Term 1 - Week 3 (21 February 2024)

Perth Primary School Calendar

From the Principal ................

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to welcome everyone back to a new school year, and a particularly warm welcome to our new Perth families.  It was great to see so many happy and enthusiastic faces entering the school and the excitement of seeing new learning spaces and connecting with friends and staff was evident.

I would like to personally acknowledge and thank all our teachers who were in school well before their holidays were over to prepare for a new year of learning, thank you for your dedication and commitment to our children. I would also like to acknowledge the work of our office and grounds/cleaning staff as I am sure you will agree the school looks amazing.

A reminder that classrooms will be open from 8:30am when our duty of care begins. We ask parents to ensure that students are not on site prior to this time. Our school day concludes at 2:50pm. Northern Midlands Childcare Service provide an excellent before and after school care program, if you require care outside of these hours, please contact them on 6397 7330.

Grounds
Our basketball courts were a very popular place for many of our families over the holidays, it was great that the resurfacing was finally complete. We also had our schools’ grounds audited over the holidays, apart from some minor issues with our swings we passed the safety assessment with flying colours. A big thanks to Mr Rossiter especially for his work in ensuring our school grounds are safe.

New staff
We are very excited to welcome some new faces to our school this year. Mrs Hibberd joins us on a Prep-1 class and Mrs Poke and Mrs Duncan are sharing a 2-3 class. We also welcomed a number of teacher assistants who had been working with us in a relief capacity onto contracts, Gemma Hammersley, Cannon Sheehan and Thanie Zolyniak.

Attendance

Good attendance habits can sometimes be hard to stick to. But creating a solid routine, from the start of Term 1, can set your child up for success for the year ahead.

Check out these tips for starting the year off right.

⭐ Make every school day count

⭐ Get your child excited for school

⭐ Talk to your child about school

⭐ Celebrate the milestones

⭐ Talk to your child’s teacher or principal

⭐ Know when to seek help.

Find out more here: anything.tas.gov.au/schools

Our school actively monitors all student attendance. We ask that you contact the school to let us know the reason for any absences.

Assembly
Our school assemblies are held on Tuesdays starting at 2pm. During the year, each class will have the opportunity to host an assembly and also sharing at two others. Preparing and hosting an assembly is a great opportunity for students to practise their oral language skills.

NAPLAN
Students in Grades 3 & 5 will be sitting NAPLAN between 13 and 25 March 2024.

The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

This is the second year NAPLAN has been held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year. These can then be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

Parent information brochures and other resources
A parent information brochure and questions answered on NAPLAN and what it means for your child can be found at: NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers

The link will take you to the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website and covers a variety of topics such as the timing of the tests and how results from the assessments should be understood.

It also allows access to a Public Demonstration Site which shows the types of questions students will answer and the functionalities that are available in NAPLAN tests.

Please contact the school if you have any further queries

Open Classrooms & Welcome BBQ
It was wonderful to see so many families in attendance at our open classrooms and welcome BBQ, the evening was designed to give families the opportunity to see their children’s learning spaces and connect with teachers. Once again, a huge thank you to our School Association for their support with the night.

Safeguarding Children
The Tasmanian Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people in Tasmania are known, safe, well and learning. As part of this, it is a requirement that all adults that are working with or near children in school have an understanding of safeguarding responsibilities.

In order to volunteer at school (parent help, canteen, excursions) it will be a requirement to complete the short course, at the end you will receive a certificate that will need to be seen by the office. If you need any help accessing the course or completing it, please contact Mrs Rosevear at the office.

Student Leadership positions 2024
Each year, our Grade 6 cohort are encouraged to apply for a variety of leadership position in our school. We are very proud of each and every student who put themselves forward for a position. They were required to write a speech and then present it in front of their peers, which takes a great deal of courage.

We are very excited to announce the following positions for 2024. Their leadership badges will be presented at our next assembly on March 19.

School Association
Perth Primary School is very lucky to have such an active and caring School Association, made up of both parents and staff members. Our School Association meet up once per term to learn about, discuss and provide feedback about our school. They are a very supportive group and always welcome new faces.

We currently have five positions becoming vacant this year and are calling for nominations to join this group. Nomination forms are available from the office and due back on or before Friday 15 March. If you have any questions, please see Mrs Rosevear in the office.

School Information

Scholastic Book Club
Issue 1 for the Scholastic Book Club has been handed out to students.  If you would like to purchase items from this issue please do so before 12.00midday Friday 23 February 2024.

2024 School Levies
Levies have been posted out to families and are due on or before 7 March 2024.

If you would like to set up a payment plan, please speak with our School Business Manager, Tenille Rosevear, to make arrangements.

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)
The Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to low-income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled in a school from kindergarten through to year 12. Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia Health Care Card
• Services Australia Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs Pensioner Concession Card.

Online applications can be made by using this link: https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/

If you need access to a hard copy form, please contact the school, email: stas@decyp.tas.gov.au or phone 1800 827 055. You will receive a letter confirming the outcome of your application approximately 14 days after it is submitted.

Please note: if you are already receiving assistance, you don’t need to apply again. Families who were approved for STAS in 2023 will receive written advice from the Department advising of their approval or otherwise for STAS in 2024.

If you wish to add a student to an approved STAS application please email your name and the student’s full details to stas@education.tas.gov.au

Value Certificates

Launching into Learning

Term Dates 2024

Term 1
Schools & Colleges 8 February – 12 April
Easter break 29 March – 2 April

Term 1 Holiday
13 April – 28 April

Term 2
Schools & Colleges  29 April – 5 July

Term 2 Holiday
6 July – 21 July

Term 3
Schools & Colleges 22 July – 27 September

Term 3 Holiday
28 September – 13 October

Term 4
Schools 14 October – 19 December

Canteen News

Happy Birthday

Coopar C, Madelyn D, Charlie N, Cooper N, Lucy S, Libby C, Charlie P, Sonny D, Koby A, Kobe B, Darcy C, Evie Mc, Mason W, Ollie F, Dex W, Archie D, Brae-Lee T, Maeve B, Zac B, Tayla C, Logan D, Jaxson B, Ryan C, Charlotte W, Amelia B, Maggie S, Oscar G, Rubi A, Azhara V, Archie R, Zachary H, Chaise M, Lincoln S, Jack W, Armani D, Theo R, Phoebe B, Liam D, Marlee E, Zeke N, Mrs Cameron, Mrs Dean, Ms Shepherd, Mrs Batty, Mrs Wyatt and Mrs Whyman.

Community News

Perth Primary School Support Staff