FPS Newsletter

2023 Term 1 Issue # 1

From the Principal

Dear families & friends, 

Welcome back to Felixstow Primary School 2023!

It has been a smooth and positive start to the year at Felixstow. We had 13 new Receptions join us, along with a few new faces in our other classes. We welcome all our new families and hope you have all settled into life at Felixstow.

The first four weeks of the year we always have a focus on building our school and classroom culture. This year we have started with a strong focus on building our Berry St practices into predictable learning routines and just what we do, along with revisiting growth/fixed mindset thinking, zones of regulation and global competencies! We will be sharing some of this learning at our Acquaintance night and throughout the year with families.

Acquaintance night & AGM

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our Acquaintance Night and AGM this evening, Tuesday 21st February. The evening is planned as follows:

Evening Agenda:

    5.30—5.55          Meet with class teachers in their class to find out more about your child’s class

     6.00—6.55          Visit each station and grab a free sausage

     7.00 – 7.30          Meet in the Hub for the A.G.M.

Name Change

Our name change signage happened over the break and we are now in the process of updating everything else, like our Facebook page, website, policies and documentation, street signage and advertising, to reflect our new name.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN has moved to earlier in the year from this year. Students in Year 3 & 5 will sit these assessments over week 7 and 8 in Term 1.

Volunteers

We are excited about the year ahead after a few tricky years managing Covid for everyone. We intend to have a focus on building connection and community for our students. We are hoping to get our volunteer program up and running again so check information in this newsletter, tonight and keep an eye out for regular updates via Skoolbag and SeeSaw about opportunities to get involved.

 We look forward to a positive and productive year ahead with everyone and hope to see many of you brave the heat to come to our first event this evening. 

Cheers Skye 😊

Felixstow Notices

Materials and Services School Fees 2023

On Thursday your invoice for the 2023 Materials & Services and 2023 Excursion Levy were posted .

On the invoice you will notice the $100 rebate from the Government in the brackets, this is your credit note. The balance due is at the bottom.

Preferred payments are via internet banking. BSB and Account number are on the Business Card inside the envelope.

        BSB: 105 010

        Acct #: 115 989 440

Please read instructions if you are eligible to apply for School Card. Once you have applied it does take a few weeks to process and receive notification if you are eligible or not. If you need any assistance with this process please do not hesitate to contact me. If eligible for school card the $100 rebate does not apply and you do not need to pay the M & S charge, only the $85 excursion levy will be outstanding.

If you have not received this in the post please let me know asap.

Thank you

Gillian

Volunteering at Our School

Volunteers are a vital part of our school community and we are very lucky to already have some dedicated and talented people who provide our students with amazing support in many different ways, however, we are always looking for more volunteers. 

We will be having a coffee and information session at Felixstow in Week 5 on Friday 3rd March from 8.45am to 10.00am.  

At the information session we will be providing you with all the details about what is required by the Department for Education as well as what we as a school are hoping to achieve.  We will support everyone through this process and provide valuable and informative training to all our volunteers.

If you are not currently volunteering with us and are unsure about how you can fit it into your life but would really be interested to learn more then come along and we will be discussing in detail some of the many ways that you can help us and your children.  If you are unable to attend the information session we will have packs available at Acquaintance night. 

Volunteers make a difference! 

Looking forward to seeing you at our information session. 

Volunteer Survey

Scan the QR code to fill in a quick survey about you and your interests so we can match you to any upcoming volunteer work.

Buddy Reading has begun

Kitchen Garden

This term in Kitchen Garden we are kindly asking for donations of jars (think jam sized jars or slightly smaller) and any excess fruit or vegetables you may have at home. Staff and students' will be using the produce for pickling and preservations which will displayed and sold at the Term 1 Learning Expo!

This is a little preview of what has already been made, Tomato Chutney using our delicious school grown tomatoes!

Meals From the Heart Fundraiser

Every Tuesday during second break students' from Laura's class will be selling ice blocks from the community table. 

All money raised from the sales will be donated at the end of the year to the Ronald McDonald House - Meals from the Heart Program. 

