Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to school as we begin a busy, but somewhat different Term 4.  This term always seems to fly by as we prepare for end of year celebrations and excursions.  We are planning these events very carefully to ensure that we are complying with the COVID plans set by the school and the Education Department.  Contained in this newsletter is a letter from the Minister for Education and the head of the Education Department outlining their continued strategy in relation to COVID planning in schools.  I would like to thank everyone for continuing to maintain physical distance when dropping off and collecting students from school along with limiting coming into school unless essential.

This week we held an incredibly successful fundraiser, our first ever Spring Stroll. I am so pleased we rescheduled the event and had it before the rain came. It was a beautiful day the sun was shining as children and adults excitedly walked around the perimeter of the school. The buzz was contagious! A wonderful outcome was that we raised approximately $8000 for the school.  As this has been the only major fundraiser this year due to COVID we are thrilled with the outcome. A huge thank you to Mrs Airey, Mrs Frerk and our Student Leadership Board for the organisation to ensure this event ran successfully.  It is definitely an event we want to continue in the coming years. A massive thank you to each and every person who made a donation, every little bit counts. Congratulations to all prize winners and particularly to Mrs Peachey’s class who had nearly every child return a donation form making this class the winner of the most participants.

BOOK WEEK

Next week our Prep students will be involved in the second round of PIPS (BASE) testing.  This test is completed on the computer and are undertaken individually with the Prep and Prep/1 teachers. In the next couple of weeks Mrs Millen, Mrs Baker and Miss Lockwood will begin to complete these assessments with individual children. 

In Terms 1 and 4, it is compulsory for students to wear their hats.  If students do not wear a hat, they will be asked to play on the top covered deck area for easy supervision and sun protection.  Please clearly label your child’s hat so that it can be returned to the rightful owner.  Also be aware that school hats are preferred, however if you have a sun safe hat that can be used temporarily that is fine. Caps however, are not acceptable.

Pre-Kinder Sessions

Pre-Kinder sessions prepare children for their first year of school, it is a very exciting time. We have allocated children enrolled in Kindergarten next year into small groups and they will attend a total of 3 sessions each. Letters are sent home to parents advising which group they have been allocated to. During these sessions a parent must attend however, they will be in the room next door so children can trial a kindergarten like sessions without a parent. We look forward to beginning these sessions.

Enrolments for 2020

It has come to that time of the year, when we begin to organise class sizes and structures.  If you know that you are relocating and leaving Punchbowl Primary School in 2021, can you please let the office know as soon as possible.

Student Free Day

All state schools in the North have a Professional Learning Day allocated to them on the Friday 30^th October. Our teachers will be working on our school’s Strategic Plan and participating in professional learning.  The following Monday, 2^nd November is a public holiday, so we look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday,3^rd November. 

Kind Regards

Liz O'Donahue - Principal

The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards.

The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.

A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have. 

Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055.

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. 

On Tuesday we held our Spring Stroll.  We were very fortunate that the weather gods were very kind to us and provided a beautiful sunny afternoon.  It was wonderful to see the smiles on all the students and teachers faces as they walked together for over an hour.  We would like to thank the wonderful Punchbowl community for their support and fundraising efforts for this event and the Student Leadership Board for all their work to get this event up and running.  We have managed to raise approximately $8000 which will go towards the grade 6 Leavers Dinner and some much needed school resources.  Congratulations to all the grade prize winners and 3/4 Peachy for being the overall class winner with the most students contributing donations.

We would like to say a huge thank you  to the following businesses for their generous donations which allowed us to provide some wonderful incentives and prizes for our students. 

• Launceston Aquatic Centre
• Sports Arena
• Launceston Lanes
• McDonalds -  Kings Meadows
• KFC – Kings Meadows
• Coles – Newstead
• Coles – Kings Meadows
• Petrarchs Book Store
• Burger Got Soul
• Launceston United Soccer Club
• Subway
• Kmart
• Live Eat
• Star Theatre

Below are just a few of the many photos taken on the day.

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. 

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.

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.

• 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.

• Esk Band rehearsals are every Wednesday.

• Icypole sales every Thursday at lunch time: $1 Lemonade Icypoles & $1.20 Frosty Fruits                                                     

• 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.

• Just a reminder that during Terms 1 and 4, students are required to wear their school hat.  Children who forget to bring their hat, will have to sit on the deck area in the shade. Unfortunately, sharing or borrowing of hats is not permitted.  New hats can be purchased from the school office.  

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

• 28th October
• 2nd December

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

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)