NEWSLETTER

Issue 7 Thursday 2 June 2022

IMPORTANT DATES

Some Important Dates For Term 2

Reconciliation WeekMonday 30 May - Friday 3 June
Queen's Birthday Public HolidayMonday 13 June
Pupil Free DayTuesday 14 June
Governing Council MeetingTuesday 21 June
WIne Orders DueFriday 24 June
Last Day of Term Early Dismissal at 2:10pmFriday 8 July

From the Principal

Resilience and Teamwork

While we have experienced inconveniences due to COVID restrictions over the past two years, the impact on student learning must surely be felt most significantly this year. The restrictions within SA and within schools have kept the virus at bay until now. We are fortunate to have been kept safe while scientists have worked on means of keeping us safe; all this while other parts of the world have suffered illness and loss.

This year, most students had a delayed start to the year, some students have had to isolate while family members were unwell and many students have now needed time off school during their own periods of illness. Throughout this, the students have shown remarkable resilience and positivity. Much of this has come about through the teamwork and partnership between staff and families. Keeping open lines of communication and supporting one another is benefitting our students, their learning and their wellbeing.

Our staff have also been impacted by COVID. Teachers have been unwell themselves and we have had to rely on relief teachers to be with classes. This week has been trickier than most: both Ms Moffett and myself have been away with COVID and relief teachers have not been available every day. The teachers and SSOs at school have demonstrated both resilience and teamwork in absolute abundance this week. The school has been kept running, lessons have been taught, children have been supported and (I believe) people are still smiling.

I could not be more proud of our staff, nor more thankful for their dedication and hard work. I am more appreciative than ever for our school and community, and I cannot wait to be back next week.

Gail Holland

Principal

Term 2 Week 4 Assembly Awards

Class Awards

Reception Class
Yr 1/2 Class
Yr 2/3 Class
Yr 3/4 Class
Yr 5/6 Class
Yr 5/6 Class
HPE Awards
Kindness Awards

School Routines and Procedures - Update for Term 2

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 preferably by appointment.  Call the school office for an appointment time or you can also order over the phone and quote your EFT payment reference number.  Please see Gail A.

Uniforms can not 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, consider using the Before/After School Care, Happy haven, who are operating from Nuriootpa Primary School.  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 need to tell Front Office staff before taking a pink ‘Early Departure’ card to the classroom teacher. Signing a slip is no longer necessary with EMS, whereby your child’s late arrival or early departure is entered straight into the system by staff on the Reception Desk.

Students Going on Family Holidays/Travel in Term Time

If you are going on a family holiday during school time please inform your child’s class teacher and complete an Exemption Form at the Front Office.

All family holidays must be approved by the Principal and  applications should be forwarded to school at least 2 weeks before you travel.

Illness & Injuries at School:

Colds, the flu and bugs are around every winter for us to watch out for and are passed on if unwell children attend school.

Students who have recovered from Covid can still be at risk of getting these viruses etc that are circulating in the community.

If your child is sent to the Front Office/First Aid room due to illness or for an injury that is considered more serious eg a hard knock to the head, they will be sent home. 

Parents will always be contacted first and you will need to collect your child promptly and keep them at home until they are fully recovered. 

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

Make sure you have provided the Front Office with an updated list of your emergency contacts in case we need to contact them.

Student Health - reminder

Parents/Caregivers please make sure you have provided the school with an updated healthcare plan and current medication if your child needs support at school for a medical condition.

Asthma Care, Allergic Reaction plans and Medication Agreement forms are available on the Skoolbag App for parents to access and take to your doctor or you can ask at the Front Office.   


Class Report

Reception & Year 1/2

This term the Reception and Year 1/2 classes have been doing investigations each week. During these times, the children participate in a range of set activities that focus on a number of skills, including literacy, numeracy, well-being and fine motor. Each day there are focus children, reporters and photographers. These jobs give the children a chance to practice other skills, such as how to take photos to document an activity, and how to ask questions to learn what someone else is doing.  The investigation activities usually follow a theme, such as dinosaurs or town planning or measurement.

Governing Council Fundraiser

It's that time again ....It's Wine Time!

Order your Mystery Box of wine at a bargain price.

Download the order form today, complete and pay via EFT by Friday 24 June. 

It's that simple .....don't miss out!

More details on the order form.

Download

Walk Safely to School Day - Friday 20 May

Nettie's Natter

June 2 2022

Hello everyone

Welcome to another ‘natter’.

Wow, hasn’t it been cold and wet? I have to say that the rain is brilliant but the cold was and is a bit of a shock to the old body. We are lambing at the moment and those poor little lambs are having a tough time of it. Between the cold and how little they are, they are extremely vulnerable to the carnivorous vermin and predatory crows and foxes. We do all we can to help and protect them but sometimes, we are just too late.

Being on guard and protecting our homes, our livelihoods, and especially our families is a fulltime job and yet, sometimes things happen that catch us off guard. We aren’t always prepared for what happens.

Growing up, we had none of the modern devices that we have now. Even colour TV was a real luxury. Our radio was a huge box that had to ‘warm up’. No computer games, no computers! We had to make our own amusements and that we did. We played until dark outside. Our parents knew where we were and any scrapes, cuts, bruises were all just a part of it. No fuss, just cleaned up, mostly in the bath, and sent forth outside to another adventure.

Our kids today, I think, spend far too much time on devices and find it very hard to use their imaginations when outside. And do we really know what they are looking at when they go on the Ipads, the computers? We can’t possibly be with them 24 hours a day and we want to know that they are always safe, but, like our little lambs, our kids are very vulnerable and there are predators out there so we need to be vigilant.

Even we adults get caught spending too much time on devices, especially our phones, so maybe it should start with us. I’ve been playing solitaire a lot on my phone at night when I could have been doing something more constructive, so now, I’m going to remove it and get on with more constructive things.

Giving something up, is never easy, especially when it occupies most of our time, but sometimes we just have to. More on that in my next natter.

Take care and keep warm

Cheers

Nettie 

SAPSASA Cross Country Event

Greenock Primary School Calendar Term 2, 2022

Greenock Primary School

Principal:   Gail Holland