St Leonards Primary School

Clean Up Australia Day Part 2

We will be holding a second student lead clean up day on Tuesday 23 October. Volunteers must sign in and meet at 1:05pm in the Quad.

Students will be doing a litter report for Clean Up Australia to help them map littering trends across Australia.

Sports Day Friday 25 October 

Families are welcome to attend. We are hoping to have a breakfast BBQ, cake stalls and a coffee van. Volunteers will be needed to help with stalls and to help deliver the lunchtime sausage sizzle. More information available soon.

The class placement process will commence in Term 4.

This process requires accurate numbers in each year level to determine if we have straight or composite classes.

Please contact Mel Worden, Enrolment Officer, in the Office by Friday 27 September if your child is NOT returning in 2020 and you have not already let the school know.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Mel Worden, Enrolment Officer

Congratulations to everyone who completed the Premiers Reading Challenge in 2019. We have had our highest participation with a total of 401 students taking part (a massive 96% overall, 2% more than last year). 12 classes had 100% participation. Medals and certificates will be handed out in Term 4.

 Kelly Peterson, Library Manager

Vacation Care

All excursion days are currently fully booked. Waiting lists have been established with vacancies to be allocated according to Priority of Access guidelines. To secure your care needs, please complete and submit the Vacation Care Booking & Consent form to OSHC at your earliest convenience. Program details are available from OSHC and the school website.

Community Care Pantry

The school Community Care program has been extended with a convenient location now situated at OSHC. Ideal for families held up late at work or with other family commitments, the Pantry is here to try and make your busy schedule a little bit easier.

Recycling

A reminder of the ongoing OSHC recycle initiatives with convenient collection points for:

• Domestic batteries
• Bathroom items (ie toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes)
• Bread tags

Farewell

 My tenure as OSHC Director is fast drawing to a close, with only three weeks of care remaining. I have been humbled by the kind feedback and warm well wishes. It has been my privilege to have been a part of the St Leonards school community for such a long time and I leave with many cherished memories and valued friendships. Steve

OSHC Team

Invitations have started to be sent home for students who have achieved enough hours to graduate for 2019. Don't worry if you haven't received yours yet, there are lots of opportunities to gain hours over the holidays by completing tasks in the spring booklet, visiting learning destinations, completing book reviews and participating in sports..the list is endless.

If you are unsure of how you can support your child getting to graduation please email heather.pronk858@schools.sa.edu.au

Heather Pronk, CU Coordinator

This week saw the ‘finals round’ for School Netball for 2019. 

St Leonards entered five teams in the ‘South West District Netball Association’ this year  with some great results:

• Year 6/7 (Div 2)... finished 2nd
• Year 5 (Div 4)... finished 1st 
• Year 4... finished 6th
• Year 2/3 (Diamonds)... finished 5th
• Year 2/3 (Stars)... finished 7th

It was great to see so many new faces out there this season, with lots of excitement and enthusiasm. You can definitely see how far some of the younger players have come in just 2 terms, some of them had never played before! 

A huge ‘Thank You’ must go to all the coaches who volunteered their time: Amanda Morris (assisted by Louise Carslake), Bianca Perry, Sarah Darbyshire, Kate Heywood, Anna Nichol and Rebecca Johnston.

Games wouldn’t be able to take place without our umpires. ‘Thanks’ also goes out to the following students (both past and present) who volunteered regularly on game days: Justine D, Keira F, Jada F, Taylee H, Logan H, Molly S, Mia W and Ashlee J. 

Congratulations to everyone on a great season and hope to see as many of you as possible at Presentations (Monday , 29 September from 3:15pm on the Courts).

Kirstie Boulton, Netball Coordinator 

Volleyball

Congratulations to the three Yr 6/7 teams who qualified for finals in Volleyball. We always have great success in this event and it was wonderful for such a small school to be so well represented. The day would not be possible without the fantastic parent support we received.

Soccer

Congratulations to Riley A and Ruben L who had a fantastic week playing for the South West District team in soccer.

On Saturday evening 34 of our students performed on stage at the Adelaide Festival Theatre as part of the Public Primary Schools’ Festival of Music.

Our school was also represented by Maddison M and Nejla S who were part of the troupe and orchestra.

