Dear Parents/Carers

This term has been very busy and it is hard to believe that we only have one more week until Easter and the Term 1 holidays.  It is very pleasing to see so many students engaging in their learning in their classes and acting on feedback given by their teachers. 

Thank you to the many family members that joined us for our open afternoon and BBQ at St Marys, or the ‘cuppa and chat’ sessions recently held at Fingal and Bicheno. It was wonderful to connect with so many families through these engagement sessions and many of our students were very excited at the prospect of their parents and teachers having time to meet, talk and get to know each other.  If you were unable to attend, but are keen to connect with your child’s teachers please contact the school on 63723900.

NAPLAN

Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students have been busy over the recent weeks undertaking and preparing for NAPLAN Testing.  Students have undertaken practice testing to learn about the NAPLAN Portal. Students have then all participated in testing for reading, language conventions, writing and numeracy.

We would like to remind parents that NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

The reason why NAPLAN is conducted online is because NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results. One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do. Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN. Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.

School Association

Congratulations to the following new and returning School Association members for their successful nomination to the 2023 School Association Committee.

• Gary Barnes (Chair and Parent Representative)
• Kayla Newton (Vice Chair and Parent Representative)
• Louisa Rhodes (Secretary and Staff Representative)
• Melanie Woods (Treasurer and Parent Representative)
• Janet Drummond (Community Representative)
• Helen McElroy (Community Representative)
• Greg Bean (Community Representative)
• Lisa Bean (Staff Representative)
• Carolyn Watson (Principal)

There are still two parent representative vacancies on the 2023 committee.  If you are keen to support our school and have time to meet once or twice per term for around an hour, please contact one of the committee or the school on 63723900. This is a great opportunity for parents/carers to be involved in the school and be kept informed of our improvement journey.  

Explaining an Absence

We really value the importance of consistent and regular attendance and have high expectations for our students in this area. We understand that no matter how hard parents try, some students experience times when they can be reluctant or refuse to go to school. We know that attendance patterns are established very early in the year and that is why we have a strong emphasis on working with you to address any attendance concerns at the start of the year.    

What You Can Do

• Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation. Regular attendance sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at work.
• Help your child maintain daily routines and get a good night’s sleep. On average, children and young people  need between 8-10 hours’ sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
• Try not to schedule hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours.
• Schedule family trips for school holidays, rather than during term time.
• Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety. Please feel free to contact your child’s Teacher or AST if you are concerned that this may be the case.
• Monitor your child’s attendance and school performance. A regular check in by phone or email is a good idea. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, please contact us through the Teacher, AST, Assistant Principal, the Social Worker or the Principal.

Explanations of absence, where known in advance, are always appreciated. A reminder that when your child is absent from school there are a variety of ways that you can communicate with us about that. These are:

• Phoning the Administration Office on 63723900.
• Using the Schoolzine App.
• Writing a short note for your child to drop into the office.
• Sending an email to our school email address St.Marys.DS.Admin.Staff@decyp.tas.gov.au 
• Sending a text message on 0419 487 425 (SMS only - no calls through this number)

A reminder that the final week for Term 1 is very short.  Thursday 6 April is Moderation Day (Student Free Day) for all students K-12.  This day provides an opportunity for teachers to work collaboratively, and moderate students works samples in all learning areas. Friday 7 April is Good Friday. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish students and families a happy Easter and a relaxing holiday,  I look forward to seeing our students back at school for Term 2  which begins on Wednesday 26 April.

Carolyn Watson

Principal

Grade 3-4 B made boats from a limited number of resources. To be successful their boat had to float for a certain amount of time. They designed it, made it and then tested.  We had great fun and most of the boats floated successfully.

Mrs Kirk said she would be happy to travel onboard!

Well done 3-4 B.

On Friday 17 March the Visual Arts students from Grades 9 to 12 went on an excursion to view the Glover and ArtRage exhibitions. Our students enjoyed wandering around the galleries and recording artworks that were of interest to them. All students were respectful and wonderfully represented St Marys District School! We then enjoyed lunch in Royal Park and made the most of the sunshine.

Term  1 has seen our Early Childhood students investigate their OWN instrument – their voice!  They have participated in singing their response to class attendance.  The teacher sings the student’s name to each student and the student tries to match the same pitch by replying “Yes” with the correct rhythm and melody!  If a student is absent, the whole class sings “Not here”.  Our students have experienced a range of action songs, call and response songs and songs with specific movements.  They have enjoyed lots of funny ways to warm up their voices and articulate words and to make a range of weird and funny noises with their voices. 

Our students have developed the confidence to sing while playing an instrument.  They have learned that instruments are to be treated with respect and that our instruments are shared by many students.  They have enjoyed learning about the parts of a ukulele and how the different strings make different sounds.  Many students have been able to match the pitch of a sound they have made on an individual string or when strumming.  Our young students have been learning about finger placement on the strings.  It was fantastic to see the whole class play a ‘c’ chord and singing “it’s raining, its pouring” in unison…well, almost!

They have been applying their maths skills to count different beats. They are developing the skills to listen to different rhythms and repeat the rhythm using hand percussion.  Our students are also developing specific music literacy by learning new words – verse, chorus, lyric, chord – and understanding the meaning of each word.

Please enjoy these wonderful pictures of recent Early Childhood Music lessons.

On Tuesday 21 March, our entire Primary school population marched down to the bottom oval wearing house colours, waving coloured streamers, wearing house coloured hair colour and face paint!!  The first non-physical event was the house cheer – 30 points going to a very excited and loud group of Dalmain students!  On the way down, the Kindergarten students joined in with the march.  The students were led in house groups to their house seating areas and prepared for the first whole school K - 6 event – the House Pursuit.  This is where all Primary students gather at a point around the oval in their house groups.  On “go”, the first house to return to their starting point and sit down received 30 points – again, Dalmain stole the points!

At 9.30am, both Grade 3 – 6 and K - 2 began activities/events at ten different locations around the oval.  The Kindergarten – Grade 2 students rolled through a variety of events over two busy sessions.  Participation ribbons were given to K – 2 students and place ribbons were given out in Grade 3 – 6 events.

What were the highlights of the day?

• The amazing support by a team of wonderful parents at the track and field events was so appreciated.
• What about the fantastic leadership and mentoring by the Secondary students who coached, measured, recorded and adjudicated the field events? Amazing!!
• The laughter and smiles on our parents and friends as they supported our K – 6 students at the different events around the sports oval was so lovely to see.
• The efficient and organised manner adopted by our class teachers, TA's and relief staff, ensuring our carnival operated in a smooth manner was just brilliant.
• It was wonderful to have the track and field competition areas prepared perfectly by our fabulous groundsman David Reid – Thank you!
• The new K – 2 “Huffy Puffy 100” event was warmly received. How fantastic to hear the Grade 3 – 6 students, family and friends cheer the K – 2 students as they ran up the 100m track.
• It was so lovely to see our LiL families take up the opportunity to participate in a number of races – lots of smiles, lots of laughter. Thank you LiL families for making our day special!
• Our K – 2 students were so excited! The Kindergarten students each had a special witches hat with their photo on it so they knew where to line up for each of their races.  Thank you Robyn Miller for organising that.
• Our Grade 3 – 6 students were just brilliant. They competed with such courage in order to do their best and to secure house points.  Congratulations to all participants.

At the end of the day, Grade 3 – 6 Track and Field Champions were tallied, new records written into the record book, the ENE team selected and the K – 6 house points counted.

Please enjoy reading the final results of the carnival and enjoy a selection of wonderful pictures capturing the many magic moments during the day.

New Records – Congratulations to the following students!!

Track and Field Champions – Well done to these students!!

The SMDS farm is very grateful for the generosity of Fred and Mel Woods from Malahide for donating 6 Merino wethers so that we can compete in the 1^st Tasmanian Merino Wether Challenge presented by the Australian Wool Institute. This provides students with an excellent opportunity to learn about the sheep industry through practical experience caring for and handling sheep.  We will care for these sheep for approximately six months, until the end of the challenge where all fourteen schools competing from across Tasmania will meet at the Campbell Town Showgrounds for a day of competition. Students will experience shearing, wool classing, handling, parading, and valuing the sheep with professionals from the industry. The students have named the sheep Baz, Jerry, Spit, Spark, Chop, and Kent and have also given them different coloured identifying tags.

Craig and Lachie training the sheep.

We have Silver Wyandotte eggs incubating at the moment to add to our collection of chickens. As this article is being written, there are nine brand new chicks chirping and eleven starting to hatch.

The farm produce stalls have proved very productive, and as we harvest the last of most of our summer/autumn crops we are getting winter vegetable seedlings ready to restock our garden beds.

Our radishes are flourishing for the TIA Let It Grow Competition at AGFEST to see who can grow the largest Daikon Radish. Our secret ingredient (worm farm juice) seems to be the best fertilizer!

All of what we do is based on learning experiences for the students and it is from their hands that our school farm continues to grow.

On Friday 24 March 2023, six Merino wethers arrived from Malahide for our Tasmanian Merino Challenge. 

There are fourteen other farm schools around Tasmania competing. We will have the sheep from now until the end of September where we will meet the other schools at the Campbell Town showgrounds for a day of competition. The competition includes: best wool, best overall sheep, carcass value, and best parade!

The initiative provides the students with a memorable ‘hands on’ experience covering a broad range of sheep and wool production skills.

Each school team looks after several wethers (from studs in their state) for six months, with the students forming a close relationship with their wethers. This provides a unique and practical experience for the students, much different from classroom learning. Each school team then shows their wethers during a competition later in the year and are judged according to their meat and wool quality.

By attending training days and the judging events, and by looking after their wethers, the students gain:

• practical, hands-on skills in sheep management
• a better understanding of sheep and wool production as a business
• contact with many aspects of the Merino sheep industry
• a chance to network with industry participants and other students
• an enjoyable experience with Merino sheep and the industry
• a positive perspective on a career with sheep and wool.

Thank you to Fingal Pastoral -" Malahide" for your support of our students.  We hope the experience develops aspirations amongst our students to consider the Agricultural industry as a career option.

In this age of rapidly changing technology, it’s so important for us to know ourselves, and then teach our children how to navigate the online world.

The eSafety Commissioner works to help Australians have safer, more positive experiences online.

There are Free eSafety parent and carer webinars available thought the eSafety Commissioner web site for the remainder of Term 1, 2023

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

• Primary Assembly - Wednesday 5 April at 1.30pm
• Grade 5/6A - Change of teaching staff
• ENE Combined Carnival -  4th April

WHOLE SCHOOL