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Principal's Report
It has been a busy start to term 4 with all classes settling well and enjoying the opportunities to have greater success with their learning. We have had the pleasure of having Janine Targett, a long-time friend of the Port Dalrymple School community deliver “Inside out for Kids”. It has been nice having Janine back in the community supporting the learning of our young people. Last Wednesday we held our 3-10 Swimming Carnival and students participating enjoyed the opportunity, with many sharing their success with friends, family and staff. A Massive thank you to the HPE team for their organisation and efforts. Our school teams will represent us at the upcoming TPSSA (15th November) and NHSSA (16th November). We wish all students the best.
RESET Program
Our 8 week RESET program came to an end last Thursday, with a celebration with all community stakeholders who contributed to the program coming together at Port Dalrymple to share with family’s student outcomes and learnings. Throughout the program students, through various activities were encouraged to take positive risks, step outside their comfort zones, working closely with each other as a team and building resilience. Students have enjoyed meeting and working with adults from Tasmanian Police, PCYC, AFL Tas, Australian Maritime College through a range of activities.
Youth Advisory
It was nice to attend the George Town Councils Youth Advisory celebration of Seagulls to Chips where a number of our students have been contributing to the leadership of our young people within our community. The students over time have had opportunities to build confidence, share their thoughts and opinions for the future of our town and have all experienced significant personal growth. These ongoing collaborations reinforce the notion the “it take a village to raise a child” and show that if we engage our young people and have high expectations of them they aspire to be part of a successful community partnership. Well done to Kobi, Williams, Cody, Kai, Sarah, Trae, Charlotte. The graduation of this program highlighted the significant contribution that the voice of young people have and the role they play in building connectedness, belonging and pride.
2024
Students have been provided friendship request forms as we start to plan for 2024. There will be a number of changes as we transition into the new school year. We have taken time over the year to explore optimal learning environments, and this will see some adjustments to our timetable structure. We will see the timetable move to a 4 x 70-minute block day with 3 identified breaks rather that the 6 x 50-minute lessons. Teaching time in curriculum areas will be enhanced and opportunities to engage students in more targeted interventions will ensure personalised needs are met. We have worked with Teachers and Educational Support Specialists on our explicit instruction model to tighten up our delivery and to build greater consistency across the whole school.
Term 4
We still have 5 weeks of learning and will continue to provide opportunities for students to connect with peers, improve their learning and engage in a range of experiences. Teachers will continue to make contact promoting the importance to attend school to build confidence, positive relationships and engagement with learning.
George Town Chamber of Commerce Awards
Our year year 11 student Libby (photo of Libby) was acknowledged at the George Town Chamber of Commerce Awards for her contribution to outstanding customer service. Libby has had a successful year, both inside and outside th school community. She has explored an number of pathway options and developed many skills that will set her up for a positive future. Well done, Libby. Our year 11/12 students are in their final week of 2023 and have identified their next step in their future pathways. Many will continue with us next year along with our year 10’s transitioning to our 11/12 programs and other have entered the workforce across the year. We encourage parents and students to reach out to the teaching staff and Barb, out Trade Training Centre Co-ordinator if you have any questions.
K-4 Report
Our students and staff in the K-4 sector have well and truly settled into Term 4. Students have been enjoying the weather as it begins to warm up and are engaging with new areas during break times: we have a "quiet games" area on the blue court where students can play with the large Connect 4, Jenga, skipping ropes, colouring/drawing and reading. We have also opened access to the oval at lunch times for students from Year 2 and up to play ball games! The students in Prep have also received a new area in their playground, which they are LOVING!
In the Early Years, Pre-Kinder parent sessions have started and it was lovely to see some of the students being able to stay in Pre-Kinder while their grown ups went next door with Nurse Tom to get some information about sleeping, healthy eating, Kinder health checks and toileting. If your child or someone you know has a child born in 2019, reach out to Halana Knowles for more information about Pre-Kinder. LiL is continuing this term with Miss Knowles, Miss Salter and June popping down to the George Town Child and Family Learning Centre each Friday morning for Playgroup from 9:30 followed by Read & Play in the Kinder building from 1:45.
5-8 Sector
The 5/6 classes have had a focus on the govenrnment. Some facts they have learnt.
- The Kings Representative for Federal Parliament is the Govenor General
- There is a process for passing a bill to make new laws
- The vole is the most important part
- A democracy is a government ruled by the people
They have also been making connections between the Australian democracy, where all have a say and contribute to our classroom agreements.
Our classroom agreements mean that we all respect each other, build relationships, show the school values but also are able to allow our individual traits to shine through.
The 7-8 Electives are also very productive with the Drama group enjoying finding costumes to match their charaters for the short play they are rehearsing.
The cooking group is making enticing smells waft through the corridors as they develop their kitchen skills when cooking sweet treats and baked goods. So far this term we have baked delicious, marbled shortbread and sticky jam slice. These recipes have been a hit with students and firm favourites to add to the recipe log to cook at home with families. As we move towards midterm we will be experimenting with cupcake decoration and cooking some Christmas treats to finish off the year. Keep an eye out at the end of term for our recipe books which students are encouraged to take home and share with their families.
9-12 Sector
The 9-12 Sector continues to be busy early in Term Four. The Year 11 and 12 students are closing in on their final days of schooling, with all students striving to improve their end of year results. VET students are completing their final assessments including the opening of a Thursday Café run by Hospitality students, some fine furniture created by the Construction Team and intricate metal fabrication from the Engineering students.
The Port Sports Leaders have extended their support of inclusive activities by leading lunch time games of a Friday. The PSL have divided up to offer a range of sports so everyone can join in. This program extends the great work Jayne and staff are doing to structure some fun and games during breaks.
The sector also welcome Miss Baylis to the team. Miss Baylis is joining the 9/10 classes to strengthen the literacy focus and assist students in their History and Geography.
The 9/10 Building and Construction crew have drafted plans to update the bus shed. The plans extend on the bike room fit out to include new storage for the bulky athletics equipment that currently lives in the small gym storage spaces.
Term Four also see Year 7-10 students dive into new short course options. Students have made an amazing start to their chosen subjects that include: Art Exploration, Buddies, Dance, Golf, International Cuisine, Mountain Biking, Sewing and Crochet, Wooden Toy Making, and the Year Ten Celebration Committee.
The Student Leaders shared an information session with all Year Nine students this week. They outlined the amazing opportunities that being a student leader can offer a young person. The election process was explained, and all students are welcome to apply. If any Year Nine students have any questions relating to the process they can chat to Mr Austin, Mr Sanders or any of the current student leaders.
On Wednesday the 1st of November we held our annual Swimming Carnival. Luck was on our side and the sun shining creating a great atmosphere for the day. The schedule of events was kicked off with some outstanding participation from our year 3-6 students in the kickboard race, before making our way to our high school students in the 25m freestyle races which were filled with close contests.
Our year 10 girls lead the way with Olivia , Brielle and Ava all battling hard in multiple races. A similar battle occurred in the year 4 girls with both Rani and Milla with some close finishes.
Strong showings from Blake , Johnathan , Archie , Travis and Sophie were all a regular occurrence through the day as was Mr Austin on the microphone commentating each race. Mr Austin also suggested that the first lane at the George Town Swimming Pool be renamed after Tyler after his grit and determination to swim in as many events as possible, scoring many points for Paterson.
The day was finished with several fun activities in and around the pool. This included dancing in the pool, Tug ‘O’ War, Sponge Relay, and the fan favourite Bomb Comp! After a neck and neck points race all day with multiple lead changes Norfolk took the win finishing on 1329 points edging out Paterson on 1287 points.
As always students’ encouragement and cheering was a highlight of the day. We would like to thank all staff, students and parents who made the day possible!
On Friday afternoons, Volleyball Tasmania have been visiting the 5-6 classes to teach us about the game. We learned serving, digging, spiking and we got to play a game at the end.
What is digging?
Digging is where you hit the ball in the middle of your arms with your hands together. Make sure to tuck in your thumbs.
What is setting?
Setting is where you and another person stand infront of the net and the person throws the ball and you have to hit is over the net.
What is spiking?
Spiking is where you quickly hit the ball over the net.
What happens in a game?
Three people stand up near the net and three people stand at the back near the server to the other side. You can’t let the ball hit the ground and the ball can’t go out of bounds. It if does, that is a point to the other team. You have to try to hit the ball over the net so it lands on the ground on the other side to score a point for your team.
I love volleyball because it is a moving game and you get to have fun. Volleyball is a game where you get to take your mind off things and focus on the game.
By Ellira 5-6C
Hands On Learning Update
Week 10 of Term 3 saw the HOL Kitchen come alive with families, friends and special people, when the Hands On Learning Café group prepared morning tea with their loved ones. Families came to cook a range of dishes with their children, and we all sat to eat together. HOL Build families came in to see the HOL Shed and the projects their children have been working on so far this year. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the diverse range of skills and learning opportunities for students in this space. Thank you to everyone who supported this event!
The garden is alive, and growing rapidly! Big thanks to Nurse Tom and his helpers, as well as the Monday Flex Program who have been working hard in the garden, turning over beds, adding compost, mulching and weeding. The HOL groups have both been working hard in this space, learning about different types of plants and how we can easily grow food in our gardens.
This term the HOL Café students are continuing to hone their skills, preparing staff lunch orders and catering for different school programs. The HOL Build group are undertaking a range of different tasks including revamping the deck and student work area in the Senior School Courtyard, as well as continuing work in the HOL shed. Keep up the great work HOL team!
