18 March 2020

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Whilst there is a wide variety of conflicting information within the community regarding COVID- 19 (Corona Virus), as a school community we are being guided by daily updates from the Department Of Education and Department Of Health. As a school we are encouraging and monitoring good hygiene practices:

To protect ourselves and each other, the best thing we can do is to make sure we are regularly washing our hands and refraining from touching our mouths and faces. Practising these simple steps can reduce the spread of illness by up to 80%.

We will be adopting strict hand washing protocols.

Students and staff will also be encouraged to limit personal contact and use their elbow to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze.

Hard surfaces in classrooms, such as door handles, keyboards, desks and chairs will be regularly wiped down.

As a school we are focussed on the core business of continuing our teaching and learning programs. Unfortunately due to the COVID – 19, extra- curricular activities have had to be cancelled or postponed until another time during the year. A letter will be sent to families outlining these separately.

At present the school will be open into the foreseeable future. The Department is continuing to provide up to date information for parents on the situation as it evolves. I suggest you follow the Departments Facebook page via the link below as well as the Alerts website page.

For the latest advice, information and resources about coronavirus go to the Australian Government Department of Health website at the link below and follow the link from the homepage.

For general information about coronavirus, including the national response, call the National Coronavirus Information Line on 1800 020 080.

Dates to Remember

Parents

After School Arrangements

We have recently had a number of students who have been unsure of their arrangements to get home, whether it is on their normal bus, a different bus or being collected from school and where they were to be collected from. We appreciate that sometimes these arrangements change. We ask parents to ensure their children are clear about their getting home arrangements and should these change, please record the altered arrangements in your child’s communication book, so they and their teachers are aware of the changes. Should arrangements change unexpectedly throughout the day, please ring our office and advise the altered arrangements so we can advise your children and their teachers. Thanks for your support with this matter.

Road Safety

Recently we have had a number of incidents where student safety has been at risk on the crossing or footpath outside our school, especially of a morning when students are walking to school. We ask all parents or family members who are dropping students off at school to be mindful of the safety of others by using the designated drop off areas, driving to the end of Glen-Ard Mohr Road to turn around and to stop at the crossing to let children cross safely. With 13 buses servicing our school daily the morning drop off can be very busy and we all need to take care to keep our children safe. Would parents please talk with their children about safe behaviours when getting off buses and walking on the crossing or footpath when coming to school. Check out the kidsafetas site for some information to talk about road safety with your children:

We also need to remind students of the importance of wearing helmets when riding their bicycle or scooters to and from school. Glen Ard Mohr Road is a busy road especially at peak times.

Thank for your assistance with this.

Home Reading

Congratulations to the many students who have reached the 20 nights of reading milestone!

Teachers will be celebrating and recognising this achievement in classes in different ways. When students achieve 50 Nights of Reading, they will need to post their log in the boxes provided in the Hallway opposite the Office, and they will receive a 50 nights Certificate from Mrs Smith or one of the Primary Reading Ambassadors.

Keep up the home reading (or car reading/ park reading/ beside the sports field reading!), and remember that the Reading Hub is open in the mornings for a reading turn with Mrs Smith, Mrs Danziger or one of the Student Reading Peer Leaders.

Book Club

Issue 2 of Book Club has been sent home. We apologise for the short notice but all orders will need to be into the School office by Tuesday 25 March in an envelope with your child’s name and class on the front. Spare copies are available at the office.

If you wish to have a “Secret Order” order please put your name and phone number on the order form with the class – Staff.

Pre- Kindergarten

If your child was born in 2016 they are eligible to attend our Pre-Kindergarten program. Sessions are held on Friday mornings, from 9-05 a.m. until 10-30 a.m. . Or 1-30 p.m. until 3 p.m.

Your child may attend one of these sessions on a weekly basis. Please contact the school office on 6394 4700, to book the session of your choice. Both sessions are held in the Kindergarten rooms and are facilitated by Mrs Shanley Freeman.

Participation in these sessions assists children become comfortable and confident with the school setting and helps them transition well into Kindergarten.

