Newsletter

Term 1 Week 5 2023

Important Dates

Friday 10 March

Pupil Free Day

Monday 13 March

Adelaide Cup Public Holiday

Wednesday 15 March- Friday 24 March

NAPLAN Year 3 & Year 5

Tuesday 21 March

Harmony Day

Wednesday 22 March

Harmony Day Special Lunch

Friday 7 April

Good Friday Public Holiday

Monday 10 April

Easter Monday Public Holiday

Thursday 13 April

Japanese Day

Friday 14 April

Last Day of Term 1 - Early Dismissal

Principal's Update

Site Improvement Plan

All schools have a Site Improvement Plan (SIP) which details improvement for the current year. At Plympton Primary School we have two goals this year:

1. Improve writing achievement

2. Improve maths achievement

Presently, all classes are assessing narrative writing for all students using the Brightpath Assessment tool , which will help to set goals for each of them.  This process will occur again later in the term to assess persuasive writing.  The assessment and moderation of these pieces of writing will form part of our Pupil Free Day next Friday, March 10.  

Cyber Safe Families

The school is hosting a cyber safe evening for parents and carers on Tuesday 21 March from 6:00 – 7:00pm in the library. Cyber safety is a growing concern for children and young people and we strongly encourage you to attend the session that we have organised.

Carparking in the surrounding streets

There have been a number of concerns raised about parking in the streets surrounding our school. Please ensure you are driving to the speed limits and parking within the council controlled signage.

Governing Council

The 2023 Governing Council meet for the first time on Tuesday February 21. Thank you to the following parents for their willingness to be involved in this important group of the school:

  • John Gledhill (Chairperson)
  • Sarah Pan (Deputy Chair)
  • Renee Capps (Secretary)
  • Khagendra Sapkota (Treasurer)
  • Phil Windsor
  • Sanjeev Kharbanda
  • Rebecca Woodroffe
  • Wes Lipsett
  • Andrew Bryant
  • Tracey Niekel is the staff rep for Terms 1 and 2
  • Gabby Aujard is the staff rep in Terms 3 and 4
  • Meredith Starkey has the role of ex-officio

Governing Council meets twice a term on a Tuesday evening.

There are opportunities for other parents and carers to be involved in a number of Committees including: Grounds and Facilities, OSHC, Sport and Events. These Committees meet twice a term before Governing Council  and these meetings are held during school hours. If you are interested in finding out more about any of these Committees please email me at meredith.starkey62@schools.sa.edu.au

Craft Club 

Each Wednesday,  Wendy Rutherford, Anthea Campbell and Nat Jonkers teach our enthusiastic younger children the joys of craft making using imagination, following instructions and creating different things each week from a broad range of materials, many of which are recyclable. For the Reception children, this is their first experience of Craft Club and they line up each week to join in the fun and creativity. The Year 1 and Year 2s are also keen as are some older students. Thank you to the dedication and commitment to this program of Wendy, Anthea and Nat.  

Craft Club

School Sport

We have had a fabulous response to our school sport survey.  At this point we have lots of interest in Basketball in all age groups, as well as Netball and Australian Rules Football.  We now need to confirm these numbers so we can enter teams in the appropriate competitions.  Information will be sent home with all students on the times and cost of each of these sports.  These will need to be returned to the front office by next Thursday, March 9 so these can be organised.

For all of these teams to go ahead we will need coaches.  This will be an option on the form to be returned.

Health Reminder

This week we have had a significant amount of illness in our school.

To reduce the spread of infection at school, if your child is unwell, can you please keep them at home and check with their GP regarding their symptoms before returning to school.

If your child does present unwell at school you will be contacted to collect them in a timely manner.

If your child has been vomiting they need to stay home at home for 24 hours before returning to school as per SA Health Guidelines.

Please see the below exclusion periods recommended by SA HEALTH.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Illness-Exclusion Periods

In Mrs Niekel's Year ¾ class, they have been learning about the French artist Monet. They have been creating works inspired by his famous painting "the WaterLilies". They have done a fabulous job!

Inside play

Fantastic team work
Budding engineers

2023 Materials & Services (M&S) Charges

Your invoice for the 2023 M&S charges was sent home with your child earlier this term.  Please contact Alison Salisbury in the Finance Office if you didn’t receive yours.

A statement was included with your invoice reflecting a reduction of $100 per child for the M&S rebate. Please pay the balance owing from the statement.

If you wish to pay by instalment or direct debit agreement please contact Alison Salisbury now to arrange this.


2023 School Card Information

The School Card scheme is administered by the Department for Education to provide financial relief to low income families for education expenses at government schools.

If applicants meet the eligibility criteria, parents/carers are not required to pay the M&S charge.

If you are a low income earner, please apply for School Card online at sa.gov.au/education/schoolcard. This needs to be applied for every year as the assessment of your income is based on the previous financial year.  Applications are now open.

You can access the online forms from any device that has internet access including mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, as well as laptops and computers.  Applying online is easy – simply follow the steps below.

1.  Visit sa.gov.au/education/schoolcard

2.  Select the type of School Card you would like to apply for (for example ‘Type A’) and follow the prompts

3.  Complete all mandatory fields (please note you cannot proceed to the next page unless all mandatory fields are complete)

4.  Once you have completed a page click on the ‘NEXT’ button

5.  Once you have filled out all pages click the ‘SUBMIT’ button (please note if you exit the form without clicking ‘SUBMIT’ your details will be lost)

6.  You can save the form and return to complete it at another time by clicking on the ‘SAVE’ button.

Eligibility for School Card assistance is dependent upon the combined family gross income for the 2021-2022 financial year being within the following School Card income limits:

Number of Dependent Children

Gross Annual School Card Income Limit

Gross Weekly School Card Income Limit

1

$66,412

$1,277

2

$67,598

$1,300

3

$68,784

$1,323

4

$69,970

$1,346

5

$71,156

$1,369

Each additional dependent child

$1,186

$23

 

Please contact Alison Salisbury on 8293 1227 or via email at Alison.Salisbury192@schools.sa.edu.au with any questions.

Entertainment Book Fundraising

Your purchase of an Entertainment Membership will not only provide you with great offers for new experiences, but 20%  from each membership also supports our school fundraising.

Please purchase your Entertainment Membership through this link:

https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/1610r82

Plympton Primary School