8 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to the 2018 School Year!

Welcome back everyone and a special warm welcome to the many new families who have joined us this year. We hope you enjoy being at our school as much we do! I trust that everyone has had a great summer break and are feeling refreshed and ready for a positive school year. A particular pleasure for me was to meet the students as they arrived at school yesterday and witness their enthusiasm and positive energy as they bounced into school and caught up with their friends and staff.

I would like to thank families for ensuring that all our students were 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. 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.

We are welcoming several new staff this year and I know our students, staff and families will make them feel very welcome here at Exeter.

Teacher Professional Learning

Earlier this week, our teachers and teacher assistants worked together to continue our journey on supporting our students wellbeing and our Zones of Regulation work as well as our Middle Years Literacy and Scaffolding Literacy journey. 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. We will continue to have reading and comprehension as a major focus this year. 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 to ensure learning and teaching is student centered 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 and being responsible for their behaviour and learning.

School Development

Over the holiday break we have completed a significant amount of improvements around our school. 3/4 Wheatley and 3/4 Zandavar have had new carpet as have 1/2 Atkins, 1/2 Crawford and 1/2 Doyle/Purtell and a new wall installed between the classes. 5/6 Alcock and 5/6 Geale/Clark have new blinds and been repainted, new furniture will be arriving shortly. We have retiled and replaced the toilets in the student toilets next to the library. Completed a large amount of painting in classes and outside and purchased sun blinds in our Art Room. The carpark at the kinder end of the school has been sealed and we are waiting for several other projects to be completed.

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. This year we will be having a great family event supported by our School Association instead of our family BBQ. Keep an eye out for more information about our Billy Bush Tea Band family night, on Thursday 28 March and be sure to mark the date in your diary!

Road Safety

At this time of year it is important that we are reminded about the importance of keeping our children safe on the roads, particularly around school buses and during school pick up and drop off. Glen Ard Mohr Road can be very busy between 8.30 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. each morning when we have 14 buses bringing children to school. Please be aware that the area in front of the school should not be used for parents to park and drop children off. If you are dropping children off please use the car park at the Kindergarten end of the school or alternatively you could use the carpark at the Community Centre next to our school oval. Remember you are in a 40 Kilometre zone.

If your children travel by bus can you please take the time to talk to them about how to remain safe on the bus, remind them to stay in their seats at all times and to use quiet bus voices. I would like to stress the importance of talking with your children about how to crossroads safely when getting on and off buses and I would also like to remind motorist to watch out for buses with their lights flashing which indicates that children are getting on or off the bus. The safety of our children is paramount so please take a moment to visit the following website.

Validation Forms

Thank you to all parents/carers who have already completed and returned this important form this week. Validation forms give the school updated emergency contact details, information regarding immunisations; required medications; permission for photo use in our newsletter and media sites such as Facebook and the DoE and permission to attend minor excursions. It is essential this form is returned as quickly as possible, even if details remain the same as previous years.

Best wishes
Helen

Hats and Sun Safety

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 $9-00.

Canteen

QKr Ordering

Reminder for parents to please update the student’s class in profiles to ensure lunches/uniforms are delivered to the correct class.

Banking

Book Club

Issue I of Book Club will be sent home this week. Orders are to be returned to our school office by Thursday 21 February. Orders to be in an evelope with your childs name and class clearly displayed.

Uniform Shop

Welcome back to school for 2019!

It was great to see so many people at the shop on Book/Uniform Sales Days; thank you for everyones patience on Wednesday. I would especially like to thank Matthew Crowden, Cindy Dunn, Fiona Stocker, Emily Stocker, Tina Bennett and Zanni Hayes for volunteering their time during the holidays to work in the shop.

We are grateful for all the parents, grandparents and carers who donated secondhand items for our $2 bins. Remember If you have pre-loved uniforms that you would like to sell on consignment, please drop them into the office or to us at the shop.

If you have any questions regarding sizes or fit and options available, please come in and see us on Tuesday mornings 8.30-10am or Thursday afternoons 2.30-3.30pm, or give us a call or email on exp.pf@education.tas.gov.au .

Susan O’Leary

Community News

Are you looking to join a Netball Club?
Heritage Islanders Netball Club is the club for you!

If you are aged between 8-16 years old, and want to have some fun, or learn a new sport, come along Thursday nights to Hobblers Bridge, Centre Court 1 at 4:30 pm.

Contact: Annette Griffin……0475 682123 for more information

Come along next Thursday 7th February at 4.30pm