Dear Parents and Carers

It is great to see our lives returning to a little bit more normality, whilst we are still seeing the battle that Victoria is facing given a second wave of covid, so I am sure that you would all agree that it is important that we are continually vigilant with our covid precautions. We are lucky enough to be able to offer some of the programs that had been postponed earlier in the year due to covid, however this has meant the remainder of Term 3 is exceptionally busy with many things on in the coming weeks.

A late addition to our school calendar has been the LSSSA Cross Country Carnival. Traditionally, Mrs Bent holds our carnival at the beginning of Term 2 in conjunction with a unit around fitness in preparation for the LSSSA Carnival. As Mrs Bent has already completed the fitness unit associated with cross country, instead of running a carnival, we are holding a time trial for those students who are interested in vying for selection to the LSSSA event. This along with a number of other reasons are why as a school we have chosen to go with this format.

• Our usual venue of Waverley Primary School is unable to host any events
• DoE recommends no parents onsite for carnivals.
• Between now and the LSSSA carnival as a school we have the two week Swimming and Water Safety Program, the Growing Up program and Bright Sparks Electrical Safety as well as pre-booked class excursions. This timeframe did not allow for the preparation for a safe event.

A large number of our Grade 3-6 students have indicated that they would like to participate in the time trial on Friday which is great to see. In 2020, six students per age group will be selected to represent the school at the LSSSA carnival.

Congratulations 

A huge congratulations to Caitlin Watts one of our grade 6 students.  Caitlin has been selected to represent young people of Tasmania as an Ambassador for 2020.  Caitlin will join other Commissioner for Children and Young people’s CCYP ambassadors at the annual conference in September.  Well done Caitlin we are very proud of you.

Staff Illnesses

Many classes have had relief teachers in place in the last week or two.  Unfortunately, we have had a bad run with teacher’s unwell or teachers off work due to surgeries or for medical reasons.  Earlier this week we had eight staff away.   We thank you for your patience and support during these times.  Keeping unwell children at home, even if they present with only a slight cold supports the health and well-being of our entire school community.

Swimming and water Safety Program Years 3-5

Swimming and Water Safety Program begins on August 31^st and goes for two weeks, concluding on the 11^th of September. This most important and valuable program is offered again this year for all our students in grades 3-5 and also includes some of our students from grade 6.  

The two weeks of swimming lessons are a compulsory part of school for all children in Tasmania. There are some changes in place to the organisation and running of Swimming and Water Safety Program for 2020, these are directly related to the Aquatic Centres COVID safety plans.  

These include

• No spectators
• No showers are to be used under any circumstances
• Students are to get changed into bathers prior to leaving School.
• Change rooms are to have no more than nine students in them at the end of the lessons.
• Any student with cold or flu like symptoms will not be able to attend school or the swimming lesson.
• Any student not attending swimming due to medical reason other than cold and flu symptoms must remain at school
• Students are not able to be collected or dropped off to the pool for appointments etc. if your child has an appointment impacted by SWSP, please talk to your child’s classroom teacher.

Fundraisers

Frith Mabin our fundraising coordinator for our School Association is working on some plans to hold a special get together fundraiser hopefully before the end of the year.  This fundraiser is dependent on restrictions easing concerning adults allowed on school premises. We will keep you posted of plans as they develop.  The fundraising committee usually holds a Fathers day stall however, this year they are unable to support this project due to limited resources and helpers.  As usual, class teachers will support our younger students with card making for our wonderful dads in our school community.

IGA Norwood supports our school with a fundraiser. This fundraiser involves parents who shop at Norwood IGA asking for their receipt to be posted in our school box behind the counter.  At the end of the month, the receipts are tallied and the schools gets a percentage donated back to the association. This is an easy way you can support our school with no extra cost associated to you.   If you are shopping there, please ask for your receipt to be counted towards our monthly tally. A big thank you to Nicki Daikon who collects and tallies up all receipts.

School Photos

Next Thursday 27^th August is our school photo day.  All students must be in sports uniform for photos. Family photos will be taken at 8.30.  It is really important that our grade 6 students make every effort to be here on this day as a return date for graduation photos is not possible this year.

