15 March 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Grade 5/6 Opportunities

Last week was a busy week with our annual Grade 6 Hobart Camp and our inaugural Grade 5 Challenge Day at Camp Clayton. As always The Hobart Camp was a great success with students having the opportunity to participate in some authentic history experiences at Historic Port Arthur and the Cascade Female Factory. We should never under estimate the value of such experiences and the flow on learning that happens as a consequence. The Grade 6 team are skilled educators and manage to capitalise on all learning opportunities. I am sure you will see the results in your child’s classroom over the coming weeks. As well as the curriculum focus, camps and excursions also offer wonderful opportunities for students to engage in social learning, getting along with others, problem solving, building resilience and tolerance are just some examples of the social skills students can develop. School camps are also a valuable opportunity for students to develop independence by being away from home and learning to manage situations for themselves. Whilst some children are used to staying away from home, for many the Hobart camp is their first time staying away from home. A big thank you to our Grade 6 parents for your continued support of this opportunity.

Our Grade 5 students had a great day last Friday at Camp Clayton with the highlight of the day being the survival challenge. I was pleased to hear how well our students worked together and persevered to complete the challenge. We are hoping this trip will become an annual event and are grateful to our generous Parent and Friends Committee for their monetary support.

Grip Leadership Year 6

Two weeks ago all our Grade 6 students attended the Grip Leadership Conference held at the Tailrace Centre. This conference provides our students with opportunities to learn about themselves, recognise their strengths and build leadership skills. The conference is very popular with many schools from the Launceston area attending. Students are challenged to think, problem solve and generate new and interesting ideas. It is these skills that they will put to good use in the up-coming student leadership selection process. As last year, students will be asked to nominate for leadership positions, including, house captains and peer support leaders. All candidates will be interviewed by a selection panel and candidates selected. Information has now been shared with students.

Steve Biddulph - Raising Boys

It was fantastic to see so many people at last week’s evening session with Steve Biddulph. People had travelled from as far as the north-west coast and the south to hear Steve speak. For those of you who were in attendance I’m sure you would agree that Steve’s stories, and down to earth advice are both thought provoking and affirming. As Steve winds up his speaking career, events such as these will become rare, so we are indeed very fortunate to have these opportunities. Don’t forget Steve will be returning to us in June to speak on Raising Happy Families so watch out for tickets sales through the newsletter and Facebook so you don’t miss out!

National Day Against Bullying

Every year Exeter Primary School marks the National Day Against Bullying. As a school we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for our students, staff and families, not just for one day but every day of the school year. This is reflected in our School Vision statement: To work together to build a connected school community focussed on learning for all in a respectful and supportive environment. This statement illustrates the emphasis we put on respectful relationships and all staff are mindful of this in every interaction they have with students, staff and parents. Students see these respectful interactions modelled and understand that this is an expectation at Exeter Primary School. With this in mind we expect that all parents behave in a similar way and model respectful interactions for their children and others. This week teachers will be working with students on how to stand up to bullies and Mrs Peart has been working with all our students to produce a mural which will be displayed on the railing outside the Grade 5/6 classrooms.

Quality Teaching and Learning – Numeracy Results

For the past 2 years our teachers and teacher assistants have been focussed on providing a quality mathematics and numeracy program for the students at Exeter Primary School. As a school we have invested in quality professional learning, provision of quality resources, collaboration with other schools and learning institutions and a lot of whole school research and teacher collaboration. As a result of this work we have developed some strong whole-school processes around the teaching of problem solving, have robust assessment and monitoring processes and a school-wide commitment to improving teaching and learning. At Exeter we have studied the work of Dylan Wiliam, a leading educational researcher, and the following quote reflects our collective thinking, “If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” Our work in this area continues but we were very pleased to be recognised as one of 16 Tasmanian schools to have achieved ‘significantly high gains’ in the 2016 NAPLAN. Exeter Primary School made significant high gain in Year 5 Numeracy and these results are now on the Myschool website. Please see the link below:

ARC Project

As you would be aware last year we commenced our involvement with ARC Project. This is a research project that sees Exeter Primary School, and some other schools within the Tamar Region, work in partnership with the University of Tasmania and Deakin University in Victoria to look at ways to support students to improve their learning and wellbeing. Last year our Grade 5 and 6 classes worked with Dr Tracey Muir from UTAS and focussed on mathematics teaching and learning. This year there will be a greater focus on student goal setting. This is directly in line with our current work on formative assessment. So that progress can be monitored, students will be surveyed annually to examine the extent and direction of change. The project is funded by the Australian government with support from Anglicare. Grade 5/6 students will be surveyed again this term. As part of our involvement in this project a group of our 5/6 teachers will travel to Bendigo at the end of the month to visit schools in Bendigo that have been involved in this project previously to see what they have achieved.

Dogs in the School Playground out of Hours

During weekends and school holidays many people take the opportunity to walk their dogs through our beautiful school grounds. As a school community we are very happy for this to happen but would appreciate your courtesy in cleaning up after your dog. To help with this we have recently installed two ‘doggy bag’ stations, one on the oval and another at the other end of the school, for your use.

We appreciate your support in keeping our school grounds clean and child friendly.

Kind regards

Lift

We are pleased to advise Steve will again be with us for his final parent talk at Exeter Primary School on Thursday 8 June. This time he will speak on The Secret of Raising Happy Children. We will be advertising the sale of tickets soon so keep your eyes on our newsletter or on our Facebook page. We are also waiting to receive some copies of Steve’s books Raising Girls and Raising Boys and will advise you when we receive them for sale through our school office.

Respectful School

March 17th is National Anti-Bullying Day. At Exeter Primary we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone.

Sometimes, it can be difficult for parents or carers to know what to do when their child talks to them about bullying.

You are an important part of our work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone.

If your child talks to you about bullying:

1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need to: who, what, where, when. Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to your child.
2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.
3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.
4. Visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.
5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.

Check in regularly with your child and keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.

At Exeter Primary this week our classes have been watching the new video Bullying is NEVER OK! This animated video helps students learn what bullying is and what to do if you are bullied. Here is the link to the video for you to watch.

Our students have also placed their handprint on our anti bullying slogan mural ‘Be a hero every day, tell the bullies NO WAY!’ These mural boards will be displayed in our courtyard outside our 5/6 classes.

In our last whole school Zones Assembly, students from our 1/2 classes shared some work they had completed in class to help them work out the strategies they could use to self-regulate and get themselves back into the Green Zone. In 1/2 Johns the class read the story Mr Huff by Anna Walker. Here Thomas, Max and Oliver share the strategies they use to get back into the Green Zone.

In 1/2 Gray/Crawford Stella, River and Rosemary were also learning what strategies they could use to get back into the Green Zone. Here they are reading their writing for you.

Canteen

Looks what been happening in our Canteen

From apples donated from our welcome back BBQ, stewed and added to muffins and apple cake.

Our Learning Community

Birthdays

Support Services

School Nurse

My name is Juanita Du Vergier, and I am happy to say that I am your primary school health nurse. As the nurse for your school community, I will be working with your child’s teacher on a variety of health promotion programs such as healthy eating, being sun smart, hygiene, puberty, resilience building, relaxation techniques, healthy relationships and mental wellbeing. I can also meet with your child for a health assessment. Health assessments are available to any child in primary school on request.

If you have a concern with any health matter, please feel free to collect a consent form from the office. The consent form will provide me with some helpful background information into how I could best work with your child. This is a confidential service. I can discuss all sorts of parenting topics, such as toileting, nutrition, sleep problems, behaviour and child development, just to name a few.

I am at Exeter Primary School every Tuesday and I invite families to drop in and chat with me, alternatively collect a confidential consent form from the office and I will phone you to discuss.

Juanita Du Vergier
Primary school health nurse program.

Sport

Athletics Information

Friday 17/3

Grade 5/6 1500m, 10am-11am

Friday 17/3

Grade 3/4 Long Jump/Vortex 11.45am-12.45pm
Grade 5/6 Shot Putt 1pm – 1.40pm
Grade 5/6 Long Jump/Vortex 1.50pm-3pm

Tuesday 21/3 K-2 Athletic Carnival, 9.20-11.00am

Events for 3-6 Athletic Carnival on Friday 24th March

9.20am-10.20am - Grades 3-6 - 800m
10.20am-11.00am - Grades 3-6 - 100m

Recess

11.40am-12.15pm - Grades ¾ - 200m (Gr. 5/6 Nov.)
12.15pm- 12.50pm - Grades 5/6 - 200m (Gr. 3/4 Nov.)

