NEWSLETTER

TERM 3	Monday 24 July  -  Friday 29 September
TERM 4	Monday 16 October  -  Friday 15 December

TERM 3:
Woodhouse Whole School Camp	Monday 7  -  Wednesday 9 Augsut
Book Week	Monday 21  -  Friday 28 Ausgust
**Book Week Parade**	** Note date change to Thursday 24 August **
School Closure Day	Monday 4 September
Pupil Free Day	Tuesday 5 September
Swimming Lessons R-5	Monday 25  -  Friday 29 September
TERM 4:
Sports Day	Friday 27 October
Pupil Free Day	Friday 24 November
School Concert	Thursday 30 November
Year 6 Graduation	Thursday 7 December

On Thursday 15th June, two members of the Local Education Team (LET) came to visit and take part in an Instructional Walk through our classrooms. Our visitors were Janice Roberts (Principal Consultant) and Sharon Okmasich (Curriculum Lead).

Some of their feedback included:

* They noted that all classrooms were calm, orderly and safe, with known routines that students knew well and responded to without hesitation.

* They commented on the quality teaching they observed; noting that it was explicit and used evidence-based approaches.

* Explicit direct instruction was evident in classrooms which included regular checking for understanding by the teachers and modelling of “I do, we do, you do”.

* They noticed that our SSO’s were utilised well; being clear on what was expected of them and working closely with individual and small groups of students.

* The differentiation that they saw was targeted and planned, with accommodations for students who needed them

* They commented on how visual schedules were evident in classrooms.

* They said it was a joy to visit our school and that the students were welcoming and responsive; as were staff.

I felt very proud to be able to ‘show off’ our wonderful school and the outstanding teachers and support staff who work here.

Your children will bring home their Semester 1 reports on Friday afternoon. Teachers have spent many hours writing these, so please pay close attention, particularly to the ‘areas for development’ section. Students in Years 1-6 will receive A-E grades for each subject. Reception students will receive an ‘effort’ grade only.

But what do the grades mean? The grades we assign now are not like the ‘olden days’, when students were compared to one another. Nor does it mean that they simply got 50% of the test correct. If a student achieves a ‘C’ grade, it means that they are ‘working at standard’. This means they are working exactly where they should be.

Teachers assign grades by assessing each individual student against the Achievement Standards of the Australian Curriculum for each subject. For instance, one of the English achievement standards for Reception students is: recognise the letters of the English alphabet. One of the Year 6 Maths achievement standards is: solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers. When a student achieves a

‘C’ grade, it means they have demonstrated that they are competent against a set of achievement standards, such as these, for their year level.

In order for students to achieve a ‘B’ grade, they must demonstrate extensive knowledge and understanding of key concepts, a high level of competence in skills and processes and be able to use these skills in some new contexts. Those students who achieved ‘A’ grades were able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of key concepts, a very high level of competence in skills and processes and were able to apply these skills in new contexts.

Once we return from school holidays, the school camp to Woodhouse will be almost upon us! I know students and staff are all getting quite excited about our first camp in four years! Please make sure you have returned all your forms and have either paid for camp or made arrangements for a payment schedule.

For those students who are not attending camp, letters have gone home inviting them to attend Woodhouse for a day trip. Please make sure your return slip for this option is returned by the end of this week, so that consent forms and invoices can go home as soon as school returns.

If you’d like to get involved with more activities around the school, you can do that through one of our Governing Council sub-committees. You may like to join a sub-committee and get involved in organising events and activities. Or you may like to volunteer every now and again for the activities that occur. Your involvement can be as much or as little as you like.

Governing Council Sub-Committees:

· FOG (Friends of Greenock)

· Fundraising

· Grounds and Environment

Governing Council – position available:

Alternatively, we have one vacant position on the Governing Council. What does the Governing Council do? From the department’s website:

Governing Councils are bodies that govern a school or preschool. Governing Councils work with the Principal to help set and monitor the direction of a site. A Governing Council meets regularly to talk about the direction for the site. (At GPS, we meet twice a term: usually weeks 3 and 8 of each term.)

