Swansea Primary School Staff and Students would like to thank Mrs King for her time in the role as Acting Principal at Swansea Primary School.  Staff and Students wish Mrs King and her two girls who where part of the Grade 3/4/5 class all the best for the remainder of 2024. 

A few highlights of Mrs Kings time at Swansea Primary School 

Hi,

I am Ms Anna Knowles and I am Swansea Primary School’s Acting Principal for the rest of the year. I am looking forward to working in the Swansea community and meeting everyone over the next couple of weeks. I have spent the last couple of years working as Assistant Principal at Triabunna District School and I am looking forward to continuing to work in the East Coast area. Growing up in the Northern and Southern Midlands, I love small country school and the community connection that comes with it. Please come and introduce yourself over the next couple of weeks, I am looking forward to the next two terms!

Regards Ms Knowles

Families and Swansea Primary School community members are warmly invited to join students for our Breakfast and a Book session to meet our new Acting Principal Ms Anna Knowles on Friday the 20th of August.

Please come to the Swan Hall for some shared reading, costume admiring, breakfast eating, and an informal opportunity to chat with Anna.  

After this, we set off on our annual parade along the main street to the ampitheatre at the Jubilee Beach for our Book Week Book Celebration.

Breakfast and a Book starts at 8.50am and finishes at 9.15am.

This will allow our families time to find a spot along the street to watch the parade before the students set off at 9.30am.

Staying safe online - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Families with children 5 – 12 years old

Grade 1/2 learners have been having fun with data, tally marks and bar graphs over the last few weeks. In the photos below you will see us collecting and sorting data, making graphs, interpreting data and eating chocolate!

Next week we will being going on a local excursion to the Swansea Museum as we begin our investigations into the past. We startied wondering about objects from the past when we looked at some old tin toys during Writer's Workshop this week. 

Do you have any interesting artifacts from the past? Soon we will be asking families so send in something from the past that their child can share with the class. More details to come! 

Using nets of cylinders, we have been constructing the concrete silos that we are excited to see on Maria Island next week.  We are working on calculating the surface area of these, using a variety of formulae.

We've also been using a maths tool that's new to us - a compass.  It's a bit tricky to draw a circle with this, but with persistence and concentration, we're getting there and having fun while doing so.

We can't wait for our Maria Island camp next week!

Book Week Parade

This year, Children’s Book Week begins on Saturday August 17. We have scheduled our Book Week dress up day and parade for Friday 23^rd August.

We encourage all our students and staff to participate by dressing up in their favourite book character costume.

We will begin our parade at 9:30am, walking from the school, along Franklin Street to Jubilee Park where we will gather to have everyone share with us what their costume is and what book it is from.

We invite all our community to watch our parade and support our staff and students in this wonderful event. You are then welcome to join the parade and continue to the park with us.

Bookweek is always a wonderful time to share our favourite books and this year we are thinking about the theme: Reading is Magic. Check out the multimodal posters the 5/6 class have created in the Library about their thoughts on how reading is magic to them.

Swansea Primary was very fortunate to receive a visit from the lovely ladies from the Sustainability Centre in Mt Nelson last week. Our school gym was filled with wonder as students had an opportunity to experience many different STEAM activities including creating Rube Goldberg machines, investigating animal scat, building structures with natural materials, using microscopes and many more.

The Kinder/Prep and Grade 1/2 classes joined together with Prep and Grade 1/2 students from Bicheno Primary School during their investigations.  Many new friendships were made both in the session and in the playground.  Our pumptrack with a big hit with our BPS friends!

Grade 3/4/5 and 5/6 also had a wonderful time investigating in their session.  A particular attraction was the Rube Goldberg machines, with cheerful whoops filling the gym when the ball made it to the end.

What a wonderful experience for all involved!

Last week, our Grade 3/4/5 and 5/6 classes were very fortunate to receive a visit from the Young Tassie Scientists from UTAS.  We engaged with fabulous activities, discussed and watched some awesome chemical changes and became robots! Thank you so much UTAS!

Bullying No Way Week, 12 to 16 August 2024, is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative and connects schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.

Purple is the new hero colour representing Bullying No Way: National week of action and our commitment to standing against bullying.

2024 theme

The theme for 2024 is 'Everyone belongs'.

When we all feel like we belong, bullying struggles to find a place. It's about embracing who we are, respecting everyone's differences and standing up together against unkindness.

Belonging means we all have a role in preventing bullying. We're encouraged to speak up and create a safe place where everyone feels supported and respected, and our voices are heard and valued.

The student Leaders faciliated activities with all students to help them to be proactive about preventing bullying in our school.

Today at Breakfast and a Book we welcomed Mrs Alison Pyke from East Coast Coaches and our new bus driver Mrs Nona Barker.

It was great to have Alison and Nona enjoy breakfast with us and it was a good opportunity for everyone to be reminded of the different roles and responsibilities we all have with the school bus service.  Please check your child's bag for a hard copy of the attached document which outlines the standards of student behaviour and lots of other important information. 

We look forward to building a great relationship with Nona as our school bus driver!

All students will need to have a set of black clothing to wear under costumes for The Wizard of Oz. 

Black bottom: shorts or trousers/tights

Black top: short or long sleeve t.shirt (no jumpers)

Please make sure there is no branding, picture or logo visible - a shirts can be worn inside out if needed.

Soon we will ask students to bring their 'stage blacks' to school with ther name clearly labelled on each piece.

School will assist families who cannot provide their own set, please let us know as soon as possible so we can source the necessary items.

• The reviews will be displayed in our libraries; and some will be published on our social media pages.
• We are asking for a first name (or pen name); this will protect their privacy.
• Reviews may be submitted NOW!  We will leave them open for several weeks after Book Week.

Students will also be able to submit paper-based reviews at their local public library during Book Week and QR codes will help them find the short-listed books in our catalogue.

Happy Reading!

Please save the date for our next school association meeting Thursday the 29th of August at 9am.

Swansea Primary School Staff and Students would like to invite all fathers/grandfather's and special friends to a Father's Day Breakfast & a Book  on Friday the 30th of August 8.50am to 9.15am.

We're half way through the 2024 Premier's Reading Challenge!

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a personal challenge – not a competition.   

How many books will you read in 10 weeks? Set your personal reading goal for the Challenge and see how you go!

It doesn’t matter what you read, as long as you are reading.  You are free to choose books you want to read for the Challenge.  To help you get started be sure to check out the books we have recommended in our Challenge Booklists

You can read books in a variety of formats including print, digital, audiobooks and graphic novels. For younger children, a book that is read to them counts toward their total.

Larger chapter books can be counted as more than one book – please talk to your teacher or parent about how many chapters or pages can be counted as “one book”.

Completing the Challenge is something to be proud of!

Reading helps children to understand the world they live in. It sparks curiosity, nurtures imagination, and is fun to do. Reading is integral to developing vital literacy skills and fostering independence and self-assurance.

The Challenge is most successful when parents show interest and support their children. Help your child with their reading challenge and you will be making a positive difference to their future.

Help with reading

Head over to Let’s Talk for lots of information on the importance of reading, along with tips and tricks to help your child with their reading.    

Students are encouraged to share what they are reading by writing a book review for the PRC website. They can submit a review at any time during the Challenge using this 2024 PRC Book Review form

By submitting a book review, students go into the draw to win a $50 book voucher at the end of the Challenge. There are 12 up for grabs, 4 for each region!

The Scholastic Book Club Issue 5 has landed at Swansea Primary School.

bc_5-24_issuu-1.pdf (scholastic.com.au) PDF is attached also along with the online ordering system for all parents.

Book Club - Parents | Scholastic Australia

HOME (scholastic.com.au)

Orders are to be returned back to school by the 21st of August or please order via the online portal.

NDIS Survey Form

Audience: NDIS Participants, Families of NDIS Participants, Friends of NDIS Participants

This survey aims to provide support and guidance to individuals with disabilities, as well as their family members, community including children.

Our goal is to assist with funding applications, ensure adequate support, and offer education on available options. We are committed to providing support and assistance to meet your needs.

Survey Form (office.com)

Earlier this year, the Department for Education, Children and Young People rolled out Safeguarding Training for staff, volunteers, and service providers.

This training was compulsory for everyone as part of our ongoing commitment to safeguard Tasmanian children and young people and prevent them from harm.

The department has recently released additional advanced Safeguarding training modules.
These are optional and are aimed at anyone who volunteers at a DECYP site, external providers, and anyone in the community who wants to learn more about how to keep children and young people safe.

If you’d like to build your knowledge in this space, the modules are available on the department’s Safeguarding page.

Note: If you require additional assistance to access the modules, please take a look at the FAQs about technical support and additional assistance, which are also on the department’s Safeguarding page.

All public transport fares have been halved.

This fare reduction applies to adult, concession, urban, non-urban, and child / student fares on public buses, school buses and the Derwent River Ferry.

For students travelling on public buses, fare-paying school buses and ferries, the fare has been reduced from $2 to $1.

All services will run as per their usual schedules.

The Department of State Growth will be coordinating with transport providers to ensure services run smoothly for the duration of the fare reduction, which will last until 30th June 2025.

A4_Flyer_Half_Price_Fares_2024_25.pdf

COVID-safe schools plan 2024 (education.tas.gov.au)

Please remember to  continue to test for covid if your child is unwell.

COVID-safe behaviours

Hygiene

• Do not come to school if unwell – this applies to staff, students and visitors.
• Staff, students and visitors are asked to practise all COVID-safe behaviours, particularly as they apply to their personal circumstances.
• Keep your hands clean by using soap and water or hand sanitiser.