Welcome back to the 2024 school year. It has been a smooth transition for our students as they get back into the structure and routines.

I would like to welcome the following staff to Exeter Primary School.

Mrs Lara Boyden – Kinder

Mrs Mel Eastley – Grade 3/4

Miss Hollie Singline – Teacher Assistant

Miss Christie Pentland – Teacher Assistant

Mr Craig Clifford - Teacher Assistant

Welcome Back BBQ

The School Association is hosting a welcome back BBQ for families, Thursday February 22. Classrooms will be open for families to visit to meet the teacher and get to see your child’s new learning environment. If you are wanting to speak with the classroom teacher about your child’s progress, please feel free to make an appointment outside of the open classroom time.

4.30 – 5.30	Open Classrooms
5.00pm – 6.00pm	BBQ serving – Sausage, Vegie Sausages available

Attendance

Good attendance habits can sometimes be hard to stick. But creating a solid routine, from the start of Term 1, can set your child up for success for the year ahead.

Check out these tips for starting the year off right.

Make every school day count
Get your child excited for school
Talk to your child about school
Celebrate the milestones
Talk to your child’s teacher or principal
Know when to seek help.

Find out more here: anything.tas.gov.au/schools

#BrightLivesPositiveFutures #EverySchoolDayMatters

Volunteers – Safeguarding Training

We are extremely fortunate to have volunteers who make themselves available to support the learning of our students in classroom and on excursions. It is now a requirement for volunteers to undertake Mandatory Reporting Training to be active in the school environment.

We all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe. 

This year, there is important training that anyone who works with children or young people must complete. This includes all our volunteers and service providers.

The training is compulsory under new laws designed to better safeguard children and young people in Tasmania.

It will help you understand what to do if you believe a child or young person is or may be being harmed, and to make sure you are doing all you can to prevent this from happening. The training will also tell you what you must report under the new laws. 

This simple, online training must be done as soon as possible, and you will need to complete it before you work with any children and young people this year.  

Once completed, you will receive a certificate, which you can save. 

To complete your training, simply visit Safeguarding Training.

If you have trouble accessing the training video, please contact the school office. In the coming weeks we will offer sessions in our Computer Lab for members of our school community to support the new obligations. Please keep an eye out for these sessions.

Volunteers Required

We require volunteers in the following areas of the school to support our student learning.

Uniform Shop
School Garden
Breakfast Club

If you have or are in the process of obtaining a Working with Vulnerable People Card and have completed the Safeguard Training, please contact the office for more information.

Student Validation Forms

It would be appreciated if these forms are returned to school as soon as possible. If you can complete the forms with as much detail as possible this will help the school in future decision making to assist student learning. Some of the information which is provided helps with the funding of school resources, particularly current employment information of parents / carers. We understand that this is sensitive information. If you have any concerns or questions about the forms, please contact the office staff.

Merit Certificates Thursday 15 February, 2024

Grade 3/4 Atkinson	Sam, Ivy-Rose, Jacinta
Grade 3/4 Duncan	Leyland, Gypsi
Grade 3/4 Eastley	Lucy, Ashton
Grade 3/4 Zandavar	Ellie, Rhiannon, Archie, Axel
Grade 5/6 De Haan	Cedar, Autumn
Grade 5/6 Gee	Whole class
Grade 5/6 Petrohilos	Indy, Layla, Whole class
Grade 5/6 Wood	Isabella, Floyd

Our Prep to Grade 2 students are invited to participate in our Optional Swimming Programme from 12 March until 27 March.

This will be conducted in our Exeter Primary School pool and the swimming instructor will be Christie Pentland, a qualified swim instructor.

The cost is $45.00, invoices will be posted out shortly.

Payments or a payment plan must be made before March 12 for your child to participate in this programme.

Timetables and invitations for parents to assist with their child’s class will be sent home in the coming days. All volunteers MUST have a current Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) card which will need to be shown to Admin staff on the first day of volunteering and Safeguarding Training.

Please note that new WWVP registration can take 3-6 weeks to process.

Thank you, Belle, for your beautiful Welcome to Country in our 3-6 Assembly today.

Home reading start next Monday, 19 February in Prep to Grade 6 classes. Students are encouraged to read a variety of texts- home readers, novels, webpages, magazines, recipes, song lyrics…. Please support your child to establish this important regular routine- on the couch after school, in bed at night, even in the car waiting for after-school sport or an appointment. Make 1 entry in the Nights of Reading Log per day.

This year’s rewards are-

50 Nights = Canteen slushy & certificate

100 nights= $3 canteen voucher & certificate

150 nights= Canteen slushy & certificate

200 nights= $10 Book Club voucher & certificate

The Reading Leaders will also plan some other exciting reading events during the year.

Happy Reading!

A firefighter from the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) is visiting our school for two weeks starting from Monday the 26^th of February to present a Home Fire Safety Program to our Prep to Grade 6 students.

Kindergarten students, whilst not receiving a structured lesson, can expect a visit from the firefighter who will leave some free fun activites for the students to complete.

The age appropriate program is designed to raise fire awareness in children and includes fun in class activities, videos, activity books, website www.tfseducation.com.au and giveaways.

Parents and other family members are also encouraged to participate by reading the information and assisting your child with the after school activities.

The TFS aims to deliver appropriate fire safety education to every primary school child in Tasmania and is part of the TFS’s ongoing commitment to create a fire safe Tasmania.

Key Fire Safety Messages include,

Wake up - Install a smoke alarm in every bedroom

Plan and practice a home fire escape plan with the whole family

In a fire crawl low and go, go, go to the nearest exit

In an emergency call triple zero

Keep flammable material at least two metres from the heater

If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop, rock and roll

Keep matches and lighters away from children

Cooking - Turn it off before you turn away

Cool a burn under cool water for at least 20 minutes

Most house fires can be avoided. Make your home fire safe

More information www.tfseducation.com.au