5 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Dear families

As this is the final newsletter for the term I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge what a productive term it has been. Term 1 is always busy as students and teachers settle into their new classes and begin the important process of accessing and planning for the learning program. Our teachers meet regularly in their grade teams to plan meaningful and engaging learning Lexperiences for students. Through grade team planning the learning experiences are aligned and student learning is continually accessed to provide information on where to next in the learning journey. This year we have placed a greater emphasis on student voice, and in many classes students are now involved in setting personal learning goals in literacy and numeracy. Thank you all the parents who have taken up opportunities to meet with their child’s teacher and who support their child’s learning at home by encouraging daily reading.

West Tamar Literacy Network

Last week the first combined staff meeting for teachers from Beaconsfield Primary, Exeter Primary and Exeter High Schools was held as part of the West Tamar Literacy Network. This is a project which will run over three years and aims to improve student reading outcomes across the three schools. The first step in this process is to develop a common instructional framework and build consistency of practice among teachers in our network. The professional learning session was planned and facilitated by Amy Sims, Tahlia Ross and Dave Shorter who are the project leaders in their respective schools. I will share more about this work as the project develops.

Athletics Carnivals

A big thank to Mr Habel for his exceptional organisation of this year’s athletics carnivals. As usual we had a strong turnout of families to support their children on the day and were lucky with the weather. Participation and sportsmanship was commendable and it was great to see everyone having a go to generate points for their house. This year Batman were triumphant and wrested the shield from Dalrymple. Mr Habel is now preparing the team to compete in the TPSSA Carnival on Thursday at St Leonards Athletics Centre.

ANZAC Assemblies

Commemorating ANZAC day is a significant Exeter Primary School tradition. As ANZAC Day falls in the school holidays we will be holding our school ANZAC Assembly on Thursday April 12 at 10.30 in the Performing Arts Centre. Parents and community members are invited to attend. Our choir and student leaders will also be attending Exeter High School’s assembly Next Tuesday April 10th at 11.15am.

On ANZAC Day our school choir will be performing at the Exeter RSL as it has done for many years and as a school we will be laying wreaths at both the Beaconsfield and Exeter 11 O’clock services. We look forward to seeing many of our families at these venues.

Exeter’s Got Talent

It is that time of year again when our students polish up their artistic talents ready for Exeter’s Got Talent! Students have been practising and auditioning for this year’s show and we are all waiting excitedly to see the successful contestants perform on Thursday 12 April at 1.45 in the Performing Arts Centre. A special thank you to Mrs Emms for organising the event again this year. Congratulations to all the students who have auditioned and to those who have made it through to the finals. A special congratulations to all the students who auditioned, enjoyed the process and learned new skills as a result.

Best wishes and I look forward to a great Term 2.

Assembly Awards

Growth Mindset Award

Recipients:
Bella and Isabelle

Class Awards

We congratulate the following students:

Launching into Learning

Athletic Carnivals

K-2 Athletic Carnival

The K-2 Athletic Carnival was very successful with the children enjoying a range of activities in good conditions. In just over an hour and a half students gave their best in 9 activities often competing many times at each station. It was good to see so many spectators able to follow their children around the oval.

A big thankyou goes out to the students on their performance, teachers on their organisation of classes and the Grade 6 Sports Leaders-Lachlan, Ben, Zayne, Brady, William, Matthew, Jack, Ashlee, Chloe, Sienna, Danielle, Fergus and Peer Leaders – Kayla R, Eliza and Adrian for assistance at the stations.

3-6 Athletic Carnival

Congratulations to Batman on winning the Grades 3-6 Athletic Carnival on Wednesday in ideal conditions. After a 7 year dominance from Dalrymple, it’s great to be able to add a different name to the shield. Dalrymple challenged all day before Batman finally won with a total of 1052 points to Dalrymple 872 and Brady 788. It was a pleasure to see the participation of nearly every student and the friendly rivalry and camaraderie amongst Houses. The cheering and barracking was a highlight with Mrs. Sims encouraging support on the microphone and the sportsmanship from all competitors was fantastic.

