Issue No. 6, 5 May 2016

Key Dates

Dear Parents,

Friday 6 May Mother’s Day Stall (Sheffield) Agfest Grade 8, 9 & 10 Ag Students

Welcome back to term 2. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break ready for what will be a very busy term, culminating in the mid-year reporting and parent/teacher discussions.

Tue 10 May - Thur 12 May NAPLAN Testing Grade 3, 5, 7 & 9 Students Tuesday 17 May Sports Expo Grade 3 & 4 Wednesday 18 May Try A Skill Fair (Burnie) Grade 9 Friday 20 May School Cross Country Wednesday 25 May Secondary Sports Exchange Monday 30 May RYDA Driver Awareness Grade 10 Students (Camp Clayton) Wednesday 1 June Inter High Cross Country Monday 13 June Public Holiday Queens Birthday

Sheffield School Department of Education

Anzac Day This year due to Anzac Day falling within the holiday period the school did not hold an Anzac Assembly. During our first assemblies this term we will recognise the successful students in the annual Anzac Day competitions supported by the RSL sub branches of Railton and Sheffield. On Anzac Day the following students represented each section of the school in laying wreaths at both the Sheffield and Railton community services. Railton Campus - Kiara Reed and Kaitlyn Ash K-2 - Roland Skirving and Hollie Diprose 3-6 - Grace Young and Liam Thompson-Hayes 7-10 - Cyan Peace, Tom Rockliff and Ranni Lockett This year’s winners of the Grade 9 David Innes Memorial Anzac Essay Competition also played an important role in services, with Balin Puccetti and Charley Davies reading their essays at the Sheffield dawn and Railton morning services respectively. Both students should be congratulated on the quality of their essays and the manner in which they delivered them on Anzac Day. Balin’s essay is included within this newsletter, with Charley’s to feature in the next newsletter. Thank you to all of these students and to staff and parents who supported our students’ participation in the community Anzac services.



Staffing Mrs Caitlin Midson will be commencing maternity leave at the end of this week. Our best wishes are extended to Caitlin, her husband Ben and daughter Alaina as they look forward to an addition to their family. Mrs Kate Haberle will be returning to cover Mrs Midson’s Food Technology teaching load. Science Redevelopment Update The Science redevelopment is coming along well with an expected completion time late in May. The team from Vos Constructions and all of their subcontractors have completed work in a timely and professional manner. I have included photos demonstrating some of the progress; our staff and students are certainly looking forward to having access to the new and improved Science facility.

Student Achievements Recently one of our grade 6 students, Laura Ashby was advised that she has been successful in her application to hold a position on the State's Children & Young People's Advisory Council. The council has an important role in advising the Commissioner for Children about important issues affecting Tasmanian children and young people, participating in developing ideas for broader consultations with the Commissioner’s School Consultation groups; and providing advice to the Commissioner about the services that should be available to children and young people. Congratulations Laura! NAPLAN Testing Commencing on the 10 May all students in grade 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in NAPLAN testing. Testing occurs in the areas of reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation and numeracy. The aggregated, grade cohort and individual data obtained from this testing, along with other school based testing data is very important and assists to inform school and class planning for the following year in the areas of literacy and numeracy. Ron Daly PRINCIPAL





The Value of Anzac Day by Balin Puccetti Every year on the 25th of April, Anzac day has been celebrated in memory of our brave diggers. But this special day is not only celebrated because of the thousands of soldiers, our ancestors, who died for our great nation. It’s because for the first time ever, our troops portrayed at Gallipoli the true Australian spirit that manifests in all of us. When the hammering of machine gun fire was heard, when Australian blood was mixing with the ocean waters, when the waves of the thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers began pouring off the boats at Gallipoli, leaving their old lives behind; the Anzac Spirit was born. Gallipoli would have been a nightmare for those brave men. 860 men died in the first five days alone, mostly killed in action. Remembering the brave deeds of all the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during this battle is pivotal to our Australian society. However, the legacy of war is not just about death and destruction. On the battlefield at Gallipoli, the Anzac soldiers showed enormous courage, and formed an irrevocable bond with each other; this bond became known as "mateship". Countless examples of mateship were shown during the battle, even towards the other side. The Anzacs were incredibly respectful towards ‘Johnny Turk’; that other guy over there, all the way across the trenches. There was once a Turkish soldier who everyday would walk out of a bunker and collect wood for himself, something he needed to survive. The Anzacs had enormous respect for this man, and would never shoot at him if they saw him across the field. This compassion strongly represents the fundamentals of the Anzac spirit; treating everyone as a mate, and humanely placing the lives of others before your own. Today, we still see the remarkable acts of courage; bravery; resourcefulness; that Aussie sense of humour we all love; and most prominently, mateship. We see these things every day in many aspects of our modern society. For example the firefighters in the recent Tasmanian bushfires; they stopped at nothing to defend the lives of many; a clear example of the Anzac spirit, by putting your own life at risk for the wellbeing of others. There are countless other acts of courage and mateship happening all around us in Australia every day. All we have to do is just turn on the news to see our fellow Aussies helping out the community in everyday life. I believe that Anzac day is still relevant in Australia’s modern society. We go to the Dawn Service to remember our ancestors who died with honour, but I think it is just as important to remember that on that day in 1915, we fought for a cause. We fought for our rights to be respected and noticed in a world in which we were just a new nation. We fought to cement our values and all that we stand for. I think these things alone are what we should really be celebrating. The lives of the people we’ve lost were not in vain. On the beaches of Gallipoli, we fought for everything we truly stand for. This day – Anzac Day – will hopefully be teaching our Australian values to my children, my grandchildren and all those who follow. Lest we forget…





Payment of School Levies Thank you to those who have paid their levies in full. As stated in our document “School Levies Policy & Charges 2016 – Information for Parents” levies are due to be paid by end of Term 2. A reminder for those who completed an agreement to pay levies by instalment - the expectation is that you will honour that agreement, and to those families who have not yet made any payments off their child’s levies that payments should have commenced by now. Payments can be made at the school office, by BPay, BPoint and at Service Tasmania. Another option is Centrepay deductions from Centrelink benefits. Parents/Guardians are reminded that application can be made for the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) for exemption from levy charges. This scheme is means tested. For queries around all of the above please contact our School Business Manager, Charmaine Butcher by phoning 64918222.

Primary Fair and Pet Parade We wish to thank all the families and students for their support of this year’s Primary Fair. We especially recognise the efforts of families who had pets in the parade and the presentation of students and animals in each of the divisions. Thank you to all the face painters, balloon artists and volunteers who helped out with the BBQ, in the canteen and on many other stalls during the afternoon. A special thank you to the Foster and Dolbey family for making their ponies available for rides and being prepared to lead them around for the afternoon! Finally, we are very proud and appreciative of our Grade 10 SRC students. All were outstanding in their support and willingness to take on roles during the afternoon, in the morning for setting up and packing up at the end of the day. We really hope everyone enjoyed the day! Pet Parade Results: Best Presented/Dressed Pet ECE 2nd Ben Hardie 1st Keira Wells Best Presented/Dressed Pet Primary 2nd Tahli Kuipers 1st Lillian Rockliff Most Unusual Pet 2nd Matthew Kemp 1st James King Trendiest Pet and Owner 2nd Rory Parker 1st Twyla Myers



3rd Ruby Rayner 3rd Will & Liam Thompson-Hayes 3rd Joe Sullivan 3rd Mia Saunders



We’ve had a clean out! Railton campus has a number of items to GIVE AWAY…. Including school shoes, brand new backpacks, books, two sets of encyclopedias, Railton Primary School hats (not current version – not for use at school), Railton Primary School sports uniforms, and one set of curtains! Items will be in the hall on Friday the 13th of May, from 2.30-3.30 … first in - best dressed! Following this, items will be donated to local charities. Railton Breakfast Club We’re in need of volunteers! If any parents are willing to volunteer half an hour of their time to assist with Breakfast Club at Railton – please see Miss Pearce or phone us on 64918222.

School Photos Have been sent home with your child/ren today. If there are any issues, please contact Leading Image directly on (03) 6228 9966. Second chance opportunity for ordering is now available, please see your class teacher for an order form.

Production 2016 This year’s Production ‘True Colours’ will be performed on Wednesday 22nd June at 11:30am for school students and 7pm for parents and friends and again on Thursday 23rd June at 11:30 am for students and 7pm for parents and friends. Entry will be $5 and tickets may be purchased through the school office. This production is being performed by students from Grades 5 -8. We encourage you to put it on your calendar!

Term 2 - 2016 Playgroup for 0-4 year olds! Sheffield - Wednesdays 11:15 -12:30 or 1:30 - 2:30 Railton - Thursdays 11:15-12:30 Sessions begin on Wednesday May 4th Like us on Facebook or contact Carly Sullivan (LiL Co-ordinator) [email protected]













Motivational Speaker: Nathan Hulls Sponsored by Partners in Recovery and Kentish Community Support House On Thursday 28th April, Nathan Hulls delivered 2 x hour long presentations to our grade 7/8 and grade 9 /10 students. His message focused on intrinsic motivation and making the most of our opportunities. Nathan grew up with a disability and battled with bullying and low self-esteem throughout his school life. With his own determination of not being blocked by his circumstances, he managed to recognise his strengths and worked towards achieving his potential. Nathan continued to work hard at school and eventually completed a university degree. At this time his view of success was largely about possessions and status but all this changed when his mother experienced a stroke and became totally incapacitated and dependent on full time care. This made Nathan reassess his goals in life and then identify the really important things including developing his own understanding about what it means to be successful. He decided to share his story with others by visiting schools all over Australia. Nathan uses his own challenging experiences to show young people that all things are possible in their lives, with the right thinking, determination and motivation. Nathan endeavours to help people recognise their potential no matter what their circumstances and it is the choices that each of us makes that impacts our future success. He speaks in a language that relates to his audience and he incorporates metaphors and humour to engage his audience. Nathan identified three areas that are required to be successful in life.  “Who am I?” Know who you are as a person and your character and personality.  Work every day to be the best that you can be. Always try your hardest at everything you do.  Have a positive outlook on life by saying “I am here to make this a better place”. The students thoroughly enjoyed this presentation and appreciated the messages that Nathan gave in such an entertaining manner. During the evening Nathan also delivered a presentation for parents and community members. He spoke about developing resiliency in young people and the three stages of development; Imprint Stage (0-7), Modelling Phase (8-15) and Socialisation Phase (16-25). Our development also shapes our beliefs and it is our beliefs that drive our behaviour. Nathan described: The 6 Core Needs of Teens 1. Certainty/Consistency 2. Variety 3. Feeling loved or having a strong connection 4. Significance 5. Growth 6. Contribution 5 Things that Hinder Resilience 1. Cotton Balling 2. Swooping Saviours 3. Done for you 4. Unrealistic Utopia 5. Pressure to Perform

7 Keys to Resilient Young People 1. Presence and Connection 2. Manage Yourself 3. Tune In 4. Tap into Passion and Purpose 5. Enable Contribution 6. Foster Potential and Positivity 7. Strength Focus

Emotional intelligent people are more likely to experience success in their lives as they are aware of their focus, the physiology of their body and choice of language and this awareness allows them to be mindful in moving toward positiveness.









Community Notices

ANZ NET SET GO! DEVON NETBALL ASSOC. Date: 25 May 2016 Time: 5pm Cost: $65 Age Groups: 5-10 years Location: DEVON NETBALL CENTRE @ SPREYTON PRIMARY SCHOOL GYM Phone: 64272786 Email: [email protected] Website: netsetgo.asn.au Registration open: 15 April 2016 Registration closes: 1 July 2016 Training / competition dates: 25 May, 1 June, 8 June, 15 June, 22 June & 29 June

Disclaimer: Parents should note that advertisements for education services, companies, activities or similar events are published as a ‘community service’. Sheffield School is in no way liable for the quality, supervision or integrity of the provider and strongly suggests that parents make their own enquiries before engaging with the advertised event. Ron Daly, Principal



12 Henry Street, SHEFFIELD, TAS 7306 Phone: 03 6491 8222 Fax: 03 6491 1408 Email: [email protected]