22 June 2017

Newsletter Articles

Key Dates

Thursday 22 June – Bravehearts (K - 2)
Thursday 22 June – Vaccinations – Boostrix (Year 7)
Thursday 22 June – School Social
Friday 23 June – CORES Training (Year 10)
Monday 26 June – Bookings open for ‘Celebration of Student Learning’ sessions
Wednesday 28 June – Elevate Education Seminar (Years 9 - 10)
Wednesday 28 June – Student Mid-Year Reports
Thursday 29 June – Railton Assembly 2pm
Monday 3 July – Couch Potato Day
Monday 3 July – Thursday 6 July ‘Celebrations of Student Learning’ sessions
Friday 7 July – Last day of Term
Monday 10 July – Friday 21 July – School Holidays
Monday 24 July – Term 3 commences (staff only)
Monday 24 July – Professional Learning - student free
Tuesday 25 July – Term 3 commences (students)

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents,

Mid-Year Reports

It is that time of the year again when staff have been working incredibly hard to provide you with an accurate picture of your child’s approach to learning, their progress and areas for further development during the second part of the year. Next Wednesday June 28 mid-year reports will be sent home with students.

I would encourage parents and students to attend ‘Celebrations of Student Learning’ sessions which will be held from Monday 3 July until Thursday 6 July. During these sessions, students will share pieces of work they have selected and three way discussions (Student-Parent-Teacher) will be held. It will also be an opportunity to discuss your child’s report. Parent attendance at these celebrations is highly valued and parents are strongly encouraged to support these sessions.

This year we are utilising an online booking system for Celebrations of Student Learning sessions, a set of instructions explaining how to make a booking will be included with the report. Bookings can be made by the link below. This will be available for bookings from next Monday, 26 June. If you do not have access to the internet you can call the school office on 6491 8222 and the office staff can do it for you. Please make appointments prior to the day of the Celebrations of Student Learning session.

We recognise that some parents may not be able to attend during the scheduled times/ days, in these cases please phone the school office so an alternate arrangement can be made.

Attendance

As we approach the mid-way point of the year our school attendance sits at 90%. The front cover of the mid-year report provides further detail on your child’s attendance, the year group, and the school and state/sector average.

I cannot stress too highly, the importance of good attendance, more often than not there is a strong correlation between student achievement and attendance. The accompanying table demonstrates the amount of school that can be lost due to a casual approach to attendance.

Head Lice

In recent times we have seen an increase in the prevalence of Head Lice. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence across all schools. To reduce the presence of Head Lice there are a number of actions both schools and parents can undertake.

Procedures for Schools

Provide information on the prevention, control, detection and treatment of head lice to parents and staff at the beginning of the school year or as frequently as required.

Promote measures to aid in the prevention and spread of head lice, such as discourage the sharing of brushes and combs; discourage the sharing of hats; encourage parents/students to keep long hair tidy (pony tail or plaits); apply a few drops of tea tree oil on the back of your child’s neck, as lice do not like the smell; using hair spray and hair product may assist in preventing the lice from being able to attach eggs to the hair shaft; encourage regular examination of children’s hair by family members.

In the event that Head Lice are detected in a student’s hair at school, the school should request that the child stays home until effective treatment has been administered. Students may return to school the next day after receiving recommended (effective) treatment. This is a measure to reduce the spread of Head Lice.

Notify a parent immediately when the presence of head lice is suspected.

Inform parents of children in the same class/unit by usual communication methods, being mindful of confidentiality.

Procedures for Parents

Regularly inspect their child’s head to detect the presence of lice or lice eggs. On the discovery of lice or lice eggs, parents must as soon as practicable and before returning their child to school, treat their child with the recommended treatment (further information included with this newsletter).

Notify the school if their child is affected and advise the school when treatment has begun.

School Sores (Impetigo)

Over the last couple of weeks we have had a number of confirmed cases of school sores. I have included some information below that outlines the symptoms and the procedures for schools when there are suspected /confirmed cases.

Symptoms

A very contagious skin infection. Starts as a red patch and develops into crusty yellow sores.

Procedures for Schools

The child should stay at home until s/he has received antibiotic treatment for at least 24 hours

Any sores on exposed skin should be covered with a waterproof dressing if the parent/s cannot collect the child immediately

Reinforce the school’s policy re hand washing procedures for all staff and students.

I would appreciate parent support in working with the school to try and minimise the occurrence and spread of both of the above mentioned conditions. Unfortunately both have the capacity to impact on child wellbeing and learning.

RON DALY
PRINCIPAL

ASSEMBLY – 14 June 2017

P - 6 Class Awards

Bravehearts

Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Education Program

Today students from K-2 will have the opportunity to experience The Ditto Show.

This is a Personal Safety Education Program which provides children with the knowledge and some basic tools to keep themselves safe.

The session will be held in the Sheffield gymnasium at 11.30am and parents are warmly invited to attend.

Breakfast Club

Canteen Accreditation

Both Sheffield and Railton canteens are currently undergoing their accreditation – here are some of their accreditation photos

Railton Campus

Sheffield Campus

Head Lice

FURTHER TIPS FOR TREATING

Lice can build up an immunity to treatment solutions and it is recommended that parents who are treating regularly, try different solutions to avoid this.

Warm vinegar – helps to dissolve the glue that the nit uses to attach to the hair shaft. This is a useful tip for helping to remove the eggs.

Use of a hair straightener if you have one available– may ‘fry’ the lice and/or any nits.

ALL bed linen, pillows, (backs of fabric couches) hats etc. - any items that have come into contact with the child’s head should be washed in warm, soapy water. We have also been informed that popping such items in the freezer is an effective method of killing any eggs or lice missed.

Inter-high Cross Country

On Wednesday 14 June the Sheffield School Cross Country Team attended the annual NWSSA Inter-High Cross Country held at Hellyer College in Burnie. The course was a challenging set of hills, muddy quagmires and bush tracks that covered approximately 4-5km of the Hellyer Challenge Course.

The team fielded full numbers in all age groups and this is a great achievement for a school our size. All team members showed a great amount of enthusiasm and it was very pleasing to see students encouraging each other exhibit their best effort. The course was exceptionally challenging and to just reach the finish line was an accomplishment in itself.

Highlights of the carnival where as follows:

The team was commended on the way they conducted themselves throughout the day and were a positive reflection on the school. Well done to all who competed.

Japanese Update (Nihongo News)

Visitors to the primary corridor might have noticed some colourful carp streamers and origami helmets. These were made by grade 5 students as we found out about Children’s Day in Japan. As we are now learning words for different foods and fruits and how to say we like them, you can expect to see something new very soon.

Some words in Japanese are very similar to words in English. Can you guess what a miito pai might be?

If you would like some good Japanese learning websites for your child, please feel free to drop by on Thursday afternoon for a chat and some good links.

Jackson Sensei.

Launching Into Learning (LiL)

Learning in Families Together (LiFT)

Premier’s Reading Challenge has begun!!!

The 2017 Premier’s Reading Challenge is proudly affiliated with the Hawks Football Club and is running now through to 18 August.

WE HAVE A SPECIAL INCENTIVE PRIZE UP FOR GRABS!

Just return your reading log after you’ve read 10 books for a teacher to sign to go into the draw to win a family ticket to watch the Hawks V Kangaroos at UTAS stadium on Sunday 13 August! This ticket will allow the winning student, an under 15 sibling and a parent free entry into the game. It’s that easy! Your log will then be returned for you to add to it for the remainder of the challenge. This competition expires on 28 July.

The Premiers Reading Challenge runs from 13 June to 18 August.

This week at Railton and Sheffield, we hosted our inaugural LIFT OFF Paper Plane Family Challenge. Students were inspired by watching the ‘Paper Planes’ DVD in class and then the paper plane fever was contagious! It was great to see so many families getting involved and working together. We look forward to sharing results and some photos with you in the next edition of the newsletter.

Board Game Library

Ten reasons to play board games with your kids:

1. Taking Turns
2. Maths Skills
3. Mental Agility
4. Thinking Ahead
5. Actions and Consequences
6. Making Tough Choices
7. Teamwork
8. Being a Good Sport
9. Cutting the Cord (a change from screen time)
10. Building a Bond.

Bonus reason: Fun!

‘Allowing your kids to play a board game helps them practice essential cognitive skills, like problem solving. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex especially benefit from playing board games. These areas of the brain are responsible for complex thought and memory formation.’

Our LiFT Board Game Library has been running for a few weeks now and is proving to be a great success. We have had some great feedback from students and their parents. Some of our families are using the opportunity to have a board game night on the weekend which is a fantastic idea. Remember to return your permission form to your teacher if you haven’t already and you will receive a Board Game Library Card. So your child can try all of the games in the library, our games can be borrowed for one week and are returned every Tuesday at Sheffield and Thursday at Railton ready for students to borrow a new one!

Snap a photo of your family using a board game and send it in for your chance to feature in the newsletter. Email photos to carly.sullivan@education.tas.gov.au

School Health Nurse

The Department of Education is looking to employ additional school health nurses across district schools.

Youth Advisory Committee Report

On the 15 June, me and two others ventured to Devonport Community Centre to speak with the Tasmanian Youth Commissioner to form an advisory group. Three more schools accompanied us, mainly Wynyard Primary School and two smaller groups. We sat down in a small room gathered around a few tables lined up in a ‘u’ shape. At the centre was the Youth Commissioner, and after a quick feed, we went around the tables discussing just about anything that was on our minds. Though a large part of this was education talk, other ideas were presented, such as thoughts on the environment, alcohol and drug abuse and LGBTIQ+ rights in the school environment. The message given prior was that “nothing is off limits, speak about anything that affects today’s children”. Many, many different ideas were exchanged, each given their own full representation at the table. I felt as though the ideas of everyone at the table were being taken in to account and respected equally. Reading the detailed report of last year’s group told me that everything I was saying would be acted upon, or at least taken into consideration. Overall the experience was uplifting, and I have hope for the future of Tasmanian children with these excellent meetings.

By Denver Puccetti.

School Levies

School levies are due to be finalised by the end of term 2 (Friday 7 July 2017).

Payment options include:

By cash, cheque or credit card at the office of either campus between 8.30am and 4.00pm daily (not available during school holidays)

By cheque, payable to Sheffield School and posted to 12 Henry Street, Sheffield 7306

By credit card telephoned to the school office on 6491 8222

Online – BPAY

In person at Service Tasmania

Community Notices

Big House

Green Room – Boys Day

Green Room – Girls Day

Hippy

Kentish Family Support House – June Timetable

Riverbend Camps