Newsletter No.7. 17th March 2016

Illawarra
Primary
School
Key Dates for 2016
24th March
Walkathon
8th April
Moderation Day/ student
free day
6th May
School Disco
18th July
Professional Learning
Day
16th October
School Fair
Issue No. 7. 17th March 2016
From the Principal
We have a busy four weeks of Term I left! Parent-teacher interviews are happening this
week and next Monday; activities involving learning about Harmony Day and the National
Day of Action Against Bullying are currently occurring; it is Gifted Awareness Week and
the Walk-a-thon (Thursday) and Easter are next week. A reminder that the last day of
Term I, Friday the 8th of April, is a student free day so teachers can moderate with
other schools on consistency of assessments.
In amongst all this 'busyness' we continue to have high expectations for our students’
academic and social learning and behaviour. These expectations are guided by our whole
school values as well as the questions students ask themselves when making or reflecting
on their behaviour choices - 'Is it safe? Is it fair? Does it show you care?'
Bullying
The following students have shown
outstanding citizenship this week, and
have been awarded Illawarra’s
“ON YA!”
Certificate in appreciation:
Ben Lee for being a good friend and
supporting others with upstander
behavior's and good choices. Maddi
Clark for picking up other peoples
rubbish at recess in eating area.
Anneke Poortenaar for being a
great contributor to class disussions
and showing good thinking skills.
Harry Page for having a positive and
determined attitude to his learning and
being well organized with homework.
Zane Chamberlain for always being
focused on doing his best in his
learning and being well organized with
homework. Claire Collis for always
being prepared to help others and
support them in achieving their best.
Illawarra Primary School
Department of Education
We have been focusing on our value of Safety and this ties in well with a specific focus
on bullying behaviour this week to coincide with the National Day of Action Against
Bullying this Friday. In assembly we spoke about the difference between being a
bystander and an upstander (or an active bystander). In our whole school meeting the
SRC acted out some skits to demonstrate how to be an upstander and we also spoke
about the role of our student mediators in the playground, who started this week. The
SRC played a you tube clip which showed us how to ‘Stop, Talk, Walk’ when dealing with
bullies. Classes will be having discussions and/or activities focused on identifying and
coping with bullying, including supporting those who are being bullied. The more the
issue of bullying is talked about openly and made transparent, the more difficult it is to
hide and children feel greater confidence to report it and seek support.
The term bullying is bandied about a lot so it is important to be clear on what defines
bullying. The national definition of bullying for Australian schools, which can be found on
the www.bullyingnoway.com.au website, is:
'An ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social
behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group
misusing their power over one or more persons. Bullying can happen in person or online, it can
be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).
Bullying of any form or for any reason can have long term effects for those involved, including bystanders.
Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying. However these conflicts
still need to be addressed and resolved.'
There are wallet sized cards at the front office you might like to take with tips for talking about and supporting your child/
ren in a bullying situation. Below are some questions you might use when discussing bullying with your child/ren.
Inquiry question 1: What are the main features of bullying?
Probing questions:
•
How do we recognise bullying?
•
Can it sometimes be difficult to recognise bullying?
•
In what ways do some people bully others?
•
Is bullying the same in person and online?
•
Is there ever a time when it would be acceptable for a person to bully another?
Inquiry question 2: How does a person feel if they are bullied?
Probing questions:
•
Have you ever been bullied? How did it make you feel?
•
Do you know someone who has been bullied? How do you think they may have felt?
•
Does bullying feel different if it happens in an online environment?
•
Do you think the person who bullies others would feel good about their behaviour?
•
If someone bullies you, is it then appropriate to bully them also?
•
How should we respond if we are bullied?
Inquiry question 3: What are the key differences between bullying and arguing/fighting with someone?Probing
questions:
•
What makes these differences important?
•
Why is it important to recognise these differences?
•
How can we help others to recognise these differences?
•
Why do we sometimes confuse bullying with other negative behaviours?
•
Can the act of treating someone unkindly lead to bullying?
•
Is this different online?
Gifted Awareness
This week is Gifted Awareness Week. At Illawarra Primary School we support our students to extend themselves and
achieve their best, including students who have particular strengths and abilities. Class teachers provide a high quality,
differentiated curriculum that challenges thinking and we also offer a significant range of opportunities beyond the classroom.
Some of the programs we deliver include Robotics, Ad Astra, Arty Facts, Coding, Infinity Squared Maths, Maths Olympiad
and Band. In 2015 we were recognised for the quality of our extension programs through the provision of an
$11 000
grant to run a Japanese extension program. In future newsletters we will highlight some of our programs in more detail and
showcase the work of our participating students.
Lastly, we welcome back Mr.Donnelly from long service leave next Tuesday.
Mrs. Kelly-Bounds and Mr. Hayen - A/Assistant Principals
Acting Principals
Illawarra
Primary
School
PREP MATHS
ILLAWARRA CELEBRATIONS
Illawarra Primary School
Department of Education
Our Preps are engaging in mathematical discovery with lots of hands on
experiences
.
Peer Mediator Program
This week grade 5 and 6 peer mediators have
started duty out in the playground at break times.
These students volunteer their own time to help
resolve issues that may arise at school. The
leaders have completed training to become
competent at asking students who have a
problem how they can help. Their job is to also
help the children who have made a choice that is
not in line with our school values to fix their
mistake so that Illawarra Primary can be a friendly
and safe place for kids to come to school.
Mediators are not responsible for dealing with
problems of a physical nature.
Please ask your child/ren if they know what the
job of the peer mediators is to encourage them to look out for students in the black vests and
yellow hats to seek help if they need it.
Well done to the following students:
Layla Ferguson, Leah Carlyon, Ella Peterson, Georgina Brocklesby, Owen Mulcahy, Isabel
Nguyen, Amelia Smith, William Fletcher-Jones, Declan Etherington, Alex Tymbas, Tomas
Quinonez, Ben Brown, Mabel Sutherland, Harry Smith, Benjamin Brocklesby, Lachlan Mills,
Corey Chamberlain, Issi McGunigle, Jessey Niepce, Kirra Watkins, Jessalyn Potter, Jarah
Wilcox, Joe Ryan, Adem Latham, Zac Menadue, Sam Hutchesson, Lucian Beattie, D-Jay
Wildman, Abbie Jones, Lilly Mus-Talbot, Catherine Knight, Grace Triffitt, Mishae Dalco, Dylan
Staples-Ashforth and James Wright.
Harmony Day is a day to celebrate
diversity and belonging. The theme for
this year is “Everyone Belongs” which
fits with our school value of Care and
Understanding. To celebrate Harmony
st
Day which is on Monday the 21 of March our school has been exploring
words that originate from other languages. Some classes are putting together
a display outside their classrooms for people to view in the afternoon on this
day. Please come and have a look.
There is no lunch orders next week due to walkathon bbq
on Thursday, counter sales as normal, ice creams, icy
poles, smoothies, pop corn and all the usual items.
A very big thank you to all those wonderful volunteers who
have supported the canteen and our school community.
Any questions or contact can be made to
[email protected]
Check out Karlan's pop up shop! Mrs Hodgkinson is
buying some apples from him.
CONTACT DETAILS
6 Tinderbox Road, BLACKMANS BAY, TAS 7052
Phone: 03 6229 6295 Fax: 03 6229 6210
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.education.tas.gov.au
Free Dress Day
Last week on free dress
day, Mason decided to
come dressed as one of
our Assistant Principals
for the day complete
with a tie! He even did
duty with Mr.Hayen at
lunch time.
Hi, I’m Clare. I am the speech pathologist (speechie) for your school.
My job is to help students with their speech and also with their understanding and use of language.
I’d like to share some recipes with you this year and give you some tips for developing language skills while having fun in the kitchen.
Cooking is a fantastic thing to do with your children for many reasons:

