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PRINCIPAL NEWS
Dear Families,
Our children and staff have made a wonderful start to our new term of learning! I do hope you are keeping up to date via our school Facebook page, where we showcase many of the exciting experiences our children are engaging in throughout the week. Today’s book parade was captured beautifully – thank you for supporting your children in this wonderful event!
2021 Class Structures and Placements
It is that time of the year where the team finalises class structures and begins the complex task of constructing our classes for 2021. Families are asked to contact the office as soon as possible if circumstances have changed and children will not be continuing their learning with us next year. Our class placement process is included below, for your information and attention (TPS 2020 Parent Handbook, p.29)
Decisions regarding class placement for the new school year are made using the following process:
- Teaching staff will place students in a class group taking into consideration the educational needs of the child, the social & emotional needs of the child, the balance of student abilities within the class group and the balance between boys and girls in each class group.
- In the first two weeks of November of each school year, parents will be given the opportunity to make a class placement request for their child for the following year. This should be communicated to the Principal either by letter, email or a formal meeting. A class placement request will only be considered on educational grounds, not individual class teacher preferences.
- After teachers have initially placed students in a class group for the following year, the Principal will review class placements in light of any specific parental requests. Not all class placement requests can be met and ultimately the final decision rests with the Principal.
- Final class placements are announced in the last week of Term 4. No changes will be made unless an obvious error has occurred.
End of Year Assemblies
Due to COVID Restrictions, this year we are unable to host adult visitors / parents / carers to our End of Year Celebration Assembly, which was previously advertised to held in week 9 of Term 4. We apologise for the disappointment this decision may cause and are looking at new and creative ways that we can share and celebrate the end of the year as a school community. A communication will be sent out to the school community in the near future regarding this event.
The Year 6 Leaver’s Assembly will still be held, without dignitaries, and without the younger classes attending due to the current COVID situation. Year 5-6 classes will attend the assembly and Year 6 students will have the opportunity to invite a maximum of 2 adults to attend the event. Information about Year 6 leaver’s activities was emailed on Monday to all Year 6 parents. Please contact your child’s teacher if you did not receive this information.
TPSA Meeting 13 October 2020
In my Principal Report presented at last week’s TPSA Meeting, I thanked Nicholas Dunn, Sophie Dunn, Demelza Rafferty and families who came to the school during the school holidays to redevelop the Kindergarten sandpit and construct a raised garden bed at the Early Childhood entrance to the school. A significant amount of money was saved as a result of their generous donation of time and expertise to this project, and the end products are highly appreciated by staff, students and families.
Please read the Principal Report TPSA Meeting 13 October 2020 V2 for other information including:
- Infrastructure updates
- TPS Levies and Charges Policy 2021
- Year 6 Leadership Session at Kingsborough Sports Centre Thankyou
- Interschool Swimming and Athletics Carnivals
- Out of Area Enrolment Restriction
Student Safety: Riding and Walking to School
Last week, I had a visitor from Year 3-4 come to my office to share a ‘scary’ event that happened to them whilst riding to school. The student told me that they were riding on the footpath behind others and there was an unexpected slowing in front. This ended up in a small clash of bikes and the student accidentally ending out on the road. Although not hurt, the student was shaken up and came with a parent to talk with me about what happened. We agreed that it would be useful to share this story in today’s newsletter to remind everyone about walking and riding safely to school and to encourage everyone to keep an eye out for others using the paths during busy times.
Have a lovely Show Day holiday tomorrow, Thursday 22 October, and a reminder that Friday 23 October is a Professional Learning Day for staff, therefore students do not attend school. Please contact Lady Gowrie directly if you require care for your children on Friday.
Best wishes
Danielle Bresnehan
Principal
Taroona Awards
Congratulations to the following students who received an award at our last Assembly.
