Dear Parents and Carers,
Staffing 2023
We’re delighted to announce our staffing line up for 2023! While a number of staff members remain unchanged, we also welcome some new staff members to Team Tomerong.
As previously reported, Mrs Raymer will be moving to Nowra Hill Public School into a permanent Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction position. We cannot thank Mrs Raymer enough for the energy and commitment she has given to Tomerong School over the last 7 years and know she will do a superb job at Nowra Hill.
We are also all aware that our amazing Mrs Dilley is taking leave pending retirement and we wish her every happiness. Thank you Mrs Dilley for making Kindergarten such a special time at Tomerong School. You will be missed enormously!
At the end of this year, we also farewell the lovely Miss Salmon who has done the most amazing job with our Year 4 students. I know she will be missed by everyone in the Tomerong School family and look forward to seeing her throughout 2023.
Next year, we welcome Miss Talisha Opalniuk into our school’s newly created Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction position. Miss Opalniuk will be leading curriculum K-6 with a strong emphasis on the new English and Mathematics syllabuses in 2023.
We also welcome Mrs Bec Christensen into the role of relieving Assistant Principal and classroom teacher for Year 1. Mrs Christensen is currently a permanent Assistant Principal at Nowra Public School and cannot wait to work with Tomerong’s beautiful students, families and staff.
Finally, we welcome Miss Courtney Thone to our school from Nowra East Public School. Courtney will be performing a number of roles in the school, including spending time on Years 1 & 3 and assisting Mrs Baxter with Learning Support. We know she will love Tomerong School!
Kindergarten: Miss Ashley Palcer
Year 1: Mrs Bec Christensen (AP) (Miss Courtney Thone Tuesdays + RFF and collaboration time)
Year 2: Ms Kim Baker
Year 3: Mrs Charmaine Flannery (Miss Courtney Thone Wednesdays + RFF and collaboration time)
Year 4: Ms Cathy Beal (Mrs Aja Kelly Fridays + RFF and collaboration time)
Year 5: Mr Luke Munn
Year 6: Mr Zac Newton (AP) (Mrs Lauren Moore Wednesdays + RFF and collaboration time)
Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction position (off class): Miss Talisha Opalniuk
Learning Support: Mrs Brett Baxter
Library: Mrs Rose Darby
We cannot wait to hit the ground running next year and I know it will be another amazing year at our beautiful school.
New Syllabus Implementation
Earlier in the term, the NSW Department of Education announced additional Release from Face to Face time for every teacher in 2023 as schools focus on implementing the new English and Mathematics syllabuses. This means that each of our teachers will receive an additional afternoon session per week for collaboration with other teachers on their stage, as well as their Assistant Principal and our Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction (APC&I). We’re really excited to be able to structure our release in such a way that fosters collaboration and enables our teachers to work directly with our APC&I on a weekly basis to focus purely on curriculum implementation. During these weekly collaboration sessions, classes will have their regular RFF/Library teacher which means that each class will only have two teachers attached to it. We will provide further details about library times etc upon the return to school.
Share Our Space
We are once again participating in the Share Our Space initiative which means our lovely outdoor spaces will be open to the public during weekdays over the holidays. Unfortunately, we are still experiencing some occasional vandalism damage to our school, so we kindly ask that if you see any suspicious activity, please call the School Security Unit on 1300 880 021.
School Dates
Please note there will be two Staff Development Days at the beginning of 2023, which means the first day for students will be as follows:
Years 1-6: Tuesday 31 January
Kindergarten: Wednesday 1 February (Please remember the staggered morning starts for the first day!)
Thank you
It was lovely to see so many parents, family members and friends at our presentation assembly last Friday. Congratulations to our newly elected school leaders, Jye, Lailani, Jayden and Milly. I know you will lead our school confidently and considerately.
All of our students have had the most incredible year and we are so proud of all of their efforts. We wish all of our Year 6 students every success as they head into high school and cannot wait to hear all about their amazing adventures in the years to come.
As the year draws to a close, I want to thank you for your ongoing support of our beautiful school and students. We are all so blessed to be a part of something special.
May you have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday, surrounded by those most important to you.
Stay safe,
Rod White
