Term 4 Week 7 - 29 November 2023
Perth Primary School Calendar
From the Principal ................
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we near the end of another school year, it's with great pride that we reflect on the past months filled with growth and aspiration for the many achievements for individuals and also our school community. We have worked hard to build resilience with a focus on giving and accepting feedback in order to improve learning and it has been wonderful to see the growth of students across the year. As a result we have consistently viewed students putting forth their best efforts in every aspect of their academic journey.
Our school over the course of the year has provided many diverse opportunities, providing students with a myriad of chances to explore new interests and talents. I personally want to thank our entire staff for their commitment to making Perth Primary School a wonderful place where the emphasis is on our students being known, safe, well and learning.
Student Events
Basketball Tournaments
This year over the course of the primary school tournaments we entered five school teams which meant over 40 students participated! It was wonderful to see many students trying basketball for the first time, their enthusiasm and improvement over the weekends was brilliant. It was great to see how well our students supported each other, not to mention our very supportive family cheer squads that came along to every game. Also thanks to our volunteer coaches and managers Matt & Spencer Hay, Sam Percival, Kirsty Weily and Andrea Shephard.
Country Gold Cricket
On Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 November, three of our students participated in the Country Gold Cricket Carnival. Chris W, Albie and Seth D represented our school after a selection process and represented our school and district with pride.
Grade 3 to 6 Swimming Carnival
On Monday 21 November our Grade 3 to 6 students travelled to Hagley Farm school to compete in our annual carnival. We were impressed with the number of students who displayed grit and a growth mindset while competing. Congratulations to Hirst who came away with a win at the carnival. Well done to the students below who will represent our school at the Northern Midlands Carnival.
Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 |
Brayden F | Lachlan W | Nixon W | Seb B |
Harley Mc | Beau S | Flynn R | Emmanuel R |
Angus F | Arlo O | Albie Mc | Archie B |
Freya H | Armani D | Chris W | Lucas T |
Mabel H | Addison B | Erin H | Ruby H |
Azhara V | Dulcie H | Ignatia V | |
Nyah R | Harper S | Ruby S | |
Amelia W | Pheonix L | Eloise R | |
Oliver K | Isabella P | Olivia S | |
Isabelle F |
Dance Fever
"Live Simply, Dream Big and be Grateful" What a wonderful motto for this year’s Dance Fever performance! We had twenty-five students involved this year and with the help of Launceston College tutor Temiya, Miss Dargaville and Mrs Biffin our students were standouts (well maybe I am a little biased!!). We are already looking forward to being involved again in 2024!
Triathlon
This year we had 39 students involved in the Triathlon, many for the first time. The weather was magnificent and in true Perth style our students encouraged each and every team member. Our focus is on participation and this was reflected in the number of students having a go in both the individual and team events. A big thanks to Mrs Tempest for supporting our team on the day.
Grade 5-6 Camp
In Week 5, sixty-two students and five very committed staff headed off to Hobart for our biannual camp. There is an enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to enable this camp to happen. From risk management to chasing up medical forms and the huge amount of paperwork to enable medications to be given required many hours of work from our hard working staff. Despite all the extra hours, I think all the staff and parents would say that it was well worth it for the experiences it enabled our students to have over the three days. From exploring Port Arthur to getting to know their own school mates better over team building activities such as archery and rock climbing, the camp provided students with many opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have. For a group of our students, this was the first time that they had stayed away from home!
A huge thank you to Miss Doran, Mrs Ryan, Mrs Whyman, Ms Lovell and Mrs Barnett for supporting our students. Also a big thank you to Mrs Cherry for all the paper chasing she had to do to ensure we ticked all the departmental boxes. We also appreciate the ongoing support of our School Association who have spent the last 12 months fundraising in order to reduce the cost of camp for our families.
Science Talent Search
As mentioned in our last newsletter, we had five of our students recognised at the award ceremony for the Science Talent Search. A huge thanks to Miss Dick for attending the presentation with our clever students. Well done Arlo, Liam, Osman (now attending Exeter Primary), Scarlett and Amelia.
End of Year Events
On Wednesday 22 November Grade 6 students attending Prospect, KMHS and CDHS in 2024 spent the day at their high school. We were excited to hear from students and parents about the wonderful day that was had as a high school student. The last four weeks at primary school is both exciting and daunting with events such as the Leavers Dinner and Presentation Assembly. We understand that this is a really busy time and we appreciate the support of our community to have a smooth finish to the end of the year.
Staff news
Some of our littlest learners would have noticed a missing face at our LiL sessions, we were sad to farewell Ms Delphine after many years at our school. We are very excited for her to take up a full time education support specialist role at Port Dalrymple School which is much closer to home for her!
Tomorrow, I will be attending a special service to recognise employees of the department who have completed 25 years of service, and I will be proud to be attending with Mrs Virginia Tempest who this year has clocked up her years of service which is a great effort.
Another outstanding achievement was recognised for one of our favourite relief teachers, Ms Lyn Mac who was recently acknowledged for 50 years of state service, this is amazing achievement and we are very thankful that we are one of Ms Mac’s favourite schools for relief!
