The Puffer Project

Last week we were contacted by the Break O’Day Council as they had heard about what we are informally calling the “Puffer Project” and the hard work of and generous donation by the School Association and Op Shop volunteers.  Those at the Council were seeking more information about the donation of puffer jackets to our students, as they were keen to celebrate the achievement of our school and wider community.  You may have seen the results of these conversations on the Break O’Day Council Facebook page where our "Puffer Project" has been celebrated and widely shared. 

This project has been a few years in the making and it has grown out of the desire of our School Association Committee to use the funds raised through the school Op Shop to benefit all students in ways that make a real difference for the students and their families. The first project was initiated by the Student Leadership Group who came to the School Association asking for hats and caps to be added to the school uniform.  The School Association committee were so impressed by how the students presented their proposal that they not only voted unanimously to add caps and bucket hats to uniform but they agreed to fund their purchase.  Student voice was used to select cap style, colour and placement of the logo and in late 2020 all students received their cap or bucket hat.

In early 2021, the School Association Committee initiated the sourcing of a school beanie to add to the uniform.  Student voice on colour and design led to us introducing two beanie options to the uniform. Students gratefully received their beanie for the winter, once again funded by the School Association Op Shop funds.  The success of these ventures and the gratitude of the students led to the current puffer jacket project.  Not only have the Committee donated these uniform items to all current students, but they have committed to ‘topping up’ caps and beanies that might be lost or misplaced and providing one of each item to all our new enrolments at St Marys District School.

Our students wear these items with pride, with many a story shared in our staffrooms and meetings of seeing students wearing their hats, beanies and puffer jackets during weekend sporting events, and around the streets of our towns after school and during holidays. 

The Puffer Project story is one I share with pride.  The School Association Committee and our students, staff, families and wider community members have created a unique way of re-using and recycling through the Op Shop to support the students of our community and their families. My thanks goes to every person, and there are many, who has contributed to make the Puffer Project a reality.

Campbell Town Show

Last week our Grade 5/6 students and a number of staff spent a wonderful day exploring at the Campbell Town Show. Students report having a wonderful day, with the highlights for students including the animals, lunch on the haybales and seeing their own work and that of their friends on display.  For me, the highlight was hearing about the fantastic participation and respectful, caring behaviour of our students. I know Mrs Burbury and the other staff who attended came back feeling very proud of our students and how well they represented our school.

School Culture

St Marys District School is known for having a respectful, engaging , curious and kind student population and a welcoming, positive and supportive culture.  We often receive feedback about groups of students or visitors to our school and I would like to share a couple of these.

Thank you to the parents who attend our assemblies.  It is wonderful to celebrate the achievements of students and news from our school with you.  Recently we received the lovely feedback above from a parent in attendance at our last primary assembly.

Don’t Cross The Line Campaign Continues

Did you know that principals, teachers and school staff are more likely to experience offensive behaviour at work than the general population?

Encouraging respectful behaviour in school settings is an action the Department for Education, Children and Young People takes very seriously.

In September 2021, the Department launched a campaign to encourage adults to think about how they interact with school staff.

The key message of the campaign is that disrespecting school staff is crossing the line… simple as that.

The campaign has seen success so far and will continue to run into the future. As such, another round of advertising will take place over the remainder of Term 2, 2023.

Keep your ears and eyes open for TV commercials, radio ads and online ads that share the important message that disrespecting school staff is crossing the line. This round of advertising will target disrespectful online behaviour towards staff via social media, direct messaging and email.

Adults’ behaviour in and around schools impacts everyone.

School staff want to work in partnership with parents, carers and other adults to make sure our learners get the best education possible.

Help us to eliminate offensive behaviour towards school staff and create safe, respectful and positive environments in Tasmanian schools.

Think twice and don’t cross the line!

Mobile Phones

Our school policy states that if students bring mobile phones or electronic devices to school, they must hand them in at the office at the start of the day. Students are not permitted to use their mobile phones or electronic devices e.g. iPods and smart watches during the school day. We ask that parents please support us with students adhering to the policy. If you have any questions, please call the office.

Winter Wellness

The cooler months bring colds, the flu, COVID-19 and other illnesses.

Being prepared is the best way to protect yourself and your family.

Prepare

Children are most likely to catch and spread the flu. Make sure your child has received their annual flu vaccine. This will boost their immunity against most likely circulating flu strains. It will also help stop them getting very sick.

