16 November 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principals Report

Principal’s Report

As we are commencing the last weeks of Term 4, we are nearly organised with our staffing and class construction. I appreciate this can be a difficult time of the year, wondering which class students will be placed in and who will be their teacher for 2022. I am hoping to be able to share more information in our next newsletter. Students will receive their class placement letters with their end of year reports on Friday, 10 December.

ArtStart

We value the strength of our Visual Art Program at SLPS and regularly participate in the ArtStart Exhibitions held by the Queen Victoria Museum. The theme for this term’s exhibition is With a Little Help from my Friends which focuses on visual representations of the power of friendship. Congratulations to the following students who have had their artwork selected for this ArtStart Exhibition:

Archer, Cheng-en and Temuulen

Invitations to the opening event have been sent home to the families of all students who provided work to be considered for selection in this exhibition. Thank you to Karolyn Davidson for coordinating this work and for her helper Shyloe and Scarlet who attended the selection process on Saturday 8 November. Our families can view this exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, 2 Wellington Street, Launceston, from now until June 2022.

Aussie of the Month

Congratulations to Grace P/1 HT and Elnaz 2HT who have been recognised for the contribution they make to our school community, to their peers and in their class. Well done!

Remembrance Day

Last week our school community stopped on Thursday, 11 November to remember all those people who are currently serving or who have fallen in our armed services to protect our great country. Thank you to Elizabeth for leading our thoughts for Remembrance Day.

LSSSA Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to our students who participated in our LSSSA Swimming Team on Friday 5 November. They demonstrated courage, respect and great support for each other! Alfie even participated in a butterfly event, only getting a quick lesson on how to do butterfly minutes before swimming the event. We truly have a great community spirit in our school. “We had a lot of fun and our swimmers that represented our school did an absolutely outstanding job during this event” Scarlett

Girls Football Gala

On Friday 12 November, Candice, Paige and Rahni represented SLPS in the northern team at the LSSSA Girls Football Gala at Windsor Park. Lola and Ruby also participated in the LSSSA/Tamar team. Thank you to Dave Patten and Emma Attard who have been training the girls over the last few weeks and supported them on the day. Our LSSSA team defeated Northern Midlands in the final. Well done to the team and all 80 of the best female primary school AFL players from Northern Tasmania. There are most likely some potential AFWL players in the making!

50 Nights Reading Club

Congratulations to the following students who have joined our 50 Nights Reading Club. Not only are they supporting their learning but are developing a love of reading! These students were acknowledged in our Assembly and receive a certificate and wrist band:

Shriya, Evi-Mae, Lachlan

100 Nights Reading Club

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 100 Nights Reading Club. They were presented with a certificate and ‘100 Nights Club’ wrist band in our last assembly:

Ava

150 Reading Sessions

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 150 Reading Sessions. They were presented with a certificate in our last assembly:

Maya, April, Fletcher

200 Reading Sessions

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 200 Reading Sessions. They were presented with a certificate in our last assembly:

Eli, April, Vinnie, Jackson, Grace, Ethan, Caitlin, Jacob

250+ Reading Sessions

Bella 300,William 300, Oliver 300, Zoe 300, Zac 300, Hunter 350

Education Support Staff Day

Today was Education Support Staff Day. This day recognises all the people who work in our school.

Supporting our students, including our Teacher Assistants, Office Staff, Education Facility Attendants, Social Worker, Psychologist, Speech and Language Pathologist, Chaplain and Nurse. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of professional colleagues who truly put our students first! Thank you to you all.

Kind regards,

Helen

Kindergarten 2022

Do you have a child who was born in 2017 or have you a family member or neighbour who is in our school area?

We are now accepting enrolments for Kindergarten for 2022! Our enrolled pre-kinder families have already been given enrolment forms to assist us to plan for 2022. Should not be sure if your child can attend pre-kinder, please contact the school office for more information.

Our Pre-kinder sessions are held Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm in our kindergarten classrooms.

Pre-kinder builds children’s familiarisation and confidence with the school setting, along with developing foundational literacy, numeracy and social skills.

School Levies 2022

Levies have been ratified by the School Association and set for the 2022 school year as follows:-

Please note that St Leonards Primary School have a composite levyl structure. Optional charges throughout the year will be notified in advance e.g. Grade 6 Leavers activities, T-shirts and School Photos.

