Term 1 is continuing to challenge our community however our school value of courage has been on full display over the past couple of weeks. I can’t thank our staff enough for their flexibility and support due to the impact of COVID. We continue to see both staff and students affected however learning outcomes are still our priority for students and I am very confident that these are being achieved!

COVID-19 Update

Parent/carers please remember that RAT tests are available through the office during business hours and we encourage you to collect and use with family if anyone is showing symptoms. Our staff are beginning to be more impacted by the virus, so we are doing our very best to ensure that classes are not affected and learning programs continue as normal. Class DoJo continues to be our best way of communication so please be vigilant and check this app for latest updates

Reporting

Families should have received Primary Progress Reports last Friday for students from Prep to Year 6. These reports were sent home in envelopes on Friday so if your child was absent or did not receive this report, please contact the class teacher or school office.

NAPLAN Testing

NAPLAN testing will be held from the 10 to 20 May 2022. Online testing will be available for each of the NAPLAN year levels (3, 5, 7 and 9). NAPLAN assessments include four components, Writing, Numeracy, Conventions of Language and Reading. Please note that all Year Three students will be completing a paper-based Writing Test.

Schools will receive reports and results for participants following the completion of the NAPLAN Online assessment window. These Individual Student Reports will have the same format as in previous years. This format is used for every student in Australia. A parent/carer brochure containing more information about the NAPLAN Online assessments were sent out on Monday this week, by the school to families of students sitting NAPLAN this year.

Easter Raffle and Free Clothes Day

Last Thursday our SVT organised a free clothes day to support our Easter raffle.  Students were asked to bring in a gold coin donation which will then be spent on Easter prizes for our raffle. We are pleased to say that we raised over $400 to support the raffle.

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets to family and friends and we will draw the prizes next Monday 11 April.

Tim Nicholas

Principal

Easter Raffle

1st Prize - Easter Basket

Runner-up Prizes - Easter Goodies 

Tickets $1.00 each

Raffle will be drawn on Monday 11 April 2022.

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 then Friday 8 April 2022.

A special thank you to all families that have sold and returned raffle books.

A reminder that there is an expectation for levy payments to be finalised by the end of Term 1 – Wednesday 13 April 2022.

Kindergarten             $170.00

Prep – Year 6             $235.00

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

A big thank you to the families that have made part payment or payment in full for the 2022 Levy.  We appreciate your contribution. 

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.

It's not too late to apply for STAS for 2022 if you believe that you meet the eligibility criteria!

Families approved for STAS are not required to pay for school levies.

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 are available from the school office.  Please return the completed form to the school office or send 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 as soon as possible.

In 1/2C Howell we have been having weekly sessions with our Buddy Class, 5/6B Lewinski. Throughout the Term we have been doing buddy reading consistently and specialist buddy lessons focusing on events such as Harmony Day and Easter. Here are some of our Easter baskets we made in Week 9 with 5/6 Lewinski.

3/4C Sackley have been working on the Inquiry question:

“In what ways does the past impact the present?”

This is a question that all Year 3/4’s are investigating. We have done lots of learning about Gumtrees and life cycles as well as looking at our community and significant events in our past. We investigated our ideas and prior knowledge based on this question and created new questions.

The Inquiry model we have been using has been applied to all of our learning, including our spelling and reading, where we have been investigating the history and meaning of words and making meaningful connections between those words. We have also applied this to reading and investigating different strategies that we use to help us understand texts.

Last week 5/6E West embarked on a class excursion to Richmond to investigate Hobart's convict history. This involved going on an historic walk around the town, taking in Richmond Bridge, the old courthouse and local churches. They also visited the Richmond Gaol, which involved exploring the history of this former prison and completing a worksheet about it. The students enjoyed a lunch at the park with Mr L's class as well as a lolly bag from the Richmond Lolly Shop. Thank you to Mr Parrot and Mrs Mann for taking the class on the excursion as I was unable to go.

Chess Club

Every Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime, students at our school meet for Chess Club to practice their strategies and learn from each other. A team of our best chess masters recently participated in the first interschool tournament of the year. Due to COVID restrictions, this tournament was held online. After 7 rounds of intense competition, Austins Ferry Primary School finished 5^th place out of 10 participating schools from across southern Tasmania. Well done to Kade Paget who was our best ranked player after finishing 15^th out of 60 participants!

Thank you to our entire school community for your cooperation this term by practising COVID-safe behaviours.

As you know, an important COVID-safe behaviour is to stay at home if you’re unwell and get tested for COVID-19 using a rapid antigen test.

Public Health tells us that the number of cases of COVID-19 in children is low, and they’re likely to have milder symptoms.

It’s a good reminder to be mindful of the symptoms of COVID-19 in children. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in children are cough, fever, runny nose and gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

For more information, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Hello everyone!

My name is Matea and I am the new Family Partnership Coordinator for The Smith Family. I have a background working with children and families which is something I feel very privileged to be able to do.

The Smith Family ‘Learning for Life’ Scholarship Program currently supports many students within your school community, and has more scholarships available. In order to be eligible, families must:

• Have a child/ children attending Austins Ferry Primary School from Prep to Year 6.
• Have a current Health Care Card or Pensions Concession Card.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to their child/ students education.

The ‘Learning for Life’ Scholarship Program includes access to educational programs, support from myself, and financial assistance.

If you would like to apply for the scholarship program or have any questions, please contact me through my email matea.hayden@thesmithfamily.com.au or my mobile 0466 942 782.

I will be working from Austins Ferry Primary School every Wednesday in the Early Learning Centre if you would like to organise a meeting with me. 

I look forward to meeting more of your school community and continuing to support your children’s education.

Matea

Strike Soccer is conducting after school soccer sessions during Term 2! 

Enrolments and information on costs can be made here: - https://strikesoccerschool.com/austins-ferry-primary-enrolment