Term 2 - Week 8 - 20th June, 2024

IMPORTANT DATES

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Cross Country at Symmons Plains
Our courageous team of runners braved a chilly start to the day to compete against runners from across the state. Mr Henry said that our competitors were a credit to the school. They were well behaved and gave their very best effort on the day.

Family/Teacher Meetings

Lego Competition
Children have put a great deal of thinking and design skills into their entries. I was able to visit most classes to see the class entries. Congratulations to every student that put in the effort to enter. The winning entries from each class are on display in the library.

North West Support School Campus in Devonport
I have included this in the newsletter. This was also sent out via Schoolzine and Facebook.

One of the potential sites is adjacent to our school on the land owned by the Devonport City Council at 3-9 Mersey Main Road that currently contains community netball courts.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People engaged independent planning consultants to identify potential sites in Devonport and the immediate surrounding areas for a new campus for the Northwest Support School Devonport.

14 initial sites were identified, which were assessed by the planning consultants against the site search criteria. The Department for Education, Children and Young People is consulting with the community from now until 5 July 2024 on two sites from this initial list because they met all or most of the search criteria.

Please click on the link below to view the site search criteria and the two potential sites. You can then rank these sites from top to bottom in order of your preference. You can also use the free text field to provide any other comments or feedback.

 For any other questions in relation to this consultation process, you can also email DECYP direct at getinvolved@decyp.tas.gov.au

John Hudson
PRINCIPAL

SPREYTON PRIMARY SCHOOL VALUES AWARD RECIPIENTS

FAMILY/TEACHER MEETINGS TERM 2

Kinder to Grade 6 Family/Teacher meetings will be held during Week 9 of this term, from Monday, June 24th to Friday, June 28th, from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

Family/Teacher meetings provide an opportunity for teachers to share evidence of learning, celebrate your child's progress, discuss any concerns, and develop plans to enhance future learning.

Our Music, Physical Education, Languages and Wellbeing teachers are also available for interviews.

Please book your preferred meeting time as soon as possible. Each meeting will run for 15 minutes. Due to the tight time frame of our Family/Teacher meetings, it is important that you arrive on time to your meeting please.

The booking system is now open and will remain open until Friday, 28th June, this can be accessed via our Schoolzine platform or by clicking the link below. If you are unable to access Schoolzine, please contact the school office at 6421 2222.

DRAMA

What Is Drama
Drama is a form of The Arts. The Arts enable learners to develop a strong sense of identity, learn through their creativity and connect to others when communicating ideas. Foundation to Grade 2 years explore role and dramatic action through play, improvisations and process drama in which the teacher works in a role alongside the children.

Prep/Grade One
During Term 1 and 2 Prep/Grade One drama focussed on using body movement and facial expressions to portray characters from a story. Children mimed a variety of everyday familiar activities such as brushing their teeth, packing their bag and planting a flower with attention to detailed movements. Stories were used to engage students in role playing characters and situations. Some of the stories included: The Bus to the Zoo; Possum Magic and Wombat Stew.

The children had a lot of fun dressing up and creating their character as we went on pretend train journeys and tried out roles found in a hospital. The Magic Hat by Mem Fox was a great starter to trying on lots of hats and developing their character and story. The Prep/Grade Ones have shown amazing courage, good humour and a willingness to have a go at all activities.

Grade 1/2
Emotions were running high in Grade 1/2 drama lessons. Children watched some short clips from the movie “Inside Out” and used these to explore conveying emotions using facial expressions and whole body movement. They are a very expressive bunch! We explored some familiar nursery rhymes in order to practise developing and maintaining characters and building believable storylines. We asked ourselves, “Did Humpty Dumpty really fall? Why did Jack and Jill need to collect water? We used the dress up clothes and various props to become a character who just happened to witness Humpty’s demise, the strange happenings of the night the cow jumped over the moon and Jack and Jill’s terrible fall down the hill. In character, each child gave their eye-witness account of events. Children worked in small groups to present back to the class their version of what really happened to Jack and Jill. Through partner and small group work we explored some common feelings and situations that can occur in friendship groups and in the classroom or playground such as being left out, dealing with mean comments and showing care and kindness to others. It has been pleasing to see the Grade 1/2’s embrace drama with such enthusiasm and to see their amazing personal development.

