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- Principal's Report
- Student Leader Report
- Gold Card
- School Value Champions
- Book Fair 2021
- School Canteen
- Launch Into Learning
- Kinder/Prep
- 2022 Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)
- COVID-19 Vaccinations for Students aged 12 and over
- West Ulverstone Child and Family Centre is coming soon
- Avoid doing deals with kids
- School Calendar
- Community News
Welcome Back
Welcome back for Term 4. It has been great to see our whole school community reconnecting so positively after the holidays. Our welcome back BBQ was well attended by families and was a great opportunity to have a chat. A big thank you to Leanne and her support crew for organising this community event.
This term we are focusing on the value of Courage. Courage is accepting challenges and embracing opportunities. We have seen many of our students receiving recognition for courage already this term.
Y3/4 Sports Expo
On Wednesday Year 3/4 Students participated in the NWPSSA Association Sport Expo at the Ulverstone Show Grounds. It was a fun day with everyone showing respect.
Our favourite part of the sports expo was being able to try out new sports and meet new friends.
The sport Cormac liked the most was softball and Jacob’s was Football. We hope to get the opportunity to do it again next year. On behalf of all Year 3/4 students we would like to thank the NWPSSA for organising the event, the helpers who ran the sport and WUPS staff for taking them.
Written by Cormac Davis and Jacob Gardner
Y3-6 Growing Program
Over the past week Nurse Kerry has been talking to students in Year 3 – 6 students about growing up. Britney Robinson and Axle Pitchford said they found the program informative, that they learned lots and it was good to be able to ask questions. Thank you to Nurse Kerry for running this program at WUPS.
New Website
This year Kiara Daly, previous School Business Manager (SBM) and now Tiffany Smith (SBM) have created a new website for West Ulverstone Primary School. You will find information about our school including our vision and values, parent information, enrolment information, newsletters and photos.
Check it out -
We would love to hear your feedback.
Maintaining Learning & Relationships – class splits
State-wide schools are finding it increasingly challenging to secure relief staff (both teaching and non-teaching). Every effort is made by the leadership team to minimise disruption when staff are away, however there are times when we are unable to get a relief staff. This results in classes split amongst other classes across the school. We are fortunate having small classes and teachers planning to enable a smooth class split if it occurs.
Lunch time foods
We have noticed an increase in students bringing instant noodles to school for lunch. While we understand noodles are a quick and tasty lunch time option, this raised student safety concerns.
We please ask that you support us by brining noddles to school in a thermos.
Yours in partnership
Angela McAuliffe
Principal
Halloween Dress Up Day
On Thursday the 28th October our school will be hosting a Halloween dress up day. This event is a gold coin donation and all funds will be donated to Breast Cancer Awareness. If you choose to dress up, please remember that you can not wear masks as you could scare the little kids. Also, if your costume has accessories please be advised that the teachers will politely tell you to put them away for learning time.
Free Sausage sizzle – Thursday Lunch
On Thursday the 28th during lunch time there will be a sausage sizzle. This is completely free thanks to the super support of Woolworth Ulverstone.
Written by Corben and Connor
This term, we are focussing on our value of Courage. During our school meetings held on Mondays and Fridays, a student from each class is recognised for their Courage.
Congratulations to the students pictured for being acknowledged for displaying our shared school value of Courage!
Courage – accepting challenges and embracing opportunities
Sharon has been very busy preparing for our Book Fair with the help of Mrs Good.
This year's Book Fair will be held next week on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 October, in the school Library.
Students can purchase items between the hours:
Wed, Oct 27: 8.30am - 9.30am & 2.30pm - 4pm
Thurs, Oct 28: 3pm - 4pm
Purchases can be made via EFTPOS or cash.
Students will have a chance to view the books on Tuesday, Oct 26, to fill out their wish lists. All purchases contribute to our library receiving new books.
We are pleased to announce that during Term 4 we will be offering a canteen for students.
The Canteen will commence on Tuesday, 2 November and run every Tuesday until the end of Term 4.
Further information will be provided to students early next week.
We can’t believe it’s Term 4 already!
Looking back to the start of the year, it’s been amazing seeing how all the children have grown and developed socially, emotionally and with their learning.
Here are some work samples from the past week - Kinders did some drawing about their holidays, and Preps have written about holidays/their favourite season.
We have been focusing on ‘good writing’ with our Prep students, setting goals and working hard to achieve them.
2022 Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)
Did you know?
When your child goes to a Tasmanian Government school you will find that there are costs that you will need to pay. These include levies, school uniforms, excursions and other costs associated with your child’s educational program.
If you are eligible, there are a number of financial assistance schemes available to assist you to cover costs.
Where to start
The levy you pay contributes to the cost of your child’s education program, and includes:
- Items your child uses during the school year such as learning materials and stationery.
- Services, such as school excursions, attending performances and school camps that are part of your child’s educational program.
Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) for 2022 School Year
The Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to low income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled in a school from kindergarten through to year 12.
STAS is provided through school and college resourcing rather than payments direct to families.
Eligibility
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.
To apply for STAS please complete the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) Application Form.
For further information please view the Frequently Asked Questions.
COVID-19 Vaccinations for Students aged 12 and over
The Tasmanian Government is working hard to provide the COVID-19 vaccination to all Tasmanian’s aged 12 and above.
