June 9th
- From the Principal
- Excursions
- LSSSA Cross Country Carnival
- Social Emotional Learning and Wellbeing
- Crazy Hair Day
- Wadjiny Performance
- Assembly Roster
- Learning in Families Together (LIFT)
- 2 Garwood Fire Safety
- Launching into Learning Baby Massage
- Year 6 Transition 2021-2022
- Kindergarten 2022
- Canteen News
- 5-6 Sport Roster
- School Association News
- Community News
This week Gary Jones notified us of his intention to retire effective of the conclusion of term 2. He will remain on leave until then, and therefore will not return to the Assistant Principal role at NPS. It has been an honour to work with Gary over the past 2+ years. He has been a huge support in assisting me settle into the Principal role at NPS. The work that he has quietly and respectfully gone about throughout his 12 years at NPS has greatly helped shape the positive ethos of the school. You may see Gary about in our school grounds as he tells me that he will be coming in to do some work in the forest area to prepare it for our students for term 3! This is one of the many things that Gary has done on top of his everyday work commitments over the years to support our students. Below is a message to the school community from Gary.
Sue Frelek has announced her retirement effective from the end of term 2. Sue has been a long-standing Teacher Assistant at NPS and we greatly value her contributions to the many students and staff that she has worked with and supported throughout the years.
I wish both Gary and Sue the very best as they enter this next stage of life!
Karen
Dear Norwood Primary community,
I have made the decision to resign from the Department of Education and have Norwood Primary as my final place of employment and will therefore not be returning to work. Since 2009 I have been the incumbent Assistant Principal. Kelly Heathcote was my wonderful Principal, in my initial years here, and since that time the school population has evolved to one that truly represents the greater Launceston population.
We can all take pride in the percentage of students, at this school, who are thoroughly invested in learning, and in being respectful, responsible citizens. The physical environment of NPS is the envy of most schools.
My time and successes here have been as a result of:
- wonderful support and friendship from my fellow senior staff, and current Principal Karen Monaghan;
- the many staff who have actively worked hard during my 12 years, and flexibly adapted to ever-changing directions;
- the front office ‘crew’ have enabled my planning and organisation,
- and the groundsmen and facility attendants who have also been willing supporters and collaborators.
Thank you to the Norwood School Association and parents in general, as I have felt thoroughly supported during my tenure. I have greatly appreciated your honesty, dedication to your children and willingness to participate respectfully in the rare tough conversations.
To the past students, but more importantly the current students in our school, I say thank you for your vitality and energy, the smiles you provide on a daily basis are appreciated, your willingness to listen and ask questions are great skills for future learning and I know that you will join me in saying it is great to be able to say we have been a part of Norwood Primary.
Best wishes to all, stay safe and look after one another.
If you look closely, you might see me helping out at a few things in the near future!
Gary Jones
5-6 M and 5-6 P/W
Who: 5-6 Marshall and 5-6 Poke/Walker
Date: Wednesday 16th June
Time: Depart school at 10:00am and arrive back by 3:00pm
Where: Trowunna Wildlife Park - Mole Creek
Clothing: School uniform, comfotable walking shoes and a warm coat
As part of our Science inquiry unit into Change and Adaptation we will be visiting Trowunna Wildlife Park. We will be exploring real life examples of how science has helped to solve problems through exploring the Tasmanian Devil Conversation Program.
Hayley Marshall, Megan Poke and Duncan Walker
Classroom Teachers
5-6 D and 5-6 F and 5-6 R
Who: 5-6 Driessen, 5-6 Finnigan and 5-6 Richards
Date: Wednesday 23rd June
Time: Depart school at 10:00am and arrive back by 3:00pm
Where: Trowunna Wildlife Park - Mole Creek
Clothing: School uniform, comfotable walking shoes and a warm coat
As part of our Science inquiry unit into Change and Adaptation we will be visiting Trowunna Wildlife Park. We will be exploring real life examples of how science has helped to solve problems through exploring the Tasmanian Devil Conversation Program.
Scott Driessen, Isabella Finnigan and Katrina Richards
Classroom Teachers
Last Friday was the LSSSA Cross Country at the Windsor Park prescient. The Norwood team consisted of 40 students who ran really well at our own Cross Country a few weeks ago. Despite the cold and windy weather, our runners displayed strong enthusiasm towards the carnival.
We had many great performances throughout the day. Top 3 finishes by: Briah M, Cooper C, Gabi L (1st), Eddie S, Griffin W, Tyler L (1st), Sam G and Zoe R. Based on many great performances over our team, we were able to take out the Grade 3, 4 and 5 Boys Team Titles. Special mention to the Grade 3 boys who had all 5 runners in the top 10 of their race.
It was clear during the carnival that Punchbowl and Norwood were going to be fighting it out for the Division B crown. After winning the past couple of Division B titles, Norwood came a close 2nd behind Punchbowl this year.
Congratulations to all participants on your exceptional distance running displayed. Some students will be invited to attend the All Schools (State) Cross Country in a couple of weeks at Symmons Plains.
Ben Humphrey
From Kindergarten to Grade 6, as part of our focus on respectful relationships and wellbeing, we are supporting students in their social and emotional development. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, April 28th, throughout the school we use the Zones of Regulation, a social-emotional learning framework created to teach children self-regulation and emotional control.
Some feedback from early childhood children currently working in a Zones of Regulation group:
“Zones helps me to talk with my mum and dad about how I am feeling?”
“Zones helps me to help my friends when they are in the blue zone”.
“Zones helps me to not do the wrong thing when I am angry”.
One of our key messages is that all emotions are ok – it is what we do when we are experiencing these emotions that might not be ok. To help us to manage our emotions, we need to understand the role that thinking plays in emotions. It might seem that emotions are automatic, but really, our emotions are actually formed by what we think about different situations. If children are often thinking about things in a negative light, then it is likely that their emotions will also be negative. When children are feeling badly about something, it is a good idea to encourage them to try to look at it in a different way. By helping children to explore their own thinking, we are helping them learn to develop more positive and realistic ways of thinking. This takes time and patience from us as the adults but our brain is designed to firstly co-regulate with our little ones and then to help them to reflect and learn.
Useful website
https://raisingchildren.net.au/
This is a really useful website and if you search emotional regulation you will find articles, videos full of information to support you in this area.
Our Prep and Prep-1 classes are having a real focus on regulation and wellbeing over the next few weeks using an inquiry based approach to learn more about emotions in themselves and others. We look forward to sharing what they learn with you.
Lynn Wyllie-Watson
Crazy Hair Day brought lots of smiles to our school. Franklin and Delilah added more than smiles when they had their long hair cut off to donate to ‘Wigs for Kids’. A fabulous awareness raising and fundraising effort! NPS raised over $600. Well done everyone.
It was great to have Troy join us yesterday for a performance titled ‘Wadjiny’. From kinder to grade 6, our students were engaged in learning about our indigenous history and culture. Have a chat to your child about something they enjoyed about yesterday's performance and something they learnt from it.
Our Kindergarten classes are currently using an inquiry based approach to explore story telling, beginning from the perspective of Aboriginal people. In Kinder Williams, children have been discussing the word 'ancestors' and exploring the ideas linked to 'acknowledgement of country', listening to Aboriginal music and dancing.
We are looking forward to our NAIDOC week assembly on Thursday, July 1st.
Assemblies are able to have an audience. At this stage due to COVID safety requirements - venue density and physical distancing - it will only be parent/guardians of the host class and certificate recipients.
An invitation to attend will be sent to parents via text. Invited guests will be required to sign in at the office as well as check in using the Check in Tas app - this is a mandatory Public Health directive. If you are unwell of have symptoms of a cough, cold or fever you will be unable to attend.
| Date | Sector | Host Class |
| 10/6 | No Assembly | |
| 17/6 | Primary | 5-6 Poke/Walker |
| 24/6 | Early Childhood | 1 Andrew |
| 1/7 | Whole School |
Maths can be integrated into everyday life and can be FUN!!
Next time you are out and about with your little person count the stairs as you walk up and down them, count how many people there are in a queue, count how many leaves you have collected at the park, ask them to count and put 4 apples into the shopping trolley etc.
