On Friday 22 November we came together as a school community at our annual Spring Luncheon, celebrating another excellent year for our Kitchen/Garden Program. The courtyard and gym were decorated with student work demonstrating a school wide focus on sustainability. All classes had made decorations from recycled objects and combined with student artwork the courtyard was an amazing site. The food as always was delicious, and it’s always an honour to sit with our community and eat the lunch prepared and cooked by our Grade 5/6 students, Susie and Phil and our wonderful volunteers Kristie, Danielle and Nigel. We thank Ald. Simon Fraser, Ald. Bec Thomas, Mayor Kristie Johnston, Lisa Burnett representing Elise Archer MP and School Improvement Leader Larissa Brenner (Learning Services South) for attending and hope to see you back again next year.

This Year Miss Cragg has taken on the lead teacher role for our Kitchen/Garden Program and through working with the 24 Carrot team and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation she is working with staff to ensure our kitchen garden program is linked more effectively into teaching and learning programs.

As part of our focus on continuing to improve our outdoor spaces, this week we have had two more pieces of exercise equipment installed for students to use surrounding the soccer field.

Our Year 6 students have been engaging in transition activities at our local high schools. Our students attending Cosgrove High School have attended Cosgrove on a Tuesday afternoon for the last three weeks where they have been participating in STEM activities. Through this they have had the opportunity to build familiarity and start developing friendships in preparation for Year 7 in 2020.

I look forward to seeing all families attend our End of Year Assembly on Thursday 12 December to celebrate 2019 at Goodwood Primary School.

Warm regards

Louise Anders

Please find below the ticketing information for the Combined Primary Schools Annual Concert that will be held at the Derwent Entertainment Centre on Friday 29 November:

The DoE Student Achievement Awards recognise outstanding aspiration, achievement and growth. This year Amala Webb from Grade 5 demonstrated outstanding academic growth at Goodwood Primary School. The school community is incredibly proud of Amala’s achievement and we look forward to celebrating this great accomplishment again in our next assembly.

Miss Salter and Amala enjoyed a special presentation assembly at New Town High School, where Amala was recognised by the Minister for Education and Training, Hon Jeremy Rockliff MP. Congratulations Amala!

We would like to congratulate all of our representatives who attended the Interschool Swimming this term. The team won their division, and are celebrating moving up to the next division for 2020. Students were outstanding representatives of our school and we were very proud of the courage and determination they all showed.

Last week we celebrated Spring with our annual luncheon, led by Susie and Phil. We welcomed Alderman Simon Fraser, Alderman Bec Thomas, Mayor Kristie Johnston and Lisa Burnett representing Elise Archer MP, along with many of our family and friends who enjoyed sharing the wonderful produce from our Kitchen/Garden.

It was lovely to have everyone involved. From planning and food preparation to artworks, serving and sharing in the fun, we couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone within our school and community. A special thank you to Kristy, Danielle and Nigel and those within our community who provided donations that made the day such a success!

Enrolments 2020

If you are intending to send your child to Goodwood Primary for Kindergarten or other in-area grade classes for 2020 please contact the school office (6272 9100) or email goodwood.primary@education.tas.gov.au for an enrolment pack.

School Hats

The wearing of hats during break times and outside lessons is compulsory from the beginning of Term 4.  Students must wear a school hat and these are available from the uniform shop.  Please clearly name your child’s hat.

Students moving to another school in 2020

Please contact the school office if your child will not be returning to Goodwood Primary in 2020.  It is now the responsibility of the parent/guardian to notify the school in writing when their child is leaving to attend another school. This is a Department of Education requirement and verbal confirmation is not sufficient.   Once the school has received this notification in writing the enrolment can be closed so the student can then be enrolled at the new school.

Student Absences

A reminder that if your child is absent from school for any reason that you notify the school office by 9:30 am of that day.  You can either contact the school office on 6272 9100 or email goodwood.primary@education.tas.gov.au

Lost Property

We have a number of school items in our lost property bin.  All items left in the lost property bin at the end of term will be donated as second hand uniform items.

Registration to Work with Vulnerable People

All people wishing to volunteer at Goodwood Primary must hold a “Working with Vulnerable People” card. Please see office staff for information on how to register for a card.

School & Office Hours

A reminder that our gates open at 8:15 am. Students are not to be left unsupervised by parents until 8:30 am when staff are on duty. The office also opens at 8:30 am. Students are to be collected promptly at 2:50 pm. If you will be late collecting your child at the end of the day you will need to notify the office.

Late Arrivals

If your child arrives at school after 8:50am unaccompanied by a parent/guardian the office will be marking attendances as unexplained other. The procedure for late arrivals will be as is for unexplained absences that office staff will be calling the parent/guardian to clarify the reason the student was late arriving to school.

Student Medication

Please advise office staff and your child’s class teacher if your child needs to take medication during school hours so arrangements can be made for the medication to be administered.

It is a Department of Education requirement that the following forms must be completed and signed before the commencement of dispensing medication to students: ‘Administration of Routine Medication Authorisation Form for Parent/ Guardian’; and ‘Administration of Prescribed Medication Authorisation Form for Doctors’. The administration of medication to students is undertaken by Admin staff who will ensure it is taken correctly, details (e.g. date, time, dose etc) entered on the student’s personal medication sheet, and signed by both staff and student.

Medication is kept locked in the school safe or safe room. Students should not have any types of medication in their school bags.

Student Long Absence

If your child is going to be absent from school for longer than a few days a Student Absence Approval Form must be completed by the parent/carer and approved by the Principal. The form is available from the school office or it is attached below for your convenience.

Over the past four weeks, Students from Prep to Grade 6 have been involved in Smart Defence, a self-defence program run by Manoli. This came as a response to student interest gathered by the SRC that students would enjoy learning some martial arts.

The students have enjoyed the program and it has been great to see them engaged in learning about ways to stay safe. If you’d like to find out more about Smart Defence, visit their Facebook page. They run regular afterschool programs that some of our students are already involved with and thoroughly enjoy.

Last week we were lucky enough to have a visit from the Tour de Cure cyclists. These people are a group of cyclists who had ridden from Devonport via the East Coast to Hobart. They are raising funds and awareness to help find a cure for Cancer. They left us all with a little show bag and shared some of their story with us in a small assembly. They left us with the message ‘Be Happy, Be Fit, Be Healthy!’

A big thank you to everyone who has been collecting and bringing in their lids for us to send off to Lids4Kids. Our collection bin is already half full! A reminder that the lids that can be repurposed are soft drink lids, juice/cordial lids and milk lids (the others unfortunately use plastic too thick to recycle). Keep dropping your donations in to the class teachers, Miss Salter or Matilda in 1/2, let’s get this collection bin filled to the brim!

Christine Knight

School Chaplain