Term 1 Dates are:

Fridays – 20/3, 27/3, 3/4

No pre-kinder on 10/4 due to Good Friday

Healthy Mouth Healthy Me

Middle Years Literacy Program

Our MYLP is now in its third year. The initiative was established by the Department of Education to support associations of schools explore ways of teaching and learning that focus on literacy improvement, and which assist students to transition successfully from primary school to high school. So far, we have:

• developed, published and started to embed phases of our Common Instructional Model;
• developed our capacity to write high-quality learning intentions and success criteria so that students have a clear sense of what they are learning and why, and the quality of the work that is expected of them;
• familiarised ourselves with, and started using, strategies to help students reflect on and consolidate their learning; and
• developed and implemented a process for using data to inform the teaching of reading and numeracy.
• Also, students have participated in enrichment programs in science, art, STEAM and creative writing.

In 2020, we have four foci:

• to unpack and embed the other phases of our Common Instructional Model;
• to develop and publish materials that will help all our students develop good learning behaviours;
• to refine and consolidate our use of data to inform the teaching of reading and numeracy; and
• to continue the enrichment programs.

So far this year we have had two MYLP meetings. In the first, which was held on the student-free day on 4 February, the teachers from BPS, EPS and EHS met to unpack the ‘Teach and Learn’ phase of our Common Instructional Model, and to provide feedback on a draft of the student learning behaviours document. Last week, teachers from across the cluster met to discuss, and start planning for, data-informed teaching of reading and numeracy. Mrs Fox and Mrs Wivell from Exeter High School shared how they modify reading activities in English, HASS and Science to cater for students’ needs, and Mr Clarke and Mr Shorter shared their planning for small-group mini-lessons in reading. Two more MYLP meetings are planned for later this term, and a further 10 are planned for the rest of the year.

The MYLP continues to provide teachers at BPS, EPS and EHS with opportunities to develop, consolidate and leverage ways of working that improve the learning outcomes of all our students. We look forward to keeping you up-to-date about the great work our schools and teachers are doing in this space.

School Banking

Notice from CommBank School Banking

The health, safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people is our first priority. Due to the rapidly developing situation with coronavirus, School Banking has been temporarily paused from 20 March 2020 until the start of Term 2. Please do not bring your deposit book with your weekly banking into school and we will notify you when banking will recommence.

Sport

Letter from Newstead Athletics

16 March 2020

Dear Principal and Sports Coordinator,

The Newstead Athletics Club would normally at this time invite schools to participate in our Schools Cross Country Series Program.

However, the health and wellbeing of all of us is paramount. Due to the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic we therefore advise that the Newstead Athletics School Series events for 2020 is cancelled.

We are hoping that we can still hold our Northern All Schools Cross Country which we have scheduled for mid-June. We will assess at the end of April and advise should this be a possibility.

We look forward to your school’s participation in this series in 2021.

The health and wellbeing of all of us is paramount. Please stay safe.

Kind Regards

Barbara Clayton
Newstead Athletics
0408 238 329

Community News

Important information regarding West Tamar Council Youth Services

In the light of our current situation, all youth services provided by the West Tamar Council will be cancelled until further notice.

What services are included:

• School Holiday Program
• Beaconsfield Youth Centre
• Legana Youth Centre
• Youth Advisory Council Meetings
• Beaconsfield Youth and Community Festival 2020, and
• WTC/School programs and visits

The safety and well-being of our visitors, staff, volunteers and the community is our top priority. We will not announce a reopening date at this time but will be providing regular updates on our website and social media and through direct contact with our service providers.

Launceston PCYC's response to Covid-19

School Holiday Programme will continue at this stage. All classes have now been capped at 10 participants to reduce the risk of transmission. These programmes will provide your children a great distraction should schools close and with the small class size, should provide a safe space to engage with an activity with social distancing in mind. This may change depending on the position of the State Government.

Launceston PCYC
146 Abbott St, NEWSTEAD TAS 7250
Ph: (03) 6344 2411