It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through Term 4. We have had a very busy few weeks with a number of events on our school calendar. Friday saw our annual school athletics carnival. Although the weather was somewhat on the cold side, it was wonderful seeing our students participate in the activities and have a go. We were also joined by Wilmot Primary, and it was lovely to see the schools come together. It was heartwarming to watch the races in the primary sector where the students were shouting out their peers’ names and clapping loudly, encouraging and supporting their friends at the finish line. I am sure there were many tired people by the end of the day. Well done to the PE team who put a great deal of time and effort into the carnival to make this such a successful day.

The school show held on Friday 8 November was another successful event. Although the weather wasn’t the best, the students shone as they handled the cattle and demonstrated to the spectators what they had learnt. We were lucky enough to have Georgie Laurie join us from NSW as our cattle judge for the day. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the event where students were judging the heifers and had to speak about the animals. I would like to thank our sponsors and volunteers who helped make the show happen. Without the community’s support this event wouldn’t be able to run. Thank you also goes to our staff Simon Barber, Lydia Rigby, David Cox, the show committee and our volunteers who put in extra hours to ensure things were ready for the day.

Last week I was asked to help hand out vouchers for students who had received a golden ticket. These tickets are given to students who demonstrate our school values, respect for learning, respect for others and respect for self. I felt proud of these young individuals who spoke about why they received their award. Some reasons were: for helping others with their learning, being kind to others, and giving their best effort. They were all very proud of themselves.

On the weekend we had our cattle handlers participate in the Scottsdale Show. Again, a big thank you to our staff Lydia, Jeremy and Kerryn and families for giving up your time to make this event happen. We had several ribbons presented over the weekend. Some of the highlights were:

• Sheffield School won the teams event with Caitlin, Beau and Ruby
• Mitch and Beau both won the junior paraders for their year group
• Five of the eight call backs in the junior judging went to Sheffield students with Beau coming first, Ruby second and Rorey third
• Beau will also be competing in the Junior Judging state final
• Students successfully showed breeders’ cattle with lots of ribbons achieved in breed classes
• From the school heifers, Isabelle’s heifer ‘Unstoppable’ came in first place with Marli’s Murray grey heifer coming in third.
• Makiesha’s and Nate’s heifers took out champion and reserved champion.

One area at Sheffield School which we pride ourselves on is the wearing of school uniform. Wearing school uniform creates a sense of pride, unity, and belonging to the school community, but more importantly uniforms help with keeping our school safe. When students are in school uniform it makes it easier for staff to recognise people who should not be on site. We have plenty of school uniform available and if you have any struggles financially, please contact the school so we can find a solution. We would appreciate your support with all students wearing their uniform to school.

Please take a close look at some of the results from our Student Wellbeing Survey. In this newsletter, we have included an infographic showing sections of our student data.

There are still many wonderful opportunities and experiences coming up over the next five weeks. We have swimming sessions starting this week, our Arts Showcase on Thursday 5 December, Don College start day, Presentation Day and school formal.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the many members of the Sheffield community who have come in to see me. It has been wonderful to make these connections and I feel lucky to be a part of a school that has so many positive relationships with the community. 

Wendy Leonard

Acting Principal

Scottsdale Show

The Sheffield School Junior Cattle Handlers were represented by 13 students at the Scottsdale Show.

The senior SSJCH team, consisting of Caitlin, Beau and Ruby won the school teams competition bringing home the perpetual shield.

Athletics Carnival

The 2024 Sheffield School Athletics carnival was held on Friday 15 November.  The day began under gloomy skies but as usual the weather gods were smiling upon us and gifted a great day for athletics.

Firstly, we would like to thank the Sheffield Cricket Club for the use of their facilities and also allowing us to convert the recreation ground into an athletics track for the day.   Mr Penney, Miss Baldock and our groundsman Mr Martin spent endless hours measuring and painting and produced a track worthy of top-class athletics.  Records had been broken in the lead up events and we had high expectations for the day. 

The secondary boys hit the track running with Jack and Jacob constantly testing each other throughout the day.  Hudson unleashed his amazing powers on the track and backed up well to post some impressive performances in the field events. 

The secondary girls were not to be outdone, Maddie and Decoda eclipsed the field in the sprint races whilst it was pleasing to see most of this cohort taking to the start line and earn good points.  Tayla and Maddie excelled in their year groups to dominate the field events.   

The junior secondary girls saw some excellent racing as Hailey, Tamzin, Amber and Sophie locked horns in the quest for the 1st place ribbon.  Tamzin showed her class in the field events, racking up solid points for her house and managed to snare a record in the shot put.  Well done, Tamzin.

The Early Childhood students once again competed on their personalised track and it was great to see Wilmot Primary School joining us to participate in activities. Primary students had loads of fun as they completed competitions in Hippo Hoppo, gum boot throwing, vortex and rocket throws and various races.  They too appreciated the extra competition from the Wilmot students, and it was a great opportunity for us to compete against some new competition.    The smiles on faces and laughter made it all worthwhile.

At the time of writing, points are still being amassed, upon completion we will be able to release the final points and the year champions.

2024 Records

Mountain Heights Sports Exchange

On Friday 20 October, the Sheffield School visited Queenstown to participate in our annual Country Cup Sports Exchange.  For the first time, we played Mountain Heights in football in both boys' and girls’ categories.

The first game of the day was the girls’ game, and it was pleasing to see our team members volunteer to join Mountain Heights and even the numbers up.  Having said this, we soon realised that they had a few jets in their team who could run, kick and tackle extremely well.  The ensuing 60 minutes of football was tense with both sides quickly coming to grips with the sandy surface. 

Maddison and Tayla got busy in the first quarter consistently getting first use of the ball from Caitlin and pumping it forward.  Isabella was proving to be a rock down the back and stifled many Mountain Height's advances.  At the end of the first quarter Mountaineers were up by only a few points.  The girls found their feet in the next two quarters with Hollie and Bridie running hard, being first to the ball and creating opportunities for our forwards.  They were rewarded with a couple of goals of their own for their efforts. 

The girls continued to push hard in the last quarter and peppered the goals but inaccurate kicking resulted in a number of points.  Despite this, the girls ran out convincing winners 39 to 10. 

Best players were Hollie, Amanda, Maddison, Bridie, Tayla, Isabella and Caitlin.

Great effort in our first girls’ game in the country cup.

The boys' game commenced under tropical conditions and the Mountain Height's team applied the heat from the first bounce.  They quickly shot out to a 3 goal lead at the end of the first quarter as our boys struggled to accustom to the west coast gravel.  Things looked dire at half time as Mountain Heights doubled our score 46 to 23. 

Some stern words in the sheds at half time flicked the switch for the Mountaineers as they then produced some spirited football.  Jack and Jett combined well in the middle, Cooper busted through multiple packs and Beau used his size to influence the contests up forward. 

Going into the last quarter, trailing by 3 goals, the Mountaineers leaped out of the blocks and piled on the first 2 goals.  A quick reply from Mountain Heights didn’t dent our confidence as Jett slotted his second in a row to grab the ascendency.  Unfortunately, undisciplined play in the matter of minutes resulted in two free kicks and two goals against us.  The boys were unable to recover and Mountain Heights regained possession of the country cup shield for the first time in 8 years.   Final score: Mountain Heights 14 –8 - 90 to Sheffield School 9 – 16 – 70.  We all learnt a lesson about discipline in this game, yet we look forward to next year's encounter with our old foe.

Best players were Jack, Jett, Cooper, Beau, Rory and Stephen.

Tas Tafe Agricultural Centre of Excellence

On Thursday 14November Mr Hay’s Year 9/10 Food and Fibre class travelled to TasTAFE’s Agriculture Centre of Excellence Open Day at Freer Farm in Burnie with Mr Barber and Mr Cox.  Our students got a taste of some hands-on activities offered at the farm, as well as learnt about the short courses and certificate studies to help build skills that can enable our students to gain employment in Agriculture industries.  We were lucky enough to participate in remote control centre pivot irrigation, virtual tractor/excavator simulator, aerial drone spraying, silage harvesting and calf birthing just to name a few.  Our students really enjoyed the day, participating and questioning along the way.

School Farm Awards

We briefly mentioned in the last newsletter that the School Farm was successful in gaining two premium quality milk awards from Saputo Dairy Australia.  These awards are based on quality milk produced across Australia for the milk processing company Saputo. 

The awards are given to dairy farms that are able to keep the cell count of their herd below 100000 BMCC (bulk milk cell count) for the entire season.  The second award was for completing this feat for 5 years in a row, an award that only one other farm in Tasmania has achieved.   

David Cox and his team have done a remarkable job at the School Farm to achieve this, and they are currently second in Tasmania with a monthly cell count of below 45000! Keep up the great work!

Beginner Band and Concert Band

On Saturday at the Mt Roland Folk Festival both our Beginner and Concert Bands performed in the Uniting Church to a packed audience.

Everyone played VERY well and I received wonderful feedback on how well our students performed. Congratulations, everyone!

Readers Cup 2024

On Friday 8 November, 12 of our Year 5/6 students attended the Reader’s Cup competition held at Devonport Primary School. This year we entered a Year 5 team and a Year 6 team. Each year, students from Sheffield compete against students from other schools in a reading competition. Each team must read 6 books which they are then quizzed on and they also have to come up with a creative piece based on one or more of the books they read. Here are our entries for the creative items. Congratulations to the Year 5 team who came 3rd in the creative section and 3rd overall, what a great achievement.

Yr 7/8 STEM

Year 7/8 students have been testing out their city planning skills in the STEM option class this term. Students are programming their Sphero robot to navigate through the city that they have designed. Learning to program these robots has been an engaging experience!

Sheffield School Show

Friday 8 November may not have been the best of weather but that didn’t stop students from Sheffield School and other schools participating in the annual Junior Cattle Handlers Show of Tasmania held at our School Farm.

The day started with over 30 led prime beef cattle in the Hoof section of the Hoof and Hook competition.  Judge of the day Georgia Laurie of Knowla livestock in NSW was very impressed with the quality of the cattle on offer. 

Well done to all our entrants and winners: Lightweight 1^st,   Middleweight 1^st   Heavyweight 1^st and Grand Champion on the hoof.  We will update the winners on the hook in our final newsletter of 2024 after the presentation night on 16 December.

In the novice beef handlers, 1^st place went to Alabama from Scottsdale School.  Junior judging was won by Rorey from Sheffield School and the senior judging was won by Will. 

In the Handlers section Sheffield School won the school beef teams competition. The 9-12YO champion was Hailey from Sheffield School,  13-14YO Champion Ruby from Sheffield School, 15-16YO Champion Caitlin from Sheffield School, 17-25YO Champion Jordan who was also Champion of Champions.

Kentish Lions Breakfast Club Volunteers

Canteen

Canteen Menu

Railton's Canteen day is Thursday.

QKR

• Railton orders - please use RAILTON ONLY canteen menu.

2025 Kindergarten Enrolments
Sheffield School are now accepting enrolments for Kindergarten in 2025. Please contact our school office on 6491 8222 or email liftsheffield@gmail.com if your child was born in 2020 and you’d like to add them to our Kindergarten class lists.

Letters confirming STAS 2025 eligibility are now being delivered by post.

STAS application forms for 2025 have not changed from the 2024 form. The STAS form is also available on the Intranet for printing here, alternatively contact Financial Assistance via email to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au who will post a supply of forms to your school if needed.  

Families who have not applied for or received STAS previously are encouraged to apply online at https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au (or Google STAS to be taken directly to the link). Online applications can be submitted on any electronic device including mobile phones.

Families who are advised by letter that they are approved for STAS 2025 and who need to add another student can email their full name and the name, date of birth and grade of the student in 2025 to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au and the newly enrolling student will be added to their file.

2025 approval letters also provide the facility to add a new student and return by email or post. Parents/guardians cannot add a student to an existing file using the online service.

Applicants who have been assessed as not eligible and wish to have the assessment reviewed can call Financial Assistance on 1800 827 055 or email their query to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au.

If you have any STAS queries, please contact Financial Assistance on 1800 827 055 or via email to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au.

Foundational Supports

Have your say on Foundational Supports

Governments are working together to design and deliver additional disability supports in the community.

These additional supports are called Foundational Supports and are separate to those delivered through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or mainstream services.

The Department of Social Services want feedback and ideas on how to design Foundational Supports for families and children aged under 9 in their care where there is a developmental concern, delay and/or disability.

Share your thoughts by:

• completing the online questionnaire or providing a submission
• adding a comment to the Ideas Wall
• joining the Tasmanian online workshop on Tuesday 19 November 7-9pm.

Visit engage.dss.gov.au/Foundational-Supports

Devonport Gymnastics Club

We are excited to announce that Term 4 gymnastics classes are now open for booking at Devonport Gymnastics!

Our Class options include: 

• Gym Tots: A fun introduction to movement for our youngest gymnasts!
• Ninja Classes: For those who love to run, jump, and climb!
• Recreational Gymnastics (Boys & Girls): Perfect for all skill levels, focusing on skill development through our Club Levels program, and fitness.
• Teenage Boys Gymnastics: Designed to build strength and confidence in young boys.
• Teenage Girls Gymnastics: Ideal for recreational gymnastics, and for older girls wishing to commence gymnastics to maintain fitness and strength.
• Trampoline: Bounce into action with our exhilarating trampoline classes!
• Tumbling: Improve your acrobatic skills in a supportive environment.
• Competitive Gymnastics: classes are by selection only.

• Open Gym Days – Every Tuesday 10.45am-12.30pm, and Every Saturday 11.00am-12.30pm

Australian Rules Football

Cllick for AFL Competition Rules

Family day Care - Thrive group

Click HERE for more information