Filter Content
- PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
- PRIMARY ASSEMBLY
- ST MARYS DISTRICT SCHOOL BOOK FAIR
- RIVERBEND PARK EXCURSION
- GRADE 5/6B WATER COLOUR PAINTINGS
- WOODWORK GRADE 3-4
- FINGAL CAMPUS
- SCIENCE - FINGAL CAMPUS
- KINDERGARTEN - GRADE 4 MUSIC with Miss Bramich
- KINDERGARTEN AND PREP/1 GYMNASTICS with Miss Bramich
- MEET OUR EFA TEAM
- WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE OP-SHOP?
- HOMEWORK/ASSIGNMENTS
- SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
School Satisfaction Survey
The School Satisfaction Survey for parents is currently being conducted and closes on Friday, 17 September. This survey contains questions on a range of matters about our school and is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide important feedback to us. This feedback is valued by our school as a means of identifying what the school does well and opportunities for us to make improvements. It will provide extremely valuable information in guiding our future planning as a school.
All parents are invited to participate. Access to the survey is through a unique school URL which was shared with parents via email and is available through this QR code.
Responses will be secure and anonymous, with the survey carried out on a secure website. Should you have any issues with accessing the survey, or require the link to be sent to you please contact our Admin Office on 63723900.
Reading in our Primary Classrooms
In our last newsletter, I shared details of the exciting approach to reading that has been implemented in our Kindergarten to Grade 2 classrooms. In this newsletter, I’m pleased to be able to share some of the reading strategies that are supporting students to become better readers in our Grade 3-6 classrooms.
Explicit phonics instruction continues to be a focus in our primary classrooms through an intervention model, with small groups of students participating in regular explicit phonics instructions. This intervention approach is designed to identify gaps in individual student's knowledge of letter sounds and supports students to overcome these gaps through participation and practise. A particular focus of this intervention work is to ensure that the learning that occurs is transferred back into other classroom work. This supports the new learning to ‘stick’ and become automatic.
Grade 3-6 teachers are also introducing some new vocabulary strategies into their classrooms to support all students to increase the bank of words they know and use in their learning.
COVID Update
I know most people would be monitoring the COVID situation across our country very closely. We can be very grateful that we live in a state that has been COVID free for quite some time and that our unique position as an island state has been in our favour. It has however, been concerning to see the rapid spread of the Delta strain of COVID across many of the mainland states and I know we are all hopeful to see that situation improve as soon as possible. It is timely to ensure that everyone is aware of what the response of schools would be, should we be required to go into a short, sharp lockdown.
Principals are involved in regular briefings to keep us informed of the COVID situation and the implications for our school. All staff and visitors to our school are required to use the TAS APP to check in. We are still required to work within processes that include additional cleaning and social distancing requirements.
Planning has been put in place should we be required to have a short, sharp lockdown. In this instance, school staff are considered to be essential workers and would be at school, apart from any staff who are vulnerable. For K-10 students, schools will be open only for those children who cannot undertake learning at home and where parents are essential workers. During a lockdown, all students will be using the DoE Learning at Home resources, regardless of whether they are learning at school or at home. Year 11 and Year 12 students would be required to undertake learning from home. In the event of a lockdown, we will communicate with families, through our normal channels. This will include where to access resources, the expected learning requirements across core learning areas in each grade and also an outline of the supports available from staff. Please be aware that during a lock down, masks would be required to be worn at school by all staff and all students in Years 7-10. It is a good reminder to ensure that you have purchased some masks, as these will also be required to be worn by anyone out in the community.
Teacher Assistant Appreciation Week
Last week was Teacher Assistant Appreciation Week and I would like to publicly acknowledge and thank all our wonderful Teacher Assistants for all the amazing work they do to support, encourage, mentor and assist our students and staff each and every day. Our staff and students appreciate the care, concern and dedication shown by our teacher assistants each and every day. Thank you to:
Robyn Miller, Lexie Cox, Genevieve Aulich, Sarah Tatnell, Kristen Woods, Jacki Hortle, Fiona Lowe, Matt Hoskinson, Craig Freiboth, Shan Wilmot and Dale Watson.
Warm regards
Carolyn Watson
Principal
Our next Primary Assembly will be held in the Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday 12 October 2021 at 11.50am.