- Creativity – Esperance R, Tess L.P, Romy C, Anja M and Bren R
- Respect – Aydin A, Esther M, Lucas P and Emma S
- Resilience – Violet D, Alexandra W and Raewyn W
- Collaboration – Oliver F, Maisie D and Maliyah C
- Excellence – Nick D, Xavier S, Will T, Ted J, Finn S, Olive C, Eliza C, Eliza M, Leila E, Sylvie T, Hudson M and Samuel W
Zones of Regulation
In our previous newsletter we explored how our feelings and states determine our Zones. Today’s post is focused on calming tools to stay in a zone or move from one zone to another. At school, students have their own “tool box” to manage the zone(s) they are in. Here are some examples of tools that can be used.
Lazy 8 Breathing – Deep breathing can be a great tool to help kids calm and regulate their mind and body. Start with the 8 on it’s side and start in the middle. Go up to the left and trace the left part of the 8 with your finger while you breathe in. When you get to the middle of the 8 again, breathe out while you trace the right part of the 8 with your finger.
Colouring Mandala – Colouring has the ability to relax the fear centre of your brain, the amygdala (Lizard Brain). It induces the same state as meditating by reducing the thoughts of a restless mind.
Fidgets – The idea behind fidget tools is that it provides a sensory experience to increase self-regulation, attention, participation and performance.
Putty/Playdough –The movement and soothing feel of putty can quickly ease kids and adults. It is something that can be physically manipulated for sensory feedback.
Feather Breathing – Rest a single feather in the open palm of your hand, holding it just below the chin. Breathe normally. Watch the feather closely and notice how it moves. You are observing your inhale and exhale as the feather moves.
Stress Balls – When we are stressed, our bodies tense up and we physically clench. A stress ball prompts you to squeeze and release, which can leave you feeling less tense. The benefit of squeezing is that it release some kind of energy. It also induces you to relax.
For more information: https://www.zonesofregulation.com/index.html
e-Safety: Snapchat (13+ minimum Age)
Outside of school, many children in our upper primary classes are using Snapchat, a messaging app that lets you send images, videos or instant text messages to friends . These images, videos and messages are only available for a short period of time once they are opened. You can also use filters on your images and upload photo and video stories that last for 24 hours before they disappear. Businesses and organisations can create their own channels. Content posted to Snapchat is not as temporary as it may appear, as users can save chats or screenshot them without the sender knowing. Adult content can also be accessed in the app.
The eSafety Commissioner website has a page for parents and carers about Snapchat which covers:
- How people use Snapchat
- How to report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone
- How to protect your personal information
- Key safety tips, including a Parent Guide to Snapchat
More information is available at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide/snapchat
CLASSROOM NEWS
2A
This term Grade 2A have been enjoying Nature play at the beach. To launch our Term 4 Inquiry we joined in a ‘Water Chaser’s’ challenge:
- How deep can you dig do you need to dig to find water?
- How will you measure the depth of your hole?
- What other parts of your hole that you can measure?
- How can we organise our measurements as a class group?
We worked in small groups to dig our holes and then talked about why some of us reached water quicker than others. We talked about location, the tide and absorption. When we returned to class we added all our measurements together. Our grand total was 450cm!
Please click on the images below for further information.
5-6C
Please click on the link below to see what 5-6 Hughes have been loving about Nature Play.
https://padlet.com/philly_hughes/nature
LAUNCHING INTO LEARNING – Super LiL Term 4
Families are encouraged to come along and join in the fun with special sessions scheduled in Term 4. Click on the flier for full details!
Book Club
Book Club orders for Issue 7 need to be ordered via Loop or payment made to the front office by Friday 30 October. Please order as soon as possible to ensure that your child does not miss out.
TPSA NEWS
Please find below links to documents from the most recent TPSA Meetings
DRAFT TPSA Meeting Minutes 131020
Principal Report TPSA Meeting 13 October 2020
Please send all enquiries / correspondence to TPSAenquiry@gmail.com
UNIFORM SHOP NEWS
Uniform Ordering
We encourage all parents to order their children’s uniforms online via the QKR! App. Click here for instructions.
