Dear Parents/Carers

This term has been very busy and it is hard to believe that tomorrow is the start of the Easter break and that when we return next Wednesday, we will be half way through week 9 and only have 8 school days left in the term.  It is very pleasing to see so many students engaging in their learning in their classes and acting on feedback given by their teachers. 

Thank you to the many family members that joined us for our open afternoon and BBQ. It was wonderful to connect with so many families and many of our students were very excited at the prospect of their parents and teachers having time to meet, talk and get to know each other.  If you were unable to attend, but are keen to connect with your child’s teachers please contact the school on 63723900.

NAPLAN

Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students have been busy over the recent week undertaking NAPLAN Testing.  Students participated in practice testing to learn about the NAPLAN Portal and then they all participated in testing for reading, language conventions, writing and numeracy testing.

We would like to remind parents that 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.

The reason why NAPLAN is conducted online is because NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results. One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do. Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN. Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.

School Association

Congratulations to the following new and returning school association members for their successful nomination to the 2024 school association committee.

• Gary Barnes (Chair and Parent Representative)
• Janet Drummond (Vice Chair and Community Representative)
• Louisa Rhodes (Secretary and Staff Representative)
• Melanie Woods (Treasurer and Parent Representative)
• Kayla Newton (Parent Representative)
• Bree Piscitelli (Parent Representative)
• Catherine Charles-Brown (Parent Representative)
• Greg Bean (Community Representative)
• Laura Jenkins (Staff Representative)
• Lisa Bean (Staff Representative)
• Carolyn Watson (Principal)

It is fantastic to welcome some new parent and staff representatives to the school association committee and we look forward to sharing school association news and events with parents and families through coming newsletters.

Explaining an Absence

We really value the importance of consistent and regular attendance and have high expectations for our students in this area. We understand that no matter how hard parents try, some students experience times when they can be reluctant or refuse to go to school. We know that attendance patterns are established very early in the year and that is why we have a strong emphasis on working with you to address any attendance concerns at the start of the year.    

What You Can Do

• Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation. Regular attendance sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at work.
• Help your child maintain daily routines and get a good night’s sleep. On average, children and young people need between 8-10 hours’ sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
• Try not to schedule hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours.
• Schedule family trips for school holidays, rather than during term time.
• Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety. Please feel free to contact your child’s Teacher or AST if you are concerned that this may be the case.
• Monitor your child’s attendance and school performance. A regular check in by phone or email is a good idea. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, please contact us through the Teacher, AST, Assistant Principal, the Social Worker or the Principal.

Explanations of absence, where known in advance, are always appreciated. A reminder that when your child is absent from school there are a variety of ways that you can communicate with us about that. These are:

• Phoning the Administration Office on 63723900.
• Using the Schoolzine App.
• Writing a short note for your child to drop into the office.
• Sending an email to our school email address St.Marys.DS.Admin.Staff@decyp.tas.gov.au 
• Replying to the text message if you get an attendance SMS from the school.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish students and families a happy Easter and look forward to seeing our students back at school next Wednesday 3 April.

Carolyn Watson

Principal

We have been looking forward to our K – 6 Athletic Carnival (Thursday March 28) for a few weeks now.  As you read this article, our carnival will have been done and dusted!!  Our Primary HPE staff members (Karen Bramich and Kate Howe) have been preparing our K – 6 students with a host of physical, social and emotional learning opportunities to prepare them for, not only for the carnival, but to teach a range of physical and emotional skills that will benefit them during their growing years.

Due to the length of time it takes to run the 800m, 1500m and High Jump events, these have already been held in Weeks 6 & 7.  We would like to share some wonderful photos of our students and to give you an update of student progress and house points.  There will be a full report on the K – 2 Athletic Carnival in the next newsletter.

1500m Event: Grade 5 & 6 student only

8 courageous students showed amazing personal courage and house spirit by marshalling for the longest event – the 1500m.  This is 5 times around our 300m athletic oval.  Congratulations to our Grade 5 & 6 students who participated – Cobia B, Ella S, Hamish D, Levi W, Jordy T, Billie T, Bentley C-W, and Cohen P-C.  Winners on the day were Cobia B Grade 5, Hamish D, Grade 5 and Levi W, Grade 6.  They will be representing our school at the first of two East North East (ENE) Athletic Carnivals on Thursday 4April.

800m Event: Grade 3 – 6 students

27 energetic and competitive students entered the 800m event.  This is 2 complete laps plus and extra 200m of our school oval.  Well done to Joan, Indi, Bell, Cortesse, Bella, Maddison, Destiny, Macey, Lillian, Ella, Ellie, Cobia, Kylah, Jack, Cohen, Reid, Harry, Ashley, Hamish, Ollie, Kai, Levi, Jordy, Bentley, Billy, Cohen and Callum!!!   Lots of house points were given out for these events.  Our winners, who collected track individual championship points were Indi, Macey, Ellie, Jack, Reed, Hamish and Levi.  They too will be representing our school at the ENE Athletic Carnival.

