18th March 2024

Welcome to our Newsletter

Principal's Report

Dear School Community,

We have had a wonderful start to the 2024 school year!

Even our zucchinis are thriving! We do share considerable information each week through Seesaw and Facebook, our twice a term newsletter shares key information, announcements, and achievements.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People has engaged extensively with stakeholders (including thousands of children and young people) to identify our shared values. Margate Primary’s School previous values align perfectly. We have commenced the school year launching the renaming of our values as: Connection, Responsibility, Courage, Growth and Respect.

This term our focus value is Connection. Already we have so much to celebrate:

• Implementation of Classroom circle time.
• Welcome BBQ and Activities
• Grade 6 camp and sausage sizzle
• Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival
• Our wonderful community volunteers.
• Our new Golden Value tickets
• New certificates to recognise students and staff displaying our values

Communication with teachers

At Margate Primary School we value communication and fostering strong partnerships with families to optimise student learning and wellbeing outcomes.

To manage workload challenges teachers are encouraged not to communicate with families outside of work hours and aim to respond to emails or seesaw posts within 2 working days.

For urgent matters which require an immediate action please call the school office.

Every School day Matters! Campaign

Attendance is critical in achieving positive emotional, behavioural, and educational outcomes.  Already this year at Margate Primary School 71.2% of our children have attended school less than 90% of days. Missing one day each fortnight equals 20 days per year, which is 4 weeks per year .... and therefore, from kindy to Year 12, that is nearly 1 ½ years!

Please do not hesitate to talk to us if you are having difficulty getting your child to school. We’re here to help.

Handy tips to support your child’s attendance:

• Create a routine
• Give yourself enough time
• Be on time, every day. Monday to Friday.
• Schedule appointments and trips outside of school hours.
• Get a good night sleep
• Technology and screentime boundaries.

Safeguarding Children and Young People

All DECYP employees, volunteers and external providers must complete Safeguarding training every year, before working with any children or young people. This is compulsory under new laws determined to better safeguard children in Tasmania from sexual abuse.

The volunteer training is a 14-minute video, you do need to register and will receive a certificate on completion. Please download certificate and provide a copy to the school (in person or via email).

LINK: Safeguarding Training - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au)

School Association                                 

Message from our Chairperson Tristan Bell.

What’s happening?

To comply with new requirements, this year the Margate Primary School Association and the MPS Parents and Friends are combining into one committee. In practice this will mean very little change, except that there will be one overarching committee that guides the work.

We need your help to effectively run the committee and undertake all of the great activities that take place throughout the year at Margate Primary School. This is your chance to get involved and make a difference at your child’s school.

The committee needs a chair, deputy chair, treasurer, secretary and committee members. These roles can be filled by parents, staff or community members (the Chair must be a parent). If you are interested in filling any of these roles, being a member of the committee or just attending school association meetings you will be very welcome!

There will be roles and committees for a broad range interests, including: fundraising, running great events for the kids and school community, setting the policy direction of the school, applying for and administering grants. Being a member of the committee is not a large time commitment, but it does have a strong positive impact on the school community.

If you are interested in being a member of the committee or would like to know more information, you can speak with the current chair of the School Association, Tristan Bell, on 0427 617 277 or email here.

School Captains

Congratulations to our new grade 6 school leaders. Already our School Captains Vice Captains and House Captains have demonstrated outstanding leadership across the school embracing their roles and responsibilities. 

Pieta Langham

Principal

Beginning Of Year Reports

Golden Tickets

Congratulations to the following students who won the golden ticket draw on Monday. These students and many others have earned golden tickets by displaying our values of Connection, courage, growth, responsibilty and respect.

Gumnuts Early Learning

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

Uniform Shop

Opening Times

Friday 22nd March 8.30 - 9am

Friday 5th April 2.30 - 3pm   

Story Dogs News

Margate Primary is very excited to welcome two StoryDog teams this year - Sarah and ‘Rosie’ on Wednesdays, along with Julia and ‘Mungo’ on Thursdays.

The StoryDogs program partners with the classroom teachers to help students with their reading. Each team works with the same 5 students each week. The students will come out of their classroom and sit one-on-one with their designated dog team and read to ‘their’ dog listener. Both dogs love to listen to a variety of stories, along with lots of pats, and finishing with a treat or two!

StoryDogs wish is for students to have a fun time, so that books and reading become a joyful experience.

‘Rosie’ is a Golden Retriever who loves the beach and going for walks. She is looking forward to meeting her new readers for 2024, having already had 1 year working with students from Margate.

Great loves:  Me, walks and chasing sandflies and fish on the beach
Favourite foods:  Anything, especially people food
Doesn’t like:  Wallabies in the yard
Quirks:  Jumping onto the bed first thing in the morning and rubbing her head into the doona

‘Mungo’ is a Chocolate Labrador who loves everything! He is super excited about starting this year, having just had a couple of practice reads last year.

Great loves:  Food, people, especially children
Favourite foods:  Anything except lettuce
Doesn’t like:  Loves everything and everyone
Quirks:  Loves a bottom scratch

If you are interested in volunteering in this rewarding program, please check out our website, or email sarahj@storydogs.org.au

The Workshop - Items needed

We are planning on setting up a workshop space at school. 

Using a wide range of materials and techniques to get creative and make, build repair and recycle. 

If anyone has any spare workshop tools, clean timber offcuts, or any curious things to spark our imaginations, we would love to collect them. We are also interested in nuts, bolts, nails etc.

Please bring any items to the school office. 

Thank you

Safety of Van Morey Road

Van Morey Road is very busy around school times with buses and cars going everywhere.  This is why we had a school crossing installed.  For the safety of yourself and your children please only use the school crossing to cross Van Morey Road.

Booking of the Gym

Just a friendly reminder if you wish to use the gym after hours for training, please make sure you ring and speak to the office first to check that there are no other bookings.  Thank you.

Collecting your child from school within the school day

If you are collecting your child from school within the school day for an appointment or other early departure reason, please come by the office first.  The office will then assist in calling your child up to the office and you can sign your child out.

Attendance Notifications

Please contact the Office with attendance notifications no later than 9.30am to avoid receiving a phone call from our office staff.

If you are social distancing, please email margate.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au 

Facebook

Please follow us on our School Facebook page for infomation about upcoming school events and celebrations.

Lost Property

Please help us by coming along and looking through the lost property items. Named lost items will be returned to the student (where possible) and all un-named items will be passed on to the uniform shop at the end of term.

Community Notices