2021 Enrolments

We are now taking kindergarten enrolments for 2021.  Along with this, we will also be examining our projected numbers for the whole school and preparing class structures.  If you know you are intending on moving schools for 2021 please let the office know as soon as possible.

Kind Regards

Liz O'Donahue - Principal

Share your story

The Department of Education would like to capture stories and experiences through this very unique time,  and would greatly appreciate parents and carers participate in a survey about how Punchbowl Primary School managed during the COVID-19 crisis. We want to capture these stories to ensure that we are able to learn, celebrate and grow from this experience.  Please take the time to click the link and share your experience.

Please share your story by visiting: www.education.tas.gov.au/our-learnings

The lost property baskets are located near the main office and outside 5/6 Frerk/Sutton.

Currently we have a lot of clothing that is not named in these baskets, so it would be greatly appreciated if all parents could please ensure their child’s clothing is clearly named. 

We also have a bracelet, an earring, two watches and a glove at the office.  If any of these items are yours could you please come and describe them to us so they can be returned.

Our School Photo Day will be held on Thursday, 27th August, 2020. 

If you have mispaced your individual shootkey or require a family shootkey, please contact the school office. 

To limit the number of adults on site our school gates will be locked at 9am and reopened at 2.50pm, all students arriving late to school to enter through Pencil doorway entrance, sanitise their hands and sign in.

If you child needs to attend an appointment is needs to be collected early, please contact the school office prior to collection time and we will endeavour to have your child waiting at the office for you collect them.

As LiL sessions are a very beneficial to childrens development and COVID-19 restrictions are gradually beginning to ease, our Kickstart (Launching into Learning) sessions have recommenced on Wednesday mornings between 9:00am and 10:30am. 

At this point in time, there still will be number limitations in place which mean not both parents and children can attend at the one time. Adherence and the practising of hygiene measures and social distancing of adults will be in place. 

Kickstart_Term_3_2020.pdf

LIL_letter_for_term_3_with_logo_2_002_.pdf

Public Health advice is clear – it is safe for schools to be open. This is because we have a low rate of Coronavirus (COVID-19) community spread in Tasmania and there has been increased and expanded testing. To reduce the risk even further, schools have hygiene and physical distancing measures in place.

While it is safe to send your child/ren to school, we still need adults to maintain a distance from other adults, whilst on site.

To help us with adult physical distancing, we are asking all parents/carers to:

• Stop, Drop/Collect and Go’ for all drop offs and pickups. This means please remain in your car and we will direct your child/ren to your car.
• If you need to talk to your child’s teacher, please call the school office on (03) 6344 1382 or email your child's teacher

We want to make school as safe as possible for everyone. Feel free to ask questions if you require any further information. These things won’t be forever, but we all have a shared responsibility to act in a way that supports everyone being safe.

More information is available on the Department of Education website: www.education.tas.gov.au

School Association Meeting dates for the remainder of the year are listed below.  

• 9th September
• 28th October
• 2nd December

Uniform Sales

If you wish to purchase any uniform items for your child, to limit the number of adults we have on site and congestion in the main corridor, we would greatly appreciate orders and payment via telephone.  Clothing purchased and a copy of receipt will be sent home with your child.  Office staff are happy to assist your child try on clothing if you are uncertain as to what size is required.

On Thursday, 24^th September, the Student Leadership Board will be organising a ‘Sensational Spring Stroll!’ Punchbowl’s version of a walkathon.  This will be a fun and active way to raise money for the school.  All students from Kinder to Grade 6 will be involved, spending the afternoon walking a designated course around the school.  There will be various stations set up along the course, where students can participate in dancing and skipping or pause for a drink and a quick break.  We encourage all students to collect as many donations as possible and the official forms for donations will be sent home in week 7.  Spring is a bright and colourful season so to celebrate this we would love to see everyone dressed in bright colours on the day.

Last term, due to COVID-19 many students were unable to return library books to school. Unfortunately, as a result many students have been not permitted to borrow any library books until their overdue books have been returned. 

It would be greatley appreciated if you could please search your home for any library books or home readers which may belong to the school and return them as soon as possible. Thank you!

