NEWSLETTER

Issue 2 Friday 8 March 2024

We learn on the lands of the Ngadjuri Nation

TERM DATES 2024


TERM 1Monday 29 January  -  Friday 12 April
TERM 2

Monday 29 April  -  Friday 5 July  

TERM 3Monday 22 July  -  Friday 27 September
TERM 4Monday 30 September  -  Friday 13 December


Some Important Dates for Term 1

Adelaide Cup Public HolidayMonday 11 March
NaplanMonday 18  -  Monday 25 March
Governing Council MeetingTuesday 19 March
Parent InterviewsMonday 25  -  Wednesday 27 March
School PhotosWednesday 27 March
Good Friday Public HolidayFriday 29 March
Easter Monday Public HolidayMonday 1 April
Last Day of Term / Early Dismissal time of 2:10pmFriday 12 April


Student Free Days in 2024


TERM 2PUPIL FREE DAYTUESDAY 11 JUNE
TERM 3SCHOOL CLOSUREMONDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
TERM 3 PUPIL FREE DAYTUESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER
TERM 4PUPIL FREE DAYFRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER





From The Principal

Classroom Observations

Over the last two weeks, I have been doing some observations in classrooms. The purpose for my observations has been specifically around the use of Learning Intentions. A Learning Intention is a description of what learners should know, understand and be able to do by the end of a learning period. Learning Intentions ensure that:

-          students know what the lesson is about and can gauge they own successes

-          teachers are purposeful in their planning and teaching.

-          teachers can provide targeted feedback to students on their learning

 

During my observations, I have seen that teachers are using their Learning Intentions effectively. What I have also seen is a range of very interesting lessons, with highly engaged students. I have seen calm classrooms with well developed student-teacher relationships, based on genuine care and empathy. I have also seen really focussed and targeted work undertaken by the support staff working in classrooms; using their skills to help students not just with their literacy and numeracy, but also with their organisation and social development.

 

I really am fortunate to work with such a dedicated and professional team. All our teachers and support staff are focussed on supporting our children to grow and thrive; and I can see that in action every day.

Gail Holland

Principal

School Routines and Procedures – Term 1

Forms To Complete

*  Annual School Photograph & Student Name Publication Permission 2024

Complete before Photo Day on Wednesday 27 March

*  Consent & Permissions Form 2024

Complete for each child on the Audiri App

*  Consent Form For Chief Executive Approved Early Dismissals

Complete on the Audiri App

Only complete if you child is a new enrolment in 2024 (or you forgot to do it in 2023).

This is a once only form and is compliant for the time your child attends Greenock Primary School.

*  Change of Details 2024   

Please complete on the Audiri App to update any of the following changes to your circumstances:

*  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

**Contact the Front Office by phone or email or in person to provide further details

Front Office Hours:

The school reception area is staffed between 8:30am & 4:00pm (open term time only)

Contacting the School:

You can contact the school by phone or email (details at the bottom of this newsletter). 

*On a day where there is only one staff member working in the office or if you call outside of school hours, the answering machine may be on.  Please leave your name, number and a short message with the reason for your call.  If you ask for a call back, we will respond as soon as we are available to do so. All messages are passed on to the relevant staff member.

Staff in the Front Office:

·         Monday         -      Gail  *

·         Tuesday         -      Liz (am) & Gail

·         Wednesday   -      Mari & Gail

·         Thursday       -      Mari  *

·         Friday            -       Mari  *

Uniform Purchasing:

Uniforms can be purchased on Monday – Wednesday.  Please see Gail A.

Uniforms cannot be purchased outside of these times.

Preferred payment method is by EFT or Credit Card and uniforms will not be issued until payment is received.

Drop Off and Pick Up Times  -  Drive with caution:

Remain in your car and move off after your child has left or entered the car.

These are very busy times of the day and we ask for your cooperation so that our students and the school community can come and go safely each day.

Remember to drive slowly .

PLEASE DO NOT U-TURN OR REVERSE IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL

School Supervision  -  Yard Duty:

Yard Duty begins at 8:30am each morning.  Please ensure children arrive after this time.  Staff will be on duty until 3:30pm each afternoon and children will be supervised within the JP playground area until they are picked up by their adult.

Please arrange to collect your children at 3:10pm each afternoon and contact the school if you are going to be late.

If you are having difficulty with these times,  the Before/After School Care service, Happy Haven, operating from Nuriootpa Primary School, is available for you to use.  Phone 81555 444 to book or for more information.

Late Arrival and Early Departures:

If your child is late to school (ie arrives after 8:50am), they will need to see staff in the Front Office who will issue them with a yellow ‘Late Arrival’ card to take to their class teacher.  Parents picking up children early for an appointment will also need to come to the Front Office and get a pink ‘Early Departure’ card. Please do not ask teachers to have your child wait for you in the Front Office as this impinges on valuable learning time. Collect your child from the classroom after handing the card to the teacher.  

Illness & Injuries at School – Collecting Your Child:

Students who are sent to the Front Office/First Aid room by their teacher due to illness and also for injuries that are considered more serious eg a hard knock to the head, will be sent home. 

Unwell students should not attend school until they have fully recovered and will not pass on illness to others.

Parents will always be contacted first in any situation.

As our First Aid room is equipped to accommodate one child at a time, it is important that you collect your child promptly once you have been notified, so that other students needing assistance can be attended to.  