As you may be aware there have been a number of clinics run in colleges to vaccinate students in years 11 and 12. There will also be a small number of regional high schools that will host a vaccine clinic but this is not something that will be occurring at high schools in larger population centres at this point in time.
However, there are a number of different options available for parents to arrange for students aged 12 and above to be vaccinated, these include:
- At one of the community clinics across the state. Appointments can be made by visiting www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/booking or calling the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.
- At participating GPs - contact your local GP directly to make a booking.
- At selected pharmacies - find one near you at findapharmacy.com.au
Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself, your family and the wider community from COVID-19. Don’t wait. Vaccinate.
Young people under the age of 16 are encouraged to attend their vaccination appointment with a parent or guardian.
There are a number of places where you are able to find more information in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine. You may like to look at this information with your child to support them in understanding more about the vaccination:
- Information from the Australian Government about COVID-19 vaccines
- Information from the Tasmanian Government about COVID-19 vaccines
- Information from the Western Australia Government through a video presented by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki which answers common questions and dispel myths about COVID-19 vaccines.
Behaviour
Have you ever said something like this to one of your kids? “If you eat all your dinner up, I’ll let you use my iPad for five minutes.”
Most kids under the age of ten would empty their plate in an instant with that sort of carrot dangled in their face. But it’s a tricky game you play when you start to do deals with kids to win their cooperation. For a start, you need to be prepared to raise the stakes as the novelty of five minutes of iPad use will soon wear off.
This would also mean you need to be prepared to keep dealing with your kids, as they soon learn that if they hang out long enough, Mum/Dad or whoever will offer me a juicy enticement to win my favours.
You get what you negotiate
Keep doing deals with kids enough and they learn that they get what you negotiate. That’s fine in the business-world, but hard work in families.
I’ve seen mums who deal with kids because they just want peace and quickly. I’ve also seen dads deal with their kids because they simply enjoy negotiating. They see it as a game. That’s hard work for their partner who doesn’t use those methods.
Kids who do deals
Sometimes it’s kids who do the negotiating. “You want me to go to bed at 8.00pm do you? Well I’ll go to bed at 8 o’clock if I can have a TV in my room” says a born negotiator.
It takes a savvy parent to say, “Actually, no. That’s not going to happen.” Sometimes we become involved in child-initiated deals before we’re even aware it’s happening. Again kids can take advantage of busy, tired or time-poor parents.
The last resort
If doing deals with kids to get cooperation is a strategy you use then it should be a strategy of last resort (to use when your mother comes to visit; when you are dog-tired; or when you want a cosy Sunday morning in bed), not the first one you use when you want your kids to behave well.
Here are 5 alternatives to ‘doing deals’ with kids:
- Catch them doing the right thing: Make a bit of a fuss when your kids behave as you want. Tell your face that you are pleased with your kids so it lights up, and kids get to notice you are happy with their behaviour. This is based on the premise that parent recognition (“Mum/Dad is happy with me”) is a high driver for many kids.
- Reward them after the behaviour you want: Avoid saying, “If you behave well on our shopping trip I’ll buy you a matchbox car.” This is bribery, which is tied up with the art of dealing. Instead, show your appreciation with a treat after they have behaved well. The order of events makes a huge difference!
- Manage like a cat: There are times when a child or teen needs to know that “No means no” rather than “No is just a suggestion”. A message delivered with firm body language, a still head and a clear, flat voice without intonation indicates to a child or teen that you are serious and that no further communication is to be entered into. This non-verbal communication is quite cat-like, thus the cat metaphor for parent credibility.
- Let consequences be your friend: Let your actions, or lack of action, do the talking. Rather than negotiating with kids to pack their toys away, put toys that are left around into the ‘mystery bin’ for a time. You may need to hold firm to a tantrum when you use this method, but hang tough so your child sees that you really mean what you say and do.
- Focus on you, not them: Want them to go bed on time? Then start reading their bedtime story at the agreed time whether they are there or not. (This works well if your child is a reader! Not so good if your child isn’t interested in books. It’s the principle that counts). Resist calls for ‘that’s not fair!’ as not being in bed at an agreed time is not fair on you either! The simple shift from telling them what to do to telling them what you will do makes a massive difference particularly when you have a child who doesn’t like to be told what to do.
Nothing works all the time so smart parents know they need to have a number of different strategies at their disposal when they want cooperation from their kids. They also have a hierarchy of responses that places ‘making deals with kids’ their last resort, rather than their first option.
In fact, it may be best to leave doing deals out of your parenting armoury altogether and focus on using other communications methods instead.
Michael Grose
Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation and the best-selling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It. His latest release Anxious Kids, was co-authored with Dr Jodi Richardson.
Monday 25 October | School Association Meeting 4:45pm - 5:45pm |
Wednesday 27 - Friday 29 October | Book Fair |
Thursday 28 October | Halloween Dress Up Day |
Friday 29 October | Student Free Day (Professional Learning Day) |
Monday 1 November | Public Holiday |
Wednesday 24 November | Year 6 Orientation Day |
Friday 26 November | Devonport Show Day - Public Holiday |
Tuesday 30 November | Year 6 Transition Sports Day |
Tuesday 30 November | Assembly 1:30pm - 2:30pm |
Friday 3 December | Athletics Carnival |
Thursday 16 December | Celebration Assembly 10:45am |
Thursday 16 December | Students Last Day |