Richmond Primary School Newsletter Wednesday 25th September 2024

Principal's Address

Dear Families,

At our recent Richmond’s Got Talent event, we certainly saw talent in abundance. The finalists from each class provided us with lots of entertaining acts and each student should be proud of their achievement in becoming a finalist.

On the day our three winning acts were in first place Emily and Kara who sang In the Name of Love. In second place was Lily who sang Hey Soul Sister and in third place was Stella who sang White Winter Hymnal.

It takes great courage to perform in front of our school community and I commend all students who on the day found the courage to perform to the best of their abilities.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 10

Next

Kinder Wheels Day

Our Kinder students brought their bikes and scooters to school to compete in their very first Wheels Day and there was certainly lots of excitement on the day. Each student had a 10-frame tally card on their bike and their laps were recorded by our very efficient Year 3/4 helpers. The whole event ran very smoothly and by the end of the day we had some very tired Kinder students. Thanks, Mrs McCreadie, for organising this successful event and to the parents and families for so generously supporting this Kinder fundraiser.

Phones and Smart Watches in School.

We are seeing an increasing number of students arriving at school with phones and smart watches. Since Term 2 in 2020 the DECYP has had a policy in place for student devices. Our school and the DECYP takes the safe and responsible use of digital technologies, student wellbeing and the development of social and emotional skills very seriously. We live in a technology rich world where mobile phones and smart watches are an important tool for life and work. However, research and consultation with the Tasmanian community has found that mobile phones and smart watches are a distraction from learning and impact the development of positive personal relationships at school.

At Richmond Primary we follow the same guidelines set out in the policy:

• Phones are to be handed to the class teacher on arrival and will be returned to the students before departure. The class teacher will securely store them during the day.
• If a student has a smart watch – effectively a phone, then the watch must be switched to school mode, which allows the student to use the watch application but not the phone during school hours.
• If the watch doesn’t have this option, then the watch must be handed in to the class teacher, just as a phone must be handed in.
• All communication from families with students during school hours must be through the school office.

Independent Review into Tasmanian Education System – Have your say

Previously I wrote about the Independent Review into Tasmanian Education System that is currently being conducted by Ms Vicki Baylis.

Tasmania’s education system has a critical role to play in ensuring Tasmanian children and young people gain the skills they need to lead their best lives and fully contribute to our community and economic future. This review is being undertaken to provide advice to the Tasmanian Government on evidence based, implementable and impactful reforms. 

This Review will respond to five key themes identified in the Terms of Reference:

• Defining educational success
• Strengthening supports and engagement for all learners at all stages of their education
• Outcomes at the conclusion of the formal years of schooling
• Support for our teaching workforce
• Accountability for improved outcomes

So, if you wish to have your say, please click on the link below and go down to How to Get Involved tab and then complete the survey. The survey will take between 5 – 10 minutes to complete.

Independent Education Review (ier.tas.gov.au)  

  LISA FORD Raising Resilient Kids       

This is a reminder to add this parent session to your calendar. Lisa Ford (Clinic Psychologist) spoke to a group of parents about anxiety in children and was very well received. As a result, we have invited her back to deliver her session on Raising Resilient Kids on Thursday 14^th November from 6 – 7.30 pm. This session at no cost to parents, will be held in the Old Schoolhouse.

As Friday is the last day of term, I would like to wish you all a rest filled break, some time to unwind, later morning starts and time to enjoy family and friends.

Regards

Clare McVilly

Principal

Sports Colours Day - supporting Variety

This Sports Colours Day we're fundraising to support Variety, the Children's Charity.

We’ve recently had a new swing, and 2 rubber pads installed in our playground with thanks to the Variety Club.

Earlier this term, we were successful in gaining a grant from Variety to purchase these, helping to make our swings accessible for all students.

Without Variety’s support, improvements such as this to our playground wouldn't be possible.

1/2B

1/2B – End of Term 3 Excursion to Eastside Activity Centre and Simmons Park

On Thursday the 19^th of September the 1/2 classes celebrated the end of term 3 with an exciting excursion to            Eastside Activity Centre and Simmons Park.

The students were so excited to arrive at Eastside Activity Centre. While some students were familiar with this type of gymnastics environment, for some it was their first visit to a centre like this. Firstly, all students lined up and stretched their bodies in preparation for the movement activities.

Next, students worked in groups of 10 and they eagerly engaged in the 5 activities planned for them – trampoline, double mini, foam pit, circus and gymnastics.

Here’s what some of the students had to say about their favourite thing on the excursion.

Travis – I loved the foam pit!

Nate – I loved the foam pit, trampoline and course!

Georgia – I loved bouncing on the trampolines.

Zoe – I loved jumping into the foam pit and the trampolines.

Bella – I loved the Circus and foam pit!

Evie – I loved jumping into the foam pit with my friends and getting stuck.

Finn – I loved jumping into the foam pit.

Gabe - I like being on the trampoline as you can go really high when you jump.

Jaxx – I liked the foam pit.

Then, after burning lots of energy at Eastside, we visited Simmons Park for lunch and a play before coming back to school. Students climbed, ran, swung, slid, spun and kicked balls!

Students thoroughly enjoyed their end of term 3 excursion with the foam pit being a clear favourite activity!

Term 3 in 3/4A

For our writing focus this term, we have been exploring the structures of newspaper reports. Our first attempt at writing a newspaper report was based on the fairy tale - Jack and the Beanstalk. Students had fun reporting on the events that occurred in the story. We are currently consolidating our report writing by reporting on an event that happened sometime in our class novel - Holes.

CRAZY CAMEL ART
How cute are these cool cartoon dog art pieces! We explored complimentary colours and, positive and negative spaces.

Assembly Awards

Upcoming Dates

Richmond Primary's Maths Relay

Congratulations to Archer House for winning the 2024 RPS Mathematics Relay. All students from 1-6 participated with great enthusiasm, thank you to all the parents that volunteered as markers, these events cannot go ahead without your support.

State Maths Relay

A huge congratulations to Isla, Paige, Humphrey, and Hamish for proudly representing Richmond Primary School at the Mathematical Association of Tasmania’s Math Relay on Sunday at Rosny College. Their dedication, teamwork, and enthusiasm in tackling a range of challenging mathematical problems showcased not only their individual strengths but also the collaborative spirit of our school. Thank you to Khayla for being our parent marker and Andrea for being our team photographer. Well done, team!

Junior Blast 2024/2025

Once again Richmond/Cambridge Cricket Club will be running a Junior Blast Program in 24/25.

The program will run from on Thursday 14^th of November 2024 and conclude on the 10th March 2025. 

We will have a break from 12th December, resuming back on Thursday 6th February.

We will start straight after school at 3.15pm and finish at 4.15pm.

Registrations are now open on PlayHQ (Richmond Cambridge CC, Junior Blast). Ticket to play is also available.

If you have enquiries, you can contact Garry on 0408 447 177.

There will also be a program for older children 10 plus years that have bowling skills etc. I will have more on that later.