Spring!

Term 4 is always jam packed with exciting learning opportunities, it is an absolute fantastic time of year. The manner that students have returned to school prepared for learning has been outstanding, with a seamless transition back into routines and learning. It is a particularly special time for our grade 6’s as they make the most of their final term of primary school. They continue to be important role models across our school. I look forward to finishing off another successful school year with you all.

Reading

I loved seeing students celebrated for achieving Reading Rules Club 250 through the week! What an outstanding achievement that can only be reached with significant support from home. Every reading opportunity children have at home enhances their confidence, decoding, fluency, comprehension and overall enjoyment of reading. Thank you for those parents that are able and willing to help their child read at home, we love working together with you to support your child.

Student Free Day

Today teachers worked together to fine tune reading assessments in preparation for accurately administering these new formats in 2026. This will assist teachers to be informed of individual student reading ability, informing them of the teaching necessary to support reading for all, across all grades.

We also spent time looking at the School Improvement Plan. A key aspect of this involves collecting and interpreting different data sets. This data enables us to both see student growth and learning, while informing teachers of the effectiveness of their teaching. We have goals and targets that we have been focussed on achieving during the school year, and we use data to see if these have been achieved. We look deeper to see if they have or have not been reached, and why. This process helps us to be focussed on improvement and proactively doing everything we can to improve learning for all.

We spent time looking at Student, Parent and Staff Survey data. This allows us to be informed of how key stakeholders are feeling about different aspects of our school. This information is taken extremely seriously, and allows us to not have to guess or assume how people are feeling, seeing, or being supported. We aim to maintain areas of strength and identify elements that we can improve and impact. I look forward to sharing some of this data with you in our next newsletter.

Student Free Days are essential for schools and staff to work together for continual improvement and maximise learning.

Swimming

Please keep an eye out for your child’s swimming information and permission coming home. This is always an exciting learning opportunity for students, with massive growth often achieved during the program. Kids can’t wait to get started!

Every school day matters.   

We love seeing your children at school, every day. Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn, grow and connect with their friends and teachers. It gives us a chance to engage with your child. We all play a part in helping our kids get to school every day. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.  With an education and support for wellbeing, anything is possible for our children and young people.  

Talk to us at school or visit Anything can happen - Department for Education, Children and Young People. 

HASS (Geography) in Grade 1

This term, our curious Grade 1 explorers have been discovering all the different places that make up our world – natural, managed, and constructed. We’ve had fun spotting natural features like mountains, rocks, rivers, and creeks, and using maps and satellite images to find the natural and built features of our local places. Along the way, they have become little geographers, collecting and interpreting information from maps, pictures and videos. To help their curiosity grow, our next step will be to consider how we can care for special places like parks and playgrounds.

We have had a fantastic start to Term 4 and have been working hard in all areas of our learning.

 In Maths we have had a focus on word problems and problem solving. We have been finding the important parts of a problem, working out the Maths it is asking us to do, writing a number sentence and showing our working out to solve it. We have also started learning about equal groups and sharing (division) and using calculators and modelling a problem.

In HASS we have started working on some assessment projects. Grade 1’s are working on designing a playground and Grade 2’s are researching a place in Australia to create a travel brochure.

In Writing we have been writing persuasive texts and we have had a focus on the structure and language we use when writing a persuasive text.  We have learned that we need to use strong words to show our opinion on the topic we are writing about.

In grade 1-2 students have been exploring earth and space, particularly the sun and moon. They have been doing this through hands-on activities like observing the moon and it's changes, tracing shadows, building sundials, observations, a lot of discussion, and modelling the relationship between the Earth's rotation and the cycle of day and night. Key concepts include the role of the sun as a light source, and how shadows move opposite to the sun. 

Prep Students Explore Their Special Places Through Art and Storytelling

In HASS this term, our Prep students have been exploring the concept of Place and what makes a place special. As part of their learning, the children came together to share and discuss places that hold a special meaning to them — whether it’s their home, a favourite beach, a grandparent’s house, or even a favourite room in their home.

After these discussions, the students put their creativity to work by crafting their own special places using colourful tissue paper. Each child carefully designed and built a unique representation of their special place, bringing their ideas to life through art.

To complete the activity, students named their creations and explained why these places are special to them. From ‘My Nan’s House’ to ‘The Beach’  and ‘Camping’ the stories revealed the importance of family, friendship, memories, and joy in their lives.

This activity not only encouraged artistic expression but also helped students develop important communication skills as they shared their thoughts with peers. It was wonderful to see the Prep classes come together to celebrate the special places that make each child feel happy and safe.

If you missed out or you would like to buy some more, our left over Keepsake Tea towels are now reduced!
CASH only, available from the school office :)

Free Access to StoryBox Library for Tasmanian Families!

Tasmanian primary school students now have free access to StoryBox Library - a fun and educational digital library you can enjoy at home!

StoryBox Library is a subscription-based website and app featuring Australian storytellers reading hundreds of much-loved children’s books. It’s a fantastic way to nurture your child’s love of reading and support their literacy development.

With features like Read-Along, Closed Captions, Auslan stories, and engaging audio-visual content, StoryBox Library is designed to be inclusive and accessible for all children.

How to Access:

1. Visit www.storyboxhub.com or search “Story Box Library” on your device’s app store.
2. Click LOG IN at the top right of the homepage.
3. Enter the school username and password (provided below
4. Start exploring hundreds of stories - Anytime, anywhere!

School Login Details

Username: boat.harbour

Password: school

Please visit the DECYP website or StoryBox website for more information.

The Lions Tasmania Skin Cancer Foundation is working on a mobile skin-cancer awareness and screening vehicle to be launched in November 2025 and operational around rural and isolated areas in Tasmania as early as possible in 2026.

Sari-Elle is a remarkable young woman who has already proven herself as a durable long-distance runner. In 2024 she ran a marathon from Base Camp at Mount Everest, coming 7^th overall and raising 126,000 for Australian Lions Foundation compassionate grants. She is extremely keen to run for the Lions Tasmania Skin Cancer Foundation, to raise awareness and funds towards our ongoing running costs and to also raise the profile of Lions International in Tasmania.

The planned route is: Day 1, Smithton to Boat Harbour PS; Day 2, Boat Harbour to the Big Penguin in Penguin Day 3, Penguin to Port Sorell through the Bluff, Devonport and Wesley Vale. There will be short evening receptions for her in Smithton, Wynyard and Penguin before her participation in the Tasmanian Lions Convention from the 7^th to 9^th November in Port Sorell.
Sari-Elle wants to encourage run clubs to run the first few kms with her and would also love to engage with school children and members of the community.
We timed her run so we can organize meeting points for the community to engage with Sari-Elle on her breaks and along the way.
We have also set up a ‘Give Now’ page to make donating to the foundation easier. The address is http://www.givenow.com.au/run4lions

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