St Leonards Primary School

Our Annual Book Fair has begun and will continue until Tuesday 13 August. This is the biggest fundraiser for the Library. Every purchase raises money for new books and has been very successful over the years. The students enjoyed a surprise visit from Geronimo Stilton.

Thursday was our wish list writing day. Every class had the opportunity to come through and children wrote a list to take home. On Friday many families took advantage of the before and after school opening times to purchase books and some students from the classes that booked Friday time slots.  Next Monday and Tuesday, classes will continue to come in and students can purchase books with money they have brought. The Fair will also be open before and after school on those days so that parents can choose to pop by and purchase for their child. 

Although there are multiple copies of books, we can order extra copies in (order usually arrives a week or two after the Fair concludes) for popular items if they have sold out on the shelves.

Books can be paid for by cash or EFTPOS. 

Kelly Peterson, Library Manager 

Book Week is coming up in Week 5. It is a whole week celebrating books and reading. This years theme is "Reading is my Secret Power" and over the next few weeks classes will read and do activities around the Children's Book Council shortlisted books. 

At the end of the week, Friday 23 August we will hold a book week parade. Students can come dressed as a favourite character or things associated with their favourite book. It is encouraged but not compulsory to make the costume around the theme. 

Students must be in school uniform if they are choosing not to participate in wearing a costume.

Over the years we have had some very creative costumes. They can be made from things found around the house or second hand shops. We have seen some fantastic ones made from cardboard.

There are two school closure days scheduled for this term. OSHC will be available both days, 7:30am-6:00pm. Places are limited, please book early to avoid disappointment.

 Show Day, Friday 30 August (Week 6): Will include a visit to an indoor Play café, venue yet to be confirmed. Cost for the day is $62.00 per child, less child care subsidy (CCS) entitlements.

 Pupil Free Day, Monday 2 September (Week 7): Will include a visit to Mitcham Cinema for a screening of The Lion King. Cost for the day is $ 62.00 per child, less child care subsidy (CCS) entitlements.

 Breadtags for Wheelchairs

A wonderful initiative whereby plastic tags are collected and recycled to fund wheelchairs for the less fortunate in South Africa. Please encourage family, friends and work colleagues to join in. For your convenience, OSHC is pleased to be your local collection point.

 OSHC Team

Science Week will take place in Week 4 and is commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing. We have been learning about space and space exploration in class since the beginning of the term and the buddy classes have been working on a significant event each to create a visual gallery of the timeline. All the classes will do a walk through of the displays next Friday. There is a book display in the Library and the senior students have been designing moon bases. The Children's University students have been building an interactive mission control and stomp rockets.

There will be various daily lunchtime activities during Science Week. 

Senior Choir Festival of Music performance

Saturday 14th September at 7:30pm

Adelaide Festival Theatre

Tickets went on sale at 9:00am on Monday 5 August through BASS

Students participating in the Festival of Music performance will also be required to attend a practise session in the morning.

We are aiming high this year and hoping to get 100% participation in the challenge. Last year our amazing effort was acknowledged by the Premier at a presentation at the zoo. 

The end of the Premier's Reading Challenge for 2019 is fast approaching  but you still have time to read eight books. All forms are due 6 September, if you need a spare form click on the link below.

Zoo Snooze

We would like to thank all the parents/caregivers who nominated to help out at this years' Zoo Snooze. We have been overwhelmed by your enthusiasm. Unfortunately places are limited and we have allocated helpers in the order in which we received the nominations. 

The Adelaide Zoo provides fantastic learning opportunities and a chance to interact with the inhabitants after hours.

Graduation

The Children's University graduation will take place on Thursday 14 November. Participants need 30 hour plus to graduate. Invitations will go home soon.

Gown Fitting

Gown fitting will be on Tuesday 10 September. This will occur during the school day and will not require any parent helpers.

Heather Pronk, CU Coordinator

Reminder

SAPSASA events take a lot of behind the scenes organisation. It would be greatly appreciated if students can promptly return forms so that we can meet the deadlines set by the department. 

Forms are sent via the class boxes and spares are available from the Office or on Skoolbag. Payments can be made via the Cash Office or on Qkr!

SAPSASA uniforms need to be washed and returned as soon as possible so that they are available for the next event. We currently have a number of outstanding uniforms, please return promptly to avoid being billed for replacements.

Thank you

Heidi Bevan, PE Teacher

Heather Pronk, SAPSASA Coordinator

On Monday 29th July we celebrated National Tree Day with two students from each class coming out to plant trees in lovely winter sunshine. Six new fruit trees: apples, pears and plums, were planted in the kitchen garden. The fruit trees were partially funded by a Greening Our Community grant from Holdfast Bay Council and fundraising from the Spring Fair.

We also planted over 30 native species in the new nature play area and replaced some trees near the sandpit. The plantings of species indigenous to the area were designed to increase biodiversity and to provide food and shelter for native butterflies. The students had fun planting and it is great to see them taking ownership of their trees. Again we are incredibly grateful to the Fundraising Committee, Spring Fair Committee and Grounds Committee for getting their hands dirty and helping St Leonards “Go Green”

Nicola Ross, Gardens

Missing the heavy downpour made for a fantastic day at the zoo for the Year 5s. We got to learn more about our chosen animal that we have been researching at school. We came across some hungry goats, a gigantic python, a bird flight show, alligators that didn’t even flinch and a squirrel glider.

 By Lachie and Wil, from Room 5.

We are extremely appreciative of the very generous St Leonards community who have donated non perishable goods to our Community Care Pantry.

I am excited to announce that Neptune Weighted Blankets have kindly made a donation to St Leonards Primary School. The blankets are accessible in the Well-being Room for children to use is they require some sensory/well-being support.

About the Blankets

The non-toxic, environmentally friendly glass beads inside the blanket provide the weight. The weight of the blanket is designed to be approximately 10% of the child's body weight, making the blanket not to heavy but still providing the feeling of being hugged or cuddled.

These blankets have been proven to produce "happiness" chemicals in the brain which can help to regulate a child's mood and overall sense of calm.

These blankets have been proven to increase many children's ability to self regulate and offers deep pressure stimulation.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Neptune Blankets for their kind donation. Thank you to Courtney Schultz for organising and delivering the blankets to our school. The blankets have already been a huge success.