The Primary Schools Festival of Music, an official state icon, is a public school-based music education program which is a collaboration between the Department for Education and the SAPPS Music Society, which gives all SA public primary students the opportunity to perform at a prestigious venue.

The commissioned work was entitled “Dear Pen Pal” which was a series of songs composed by local musician Robyn Habel about Adelaide’s sister cities and having a pen pal. The concert ended with a spectacular sea of colour. It was a fabulous event that our students enjoyed being a part of!

Liz Condous

On Thursday 19 September we held "Speak Like a Pirate" day to raise funds for families living with childhood cancer. Students and staff dressed up and brought in a gold coin donation or donated online. We raised over $500 for the cause. Well done everyone and thank you for your support, 

On Thursday 12 September 70 people attended our ladies night. It was a wonderful community building event that everyone enjoyed. We would like to thank the Glenelg Surf Club for donating the door prizes. We raised almost $400 but more importantly we helped build new connections within our wonderful St Leonards Community. Thank you to Heather for organising this fantastic event.

Our school was lucky enough to receive a visit from the Adelaide Crows for a Growing with Gratitude assembly. We learned about  finding the positive things in our lives and all the things we have to be grateful for.

Hi Friends!

Hope this note finds you all well!  Wasn’t that a lovely little teaser with the warm weather that descended upon us on Thursday?!

I hope those of you who suffer from hayfever are finding positive ways to manage your condition during the Spring season … I have seen some of our learners struggling with various symptoms already … here’s hoping it’s not a really bad season for such challenges!

Once again, I can scarcely believe it’s the end of Term (almost!) already!!  I find myself continually asking myself the question ‘Where has the time gone?!!  Yes, obviously because I’m getting older (even that seems to be happening at a ridiculously rapid rate too!) time seems to have no respect when it comes to the speed with which it passes!  Hoping some of you might relate also (otherwise it’s a pretty lonely club … party of one springs to mind!)

I had the privilege and pleasure of being at this morning’s assembly and all I can say is WOW!! Wow, what an amazing school community St. Leonards is … looking around at all the parents and caregivers smiling and enjoying their children’s performances filled me with joy, not to mention the pride with which our learners shared their work! 

It’s not always possible to attend assemblies, often times work and other commitments makes it impossible to attend … and that’s ok … we can’t always be everything to everyone (although how often do we try?!!)  Our school has the most amazing leadership team, educators and staff members, all incredibly committed to bringing their best to every situation and all that they are involved in.  I am so very proud as a parent and as a privileged member of this wonderful team, to see first hand the brilliant work that is being done in and around our school.  As I reflect on the Term that was, I  cannot help but think our children are in the best possible place, surrounded  by so many invested people all wanting to witness and be a positive part of the growth and development of our precious children!  Our children are given amazing opportunities to flourish and thrive, both with respect to their education as well as all the extra curricular activities available throughout the year (all of which take an enormous amount of planning and organising!)  St. Leonards really is a place to be proud to be a part of!

As we approach school holidays, for some, the term holidays might mean more stress, organisation and general challenges, whilst for others it means just that … an opportunity to take a break from routines, take life at a slower pace and just enjoy spending time with your children (at least for the first few days!!)   Whatever school holidays mean for you and your family, I hope you can find moments to rest, relax and even reflect on the Term that was (for those with Senior Students this might be particularly relevant as the end of the year will be upon us before we know it!)   So, please take time for yourself, take time to connect with your children, family and friends and above all, be gentle with yourself and those you love.  Take a moment to speak words of kindness, love and care into the lives of those who mean so much to you, as often as possible and just watch the ‘ripple effect’ in action  …. You might well be surprised at the conversations that arise!  Kindness is contagious … you can be assured that no random act or words of kindness will ever be wasted … instead the rewards to both the giver and receiver can many times, not be measured, but will most definitely be felt in the hearts of those involved!

Take care over the holiday period, especially on the roads if travelling … we want to see your smiling faces back at school next Term!!  And parents and caregivers (it’s ok if your smiles are larger and wider than your children’s on Day 1, Term 4!!)  Until then, keep smiling!

 Karen Thorogood, Pastoral Care Worker