ENewsletter

We learn on the lands of the Ngadjuri Nation

Early Dismissal Time of 2:10pm For Last Day Of Term - Friday 14 April. Please arrange to collect your child at this earlier time.

TERM DATES 2023

TERM 1	Monday 30 January - Friday 14 April
TERM 2	Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July
TERM 3	Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September
TERM 4	Monday 16 October - Friday 15 December

Some Important Dates for Term 2

NAPLAN Science	Tuesday 9 May
Governing Council Meeting	Tuesday 16 May
National Storytime	Wednesday 24 May
Reconciliation Week	Monday 29 May - Friday 2 June
Pupil Free Day	Friday 9 June
King's Birthday Public Holiday	Monday 12 June
Governing Council Meeting	Tuesday 20 June
Last Day of Term/ Early Dismissal of 2:10pm	Friday 7 July

Important School Dates At A Glance - (Plus: Calendars for Term 2, 3 & 4 are in this newsletter

TERM 3:
Woodhouse Whole School Camp	Monday 7 - Wednesday 9 Augsut
Book Week	Monday 21 - Friday 28 Ausgust
Book Week Parade	Tuesday 22 August
School Closure Day	Monday 4 September
Pupil Free Day	Tuesday 5 September
Swimming Lessons R-5	Monday 25 - Friday 29 September
TERM 4:
Sports Day	Friday 27 October
Pupil Free Day	Friday 24 November
School Concert	Thursday 30 November
Year 6 Graduation	Thursday 7 December

From The Principal

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Last week, we held our Parent-Teacher Interviews over 3 nights. These were very well attended, with 83% of parents coming in to meet with teachers. These meetings were a great opportunity for parents to talk with teachers and discuss their children’s progress.

If you were unable to meet with your child’s teacher last week, please contact the relevant teacher (via email or Class Dojo) to organise an after-school catch-up next term.

Staff Professional Learning

Since our last newsletter (in Week 6), we have had our Pupil Free Day. All staff met together in the morning to explore what we value, as a school. We began with two discussion questions:

Ø What is a good life and a thriving community?

Ø How can school help us get there?

As a group, we also explored what we believe to be the top four ‘things’ (in terms of attributes / dispositions / capabilities / knowledge) that our students need from school. We will be further exploring these discussion points, later in the year, to determine whether they match with our school’s vision statement and values. As such, we will be keen to also have parent input and thoughts around these questions: stayed tuned!

For now, teachers used these discussions as a jumping off point for planning their ‘values’ education with their classes. This links directly to our Berry Street learning from last year. Research has shown that when people have goals that align to their values, they make more effort to achieve them and gain greater wellbeing benefits when they do achieve them. Therefore, teachers planned lessons to help children identify what values are and what they mean. They will progress to assisting students to work out which values resonate most with them and how they can use this to make positive choices.

Health and Well Being

We have had a very positive start to the year, with parents and grandparents being able to participate more fully in our special events and day-to-day school lives. We are very excited to also be preparing for our first school camp in four years. Being able to be connected with families and for families to connect to one another supports and enhances the wellbeing of our school community.

The FOG committee have a COFFEE & CHAT morning tea planned for the first day back at school next term. This will take place in and around the Wellbeing Room. If you are able to stop for a coffee, or just pause to say ‘hi’, that will be lovely and will help build and rebuild those connections further.

This week has reminded us that it is important to remember to be COVID-safe and to protect the most vulnerable members of our community. Coming into the winter months, this will be even more important, so that we can support the good health of everyone.

School Holidays

Our students have worked hard all term and have been very focussed on their learning. Their teachers have been working equally as hard, spending many hours preparing for lessons and providing feedback to students and their families. The coming school holidays will be a welcome break for them all.

I hope everyone does have a great break and gets to spend quality time with the ones they love. I look forward to seeing all the kids’ bright and eager faces next term and hearing all about their adventures.

Gail Holland

School Routines and Procedures – End of Term 1 Update

LAST DAY OF TERM - EARLY DISMISSAL AT 2:10PM

Please Drive With Caution at Pick Up Time

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

This will be a very busy time and we ask for your cooperation so that our students can go off on their holiday safely at the end of the day.

