As we approach the end of the term, it’s time to reflect on the hard work and dedication of our entire school community. First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate our students for their incredible effort in developing their reading skills. Reading is such a crucial part of life—it opens doors to new knowledge, ideas, and opportunities. Every word learned is a step toward a brighter future, and we are immensely proud of our students’ commitment to mastering this essential skill.

A huge thank you to all our wonderful teachers, teacher assistants, admin staff, and grounds staff for their dedication throughout the term. Your work behind the scenes and in the classroom is truly appreciated.

As the term draws to a close, I’d like to extend a special thanks to Nick De Tarczynski for stepping in as Acting Assistant Principal during Emily Roberts’ long service leave. Nick, your leadership and support have been invaluable. We look forward to welcoming Emily back soon.

Don’t forget that Footy Colours Day is happening this Friday! It’s a fantastic cause, raising funds for kids with cancer. Be sure to wear your favourite team colours and get involved in this fun and meaningful event.

I am also delighted to announce that Erica Cashinella-Smith and Chrystal Thorp will be joining the Herdsmans Cove Primary team from 23rd September 2024 until 27th June 2025. They have been appointed as Family Engagement Workers (FEWs) through the Child and Family Learning Centre (CFLC) Community Outreach project, funded by the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, ‘It Takes a Tasmanian Village.’

Erica comes to us from her role as a Community Inclusion Worker (CIW) at Chigwell CFLC, while Chrystal has been working as a Support Worker for Child Safety Services. Both Erica and Chrystal will be based at Herdsmans Cove Primary and will focus on supporting families with young children (from pregnancy to age 5).

Their work will include:

• Providing families with holistic, wraparound support and referrals to early learning and support services, with the goal of improving children’s learning, health, and wellbeing outcomes.
• Collaborating with the community to identify strengths, needs, and aspirations, and offering opportunities for community members to design and implement support systems that serve local families.
• Engaging with local support services to foster greater collaboration and better support for families with young children.

Please join me in welcoming Erica and Chrystal to their new roles—we’re excited to have them as part of our school community!

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing holiday, and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 4!

EXCURSION TO PORT ARTHUR HISTORIC SITE – TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

During Term 2 and 3, both 3/4D and 3/4/5L have been learning about Australian History, in particular, the convicts and settlement of Australia.

During these units of work, the students have taken an interest into the settlement and convict history of Tasmania. The two locations looked at closely were Cascade Female Factory and Port Arthur.

As a reward to the students for their efforts and quality work during these units of work, Miss Levett and Miss Dowling planned a day at Port Arthur Historic Site to see first-hand the land where convicts lived for all those years.

During the excursion, the students were given the opportunity to participate in the following:

• Harbour Cruise
• Hands on Brickmaking Activity
• Site Exploring

In Prep this term we have been looking at how things move. We started by going out into the playground to see how our bodies and play equipment move. We discussed that we can slide, swing and spin. Our class has a strong interest in cars so we looked at how a car moves. We tested this out by putting a car in paint and moving it across the paper to create a movement piece of art. Students then explained how the car moves. 

In 1/2 Nicholas students have been working on silhouette art. The class had the task of cutting out a silhouette person holding an umbrella then painting a rain background. They created their own art and have used lots of bright colours in the backgrounds.

Brixhibition held a school lego competition. Students of different age groups were asked to submit original pieces of lego creations. Two students from Herdsmans Cove submitted entries and were lucky enough to win different awards.

Well done Stella and Scarlett on your winning entries.

This term a group of year 3-6 students had the opportunity to participate in an Equine Facilitated Learning Program. Each week these students have worked with horses, learning about how horses communicate and getting to help look after them. Through working with these horses’ students built their teamwork and communication skills.

Some student comments about the program include:

“I learnt how horses use their ears to communicate.” – Will

“Paddy was a very calm horse; he was my favourite.” - Edward

“We got to walk the horses and build obstacle courses for the horses.” – Clover

“ The program was good, it was fun, we learnt how to care for horses.” - Billi

The focus in the kitchen this week has been pasta. Students from years Prep to 6 had the chance to make fresh pasta from scratch. Each group made the pasta dough then using the pasta roller made fettucine. Students made a nice pasta sauce and put together a salad using ingredients from the school garden.

When the pasta was made the classes sat down and wrote down the recipe that was used and methods. Students illustrated their work then finished off their lessons enjoying a nice meal.

On Wednesday 23 October Grades 3 to 6 will be participating in our schools annual Splash Carnival. This years carnival will be held at Clarence Pool.

The carnival will run from 10am to 1pm.

Families are welcome to attend but must make their own way there.

There will be forms and more information sent home in the first week back after the school holidays.

TERM 4 DATES FOR STUDENTS

Term 4

Monday 14 October to Thursday 19 December

Friday 25 October – STUDENT FREE DAY

Thursday 24 October – Royal Hobart Show