Today is Day 13 inside the incubator and we are holding our breath for some healthy happy chicks to crack out of their shell in a little over a week.  We will keep you posted on their arrival, wish us luck! Our new school chickens will sure to be a hit with all of our students and staff!

This week we welcomed Mr Green, our new Teacher Assistant. Chris will be working in the KP in the interim, taking on many of Miss Van Galen's roles while she is on practicum placement at Bicheno Primary for the next five weeks.

Last week, we held a School Association meeting and welcomed new parent reps Amy Johnstone and Nicole Hacker. If you haven’t RSVP'd to our upcoming fundraiser "Bingo Bonanza and Curry Night" please make contact with the school office to secure your seat. We are looking forward to a great evening of fun and food. Tickets are $20 per person and food and beverages will be available to purchase on the night, with thanks to our School Association.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to the previous owners of the Swansea Post Office for their kind donation of art supplies and stationery - every teacher loves stationery and to those community members who have dropped off excess produce, materials or given up their time to support the wonderful opportunities happening here this term from our Sustainable Learning program to our School Production of Moana. Your help is gratefully received. Thank you!

Kristy Hay

Principal

Whole school assemblies are back

Encouragingly, the number of COVID-19 cases in our community are declining. This means that we can now start gradually reintroducing activities – such as whole school assemblies indoors – in a COVID-safe way.

We are excited to welcome back parents and carers at assemblies. All adults must physically distance where practical, and there will be a designated space for parents and carers, separate to students and staff.

All adults, as well as secondary school students, will need to wear face masks. Primary school students can wear a face mask if they choose.

Launching into Learning (LiL) caps have also been removed, and we’re excited to welcome back more families to our LiL sessions. A reminder that adults will need to wear face masks when indoors.

Please know that sometimes circumstances may change quickly. We will let families know of any changes, and we appreciate your flexibility if activities are cancelled or modified at short notice.

An important reminder, especially as we move closer to cold and flu season, to please continue to stay at home if unwell.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our school office.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

https://www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/vaccination-information/covid-19-vaccination/where-to-get-a-vaccine/community-clinics

Don’t let the flu go viral
It hasn’t been out and about much lately, but the risk of flu is here. Keep yourself and your children
safe by booking your flu shots today.
The Tasmanian Government are running free community vaccination clinics. Or get in touch with your
GP or local pharmacy.
It’s recommended for everyone over six months of age. It’s also free for people at higher risk including
children aged six months to five years.
For more information, please visit the Department of Health website

Our Early Years learners have had a busy fortnight of learning adventures.  It is difficult to capture every moment in photographs but here is a brief list of some of the special moments we were able to capture:

- A collaborative Matisse inspired artwork. 

- Walk to School data display.

- The Preps exploring day and night using the sun and a globe. 

- Retelling our focus book 'Possum Goes to School'. 

- Inquiry play time

- Students participating in Cross Country.

Our Middle Primary class have been very eagerly enjoying their environmental Science lessons with Mrs Sparshott.  We have planted bean seeds and have been very closely monitoring the changes that have been happening to our seeds as the weeks roll on.  Our class seed that we excavate from its soil bed every week, known as Charlie, has been teaching us many different things about the growth and development that has happened each week.  

The upper primary class have been honing their creative writing skills in their unit about narratives. Students have investigated what makes a story interesting, and how authors create interest and intrigue so that we want to read further.  

Studets have discovered that the best narratives start with a well planned orientation paragraph.  The class developed this checklist to assist in planning and creating an effective orientation in their narrative writing;

Our Orientation Checklist

	Self Check	Peer Check
Who (Character info)
What
Where (setting)
When (show, don’t tell)
Action (Use verbs)
Humour
Excitement or urgency
Senses (describe more than one)
Sense of wonder… (make the reader go on)

It is important to get feedback, so a column has been included so that a classmate can offer advice or constructive criticism.

Students used this check list to co-create orientations of stories in small groups.  The process of sharing ideas and listening to others helped get the creative juices flowing before attempting individual orientations that have the 'page turner' effect!

We hope to share some of our finished narratives with you soon.

ABC Reading Eggs

During STEAM Swansea Primary School students have been spending time playing ABC Reading Eggs. This is a fantastic program that makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities. Students are increasingly becoming independent learners using this game  and many students can log in by themselves. All students at Swansea Primary School have the ability to access this program at home and individual learning goals are updated regularly.

 

Mrs Wells

Last week Launching into Learning relaunched for 2022. We made pirate hats, searched for pirate treasure and had fun reading stories about pirates. Launching into learning READ, SING, PLAY & CREATE will run on every Friday during term time from 9.30 to 10.30 am. We look forward to seeing you at the Swansea Primary School Library for stories, rhymes, games, music and craft.