High Jump: Grade 5 & 6 students only

The high jump was hotly contested by 7 Grade 6 boys, 3 Grade 5 boys, 4 Grade 6 girls and 6 Grade 5 girls.  After an hour and a half of warm-ups and competitive jumping, the winners were announced.  They are: Grade 5 boys – Ollie B, Grade 6 boys – Levi W, Grade 5 girls – Ellie H, and Grade 6 girls – Ella G. We wish them well representing our school at the ENE.

CURRENT HOUSE POINTS

Look out for the next K – 6 Athletic Carnival report in the next newsletter!!!!

A small group of Grade 11/12 students experienced their first outdoor activity on Thursday 29 March, with a walk to Grey Mare's Tail waterfall, at the top of St Marys Pass. The students and staff enjoyed the opportunity to get outdoors. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of water flowing over the falls, but it was great to get out and immerse in nature for a short time. Thank you to Craig for supporting this opportunity and we look forward to our next adventure - climbing St Patricks Head on Thursday 14 April. 

Laura Swanson

What’s happening on the farm in 2024

As you can see we have started our TIA (Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture) veggie growing competition that will be judged at Agfest in early May.

We have also just been donated 6 new calves by Richard from Pyengana Dairy. The students will love raising these calves on the farm this year.

Keep an eye out for our Farm taster day coming mid term two.
Come and see what the students have been doing on the farm and taste some of the delicious food from our Hands on Learning students.

Fabio the ram is visiting our ewes at the moment, and we are hoping for healthy lambs in the spring.   Please be aware that Fabio is feeling especially protective of his ladies.  To avoid an encounter, please access the school via the main driveway.

To help with start of school year costs, we have held off sending home levies invoices.  These will be generated and mailed to parents in early April.

Levies are one of the many ways that families contribute to our school community. Levies support student learning by contributing towards the cost of essential items and services.

When setting school levies and charges the school:

• considers inclusive education, community expectations and family financial constraints
• sets levies at the lowest amount possible
• consults with the School Association of the school.

The all-inclusive levy you pay contributes to:

• items your child uses during the school year such as learning materials and consumables
• services, such as school excursions, attending performances and school camps that are part of your child’s educational program.

Additional Charges for optional activities may apply:

• extra-curricular activities such as sports registrations, entry fees
• year 10 Celebration Dinner, Year 10 Hoodie
• materials beyond that which are reasonably supplied in a subject area
• other extra-curricular activities as they arise

Payment Options:

All payments can be made

• in person at the school by cash, cheque, credit card;
• by over-the-phone credit transactions;
• through Service Tasmania, either via their website (refer to your invoice for details), or in person;
• by BPay through your bank or financial institution to the Department of Education (BPay code and reference number for payments are on your invoice).

Difficulty Paying?

Payment can be negotiated by contacting the School Office, with levy payments finalised by the beginning of Term 4 or, if more flexible arrangements are required, payment by instalment is available. Parents/carers should complete the “Agreement to Pay Levies by Instalment“ form. This form is available by contacting Lisa Bean, School Business Manager.  All payment conversations and arrangemets will be treated with the strictest of confidentiality.

STUDENT ASSISTANCE (STAS)

STAS is one of the forms of financial assistance available to assist with the cost of school levies. The scheme provides assistance for low-income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled from kindergarten through to year 12. Income assessment is applied to parents/guardians of dependent students, and independent students applying for assistance under the scheme. Application forms are available from the school office.

For specific enquiries regarding assistance completing the application or application procedures please contact:

Financial Assistance Services on 1800 816 057 or via email at stas@education.tas.gov.au 

2023 OUTSTANDING LEVIES 

We will be contacting families with outstanding 2023 levies over the next few weeks to discuss levies outstanding from 2023 and the various payment options available to you.

Staff students and parents enjoyed a lovely afternoon of open classrooms and activities plus a meet and greet BBQ on the green recently.  Families and staff, old and new got to know each other in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  Thank you to those familes who attended and to the staff who helped set up, cook and packed up after the occasion.

The Prep/One students are loving their generously gifted library bags made from upcycled materials by Janine McGill. Each bag has been crafted to be durable and unique. Students loved that their bag was unlike any other, and they couldn’t wait to try them out during their library visit on Monday. Thank you so much Janine.

Hand building ceramics

Glazing ceramic projects

Cubism acrylic painting assignment

Secondary Art Excursion to QVMAG 

These notices have been sent home to parents in the last fortnight.  If you did not receive one and would like to receive a copy of the notice, please contact the school office on 63 723 900.

PRIMARY

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Creative Minds Project

Attention all 8-12 year olds

Fingal Valley Neighbourhood House (FVNH) are running a new project "Creative Minds' in the Break O'Day area for young people aged 8-12 years old. The project will offer short course activities, and programs led by the interest of the participants in areas such as, but not limited to, health and wellbeing, getting active, creative arts and STEM. FVNH is running a competition, allowing 8-12 years olds to design a logo for this new initiative.

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WHOLE SCHOOL