Richmond Primary School Newsletter 14th June 2023

Principal's Address

Dear Families,

SHARON PRERO- excitingly Sharon Prero has been engaged to teach choir at Richmond Primary commencing in Term 3.

Sharon Prero is a well-known Operatic soprano who is now residing in Hobart. Sharon is also a teacher of voice in Hobart with students ranging from 5-55. She has had a career in Singing since leaving Hobart in 1986. She has appeared as Principal soprano with Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, Victorian State Opera and overseas in New Zealand, China, South East Asia and Noumea. Sharon has been a soloist with the Tasmanian, Melbourne, Queensland and Auckland Symphony Orchestras and many recital appearances. Sharon will appear as the Soprano Soloist in Rossinis Petite Solomnelle as part of the Festival of Voices on July 2^nd at the Federation Concert Hall.

Sharon has had a long and stellar career and we are very fortunate to have secured her services.

Auditions: Over the coming weeks interested children will be asked to audition for either the junior or senior choirs. We want to engage children who have a love of singing but children do need to be able to read to join the choir. So please encourage your child/children to consider this amazing opportunity.

Mid-year reports

A reminder to families that mid-year reports will be distributed on Thursday 22^nd June 2023.

The report will show your child’s learning achievement on a 9-point visual scale for students in Years 1 to 10 (and for Prep students at the end of the year).

The 9-point scale shows where your child’s learning achievement is against the expected standard for their year level in English, Mathematics and Science. All other subjects will be reported in the end of year reports in December.

There will be no teacher comments in the report. This term student/parent/teacher conferences will be offered in Week 10 on Tuesday 27^th, Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29^th June with students welcome to attend with their parents/carers. These meetings are a great opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing with their learning. Bookings for interviews will be made through our schoolzine app and information on how to book will be sent home shortly.

For more information about reports:

• School Reports FAQs
• Understanding the 9-point scale
• Visit the Department’s website at: Reporting - The Department for Education, Children and Young People Tasmania (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Staff Leave

We have several staff members taking leaving over the coming months.

30^th June – 7^th July  - Berna Shelverton will be replaced by Sally Bordin

24^th July – 20^th September - Heidi Woodham will be replaced by Brenton Nichols

24^th July – 18^th August - Clare McVilly will be replaced by Jaqui Mason

11^th September- 20^th September - Alysha McCarthy will be replaced by Amanda Whittle

25^th September – 27^th October - Jo McCreadie will be replaced by Brenton Nichols

Lantern Walk Preparations

The Lantern Walk planning and preparations are well underway.

Last week the kinder students and several older students worked to repair the lanterns ready for the walk.

We hope to see our families coming along to share in this wonderful community event.

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 a 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, visit the Department of Health website.

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

Regards,

Clare McVilly

Principal

Richmond Primary

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.

COVID-19 on the rise

The COVID-19 community risk level has increased from low to moderate to reflect the increasing respiratory illness circulating in the community, including COVID-19 and influenza.

While this is not a cause for alarm, it is a reminder that COVID-19 and other illnesses continue to be present in our schools and DECYP sites. Our COVID-safe measures and behaviours have proven to be effective in minimising the impact of COVID-19 and there are no changes in our approaches due to the change in the community risk level.

However, all staff, students and visitors are reminded to actively practise COVID-safe behaviours including staying at home if unwell, maximising ventilation and supporting those around us who may be vulnerable to COVID-19.

Public Health is encouraging vaccination (COVID-19 boosters for those eligible, and annual influenza). Stay informed of Public Health recommendations relative to risk level via the Department of Health: Current risk level | Tasmanian Department of Health.

RATS are available for collection from the school office.

SPSSA Inter Primary Schools Cross Country Carnival

Last week our cross-country team headed over to Bayview High School at Rokeby to compete in the Division B Cross Country event. They had a very successful day coming third overall. Both our Year 3 boys and girls came first in their year level. Congratulations to all students who competed and represented our school in a very positive manner.

Thank you to Mr Nichols, Mrs Kregor and Mrs McCreadie for accompanying our team and Mr James Dunn and Mrs Carolyn McMillen for being our parent helpers on the day.

The following students placed in the top 30:

Grade 3 Girls

Grace 3rd, Scarlett 4th, Lottie 21st, Mia 25th

Grade 3 Boys

Tim 2nd, Cooper 7th, Nayte 10th, Henry 25th

Grade 4 Girls

Abbie 9th, Audrey 10th

Grade 4 Boys

Oliver 16th, Harry 19th, Elroy 25th

Grade 5 Girls

Lily 18th, Isla 19th

Grade 5 Boys

Noah 9th, Harry 30th

Grade 6 Girls

Rubie 1st, Hannah 23rd, Florrie 24th

Grade 6 Boys

Sam 5th

Please see information below about the Symmons Plains All Schools Cross Country.

Tasmanian All Schools Cross Country - Primary

The All Schools Cross Country is at Symmons Plains on Tuesday 27^th June 2023.

Richmond Primary will not be entering a team, but students are welcome to enter as long as they have a parent or guardian who is available to transport and supervise them on the day.

There is an entry fee of $18.00 (plus $2.00 admin fee).

Anyone interested in competing will find entry forms, timetables and further information at the below link. Entries close 12pm Wed 21^st June. Entries can be submitted after this date but there is an increase in the fee charged.

2023 All Schools Primary Cross Country Championships | Athletics Tasmania (tasathletics.org.au)

If you need any further information, please contact Mr Nichols.

Prep News

Preps enjoyed a morning with their Kinder buddies on Thursday 25^th May. Despite cold wind gusts, we all rugged up and headed outside to the school grounds and went on a scavenger hunt. Equipped with clipboards, pencils and photo check lists of what to look for, Prep students took Kinder Students under ‘their wings’ and enthusiastically searched high and low to complete the task. We completed the morning with a story and an art activity in recognition of National Reconciliation Week.

Term 2 in 5/6A

One highlight of our term included an excursion to Parliament House, where we participated in a tour and role play in the House of Assembly. We learned about the roles and responsibilities of local, state and federal government. The opportunity to debate a bill in the chamber inspired two of our students, Mackenzie and Kara, to organise a school debating team which has been meeting of a lunchtime with Mrs McVilly. 

Our class have just completed their Lantern Walk artwork in preparation for the upcoming community event. 

We have also now finished a unit of work on chemical sciences, with a focus on reversible and irreversible changes, solutes, solvents, solubility and solutions. 

New Gymnastic Equipment

Students from Kinder to Grade 6 have been using the new Gymnastics equipment that we purchased last year. It has been heaps of fun, and lots of new skills have been learnt. Over the last two weeks we have been working on jumping, balancing, climbing and rolling activities.

Mr Nichols

Lantern Walk Thursday 22nd June

Safeguarding

eSafety at Home

As parents it can be a challenge to navigate the ongoing jungle of the internet and social media. We can’t know all the answers in this everchanging world, but there is help out there; and just a little bit of knowledge can go a very long way to helping keep our kids safe.

The eSafety Commissioner has a fabulous website with all the information you need. It contains downloadable resources to support you to support your child to be safe when online. These resources can help start the conversation about online safety and strategies you can use at home.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/resources

On the home page you will find:

Videos
Books
Information sheets
Audio files
Activities
Family tech agreements

I strongly encourage you to jump online and familiarise yourself with the site. This is our best defence to protect our children in a world where it is so easy to connect – a blessing when we know how and a curse if we don’t know how to keep them safe.

Don't forget to keep an eye on our Schoolzine Calendar for upcoming events.