The end of Term 3 is fast approaching so I would like to thank our community for their support of students learning throughout this term.  We are currently gathering data to support future planning, during this process we have uncovered many improvements in particular with students reading levels, some students have jumped close to 10 levels!  It is very important that we continue to drive improvement right up until the end of next week.

Social Media Safety

Last week we were reminded of how social media platforms can be a very dangerous place for children and the content that can be viewed.  We are aware that there are occasions when social media can place the wellbeing of our young people at risk. When this occurs, it is important we follow the advice of the eSafety Commissioner.

• The Office of the eSafety Commissioner encourages parents and carers to co-view, co-play, and ask questions about the games, and apps their children are using; and let them know you are there to support them if they are upset or uncomfortable about anything they see online.
• The Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s website has a section specifically for parents which you are encouraged to visit for further information. It does include advice on supporting teenagers should they encounter content that is upsetting, disturbing or offensive. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

School Building Works

I am very excited to confirm that our new bike track will be completed during the school holidays and ready for opening at the start of Term 4.  A company called Dirt Art will be completing this project for us.  Dirt Art are world leaders in this area and have completed projects across Australia including Maydena Bike Park.  We will share further details with our community over coming weeks including how the track will be used by students in school hours.

End of Year Events

As a school we are working closely with DoE in regards to end of year events and how they may look with COVID-19 restrictions and the impact that this will have. We can confirm that our award Assemblies will run in a similar fashion to last year as will the Year 6 Leaver’s Assembly.  At present with current restrictions, our annual Carols event will not be possible however we are hoping restrictions may ease before then which would allow the event to run, at the moment it is a wait and see.

School Association

Thank you to those parents and community members who attended our Term 3 meeting.  There were many important discussions had in regards to future planning at our school which was fantastic.  The School Association are looking to organise some further fundraising in Term 4 which will include a Christmas Raffle and present stall.  They also hope to have an exciting event in early Term 4 which we will release shortly.

Term 4

A reminder to families that hats will again be compulsory for all students in Term 4. If students are not wearing a hat they will be required to sit in the shade in our courtyard.  A further reminder that week 2 in Term 4 is show week, this means there is the public holiday on Thursday 22 October and the student free day on Friday 23 October.

Tim Nicholas

Principal

Dear Parent/Carer

The Annual Book Fair organised by the Austins Ferry Primary School Association will be held early in Term 4, across weeks' one and two!  If you can lend a hand to assist with book sales please contact the school office on 6275 7222.  Busy times are from 8:30am to 9:00am, recess 11:00am to 11:30am, lunch 1:00pm to 1:30pm and after school 2:50pm to 3:30pm.

Profits from the Book Fair help to keep our Library stocked with new books for all students to enjoy!

UPDATING STUDENT DETAILS

It is vital for the school office to have updated details for all students.  In the event of a medical issue or emergency event this information is crucial in the care and response that we provide for your child/children.  Please ensure to update information with the office staff as required: emergency contact details, phone numbers, address details and any changes to your childs' medical needs eg. asthma, anaphylaxis.

ABSENCES / ATTENDANCE

If your child is absent please notify the school office before 9:30am:

• Leave a message on the answering machine 6275 7272
• Speak to the office staff face to face
• Call the office staff 6275 7222
• Email:  austins.ferry.primary@education.tas.gov.au
• Via the web form:  www.austins.ferry.primary@education.tas.gov.au
• Submit details through the Schoolzine SZapp

We care about your child's safety and will text you if your child is absent unexplained.

CAR PARK SPEED LIMITS

Speed limits throughout the school are restricted to 10km.  Please note that regardless of what time of day, if the gates are open there is someone here! Everyone's safety is important. 

END OF DAY MESSAGES

Please notify the school office as early as possible and prior to 2:25pm if you need to get a message to your child/ren for the end of the day. Class notice bags are collected at 2:30pm and passing on messages after 2:30pm becomes quite difficult.  We cannot guarantee messages will be received effectively after this time.

CLASS PLACEMENT REQUESTS

Please return your class placement requests to the school office by the end of Term 3 - Friday 25 Septmeber 2020.

CANTEEN & QKR!

Please remember to place your canteen lunch orders through Qkr! prior to the 8:45am deadline.

Prep-1 Smith have had a very busy Term 3!  We have been working hard on our reading and are much more confident in our tricky words and sounding out words we aren’t sure about.  We have been focusing on 'bumping up' our writing by adding detail, our Bump It Up wall helps us a lot.

Once a fortnight we have also been enjoying our Garden sessions and Buddies with 5/6 Lewinski.

We also celebrated 101 Days of School by dressing up as dalmations!

Here are some of our favourite parts so far…

 “I like learning about Indonesia” – Seth

“My favourite thing is playing Maths games” – Cooper

“I like reading because I can read trickier books now” – Mia

“I like having Buddies because we learn lots with them and it’s fun” – Amali-Rose

“I like writing because I am heaps better at my writing now” – Mackenzie

In Prep/1 Seymour, we have been working hard on our independent reading skills.  Every day we have Buddies from 2/3 Pearce and 5/6 Lewinski come over to our classroom to read with us!  They have been helping us point to the words as we read them and are helping us look at the pictures on the page so that we can figure out any tricky words that pop up!  We are having so much fun with our helpers and can’t wait for them to come back in and help us this week!

Prep/One Jackson have had a super busy Term 3!  At the beginning of the Term we said goodbye to Mrs Bailey and started to get to know Miss Jackson.  In our classroom we are learning to be kind to each other.  In Maths we have been focusing on problem solving using the drawing strategy and also skip counting.  During reading we are learning to identify the beginning, middle and end of a story.  In writing we have been practising retelling a story.  Most importantly we have enjoyed getting to know each other. 

“I am a great reader now” – Hazel 

“I like making new friends" – Seth 

“I have gotten better at my sounds" – Skylah