May 11th

Welcome to Term 2, 2022.

It is lovely to be back at school after being on leave. It is also great to see that our COVID cases have dropped significantly which means that each day we are seeing most of our students at school and engaged in their learning. 

Everyone has made a very settled start to the term.  It's wonderful to see the children happy to be back and excited to have their friends at school and almost full classes each day.  

Unfortunately, during the break, the school was subject to some vandalism.  This is becoming quite an on-going problem for us, and it is very sad that we end up spending funds and time that should be going to student learning to make items more secure and repair damage.  We are in the progress of upgrading our security by installing a contemporary security camera system. 

What can the community do? 

Firstly, please be careful in regard to your own children on school grounds outside of school hours.  If they are older children and like to ride, play ball etc. on the school grounds then please ensure that they know to leave the school grounds and go directly home if they witness any people on grounds acting in undesirable or unacceptable behaviour.   

We also ask that if you see, or your children come home and report, any persons displaying anything that is deemed as unacceptable behaviour within the school grounds that you contact the police. 

Good news!

Mr Humphrey is busy at present working with students across the school to practice running our cross country course for our upcoming NPS Cross Country event. There are still some important COVID restrictions that need to be put in place, but all going well this event will take place on Friday 20th May! Important details for the school community regarding this event are further on within this newsletter.

I am sure the entire school community, as we are, is hopeful that the influx of COVID we had in Term 1 is behind us and that we have ongoing stability to school life for the remainder of the 2022 school year (and beyond!). 

Kind regards, Karen

Being at school is the best place for our kids. It’s where they learn and grow alongside their friends, and where they benefit the most.

The Department of Education’s new communication resources on School attendance highlight the importance of regular school attendance – watch the television commercial here.

Going to school not only promotes academic success, but also helps build important social skills, relationships and confidence. Every COVID-safe measure is being taken, so that every student can learn in class safely.

What we do know is that every school day counts. Bright futures begin at school, so if your child is well enough to attend school, being in the physical school environment is the best place for them.

For more information, please visit the Department of Education website.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Kinder Leedham and Kinder Williams

As part of our Autumn Inquiry we will be travelling by bus to the City Park. 

Date: Thursday 19th May

Time: Depart school at 11:15am and arrive back by 2:30pm. 

Recess/Lunch: Students will need to bring a packed morning tea, lunch and a big drink of water. 

Clothing: Students will need to wear their uniform with comfortable walking shoes, and bring a coat or jacket.

Bec Leedham and Melinda Williams

Classroom Teachers

We are now in Cross Country season at school and have our school carnival coming up soon. The NPS Cross County Carnival will take place on Friday May 20th on school grounds. Students have been and will continue to train and practice for this event during PE and Daily PE for the carnival.

Students will need to make sure they are wearing their sports uniform and bring a large drink bottle, spare shoes and socks, warm clothing and house colours are encouraged. Students with asthma are required to bring their puffers.

We are planning to allow spectators to attend this event, however you must adhere to the following COVID safe procedures:

• One spectator per student
• Entry must be via Norwood Avenue, between Lady Gowrie and the Kindergarten
• Spectators must stay in the designated spectator area and must physical distance 1.5 metres at all times from other spectators
• Spectators will not be able to leave/enter the viewing area during race times
• You must leave via Norwood Avenue after your child's race
• If you are unwell or have symptoms of a cold, cough or fever you must not attend the event
• Spectators are not to interact with students

Approximate race times:

9.00 - 10.00: Grade 1/2 

10.15 - 10.45: Prep 

11.30 - 12.50: Grade 3/4 

1.40 - 3.00: Grade 5/6 

Kinder Leedham and Kinder Williams will be running their event on Thursday May 26th.

Please note the above is all subject to change based on current COVID situation at the school.

Ben Humphrey

This term Norwood Primary School will be focussing on our value of Growth. Growth is intrinsic to the work we do at NPS and encompasses all types of learning and development. The concept of personal growth can assist our students to build resilience and the ability to overcome challenges, which are critical aspects of lifelong learning. 

At NPS we know that fostering individual growth is critical to ensuring we provide valuable opportunities for all learners.  

Growth can look like: 

• reflecting on experiences individually and with others
• learning from experiences, mistakes and challenges 
• observing and learning from others
• seeking opportunities
• setting goals for further development
• approaching change as a continuous improvement. 

As part of our celebration of our Values, we will be recognising those students who have consistently displayed and modelled Growth in line with our Expected Student Behaviours. Students who are recognised for displaying Growth, will be presented with a Growth badge, which they can wear every day. These badges will be presented to students in an after lunch line up later this term. Start a conversation with your child around Growth within our school. You may be surprised with what they can tell you.

This year we will be entering teams into the Northern Schools Futsal Tournament that is running on Tuesday May 24th at the Elphin Sports Centre for students in grades 3-6.

Students will have the chance to play against other schools in a fun futsal environment. Throughout the day, students will play in 4 games (around 20 minutes each).

