Term 2 continues to excite our community with restrictions beginning to ease and a chance for us to welcome our community back on site for various events. We are excited to host assemblies again over the coming weeks so please look out on our socials for further details. I was very impressed with the level of focus over the past 2 weeks particularly for Year 3 and 5 students who completed NAPLAN testing. We are looking forward to receiving the results shortly and celebrating growth across our school.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

During Term 2 we will conduct Parent/Teacher interviews in week 10. Students will also receive a report outlining achievement on a 9 point sliding scale. This initiative is new for 2022 and will replace the traditional A-E ratings. Further correspondence was sent home yesterday which outlined details on how to book in parent/teacher interviews.

Chris Topfer

On Tuesday of this week, we welcomed Chris Topfer to our school for the second day of her consultancy work in spelling with our teachers. Chris is well known across Australia for her knowledge of spelling and has co authored books and programs to support students of all levels. Chris worked with all of our teachers and modelled and mentored best practice including a whole staff meeting on spelling strategies. We look forward to continuing this relationship into the future to support staff and students.

School Cross Country

It was fantastic to witness our students take on the cross country races this week as part of selection for our inter school team.  It was also great to see parents back on our school site to support their children and cheer their house teams on.

Teacher Relief

I would like to acknowledge the challenges we are currently facing with staffing shortages across Tasmania, with increased sickness during the winter months we are doing our very best to secure relief teachers and ensure consistency for students. Please support us by speaking with your children around staff change and making contact with the school if you would like further information about a relief person in your child’s class.

National Simultaneous Story Time

Yesterday many of our classes participated in the Australia wide literacy event “National Simultaneous Story Time” students were read the selected book and live streamed in across Australia. Our 2 Prep classes were invited to the Glenorchy Library to participate in the event also.

Dear Parent/Carer

Many of you would already be aware that Austins Ferry Primary School has transitioned to an electronic sign in and out system (KIOSK) for students and visitors to our school.  There are two systems across the school site – 1 at the main administration office and the other in the Early Learning Centre foyer.

To limit the queue time, it would be helpful if parent/carers know the year level and teacher name for their child/children.  

Office staff are available to assist with this information and demonstrate the KIOSK check in/out as required.

We appreciate your patience with this new process.

Assemblies are one our school’s most popular platforms for celebrating student achievement and our values with our community.

We will have limited seating for parents inside the GP Hall. Any other parents will be required to stand on veranda with sliding doors open.

KISS & DROP - A friendly reminder that the school 'Kiss & Drop' zone is not for car parking - please do not leave your vehicle unattended in this zone.

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.

STUDENT PICK-UP - If you need to collect students throughout the school day for appointments please arrive in time to allow us to locate your child. We do not call to the classroom until you have arrived. This limits interruptions to the class and avoids your child missing out on valuable learning time. Thank you for you co-operation.

In Prep Luttrell we have been working on a rhyming inquiry. Together we have been reading stories and noticing rhyming words in stories. We have learnt that rhyming words are words that end with the same sound. Through our inquiry we have learnt that sometimes words can have the same letter patterns at the end but not rhyme together. We have been adding words we know that rhyme onto our rhyming families wall to use in our writing. As a class we have been investigating and making rhyming families by changing the beginning sounds in cvc words and recording them.

The students in 1/2 Granger/Bailey were very excited to meet their buddies from 3/4 Pearce. We read books together, had a play on the playground and drew a picture of ourselves and our buddies! We are really looking forward to getting to know our buddies over the year and learning new things together.

3/4 Gollogly have begun to explore measurement through multiple hands-on and hearts-on experiences. A visit from two snails who were seeking recommendations for a holiday adventure in the classroom prompted the students to embark on this challenge. The class creatively worked together using a variety of informal and formal strategies to measure the length and time of the trip. The students have also personalised and extended their learning of perimeter by finding the perimeter of their own name. Through these challenges, the students have been making meaningful connections with the work we have been doing during our spelling inquiry with the words discover, explore, and build. We have found that some of the discoveries we are making in Mathematics can also be applied during our investigations in Science as we begin to learn about the shapes, relative sizes and positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon.

On Tuesday 24 May 2022 our Cross Country carnival was run and won. Some amazing efforts by our students to complete the course and put their name forward for Inter School selection.

The House results were as follows:

3rd Place – Sapphire 62

2nd Place – Emerald 107

1st Place – Ruby

We will be having a sale of used school hoodies and polar fleece at the uniform shop located outside the GP room on Friday 27 May 2:00-3:00pm and Friday 3 June 2:00-3:00pm.

-              There are various sizes available

-              Prices range from $5 - $20

-              Limit of one hoodie and one polar fleece per student

Premier's Reading Challenge is being held throughout Term 2 and AFPS is encouraging all students to participate. The Challenge is not a competition but a way to support students to develop a love of reading for life. Students are invited to read 10 books in 10 weeks. There will be opportunities for students to read at school through the classroom reading program, but students are also encouraged to do extra reading at home. There will be a Reading Log provided for students to record the books they have read, which will need to be signed by an adult once the reading has been completed. Please talk to your child’s teacher or find out more by visiting the following website: www.premiersreadingchallenge.tas.gov.au