If you are unable to collect your child, please organise your emergency contact and let the school know who this will be.

Primary caregivers eg parents are NOT emergency contacts but people other than yourselves eg relatives or friends who can be contacted if parents are unavailable.

Please list at least 2 local emergency contacts for your children.

 Start of 2024 Tasks to Complete:

*  Consent & Permissions Form 2024

Complete for each child on the Audiri App

*  Consent Form For Chief Executive Approved Early Dismissals

Complete on the Audiri App

Only complete if you child is a new enrolment in 2024 (or you forgot to do it in 2023).

This is a once only form and is compliant for the time your child attends Greenock Primary School.

*  Change of Details 2024   

Please complete on the Audiri App to update any of the following changes to your circumstances:

*  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

**Contact the Front Office by phone or email or in person to provide further details

Students' Belongings:

Please label your child's school uniforms and all belongings that are brought to school eg food & drink containers     

Healthcare Plans for 2024

Parents/caregivers please update your child's Healthcare Plan and medication at the beginning of the 2024 school  year so that it remains     current and your child will be covered for all activities throughout the year, including swimming lessons and camp.

Healthcare plans must be completed by your doctor/healthcare professional and all medication must be in the original packaging with the label attached.

Please note:  If your child no longer suffers from a medical condition a signed letter from your doctor is required before this information can be removed from our records.

Assembly Awards

Class Awards - Week 2

Reception
Year 1
Year 2/3
Year 4
Year 5/6

Class Awards - Week 4

Reception
Year 1
Year 2/3
Year 4
Year 5/6

Class Awards - Week 6

Reception
Year 1
Year 2/3
Year 4
Year 5/6

Kindness & Numeracy Awards

Library News

Premier's Reading Challenge in 2024 - A Message from the Premier

GPS will once again, be participating the challenge this year.

School Photos Order Instructions (also on Audiri App)

Hello, here we are at the middle of term one. I hope that you have all been travelling ok and that you have been able to achieve great things. The term has been a busy one so far, there always seems to be something going on. I have supported the FOG group with a Pancake Breakfast and a Morning Tea. I have also supported families, students and staff with different needs. I am always amazed at how my days can change from the moment I walk in the gate; I often find it difficult to stick with well laid plans. But I enjoy what each day brings in my role.

It is that time of term where we are feeling a little overwhelmed, tired and ready for a break in our routines. Busy lives may bring all sorts of issues into our homes, often they sneak in without us realizing it. I have a house with 3 teenagers. Between all of us, we often feel overwhelmed with busyness, sleep deprivation and life pressure.  With these big stresses come emotion and lots of it.  Often big ones that are hard to control. This doesn’t just happen with teenagers.  Does this sound like a similar thing for your home? Little people (or not so little people) with big emotions, fatigue and being overwhelmed with expectations?

So, what are emotions? Our brains are continually taking in information through our senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing).  Our emotional brain then attaches feelings to the sensory information that we are experiencing. We all have emotions and the feelings that we feel are the result of our emotions.  We can all have more than one feeling going on at any given time. We can even have “hard to have” feelings and “easy to have” feelings all at once. Sometimes they feel great and sometimes they feel not so good. 

Life can be so complicated with emotions and feelings, but do we need really them? Yes, they do a few different things for us:

·         Help us understand information that our body receives about the world around us – emotions can alert us to danger.

·         Communicate and connect with others – when we have experienced different emotions, we can develop empathy and know how others are feeling and have a sense of understanding towards them. If you see a friend crying, you know that they are sad and you may be moved to help them feel better.

  • Behaviour – emotions help us figure out how we should react or respond to circumstances and situations. Perhaps someone bumps into you and accidentally knocks your phone out of your hand. You may feel irritated and have the urge to bump them back – but they apologise. You decide to smile and say, “No problem”, there is no need for you to react and retaliate.
  • Meet our needs. We all have similar needs – we need connection with others, safety, freedom, purpose, fun, and a sense of accomplishment. Emotions are often a warning sign that a need isn’t getting met. e.g. Something unfair happened and you feel angry. You have a need for fairness. 

Here at school, we spend time talking with children about their feelings. We help them understand how their body’s respond and where they feel their feelings. Sometimes children may have lots of different big feelings going on at once.  They may feel “all mixed up” which results in meltdowns or they may react in negative ways which results in not so good choices. By talking about our feelings with children, it can help them to identify their feelings.  They may be sad, but it is in fact, frustration, feeling left out or disappointed which results in making them sad. We as adults need to model our behaviour and teach our children how we manage our feelings. We can be honest and let them know that we are feeling guilty, frustrated, excited or insecure.  They can then watch us to see how we handle ourselves so they can learn what to do when they feel those feelings. Managing our emotions is a life skill that we use continually and it is important that we can teach our children to do this as well.

Here is a feelings chart that we use at school.  If you would like a copy, let me know and I can make one for you. 

I hope that you all have a great long weekend.  Stay safe and I look forward to catching up and having a chat with you sometime.

Cheers Jo. 

Greenock Primary School Calendar

Parent Noticeboard

6 Secrets To Learning Faster

https://parentshop.schoolzineplus.com/enews?nid=24
Click on the link to find out more from Parentshop.

Greenock Primary School

Principal:   Gail Holland

Greenock PS Governing Council

Contact details: