Welcome back to Term 3 and I sincerely hope students, staff and families have had time to recharge and enjoy some quality time together. I know that many planned vacations interstate may have been interrupted or changed due to the recent developments with the pandemic and we continue to be grateful for the position our state is in compared to our mainland states. I have sent (and will continue to send) regular updates to families via our schoolzine email system to all families regarding any developments that may arise in this space. We certainly thank all families for continuing to monitor the situation and adhere to the recommendations including keeping children at home when they are unwell. The measures taken by the Department of Education have, as I have previously communicated, been very conservative and seen as precautionary measures to ensure our safety.

The whole school assembly at the end of last term saw many celebrations of effort and achievement across a whole range of areas and endeavours. Congratulations to all who were recognised. Part of the assembly was dedicated to recognising NAIDOC Week which was officially held 4th-11th July. The theme this year was “Heal Country” and it was wonderful to listen to Joel Williams, Assistant Aboriginal Heritage Advisor and our own Aboriginal Education Worker Mr Jack Spotswood-Green about their insights to help build our own cultural knowledge and understanding.

At the end of last term, we farewelled Miss Lillian Males who has taken the opportunity to undertake a promotable teaching role at another school for the remainder of this year. This has inevitably meant some class changes and whilst we try to minimise disruption, we certainly are proud of staff who model being aspirational and growth in themselves. This has meant there have been some staff changes to classes which have been communicated to families involved.

Congratulations also to our Grade 7 students who were involved in the ABCDE Learning Site Project in 2020 and had their launch last week.

Iris Alberti, Maddison Medwin, Georgie Hawkins, Noah Colgrave, Samuel Powers, Matilda Dawson, Iaelah Rice, Charlie Aylott.

This project is called the “Asset Based Community Driven Effort” Project and involved working with the Launceston City Council to build connections with community. Their project launch involved a wonderful video showcasing all the connections in and around the Youngtown area. As a school we are excited about the opportunity to be involved this year as the project moves to the Kings Meadows area.

School Association

A reminder that we have a School Association meeting this evening at 7.00pm in the Global Learning Centre in the Library. It was fabulous to see so many new faces at the AGM and last meeting and I look forward to seeing everyone again this evening.

Parent Article

I often receive fabulous articles around supporting children through challenging times. The link below will take you to an article by respected author Michael Hawton who is the founder of Parentshop, providing education and resources for parents and industry professionals working with children. He has authored two books on child behaviour management: Talk Less Listen More and Engaging Adolescents.

Taming fears – a parent’s guide to helping kids overcome anxious feelings. | Parentshop

Warm regards