Dear Parents and Carers, 

I would like to welcome everyone back to a new school year, and a particularly warm welcome to our new Punchbowl families.  It was great to see so many happy and enthusiastic faces entering the school and even better to be able to welcome our families back into our school grounds to meet teachers and take children to their classrooms.   Following all that unfolded in 2020, we are all looking forward to a school year hopefully more like we have been used to. At this stage the Tasmanian Government is remaining cautious and have kept all restrictions and protocols in place for the first few weeks of school.  I have fortnightly Departmental briefings and updates on COVID on how schools state-wide are to operate. As protocols and procedures evolve, we will continue to update all families.

Teachers and Teacher Assistants started back at work on Monday and engaged in  Professional Learning; one of our sessions focused on how our classrooms support and demonstrate student learning. Keep an eye out in your child’s classroom as the term progresses, you will see some learning journeys which will show how our children’s thinking is changing throughout the learning journey. All our teachers were in school well before their holidays were over and I would like to thank them for their dedication and commitment to your children. I would also like to acknowledge the work of our office and grounds/cleaning staff as I am sure you will agree the school looks amazing. Thank you!

Yesterday I held a brief assembly with our student population to introduce our new staff and remind students of our school values.  I would like to sincerely welcome, Mrs Jane Jones to our school as our permanent AST (senior teacher) her main leadership role will be as one of our literacy teachers and she will be leading our Kinder – Grade 2-3 team. We also welcome to our school, Mrs Roslyn Faulkner who will be teaching in grade 3/4 and Miss Sarah Bovill who has joined our prep team.

School Assemblies

Assemblies while COVID restrictions are in place are still bound by venue density rules for the adults attending. We have set up a roster for these assemblies so you know well in advance when you child’s class will be sharing.  Our first assembly will acknowledge the recipients of our Student Leadership Board and our student leaders.  We would hope that all parents of leaders receiving a badge on this day are able to attend.

A reminder that our assemblies begin at 2pm

Week 4 (23/02)- Primary (presenting leadership badges) Sharing classes: 3-4DS, 5-6A, 5-6SS

Week 5 (9/03) – ECE Sharing classes: PBM, 1M, 2C, 2-3S

Week 7 (23/03) – Primary Sharing classes: 3-4F, 5-6FM, 4B

Week 9 (30/03) – ECE Sharing classes: PB, 1D, 2-3P

Reminders

Gates

The gates do not open until 8.30am and it is extremely important that parents do not leave children outside the gates unattended.  This road can be very busy and dangerous.  At the end of the day a duty teacher waits outside the gate until 3.15pm after this time parents will be contacted for remaining students.  If you know you will be late regularly please arrange after school care with either NCN or the Door of Hope.

Birthday cakes – COVID restrictions

As restrictions are still in place for schools, please remember we are still unable to share food.  A question that often arises is “are we able to bring a shared birthday cake for children to share with their class”

We are only allowed to have commercially individually packaged cakes or items such as icy poles, freddo frogs etc. Thanks for your help with this.

Icy pole sales

Each week on a Thursday, our Student Leadership Board sell icy poles to our Kinder to Grade 6 students as a fundraiser. Icy pole day is very popular, we ask that if possible you send correct change to make the process quicker and easier for our Student Leadership Board. Icy poles are $1.00 and Frosty Fruits are $1.20. 

This term has been shortened by the Tasmania Government to accommodate the Easter holidays into the term holiday.  Term One is a 9-week term leading into Good Friday and Term Two is a 11-week term.  Students still attend the same amount of days at school. As a result our calendar for Term 1 is very busy!! You may note that we have made a change to the Athletics Carnival, due to the constraints of covid and parent spectators, our Athletic Carnival will be Grades 3-6 event and later in the Term we will run the Tabloid Carnival for our Prep – Grade 2 students.

Kind Regards

Liz O'Donahue - Principal

On Wednesday, Student Validation Forms were handed to each child in sealed addressed envelopes to hand to their parents for completion and return. This is an annual process that requires all information to be checked carefully, updating of any contact details, emergency contacts, any medical details and permissions by parents/guardians.

Please read carefully the permission box section as this has changed this year before ticking the boxes which are relevent to your child, i.e. your child will not be able to have their photo published, photo taken by the media or permitted to go on excursions.  It would be greatly appreciated if these forms could please be returned to school by Friday, 12th February.  

Thank you

A very strong School Association supports our school. In addition, a fundraising committee operates under the umbrella of the Association and works extremely hard to raise money for equipment. Many parents give much time to support school activities which is great appreciated.

The Association meets in the school staffroom approximately once a term in the evening and everyone is invited to attend. Please see proposed dates below:

3rd March

5th May - AGM and General Meeting

28th July

27th October

1st December

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR A PERSON TO WORK OR VOLUNTEER AT PUNCHBOWL UNLESS REGISTERED!

If you currently hold Volunteer Working with Vulnerable People Registration,  please bring your card to the school office so we can record your registration.  Teachers will also ask to see your registration prior to initially doing Parent Help, as it is a requirement to carry your card with you at all times. 

If you nominated another organisation in which you volunteer when you registered, unfortunately at present we are unable to check you are registered. Please update your registration status via the below link to update and advise all organisations in which you volunteer.

If you wish to register, please complete the online application via the below link:

http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/working_with_children/application

Are you ready to get out and about to enjoy the best things in life? Buy an Entertainment Membership to support our fundraising and your next adventure could be around the corner. Find out more: https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/2406h04

Icy Pole sales for Grades Prep-6 will be every Thursday during this term.

Lemonade Icy Poles    $1.00

Peters Frosty Fruits     $1.20

Canteen - Special Food Days

Punchbowl Primary do not have a canteen but we offer "Special Days" for students to be able to order their lunch during the year.  These days will be advised in the newsletter when they occur. 

Students  have the opportunity to purchase books via Scholastic Bookclub. Catalogues are sent home throughout the year.

Orders can be placed either via the school office or via the Scholastic website.  If you wish to place an order via the office, please enclose named order and money in an envelope and hand to either the class teacher or to the office.   

Closing dates for Bookclub orders will be stated in the newsletter. 

If you are placing your order via the school, Issue 1 needs to be given to the office by Monday, 15th February. 

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

• Students are required to wear their school hat during Term 1 and Term 4.  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 are available to be purchased from the school office.  
  

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

It would be greatly appreciated if all parents could please ensure their child’s clothing is clearly named. 

Thank you

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 and 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.

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) 

The Department of Education hasexpanded the Student Assistance Scheme for 2021.

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

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Service Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card.

Please note that if you received student assistance in 2020 you do not need to complete a form.

For 2021 a new on-line form has been developed to assist with processing applications for new applicants.

The online form can be completed here:  https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/ 

The form will be available for public use from 10th November.

Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education will confirm the outcome of your application in writing, this process takes approximately 14 days.

We understand this online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact your school or stas@education.tas.gov.au or 1800 827 055.