Plan

If your child is at higher risk of becoming very sick from the flu, COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses, make a plan with your healthcare provider for when your child becomes sick.

Protect

Protect others by keeping your child home if they’re unwell, encouraging regular hand washing, and covering coughs and sneezes.

For more information, read the [enclosed/attached] parent and carer factsheet or visit the Department of Health website.

Thanks for doing your part to keep our school community safe, healthy and learning.

Carolyn Watson

Principal

New online information hub for families

Some exciting news! The Department for Education, Children and Young People has recently launched a new online information hub for families with school-aged children in Tasmania. Our new website has information to help you navigate your child's education, from birth all the way up to 18 years of age.

Visit our new webpage at Welcome to your child's Tasmanian education - The Department for Education, Children and Young People Tasmania (decyp.tas.gov.au) (https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/information-for-families-and-students)

Some of the things you’ll find include

• tips on how to support your child’s learning at home
• information to help you keep your child safe and well
• a guide to explore courses for the career they want
• school holiday and term dates.

We hope this website will be a valuable tool for you as you help your child navigate their education journey. We would love to know what you think of our new information hub for families. You can tell us by completing a quick survey on the webpage.

In Prep/1, students have been learning to retell key events in stories, in the correct order.  They have been practising these skills orally, through roleplay and through drawing and writing. It is wonderful to see the Prep students begin to apply the sound and letter knowledge they are building to retell a story.

Students listened to Pig the Blob by Aaron Blabey several times. They discussed the key events with a partner and then began retelling what they believe to be events at the beginning, middle and end of the story.

Please make sure you click on each image to enjoy the full view of this delightful work.

Following on from our performing role in the National Simultaneous Story Time, year 1/2s have been very interested in re-reading the story “The Speedy Sloth” by Rebecca Young.

After re-reading the story a few times we discussed the life of a sloth which led to the writing task “If I were a sloth”.

Take a look at these very interesting and creative responses!

Our Breakfast Club programme received a boost this week with a generous donation from a regular donor - Mr David Schier.  

Breakfast Club supports students across the school, not only with access to breakfast, but also provides lunch for students in need. In addition to school farm produce and non-perishable food items donated by the wider community, the program, which has been limited by Covid over the past 3 years has averaged $2500 per year in consumables.  

Breakfast Club is accessible for all of our students and they access it for variety of reasons: 

• It could be for the social aspect and opportunity to eat breakfast with friends, or having a very early start from Coles Bay and needing a top up when arriving at school. 
• It  might be due to feeling bus sick on the commute to school so having breakfast on arrival, running late in the morning, or the cold winter mornings having an impact. 

Breakfast Club also provides a chance for students to check in with School Nurse Anna,  or have a chat with Kitchen Assistant Amanda, or volunteer, Hannah, who are always interested to hear what our students are up to.

Of course, Breakfast Club can not run without the support of our staff and community volunteers.  If you are interested in supporting our students and don't mind a bit of an early start, please contact us to find out about volunteering.  Helping at Breakfast Club should take no longer than an hour to an hour and a half of your time, and it is a great way to engage with the school community. 

• Consider inclusive education, community expectations and family financial restraints
• Ensure levies are set at the lowest amount possible.  Levies have not been increased since 2019.
• The School Association is consulted when levies are developed.   

Activity budgets are allocated based on our anticipated annual levy revenue.  Unpaid levies impact on the variety and number of opportunities we can provide.

FAQ's:

Can I get help with school levies? 

There are a range of options available to support families with the costs of schooling.  

• You are eligible for the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) if you hold a Health Care Card, Low Income Health Care Card, or Pensioner Concession Card. Once you have applied for STAS, you will not need to pay any levies. You may apply online (https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/fees-levies/), or collect a paper application form from your school office.  
• Families receiving STAS can access the Spectacles Assistance Scheme to support children who require spectacles. 
• Second-hand uniforms are available from the school Op Shop, Main Road, St Marys 
• Second-hand uniforms are sometimes available for sale on community Facebook buy and sell pages. 
• Advertising on local community Facebook buy and sell pages.  

Who can I talk to about levies? 

You are a valued member of our school community and we welcome your feedback on levies and charges at our school.  

If you are experiencing financial difficulty or financial hardship, and none of the support options above will work for your family, you can contact Lisa Bean, School Business Manager 0363723900, lisa.bean@decyp.tas.gov.au or the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at Fin.Serv@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 827 055.  Personal information relating to levies will always be treated with total confidentiality.  