Angela McClymont
Drama Teacher

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MUSIC TERM 2

Kinder Music

Children in Kinder have been learning to move their bodies to the beat safely in the room. We have focussed on responding to the starts and stops in the songs. Children have been identifying and singing known songs such as nursery rhymes as well as new songs to do with our theme that week. We have looked at some different versions of our nursery rhymes. See below for the alternative words. In term 2 we have focussed on playing instruments to the beat, learning when to play and stop and the names of our percussion instruments. We have explored through movement, singing, and playing soft and loud, high and low, and fast and slow.

Prep - Grade 1 Music
In Term 2 Prep and Grade 1 students have been focussing on beat, rhythm and melody. Students have been using Lego blocks to create their own rhythms and practising playing them accurately in time with a steady beat. They have added music notes to their rhythms to create a melody which has then been played on a tuned percussion instrument such as a xylophone. They have been learning to read and perform simple rhythm patterns along to music playing various patterns along to music.
Click on to the links below to play these patterns at home.

Grade 1 - 2
In Term 2 Grade 1 and 2 students have been focussing on rhythm and melody. Students have been writing their own rhythms and practising playing them accurately in time with a steady beat. They have added music notes to their rhythms to create a melody which has then been played on a tuned percussion instrument such as a xylophone. They have been learning what it means to have a melody move in steps and leaps. They have been practising identifying, reading, and playing melodies in steps and leaps.

Recorder
Children in Grades 3-6 have been working on their recorder pieces in readiness to perform at the Devonport Eisteddfod in September. Some children will be performing solos, duets, trios, and quartets as well as part of a group.

Guitar
Guitar groups' lesson for children in Grade 4 - 6 are held weekly. The children are currently learning how to play simple guitar chords and performing music following a guitar chart. If your child has a guitar, I can put some stickers on their guitar to help them with the chord fingerings.

If you have any questions about the school music program, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Peter Georgiades / Angela McClymont
Music Teachers         

LANGUAGES

Grades 3-6
During Term 1 and 2, our students in Grades 3 to 6 have been busy developing their knowledge and skills in the Indonesian language. Term 1 commenced with an inquiry-based approach, where each student highlighted their prior knowledge and shared their learning interests and hopes. This allowed for the incorporation of student interest into all learning activities.

Throughout both terms, students have actively engaged in enhancing their language skills. They have learned to count from 0 to 20 in Indonesian, practiced greetings, asking questions, and familiarised themselves with colours, names, and places. To reinforce their learning, students have participated in online quizzes and games, watched educational videos, used flashcards, and created and played board games in Indonesian.

In addition to language learning, students have expanded their understanding of Indonesian culture. This involved completing a research project, which they presented using PowerPoint. Building upon their ICT skills, students researched, located, and shared information on various aspects of Indonesian culture, including major cities, famous landmarks, and traditions. Additionally, students created posters that showcased their interesting fact findings on Komodo Dragons - unique lizards, native only to Indonesia.

Moving forward, our future focus for all students will be to further develop their language skills by engaging in general conversations in Indonesian. We aim to build their confidence in holding conversations and responding to one another.

Lauren Bramich / Nikayla Wicks
LANGUAGES TEACHERS

WELL-BEING

Kindergarten
In Term 1 and 2 the Kinder students have been focusing on social and emotional skills such as getting along, organisation and persistence. Each lesson is started with a video or book that demonstrates or connects to a specific topic.  For example, we watched a Bluey episode where the theme of persistence was shown through the characters consistent effort to achieve a goal. This was followed by a whole class discussion where the children were able to connect this with their own personal experiences. Lessons also included whole class activities and games to further enhance their understanding of these topics.

