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Principal’s Report

The last couple of weeks has seen our school become even busier with reports going home and the Swimming and Water Safety program. The remainder of term is going to be equally busy with Fire Education beginning August 24th, the DoE Wellbeing Survey for students in years 4-6 also beginning August 24th, and the Footsteps Dance Program in week 10. I have been particularly impressed with the way our students have approached the Swimming and Water Safety. It can be daunting learning a new skill, especially if it is as complex as swimming, but our students have approached it with determination and grit.  The improvements that have occurred in such a short time have been amazing, and we owe a big thank you to our staff and the swimming instructors for working to bring this about.

No doubt it has been disappointing for many of our parents who would like to have been there to watch and support their child/ren, but I would like to remind parents that there are lots of ways you can support you children at school.  It can be as simple as reading the school newsletter. School newsletters often contain information about what is happening at your child’s school and activities available for you and your child. Reading the newsletter will also help you discuss what is going on at school with your child. If you have a bit more time, you might consider volunteering. We have many opportunities for parents to assist us. You could help with breakfast club. You could also volunteer to help listen to children read or by helping them with maths. Joining the school association is another option. School Association include parents, school staff, community members and the school principal. In Tasmania government schools, councils determine the school direction, priorities and policies. Elections are held at the start of each school year for the association.

No matter what you do, getting involved with your child’s education has major benefits for your child/ren as well as you. It is well known that children with involved parents do better at school both academically and socially. It enhances your child's sense of belonging as they see you actively participating in a place that means a lot to them. It also has benefits for the school and the community. The more parents get involved, the better the school can meet its students’ needs. Depending on the amount of time you have, and your skills, interests and experience, there are a number of ways you can get involved in your child’s school. No matter what you choose to do, getting involved in your child’s school will give you a better idea of how the school is run, what it is trying to achieve educationally, and what challenges it faces. It will also allow you and your child to become active members of your community and make it a better place for everyone.  

If you would like to discuss how you can become more involved in your child’s education, please catch up with Mrs. Youd or your child’s teacher during school hours.

Covid-19 Update

Although many of the usual routines and ways of operating have returned to school, we are still not totally operating as things were in 2019. Given what is happening in Victoria, we need to continue to make our school as safe a place as possible for the students and staff we have, and this means, like all Tasmanian Schools, continuing to implement good health and hygiene practices. These include:

• Keeping your child at home when they are sick or unwell.
• Maintaining physical distancing for adults.
• All adults who are not staff may only have access to the school via the school office. At the school office they must sign in, complete a Covid-19 declaration, and also hand sanitise. Once this process is complete they will be given a sticker that informs staff that they may enter a classroom. Visitors who have not completed this process must drop their children at the classroom door.
• When parents wish to meet with teachers / senior staff, the initial contact is made by phone on 6427 8932. When they do visit, they must follow the procedures above.
• Continuing to teach our students and remind them that the best thing we can do to keep ourselves healthy is to make sure we are washing our hands and not touching our faces.
• Adopting strict hand washing protocols. Students will wash or sanitise their hands before and after recess / lunch / PE. Students will also sanitise their hands on returning from the toilet.
• Reminding people to use their elbow or a tissue to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze or cough.
• Reminding people not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth.
• Cleaning hard surfaces in classrooms, such as door handles, keyboards and desks
• Cleaning high touch point surfaces.
• Discouraging students sharing food or drink. During practical food classes, appropriate hygiene practices should be implemented where students are working with others.
• Where feasible, limit the sharing of personal items such as pens and pencils. Where this is not practicable, encourage and promote good hand hygiene practices.

Should you have any questions regarding Covid-19, the DoE provides comprehensive information at https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

Student Wellbeing Survey

The wellbeing of our students is important to us. To get an understanding of how students across Tasmania feel about their own wellbeing, students in Years 4-6 at East Devonport Primary School will be taking part in a wellbeing survey.

The Student Wellbeing Survey is part of the Department of Education’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy.

The details for the survey are:

When: Monday August 24th until Friday September 18th
Who: Years 4-6
What do I need to do: You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.

A letter with more information will be sent home with all Year 4-6 students, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to the school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.

If you would like further information, please contact Debbie Youd during school hours.

Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are safe, feel supported and are able to flourish, so they can engage in learning.

Toys at School

We would like to remind parents and carers that students should leave toys at home rather than bring them to school. Toys are something that children treasure and there is a danger that if they are brought to school that they can be damaged or lost which would be very stressful for the child who owns the toy. It can also lead to conflict and arguments between children and also create distractions from learning in the classroom.

Swimming and Water Safety

It has been wonderful to see so many of our students participating in Swimming and Water Safety. Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death among children in Australia. Twenty seconds and a few centimetres of water is all it takes for a child to drown, and children drown in:

• swimming pools
• baths and spa baths
• rivers, creeks and streams
• beaches
• dams, lagoons and lakes.

Young children also drown in less obvious locations, like nappy buckets, water tanks, water features and fish ponds – even pets’ water bowls. Also, for every drowning, approximately seven other children are hospitalised from non-fatal drowning incidents. Some of these result in severe brain damage.

Do talk to your child about the importance of learning to swim and water safety and if you would like further information about water safety for children, click on https://kidsafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Drowning-Information-Sheet.pdf.

EDPS is an Allergy Aware School

We are now into our second year of being an Allergy Aware School. I would very much like to commend our students, staff and parents for how well they have done in supporting the Allergy Aware School Expectations. To help us keep up the good work I have included a reminder of what being an Allergy Aware School means and involves.

Many of you will know someone who is affected by anaphylaxis, a life threatening allergic reaction. We now have several students who live with the risk of anaphylaxis to foods and/or insect stings and our school is doing its best to be an allergy aware school. Staff have had training in severe allergy management and we have implemented lots of strategies to help keep students at risk of anaphylaxis as safe as we can. Whilst these children are being taught to care for themselves at an age appropriate level, we ask that you help us educate your child on the importance of not sharing food with others, washing hands after eating, and calling out to an adult if they think their friend with allergies is sick.

Two of our students are highly allergic to all nuts and this makes them a very high risk of anaphylactic reactions to all nuts. Consequently we are requesting parents to support these students’ safety by not sending students to school with foods that contain nuts. With increased awareness and understanding of anaphylaxis, we will be able to help protect our students.

A food allergy is an immune system response to a normally harmless food protein that the body believes is harmful. When the individual eats food containing that protein, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, triggering symptoms that can affect a person’s breathing, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and/or heart. Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction and is potentially life- threatening. It must be treated as a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention.

It is estimated that up to 400,000 (2%) Australians, including 1 in 20 children suffer from food allergies and some of them will experience a life-threatening (anaphylactic) reaction.

Symptoms of food allergy can include:

• Mild to moderate allergic reaction

• Tingling of the mouth
• Hives, welts or body redness
• Swelling of the face, lips, eyes
• Vomiting, abdominal pain (note these are signs of a severe allergic reaction if the person has insect allergy) Severe allergic reaction- ANAPHYLAXIS
• Difficult/noisy breathing
• Swelling of the tongue
• Swelling or tightness in the throat
• Difficulty talking or hoarse voice
• Wheeze or persistent cough
• Persistent dizziness or collapse
• Pale and floppy (young children)

The following nuts/nut products need to be avoided and not be part of any student at EDPS’s recess and lunch:

Foods commonly containing nuts that need to be also avoided at school include:

Mark making fun with chalk in kinder

Rainbow Serpents and rock painting with aboriginal symbols.

In our class we are into our second week of swimming. See below a little about our experiences.

Positive-Negative Art

Our Father's Day stall is coming up soon! Please note for students in Kinder it will be available from the classroom all week as they do not attend on the Friday.