Payment Options – Flexible payment options will be made available, please see the St Leonards Primary School Levies and Charges Policy for 2022 for full details. (Attached to this Newsletter)

Parents experiencing financial hardship are invited to contact the school for information on the financial support options that are available.

The Financial Services Unit within the Department of Education can also be contacted for information on financial support options offered by the Department such as the Student Assistance Scheme at stas@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 827 055.

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) for 2022 School Year

The Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to low-income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled in a school from kindergarten through to year 12.

STAS is provided through school and college resourcing rather than payment direct to families.

Eligibility

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card.

To apply for STAS please complete a Student Assistance application form. Parents/guardians will be able to apply online via this link Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) (education.tas.gov.au).

2022 Eligibility for Previous STAS Recipients

Parents who received STAS in 2021 do not need to re-apply for next year, families will be contacted directly by the Department in regard to STAS 2022. Parents who received STAS during 2020 who do not hold a concession card outlined will be approved using the 2020 process where evidence is provided to support their claim. The Department will contact parents in relation to this.

Further information regarding STAS is available on the Department’s web page at Levies and Charges - The Department of Education Tasmania

Do it for Cancer ‘Tandi’s Fro is Going to Go!!!’

As parents and teachers, we endeavour to raise our children with the values of empathy and kindness. It is these qualities that have challenged Tandi in grade 4 to shave her hair to support the Cancer Council in their mission for a cancer free future. During our assembly on 1 December, Tandi will have her hair shaved so it can be used to make a wig for cancer suffers. Tandi is aiming to raise $3000.00 for Cancer research and our Student Leaders will be holding a fund-raising event later in the term to contribute to Tandi’s efforts. Should you like to contribute you can by donating to her fund-raising page. The link is below:

https://www.doitforcancer.com.au/fundraisers/tandidunn

Art in Early Childhood Classes

Last Friday our early childhood classes enjoyed working with Mrs Davidson to create clay echidnas. We are sure you will think they are great!

Children’s University

The 2021 CU Graduation Ceremony is being held on Tuesday, 23 November, from 1:00pm until 3:00pm in the Sir Raymond Ferrell Room at UTAS. We have 22 students graduating this year and they have had their fitting for their graduation gowns and are very excited! We will provide a bus to transport graduating students from school to UTAS for the graduation. Parents are responsible for collecting students after the Graduation and taking them home.

Grade 6 Orientation Day QHS

A reminder Grade 6 students will attend the Queechy Orientation Day on Wednesday, 24 November. Students go straight to Queechy HS and participate in a day of learning and activities and are dismissed from QHS at the end of the day. This gives students an idea of how to get to and home from high school and what a high school day looks like.

ArtStart

Last week we went to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and represented St Leonards Primary School as art curators for the ArtStart Exhibition. We met with several other students who were also representing their school. As a team, we had the difficult task of selecting artwork for the next exhibition titled, With a little help from our friends. There was a huge collection of fabulous kinder to grade 6 work from many schools around the Launceston area. We also had to decide the colour backing paper and what pieces of artwork went together in frames. It was a fun time discussing the artwork with other students and teachers.

We are looking forward to seeing the artwork on display at the opening on the 27th of November. We hope everyone takes the time to go and see the fabulous students’ artwork.

Congratulations to the 3 St Leonards students, Archer, Cheng-en and Temuulen, who had their artwork selected in the exhibition.

Scarlet and Shyloe

Book Fair

Thank you so much for all who supported the Book Fair this year. You are truly amazing and because of your tremendous support we now have over $2500 worth of new books for our school library.

Jenny Nightingale

School Banking update from Commonwealth Bank

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 www.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.

Final Day for school banking 2021 is Wednesday 8th December

Queechy Year 7 2022

Grade 6 students who are enrolling into year 7 at Queechy next year must complete enrolment forms and return to St Leonards school office as soon as possible.

Assembly 3rd November 2021

Congratulations to all students who received certificates at assembly.

2A
Xavier G
Mia P
Toby M

3-4A
Laura M
Jack B
Ellie P
Kacie P

4-5A
Harmony P
Paige S
Jayden S

5-6A
Jensen W
Stephen D
Rahni J

5-6B
Scarlet C
Lily S
Max T
Matilda C

Student Success

School Calendar and Term Dates

2022 Term Dates for Students

Term dates for students have been confirmed for 2022.

Professional Learning days are set for: