Filter Content
Have you heard your child read lately?
I have shared in our newsletters previously that reading is a priority in our school this year. So many of our students struggle to read and struggle to understand what they read when they do so. The very best thing you can do to support your children is to read with them regularly, ideally every night, we acknowledge this isn’t always possible. When it isn’t possible think about other opportunities – can siblings listen to each other read? Can you child read to you as you cook dinner?
You would know about the Home Reading Competition we have going at school – students who get to 50 nights of reading get a brand new book of their own to take home and all of those students who get to a hundred at the end of the year are invited on a fun, celebratory excursion. Lots of things to work towards. How many nights has your child achieved?
Do you have little people who are at the very beginning of their journey and you are not sure what to do? Read a book to them, make it fun so they see reading as a positive thing. Show your child how a book works, turn pages from left to right to help orientate them around how a book works. Reread books so that children begin to remember the story and can start to tell you who the characters in the book are and what happens next. Encourage your child to tell the story/read to the family pet. If they aren’t confident to read, let them make it up around the pictures they see in the books they read. Use reading around the home as an opportunity to earn rewards – 10 minutes of reading can be rewarded with 20 minutes on a device.
The best thing you can do to support your child’s learning is to help them learn to read. Reading is used in every other subject they will study at school, without it they will struggle to learn and as they get older it will only get harder!
Have you heard your child read today?
Children’s University: We are excited to be offering Children’s University again. Students who already have their passports and would like to continue, please bring them to school and give to Ms Mel. There will be a meeting for students who would like to start during school this week. New opportunities to engage in activities both at school and beyond will be offered.
Chess: Students will have the opportunity to learn or continue learning chess from the master himself, Mr James Briant on Tuesday afternoons from 1:30-2:30.
Smith Family: Grade 5 and 6 students will be participating in a series of learning experiences facilitated by the Smith Family. Grade 5 students will be looking into Future Pathways while Grade 6 students are doing Passports (transition to high school) focused learning. Parents are asked to return forms for these programs to the school office as soon as possible.
PaKT: Parents and Kids Together will be offering a 7 week course beginning week three. We ran this course once last year and it was extremely successful. A representative from PaKT will come in to school this week and talk to the students about this opportunity. Interested parents/carers are encouraged to fill in the application form and return it to school before the end of the week. As there are limited places for this program, we will let applicants know about their status before the end of the week.
PCYC: Springfield Gardens are excited to be continuing their connections with PCYC. We will have a member of the PCYC team at school twice a week to work alongside students in class as well as provide quick physical breaks.
My name is Melanie Agustina but most people just call me Mel. Originally from Ulverstone, I have worked in many different schools from Kalimantan to Saudi Arabia and am excited to be back in Tasmania with my family. My experiences have ignited many different areas of interest in regards to education, especially in literacy, music and empowering students to maximise their opportunities. I am looking forward to working with students at Springfield Gardens and finding many different ways to engage in learning both within the classroom and the wider community.
I’m Miss Maree and have recently moved to beautiful Hobart from Brisbane with my family. This term, I’m excited to be joining the Springfield Gardens community and look forward to meeting you all soon. I’ll be working with all classes to strengthen and build capacity around social-emotional learning by engaging learners in play. The Play Is The Way program uses physically interactive games and activities to empower each learner to develop self-reflective language.
We are back in action in 3/4 Mahy!
This week we discussed the significance of ANZAC Day and worked together to create an art piece. You can find this displayed on our classroom window.
Our number focus has been place value. We have been learning how to round three and four-digit numbers. Our new favourite game is Place Value Ladders. This has helped us identify if a number is rounded up or down. We have enjoyed playing with different members of our class and practising our growth mindsets and respect to others.
We have begun investigating persuasive writing. This week we discussed the meaning of ‘points of view’. We had a lively discussion when asked ‘who works harder-teachers or students?’. We were split almost 50/50 and provided many reasons for our opinion.
We are looking forward to Term 2 and all the adventures it holds!
In 5/6 Jones last term we celebrated Harmony week. Harmony week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community. We found out that Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and Harmony week is about celebrating this and working to maintain it. Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. To celebrate, 5/6 Jones looked into the Koru which is the Maori name given to the new unfurling fern frond. It symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. We found inspiration by looking at Maori art and also researched the shape of the Koro fern frond. Here are some of our finished art pieces!
1st pic – Rochelle Cooper, 2nd – Nee Hser ku Poe, 3rd Addison Sproule, 4th Archie Cartledge, 5th Rose Fleming, 6th Ra Hau
Springfield Gardens Primary School along with all other Tasmanian Government schools, is committed to providing your child with a learning environment that supports them to be the best they can be. We work hard to provide safe, supportive and inclusive environments where your child can engage positively with their learning.
To strengthen the way that schools prevent and respond to bullying, from Term one 2023, all Tasmanian Government schools will adopt and implement the Student Behaviour Management policy. This policy replaces the existing Respectful Student Behaviour Policy.
The important change between the old policy and the new policy is that now all schools will have the same minimum standards for preventing and responding to bullying. The new policy also has a clear definition of what bullying is, and sets clear expectations for how we support students impacted by bullying.
These changes mean that the way Springfield Gardens prevents and responds to bullying will meet the same standards as all other Tasmanian Government Schools. Some schools may incorporate different programs or measures to respond to bullying, but all will have the same foundation.
For more information, see the Staying Safe in Tasmanian Government Schools parent fact sheet at https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/staying-safe/
You can also talk to your child’s teacher, or Ms Davey to find out more.
Walk Safely to School Day: Students are encouraged to walk to school on Friday 19 May. We will be excited to greet students as they come to school and give them a special surprise! Stay Tuned ?
Free access to decodables, will require internet access.
https://halfpintkids.com/online-materials/