14 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

(Ms Cruse in Mrs Robinson’s absence)

Hello Parents, Carers and Friends

With so many students and staff including Mrs Robinson away with illness, the last fortnight or month really, has been challenging for everyone. We wish to thank our staff, relief staff, students and families for the additional work, support and understanding shown throughout the last month. We’d also like to wish those who are unwell a speedy recovery and hope to see everyone back on board soon. This is a timely reminder to keep children at home if they are unwell.

We would like to inform students, parents and carers that Mr Jubb has accepted a position at Dunalley Primary School for the remainder of the year. We thank Mr Jubb for his contribution to our school and wish him the very best in his new role.

Congratulations to the school community on a very successful Meeh-an-Dad. ‘A picture paints a thousand words’ and the photos to follow say plenty about the great Dads, pops, uncles and brothers amongst us. All that is left to say is THANKYOU!!! Thanks to the men who were ‘brave’ enough to give this event a go and get in and play with their kids and thankyou to the volunteers who helped make it happen. We look forward to the next Meeh-an-Dad in late November.

Naplan Online

NAPLAN ONLINE - TRIAL OF THE NEW ONLINE ASSESSMENT PLATFORM

You may have heard that NAPLAN online is being introduced across Australia. Tasmanian Government schools will be administering NAPLAN online from 2019.

NAPLAN online will provide better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of information.

Our school has opted to trial the new assessment platform (the computer system the test will be taken on) and assess our readiness to participate in NAPLAN Online from 2019. This trial is called the School Readiness Test (SRT).

The SRT is not a test of student achievement and results will not form part of a student’s overall assessment.

Participating in this trial is important as it will help us ensure we have adequate internet connectivity, and whether students have access to sufficient number of devices for NAPLAN testing. During the trial, our school will have the opportunity to practice managing the classroom logistics for an online assessment and the new test administration processes.

Feedback from schools participating in the trial will inform transition to the online assessment as well as provide valuable feedback to shape the final development of the NAPLAN online platform.

The SRT has not been constructed to assess curriculum knowledge, but rather to provide students an opportunity to experience the types of questions that will be included in the new online assessment.

During Week 9 (18th – 22nd September 2017), students in Year 4 will participate in the trial of the assessment platform, by undertaking two online tests that include examples of the new NAPLAN online questions. Each test will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Participation in this trial is a key step to ensuring a successful NAPLAN online experience.

If you have further questions, please contact Ms Palfreyman (Mathematics/Numeracy Coach) at the school.

Reward my School

And the Reward My School Winners are…
1st prize - $2,000
Risdon Vale Primary School

Recenty, people from our community have been participating in the Eastlands Reward my School Promotion. They have been busily earning points for our school by shopping and donating food at Eastlands Shopping Centre.

Risdon Vale Primary School was not only one of the weekly winners, but also the overall winners. Many thanks to Jackie from Eastlands marketing and Ed, the CEO of Foodbank for coming to our school assembly to present 1st prize.

Thanks also to Woolworths.

School Association President, Tamara Knop accepted the cheque on behalf of our school.

Congratualtions everyone and what a huge community effort.

Hi 5 Awards presented at assembly Monday 4th September

Greenies Presented at Assembly Monday 4th September

The musical workshop

On Tuesday the school had a concert after lunch by the students that had attended a workshop with Jon Madin They played on Jon Madin’s homemade instruments. They had an echo cello, a homemade drum, homemade marimba and a base marimba. It was fun and entertaining for all those attending.

Mason Burr 5/6

Word of the Week

Our school is a very compassionate school. We understand that everyone has different needs and we hear to listen. If you need someone to talk to we are here for you.

What Is Compassion?

Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.

Compassion is not the same as empathy or altruism, though the concepts are related. While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective of and feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help. Altruism, in turn, is the kind, selfless behaviour often prompted by feelings of compassion, though one can feel compassion without acting on it, and altruism isn’t always motivated by compassion.

Why Practice It?

Scientific research into the measurable benefits of compassion is young. Preliminary findings suggest, however, that being compassionate can improve health, well-being, and relationships. Many scientists believe that compassion may even be vital to the survival of our species, and they’re finding that its advantages can be increased through targeted exercises and practice. Here are some of the most exciting findings from this research so far.

• Compassion makes us feel good: Compassionate action (e.g., giving to charity) activates pleasure circuits in the brain, and compassion training programs, even very brief ones, strengthen brain circuits for pleasure and reward and lead to lasting increases in self-reported happiness.
• Being compassionate—tuning in to other people in a kind and loving manner—can reduce risk of heart disease by boosting the positive effects of the Vagus Nerve, which helps to slow our heart rate.
• One compassion training program has found that it makes people more resilient to stress; it lowers stress hormones in the blood and saliva and strengthens the immune response. Compassion training may also help us worry less and be more open to our negative emotions.
• Compassion could improve our mental health: One research review found that practicing compassion meditation improved participants’ emotional life, positive thinking, relationships, and empathy.
• Brain scans during loving-kindness meditation, which directs compassion toward suffering, suggest that, on average, compassionate people’s minds wander less about what has gone wrong in their lives, or might go wrong in the future; as a result, they’re happier.
• Practicing compassion could make us more altruistic. In turn, it may also help us overcome empathic distress and become more resilient in the face of others’ suffering.
• Compassion helps make caring parents: Brain scans show that when people experience compassion, their brains activate in neural systems known to support parental nurturance and other caregiving behaviours.
• Compassion helps make better spouses: Compassionate people are more optimistic and supportive when communicating with others.
• Compassion helps make better friends: Studies of college friendships show that when one friend sets the goal to support the other compassionately, both friends experience greater satisfaction and growth in the relationship.
• Compassion helps make better doctors: Medical students who train in compassion feel less depressed and lonely, and avoid the typical declines in compassion that happen during medical school.
• Feeling compassion for one person makes us less vindictive toward others.
• Restraining feelings of compassion chips away at our commitment to moral principles.
• Employees who receive more compassion in their workplace see themselves, their co-workers, and their organization in a more positive light, report feeling more positive emotions like joy and contentment, and are more committed to their jobs. A compassionate workplace culture is linked to less burnout, greater teamwork, and higher job satisfaction.
• More compassionate societies—those that take care of their most vulnerable members, assist other nations in need, and have children who perform more acts of kindness—are the happier ones.
• Compassionate people are more socially adept, making them less vulnerable to loneliness; loneliness has been shown to cause stress and harm the immune system.

The Dalai Lama - Compassion is not a Sign of Weakness

What is Compassion?

Compassion in Practice

Nursery Rhyme of the Week

BINGO
There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-I-N-G-O
(clap)-I-N-G-O
(clap)-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-(clap)-N-G-O
(clap)-(clap)-N-G-O
(clap)-(clap)-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-G-O
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-G-O
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-O
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-O
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-O
And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
And Bingo was his name-o.

RIDDLES

Question: What has a single eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle

Question: I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for more than 5 minutes. What am I?
Answer: Breath.

Question: What building has the most stories?
Answer: A library.

Question: What stays where it is when it goes off?
Answer: An alarm clock.

Question: What is brown and sticky?
Answer: A stick!

Question: Thirty men and only two women, but they hold the most power.
Dressed in black and white, they could fight for hours.
Who are they?
Answer: Chess pieces.

News from the School Association

Results from our raffle:-

ALL PRIZE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.

We thank everyone for their contribution to this fundraiser.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS