24 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

As we approach the end of another year we have lots to be proud of and celebrate. Congratulations to our athletes for winning all three shields at the recent Inter-High Athletics Carnival. This is truly an outstanding sporting achievement for our small High School. Planning for 2017 is well underway; class construction, timetabling and staffing at the core of our work at this time. I will be meeting with the Department’s Capital Project team this week to begin work on the biggest capital works program our school has seen in decades. Exciting times ahead for sure. We are having discussions with staff, students and parents via the ‘School Association. I am hoping that every part of the school will have some element of improvement. The refurbishment will result in some disruption to how we operate and flexibility will be crucial.

An aspect of the end of the year is everyone becomes more relaxed and attendance and school uniforms tend to be affected. It is important that we continue right up to the last school day taking pride in our school. I had a conversation recently with a parent about an attendance letter and the language used. I need to make it clear that school attendance is a legal requirement and when a student has more than 5, 10, 15 and 20 days unexplained absences, a legal letter is computer generated and is not allowed to be altered. As such, a signed letter from myself is written as the legal representative of the Education Department and is therefore presented in that format.

The new Education Act passed through Parliament since our last newsletter and it brings with it some changes in the way we will do some things. In the coming year I will share with you the major changes and how they will impact on you and us as a school.

Congratulations to Katy Bond for achieving top of school in her NAPLAN results. It is a big achievement and thoroughly deserved recognition for all her hard work.

Unfortunately one of our students was bitten by a dog that had been tied up just outside the school. If you are walking your dog and collecting your children please do not leave the animal unattended. Animals will be animals and children will be children and say hello to friendly or not so friendly dogs. The outcome can result in an animal having to be put down and no one wants that; it would be a distressful outcome for all involved. So please do not leave any animal tied up and unattended outside the school property. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated. Please also remember that dogs are not permitted on school grounds, including being walked or in vehicles. Thank you.

A reminder that as a school our teaching staff commence work at 8:30am. As a result, students should not be on school site until that time as there is no supervision available. Teachers who arrive earlier do so at their choice and usually to setup their classrooms for the day not to do supervision.

Sadly on the weekend the Winnaleah District High School, School Association Chair, Wayne Radford passed away suddenly. This is deeply saddening to a community and on behalf of our school community I would like to express condolences to both the Radford family and School community. I worked closely with Wayne as the School Chair during my three years as Principal at Winnaleah. He will be a great loss to the school community.

Congratulations Katy Bond

NARRATIVES BY GRADE 1 BENNETT

Grade 1’s have been learning how to write a narrative. They have been learning about characters, setting and problems in stories.

SWIMMING AND WATER SAFETY PROGRAM 2016

This year we were able to include all our Grade 2 students in the Program. This will make a huge difference in the long term, improving the level of competency in the aquatic environment. It is important for all members of our community to understand the importance of being comfortable in any body of water. In Australia last year, 83 people lost their lives by drowning, 9 of these were in Tasmania. Rivers, dams and lakes have been identified as the most dangerous, so we urge everyone to take particular care in and around these features.

Swimming and Water Safety

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Swimming and Water Safety

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GRADE 3 - 6 SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2016

Wow! What a great day. The atmosphere was wonderful with plenty of house spirit and supportive behaviour from the students. One thing that was particularly evident was the acknowledgement of the achievements of, not only the very competent swimmers, but of those who were doing their best. Good sportsmanship is very important throughout life and to display it spontaneously is the measure of a great sportsman.

There were some very good swimmers in all grades but the swimmers of the carnival would have to be Evie Simpson and Eric Trivett. Both have made considerable improvement and entered every race to give their house an advantage. Their performances showed you don’t need to be the swimming champion to gain house points and have a great time.

FINAL POINTS:

DUNCAN - 492
DALMAIN - 425
BLACKWOOD - 383

NEW RECORDS WERE SET BY THESE STUDENTS:

Gr 6 Aaron Mason - 25m Backstroke 21.21secs
Aaron Mason - 50m Backstroke 52.37secs
Lani Haas - 25m Freestyle 14.38secs
Gr 5 Darshini Barnes - 50m Backstroke 48.90secs

Grade 3-6 House Swimming Carnival

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Grade 3-6 House Swimming Carnival

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COMBINED SCHOOL CHOIR PROJECT

On Wednesday 16th November fourteen Grade 5/6 students went to Launceston to join the Combined Schools Choir with Scotch Oakburn and Bicheno Primary School. The choir had two special guests in the band. The guests were Pete Cornelius and Rueben Koops. One of our students, Bailey Barnes, was also in the band playing guitar and played a solo.

We all practised three songs that were recorded on film and audio. Our first practise together was two weeks ago at St Marys District School. We can't wait to see and hear the finished product which will be a showcase of our work together.

Here are some quotes from students about their experience:

"I learnt about singing and it was fun to meet new people".
"I loved meeting old friends and making new ones".
"I loved the recording studio".
"I learnt that music isn't just noises made by people. It's a lifestyle.
Thank you Scotch, Bicheno and St. Marys"; "I made three new friends and the experience was unforgettable".

Thank you to all the teachers and staff who helped this years Combined Schools Choir Project. We had a ball and hope to do it again next year.

Written by Kiara Woods, Amy Norris and Miss Meleisea. Contributions by SMDS Choir.

Choir

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Choir

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Please follow the link below to view a video recorded by the ABC of the Combined School Choir practice.

