Dear Parents, Families and Community Members,

Thank you to everyone for welcoming me to Swansea Primary School over the last 2 weeks. It has been wonderful getting to know everyone over this time period.

Last week, we celebrated Book Week. Book Week is a fabulous way to promote reading for enjoyment. It was great to see so many students get into the spirit of Book Week by dressing up as some of their favourite characters on Friday. Thank you to all the community members who greeted us during our parade or met us at the amphitheatre. We were also lucky to have Mayshaw visit us for our Book Week breakfast, thank you to the residents for coming into the school and engaging with our students.

I am sure that our 3/4/5/6 camp has been a highlight of the term for our students. The weather held out for us and we all had an excellent time exploring Maria Island. I hear that the bikes were a favourite among the students. Thank you to Mrs Sparshott, Mr Warner, Tanisha and Miss Walch for accompanying students on camp. Lots of work goes into the organisation of an event like this and it is fantastic that our students are provided with this opportunity.

As some of you will be aware, we have had some class structure changes take place over the last couple of weeks. Changes have been required to be made due to operational needs of the school. For the rest of the term, our Prep students are learning from our 1/2 class on a Monday and Tuesday. This is to provide our teachers with time to prepare for next term, when we will be moving towards a 3 class model. This will also help us to transition into 2025, where we also intend to have 3 classes (Early Years, Middle and Upper). Next term, our class structures will be:

• Kinder/Prep/1
• Grade 2/3/4
• Grade 5/6

Teachers are currently preparing for this structural change and we will confirm class teachers with you over the coming weeks. I would like to thank all staff for their flexibility over the last 2 weeks to enable this to occur, ensuring that all students will have a class teacher for the remainder of the year. This is the best model to support student learning. If you have any questions regarding this change, please do not hesitate to contact me through the school office.

Finally, thank you to the fathers, grandfathers and special people who attended our Father’s Day Brekky and a Book this morning. It was fantastic to see so many families in our school.

Kind Regards,

Ms Anna Knowles

Acting Principal

Last week the 1-2 class went on an excursion to the East Coast Heritage Museum to supoport our learning in the Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum. We are part-way through an investigation into continuity and change through decades and centuries.

We are considering how everyday life has changed over time, with a particular focus on how changes in technology make our lives different from the lives of people in times past. 

At the museum we saw so many old artefacts! Each student chose an artefact of interest. They drew it and recorded an interesting fact about it.

Back at the classroom we have been finding out more about some of these artefacts. We are now exploring how these artefacts can help us understand how life is different now from in the past. 

Here are a few photos that show what captured our interest and a selection of comments that show our thinking and discussions so far...

The paperbark boat

Carlix: The boat is made of paperbark. It is for transporting people and things. It is easier than swimming.

Benji: The canoe is pushed along by people. A new one would have a motor.

Max: It would take 20 minutes to get to Coles Bay in the motorboat but it would take two days in the canoe.

The harpoon

Abbey: It was used for shooting whales. Today we go spear-fishing.

Lincoln: There aren't very many whales left any more.

Carlix: We can still see whales around. I've seen one in Bicheno.

The encyclopaedia

Molly: It is an information book.

Piper: It's about lots of stuff.

Max: There are 25 of them.

Molly: Today we would use a phone and the internet [to look things up]

Grade 3/4/5 students have dedicated much effort to creating multimodal pieces of work over the last weeks.  In reference to our work, the term multimodal refers to using different methods of delivery to create our pieces.  We write/draw our first drafts into our books as a means of gathering ideas.  We share these ideas to give constructive and positive feedback, learning from each other.  We then use our devices to create our final polished piece.  Our focus this term has been advertising and the many different skills, strategies and facets of delivering our message to our audience effectively.  We have compared advertisements, discussed their purpose and had a go at creating our own.  We are proud of our work and sharing this in the classroom.

Grade 3/4/5 spend some time in the library each Thursday with our Kinder/Prep buddies.  This week, we have assisted our buddies with their writing, sharing our ideas and supporting them to write unfamiliar words.  Well done on your great writing, Kinder/Prep!

During week 5, students from Grade 3-6 embarked on an exciting journey to Maria Island. For many students, this was their first time away from their families. It was great to see the students forming new friendships and strengthening existing ones, as they completed some educational activities across the three days, as created by Mrs. Sparshott.

Our students applied their skills of calculating the area of a circle and surface area, to calculate the amount of paint required to paint the four silos on Maria Island. Students became fledging photographers and enjoyed capturing beautiful memories and scenes from around the island. Other activities included; riding bikes to the fossil cliffs, walking to the reservoir, painted cliffs and learning the history of Darlington.

A very big thankyou to our Dads, Granddads and friends that participated in our Father's Day Breakfast and a Book today.  Just a small snap shot of some of our visitors today!

We wish all our dads, granddads and special friends a wonderful Father's Day this coming Sunday.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!! Use the link below to register for the 2024 Season!! https://registration.resultshq.com.au/CentreRegistration/CentreInfo/d8141988-a7b4-49ac-bff3-28ea96843c63/?fbclid=IwAR3-lrArMB6dOH1Y0SILrObB-9mWTOrNzxxm_zsBbGCGShH9bsEf-NkrQaY Come and try TWO sessions available to all new members….come and have a go to see if you like Little Athletics. Returning athletes must be registered before week one. Season starts SATURDAY 14th September 9am.

Starts this Saturday see you all at GSBLA!

Reminder:

Please send in stage blacks soon for wearing under costumes for the musical.

*Black bottoms and tops

*All items need to be labeled with name.

Free Health Consumer Training in Swansea - September

In the morning, we will have an Information Session about Healthcare Rights and Complaints. This is aimed at any interested member of the public. It is a one-hour session, and there will be complimentary morning tea.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/989657741947?aff=oddtdtcreator

 Are you a community member of the Glamorgan Spring Bay Region?

Would you like to learn about what your healthcare rights are?

Would you like to understand more about health complaints processes?

Come along to our informal information session in Swansea. We will look at the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights and chat about what your rights are, complaints processes and how you can get involved to create change in health service design and delivery.

While child minding is not available, parents with young children are more than welcome to bring their small people along.

Morning tea is provided so please advise of any dietary requirements you have.

If there are any adjustments we can make to ensure this event is accessible to you, please let us know.

 Training Two: Health Consumer Representative Training

 In the afternoon there will be a session for people who are current consumer/community representatives or are interested in being one. This is a three-hour session, there will be a light lunch provided.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/989748653867?aff=oddtdtcreator

 This training session is for patients, carers, and members of the community who are interested in being a health consumer representative and advocating for a better health system, locally and across the State.

We will discuss the different opportunities available for you to partner with health services and participate in their consultation and committee processes, as well as what might be expected of you if you engage a formal role.

This will also be an opportunity for you to meet and learn with and from other people interested in improving health services in your region.

A light lunch is provided, so please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 Kind regards,

 Hannah Fielder

she/her

Advocacy and Impact Lead

0434 298 445

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.