Term 3 Week 6 9 September 2020

Newsletter Articles

Calendar of Key Events

From the Principal…..

The signs of spring are certainly in the air with the beautiful splashes of yellow colour clearly evident in our grounds. The weather continues to be unpredictable, with wind and rain frequent during the past few weeks. Please ensure your child brings a jumper and/or coat at all times. This will allow children to learn and play happily, despite the weather changing quickly, often within one day.

Challenge Day – KMHS

One of our more formal transition events was hosted by KMHS on Monday with all students in grades 5 / 6 invited to spend a day there. The day is planned to help students understand how a normal day might work, as well as providing opportunities to meet other students who will be attending grade 7 next year. Students also tour the school and spend time meeting teachers and student leaders. Feedback from KMHS staff indicate clearly that our students were exemplary representatives of PPS again this year. A parent meeting was held on TEAMS on Monday evening. Information sharing between teachers at PPS and KMHS will continue next term.

Planning for 2021

Every year at about this time we turn our attention to some major planning decisions for the following year. Organising class structures, staffing and learning opportunities for students is part of our work. It is important that our information on student numbers is as accurate as possible as many funding decisions are based on this. Please contact us if the enrolment status of your child will change. We have also prepared some enrolment messages for new families considering our school for 2021. Please encourage other families in the PPS zone to contact us so that our planning can proceed smoothly. Many thanks for your co-operation.

Launching into Learning

We are delighted to be welcoming our youngest learners back to our school following the suspension of these programs during Covid 19. Pre-kinder groups are now underway to support young learners and provide a smooth transition for the beginning of kinder. Our LiL team of Georgina Dargaville and Virginia Tempest offer an outstanding program with carefully planned experiences to engage all children who attend. We would like to hear from other families whose child will begin kinder next year. Please encourage them to contact us.

Stimulus Building Project

Our school has been fortunate to be selected for some projects to upgrade facilities as part of the government’s response to Covid 19. Work will be undertaken during the next holiday break to refurbish our library as well as some painting and other works in various places around the school. We are currently packing up the library to make way for the work, which will begin in week 10. No borrowing or library sessions will happen until the beginning of next term.

Playground Development

As well as changes within our buildings, you may have noticed some developments to our playgrounds happening during the past weeks and months. The playground developments have been carefully designed to support children playing happily with others. We know that a range of interactive activities and facilities helps children to play with others in constructive and creative ways, while following our Strive for Five expectations. Many thanks to Steve Muir for his work to develop the sensory play area near the Fore Street entrance. We are currently investigating the addition of some swings or play equipment near this new playground to provide further activity for Prep – grade 2 students. This addition has been made possible with the assistance of funds raised by the School Association. Thank you to everyone who makes a contribution to our fundraising efforts.

School Improvement Priorities

One of the priorities in our school improvement plan is writing. Recently teachers have been working together to identify student strengths and needs in the area of writing and to plan engaging writing experiences for all classes. We have been working through some Data Wise inquiry steps to help us in this work. Celebrating the writing achievements of our students is important so that we acknowledge excellence and improvement. Many displays around our school are currently featuring excellent writing from a range of classes.

Student Safety

The safety of students at PPS is always a key concern for us. Recently I talked about some future work in Fairtlough Street to further support the safety of pedestrians at the front of the school. More details will be announced about this once notification of changes is available. Please remind children about walking and/or riding to and from school in a safe manner. Our Let’s Ride program for Grade 2 students helps to develop safe riding skills and includes reminders about being safe when riding. Recently we have also been considering changes to our Fire Safety plan and we will practise this drill again in the next few weeks.

Cyber-Safety Webinar for Parents (Free)

This week is National Child Protection Week, so a series of free webinars for parents have been released. Follow the link to enrol in one of the free webinars to learn more about protecting your child from dangers online.

Online safety for parents and carers:

Sometimes there are occasions when social media can place the wellbeing of our young people at risk. When this occurs, it is important we follow the advice of the eSafety Commissioner.

• The Office of the eSafety Commissioner encourages parents and carers to co-view, co-play, and ask questions about the games, and apps their children are using; and let them know you are there to support them if they are upset or uncomfortable about anything they see online.
• The Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s website has a section specifically for parents which you are encouraged to visit for further information. It does include advice on supporting teenagers should they encounter content that is upsetting, disturbing or offensive.
  https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

We also encourage people who encounter such content to report it to the social media platform they’ve seen it on, or to eSafety at the link below.

Welcomes and Farewells

Welcome to Lachlan who joined Prep A last week. We wish Lachlan and his family a successful and happy connection with PPS.

Lee Craw
Principal

Assembly Awards Tuesday 1 September

Assembly Awards Tuesday 8 September

Before School Care Hours

Happy Birthday

Dylan, Jye, Kayden, Kobi, Masen, Trae, Ruby S, Ruby C, Torbyn, Mrs Adams, Mr Johnson and Mrs Maher.

Weekly Camp Fundraiser Hot

Student Banking - Thursday

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) changes

The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards. The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied. A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have. Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055

Launching into Learning

Canteen News…..

Visitor Health Screening Form

Community News……

2020 Professional Learning Days/Moderation Days

Friday 30th October 2020 – Professional Learning Day 3

2020 Term Dates

2020 PPS Support Staff

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