2023 Term 1 Week 2
From the Principal's Desk
Welcome back to another school year! Hopefully you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year and had quality time with your family. This year has started with 16 beautiful Prep students joining us, as well as some older children enrolling at Amamoor. I trust that you will settle in quickly to our lovely school and community and enjoy your time with us!
To mark the end of our first two weeks back at school, our hardworking P&C organised a school disco to co-incide with a 'meet and greet' with teachers. Thank you to Rachael and all involved in organising this opportunity. With the P&C Annual General Meeting quickly approaching, it would be lovely to see some new faces joining this important committee to help out with fundraising and organising events for 2023.
Playgroup at Amamoor has commenced already with quite a few turning up for the first couple of sessions. Please be aware that sessions for Playgroup have changed from Tuesday mornings to FRIDAY mornings (9am -11am). Miss Hannah would love to welcome more new faces, so if you know of anyone else who might like to attend, please invite them along!
With many new faces at the school, I would like to provide a reminder about 'pick-up' times. Car parks are always dangerous places, so we appreciate all parents/carers coming to collect children from the front gates. Although we are always reminding children about looking carefully before crossing a road, excitement occasionally overrides decision-making, especially with younger children! I appreciate your help with this important safety issue.
The school has been approached recently by an organisation that was set up following last year's floods. If you, or someone else you know in the community has been impacted by floods and needs assistance, please let the School Office know.
Swimming lessons will be starting soon for all of our students at Amamoor State School. Lessons are held at the Kandanga Pool, with instructors from the Cooroy Dolphins providing training. Students will be travelling by bus to and from the pool, with the junior school first, followed by the senior students. Notes will be sent out next week with further information.
Visitors to the school have been commenting on how impressive it is to see all students proudly wearing their school uniform. Thank you to all parents for sending your children to school in their full uniform and showing pride in their school.
Lunchboxes continue to be an important issue here at Amamoor. Staff ensure that healthy food is always eaten first, before any 'red' food is allowed. Any food not eaten is always sent home with your child so that you know what has been eaten each day. As always, we encourage healthy food only be sent to school, with minimal plastic wrapping. Thank you in advance for helping us to encourage your child with healthy eating.
Communication between home and school is critically important. Please ensure your contact details are up-to-date with the school office. If there is an emergency, school staff need to contact you immediately. Information is promulgated to parents via this newsletter, sms, email, notes and the electronic board at the front of the school. If you have difficulty receiving electronic messaging, please inform the Office so that we can provide an alternative format.
Students in Years 3 and 5 will sit the annual National Assessment Programme - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) later in Term 1. This suite of tests will provide a snapshot of how our students in these two year-levels are progressing compared to the national average. At Amamoor State School, we encourage all students to participate in these tests as they provide excellent feedback on student academic development.
Our Homework Centre has commenced operations for another school year. If you haven't already, and need to access this fantastic facility, please collect a form and lodge it at the Office (or Library). The Homework Centre is open each day from 3 - 4:30pm, with children provided with supervised time to complete homework, have a healthy snack and some play time. The centre is supervised by Mrs Story and Mrs Alford, with Mr Benzie also in attendance.
During the middle of this term, our school will be undertaking a School Review. This is a four-yearly process whereby external reviewers visit the school and get a 'feel' for how our school is performing. Reviewers will be keen to chat to all staff, students, parents and the broader community, so as to ascertain how well we are doing, and where we need to improve. I encourage everyone to be involved, as your feedback is vital for continuing to make Amamoor such a fantastic school.
I look forward to seeing you around the school.
Kind regards,
Tony Benzie
Prep / 1 Class
2/3 Class
4/5/6 Class
The Years 4-6 class has started well, with all students settling into routines quickly. Homework expectations have been set as 30 minutes of reading at least 5 days a week, and students are responsible for recording their reading and having it signed by an adult in their homework diary. Please ensure you check your child's homework diary regularly, as updates and important notices will be recorded in them.
Visual Arts
Library News
P&C Update
Please click on the following link OR scan the QR code to find out more about how you can help our P&C!
Meet our Senior Students
Our senior students have been busy settling in to their final year of primary school with each of them stepping up to help with extra responsibilities. Some of these extra roles include:
- Helping our new Prep students settle in to school
- Raising and lowering the flags each day
- Composting
- Assisting at end of each play break
- Brekky Club
Being a senior also means that a special senior shirt may be worn. Late last year, these students designed their shirts, which were then ordered for delivery at the start of 2023. Below is a snapshot of our leaders in their new shirts!
Declan Brock Deklin Makayla Gracie Leila