Parents are welcome to attend. Please check in at the Administration Office and follow Covid protocols.
ST MARYS DISTRICT SCHOOL BOOK FAIR
Thank you for your support of our recent Book Fair.
Due to the fantastic sales, we were able to select $720.00 worth of books from the Book Fair. These will be available for all students to enjoy in our library.
Your support of this event is appreciated by everyone at St Marys District School.
On Wednesday 8 September, students from P/1 and 1/2 from St Marys Campus and grade 1/2 students from the Fingal Campus, travelled into Launceston to visit Riverbend Park. The focus of our visit was for children to interact with the landscape and equipment and to link it to their learning.
In Prep and Year 1, children make links around identifying and describing natural, managed and constructed features and how places can be cared for. In Year 2, they identify the features that define places and recognise that places can be described at different scales.
Following their excursion, children will view photos and maps of the park and undertake work around how the site is managed and where it is located in relation to the city of Launceston, in northern Tasmania and within Australia.
Our students should be very proud of how they represented our school when travelling to and from and whilst visiting the park.
GRADE 5/6B WATER COLOUR PAINTINGS
Primary students are learning art techniques in the art room with Mrs Lewis. They have learnt how to paint on water colour paper with water colour paints and pencils.
All students completed paintings that showed that they had learnt new techniques and ideas.
Students in Grade 3-4 have been enjoying using their measuring and construction skills to make tool boxes for Fathers’ Day. We hope that the significant adults in our students' lives enjoyed their gift.
Fingal Campus Grade 1 and 2 students have been learning how to write poetry. When writing these sensory poems, students used their senses to make connections with a particular colour. For example, what taste or smell did the colour remind them of?
Fingal Campus students enjoyed the creation of thermocromatic slime as part of their Science Week activities. This colourful gooey, substance changes colour as it is warmed through use.
The students discovered that friction will also cause the slime to change color, so rolling some of the slime in their hands caused the colour to shift. The color change is reversible, and they learnt that if they could continually heat and cool the material, using ice or the fridge, the color will change many times.
Friction with Ms Sundram
In Science, Fingal Campus students have been investigating the stopping force of friction. Students demonstrated with their bodies how friction is at play in different situations.
Students consolidated their understanding by drawing an everyday situation, such as walking the dog or going fishing. They then labelled their drawing to show how and where friction was occurring.
KINDERGARTEN - GRADE 4 MUSIC with Miss Bramich
Our Kinder - Grade 2 students have been learning about “sound” in music, whilst the Grade 3 – 4's have been focussing on “voice”. They are describing music with every-day words they know such as ‘fast’ and ‘slow’. They are learning to recognise that different sounds can be heard as a ‘high’ sound and as a ‘low’ sound. They are learning special music vocabulary to describe these sounds. This is called “pitch”, that is, each note has a different vibration resulting in a different sound. Our students are learning about ‘projection’ and how a voice box works.
Ask your child to show you the rubber band voice activity to explain how a tight and loose voice box creates high and low vocal sounds.
Our students have been experimenting with pitch bells, pitch buttons and their voices – with and without microphones to learn about the differences between singing and speaking. Through singing and moving to music, our students are developing self-confidence and enjoying the company of their peers. They are also refining their listening skills and developing the ability to be respectful audience members. Please enjoy these pictures of our students engaging in a range of fun music learning opportunities.
KINDERGARTEN AND PREP/1 GYMNASTICS with Miss Bramich
Within the HPE framework, our students learn about sequencing and putting movements in order. They are becoming literate not just with words, but also with symbols. Our students are learning about how to control their body movements and how to arrange their body parts in different ways. This allows these movements to be put together in a sequence. Our students are becoming aware of new words such as ‘apparatus’, to explain the different equipment used in gymnastics. Please enjoy these pictures of our students creating hoop apparatus routines, trampette sequences and using symbols to learn about balance.
Please meet our hard working Educational Facility Attendant (EFA) team. They look after our beautiful, spacious grounds, set up for events and carnivals, and maintain our classrooms.
They work hard behind the scenes, often starting or finishing in the dark and working in all sorts of weather to make sure that our school is a fantastic facility to work and learn in.
