4 November 2011

Dear Parents and Caregivers



Welcome everyone to the last term for 2011 and a warm welcome to those new families who have recently joined us. It has already been very busy at school.

Disco
The disco was well attended and lots of fun for the children. They were very tired at the end of their first week back but still had plenty of energy for dancing. Thanks go to the Home and School for organizing this and to staff who also attended.

Cricket
On Wednesday afternoon the children in Year 0 and 1 participated in some cricket skills sessions.

Full School Assembly
Rooms 1 and 3 will be performing a partner dance on stage that they have been learning with our Performing Arts teacher, Mrs Hooke, at Full School Assembly on Friday.

Reports
Teachers are currently writing reports on the children’s progress that they have made throughout the second half of the year. If your child has recently joined us in term 3 or 4 they will have a meeting with their teacher to discuss their progress instead of a written report.

At the end of week 7 your child will be bringing home their portfolio showing examples of the progress that they have made in a range of curriculum areas along with the report.

Next week
The children have started learning a variety of Athletics skills and will continue to do so each week. These lessons will be held on Monday afternoons (weather permitting) so please ensure that your child wears suitable shoes for this. The children will have the opportunity to show you what they have learnt later this term at our Athletics Sports Day.

National Nude Food Day
This will be launched on Wednesday November 9th. It is designed to educate children about healthy food choices and how these choices impact their own mental and physical well-being and the well-being of our planet.

As a Green Gold Enviro school we are also encouraging the children to have see through lunch boxes with compartments for different foods that do not require packets or gladwrap.

Scholastic Book Club
The children bring home pamphlets from time to time and if you wish to purchase any of the books that are featured please send your order and payment to the school office or your child’s classroom. Payment is by a cheque made out to ‘Scholastic Books’ or you can place your credit card details on the order form. We are unable to accept cash. Closing date of the latest order is November 9th. If you need items to be kept aside for Christmas without your child’s knowledge please let us know.

Hats, Sunscreen and Water
Thank you for ensuring that your child has a named sunhat to wear at school each day. As part of our Inquiry about keeping ‘Sunsmart’ your child will be learning about the importance of protecting their skin from the U.V. rays. You can administer sunblock on your child before they leave home each day and they can also bring along some in their school-bags, which they can reapply during the day. Please ensure that it is named. As the weather is getting warmer we are encouraging the children to drink more water so please make sure that your child has a named drink bottle at school on a daily basis.

Class Photographs
On Tuesday November 15th, the children in rooms 3 and 16 will be having class photos and individual photos as most of them had not started school when the school wide photographs were taken. If parents of children in these rooms would like sibling photos taken as well could they please ask their child’s teacher for a separate envelope. All envelopes need to be returned to school by Friday, November 11th, 2011.

Education Outside the Classroom Week for Years 0, 1, and 2
The following is an overview with the more finer details to come at a later date.

Monday – This will involve visual art in the morning and Folk dancing in the afternoon. Parents and caregivers are welcome to come along to watch the dancing.

Tuesday – Cross Country – This will be held at Bishop’s Park during the morning and after this the children will be returning to school to complete the art works from the previous day. Please join us to support your child’s running efforts.

Wednesday - Visit to Avalon Park We will be leaving school at 10 a.m. and the children will all be going by bus to the park. They will spend the day there and return back to school before hometime. Families are very welcome to come along and join us at the park for the day but need to go by private car as there will not be room on the bus. If it is wet we will not be going or having a postponement day. The children will instead stay at school and do a range of activities.

Thursday – Beach day – We will be visiting our local beach and taking part in a range of activities there.

Friday – Athletics – The events will all be held at school throughout the morning so please also come along and join us.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or myself.

Have a great week

Kind regards
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal