Richmond Primary School Newsletter 14th February 2024
Principal's Address
I would like to welcome all our families for the new school year with a special welcome to our new and old Richmond Primary students and families. I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer break and some precious family time together.
Our focus for the year will be on Belonging. It is a culture we will work to build and want to uphold as we continue to build a dynamic, diverse Richmond Primary community with shared values and understanding. A definition of belonging - the experience of being seen and heard and welcome with all of who we are. Every human being has a need to belong.
Yet one of the biggest impediments to belonging is fitting in. “Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming what you need to be in order to be accepted,” Brene Brown observes. “Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”
And this work has already begun. On Friday I visited the 3/4 classes as they began exploring what Belonging means for them. Their classes read the book Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen and discussed what it means to belong. Students then set about making their belonging bracelets.
- The pink signifies kindness.
- Blue is for respect.
- Green is for support.
- Purple is for caring.
- Red is for celebration.
Settling Into the New School Year
Across the school our students have settled into their new classes, with great excitement as they greeted new and old friends. Our staff have worked hard to ensure the transition to the new school year, new classes and new grade levels have been as smooth as possible.
Our smallest students are commencing their learning journey in Kinder with students having staggered starts over Tuesday and Wednesday.
Every School Day Matters
I interviewed some of your 3 / 4 students and asked them why it was important to come to school everyday.
Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow and connect with their friends and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.
Tips to help get your child to school:
- Create a routine. So everyone knows their tasks in the morning.
- Give yourself enough time. Just having a bit of breathing space around morning tasks can make a big difference.
- Be on time, every day. Monday to Friday. They say it takes two months for our brains to create a new habit. So just take it a day at a time.
- Schedule appointments and trips outside of school hours. This way your child will stay engaged in their learning and won’t miss out on important schoolwork.
- Get a good night’s sleep. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do to help your child learn and stay engaged with school.
- Set some technology boundaries. We are all familiar with endlessly scrolling, only to feel exhausted and unmotivated. Why not give a family tech agreement a go?
School times: 8.50 am – 2.50 pm
School supervision on site commences at 8.30 am and concludes at 3.00pm each day. Any child arriving at school before 8.30am, is not supervised and more importantly if they then left the school neither the parents nor the school would be aware for some time that they were missing. Lady Gowrie provides before and after school care for students arriving before 8.30am and after school care from 2.50pm in the afternoon. Please see the link below to the Lady Gowrie Tas Website. Enrolment information is available through the website:
Home - Lady Gowrie Tasmania (gowrie-tas.com.au)
Regards,
Clare McVilly
Principal
Safeguarding Training
For any questions or support regarding the safeguarding training, please see Allison Scott or email allison.scott@decyp.tas.gov.au
Validation Forms
Just a reminder, the forms distributed last week need to be returned to school by Friday, 16 February, please. Many activities and tasks can only be completed once the forms have been returned, such as IT use, excursions, and sporting events, to name a few.
The school conducts many events that we require help from families for, and there are also events that we invite you to come and share with us and some that you need to know about. Please see the calendar of events to help with your planning.
Book Club
Issue 1 for 2024 is now available online.
Our preferred option is that orders are entered ONLINE via LOOP.
If you don’t already have an account you may register via www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP (follow the link to create an account). Or download the app from the Apple or Google play store.
Cash orders will be accepted at the office although LOOP is our preferred option.
Orders close at noon on Friday 22nd February.
