For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

Week 4 has seen us continue our ongoing school wide focus on the value of COURAGE.  We have had a number of new students and families that have joined our Penguin community so far this year.  These students have certainly shown a high level of courage whilst developing new friendships and relationships during their first few weeks of school.  Our total number of enrolments has now reached approximately 662 students (Including Kinder and Grade 11/12.)  On behalf of the rest of the wider Penguin community, welcome.

One of the whole of Department priorities this year is around Reading.  On Tuesday night our Collaborative Teaching Teams started our journey on ensuring our whole school reading practices are current and evidence based.  The session focussed on how we can best support students learning through use of multi-tiered systems of support.  Thanks to Mrs Peirce (Our Primary Quality Teaching Coach) for leading what will become an ongoing Professional Learning opportunity as the year progresses.  One small shift you may have noticed in recent times, particularly in the Early Years, is in the use of decodable texts to support our systematic phonics approach when teaching reading.  Feel free to reach out to your teacher/s for more information about using decodable texts to best support our little readers. 

Today our secondary students came together to present the new Secondary Student Board.  It was fantastic to see so many secondary families joining us for this event.  A big shout out to Michael in Grade 7 for demonstrating courage whilst sharing his Acknowledgement of Country and to Taya for sharing her Grade 9 Mathematics Report. Primary Student Board presentations will take place late next week. 

Week 5 promises to be a week full of amazing events that will require both our staff and students to demonstrate the value of courage.  These include PCYC excursions, Primary NWPSSA Athletics Carnivals, Kinder Nature Walks, Early Years Swimming Program and the Secondary (7-10) Surf Carnival.  Good luck to all our students, staff and volunteers as they embark on these challenges.

We are excited to reconnect with our parents and families as the term starts to unfold.  Please put Tuesday the 19^th of March in your diary as we would love to see you at our “Welcome Back BBQ.”  The primary open classroom will be held from 2.15 – 2.50 followed by a BBQ in the courtyard near the canteen.

To stay connected, be sure to check in with the Skoolzine App for event updates and to access our calendar of events.

For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

Kinder B have begun their school journey. They have shown all aspects of our school values beginning with Courage.  Lots of courage was required to get into uniform and experiencing school for the first time. Connection as they build positive relationships and a sense of belonging. Respect as they care for themselves,  each other and the environment. Responsibly through stepping up and doing what’s right and finally Growth. Each Kinder child will be aspiring to learn and improve, even if it is hard.  Well done Kinder B.

This term, Year 1 students are actively exploring living and non-living things.

In 1A, we talked about what we’re curious about and put our questions on our ‘Wonder Wall’. We’re planning to look up answers to our questions.

This week, we took a walk outside to find something interesting in nature. We brought back what we found and drew pictures of it. We used magnifying glasses to look closely at different parts and drew them as accurately as we could. Then, we wrote about what we saw, what we think and what we’re still wondering about.

“We have had a wonderful start to Term One in 1B! We have been courageous learners as we are settling into our routines and exploring our first learning goals together. Here are some of our highlights so far:

Zoe - Literacy Groups

Alfie - Playing footy with friends on the oval

Gray - Getting to play on the basketball court and the oval

Levi - Playing out in the playground

Milla - Doing art and playing with my friends

Van - Writing and reading

Maddison - Drawing with Ms Slater in art, we drew butterflies when we did animals

Alby - the writing in literacy groups I wrote about the cat picture

Sarah - Making lots of nice new friends

Xavier - Playing with my friends

Isla-May - the whole entire thing, literacy groups today

Avery - using the blue swinging chairs

Oakley - kicking the ball at lunch

Marigold - going outside on the monkey bars, colouring in my observation

Kohl - drawing with my friends in the morning

Nate - Playing with my friends

Scarlett - playing in the playground

Max - playing with my friends at recess and lunch and doing literacy groups

Elka - making new friends, playing with the dominos in number groups”

2A and 2B have had a busy start to 2024. We have been getting to know everyone in our Grade 2 space and learning new routines and skills together.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings you will find us in small, mixed groups as we work collaboratively on a variety of literacy tasks to help improve our reading, writing and spelling.

Wednesday afternoon is Science challenge time where we share ideas, help each other, and learn to develop skills such as predicting, observing, analysing, and recording.

In term 1 the focus across 7-10 math is Number and Algebra

Square numbers, prime numbers and indices have been the focus of Year 7 Maths. We are practising the skill of being able to see certain numbers and being able to remember that they are square or prime numbers - 7 is a Prime number or 25 is a square number. During Numeracy Growth, the Year 7’s are exploring probability.

Grade 8’s started with a focus of positive and negative integers and the order of operations. They have now moved on to index laws. During Numeracy growth Grade 8’s have looked at latitude and longitude and will be working with 3D cartesian planes in the upcoming weeks.

 In grade 9 we have been focussing on the real number system, distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers, and rounding decimals and significant figures. We will soon move on to the application of index laws.

The grade 10s have been brushing up on their algebra skills. Building on what they learned last year, they have been working on binomial expansion and and factorising quadratic expressions.

If you are experiencing difficulties using Qkr on your new android phone, Qkr have just completed a major upgrade which now allows the app to be updated in the store.

They are waiting on confirmation as to when that will happen.

 In the meantime please use the Qkr website if you need to make a purchase.

 Qkr website

Qkr! by MasterCard (qkrschool.com)

It is recommend that you use a laptop/desktop when accessing the Qkr website.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

School newsletter article

FEBRUARY 2024

Vaping – resources available for families and students

Vaping continues to be a trend amongst children and young people.

Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are similar to smoking cigarettes, but don’t use tobacco.

Instead, vapes are a battery-operated device which heats a liquid. This liquid turns into an aerosol and is inhaled.  Like smoking cigarettes, vaping is highly addictive. Research shows that young people are three times as likely to start smoking if they vape.

While Tasmanian law says that a person under 18 can’t use, possess or buy vapes, we know that some young people are doing it because they believe it’s a safer option than smoking cigarettes.

It’s important to work together to educate them about the health impacts of vaping and the harm it can cause on their short- and long-term physical health.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People has a dedicated webpage with information and resources for teachers, parents/carers and young people.  This includes tips for talking to your children about vaping and how you can support them in quitting.  The attached fact sheet also has some useful information to help support you in with these conversations.

At a school level, we are approaching vaping as a health issue. We use a range of educational resources to help students make healthy choices and informed decisions.

It’s important that we all work together to nurture the wellbeing of students so they can continue to grow, thrive and succeed.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with either your child’s teacher or myself.

Kind regards

Matthew Perry

Principal, Penguin District School

We encourage parent/adult help at Penguin District School as we know the value of having our families assisting the learning that happens every day.

If you are interested in volunteering your time in the classroom this year, we require you to watch a 14-minute video to show that you’re able to work with us to keep our students safe. This is a requirement for all employees, volunteers and service providers.

To assist you with this, Jessie Eberhardt or Laura Gee will host a series of open mornings to help with watching this video. It can be done at home online, however, we do require a copy of your certificate to be given to office staff once complete.

https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/safe-children/safeguarding-children/safeguarding-training/

What: Assistance to complete the online Safeguarding Video

Where: Meeting room 1, Admin

When: Thursday 29 February, 7 March and 14 March 8:30 – 9:30 am

No RSVP required; we will have devices set up for family members if needed. We look forward to seeing you there.