I would like to take this opportunity to thank staff for stepping into new roles while I was on paternity leave in particular Mrs Mann who did a fantastic job as Acting Principal.  I really enjoyed my 3 weeks spending time with my new baby son Jude and my family.  We are slowly getting used to our growing family and having a baby in the house again.

School Values

Our second focus for this term link with our school values is “Going the distance”. We are encouraging students to invest in our value of Growth.  Below are some questions teachers will unpack with students:

Why do we need to do Go The Distance in the classroom and stay on task?

What happens when we stay on task and Go The Distance?

What are some things that make it hard to focus and stay on task?

What happens when we don’t stay on task and don’t Go The Distance?

What can we do about it? Brain breaks etc

How does staying on task affect our emotions?  How do we feel when we don’t stay on task?

Teachers will link this hook throughout learning over the next 3 weeks and it will be the focus during their weekly value lesson.

School building works

We are excited that our new fence has been established in the ELC to include new green space for our students.  We have increased the area closest to Kinder classes so students have more grass area to play on and the space can be used by class teachers more often now it is securely fenced.

We are also excited about the construction of our new bike track which will begin in the next couple of weeks.  We have confirmed some grant funding to support the project which will be constructed on the grass area between our football oval and Kitchen/Garden.  We hope to release more details of the project shortly which will include landscaping and play equipment.

Book Week Parade

This year due to COVID restrictions our Book Week Parade will look a little different. The event will occur on Wednesday 21 October in our school gym however we will not be permitted to have parents attend.  Unfortunately due to physical distancing and space restrictions our numbers will be limited to staff and students, but we will ensure we take many photos and share them on our socials.

School Disco

Again due to COVID restrictions this event will look slightly different with parents unable to attend.  The disco will occur on Thursday 12 November but will happen during the school day and not in the evening.  We will have a couple of sessions throughout the day in order to split age groups and the theme will be Futuristic/Space.  More information will follow shortly from our SVT.

School Association meeting

Our next School Association meeting is scheduled next week for Tuesday 8 September at 6:00pm.  I would like to encourage any new community members to join us and contribute to future planning at Austins Ferry Primary School.

Phonics Program

You may have noticed a new Phonics initiative has been featured in the media recently.  We are one of 35 schools involved in the pilot program across the state. Our Year One students from Year 1/2 classes will be participating in the program which we believe will be an important opportunity for new learning and provide us with data for future planning.

The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards.

The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.

A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have. 

Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055.