GRADE 7-10 ATHLETICS 2016

Grade 7-10 Athletics Carnival

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Grade 7-10 Athletics Carnival

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Grade 7-10 Athletics Carnival

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Grade 7-10 Athletics Carnival

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ARTS ON TOUR 2016

A huge thank you to all the students and teachers who helped with the Arts on Tour sets for 2016. This year we painted backdrops for a play based on Cinderella. Mrs Lewis co-ordinated the execution of designing the sets and the following people helped paint in the designs:- Jill Lewis, Isabelle Jarvis, Craig Freiboth, Alicia Lowe, Nikayla Dawson, Jade Kinnersly, Sophie Guy, Lily-Mae Hayes, Isabelle Booth, Freya Prebble, Dan Flavel, Jeff Green, Shariha Lampard, Jerrome Smith and Ash Thompson

Set Designs

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Set Designs

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CHILD CAR SEATS

Tips and information from RACT

On Thursday, Tim from RACT came to Launching into Learning to offer free safety checks on child car restraints and installations. He was amazing and gave us great safety advice. Including:

• The tether strap that goes over the seat and attaches at the back of the seat, via a bolt, should NOT be really tight. It needs a SMALL amount of room to allow some flexibility. If it is pulled really tight it will snap/break in an accident.
• The lap sash/seat belt that is threaded through the back of the child restraint should be tight. It should also have either an H clip to hold the shoulder sash of the seatbelt down with the lap sash, or a new “Lockie” clip (available from RACT) that clips into the buckle of the seatbelt holding the lap sash fast.
• Child car restraints have a life of 10yrs from date of manufacture – even if the straps look fine, the resins that hold the child car seat together will have deteriorated and will not be reliable in an accident.
• TWISTS in ANY seat belt (child or adult) will essentially turn the seatbelt into a knife and cut through clothes/skin/flesh in an accident. Ensure all seatbelts are untwisted.
• When to move up to a booster seat – always go on height and weight recommendations. If the child’s knee bend is still on the seat and not on the edge of the seat, they are not ready to move up.
• LAP SASH centre seat belts that do not have the shoulder sash are UNSAFE for children not seated in a child restraint – however, they are safe for securing child car restraints. In an accident, a child/adult wearing only a lap sash seat belt may receive internal injuries.
• Seat belts should cross over the hip bones and collar bones to be effective in an accident.
• If all back seats are occupied and you need to use the FRONT PASSENGER SEAT for a child who is not yet 12yrs old – put the seat as far back as possible – this will put greater distance between the seat and the air bag, should it be released.
• DRIVERS and AIRBAGS – you need 30cm between your chest and the horn on the steering wheel. If you sit too close, the airbag will hit you in the chest at 200km per hour and injuries may be severe.
• LEGS/FEET should never be resting on the front dash – in an accident the airbag will propel your legs back into your face.
• ISOFIX will soon be available in Australia. Many cars built after 2006 may have the ISOFIX connection points on the left and right sides of the back seat. ISOFIX is a child car restraint that can seat a child up to 4yrs old.
• Any seat belt that is frayed, cut or has holes should be replaced.
• Always remove bulky jackets before putting a seat belt on. This reduces the risk of the belt slipping off the shoulders in an accident and the passenger flying out.
• Holding a baby in an accident at 60km/hr is equivalent to holding 20 bags of cement, always put them in an approved child restraint.
• If you think your child restraints are not fitted correctly, RACT can install child safety restraints for $30.

A massive thank you to Tim O’Neil and RACT for conducting these checks with unlimited kindness and free of charge. Every car restraint Tim checked needed alterations of some kind! We are extremely grateful.

St Marys District School has a new app!

SZapp is a great way to keep up to date with all of our latest news and information. Using SZapp will give you easy access to information such as:

• Newsletters on the go
• Latest News & Reminders
• Calendar
• Event Bookings
• Absentee and Contact Forms

SZapp

Learn how to install the app

Apple Devices:

1. On your device, open the App Store.
2. Search the App Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.

Android Devices:

1. On your device, open the Play Store.
2. Search the Play Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.

Find your School

Select your school's region.

Search for and select your school.

Register a User

Before you can add your school, you will need to register.

Enter your email and name.

Create your password.

Confirming your Email Address

Once registered you will be sent an email to confirm your email address. Open your mail program and click/tap the URL to confirm.

Upon completion, you will then be shown a confirmation screen.

Allowing Permissions

Upon installation of the update, you will be asked to allow access to storage on your device. This is required to ensure that SZapp can access the necessary files to store crucial data on your device.

Please click the affirmative options on each pop-up.

Note: The pop-up message you see may differ depending on your device.

Managing Notifications

Choose which group/s you would like to receive notifications from.

Groups with arrows indicate that there are sub-groups which you can join.

Home

The Home tab displays the most recent news item and links to important school information and tools.

Feed

The Feed tab shows a summary view of all news items which you have subscribed to.

Manage

The Manage tab allows you to customise what information shows in your news feed and what push notifications you will receive.

For more information please view our FAQs

Click here to download a printable Installation Guide

Click here to view SZapp FAQs

NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME

St.Marys District School have been contacted by a National Disability Insurance Scheme Project administrator offering to run an information session at St Marys District School for anyone who would like more information about the NDIS.

The NDIS may be available to children on the Severe Disability Register, but may also be available to other students who require additional speech therapy, equipment etc.

The NDIS look forward to working in partnership with parents and schools to provide a better life for students with disabilities.

If you would be interested in attending an information session regarding the NDIS, please contact Ros Smith on 63 723 900 and we will then let you know when the providers are able to visit.

POSITIONS VACANT

CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER BICHENO LIBRARY

2 positions advertised on 2nd November