Dear Families,

Another fortnight and another celebration of the wonderful learning and achievement of our students.

Last week we celebrated Harmony week. This is a special and much anticipated event for our diverse school. The week was filled with learning experiences and sharing of different cultures which culminated with a whole school community lunch. Utilising some vegies that Laura and our student have grown in the garden; Mr Luttmer and his team of chefs put on a delicious array of dishes which were enjoyed by all. Thanks also to Jane and Cassandra our English as Additional Language (EAL) teachers and Chrisine our lovely Education Support Specialist who shared their wisdom and knowledge with teachers and students.

We also acknowledged National eSmart week. This is a time we put focus on empowering our kids to be safe and responsible online, building on their digital literacy skills. All classes were engaged in learning experiences to help develop their knowledge in this area. Some examples of learning are shared in our newsletter. Although this is one week in a year, we know it’s important that as educators and as parents we must continually keep check on our child’s online activity, either through phones, ipads or computers. A wonderful source of truth and information is the esafety commissioner. www.esafety.gov.au and don’t forget we’re always here for you to give assistance or advice in that area.

On Monday our Athletics representatives headed to the Domain on a blustery day to compete against 9 other schools in the division G Interschool Athletics Carnival. We were so proud of the team work, courage and determination, along with individual achievements that led to our school coming 2nd!! Goes to show that when we work together, we can achieve amazing things- well done and thank you to all students who participated!

Over the past couple of weeks, Ms Crombie, class teachers and parents have been invited to meet to discuss student learning plans. Thank you to those families who have taken the time to come in to discuss your child and their learning. Teachers have also been preparing ‘Application to Learning’ reports which will be sent out at the end of the week. A reminder that if you would like to discuss any concerns, please speak with your child’s teacher to make a time.

As I write this newsletter, we are about to have a short Easter break – from Friday 29th March until Tuesday 2nd of April. We will see everyone back on Wednesday the 3rd of April. We hope that all of our families have a relaxing, safe and fun Easter break.

Kind Regards,

Jaime Allen

Principal

National eSmart week was from the 18 - 24 March. In our classrooms we have been having E Safety lessons.  Below are some examples from the 2/3 and Prep/1 classes.

Thank you for families and students who have had fun creating unique and colourful Easter Egg baskets! They look fabulous!

All baskets enter the draw to win a variety of craft to keep creating over the Easter break.  The draw is happening Thursday morning in our Meet and Greet. Students can collect their baskets at the end of the day. They may be needed for the visit from a special bunny on Sunday!

We are looking forward to the next Learning in Families Together (LiFT) competition next term.

This term we have been spoilt with the abundance of produce our plants have produced and the students have been busy!

They have had a chance to learn to use a knife to chop, found a lot of joy in learning to drive the salad spinner, and we have some amazing washer- upperers.

Our 4/5 and 5/6's have also had a chance to use some of our woodworking tools as we start to add an extension to our bug hotel in the Bee Garden.

In our class last week, the students helped prep food for the Harmony Day Lunch, and we thank all that joined us for a lovely day.

Laura

Garden Specialist

Konnichi wa! Goodwood Primary is off to a flying start with their language learning. In the first half of the term we focused on greetings and classroom routines. We have since covered numbers, with the upper grades learning to write numbers in the Japanese alphabet (kanji). We are currently building up our vocabulary of colour words. We can describe various Pokemon using colour words. For example "Pikachu wa kiiro desu" (Pikachu is yellow).

Arigato for all your enthusiasm for Nihongo class, Goodwood!

Sensei (Ms Stephens)

Congratulations to the following students who received Class Awards at the Assembly held on Thursday 14 March 2024:-

Students moving to another school in 2024

Please contact the school office if your child will be leaving Goodwood Primary School at any time during 2024. 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 enough. 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.

Levies 2024

There will be no increase in Levies for 2024.

Families who are supported through the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) do not need to pay levies. Applications for the Student Assistance Scheme may be made online, or paper forms can be provided at the school office. 

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@decyp.tas.gov.au

Did you know if your child has 10 days off school per year, that by Grade 4 they are 1 year behind?

The best thing for your child's future is to come to school every day.

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 a staff member and witness.

