Richmond Primary School Newsletter Wednesday 9th April 2025

Principal's Address

Thanks to all the families who came along to watch our third Colour Run on Wednesday 26^th March, at Richmond Primary. The serene autumn afternoon provided a perfect backdrop for an event that our students thoroughly enjoyed.

I would like to express our sincere thanks to the School Association for organizing the icy poles for the afternoon and providing the coloured powder. Special appreciation goes to Andrea, Kate and Lisa for their efforts. Additionally, we are grateful to the staff who assisted with the colour throwing.

The Colour Run is one of the many events supported by our School Association. The Association is always seeking volunteers to support various initiatives across the school. If you are interested in contributing, please do not hesitate to contact any of the committee members.

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School Association 2025

Congratulations to the following people recently elected to the School Association Committee at the AGM held on Thursday 27^th March.

Chair: Hannah Direen

Deputy Chair: Nick Pastoor

Treasurer: Kate Lance

Secretary: TBC

Committee Members: Sophie Milic + Claire Hansen

School Reps: Clare McVilly + Allison Scott

Parent Reps: Andrea Easton + Jonna Vennola

We are all looking forward to a very positive and productive year ahead.

I would like to extend our gratitude to Jess Phillips and Jessie King for their exceptional contributions to the association. Jess, who has diligently served as our treasurer for the past two years, has managed our finances with remarkable precision and dedication. Jessie, who took on the role of secretary last year, has been instrumental in ensuring smooth communication and organization within the association. Both have fulfilled their challenging roles with great competence and commitment, and their efforts have significantly contributed to the success of the School Association.  Thank you, Jess and Jessie, for your hard work and unwavering support.

Attendance

As this first busy term draws to a close, I wish to thank all our families who have worked hard to get their children to school. Coming to school every day gives your child the very best chance to learn and grow and to connect with their mates and their teachers. Its where bright futures start and where they will benefit the most.

Just for your information, if a child misses one day every fortnight, it adds up to 4 weeks of missed school per year. Over their entire school life, this amounts to one and a half years of lost learning.

I hope everyone enjoys some down time over the holiday period.

Regards,

Clare McVilly

Last week I attended the Leaders Forum with the DECYP. One of the agenda items addressed the Rights of Children the world over.

Highlights

• All children are protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Australian mandatory reporting laws require suspected child abuse to be reported
• Australian law protects children against entering the workforce too young
• The UN has called for Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14

Nearly every country in the world, including Australia, has committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, making it the most widely supported human rights treaty. 

Children's rights in the Convention include:

• the right to be treated fairly
• the right to have a say about decisions affecting them
• the right to live and grow up healthy
• the right to be safe no matter where they are
• the right to an education
• the right to play and have fun 

What have we been up to in Kinder?

We have been reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’.  We have been engaging in literacy play, practising re-telling the story.  We have been making a book, using our own words and illustrations.

We enjoyed the colour run with our 3/4A buddies!

Riley and Theo have been building us a car ramp.  We are very grateful, and we think they did an amazing job!

We love art in 1/2A!

We love art in 1/2A!  

This term we have created some beautiful piece of art, including self-portraits which included some important information about ourselves.

We also collaged some monsters to use as the picture for our dojo class rewards – it was tricky doing lots of details without being able to draw them. 

Recently, we created some colourful autumn trees with a description of autumn. 

Our most recent artwork is some cute Easter Bunnies juggling Easter eggs.

Here are some reasons why we love art in 1/2A:

Paige – I love doing art because I can put it on my bedroom wall.

Teddy – We make very creative stuff, and I love all the colours.

Joe – It calms us down.

Primary Leadership Conference

On Thursday 3 April, Angus, Emily, Humphrey, Makayla, Mary-Jane and Oliver all represented Richmond Primary at the Primary Leaders Conference at Huonville, accompanied by Mr Duhig.  With around 50 other students from Southern Tasmania, they listened to an early career engineer describe the different leadership styles of people that he had worked with, making the point that there is not a particular leadership personality – leadership comes in many shapes and forms.

After brainstorming features of leadership in small groups of students from different schools, the students split into two larger groups where they undertook different hands-on activities exploring communication, problem solving and teamwork, all essential components of leadership.

The groups swapped activities after lunch, and we had to leave a little early to make it back to Richmond before the end of the school day. It was wonderful to see the students behave so respectfully and participate enthusiastically in all the activities and work so well with so many students that they hadn’t met before.