Entry into this competition will cost around $20-$25 per students for the event. Students will need to have their own transport to and from games as there will not be a bus from school. Students will not need to attend school on this day.

Norwood sports tops will be supplied to participating students while no special shoes are required – normal runners are fine. Experience with soccer or futsal would be preferred but not essential.

We will not be able to enter teams without parents/carers support with managing and supporting teams through the day.

For more information, to sign up your child/ren or to offer support to teams please contact Mr Humphrey on ben.humphrey@education.tas.gov.au

Tip of the week

Did you know, babies need to hear a wide variety of words starting from birth so that they can learn how to make and use the 44 speech sounds required to talk?

Did you also know that amazingly nursery rhymes contain all 44 speech sounds and singing them with young children and babies every day is a perfect way to build language skills and speech?

Nursery rhymes also use repetition, so children are hearing the individual sounds multiple times.

When singing nursery rhymes with your child, position yourself to face them so they can see how you form the words and sounds with your lips and mouth.

As your child becomes more familiar with the rhyme trying to substitute different words or point out rhyming words like wall and fall from the classic rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. You can even make up your own funny rhymes – this is comedy gold for the under fives!

The best thing about nursery rhymes is that they are portable, you can sing them anywhere at any time, even if you’re not the best singer, your child will think you’re a superstar and will love the fact that you are sharing songs and enjoying being with them.

Can you help?

We need the following items to assist in our upcoming science experiments for grades 3-6. 

• 600ml plastic bottles with lids 
• Bottle lids of any size 
• Polycarbonate bottle, at least 15 litres in volume (as pictured)

Donations can be taken to your classrooms or handed to Mr Walker. Please ensure all bottles are washed and rinsed. Thank you!

Transitioning from primary to high school is a time full of fun, excitement and new experiences, but it can also be challenging or worrying for many students and their families. Norwood Primary School are fortunate to be able to collaborate with local high schools in order to make this process a smooth one. Our local schools are aiming to assist students and their families by making sure every child is prepared and feels supported in their choice for high school learning in 2023. 

Coming up later this Term we have experiences available for those students who will be attending Queechy High School and Kings Meadows High School, plus those students who are still unsure. The purpose of both of these experiences is to increase students connectedness to their Year 7 high school, whilst fostering engagement through introductory experiences.

There will be more information to come around these sessions.

If you haven’t already filled in the our Grade 6 Transition Survey the link is here:

https://norwoodps.schoolzineplus.com/form/28

This will enable us to have an accurate record of student destinations for 2023.

Scholastic Book Club orders are ONLINE ONLY. Orders close Tuesday 17th May.

Thank you.

If your child requires ‘over the counter’ medication at school you must sign a parent permission form.

If your child requires prescribed medication (eg. antibiotics) you must have an ‘Administration of Prescribed Medication Authorisation’ completed by a doctor, pharmacist or practice nurse. These forms are available at the school office or from the Department of Education website. Medication - The Department of Education Tasmania  

All medication must be handed into the school office in the original packaging. Students can only have their asthma medication in their bags.

If your child has Asthma and requires Asthma medication (eg. Ventolin) at school we will need an Asthma Action Plan and an ‘Administration of Prescribed Medication Authorisation’ signed by a doctor and parent. These must be updated annually.

Please ask at the School Office if you have any questions.

Just a reminder to parents and carers that Norwood Primary School is an allergy awareness school. Please do not send any food to school that contains nuts or nut products. Thank you.

Thank you so much to Norwood Primary families for your donations of chocolate on Free dress day for the Easter Raffle this year. We were able to make 48 prizes with your donations. Thank you.

We would also like to say a special thank you to Michael Walsh and Jess Christmas from Roberts Real Estate for their support donating the 1^st Prize Easter hamper for our winner of the raffle.

Thank you also to Ananda and Kate from Key2 Property who donated an Easter chocolate box for our 7^th Prize.

We appreciate the support from these businesses so much.

Thank you to all those people who bought tickets in our raffle, we have raised $2758 from our Easter Raffle this year. Absolutely amazing effort. Thank you.

Our Easter Bun fundraiser was also a success with raising $292.42 for our School Association. Thank you to all those families who supported this drive by buying Easter buns and Anzac biscuits. We hope you enjoyed them over the break.

Thank you also to Cripps Nubake who helped make this fundraiser a possibility.

The money raised for these fundraisers gives back directly to all our kids at school by buying new equipment and resources.

Next School Association meeting:

When:            Tuesday 14^th June 2022

Time:              7:00pm

Where:           TBA

All are welcome to attend our meetings, you do not need to commit to be a regular member or attendee, you can also just be a volunteer. If you have any questions or want more information about how you can be involved and have the chance to make a real difference to your school community please contact us at norwoodpsa@gmail.com

Please like and share our Facebook page to help keep you updated with all our current activities!

https://www.facebook.com/NorwoodPSSA