Port Dalrymple School eNewsletter

Welcome Back

Welcome back to the start of another busy term 4. A reminder that important dates for families are placed on the school website which can be found at https://portdalrymple.education.tas.edu.au

Last term we farewelled our School Chaplain, Janine Targett. Janine has worked at Port Dalrymple School for 10 years and has supported many students, families and staff. Janine was involved in flexible programs, school camps and breakfast club. Prior to leaving Port Dalrymple Janine worked with some of our junior students to complete a mural for the school library. The mural reflects memorable children books. Port Dalrymple School would like to thank Janine for her hardwork and commitment to Port Dalrymple and also thank the students who helped with the mural Aidan Johnston, Charlotte Lyons and Elizabeth Edmunds and of course Leanne Hodgetts.

Over the holiday break we had many school infrastructure projects completed. The works included the installation of large TV screens and a sound system in the school gymnasium, the Stephanie Alexander garden beds were fenced, new lights were placed in a number of rooms, the GeorgeTown High School/Port Dalrymple School Honour Boards were completed and are now on display in the main foyer, the senior girls toilets were renovated and new doors were installed in the senior school corridor. We thank our School Business Manager for coordinating these projects.

Thank you to the parents/guardians who provided feedback via the School Satisfaction Survey 2020. Your feedback and suggestions are used for school improvement planning into the future.

2021 Planning

We have started planning and staffing for 2021. It is most important if your family circumstances are changing in 2021 and your child is not going to be attending Port Dalrymple School that you notify the office ASAP or an Assistant Principal.

Enrolment appointments for 2021 are now being booked for students in Prep-10 who do not currently attend Port. If you require an enrolment appointment please contact the school.

STAS Eligibility Changes

The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards.

The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.

A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have and this has been sent home to students.

Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055.

Dates to remember

Thursday, 22^nd and Friday, 23^rd October Athletics Carnival

Friday, 30^th October Teacher Professional Learning Day – Student Free Day K-12

Monday, 2^nd November Long Weekend

Friday, 6^th November Last Day For 11/12 TASQ Classes

Tuesday, 10^th November year 6 Orientation Day and Year 6 Parent Information Evening

Hi, my name is Lachie Unwin, and I am a Youth Worker/Chaplain from Launceston and have recently taken on the role of Port Dalrymple School’s new Chaplain. I have also worked as Chaplain at Scottsdale High School and Brookes High School. I have only been a Chaplain for a year and a half but have been working with children and teenagers for the past 4 years.

I am a keen GWS Giants supporter and am also a guitar/bass/drum player, and hope to spend a bunch of time building relationships in the music room.

Lachie Unwin

This week at Port Dalrymple School we are celebrating Book Week where the theme is “Curious Creatures, Wild Minds”. It was fantastic to see so many students and staff dressed as a book character at our book week parade on Tuesday morning. Students and staff looked amazing – what an effort. Thank you to all the parents who supported the children to dress up as their favourite book character making this a fantastic sharing of our love of books.

As part of our Book Week celebrations The Hub worked with students in years Kinder, Prep and 1 on some reading activities including creating a flip book. Thank you to the Hub staff for sharing these activities with our younger students.

On Thursday 15^th October a talented group of our 3/4 students performed at the Senior Variety Concert, here in Georgetown.

A very late inclusion due to a last minute change, saw our kids with 3 days to learn the ever popular “How much is that Doggie in the window”, and they rose admirably to the occasion.

Even with a technical hitch with the music stopping mid song, they never missed a beat and kept singing strong and confidently.

A huge congratulations to all students involved and a big thank you to Jayne, Laura, Lisa, Luke and Jeanna for your support with rehearsals, getting our kids to the show and supervision.

It takes a team and our team was amazing.

The PreKinder children are having fun getting ready for Kindergarten 2021.

It’s so much fun getting to know each other, making friends and finding out about the routines at school. If you know someone who was born in 2016 and in the Port Dalrymple School area please encourage them to enquire about our fabulous preKinder programme. Call or text 0428 308 855.