Dear families & friends, 

Thank you to everyone that came along to our end of term Learning Expo. Students and staff enjoyed sharing the learning from Term 1 , with a great turn out from families.

This term our focus is on sustainability with our Inquiry central idea – “I can make a difference”. Students are at the beginning stages of understanding what the central idea is about which will lead then to the development of their own inquiry journey.

Reporting to families

Teachers are currently writing Learning Summary reports for students that will go home in week 7 followed by 3 way conferences in week 8. The 3-way conversations with students supports students to build their capacity  to have deeper conversations about their learning and gives them the opportunity to have some agency in discussions about their learning and their next steps. 

New staff

We have been excited to welcome 4 new SSO’s to our team for this term after receiving some additional funding support.

We welcome Marlene Lee, Andie Horman, Lei Guan and Lilly Slater who will be working with students across the classes. Find out more about each of them with a short introduction later in the newsletter.  

We also have 5 pre-service (student) teachers joining us this term so it is very busy, with lots of new faces in classes!

Volunteers

National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering and will be next held on 20-26 May 2024. This event provides an opportunity to highlight the important role of volunteers in our community and recognises the diverse passions and talents everyone brings to the act of volunteering. it is also an opportunity to thank our volunteers and invite people not currently volunteering to give it a go. If you are interested in volunteering at school contact Di or Gillian to find out more! 

A HUGE THANK YOU to our current volunteers who support students, teachers and the school in a range of ways including: 

• Sports coaching and managing
• covering library books
• creating resources for classes
• listening to reading
• helping out on excursions
• Governing Council 
• cooking BBQ's
• helping out at breakfast club

Cheers Skye 😊

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time to reflect and continue building momentum towards reconciliation in our schools, workplaces, and wider communities.  

Each year Reconciliation Australia selects a different theme to celebrate NRW. The theme for NRW 2024 is 'Now More Than Ever'.  

Celebrating NRW is a way of building community understanding and pride in reconciliation. 

NRW is held from 27 May to 3 June each year, when all Australians can:

• reflect on our shared histories, cultures and achievements 
• explore how we can join the national reconciliation journey.

Reconciliation Australia develops a different theme for NRW each year. National Sorry Day is on 26 May, the day before NRW. The week then starts and ends with two important dates:

• 27 May – in 1967, 90% of Australians voted ‘yes’ in a referendum, giving the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and count them in the census.
• 3 June – in 1992, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s special relationship with the land. This paved the way for land rights and Native Title.

Reconciliation is about building respectful relationships between Aboriginal people and the South Australian community for the benefit of all. It is an ongoing journey for all of us and a process underpinned in values that define an inclusive and respectful society. 

Hi, everyone! My name is Lei, I am working as a SSO at Felixstow Primary School.

I'm passionate about education and committed to supporting students in their learning journey. I hold an Education Support Certificate 3 and am currently pursuing my Certificate 4. I'm fortunate to have gained valuable experience through my internship at Felixstow Primary School, where I was later welcomed back as a volunteer. Working with the students and teachers has been an enriching experience, providing me with invaluable insights into the world of education.

Actually, I still fondly remember my own primary school teachers and the impact they had on my life. I find it incredibly rewarding to be a part of children's growth and development, even in a small way. I believe this is the true essence of being an educator. 

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family on adventures, whether it's traveling to new places or simply enjoying nature's beauty in botanical gardens and parks. I find nature to be a source of inspiration and tranquility.

I'm eager to contribute my skills and enthusiasm to this wonderful school community and look forward to working collaboratively with all of you to support our students' success.

I'm Lilly, and I'm one of the new SSOs that has started at Felixstow in term 2. Outside of Felixstow, I am a yoga teacher and I am completing my final year in Chinese medicine. In my spare time you'll likely find me outdoors, by the ocean, or spending quality time with my friends and family (I'm a busy social bee). I have a strong passion for helping people and have always loved working with children. I am super excited to be working at Felixstow for the next month and really look forward to getting to know the students better.

Hello my name is Marlene and I am working as a SSO at Felixstow Primary School, a community that I feel close to my heart as I did part of my placement here during my studies. My passion for education was sparked while supporting my little one through his journey with ASD, and since then I am committed to guiding students to embrace their super powers and reach their full potential.

A little bit more about me, I am a proud mum of two boys, and I have been grateful to call Australia home for the last decade. Some of the activities that fill my cup with joy are traveling, sunsets at the beach, walking in nature and watching movies with my family.

I hope to see you around.

Our congratulations to Stella (P1) who raised the most money ($1300)  during last year's Colour Fun Run. What an amazing effort Stella!

Term 1 ice block sales were a huge success.

We raised $534

With this money we have purchased 2 musical keyboards and stands for our music program.

Thank you to everyone that bought a Zooper Dooper or helped at the stall.

We will have sales again when the weather warms up in Term 4.

May is Volunteer month and we will be celebrating our wonderful volunteers on Friday 31st May.  We have our regular Ban Ban Babalya on that morning and we will then have a special morning tea for all of our amazing volunteers. Invitations will be sent out shortly with the details.

We are asking for volunteers to listen to children read in the class rooms this term, 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. Kelly is also looking for one or two volunteers to support the knitting club at break times on Monday - Thursday each week. 

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.

Breakfast Club continues this term and there are more themed breakfasts planned for students to enjoy.

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

Milk

Tea/Coffee (for adults)

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

The environment club has been busy planning what native tree species to plant in the Forest. They have also met with a frog expert from Green Adelaide who advised the group on how to enhance the pond habitat for the benefit of frogs.

Environment  Club meets on Tuesdays at second break.

In P2 we are excited to begin our narrative exploration using the mentor text The Water Tower by Gary Crew. We spent some time discussing the front cover and noticing what we see, think and wonder. We came up with some great thinking about the water tower and what it might represent.

"I think the water tower is not man-made but from another planet."

"The water tower has a strange spiral pattern behind it, it looks like a Wi-Fi signal."

"I think the water has a laser beaming down that will capture humans and animals."

Scholastic Book Club

Students have received Book Club issue 3, which has a great offer, that every student who orders will receive a $5 promotional credit to spend in Issue 4. In addition, the school receives reward points on all orders placed which are then used to purchase books for the library.

Student orders are placed online at http://www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP or you can download the LOOP app.

The closing date for orders is Monday 20th May by 3pm.

Wellbeing Breaktime Activities

The Resource Pod continues to be open at one breaktime a day, students can participate in a variety of activities or they can just use the space to relax and read a book. A new activity that has started this term is knitting. We have two knitting groups of four students and are looking for some help, so if you can knit and are free on Mondays or Wednesdays 11am to 11.45am  and Tuesdays & Thursdays 1.30pm to 2.15pm, please see Kelly, Di or Gillian.

Library lessons

Juniors had a lesson on how to find books in the library. They learned that all the books have a call number (a label with the type of book, such as F for fiction and the first three letters of the authors surname) and that fiction books are arranged in alphabetical order and that non-fiction books are arranged in numerical order. They were given an activity where they had to find a named book and record the title and the call number.

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.