It can teach kids a practical skill that they will use as adults

It can teach kids about where their food comes from and making good food choices

It can help build relationships by doing something together

It’s a great way to help build the language skills that are used in the classroom. It can help with:
Following instructions
Learning new words and concepts
Being able to explain yourself
Understanding how things are related in the world
PIKELETS
Ingredients
1 cup self raising flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
a shake of nutmeg (optional)
Method
Stir the flour, sugar and nutmeg in a bowl.
Add the egg and mix with a spoon. Add the milk gradually and whisk until you get a thick batter.
Lastly add the melted butter and whisk it in.
Heat a frypan and brush with some melted butter. Drop large spoonfuls of batter in the pan and when bubbles start to form, flip
them over to cook the other side (just a minute or 2).
To Serve: I like mine with butter but other people like it with jam as well!
Variations: You could add a mashed banana or grated apple to the mixture, or for a savoury snack, you could add grated carrot and
corn or peas (leaving out the nutmeg).
Language Tips – choose any (or all) of these tips. Remember to keep it relaxed – have a chat together, not a question and answer session (like a test).
A good thing to say is “I wonder…” or “Let's think of…”
For all kids:

Before you start to cook, talk about cooking word such as ‘ingredients’ and ‘method’

Before you start to cook, ask your child to guess what some of the ingredients might be
For younger children:

Break the task into 3 or 4 main steps and practice saying those steps together – your child can later tell a friend or family member how
you both cooked the pikelets

When it’s time to use the egg, you can talk about where eggs come from (chooks/hens) – you can then chat about where chooks live and other
animals that can live on a farm
Older children:

Make your own recipe book – take a photo of what you have cooked and your child can write down the ingredients and method in their own
words. Again, it would be great for your child to tell someone else how you both cooked the pikelets.

When it is time to use the eggs, you could talk about animals that lay eggs compared with animals that give birth to live babies (like us). See if you
can help each other list a few animals in both categories. For something extra, you could find some information about ‘monotremes’ – what is so
special about these animals?
If you would like to share some photos with me or tell me your favourite way of eating pikelets, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a note for
me at the school office or send me an email: [email protected]
Happy cooking!