Lunch

1.50pm-2.10pm - Grades 5/6 - 400m
2.10pm-2.40pm - Grades 3-6 - Relays
2.45pm-2.50pm - Presentation

• Novelties include House Tug-O-Wars and mixed relays such as Bridge Rock Tree, Sack Race, Egg & Spoon, Skipping, Rock and Baton Relay.
• These events will be held on the infield of the oval gaining House Points but no ribbons.

These are approximate times only

Peter Habel

Parents

K-2 Hats in the Playground

We have noticed a number of children without hats in the playground at recess and lunch times. As it has been very hot and sunny it is essential every child has a School Hat to protect them during these outdoor times and during PE. We also have our Athletics Carnival coming up and we need to be prepared for these outdoor events. Please can you check if your child has a School Hat during Term 1 and contact the School Office if you need a replacement.

Thank you and remember to stay sun safe.

Kindergarten Examiner Photo

We have been notified of a change of date by the Examiner for the 2017 Kindergarten Feature. This will now appear on Friday 24 March.

Examiner Feature Story Time

We will be featuring two of our Exeter Primary School Student’s work in the Examiner this week with a new feature called Book Review. Hannah-May Crowden (Grade 3) and Isaac Leslie (Grade 6) will feature their book reviews in this week’s newspaper with Scary Night and The Red Pyramid. Watch out for this fantastic feature coming up this week.

School Photos

Reminder school photos will be taken on Wednesday March 22. School uniform and a smile is required.

It’s on Again!

The Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts Inc. and Brixhibition invite all Primary School students in Northern Tasmania are to compete in a Lego Competition running in the first term of 2017. Students who wish to enter the competition are required to have their Lego creation completed and ready for judging with their completed entry form at school by Monday 27 March 2017 the winner will be announced on Friday 31 March 2017. The Schools Lego Challenge Winner is invited to display their winning Lego creations at Brixhibiton Launceston on Saturday 22 April and Sunday 23 April 2017 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Entry forms can be collected from the office.

Book Club

The second issue of book club for 2017 has been sent home. If you would like to place an order, please put your child's and teacher’s name on the front of an envelope, place the order sheet and money inside the envelope and bring to the school office by

Wednesday March 22nd

Please read flyer below as there is a new online ordering system available for all parents to use.

What’s Happening Outside of our Classrooms?

School Association

Exeter Primary School Parents & Friends

You may have noticed in the recent school levies invoice that the opportunity to make an optional donation to the Exeter Primary School Parents & Friends

fundraising committee was not listed. Due to a change by the Department of Education we are no longer able to ask for this voluntary contribution on the school levy invoice. This money has been an important part of our annual fundraising budget, so we want to give you an opportunity to make this donation should you wish.

A letter with an envelope will be disturbed very soon and we invite you to make a donation of $5 per child, or $10 per family for the 2017 academic year. The envelopes can be returned to your child’s teacher or the school office at your earliest convenience.

The donation is entirely optional and below you will find a list of just some of the ways the money has been spent on our children and school so you know how they are benefiting.

GRADE 6 LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, TRANSPORT TO SPORTING EVENTS, WATER FOUNTAIN, ART EQUIPMENT, CLASSROOM IPAD’S, END OF YEAR PRIZES, BOOKS AND CLASSROOM EQUIPMENT, SPORTING EQUIPMENT, IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL GROUNDS, THANK YOU FLOWERS, GRADE 6 DINNER DONATION, TOYS FOR EARLY LEARNING, KITCHEN GARDEN ITEMS, CHOIR UNIFORMS.

Your support is much appreciated. Should you require a receipt, please write ‘receipt’ on the outside of the return envelope with your name.

For further information on the P&F Fundraising Committee or to get involved please email exeterprimaryparents.friends@gmail.com or ask at the school office. We welcome new help no matter how little time you have!

Community News

Flanagan & Chugg Taekwondo is a club that aims to provide Taekwondo for people of all ages and abilities.
Our club includes traditional Taekwondo, self-defence, as well as state and interstate competitions.
Please text Samantha on 0417 714 562, or come along to Exeter High school (Tuesday’s 5.00- 6.00) for a kick- your first lesson is free!