Prep/1
So far this year Prep/1 students have been introduced to five key social and emotional skills. These skills are confidence, getting along, organisation, persistence and resilience. This was exhibited through working with puppets that connected to each one of the five skills. For example, the puppet known as 'Gabby Get Along' demonstrated how to form positive relationships by using effective communication strategies and conflict resolutions in an age-appropriate manner. This was supported by interactive games and activities to further consolidate their learning of each topic.

Grade 1/2 and 3/4
During Term 1 the Grade1/2 and 3/4 classes focused on persistence, growth mindset verses a fixed mindset, goal setting and how to measure success. Students were given a purposefully difficult yet achievable task to enhance their skills of persistence. They were then given different strategies and examples of ways to combat their frustration and thoughts of giving up. These strategies included positive self-talk and deep breathing exercises.

In Term 2 these classes began focussing on teamwork, positive communication and self-regulation strategies.
The students were split into groups with peers they don't usually work with, and they had to plan and build a tower out of popsicle sticks and sticky tape. The focus for this activity was to use positive communication strategies, practice active listening skills and allow all team members the opportunity to share their thinking and contribute to the challenge.

They reinforced their understanding and application of positive communication strategies by playing card and board games in small groups. This activity also provided students with the opportunity to use the self-regulation strategies we have discussed and practiced. When faced with frustration or strong emotions during interactions, these strategies helped them make better decisions.

Grade 4/5 and 5/6
In Term 1, the Grade 4/5 and 5/6 classes have focused on persistence, growth mindset verses a fixed mindset and goal setting. Students implemented their understanding of growth mindset versus fixed mindset by creating a set of specific, achievable goals that best resonated with their interests. They set a long-term goal for either their personal or school life. Additionally, students had to create short-term goals that acted as stepping stones towards achieving their long-term goal. To assist in students’ persistence in completing these goals daily actions were also set.

This knowledge will benefit students by introducing goal setting and enabling them to recognise that persistence allows for eventual success.

In Term 2, these classes began focusing on teamwork and positive communication. Students were grouped with peers they don't typically work with and tasked with planning and building a tower using raw spaghetti and marshmallows. During this activity, their focus was on employing positive communication strategies, practicing active listening skills, and ensuring all team members had the opportunity to share their thoughts and contribute to the challenge. Developing these skills provides students with the tools to become positive influences in all aspects of their lives.

They further reinforced their understanding and application of positive communication strategies by playing card and board games in small groups.

It has been wonderful to observe the children's progress and growth over the two terms, witnessing their development in these areas and the noticeable increase in positive interactions amongst the classes.

Nikayla Wicks,
WELL-BEING TEACHER

BRIXHIBITION LEGO COMPETITION

Brixhibition Finalist and Winners

Congratulations to all those Lego Blockheads who created some wonderfully creative Lego models for the competition. Classes went through the first vote, selecting their favourite. Unfortunately, not everyone got the votes they may have hoped for, but at least they were courageous enough to have a go.

The winning creation from each class was then displayed in the library for whole school voting. Over the last two days the counters were collected in cups. There was one outstanding model that captured the imagination of nearly a third of voters. Well done to all our finalists. Medals for each category winner will be handed out this Friday at assembly.

Category winners were:

• Kinder / Prep - Elliot
• Grade 1/2 – Grace C (and overall winner)
• Grade 3/4 - Ky
• Grade 5/6 – Lily H
  

Barrie McClymont
AST

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STAYING SAFE ON OUR SCHOOL BUSES

PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES

All public transport fares have been halved as of Saturday 1 June 2024.

This fare reduction applies to adult, concession, urban, non-urban, and child / student fares on public buses, school buses and the Derwent River Ferry, until June 30, 2025.

To learn more, visit transport.tas.gov.au/fares, talk to your bus operator, or call 6166 3343.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

What's On In Latrobe / Spreyton Area

Family Bowls Day

AFL Auskick

School Holiday Tennis Camp

Ten Pin Bowls Junior League