Issue 15, 18 October 2024, Week 1 Term 4

Dear Families,

What a busy start to Term 4 for our staff and students. Students are well into the swing of tackling new learning experiences and building on the important learning they achieved in Term 3. With Spring now here and days hopefully becoming a lot warmer, we plan to have many more outside play opportunities to engage our students in the playground. We look forward to reporting on these opportunities in the upcoming weeks.

 We are set to have another incredibly busy Term for students and teachers. Whilst many of our annual whole school events are later in Term 4, I do know how important it is for many of you to book in leave so that you are able to join us in each of these celebrations.

Important dates to remember include:

• Progressive Assessment Testing for Prep – Year 6 beginning on Monday 28 October and running for two weeks;
• Show Day Public Holiday and Student Free Day, Thursday 24 and Friday 25 October;
• Student Achievement Celebration Assembly Monday 9 December;
• Year 5-6 Camp, Wednesday 20 – 22 November;
• Kingston High School Orientation Day, Wednesday 27 November;
• Year 6 Leavers Assembly on Wednesday 18 December;
• Year 6 Big Day out on Thursday 19 December.

There will be detailed information sent home via all of our communication platforms closer to each date. However do not hesitate in contacting your child’s Classroom Teacher or the office directly should you need any information around each event or have any questions.

2025 School Production

We are thrilled to announce that our School Production for 2025 will be the beloved musical "Matilda." Based on the classic novel by Roald Dahl, "Matilda" tells the story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her destiny. With its enchanting songs, dynamic choreography and heartwarming narrative, this production promises to be an unforgettable experience for both participants and audience members alike. We are excited to bring this magical story to life and showcase the incredible talent of our students.

Preparations are already underway, and we are looking forward to involving the entire School Community in this spectacular event. Auditions will be held this Term and we encourage all students to participate, whether they are seasoned performers or new to the stage. Additionally we will need enthusiastic volunteers to assist with set design, costumes, lighting, and backstage support. Keep an eye on future newsletters for more details on how you can get involved. Let’s work together to make "Matilda" a resounding success and a highlight of our 2025 school year!

Pre Kinder Sessions

In Week 3 of this Term we will commence our Pre-Kinder Sessions for those children who are enrolled in Kindergarten in 2025. These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to become part of our School Community, to build familiarity with the school environment, to lay the foundation of strong friendships and partnerships before next year, and where Parents/Carers will have the opportunity to spend time with their children engaging in learning through play.

For those who are yet to enrol your child in Kindergarten, we only have five places left! If you have a Kinder-aged child for 2025 (a child turning five in 2025), it is vital that you collect an Enrolment Pack from the School Office and return it to the Office as soon as possible so we can secure your enrolment. We start allocating Kindergarten children into classes soon and want to make sure we have included all of our current families who have siblings in older grades. If you have any questions around this process or your child’s enrolment for 2025 do not hesitate in contacting Ms Crane at school directly or via email – angela.crane@decyp.tas.gov.au.

Based on parent and community feedback we have made a slight change to our Parent/Carer Expo and Information Session. Instead of holding a separate Expo, we have invited all of our services, including our Speech Pathologist, Social Worker, School Psychologist, Out of School Hours Care and our Uniform Shop representative to attend each Pre-Kinder session. We hope this change will ensure we capture all families and time taken outside of our families' already busy lives will be limited to our Pre-Kinder sessions only. Our Early Years Educators will be on hand at each of these sessions to ensure our Pre-Kindergarten students are engaged and entertained, with the aim to allow parents to ask any burning questions they may still have of our service providers. We look forward to seeing you soon!

2025 Class Requests

Next Friday 25 October we will start planning for the next year class models, staffing and student allocations into classes. Teachers will be inputting vitally important academic and social data to ensure we have the best placement for your child in 2025. This will also include student friendship requests. Whilst we do not accept parent requests for specific teachers, if there is an educational and wellbeing defined reason for requesting a particular class please email me, angela.crane@decyp.tas.gov.au before 18 October. While requests are not guaranteed, we try to accommodate these wherever possible.

Please stay connected through our fortnightly newsletter, Social Media posts, Schoolzine, Class Dojo or drop in and have a chat with one of our fabulous team.

Ange Crane
Principal