Dear families & friends, 

This term in our Inquiry ‘Story to Success’ have been learning about character strengths and what our own character strengths might be.

They have been investigating character strengths through stories of Olympic athletes and in narratives. All our primary students and staff also completed the character strengths survey to look at which are their top strengths and will start looking at how they use these to reach their goals.

Character strengths and understanding these are also related to our Berry St learning. See more about Character Strengths later in the newsletter. 

Berry St Education Model (BSEM)

As a site we use the Berry St Education model to support students to develop skills, understanding and strategies to be ready for learning and to support their self-regulation skills. As a staff we have been developing our skills and practices over a couple of years and we would like to help families better understand this part of students learning experience at Felixstow.

Later this term I will be running a parent information session on BSEM to support interested families to learn more about the strategies we use and how these can also be implemented at home. I will be sharing a little of the theory behind it including some ‘brain science’ along with helping families understand the language and strategies we use at school each day to help build consistency for children between home and school.  

The session will be on the evening of Tuesday 3rd September. Keep an eye out for an invite which will be sent out soon to book through Eventbrite.

NAPLAN

Year 3 and 5 students and families have now received their NAPLAN results. We are pleased that we have maintained a ‘strong’ rating in all areas for year 3 and 5 apart from Spelling in year 3 which is ‘developing’. We were very pleased to see that the majority of our year 5 cohort made middle and upper progress in Reading and Numeracy from their year 3 NAPLAN assessments.  

Playgroup

After several inquiries recently we are excited to announce we have decided to REOPEN OUR PLAYGROUP! Our first session will be on Thursday 17th October (Week 1 Term 4), 9am to 10.30am.

If you have younger 0-5 year olds or know someone that does, come along to meet local families and have some fun with your child. Emily (OSHC) will be our playgroup facilitator so we know it will be a quality program 😊  

We are looking forward to a number of events and activities this term and hope to see many of you joining in and celebrating your child's learning journey. 

Cheers Skye 😊

Book in with a friend and have a play date at school! 😃

Our small but mighty OSHC needs your help to continue operating! Unfortunately, a drop in bookings this year is threatening the future viability of our service. Your bookings and enrolments are crucial for us to keep offering this service.With the new Child Care Subsidy in place OSHC is now more affordable than ever and most families only need to pay a small portion of our $30 after school care fee.

FOR EXAMPLE: 

Your Family Income:  $0 - $80,000 = 90% CCS - you would pay approx only $3.00 for nearly 3 hours of entertainment for your child and 3 hours extra time for yourself!! 

NB: Your Family Income: More than $80,000 to $530,000 = 90% - 0% - the percentage goes down by 1% for every $5,000 your family earns above $80,000.  

You can calculate your increased Child Care Subsidy rate at:

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-much-child-care-subsidy-you-can-get?context=41186 

https://startingblocks.gov.au/child-care-subsidy-calculator (see attached image)

Your CCS percentage is paid directly to the OSHC service to reduce the fees you pay.

For more information or to enrol in the service please contact the Director Emily or Gillian at the front office. 

Please help us save our OSHC!! 

We are asking for volunteers to listen to children read in the class rooms this term, if you are interested please see Di or Gillian and we will add your name to the list. We will be providing some training to support you in this role at one of our morning teas. The next one is on Friday 30th August (week 6) 9.30 - 10.30am, we will meet in the kitchen after Ban ba ban balya. 

If you are not already a volunteer, we will happily help you to get your clearances and complete your application process so that you can work with our children. Any questions please see either Di or Gillian.

Please come along to our breakfast club and enjoy some warm toast or a treat if it is one of our special breakfast theme days.

Thank you to Leigh (Amity & Harrison's dad) for donating some lovely juicy oranges and kiwi fruit.

Breakfast Club is open from 8.30am to 8.50am, Monday to Friday in the OSHC kitchen. All students and their families are welcome, just drop on by (there is no need to book a place). 

Breakfast may include:

Toast and various spreads

Fruit

Cereal

Yoghurt

Milk

Tea/Coffee (for adults)

Its a great opportunity to have a bite to eat and socialise with other students/families. 

CBCA Book Week

A highlight of our school year is Book Week which we will be celebrating on Friday 23rd August (week 5). This year's theme is 'Reading is Magic'. Students are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite book character. We will have a parade on the green first thing in the morning and families are welcome to come along to watch their children. This will be followed by some fun 'book' related activities in the classroom.

Each year, schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week celebrating books, and Australian authors and illustrators. Teachers and librarians conduct activities relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. Established in 1945, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians.

Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)

A reminder that the final day of the Challenge is this term on Wednesday 4th September (week 7). Record sheets must be handed in to Kelly or Gillian no later than this date but can also be handed in any time before if the student has completed the Challenge. Awards are given to students who have completed the Challenge (once the school has received them) at an assembly in Term 4. The Premier’s Reading Challenge website: 

https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/

Book Borrowing & Returns

Students have the opportunity to borrow books from the Resource Pod during scheduled class times and when the Pod is open at break times. All books are on loan for two weeks and the due date can be found on a slip attached to the inside back cover of the book or on a book mark. Please return the books by the due date or before if finished, as other students may be waiting to borrow them. 

Students have received Book Club issue 5, which has two great offers. Firstly,  every student who orders will receive a $5 promotional credit to spend in Issue 6 and secondly,  families can get up to three free books. In addition, the school receives reward points on all orders placed which are then used to purchase books for the library. Student orders can be placed online at: 

https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx

The closing date for orders is by 3pm Monday 12th August.

The Knitting Club continues this term with two groups knitting at one break time twice a week. It has proven very popular, so if you are interested please see Kelly and she will put your name down on the waiting list. 

Hear what a few of our knitters have to say about the Knitting Club.

Aaima 'Knitting Club is fun because we get to learn different ways to knit and it's also relaxing. Also, I like to knit when I am at home'

Nina 'I have learned the knit stitch and purl stitch. I also knit at home and can now cast on stitches. I have knitted a scarf for a friend.'

Elizabeth 'Its really, really fun, I get help when I'm stuck, I've learned the knit stitch and the stitches move from left to right.

Leah 'I am still learning the knit stitch. The rhyme we learned helps me to do it.'

Knit Stitch Rhyme

In through the front door

Around the back

Out through the window

And off jumps jack