4 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Welcome Back Everyone!

It was wonderful to welcome the students back to school this week. They have settled in quickly and have been eager and ready to learn. We have a busy term of learning ahead of us and I’m sure they will continue to do their very best.

New Staff

I would like to welcome Mr Nick Harper to our school. In addition to being our assistant principal, he will teach 3/4 Weavers on Thursdays. Mr Harper is a very experienced teacher and school leader having worked at many schools, most recently Dodges Ferry Primary. He has already been so impressed with our students and our welcoming school community.

We will have a number of new faces in our school this term. We will have student teachers from UTAS working alongside Ms Porte, Mr Coombe and Mr Lockey. We will also have student TAs from TAFE working in each of our classrooms throughout this term. While they will be busy learning from our skilled and experienced staff here at Risdon Vale Primary, our students will benefit from additional support both in class and in the playground.

Assemblies

We will have our first assembly for the term this coming Monday and we look forward to presenting certificates to children who have demonstrated our school values as well as certificates for home reading. Children from 1/2 Varveris, 3/4 Patulny and 5/6 Lockey will be sharing work with us. Assemblies will continue to be held every second Monday afternoon (even weeks). Certificate winners will be named in the previous newsletter allowing parents the opportunity to make arrangements to attend the next assembly to see it presented.

NAPLAN

Students in grade 3 and 5 will participate in NAPLAN testing in week 3 of this term. These assessments are an opportunity for us to find out how we can better support our students and are not something we want our students to be worried or anxious about. Students will be completing the tests in their own classrooms with their own teachers and we will do everything we can to make sure it is not a stressful time for them.

School Works

We are continuing to invest in improving our school facilities to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of our students. We are part way through the development of a new computer lab which will be located next to the cooking room. Our garden development is well underway with the outdoor classroom installed over the holidays. We have also had new carpet laid over the holidays.

Friday Afternoon Activities

We will again offer our grades 3-6 students the opportunity to opt in to a range of activities for Friday afternoons. Activities this term will include art, bike riding, robotics, computers, dance, cooking and various sports.

Rachael Wells
Acting Principal

SAFE FAIR CARE CERTIFICATES THAT WILL BE PRESENTED AT ASSEMBLY ON 7TH MAY 2018

At assembly on Monday the 7th May 1/2Varveris, 3/4Patulny and 5/6Lockey are sharing.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY

Book Club

Issue 3 book club orders are due back on Friday 11th May.

Home Reading

Congratulations to these students, who received Home Reading Certificates at assembly this week.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) commenced in Australian schools in 2008. Each year, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in common national tests which assess:

• Reading
• Writing
• Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• Numeracy.

The scheduled dates for the tests in 2018 are Tuesday 15 May, Wednesday 16 May and Thursday 17 May.

The benefits of participating in NAPLAN testing:

• NAPLAN tests the skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy.
• NAPLAN results provide valuable information on how your child is progressing against national minimum standards of literacy and numeracy skills expected for each year level.
• The NAPLAN tests provide you as parents with an individual report that shows your child’s results and a comparison of your child’s performance against all other Australian students in their year level.
• Teachers use the NAPLAN results to determine your child’s areas of strength and where future focus is required and how best to provide support or extension activities.
• School teachers use the online NAPLAN Toolkit to analyse your child’s results. The Toolkit provides detailed information right down to the individual question with links to teaching strategies.
• Principals, senior staff and others use NAPLAN results to inform school planning and to allocate resources and support including informing decisions around targeted programs and initiatives for individuals and groups.

The best way you can assist your child is by helping them to feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the tests, and assure them that the tests will give them an opportunity to show what they have learned in class.

For more information about the national tests, please visit the national NAPLAN website in the link below.

MGMOutReach+

Risdon Vale Primary School is pleased to announce an upgrade to our school communication services. News, Events, Notices and general messages will now be sent using the School Star app. Only parents and community members can access content in this secure app for iPhone and Android. Please download here:

AFTER SCHOOL DANCE PROGRAM

LIL NEWS

READING TIPS 3RD MAY

Premier’s Reading Challenge: Starts 9 April and ends 15 June

The Challenge: Read 10 books in 10 weeks (large chapter books can be counted as more than one book)

What you need to do:

1. Record book titles in your log and have an adult sign.
2. Return your completed log to Ms Rigney or your class teacher when the challenge ends.

You could win prizes for yourself and the school.

Write a book review on the website in the link below and be in the running to win one of the weekly book vouchers.

CALENDAR OF UP-COMING EVENTS

SAFETY NOTICE

Just a reminder to parents NOT to park on the school crossing.

Within 20 metres before and 10 metres after a pedestrian or children’s crossing.