As we push past the midpoint of Term 4 I believe it is timely to encourage our community to engage and attend school events that will happen over the coming weeks. We are very excited to be organising our Carols event again after a hiatus due to COVID restrictions and can’t wait to welcome our community back on site. We also have awards assemblies and celebration events coming up which will be slightly impacted by COVID restrictions because they will be indoors.  We will send further communication out shortly re numbers and how many family members can attend.

Class Placements 2022

I would like to thank parents/carers for their input in this process by filling out request forms, we received close to 100 requests which staff have been busy cross checking to ensure those linked with educational points are completed. Students will receive their class placement letters along with 2021 reports on Monday 13 December. They will then meet their 2022 teachers on Thursday 16 December just prior to recess. Those students with diagnosed disability or who require further adjustments may have further transition supports prior to these dates.

School Association

I would like to publicly acknowledge our School Association members who attended our final meeting of 2021 last week. The team were able to support our school in many ways throughout 2021 which we are very thankful for! The SA have contributed funds towards the Year 6 Camp, Reading Eggs subscription, school resources, 3D printer just to name a few. If there are any community members who would like to support this group please contact the office as we are looking for volunteers or donations for the Christmas stall and raffle.

Lego Masters

On Saturday 6 November STEM extension students took part in the LEGO League Cargo Connect Challenge. Students have been working for months to get ready for this fantastic competition.

The students had a wonderful time, and it was a great opportunity for them to engage in STEM robotics tasks and compete alongside other schools. The students were proud to be able to mix with legacy robotics groups and prove that AFPS has a lot of potential at future events. Huge thanks to Mr Stewart and Miss Jackson for helping make it possible and working on a Saturday!

Christmas Carols event

We are excited to announce the return of our Christmas Carols event after a year off due to COVID-19. This event will again be a great opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the school year while showcasing student work and raising money for community and school events. During the event we will have craft and food stalls, sporting activities, classes singing Christmas Carols and even staff and student rock bands. Over the coming weeks we will share more information and details.

2021 Pre-Kinder

Do you have a child born in 2017?

Pre-Kinder sessions have commenced and will continue each Friday until Friday 3 December 2021 for children eligible to attend Kindergarten in 2022 and reside in our in-take area.

Sessions are held in the Early Learning Centre from 9:00am to 10:00am and are led by our Kindergarten Teachers, Anita Clifton, Ipshita Nair and Riki Duncan.

2022 Kindergarten

Please enrol your child/children today!

Enrolment forms for Kindergarten in 2022 are now available from:

• The school office
• SZapp
• School website
• Launching into Learning sessions

Please return your completed enrolment forms to the school office as soon as possible with the following information:

• Student identity
• Parent/guardian identity
• Student residential address
• Immunisation records

Please contact the school office for enquiries or assistance on 6275 7222

In 3 Pearce this term we have been learning about different types of poetry. One of our favourite activities was writing acrostic poems about some of our favourite things. This type of poetry spells out a name, word, phrase or message with the first letter of each line of the poem.

First we brainstormed all the words we could think of about our topic, and then tried to use some of those ideas within the lines of the poem. We enjoyed publishing and decorating them, and sharing them with each other.

In 3/4 Taylor we have been creating texts in Literacy Rotations throughout the year. This Term we have had a focus on Narratives and their features. We have investigated creating a Narrative which includes an introduction, build up, problem, resolution and conclusion. 

We have learnt about the importance of drafting and self-editing to create a final product for publishing. We found it challenging, but exciting, to develop our ICT and typing skills to save, edit, publish, and print the final drafts of our work. 

Hudson, Ezra and Calliel in Nupita pod entered the Japanese Teachers poster competition. They competed against school from all over Tasmania. The theme of the competition was Tokyo Olympics.  Ezra's poster was award third place in the Year 1/2 category.  Here is a photo of the students holding their certificates.

In Japanese in Term 4 we had Yumi Sensei from the Japan Foundation come visit Nupita pod Japanese classes.  

Here is a photo of Yumi sensei introducing herself in Japanese to Prep Duncan/Johnson class.

CHRISTMAS RAFFLE

Tickets $1 each

Raffle drawn Wednesday 8 December 2021 at the Year 3-6 Awards Assembly

Dear Parents/Carers

The School Association are currently fundraising to support student learning programs including ‘Reading Eggs’ and the purchase of Literacy and Numeracy resources for all students across our school.

We are holding a Christmas Raffle and need your help to sell tickets! 

Books contain 10 tickets and are $1 each.  If you are able to sell more books please pick some up from the school office.  Please return your book, either sold or unsold, to the school office no later than Tuesday 7 December 2021.

The School Association are sourcing prizes – if you or you know someone that may be able to assist or if you would like to make a contribution please notify the school office.

Prizes to date include:

Pennicott Wilderness Journey Voucher valued at $290

Christmas Hamper - valued at $100 - sponsored by Elise Archer MP

Crack’n’Cakes (Julie Sargent) - Christmas Pudding Chocolate Pinata X 2

Hyperdrive – Kart Racing package valed at $75

Shokuji Japanese Restaurant – 2 x $50 Vouchers

Granada Tavern - 3 x $50 Vouchers

Reece Plumbing - Tool Pack

Kristie Johnston MP - $100 Voucher

Top Kutz - $50 Voucher

Josh Willie MLC – Wine

Rachel – Kambrook Meal Master Mini

Kat B - Lego

Braella Beauty - $30 Vouchers X 2

Fullers Bookshop - $30 voucher

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary - Child admissions X 2 valued at $18 each

ZooDoo Wildlife Park 

Glenorchy Health & Fitness - 3 month free membership

Tahune Airwalk - Family Admission valued at $77.50

Andrew Wilkie MP - Hamlet Cafe goodie bag

Thank you to these generous sponsors!

3/4 Taylor and 3 Pearce are holding a Lucky Jar stall this year at the Christmas Carols Event. 

What we need:  Jars filled with interesting things… old or new. It would be fantastic if families could please bring along a jar filled with something.

Examples of what to put in jars:  Stationary, toys, crafts, stickers, jewellery, wrapped chocolates or wrapped lollies. It could just be one special thing inside the jar, it does not need to be filled to the top. Things inside the jar do not need to be new - second-hand items are great too.  

If you have spare jars at home but nothing to go inside them, just the jars would be a huge help. They don't have to have lids. 

5/6 Slater & Jackson are seeking donations of wrapped chocolate frogs please.

Prep/1 Seymour are making Christmas ornaments and would appreciate donations of ribbon please.

Kinder Clifton & Duncan are seeking donations of potting mix or potted plants please.

Congratulations!!

The following students have reached the 100 Club.

Koby Mackenzie     Kyden Harris

The following students have reached the 125 Club

Zavier Johnson

The following students have reached the 200 Club

Ava Meehan

Families who were approved and received STAS in 2021 have been sent correspondence regarding STAS 2022 directly from the Department of Education and do not need to complete another STAS application.

STAS application forms for families who have not applied for, or been in receipt of STAS in 2021 including new enrolments who believe they meet the eligibility criteria are now available from the school office or families can apply on-line: https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/

The eligibility criteria means that if a parent/carer holds a current concession card as listed below they are eligible to apply for STAS:

• Centrelink Health Care Card
• Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs Concession Card

Please note: parents/carers cannot apply again online if they received STAS in 2021.  If a parent/carer wishes to add a newly enrolling student to their STAS file (ie: a Kindergarten student or sibling) they simply need to email their name and the student’s full name, date of birth, grade and school they will be attending in 2022 to: stas@education.tas.gov.au

Completed hard copy application forms can be returned to the school office or sent directly to the Department of Education by post, fax (6173 0315) or scanned and emailed to stas@education.tas.gov.au Please ensure that forms are signed and dated before submitting. 

It would be greatly appreciated if you would complete new applications prior to the end of the year to avoid invoices being sent in error early in 2022.

Dear Parent/Carer

2022 School Levy Information

Levies are one of the many ways that families contribute to our school community.  Levies support student learning by contributing towards the cost of essential items and services.  After consultation with the School Association the following levies have been set for 2022:

Kindergarten             $170.00

Prep – Year 6             $235.00

This levy contributes to the cost of your child’s education program and includes learning materials, stationery, performances and excursions.

Levy invoices will be mailed to parents/carers in early February 2022.  There is an expectation that levy payments will be finalised by the end of Term 1 – Wednesday 13 April 2022.

Payment of levies and charges can be made by:

• Cash, cheque or credit card at the school office during office opening hours
• Bpay using the Biller Code and Reference on your invoice
• Service Tasmania by cash, cheque or credit card
• By mail - forward your cheque, money order or credit card details to the school, with the payment slip from your invoice attached
• Qkr!
• Using Centrepay – a service provided by Centrelink

Parents/carers are encouraged to discuss payment of levies and charges as early as possible if there is difficulty in affording any element of the levy or charge. Please make a time to speak with the School Business Manager, Rhonda Turner, by phone 6275 7222 or email: rhonda.turner@education.tas.gov.au.   A levy instalment plan including Centrepay is made available to parents/carers who are unable to make a full payment at the beginning of the new school year.

Instalment plans offer flexible, sensitively negotiated payment options to assist parents/carers to budget for this cost. Payments can be made weekly, fortnightly, monthly or at other agreed times after payment of an affordable deposit.  Please see the School Business Manager for assistance with this process.

Students will not be prevented from participating in any learning activities that are part of the curriculum if their levies have not been paid.

If your family has not paid their levies by the due date and has not organised to pay in instalments, the school will be in contact to remind you that payment is due and will check to see if your family requires support. If your levies remain unpaid after the school has sent two follow-up letters the matter will be forwarded to Finance and Budget Services within the Department of Education to be followed up.  Under no circumstances will the status of payment of levies or charges be discussed directly with students.

You are a valued member of our school community and we welcome your feedback on levies and charges at our school.

You can contact School Business Manager, Rhonda Turner if you have any questions or would like to talk about levies at our school. Personal information relating to levies will always be treated with total confidentiality.

The levies and charges we receive from families supports our school to deliver learning opportunities for all students. Thank you for your contribution.

If you have made a pre-order for Back to School uniform the school office will be open for uniform collection, payment and sales on:

• Thursday 3 February 2022 9:00am to 2:00pm & 4:00pm to 6:00pm
• Friday 4 February 2022 9:00am to 2.00pm

For any questions or queries regarding lunch orders including the Qkr! app or paper orders please contact LiL Tuckers via their Facebook page or contact our school office on 6275 7222 and we will transfer your call to the canteen.

This includes notifying of absent students who have lunch orders needing to be held over to another day, late lunch orders which can be paid via phone and also any order enquiries.

Please remember to place your canteen lunch orders through Qkr! prior to the 8:30am deadline.  This means that the entire transaction must be completed before 8:30am.

For 90 years, our School Banking Program has helped children learn about money, reinforced the importance of regular savings and provided structure for parents to support their children to save.

Though the program continues to have strong support from schools, parents and teachers, recent decisions by some state and territory governments because of a review by the corporate regulator mean we are unable to continue providing programs in schools and we have had to make a difficult decision to close our School Banking Program for all government and non-government schools across the country.

Our School Banking Program was established in 1931 at a time when having a bank account was not commonplace, and since then we have helped more than 15 million Australians take their first financial steps. This would not have been possible without the wonderful support we have received from schools like yours, including all the parents and volunteers and for this we are deeply grateful. Thank you.

Even though this is a sad time, School Banking has taught so many young Australians, past and present, the value of money and we believe this should be celebrated. We have created a place for you to share your stories, fondest memories and lessons learnt through the program. To share your story and access our financial education resources, please visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking 

Even though the CommBank School Banking Program will not be returning to your school after this year, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any CommBank branch. If you need further information please phone 132 221 or visit your local CommBank branch.