Levies and Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)

Families should be receiving invoices for levies in the mail.

Instalment options are by agreement with Lisa Brooks, our School Business Manager. Please note that we are 
able to offer flexible and negotiated options to assist parents to budget for this cost if the payment schedule 
does not suit your circumstances.
The school accepts payment by cash, eftpos or cheque. Levies can also be paid by Bpay, Centrepay and at Service 
Tasmania.

Student Assistance Scheme STAS

STAS provides assistance to eligible families by waiving levies for students. It applies to students enrolled in a school from kindergarten through to year 12.

STAS is not a direct payment, but means you won’t have to pay the levy charge.

Are you eligible for STAS?

If you have a current concession card as listed below, you can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card

Details re Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) and application forms may be found at:

https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/fees-levies/

If you have already been accepted for STAS there is no need to re-apply, please check with the school office if you are unsure on 6260 2191.

Please note: if you hold a current concession card and have not applied before, you must apply, it is not automatically added.

Dates for your calendars

School Association Events and Fundraising

Exciting Times Ahead at Richmond Primary School!

The Richmond Primary School Association has a busy few months of events and fundraising activities planned, and we need your support to make them a success!

We have a variety of volunteering opportunities available and would love to see some new faces joining us. If you're short on time, don't worry – there are other ways you can show your support too.

Please take a moment to fill out the attached survey and let us know how you'd like to help

https://richmondprimary.schoolzineplus.com/survey/21 

We'll be in touch with more details soon. Thank you for your support!

2025 Volunteering Requirements

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, it is mandatory for all volunteers to have their RWVP (Registration for Working with Vulnerable People) and to have completed the Our Obligations – Safeguarding Training 15-minute video before engaging with children and young people in a volunteer capacity at our school. Certificates for the training video are valid for 12 months from the date of completion. These steps are essential in helping us maintain a safe and supportive environment for our children.

To apply for a Registration for Working with Vulnerable people, please visit:

Apply for registration to work with vulnerable people | Service Tasmania

To complete the Our Obligations – Safeguarding Training 15-minute video please visit:

Compulsory Safeguarding Training for Workers - Department for Education, Children and Young People

Volunteers are a vital part of our school community, and we are excited to collaborate with you in the year ahead.

Interschool Athletics Report

Richmond Primary has emerged as the Champions of Division C Athletics after an incredible performance at the recent SPSSA Athletics Competition. Our team was outstanding on the day, clinching the win by the narrowest of margins. Perhaps our brand-new tops gave us that extra boost in running, throwing, and jumping—they certainly looked fantastic!

Final Points:

1. Richmond – 320 points
2. Howrah – 319 points
3. Lindisfarne North – 282 points
4. Albuera Street – 264 points

This victory means we will be promoted to Division B for 2026, which is very exciting.

A big thank you to Miss Taylor and Mr Purtell for their help on the day!

The following students have been selected for the Champions Carnival on April 11th, which will be held at the Domain. We have a huge number of students selected!

Jordyn – Vortex

Grace – Long jump, 100m, 200m, 400m

Tim - 100m, 200m, 400m, Relay

Leo – 200m, 400m, Relay

Cooper – 800m, Relay

Sam - 800m, Relay

Elizabeth – 800m

Milo – 800m, Relay

Georgia – 800m, Relay

Zoe – 800m

Henry – Relay

Nayte – Relay

Jaxx – Relay

Theo – Relay

Riley – Relay

Gabe – Relay

Harrison – Relay

Mia – Relay

Tori – Relay

Lilly-Anne – Relay

Macey - Relay

Ivy – Relay

Archie – Relay

Ryan L – Relay

Bailey – Relay

Oren - Relay

Lift Off! TMAG's Festival for Children and Young People

Blast off into a world of adventure at Lift Off! TMAG’s Festival for Children and Young People, from 12-17 April. Enjoy live performances, hands-on workshops, special displays and activities.

Themed as ‘to the max’, Lift Off! 2025 will explore extremes in all its many forms – from exploding volcanoes in ancient times to the spectacular Auroras of Antarctica. From the mightiest of tiny beetles to the incredible adaptations of the enormous Sperm Whale.  From fire adapted landscapes to deep ocean floors, Lift Off! will have you curious and amazed.

Lift Off! 2025 Program