In your role on a Governing Council, you work with the Principal to:

· involve the local community

· develop and approve local policies

· set the broad direction and vision of the site

· monitor and review the site improvement plan

https://www.education.sa.gov.au/working-us/governing-councils/about-governing-councils/what-governing-councils-do

If you would like to join the Governing Council for the remainder of the year, please ring or drop into the Front Office for a nomination form. Or you can email the Governing Council directly at this address: gpsgoverningcouncil@gmail.com

I hope all the students and staff have a well-deserved break over the holidays: that they get to spend time with their families, friends and loved ones and do the things that they enjoy. I look forward to seeing you all again next term and working with you all to continue to support our students’ learning and wellbeing.

Gail Holland

Principal

So that we can best support your children at school, we ask parents & caregivers to keep staff informed throughout the year whenever there are changes to your family circumstances including:

*  home address (residential and/or postal)

*  contact phone number

* employment &/or place of employment

* email address

* emergency contacts

* student's medical condition

* shared living arrangements

* custody information

You can let the school know by completing the 'Change of Details' eform on the Audiri App or by email/written notification.

Emergency Contacts:

***Please make sure you provide the school with a list of at least 2 emergency contacts OTHER THAN YOURSELVES that can be contacted if you are unavailable to collect your child due to illness or injury.***

*** Emergency contacts will need to present ID at the Front Office eg Driver's Licence before collecting students ***

PLEAE ATTEND TO YOUR CHILD'S MEDICAL NEEDS WELL BEFORE IT'S TIME FOR CAMP IN WEEK 3, TERM 3 (7-9 AUGUST)

If medication has been listed on your child's healthcare information form for camp, a healthcare plan and a medication authority which has been completed by your doctor/health professional, will be required for each medication in order for them to attend.  This applies to everything, from off the shelf, to prescription meds.

All medication must be labelled and in the original packaging.

If you have any questions regarding medication for your child whilst they are on camp please contact the Front Office and let your child's teacher know.

The Greenock Primary School Library is looking for good quality children's books to add to our collection.  They can be either fiction or non-fiction.    The school library aims to provide children with a wide range of books to support learning and a love of reading.  If you have any books you think may be suitable please contact Liz Kennedy on Tuesday or Thursday. 

In maths, the Reception class have been continuing the work on patterns that we've been doing by learning to create patterns with three elements to them. The kids have also been working hard at getting better at subitising, learning and practicing various maths strategies (like counting on, doubles and "tens facts") and looking at problem solving. In our phonics sessions, we're learning about the "Magic E:" - the split diagraph (as in "game" or "like", where the e on the end makes the vowel long). This is a pretty tricky thing to learn and the kids have been working hard at it. In our literacy sessions we've been looking more closely at recounts and learning about what they are. We are starting to write our own with (slowly) developing structure and details. This is also a good opportunity for the kids to work on their handwriting and spelling - sounding out words to write them. In Technology, Mr. Gliese has been teaching the class how to make movies with the iPads - watch out, Mr. Spielberg! And in Indonesian with Pak Brett and Mrs. Furnell the focus has been on the Indonesian words for colours.

Adam Claridge

It has once again been a busy term in the 1/2 class. Each week we engage in play-based learning actvities with the Reception class. We have enjoyed the activities this term, as well as making the Reconciliation Week banner with the help of the 5/6 class. In Maths, we have been learning all about skip-counting, patterns and addition. We have also been focusing on the ‘magic e’ rule in our Jolly Phonics lessons. We are all looking forward to a well-earned break over the holidays!

Nicole Moffett

Our students have been having a blast playing Softball this term. Kangas Softball Club has been helping students learn the basics while having a lot of fun getting active. Ask your child if they would like to take the next step into Softball.  To find Kangas Softball Club and register your interest and kept informed of the upcoming summer season and commencement dates, please follow this link Contact me with Information for 2023/2024 - Kangas Softball Club - revolutioniseSPORT