Congratulations to all students on your performances and behaviour. Thanks to parents, friends, staff and students for their support of the Carnival and to the parents who helped officiate. Thank you to Mr Chesshire on the preparation of the oval for both Carnivals.

In Division 1 events the standout performers were:

• Grade 3: Isabella, Stella, Max
• Grade 4: Keona, Grace, Lucy, Cameron, Jack, Abe
• Grade 5: Claire, Jessica, Quinn, Avery, Damon
• Grade 6: Chloe, Shania, Shani, Lachlan, Ben, Matthew, Callum

Tamar Carnival is Thursday 5th April at St Leonards, 10am-1.45pm.

Peter Habel

Brixhibition

Brixhibition Lego Challenge 2018

Congratulations to our 63 students who entered this year’s Brixhibition competition. This year Brixhibition changed the structure of the competition and we had 3 divisions based on age. There was also the opportunity for Teams to enter.

Our divisional winners are:

• Prep - Grade 2 - Aaron
• Grade 3 – 4 - Isabella
• Grade 5 – 6 - Bradley
• Overall Winner - Isabella

Isabella will be entering her representation of our school logo in the Launceston competition at the Albert Hall on Saturday April 21 and Sunday April 22. Our team entry by STEAM Cube will also be on display at the Albert Hall.

The divisional winners all receive a medal and all participants receive a certificate of participation. A big thankyou to our Student STEAM leaders who assisted in organising the display of entries, collating the votes to determine the winners of each section and ensuring all entries were returned to their owners. Here is a gallery of entries.

Parents

School Association

Parents & Friends

P&F MOTHER’S DAY STALL will be happening at school on Friday 11th May.

Each child will get the opportunity to come and purchase a gift for their mum, gran or carer.

The gifts are almost all hand made items that are amazingly packaged. We also have beautiful flowers. Gifts range from 50c to $10 so there is something for everyone. If you wish your child to make a purchase then please send them along with some money. A small group of talented mums put a lot of their time into making these lovely gifts and the stall is our second largest fundraiser of the year for our school.

CAN YOU HELP AT A WORKING BEE?

We are holding two 'Working Bee' days to assemble and put together some of the craft items for the stall in the Parent room at the Prep/Kinder end of the school. These will take place on Thursday 12th of April and Friday 4th May.

If you can spare anytime on those days between 9am and 2.30pm to lend a helping hand we would love to see you - there is lots to do! Plenty of room for small children to play and there is a coffee machine and good company!

Also - if you have any donations of good as new or new unwanted gifts that would be suitable for the stall please leave them at reception. Candles, soaps, pens, plants etc are always popular.

We are also always happy to hear off anyone who wants to help man the stall and serve the kids on the day - it's a busy day!

Many thanks for your support, please email exeterprimaryparents.friends@gmail.com with any queries.

Donna, Amanda, Cindy and the P&F

Entertainment Books

To order a book and collect your early bird vouchers please log on to the link below:

Pre-purchase orders who wish to receive early bird need to be placed by April 30 2018.

For every Entertainment Membership we sell, 20% is contributed to Parent and Friends.

If you do not wish to receive an Entertainment book home, please complete the yellow form sent home last week and return it to the office.

Coles Vouchers

If you have Coles Vouchers at home, please bring them to the school office. The Coles for School program is now completed and we must return all vouchers by April 12th. Thank you for your support.

Community News

Invitation: Social Media and Mental Health - 5th April 7pm FREE EVENT

Being held at The Tram Sheds Function Centre
4 Invermay Road, Launceston.

Are mobile phones bad for our mental health?
What can "digital footprints" tell us?
How can technology help us to stay well?

Dr Bridianne O'Dea is a mental health researcher at the Black Dog Institute, UNSW, in Sydney. In this presentation, Dr O'Dea will explain how social media platforms may be used to measure our mental health and prevent suicide.
Findings from key research projects will be presented.

Please follow the links below to view full details of this event.

This is ideal for students, parents, teachers, principals and everyone else.

This is ideal for Principals, Teacher, Parents and people that work with youth.