been created to be an effective avenue of capacity building and change-making for 20 young leaders each year in the George Town area. Seagulls to Chips commences in July.

The program hosts a range of high-end facilitators that delivers relevant training to selected young people with an opportunity for the youth to create and participate in youth events in and around George Town. Some highlights of the 2024 program include a trip to Launceston with team building activities such as an Escape Room, Rock Climbing and more. Seagulls to Chips will also have visiting speakers to George Town training the youth in content design, podcasting, mental health, advocacy and more! Concluding the program, we envision new opportunities for local youth to create social impact in and around George Town.

Applications can be submitted at Seagulls to Chips youth leadership program - Application Form

Block 1 – Team Building and Leadership

Block 2 – Film and Podcast Creation

Block 3 – Creating Self Care Routines

Block 4 – Fight For What’s Right (ethically)

Block 5 – Managing Conflict and Building Healthy Connections

Block 6 – Create Your Own Opportunity

Our Launching into Learning Playgroup is every Friday at the George Town Child and Family Centre. Friday playgroup is a joint program between Port Dalrymple School and South George Town Primary School and is open to everyone in the George Town community with children from birth to Kindergarten! See you on Friday.