8 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to the 2018 School Year!

Welcome back everyone and a special warm Exeter Welcome to the new families who have joined us this year. Welcome to Jasmine and Zachary, Isabella, Ivy and Willow, Benjamin, Mia and Noha, Sophie, Grayson, Elliot and Jay, Aubrielle, Lauren, Jack and Jessica, Tayah and Aalayah, Lexton, Declan and Natalia. We hope you enjoy being at our school as much we do! I trust that everyone has had a wonderful summer break and feeling refreshed and ready for a positive school year. A particular pleasure for me is to meet the students as they arrive at school on the first day and witness their enthusiasm and positive energy as they bounce into school.

I would like to thank families for ensuring that all our students where smartly dressed in our school uniform, it certainly engenders a sense of school pride and indicates that students are ready for learning. As I visited classes it was great to see students quickly settling into routines and getting themselves organised for learning. All teachers have been busy over the last week preparing their classrooms and planning ready for a positive start to the learning program. It is great to be starting the year with our existing staff and at this stage we have no new staff members. Please take the time early in the term to make contact with your child’s class teacher and communicate any information that might be important for the teacher to know about your child. Teachers will also be making contact with parents throughout Term 1.

Teacher Professional Learning

On Tuesday, this week, our teachers and teacher assistants worked with Dr Misty Adoniou from the University of Canberra. Dr Adoniou is an expert in the field of writing instruction, spelling and grammar and is supporting us in our work with Scaffolding Literacy. The Scaffolding Literacy program uses quality literature and picture books to teach elements of writing, spelling and grammar in context and in a way that excites and motivates students to learn. If you would like to know more about this approach please talk with your child’s class teacher.

2018 Learning Priorities

This year we will maintain our focus on Literacy and Numeracy instruction and classroom practices that support greater student engagement and self-efficacy and where the learning and teaching is student centred and targeted toward students’ particular learning needs. We will continue our work on the Zones of Regulation to further develop students’ abilities in recognising and regulating their emotions. Mr Clark has been very busy during the holidays planning for our Futures Education program this year so we are looking forwarding to seeing what new things will be happening in the realm of STEAM!

Launching into Learning

Katie Koch will be assuming the LiL role this year and has already begun planning some exciting programs for our little ones and their parents. The LiL room is now located in the Kindergarten area (the red brick building). Gym Fun has moved to the weekly time of 9.10 and our Water Fun program is beginning soon. Information will be shared on our Facebook page and you can contact the school office to register your interest in any of the programs.

Parent Room

Don’t forget our Parent Room is now available for parents to use through the school day. This room is equipped with a coffee machine and for the small cost of $2.00 you can purchase coffee, tea or hot chocolate! We will also be providing morning tea periodically so watch out for information on this on our Facebook page. The Parent Room provides a great space for you to catch up with friends, wait for your children to finish for the day or perhaps you have an idea for a visiting speaker or information session. Let us know your thoughts.

1/2 Playground

As you may have seen the work on our 1/2 playground commenced over the school holidays. Work is almost complete but we will need to make alternative arrangements for 1/2 students until all the work is done. This week you will not be able to access the 1/2 playground from the side Kinder gate. We are looking forward to a great new play area for our students. We will keep you updated on the progress.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the work of all of our non-teaching staff in the lead up to the new school year. Our office staff have been busy with enrolments and book sales over the past couple of weeks and our school attendants and groundsperson have been working hard to ensure that the school is clean and beautifully presented ready for students and teachers. A special thank you to the teacher assistants who helped with book sales and our wonderful uniform shop volunteers for being available to parents for uniform supplies.

Thank you to all our families for their continuing support of our school and as always I welcome any feedback or suggestions. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, myself or a member of our leadership team and remember a conversation had early can often prevent a problem from escalating.

I look forward to seeing you all soon and please make a note in your diary for our Welcome Barbecue which will be held on Tuesday 27 February.

Best wishes

Online Ordering Reminder

Hats for Term 1

Term 1 will see Exeter Primary students and staff wearing hats and being Sunsafe for all outside activities. If a student does not have a hat, a new one can be purchased from the Uniform Shop which is open on Tuesdays from 8-30 am until 9-30 am or Thursdays from 2-30 pm until 3-30 pm. Hats cost $10-00.

Scholastic Book Club Issue 1

UTAS Pre-Service Teachers

Exeter Primary enjoys a strong relationship with the University of Tasmania and provides Pre-service teachers with the opportunity to increase their familiarity with the school context and to further develop their understanding of teaching practice in relation to the Australian Standards. Pre-Service Teachers are able to observe and then building their understanding and knowledge of student learning with the support of an experienced colleague teacher to guide them.

Once again we will be supporting students in their first school practicum which starts on Tuesday 6 February and concluded on Monday 13 March. This practicum provides students with experience on how students commence the year in a new class and how relationships are built and classroom routines established.

The Pre-service Teachers working with us this term are:

Laura Priestly with Jo Howell in Kinder
Emily Down with Jane Upson in Prep
Liam Connolly with Fran Massey in 3/4
Reuben Koops with Vicki Gee in 3/4
Sophie Rugari with David Duncan in 3/4
Oliver Wood with Jill Wivell and Peter Habel in 5/6

Please Note: School Calendar Dates

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