14 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Community Engagement – Building a vision for the future

On 29 and 30 January 16 parents and community members worked with staff at a workshop facilitated by Bill Martin and Mary Wilson from ‘Schools that Deliver’ building a vision for the future. In groups we brainstormed eight questions with every voice being heard and every idea later voted on. The ideas brainstormed were used to write a vision for the school.

We are now able to recommence our vision work we started in January with Bill and Mary. At the time of this session people indicated they were willing to be a part of theme teams (everyone is a learner, school environment and culture, working together in partnerships for improvement, being ready and able to learn) for ongoing work.

On Wednesday 19 August at 3:10 - 4:30pm we will be meeting with Mary and hope that you can join us to continue this important work. If you are interested in attending our follow up community engagement session, please leave your name at the office by Tuesday 18 August.

Staffing

Mrs Jo Rodgers

Mrs Rodgers started teaching Kinder to Year 4 students French on Tuesday. Madame (French word for Mrs) will be with us until the end of term. We are excited to have Mrs Rodgers as part of the WUPS teaching team.

Esther Humphris

As of next week our Speech and Language Pathologist Esther will be taking leave then leaving the Department of Education. Esther will still be using her skills and knowledge as a speech and language pathologist and still for some of our students, although within the private sector. We wish Esther the best of luck in her new role. Sarah Green will be stepping in to take on some of the SLP service at WUPS.

Mrs McAuliffe

Mrs McAuliffe will be on leave from Monday 17 August until Thursday 3 September. During this time Mrs Walker will be Acting Principal.

Child and Family Learning Centre

It is an exciting time for West Ulverstone Primary School, with a new Child and Family Learning Centre coming to West Ulverstone and it'll be located right here at our school. Now is the time for us all to get involved and share our ideas. Just like others around Tasmania, our new Child and Family Learning Centre will be a hub of community support services for families and carers in the early years of a child’s life.

“Get Involved” - share your ideas for our new Child and Family Learning Centre by completing the online survey , attending the community workshop ( click here to register) here in our school hall on Tuesday 1 September from 9.15am-11.15am , or have a conversation with the project team at mailto:getinvolved@education.tas.gov.au.

More information can be found here:

Cyber Safety

Cyber Safety refers to the safe and responsible use of information and communication technologies. This includes privacy and information protection, respectful communication and knowing how to get help to deal with online issues. Common cyber safety issues include:

• Cyber Bullying
• Sexting
• Identity theft
• Predatory behaviour

Cyber safety issues most commonly occur through a student’s use of their own technology device, for example, smart phone, tablet, laptop, home computer. We as aspirational and expect our learners to achieve their best. Essential to this are positive relationships in a safe environment where the school community feels valued this includes the responsible use of information and communication technologies. Cyber Safety is a “whole of school community” approach involving students, staff and families.

In August West Ulverstone Primary School reached eSmart status. This is a huge achievement for our school and has formed part of our commitment to helping students on their journey as digital citizens.

eSmart is an initiative of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, a national charity committed to protecting children from violence. Cyberbullying, sexual predation, identity theft and accessing and sending inappropriate images and content are some of the real cyber safety risks facing young people today. An eSmart school is a school where the smart, safe and responsible use of information and communications technology is a cultural norm.

More information can be found via the link below.

Reboot - Our Three Brains

Over the last couple of weeks all classes have been learning about our 3 brains. Our Brain can be broken down into three main parts – Smart, Emotional and Wild.

The Wild Brain is responsible for all our automated functions – heart rate, breathing, body temperature control, movement, and our fight / flight / freeze (survival) response.

The Emotional Brain is responsible for our feelings and emotions (both positive and negative) and memory. It also houses the Amygdala which constantly scans like a smoke detector and picks up on any stress or perceived threat to our wellbeing or survival.

The Smart Brain is responsible for higher order thinking – complex thought, problem solving, language, reasoning, creativity and decision making.

When the amygdala perceives a threat, it will set off an alarm that sends us into Wild Brain and activates our Fight / Flight / Freeze response. The Wild Brain then hijacks the rest of our brain, shutting down all other non-essential functions, meaning it’s really hard for us to make a smart decision or to be reasoned with when we’re in Fight, Flight or Freeze.

With the support of Reboot, we are teaching students how to ‘feed’ their Wild Brain with things like breathing and movement so they can move up into Emotional and Smart Brains. We are making sure our learning environments address the physical (Wild Brain), emotional (Emotional Brain) and cognitive (Smart Brain) elements so that all students can effectively engage in learning.

In partnership,

Angela McAuliffe
Principal

Acknowledgment of Country

Values Champions

Week 1

5/6B

Kobi

5/6G

3/4C

Amber

3/4C

Kiarna

2BF

Jacob

Prep/1G

Prep/1P

Michael

Week 2

5/6B

Axle

5/6G

Mahjada

3/4N

Finlay

3/4C

2BF

Jacob

Prep/1G

Rudy

Prep/1P

Maysi

Week 3

5/6B

Piper

5/6G

Jarod

3/4N

Reid

3/4C

Sienna

2BF

Jasmin

Prep/1G

Rosalie

Prep/1P

Bailey

Gold Card

Eli Wickham, Hendrix Hill, Skylah Hall, Bailey Seward

Amazing descriptive ideas and growth in writing

Home Reading

We are celebrating Home Reading success at WUPS! Children are encouraged to read every night and record what they read in their Home Reading Journals. Make sure your teacher knows how many nights you have read for!!!

Celebrating 25 nights of reading – Rudy Lawler

Sabrina Catlin
Literacy Coach

Feature classes

3/4N

Things have returned to normal in 3/4N. After an extended period of change due to Covid and then the birth of Mr Nayler’s daughter we are finally back to normality.

We have been undertaking all sorts of learning with a recent highlight being our investigations about the solar system and space. Students were amazed to investigate how a sun dial worked and it was interesting to see how the sun seemed to move across the sky during the day.

Students have chosen their own investigation topic and have begun working on presentations for the class.

Looking forward to the time ahead full of teamwork, investigations and learning.

Klay Nayler
3/4N Teacher

3/4C

In 3/4C we have been focusing on using our five senses to improve our descriptive writing. With the snow predicted to fall across the entire state last week we focused our writing around a snow scene. The students were asked to include what they saw, felt, could smell, hear and maybe taste.

Here are some of the poems the students wrote. We also enjoyed making some paper snowflakes to add to our writing display.

Deet Cox
3/4C Teacher

Student Leaders

We are back at it with the Talent Quest on Wednesday 9 September at 11:50am. Auditions are on Wednesday 2, Thursday 3 and Friday 4 September at lunchtime in the hall. All students from Prep to Year 6 can audition.

Indiana Mee
Student Leader

Social Worker

Jayne Freshney
Social Worker

Library

Could you please check at home and return to school any overdue library books ASAP. Thank you for your support

Allison Willoughby
Library Technician

LiL

School Nurse

Dental Health

This year’s dental health message is about the harm sugar does to oral health. Nurse Leah spent some time in the kinder classrooms educating the students on these key messages:

• Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Clean between your teeth daily using floss or interdental brushes.
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet and limit sugar intake.
• Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventive care.*

*Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, children’s dental has only been available for emergencies. If you receive an eligible Centrelink payment and your child is between 2-17 years of age they may be eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Scheme at a private dental clinic. This allows them to a limit of $1000 of dental services every two calendar years for items such as x-rays, examinations, cleaning, fillings etc. Call your local private dental clinic for more information or to see if you are eligible.

Leah Furley
School Nurse

Soccer

This year West Ulverstone Primary School has two teams entered in the Ulverstone soccer competition. We have an under 10 and a under 12 team. Our recent results are as follows;

Saturday 1 August - U/10 Played Penguin. WUPS won 9-0

U/12’s played Penguin losing 5-3.

Saturday 8 August – U10’s played Penguin black. WUPS won 6-1.

U12’s played Leighlands. They won 5-0.

The WUPS players are going well.

Thank you to our parents for your support.

Beau Worley
U/12 player

Banking

School banking will now resume on Tuesday’s for Term 3.

Thank you

Sharyn Mee
School banking co-ordinator

Community News

Ulverstone Football Club

Registrations now due. No pay, no play.

School Calendar