It is hard for families to spend each day in a hospital environment. At the end of a long emotional day, they often do not have the energy to prepare a nourishing, home-cooked meal. Our "Meals from the Heart" Program gives families the chance to meet some bright, happy people who talk about ordinary, everyday things, like the football, weather and current affairs. It also provides them with the social stimulation they may be missing out on due to being away from all their friends and family back home. And, it is a welcome distraction from any stress they may be experiencing.

Students' can either buy a whole ice block for $1.00 or a half ice block for 50c.


Welcome Emma!

This year we have welcomed Emma to our teaching team.

"My name is Emma, I am the Health and Physical Education teacher on a Tuesday and Thursday, and the R/1 teacher on a Friday during 2023. I am new to Felixstow Primary School, with this year being my 4th year of teaching. Previously I have taught PE and worked as a Kindergarten teacher. My favourite colour is purple and favourite food is sushi. I enjoy spending time with family and friends and playing soccer for Adelaide Comets Football Club. I believe in implementing the Game Sense approach where students engage in fun and active games to develop the skills and tactics of the game through incorporating the Playing for Life Philosophy.

During term 1, the Health and Physical Education program aims to:

· Provide students with opportunities to explore and develop Fundamental Movement Skills in new movement situations (Gymnastics - TriSkills) and cooperative games, while developing fair play, awareness, and inclusion during competitive games.

· Support students to describe ways to include others to make them feel they belong.

· Provide opportunities for students to explore identity and how one’s identity can be influenced by others

This program is designed to support a successful start for students and is focused on building positive relationships and team environment, therefore, creating a successful start to the year. To achieve this, a range of group games, discussions, and socializing activities have been created to support students’ interactions and relationships in their new learning communities."

Felixstow Highlights

Primary

News from Primary 2!

Students' have been getting back into our routines and having some fun along the way. One of our most enjoyable routines is our morning nurture group.

Our morning group time is a great opportunity to welcome each other with respectful greetings, go through the timetable, share announcement’s, choose our values for the day and take part in a positive primer.

A positive primer encourages the flow of positive emotions and gets our brains and bodies ready for learning. Some positive primers we have tried are the alphabet game, ballon keepy uppy, sharing jokes and finding awe and wonder in the everyday.

Hi from Primary 1!

During our inquiry sessions we have been exploring the brain, how they work and why we need them. We have modelled the brain using plasticine and have begun a deep dive into how the neurons work and why creating pathways in our brains is so important to our learning. Following on from this, we are learning how to create a growth mindset with our work, instead of a fixed one. We are also working on developing problem solving tools we can use when we have problems we haven’t been able to solve, yet! Students are working on creating learning goals they wish to work on in Literacy, Maths and Social and Emotional Wellbeing.

Juniors

Hello from Tuula & Emma's Juniors!

These first few weeks in Tuula and Emma's class have been a lot of fun with our new reception students' learning and adjusting to the school routine. 

Investigation time has definitely been a stand-out as it has given the receptions a chance to interact with their Year 1 peers through play-based learning.

Nicole's 2s!

In Nicole's juniors we have been looking at the zones of regulation. The zones are divided into colours which match the moods we might be in during the day.  As a class, then with a partner we came up with strategies of things we can do when we are in each zone which can help us to get back into the green zone and ready to learn again.

Resource Hub

Important Dates

Updated: February

    

WeekTERM 1
1

Monday 30th January

FIRST DAY TERM 1
4Tuesday 21st FebruaryAcquaintance Night & AGM
5Friday 3rd MarchVolunteer Morning Tea
6Friday 10th MarchPUPIL FREE DAY 
7Monday 13th MarchAdelaide Cup (PUBLIC HOLIDAY)
7Wednesday 15th MarchNAPLAN
10Friday 7th AprilGood Friday (PUBLIC HOLIDAY)
11Monday 10th AprilEaster Monday (PUBLIC HOLIDAY)
11Thursday 14th AprilLearning Expo & Harmony Day
11Friday 15th AprilLAST DAY TERM 1

Community Notices

Contact Information

Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

A reminder that OSHC is available for families for after school care (ASC).

ASC is open 3:10-6:00pm

Bookings are essential.

Hannah Gustard is our OSHC director and can be contacted on

FPS

Felixstow Primary School is truly an extraordinary place of learning. Our talented and dedicated staff provides each student with rigorous care, challenge and support academically, socially and emotionally.

Respect | Responsibility | Compassion