When you are out walking in your neighbourhood observe the letter boxes. Can your child read any of the numbers? Observe how one side of the street is even numbers and the other odd. Pose questions such as, if this letter box is 220 what will the next one be? What will 10 more be etc?
Maybe this week you could play a board game together, just rolling dice is teaching your child to identify how many dots there are (subitising), adding numbers together and problem solving.
During the last two weeks we have been learning about fire safety with Firefighter Aaron. There were lots of important safety messages learnt throughout these lessons. We have designed posters to help people know what to do in a fire.
Lots of bubs enjoyed our baby massage session last Tuesday. Thanks to Naomi from Wholistic Massage who ran the class. If you have a baby under 12 months come and join us every Tuesday at 12-12:45pm in the kinder building. Tania Fankhauser
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 2022.
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.
On Thursday the 24th of June, Kings Meadows High School will be holding their Challenge Day, which is designed as a taster day where students can experience many of the things Kings Meadows High School has to offer.
On Thursday the 1st of July, Queechy High school will be hosting an Introductory Activities morning, which aims to introduce students to Queechy High School and offer them the opportunity to visit the campus and be introduced to both staff and students at the school.
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 for both of these days. If you haven’t already filled in the our Grade 6 Transition Survey the link is here https://norwoodps.schoolzineplus.com/form/22 This will enable us to have an accurate record of student destinations for 2022.
Luke Padgett
If your child is born in 2017 and you live in the Norwood Primary School area, we would love to hear from you, please click on the link below to let us know that your child will be enrolling for Kindergarten in 2022.
If you know of any families living in the Norwood area and would be attending our kindergarten in 2022 but who have not made contact with us, please ask them to give our office a call or click the link to register their details!
- Canteen orders need to be made by 9:00am.
- Have you chosen the correct date?
- Ensure you go through to the end of the ordering process. You will see your receipt.
- Kreem-B-Tweens and Quelchs are now available to order - one per student only.
- A handy tip - do your order the night before. Orders can be cancelled prior to 9:00am. See the link below.
Spectators are able to attend HOME GAMES ONLY (if your child is playing at Norwood Primary School) - 2 spectators per family - you are unable to spectate at other schools or venues.
Spectators must sign in at the front office and also by using the Check in Tas app. If you are unwell or have symptoms of a cold, cough or fever you must not attend.
| Date: 11th June | Location: |
| Bootcamp | Norwood Primary School |
| Hockey | St Leonards Hockey Centre |
| Netball M | Norwood Primary School |
| Netball R | Youngtown Primary School |
| Football D | Youngtown Primary School |
| Football P | Norwood Primary School |
| Soccer | St Leonards Primary School |
| Date: 18th June | Location: |
| Bootcamp | Norwood Primary School |
| Hockey | St Leonards Hockey Centre |
| Netball M | Glen Dhu Primary School |
| Netball R | Norwood Primary School |
| Football D | Trevallyn Primary School |
| Football P | Norwood Primary School |
| Soccer | Norwood Primary School (training) |
| Date: 25th June | No 5-6 Sport - training at school |
| Date: 2nd July | Location: |
| Bootcamp | Norwood Primary School |
| Hockey | St Leonards Hockey Centre |
| Netball M | Youngtown Primary School |
| Netball R | Norwood Primary School |
| Football D | East Launceston Primary School |
| Football P | Norwood Primary School |
| Soccer | Norwood Primary School (training) |
Winter Festival
Can you help?
We need volunteers to help count patrons in and out of the event in order to adhere to Covid regulations. This very simple job is also essential for the event to proceed. If you are able to help please note your details down on the roster on the school notice board. Alternatively contact the School Association at norwoodpsa@gmail.com
Do you have a portable gas heater? If you are able to donate your gas heater and a bottle of gas for the evening, we would be most grateful. Please contact us via the School Association email.
Our second bi-annual Winter Festival will be held on Friday 25th June, 5-9pm. With a great range of makers, music, bar, more food vendors, and entertainment for the kids it’s bound to be even better than our last. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more information.
Raffle
School Disco
The School disco will be returning again on 23rd September 2021. We are currently looking for someone to take on the role of the Disco Co-ordinator. If you are interested in taking on this role or would like to find out more about what’s involved please contact us via the School Association email norwoodpsa@gmail.com