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

School and Office Hours

A reminder that our gates open at 8:30am. Students are not to be left unsupervised by parents until 8:30am when staff are on duty. The office also opens at 8:30am. Students are to be collected promptly at 2:50pm. If you will be late collecting your child at the end of the day you will need to notify the office on 6272 9100.

Late Arrivals

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

Student Long Absence in 2024

REMINDER

Our carpark has become quite congested due to increased staff at both Goodwood Primary School and Tas eSchool. We are again asking parents/carers to not enter the staff carpark when dropping off and collecting students. The carpark is for school staff of Goodwood Primary School and Tas eSchool and can be dangerous for students. The exception is for those parents whose child/children have a disabled parking permit.

To ensure the safety of our students and staff please follow the information below:

Students are to be dropped off and collected via the Elmsleigh Road carpark.

We thank you in advance for keeping our students safe!

To all our volunteers – have you completed your safeguarding training yet?

You will need to finish it before working with any children or young people this year.

If you are a parent and are thinking about volunteering for us, you can also do the training. You will need this to work with children and young people. Make sure you save the certificate to show you have completed it.

The training is compulsory under new laws designed to better safeguard children and young people in Tasmania. It will help you understand what to do if you believe a child or young person is or may be being harmed, and to make sure you are doing all you can to prevent this from happening. The training will also tell you what you must report under the new laws.  

To complete your training, visit Safeguarding Training. Or ask at the school front office

Thank you for leading the way in caring for our children and young people safe so that they can focus on living bright lives with positive futures.  

Hugo Luttmer                                                 

Safeguarding Lead / AST

Jaime Allen

Principal

Volunteers and visitors are welcomed into the school environment as valued school members and role models.

This includes parents and carers, and friends of the school.

• All Department for Education, Children and Young People employees, volunteers (including the School Association Committee), contractors and external providers are required to maintain a current Tasmanian RWVP.
• You will need proof of a current Tasmanian RWVP to be a volunteer at your child’s school or school activities.
• If you are simply visiting your child’s school (i.e. are invited to attend particular school events or activities at your child’s school) you will not require a RWVP.
• You do NOT require a RWVP to:
• Drop off or collect your child, including a short period of settling your child in class where the teacher is present.
• Attend school events such as assemblies, school sports carnivals, plays and concerts, whole-school events (where you are not a direct participant and/or do not assist in the organisation or operation of the event).
• Attend school activities for parents or public events such as a parent information evening, parent/teacher meetings, school fairs, opening of new school facilities or programs, or to hear a guest speaker (where you do not assist in the organisation or operation of the activity).

We wish to inform our school and broader community that we are having quite significant damage caused by the rabbit's infestation throughout our school grounds. 

Can all visitors to our school site to be advised to watch for uneven surfaces and holes.

We are working with DECYP Facilities for advice to find a solution.

Please remember that school hats are required to be worn in Term 1 2024.

Hats can be purchased from the school office for $9.00.

(Don't forget to put your child's name in it)

Please find below the Launching into Learning Schedule for Term 1:-

Do you have a Health Care Card?

You may be eligible for a school levy exemption

STAS provides financial assistance to families. Families who are eligible do not need to pay school levies. Levies contribute towards costs of your child's education program and includes items such as learning materials and school excursions.

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under STAS.

Services Australia - Centrelink Health Care Card

Services Australia - Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card

Services Australia - Pensioner Concession Card

Department of Veteran Affairs - Pensioner Concession Card

Please note that if you received student assistance in 2023 you do not need to reapply.

A new online form is available to assist with processing applications for new applicants. The online form can be completed here:

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education, Children & Young People will confirm the outcome of your application in writing, this process takes approximately 14 days. 

We understand that the online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact the school office or the Financial Assistance Unit on stas@decyp.tas.gov.au or phone 1800 827 077.

If you meet the below criteria and would like to express your interest in the Learning for Life Program, please complete a form that you can pick up at the school office.  For more information you can contact Ashlee Bartels, Family Partnership Coordinator.

Join a Learning Club and learn together in a safe and supportive learning environment, outside of school hours.

If you would like to follow our progress in the garden, please scan the QR code below to check out our photos on Goodwood Primary Kitchen Garden Instagram page.