All orders received via QKR by 11am on Thursdays will have their order ready for collection at the School Office on Friday mornings. QKR is the preferred method to order uniforms at this time. Please note, no cash will be accepted in the Uniform Shop – only EFTPOS payments until further notice.
Uniform Shop
The TPS Uniform Shop is open on Thursdays from 2:45pm – 3:15pm. The Uniform Shop is located directly underneath the staffroom, accessible via the Early Childhood Playground and the Quadrangle.
Please note: The Uniform Shop will be closed for the remainder of Term 4 from the 4th December to allow for stocktake. If you require any urgent items after this date, please contact Katie Ferguson directly.
Volunteers
A call for volunteers is now out for the 2021 Back to School Sales days which will be held on Wednesday 27 January (PM), Thursday 28 January (AM) and Tuesday 2nd February (AM). If you are able to assist in helping with the sales days, please contact Katie to register your interest. We very much appreciate the support of the volunteers during these busy days.
Second-Hand Clothing
The second-hand clothing racks will be on display inside the uniform shop for purchasing. Second hand uniform purchases are very popular so please be mindful of the time spent viewing the racks. We will do our best to serve everyone.
Second-hand clothing donations are very welcome, these can be dropped into the School Office during office hours.
Uniform Item and Price Lists
Please click here for the current list of uniform items.
Please click here for the order form (manual processing) and price list.
Covid-19 Rules for the Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop is small with limited room to move around, so it is important we adhere to the current Covid-19 advice and ask that visitors follow the social distancing and hygiene measures in place at the school for visitors, parents and carers. ONLY two customers at a time are allowed in the shop, maintaining a physical distancing of 1.5 metres. A hand-sanitising station will be placed at the entrance of the shop and all customers must use this prior to entering. We kindly ask that customers be considerate of others waiting outside so please keep browsing time to a minimum. The shop doors will close at 3:15pm sharp.
If you have questions about school uniforms, please contact the Uniform Shop Coordinator, Katie Ferguson via email katieferguson@netspace.net.au
Changes to STAS Eligibility
The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, beginning in the 2021 school year.
The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment 
mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.
A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have.
Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055
SCHOOL INFORMATION
Student Absences
A reminder to parents/carers to advise the school office if their child is unable to attend school due to illness or any other reason.
- By phone (6227 8325)
- Email taroona.primary@education.tas.gov.au
A medical certificate is required if a child is absent due to illness for 5 days or more.
Signing Students in/out
To ensure we have an accurate record of student attendance, we ask that any student arriving at school later than 9:00am, or leaving for any reason during the school day, be signed in or out at the school office.
Messages to Students
If you need to get a message to your child, please contact the school before 2:15pm to ensure enough time for us to pass the message on.
Duty of Care
Please note that students are not to arrive before 8:30am. This is for the students’ protection and safety as there are no teachers on duty prior to 8:30am and classrooms remain locked until this time. Supervision is provided before and after school:
- Playground (EXCLUDING PLAY WEST & OVAL) 8:30 to 8:55am
- Car park & bus area 2:50 to 3:05pm
LADY GOWRIE
Lady Gowrie Taroona Before and After School Care operates from the hall each school day from 7:00-8:30 am (Before School Care) and 3:00-6:00 pm (After School Care), catering for children aged 4-12 years. We offer a safe and stimulating environment based on the children’s interests incorporating both indoor and outdoor play. We employ trained Educators and provide a nutritious breakfast and afternoon tea each day. Please contact the Lady Gowrie Outside School Hours Care Office on 6230 6806 or email us at oshc@gowrie-tas.com.au for more information.
Please click here for the Lady Gowrie Vacation Care Program.
To ensure the safety of our school property, please ring Crime Stoppers if you see anyone acting suspiciously in our school grounds.