2024 Structures
As we are approaching the end of the year, we are working hard to finalise our staffing requirements for 2024. Our teachers spend considerable time working on class placements to ensure classes are balanced taking into account the myriad of information that helps support us to make decision in the best interests of not only individual students but our entire cohort of students. At this stage we look to be welcoming 292 students to our school at the beginning of the year which is again an increase on this year. As our numbers continue to grow it is putting more pressure on our learning spaces, a positive change that we have made already was to move the transform our old library space into a vibrant, big new learning space!! A huge thanks to all the helpers from our school community who rolled up their sleeves and accomplished the mammoth task of moving a whole library and classroom in two days! If you are wandering past, make sure you pop your head in and check out our ‘new’ library and 1-2FW classroom.
On Friday 15 December (Tuesday 12 December for our Kinders) students will have the opportunity to meet with their 2024 teacher and classmates. This is always an exciting time but for some students can also be an anxious time, all of which is normal.
In 2024, we will have the following class structures;
Kinder A
Kinder B
Prep A
Prep- 1 A
Prep-1 B
Gr 1-2A
Gr 2-3A
Gr 2-3B
Gr 3-4A
Gr 4-5A
Gr 5-6A
Gr 5-6B
Student Wellbeing Data
Every year all Grade 4-6 students in Tasmanian government school complete the Student Wellbeing and Engagement survey. The Department along with individual schools use the data to help guide planning for their school. As well as planning for our own school, I have also used snapshots of our data to share with the Northern Midlands Council to further support youth activities in the local area. Below is a snapshot of data from our school.
Attendance
You may have noticed over the year that I have shared a number of department messages around attendance. Over the last few years, across the state, attendance numbers have been falling and this is also reflective of our school data. In 2023, there are 8 students in our school who on average across the year are missing 1-2 days a week of schooling, over the course of their education in the public school system, this would equate to three years less of schooling than their peers! We have 37 students in our school who are absent on average 1 day or more a fortnight, again if this pattern persists over the course of their education, they will be at a huge disadvantage. Currently our school attendance sits at 86.4%. Our prep and Year 2 students have the best overall attendance sitting at 90% with our Year 5’s having the lowest attendance rate at 82.4%. In 2024, there is a mandated state focus on improving attendance rates in all Tasmanian schools. This means that we will be implementing some strategies to improve our attendance, we look forward to working in partnership with our school community to see an improvement over the course of 2024.
As this is our last newsletter for 2023, I would like to sincerely thank our school community for their support of our school over the year. We hope you all have a safe and restful break and come back ready for 2024.
School Information
Scholastic Book Club
Our final Scholastic Book Club issue 8 closes on Wednesday 6 December 2023. If you are wanting to place an order, please do so before 12.00 midday on that day. Thank you!
Thank you to our Perth Primary School families that have supported the Scholastic Book Club for 2023.
We would love to have an empty lost property basket before the end of the 2023 school year. If you are missing any student clothing please have a look in the lost property basket, which is located outside the school office. Thank you!
After School Bus
A reminder to please have the correct money when using the after school bus. The Green card which is used on the Metro services in Launceston is not able to be used on this service. Thank you for your help with this.
School Uniform
Several clothing items have had a slight increase this week due to rising costs. We sell our stock at cost price to keep items affordable for families.
Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) 2024
Families who were approved and received STAS in 2023 will receive corresepondence from the Department regarding STAS for 2024. You do not need to reapply. If a parent/guardian wishes to add a newly enrolling student to their STAS file (ie a kinder student) please email their name and the student's full name, date of birth, grade and school they will be attending in 2024 to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au.
STAS application forms are available from the school office for new enrolments or families whose circumstances have changed and wish to apply for 2024. Families can also apply online on the Department's web page at www.decyp.tas.gov.au
To be eligible the parent/guardian must have a current: Centrelink Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or a DVA Concession Card.
Contact for STAS is 1800 827 055 or stas@decyp.tas.gov.au
Value Certificates
Class | Courage | Aspiration | Growth | Respect |
Prep A | Charlotte W | |||
Prep B | Billie Mc | Cooper N | ||
1-2A | Marley C | Harper B | ||
1-2B | Charlotte B | Archie B | ||
2-3A | Oscar Mc | Kobi W | ||
3-4A | Cooper N | |||
3-4B | Jack W | Taylah C | ||
4-5A | Flynn R | |||
5-6A | Carson A | Danika S | ||
6A | Ruby S | |||
Specialist | Zachary H | |||
Miss Doran | Archer S |
Launching into Learning
Term Dates 2023
Term 4
Schools & College 16 October to Thursday 21 December
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
REMINDER that canteen will not be open in the last week of term 4 for either Kindergarten or Prep to Grade 6.
Happy Birthday
Charlotte J, Emerson C, Lacie R, Huxley T, Mylee R, Ruby H, Evie T, Adam C, Archie B, Oliver D, Emmanuel R, Fletcher Y, Samuel B, Elijah H, Addison R, Riley B, Isla S, William B, Addisyn C, Mark M, Arlo O, Lucy P, Campbell M, Roxee G, Mrs Shephard, Mrs Claxton, Mrs Ryan, Mrs Lockwood and Mrs Wilmshurst.
Community News
If you are interested in either joining or finding out more information regarding the LAC Swim Club please scan the QR code below.
Perth Primary School Support Staff
Kylie | School Psychologist | Monday |
Bec | School Nurse | Tuesday |
Abby | School Social Worker | Wednesday |
Maddi | Speech and Language Pathologist |