Remember to drive slowly .

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

Students' Belongings

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

Please check the Lost Property Bin outside the staffroom.

Items unclaimed at the end of the term will be sent to charity.

School Holidays - Out of Hours Emergencies

As per Department policy regarding school security please report suspicious behaviour around/in the school grounds directly to the police (Nuriootpa) on 85686620.

Please do not contact staff.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Updating Student & Family Information

Parents were informed last year through newsletters that as from the start of 2023, the school will no longer be sending home student information forms to be updated at the beginning of each year.

Therefore, so that we can best support your children at school, we ask parents & caregivers to keep staff informed throughout the year whenever there are changes to your family circumstances including:

* 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

You can let the school know by completing the 'Change of Details' eform on the Skoolbag App or by email/ written notification.

Emergency Contacts:

***Please make sure you provide the school with a list of at least 2 emergency contacts OTHER THAN YOURSELVES that can be contacted if you are unavailable to collect your child due to illness or injury***

Term 1 Class Reports

Reception Class

This term the Receptions have been learning a lot about school - how to be a "school kid", where everything in the school is, how school works, what all the bells mean, meeting new people and learning how to learn.We've been learning about different types of texts in English, looking at story books, information books, videos and songs - mostly about armadillos. We've also been reading a book about children starting school and all the feelings they have about it, and relating these feelings and what happens in the book to our own experiences. In maths we've been learning a great deal about counting and the "rules of counting", the order of numbers and how to write them. In our daily maths chats, we've been looking at the days of the week, subitising, counting to 20 (forwards and backwards), looking at patterns, adding, taking away and a little bit about data collecting. Wow - that's actually quite a lot!The Kimochi program has been fantastic for helping us learn about our feelings and how we, and others, express them. We have met all the characters and talked a great deal about the various feelings they have and times we've had those same feelings. We also talk a great deal about how feelings come and go and don't last forever. When we're sad, we're not sad forever. Lately we have been discussing ways to communicate with others, including recognising and understanding body language.

Adam Claridge

Year 1/2 Class

It has been a busy start to the year for the Year 1/2 class. We have been working hard to learn the classroom routines, including our partner reading, and getting our brains into gear to be amazing mathematicians. We enjoyed making (and eating!) pancakes on Pancake Day, and we look forward to engaging in our play-based investigations with Mr. Claridge’s class each week.

Nicole Moffett

Year 2/3 Class

The Year 2/3 class have been very busy learning about spelling patterns, persuasive writing, reading Mr Popper's Penguins, learning about place value and conducting experiments about heat (thermal energy), not to mention looking after the garden and planting seeds for the winter crop. Here are a few photos to show you what we have achieved.

Sharee Richardson

School Card 2023

PCW News

Hello,

Firstly, I would like to wish you a belated Easter. I hope that it was a restful and recharging weekend for you. Easter for me is about family. It is a time where we can be together and spend much needed quality time as a family.

Over the past few weeks, I have thought a lot about relationships and how they help fulfill our lives. All relationships take energy and patience but they are also the most rewarding part of our lives. We are all built to be connected with others and our relationships are how we do this, whether it be with friends, partners, family, neighbours or work colleagues. The ones we spend our time with have a big influence on who we are and how we act.

This also goes for our relationships with our children. It is so important to build healthy relationships with them. We need to make time to talk and listen to them, encourage them to express their big feelings in a safe way, take time to understand their thoughts and feelings behind their words. Make time to spend as a family, play games, go for walks, hold movie nights, create and uphold family traditions, share meals together are just a few ideas to build your connections. We also need to accept and acknowledge differences between each other, every member of your family is special in their own way, ensure no one is left out. Another important aspect of our relationships is to encourage and appreciate one another. We all feel good when we have our buckets filled. Show affection, give hugs, be thoughtful and kind, give praise, let your children know that you love them. Avoid negative comments and put downs, they just make us feel bad and hopeless. Make the wellbeing of your family a priority, ensure that work, and other commitments don’t take over and valued time is missed with each other. School Holidays can be a great opportunity to spend time together, sharing different experiences and just taking time out together with no other stresses that school routines bring.