How do I pay levies and charges? 

Levies can be paid: 

• At the school (by EFTPOS, cash or cheque) 
• At Service Tasmania (by EFTPOS, cash or cheque) 
• Through BPAY (using the Biller Code and Reference on your invoice) 

• By mail, forward your cheque, money order or credit card details to the school, with the payment slip from your invoice attached (payable to the Department of Education, Children and Young People) 
• Using Centrepay, a service provided by Centrelink. 

You can choose to pay your levies by instalment by contacting the school to set up a payment plan of regular instalments. Payment plans can continue through to the end of the school year. 

The SMDS team of secondary students attended the Inter-High Cross Country Carnival at Kings Meadows High School on Tuesday 31 May.  Our runners competed in cool but clear conditions, perfect for cross country running. Unfortunately, our team was not eligible for the overall shield this year, however we did have some outstanding individual performances and age group team results.

AGE GROUP TEAM PENNANTS- DIVISION 2

We congratulate all students who attended this event on their bravery and the fabulous way they represented our school.  Thank you to students who joined the team late in order to cover other students who were absent. These students were: Kiara, Ellie and Daniel.  Outstanding achievements came from:

Jaxon H - 1^st Grade 8 Boys Division 2 (4^th Overall)

Connor F - 3^rd Grade 8 Boys Division 2

Lachie W - 3^rd Grade 9 Boys Division 2 (6^th Overall)

Helayna McG - 2^nd Grade 9 Girls Division 2

Grade 8 Boys (Jaxon , Connor and Wally F) Team Champions Division 2

Congratulations to Jaxon H and Lachie W for their selection in the Northern High Schools Sports Association (NHSSA) team to represent at the All -Schools Cross Country at Symmons Plains on Tuesday 20 June.   Please enjoy some photos (thanks to Mrs Howe) from the day.

Laura Swanson

On Wednesday 31 March, St Marys District School were lucky enough to receive a visit from Senior Constable Annabel from Northern Policing Services who took our Year 3-6 students and Year 7/8 students through the ThinkUKnow Program, created by the Australian Federal Police.  The program focuses on cyber safety and keeping children under the age of 18 safe online. 

The students were engaged with videos and question and answer time.  There was a big focus on being a kind and considerate person by showing empathy and respect for our peers.

Other topics discussed were legal age for social media use, privacy settings, grooming, child exploitation laws, digital shadows and very importantly – help seeking, with the main message being nothing is so awful that you can’t tell anyone about it. 

There are lots of resources to access via the ThinkUKnow website for parents and carers. 

Resources | ThinkUKnow

 Anna Wright – School Health Nurse 

Results Round 2 Winter Sports- Wednesday 7June 2023:

This week saw our football team moved up a division 2 and competing against Port Dalrymple at Prospect Park. Port got the jump on us early, and we were unable to make up the deficit for the rest of the game.

Mixed soccer dominated with a 13-0 victory against Port Dalrymple. The goal scorers were: Matthew E- 5 goals, Rio K- 5 goals and Ollie O- 3 goals. Congratulations soccer team. We will probably see a move up in divisions shortly.

Division 2 netball played a dominant game against Prospect High School, showing excellent skill, agility, and teamwork. Division 3 netball were a little late starting and this was unsettling for the first quarter. Star of the Sea were strong opponents and came away with the victory this time. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and managing two teams that both play at the same time, I was unable to get any photos from this round. Please enjoy the photos (thank you Miss Cook) from the soccer and football games.

 Winter Sports Results: Wednesday 7 June 2023.

Mixed Soccer: Div 3

St Marys  13 def Port Dalrymple 0

Football: (Div 2

Port Dalrymple: 69 def St Marys: 19

Netball: Div 2

St Marys: 37 def Prospect High School: 3

Netball Div 3

Star of the Sea: 27 def St Marys: 7

Now is the time of year that many of our Grade 10 students and families beging to seriously make plans for life in Year 11/12.  Our students will soon be participating in College Orientation days at both Newstead and Launceston Colleges.

The Newstead College community have had long relationship with St Marys District School, welcoming students from St Marys and the East Coast for many years.

To give our students and families more of an insight into college life, subject choices and the social aspects of the College, Newstead College have asked us to share their Term 2 Newsletter with our school community.

Please take the time to download the newsletter using the link below and have a look at all of the fantastic opportunities students are provided with at Newstead College.  You might even see one or two familiar faces! 

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 Reading Celebration.