3-4C have been developing our writing skills through a History unit on Tasmania. We have discovered when, how and why Tasmania was settled and how this impaced on the Palawa people.

In term 2, we discovered that we enjoyed writing poems and learnt about personification, metaphors and similes.

USB

Closed it sleeps on its side.
Strength of a Tiger.

Opened it grabs data,
It's tail strikes
like a demon to suck
detail, and looks
at the rainbow wires,
clawing at intelligence

Frank.

WAVE

The rough wave crushed the sand.
Why are you so angry?
The loud swirling
you made,
hurt my ears.
You splashed me hard
and got me wet.
Why did you hurt me?

Xavier.

Halfway through the year and what’s been happening in Drama? A lot. We’re still negotiating the covid rules around audience and performance, so the focus has been on building skills and awareness of what Theatre and Stage skills are in every class.
It was very exciting to be able to take a Year 7-8 group of Drama students to perform in the 2022 Launceston Speech and Drama Competitions at the Princess Theatre in Launceston.
On Tuesday, 10 May the 7-8 Drama class arrived at the Princess just before 9am. They had worked hard on getting a Creative Group performance together around the theme of “Money”.
It involved a variety of performance skills, including movement, mime, dialogue, scene work, music and physical theatre. To see the students on the stage, overcoming their nerves and the challenges they had faced during the rehearsal process to get their piece ready, was wonderful. They had become an ensemble of actors who supported each other. This only happens when students are committed and rehearse both in and outside of the class room. Congratulations to the 7-8 group, you were wonderful ambassadors for your school.
Ms Kelly Howell - Drama Teacher

In 1-2A, we have had loads of fun using different methods to complete our Maths work.
We have used things like; sticks, rocks, counters, blocks, each other, and everything we can to show our understanding.

Our favourite was making graphs out of Lego blocks and whiteboards.

Throughout Term 2, The primary ICT classes have been learning about how computer systems work. They have been investigating coding language and how coding language is used to build apps and programs.

As a final assessment piece, our learners developed their own video game using Scratch Coding. The ¾ classes built the timeless game Pong while the 5-6 Classes were tasked with generating their own game design. The classes were incredibly successful during this project, demonstrating creativity, collaboration and persistence whilst undertaking this challenging task.

I look forward to seeing what these young computer gurus can achieve in the final half of the year!

We are well and truly back into learning this term.  We have been able to have a very positive start with almost all our students engaging in the learning we are providing and certainly there has been a strong sense of pride in student work.  This was highlighted by the efforts of a number of students who were courageous enough to plan and put forward entries for the Tasmanian Science Talent Search.  We also had a number of students enter into the Australian Mathematics Competition which is happening towards the end of this week.

With the change over from the first half of the year to the second we have had timetable changes, which create teacher changes, for all our students.  Please assist your child/ren to approach these situations with positivity and with an open mindset to enable positive relationships to be formed.

I would like to welcome Mrs Priya Bindal (Senior Science), Mrs Susan Galea (Senior Maths/Humanities) and Ms Georgie Howard (Junior PE and Student Support) to our teaching team.  All these ladies, I know, will help provide consistency and quality learning opportunities for the classes that they are assigned.  It is important that in the current climate that we have people locked in to ensure continuity of learning is available.

We were a little concerned with attendance at the recent Parent Teacher interview sessions at the end of last term.  We appreciate people are busy in the current climate but the working partnership between families and school are a key driver in student success. Please continue to stay in touch with the school to best understand how your child is progressing and how you can assist.

Similarly, it is critical that if students are well and able, that they attend each day of school. If unwell then we require students to stay home in line with Health recommendations. We still have RAT tests available for students and masks too, should students elect to wear them or be required to in line with close contact protocols. Every day makes a difference.

We are having a strong focus on students being in uniform. Please ensure that your child is wearing school clothing to, at and from school, so that they are part of the 'team'.

We have started conversations with the DOE in relation to funding for our Classroom Renewal Blitz and Safe School Bathroom projects.  In addition, we are working collaboratively to design a whole school master plan to maximise our opportunities whenever they arrive. We are hopeful that by being proactive we can maximise our money in a tight building environment. This will mean that at the start of the 2023/2024 financial year we will be well on our way with the above projects.

We have recommenced our Milo Mondays which are held every Monday morning 8:30-9:00am in the Community Online Access Centre. All families and children Prep – Year 2 are welcome to come and read a book, play a game and enjoy a Milo.

It has been great to see so many families coming along and joining our Launching into Learning sessions too. We are always excited to have our community come into the school and for our early learners to start building connections with the learning process. If you know of any families who aren’t access this great opportunity please encourage them to come along.

Colin Pearson – Principal

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

Payment for school levies are due. The school will be contacting families with outstanding levies to make arrangements for payment.

If you are unable to pay in full, we are happy to take instalments. Please contact Leisa on 6395 0100 to arrange. Payments can be made at the school using cash, card or online via BPay.

Families with a Centrelink Health Care Card are eligible for financial assistance click here to apply online Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) (education.tas.gov.au).

You may be aware that this year is the first year that the All Schools State Cross Country Championships has had official photographers on the race course.

They photographed every race from 9 year olds through to U20. They can't be certain, but believe they captured a photograph of every student who raced. With over 5,700 images across the two days, there’s every chance that every student from our school could have a picture on their website.

As most parents would be unaware, we have included the link in the newsletter for you to peruse.

Access to the site is via this link:

www.photographtasmania.com.au/events

Families can then select either the Primary or Secondary school's event, then select the race that the student competed in.

Digital images start at $4 and prints start at $4.50.

Some sample photos are below.