Kings Meadows High School

If you are a Grade 6 student and plan to attend Kings Meadows High School in 2021 could you please complete the Intention to Enrol link below. 

https://bit.ly/IntentionToEnrolGrade72021

This week has been Science week and all classes have been participating in some ‘Deep Blue’ ocean themed Science activities. From Ocean zones and marine debris to salt water density experiments. Today we had a special visit from Environmental Scientist Erin Harris, from the ocean conservation organisation Sea Shepherd who discussed marine debris and turtle life cycles with Prep-Year 6. Below are some photos of some highlights from the week.

The Department of Education (DoE) has released updated government primary and combined (district) school intake areas, to apply from Term 1, 2021. These updated intake areas will only apply to families who enrol a child in a government primary or combined (district) school for the first time from Term1, 2021.

This means that for parents with children already enrolled in our school, the updated intake areas do not apply to your family. If your child has a brother or sister who hasn’t started school yet, they can still enrol at our school.

Our school’s updated intake area map can be found here https://publicdocumentcentre.education.tas.gov.au/Documents/Punchbowl-Primary-School-Intake-Area-from-2021.pdf.  This map is the same as the Proposed Map released by DoE last year in stage two of the Intake Area Review consultation process.

Why do we have intake areas?

Intake areas ensure that every Tasmanian child can enrol at a high quality government school close to where they live. Attending a school close to home helps children feel part of their local community. Intake areas also help ensure schools have the facilities and staff to best support their students’ learning.

Where to get more information?

If you would like more information about our school’s intake area, or help finding out whether a particular address is within our intake area boundary, please contact us directly.

Alternatively you can contact Learning Services Northern Region: phone 6777 2440 or email Learning.Services.NR@education.tas.gov.au) 

• Mobile Phones are to be handed into the office at the beginning of each school day.

• Please remember to bring your water bottle to school each day, as the water fountains are still out of action.

• Esk Band is now held each Wednesday.

• Icypole sales are Thursdays at lunch time                                                          $1 for a Lemonade Icypole                                                                        $1.20 for a Frosty Fruit

• If you have not already received your 2020 School Levy Refund, please forward an email to stas@education.tas.gov.au which includes parent's name, student's name and grade, school and description of your query.  The Student Assistance division will make contact with you to provide a resolution.

• If your residential address has changed or you have a new telephone number, please contact the office to request a change of details form.

At the beginning of the year all parents/carers had the opportunity to give permission for their child to participate in minor excursions without the requirement to sign a permission form for every excursion. Minor excursions include visits on foot or by vehicular transport to places of educational value within the local community that last for less than one day. A similar consent process was used for aquatic activities. With the changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic we are providing the opportunity for parents and carers to change their preference that was provided at the start of the year for both minor excursions and aquatic activities. The school will ensure that relevant safety and health precautions will be implemented, including COVID-19 requirement, during the course of the excursion and aquatic activities. All other excursions including those with inherent risk will require you to sign a separate consent form prior to the excursion, as is currently the case.

If you wish to change your child’s current permissions or would like further information please contact the school by phone or email. If we do not hear from you then the current permission arrangements will remain in place.

We are having a few more Subway Lunch days. This is a fundraiser to go towards the end of year Grade 6 Leavers Dinner.  Please remember to complete your order online by 11am the day before.

Thursday, 27th August

Thursday, 24th September

Unfortunately, there were a few issues with some orders on our last “Subway” lunch day.  Subway have sincerely apologised for their mistakes and as a result have put procedures in place so that this does not happen again.

See the COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD situated in the walkway outside P-1B Millen classroom for all upcoming community events

Wash and sanitise hands

Wash and sanitise hands 191.74 KB

Corona Virus

Corona Virus 181.23 KB

Baptcare_Flyer.pdf

Baptcare_Flyer _pdf 258.06 KB

NCN_After_School_Care_Flyer.pdf

NCN_After_School_Care_Flyer _pdf 1.26 MB

Hope_Discovery_After_School_Care_Flyer.pdf

Hope_Discovery_After_School_Care_Flyer _pdf 535.15 KB

Launceston_Youth_Theatre_Ensemble.pdf

Launceston_Youth_Theatre_Ensemble _pdf 3.96 MB