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- Penguin District School Calendar
- Assistant Principal's Report
- Green Penguins
- 2024 Book Week
- Year 7 HASS
- Badminton Gala Day 2024
- Young Tassie scientists
- Year 3/4 & 9/10 Art
- Year 9/10 HASS
- Year 9/10 HASS
- Hellyer Course Counselling
- Penguin District School Official Opening
- Laptops For Sale - Via Qkr App ONLY
- Simple Learning at Home
- School Production Fundraiser
- Launching into Learning
- Taswater School Engagement Shaping Tasmania's Water Future
- School Calendar
For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar
As the final days of August draw to a close, so too does another Book Week. From its initial beginnings, Book Week has grown from a simple celebration of literature to a nationwide phenomenon that captures the imagination of children, educators, and communities alike. This year, the theme "Reading is Magic" set the stage for a week of events across our school. Classes investigated a range of “short listed books,” and I would really encourage you to visit your child’s class to see the amazing displays of our students learning on show.
The theme for 2024, "Reading is Magic," certainly resonated deeply with me as someone who has witnessed just how transformative the power of reading, books and stories can be. My own reading journey is one that has ventured from a love of “Grug” and “Famous Five” books as a little fella, a sports magazine obsession through my teens right through to developing a love for autobiographies and crime fiction as an adult.
Sometimes we just need to find the right book to unlock the magic. For me, there are two books that I still return to regularly as they had such an impact on me as an adult reader. “Bustin down the door,” by Rabbit Bartholmew still takes me to exotic surf locations across the world whilst “Touching the Void,” by Joe Simpson reminds me that I need to get back into the mountains for my “playtime.” I would really encourage you to share your reading journey with your child and keep searching for that book that unleashes the magic.
The success of Book Week 2024 can be measured not just in the events and activities, but in the way it continues to foster a passion for reading in communities across the country. As teachers, we always note an increase in enthusiasm for reading among students after Book Week, with many children picking up books they might not have considered before. I would like to give Sonia (and the library book fairies) a huge shout out for their hard work and many hours that they have put in to ensuring our annual book fair was such a success. This annual event is just another great way to get new and exciting books in the hands of our readers.
Parents, too, play a key role in ensuring the ongoing success of Book Week. The way our students, staff and community engage in this annual event is something we should be really proud of. I hope the week’s events provide a timely reminder for families to explore stories together, whilst also creating memories that will last long after the week has ended. While the theme for 2025 has yet to be announced, one thing is certain: we will continue to explicitly teach our students the skills they require to be successful readers whilst continuing to foster a love of reading.
Yours in reading
Assistant Principal
Adrian Beard
Year 7 HASS has moved from the world of the Potato Olympics into learning about Civics and Citizenship. Our first lesson's activity allowed students to make connections between familiar (and some unfamiliar) words. As our first group coming through who have been on our school Canberra trip (since before COVID), their knowledge and understanding shone through.
The grade 7 and 8s participated in the Badminton Gala Day on Thursday, 22nd August at the Burnie Basketball Stadium. Unfortunately the girls were outclassed on the day and finished in 5th position overall, but Charlize did have a stellar day being unbeaten in all of her single matches she played.
The boys produced some outstanding badminton performances finishing 2nd overall in their division. Some outstanding performances were achieved by Oliver, Jacob and Nixon who were unbeaten all day. Nitro’s coaching from the sideline was well received from the boys who performed well under his instructions.
All the girls and the boys encouraged, celebrated and commiserated the good and the bad from the day but had fun regardless of the scoreboard. The 50c killer pythons were also a highlight of the day! Well done to everyone involved and thank you to Dalton and Mrs Van Essen for their support on this day.
Three Young Tassie Scientists visited our 7/8 students on Thursday.
Sam’s main message was “doing things safely” when telling us about how there are jobs designed to blow things up - but they are taught to do this in a safe manner.
Emily’s main message was “take care of your brain”, with a big focus on hydration and how our brain is approx 70% water.
A takeaway from Osian’s presentation was to take care of your cuts. He talked through the human body and the immune system.
Comments from students
“Very enjoyable and great to learn about different types of science." - Sammy and George
"Sam was very smart" - Miller
Year 3/4 have been working on pattern and design creating decorative elephants and year 9/10 have been working on the theme “texture” this term.
In Year 9/10 HASS some students are creating products that complement the upcoming production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
In Grade 9/10 HASS some students are learning about Ancient Civilisations. As part of our Ancient Rome unit we learnt some interesting facts about gladiators.
When large events were held at the colosseum over 5,000 animals could be killed in one single day.
Many women wore hairpins and other jewellery dipped in gladiator blood.
People became gladiators by three different ways; being a caught criminal, being sold into slavery, and volunteering. No matter the process taken to become a gladiator, the training is done the same.
The colosseum had a rule to where you can’t kill your opponent, you were meant to subdue them and then the emperor had a choice if they die or not.
I learnt that not all romans were heartless and that they did have some morals when it came to fighting as we seen in the video clip.
Around 1,000,000 animals were killed in the time the colosseum was used and half a million romans were killed.
There were two types of romans that fought against animals, bestiarii (beast fighters) who were criminals and had no prior training therefore a very slim chance at winning and venatores (hunters) that similar to gladiators had been trained to fight.
The only way the Gladiators were set free was to win a fight in the colosseum and be given back their freedom.
The Hellyer Course Counselling evening provides an important opportunity for students who are considering or intending on enrolling at Hellyer College in 2025 to start their enrolment process.
Hellyer College staff members will be on-site at Penguin District School to meet with families to discuss subject selections and what college could look like for each student.
We must stress the importance of still attending this evening even if students are hoping to secure an apprenticeship later in the year or are still considering other schools.
Where: Penguin District School – Year 10 Space
What: Hellyer College Course Counselling
When: Monday September 16 (3-6pm)
Bookings are required using the following link to select a person and time – https://penguinds.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/39
If you have any questions or would like to discuss transition options for 2025, please contact Mr Jade Hughes at school on 64342222 or jade.hughes@decyp.tas.gov.au
