12 February 2025

From the Principal

Hello and welcome to our first full Newsletter for 2025!

It has been a fantastic start to the year for us, and we sincerely appreciate all of the effort that people at home have put in to get us to this point. We are loving having your children at school. An additional thank you to the staff who were in and about in January (when the weather was great) working to get our school to be ready for opening.

School Improvement Foci for 2025

This year, we will have 2 main priorities in our school improvement learning and work.

Reading – We will continue with our whole of Department focus on reading and the staged implementation of explicit literacy practices. The practice that our teachers have delivered here does not widely differ from what we will be implementing. What will change, is this year we are rolling out “UFLI” (pronounced YOU-FLY) for our youngest students and Word Origins for our older students. You’ll hear more about this in due course. For the interested, these will be the common instructional resource for word recognition skills in reading.

EAGLES – We will work to embed EAGLES through beginning to have student choice goals for our Capabilities in key learning areas. For our younger students, it will be more scripted and modelled with less individual choice while they learn how to apply the Capabilities. For our older students, over time, we will look to leverage a recommendation from our External School Review and have them have choice over what Capabilities and what behaviours they are displaying to improve their dispositions as learners. More on this in future Newsletters as well.

Redevelopment Update

Today, works should have started on a new small playground to the west of the Kindergarten, along the boundary. The central corridor is being painted out, our Canteen has its Inspection, ready for opening next week and our main Sensory Room will open very soon (before the next Newsletter). After this, we are awaiting a further meeting room near the Canteen and a second sensory room, off the foyer near the Support Team Staff Office. We also have an office for the Teaching and Learning side of our school to be opened in the same corridor. After these little rooms are handed back, it will be full steam ahead on the 4 classrooms and the library, to get them in order for a start of term 2 move in!

The landscapers are finishing off around the new build and we should be in there after some adjustments in the near term. This will mean being able to access the top gate! Stay tuned and we will let you know when this is happening.

A reminder, there is NO canteen this week. Cooked lunch for KINDERGARTEN will proceed as normal as we can utilise the facilities in Kindergarten. All cooked lunch and canteen will be back up and running from Monday in our NEW Canteen!

Uniform Update

Today saw the first students at our school in our new uniform! We received 100 polos on Tuesday afternoon. We should receive the remainder of our December order either Friday or Monday. Quarter Zip Jumpers will come after this, and our January order later in February. If you’ve made an order, we will be in touch with you as your order is available. Thank you for your patience.

We think the wait has been worth it and the polos look great!

Communication with Class Teachers

Finally, if you have any concerns or any questions, please feel free to email or call the school if you can’t get in. Conversely, chatting at pick up or drop off (know that mornings might be busier) can keep a constant flow of information going between home and school, enabling smooth transitions.

If you have any critical or time sensitive information, please call the school office. We can get messages and action items – teachers may not read their emails during the day, they’re busy teaching.

I trust the start of the year has gone well for you and your children. I look forward to seeing you about this year.

See you soon – Courtney

Start of Term Reminders

We are a Nut and Egg Aware School

A reminder to families that we are a ‘nut and egg aware school’. There are several students within our school community that are highly allergic to nuts as well as students highly allergic to eggs.

Please do not send nuts, or foods containing nuts in your child’s lunch box.

Please do not send egg sandwiches, or hard-boiled eggs in your child’s lunch box.

SunSmart Program

Children are required to wear hats when outside at all times from September to April.  Digger, Legionnaire or “Bucket” hats are the only hats to be worn at school and children without a SunSmart hat will be required to remain under the shaded area.  Sunscreen will also be available to students and this will be located in classroom areas and at the office.  Application of school sunscreen is your child’s responsibility so please ensure they can confidently apply this to themselves.  Please also feel free to apply sunscreen at home in the morning prior to the school day. This is in line with the SunSmart Program sponsored by the Cancer Council.  Hats are available for purchase from the School office for $10.

Validation and Other Permission Forms

We would like to thank those parents who have already returned the validation and other permission forms. If you have not yet returned your child’s forms please return them to the office as soon as possible, preferably in the original envelope.

Levies

Invoices will be posted by the Department later in February. Please pay promptly. Contact the office if you wish to discuss payment options.

Contact Details

Has your phone number, email or address changed? Please inform the office of any changes as they occur.

Volunteering at School

If you are volunteering in our classrooms and/or coming along on an excursion this year, you MUST obtain a Working With Vulnerable People Card and complete the Safeguarding training 

When you have completed your training, please send your certificate via email to cambridge.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au and take a screenshot of your certificate and save it on your phone.

Lost Property

Lost property is located at the MPR end of the main corridor. Please clearly name items of clothing, drink bottles and lunch boxes. If students are recycling second-hand clothes, please delete the old name. Any un-named items that are left at the end of each term will be disposed of.

Car Park Safety

Please drive slowly and with care in the carpark. Do not park in the bays allocated to buses, even for a short time.

Disabled Car Park

We have two disabled carparks near the school gate. We also have several families who either have disabled children or carers. These families need the car parks. We understand that the carpark can get full at times, but please, do not park in the signed spots unless you have a valid disabled parking sign.  

School Gates

As we all know, manners are very important, but we ask that when opening the school gates, please only let out the child that is in your care.

Office Hours

8.10am – 3.30pm

Uniform Shop

Opening hours 8.10am – 3.30pm. Alternatively, uniform can be paid for via Qkr. Items can be collected from the office or handed to students. See side panel of newsletter for Qkr instructions. 

Class Times

School commences 8.40am
School concludes 2.40pm

Duty of Care

It is important to note, before 8.10am and after 2.40pm, your children need to be supervised by an adult (unless they are at after school care or waiting for a bus to go home). To be clear, please do not drop your child off before 8.10am and please collect them at 2.40pm, as our duty of care is not before 8.10am or after 2.40pm. We appreciate your support in keeping everyone safe with supervision.

Student Absences

Please notify the school office by 8.40am each day your child is absent from school. There is a link to an absentee form on the sidebar of the Schoolzine newsletter.

Or call, or leave a message, on 6248 5168.

Student Late Arrival or Early Departure

Students must be signed in/out by a parent/carer using the Kiosk electronic sign in/out at the office, if they arrive late or are leaving school early. If you take your child after Assembly please sign them out at the office.

Qkr App

The Qkr phone app gives parents the opportunity to pay for uniform, canteen orders and the Cooked Lunch Programs on smart phones and other devices. Instructions are on the side panel of the newsletter.

Clarence Children’s Services

For enquiries about Outside School Hours Care please email Clarence City Council at the email address below:
OSHC@ccc.tas.gov.au

Or click on the link below for information regarding all care services Clarence City Council have to offer.

Term Dates 2025

Term 1:  Thursday 6 February to Friday 11 April
Term 2:  Monday 28 April to Friday 4 July (Student Free Day Friday 6 June, Public Holiday - Monday 9 June)
Term 3:  Monday 21 July to Friday 26 September
Term 4:  Monday 13 October to Thursday 18 December (Show Day Public Holiday – Thursday 23 October, Student Free Day Friday 24 October)

Student Free Days 2025

Friday 6 June 2025
Friday 24 October 2025

Cambridge Athletics Carnival 2025

Our Cambridge Athletics Carnival, for all students from Prep to Grade 6, will be held on Wednesday 26 February on the school oval. The day promises to be a fun day full of action-packed races and field events, with spectators being most welcome.

We’ll need lots of help to make the day a success. If you are available to help on the day, that would be fantastic, and we thank you in advance. Could you please give your name to school office or James Dudgeon, HPE teacher.

Grade 3 to 6 will start at 9.00am and Prep to Grade 2 will join us at 10.30am. A program of events including specific events and times will be released via Schoolzine towards the end of week 3.

Grade 5 and 6 Surfing Program 2025

Gr 5 and Gr 6 students will be participating in the Learn to Surf Program in weeks 3 and 4 of this term. It will be run by the Coastrider Surf Academy and the sessions will be held at Clifton Beach on Thursday 20, Monday 24 and Thursday 27 of February. A more detailed information letter will be communicated to relevant families next week via Schoolzine. James Dudgeon, HPE Teacher.

School Photos

School photos will be taken on Tuesday 4 March, and Thursday 6 March for Kinder C. Orders must be placed online. Please open the flyer above.

Parents who want to order individual and/or family photos can the use the Access Key G4SJLMZT

Family photo orders must be done by 4:30pm the night before Photo Day so Leading Image can organise a list of Family Photos that need to be taken. Any family photos that have not been ordered before the cut-off will not be taken. Unfortunately, they cannot make any exceptions on the day.

All students will have an individual photo taken on Photo Day whether they are ordering or not. Individual student ordering will stay open after Photo Day.

Scholastic Book Club

We have had Scholastic Book Club at Cambridge for many years and at the moment Sophie Allen is our fantastic Book Club organizer. It’s a great way of shopping for books and our school Library benefits hugely from the Reward scheme offered by Scholastic. This year there will be 5 issues in total – one per term and an extra one for Christmas. Click on the link below for more information on Book Club.

The cut-off date for Issue 1 will be Thursday 20 February.

Gr 3/4 Inquiry – Kites

The Gr 3/4 classes will be doing an Inquiry this term that will involve the students making kites. We were wondering if any of our parents are avid kite makers or know of a kite group or society that we can contact and who would be willing to share their skills. Please contact the Office on 6248 5168. Thank you. Emma Birchall, Hayden Lodge and Josh Howard.

Canteen Helpers Urgently Needed

The new Canteen is looking amazing! We now have a fantastic new space with lots of room and new appliances. I am putting together a roster for Term 1 and urgently need volunteers to help out. We operate on Thursdays and Fridays, and we have 2 time slots that we need help with. 

Thursday 9.00-11.00
Friday 9.00-11.00 or 11.00 -1.00

It’s a lot of fun and the children love seeing Mum, Dad or a Grandparent in the Canteen.  If you are interested in putting your name down, please leave your name and number at the office and I will get back to you.

Thanks, Julie Barwin, Canteen Supervisor

Online Safety Sessions for Parents and Carers

As we begin a new school year, Libraries Tasmania have teamed up with Think U Know to run their popular online safety session. The program is aimed at parents and carers of children and young people to provide them with the knowledge and tools to help keep our young people safe online.

We have a number of library locations with sessions available on Tuesday 11 February at 6.00pm, bookings can be made through Eventbrite.

Rosny Library - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1204008224009?aff=oddtdtcreator
Hobart Library - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1204315563269?aff=oddtdtcreator
Kingston Library - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1210251327299?aff=oddtdtcreator

Cambridge Soccer Club

It’s almost that time of year again!  Soccer Season!  Registrations will be opening soon (mid Feb).

This year the soccer season will run from Saturday 3^rd May until Saturday 23^rd August.  Our committee is looking for some new members to join our fun team.  It’s not a lot of work but some extra people would be greatly appreciated.  If you are interested, please contact one of us on the numbers or email below.

Cambridge Soccer Club field mixed teams of both girls and boys from under 5's (Prep and Kinder) through to under 12's (Grade 6). In 2025 Eastern Region Junior Soccer Association is looking at trialing a girls only league in Under 8’s and Under 9’s.  There will be an option to select this at the time of registration should your daughter be interested.  More information will be available shortly.

Most of our players go to Cambridge Primary School but we welcome players attending other schools.  Under 5,6 and 7 teams play small 4 a-side soccer.  This structure is designed to promote participation and enjoyment by all with no emphasis on winning or losing, backed up by no score keeping, ladders or finals.

New players are most welcome and encouraged!  Soccer is a great physical activity and promotes team work and long lasting friendships.  Games are held on Saturdays and a training session occurs after school on the Cambridge Oval on a weekday that suits the coach of the team (generally Wednesday-Friday).

We will provide more information in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please like our Facebook page and if you wish to coach a team please let us know. 

Contact Andrew McBride (President) on 0422 572 434 or Hayley Mason (Secretary) on 0418 141 067 or at Cambridgesoccersocial@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Bus Passenger Conduct Code for School Bus Services

We have been asked to share the Department of State Growth’s Passenger conduct code for school bus services which sets out the expected standards of behaviour for students when using a bus. It also provides guidance and processes for bus operators and drivers to follow.

Assemblies in Term 4

Assemblies are held in the MPR and start at 1.40pm. All are welcome to attend. This term’s Assemblies will be on:

Week 4 – Friday 28 February TBC

Week 7 – Friday 21 March
Week 9 – Friday 4 April

Let’s Celebrate!

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