Name | Amanda Jordan |
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Your Role at St Marys District School? Educational Facility Attendant (EFA) Cleaner, Kitchen Aide, First Aid Officer, Relief Canteen, Assistant in Admin. My role involves cleaning of the school, helping students in the kitchen, catering for events, relief in the canteen preparing lunches etc. Favourite place in Tasmania? Between the Lakes and Ansons Bay where we spend lots of holidays. I also love photo scrapping, spending lots of time in the car being "Mum’s Taxi" for our youngest son and spending time with our extended family. |
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Murray Bennett Your Role at St Marys District School? EFA – Cleaner. Working alongside the other members of our EFA Team, to provide a safe and hygienic workplace and school. At times I assist with setup or removal of furniture and fittings from buildings. I’ve been at St Marys for 19 years. Favourite place in Tasmania? The West Coast region. I support Carlton in the AFL and of course East Coast Swans Juniors. Love surf fishing and bream fishing with Rodney. I follow the horse racing when my son-in-law drives his trained and owned pacers, and my grandson Lachie when he takes Sparkie, his pony to race. |
Rodney McGiveron Your role at St Marys District School? EFA – Education Facility Attendant. Working alongside members of the EFA team to: clean, complete minor repairs, monitoring safety and perform general duties around the school site. Favourite place in Tasmania? South Sister lookout and St Patricks Head. I like taking my dogs for walks in our local bushland and am a BIG Richmond fan. I enjoy bream fishing with Murray and have saved him from going into the water a couple of times! |
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Olivier Chartrain Your role at St Marys District School? EFA – Education Facility Attendant (Grounds) My role involves working across the school with the EFA members. I maintain the school grounds, complete maintenance tasks, lawns and gardens. I lock up at the end of the day, and set up for sports carnivals etc. Favourite place in Tasmania? Cradle Mountain You will often see me out and about training on my bike. I am a Carlton supporter. |
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Geoff Ince Your role at St Marys District School? EFA – Education Facility Attendant I work with the EFA team to maintain our classrooms to make them a clean and orderly place to learn in. I help set up for events and carnivals and I am the glass cleaning guru of SMDS. Favourite place in Tasmania? Lake Pedder and Trial Harbour. In my spare time I grow olives, and I love surfing and fishing. |
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Janine McGill Your role at St Marys District School? EFA – Education Facility Attendant I work at the Fingal Campus cleaning the buildings on site and also do relief kitchen duties at St Marys Campus when needed. I also garden and complete general maintenance around the Fingal Campus as well. Favourite place in Tasmania? I love exploring old places, rustic buildings, old homesteads and gardens. I enjoy local history and gardening. |
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Ann (Ann-Maree) Thomas Your role at St Marys District School? EFA – Education Facility Attendant Supporting fellow EFAs with the additional cleaning tasks associated with COVID. Assisting with maintaining a clean, hygienic safe place for students and staff. Favourite place in Tasmania? A tie – Freycinet and Cradle Mountain. I really love photography and you will often see me out taking photos of our stunning environment. |
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE OP-SHOP?
With Spring in the air, our Op-Shop volunteers got together on Saturday 4 September for a big clean out and a giant Spring sale, which was very well supported by our community members. Many collectibles and bargains were found by shoppers, and one community member won the lucky door prize. Our volunteers were treated to peanut butter cookies delivered by a regular shopper and the hard work was finished off with a shared lunch which was prepared by one of the volunteers.
We can't thank the Op-Shop volunteers and our wider community enough for their support of the Op-shop and our school.
If you have some free time, please consider joining this positive group of community members.
CLASS | TEACHER | HOMEWORK/ASSIGNMENT | DUE DATE |
ECE Fingal | Michele Bennett | Home Readers | |
Gr 1/2 | Leonie Youdale | Home Readers | |
Grade 7 English | Rachel Hodge | Oral Language Persuasive Speech - Topic of choice |
Class Presentation Week beginning 13th September 2021 |
These notices have been sent home to parents in the last fortnight. If you did not receive one and would like to receive a copy of the notice, please contact the school office on 63 723 900.
PRIMARY
Kinder - Grade 3 - Ditto
SECONDARY
WHOLE SCHOOL
NOTICEBOARD