Dear Duffy Primary School Community,

Welcome to Week 6

It is wonderful to see students engaging in this busy and exciting Term 3! 

Last week, students participated in a range of engaging activities for Science Week, on Wednesday our Year 5’s lead our school community in the first whole school Assembly for 2023 and now we are following up with the always popular Book Week. 

Book Week

What a great time to explore new and old favourite books with family and friends. Classes will have shared their highlights and exciting learning activities related to the theme Read, Grow, Inspire throughout the week on Seesaw pages.

Throughout the week, students have been participating in a variety of book related activities, including book week performance for our K-2, buddy reading with other classes and much more. Our school corridor has been beautifully decorated with this year’s theme in mind.

The best part of Book Week, however, is the Book Character Dress Up Parade which was held today. It was a huge success with much fun had by all and most importantly the students had a fabulous time. There were so many smiles and so many amazing costumes.

School Operational Changes

With the implementation of the updated Teaching Agreement 2023-26, as a school we have had to make changes to our daily timetable. This ensures our teachers have a 30-minute uninterrupted break within the first 5 hours of workday and gives teachers their required release from face to face.  Canteen orders will remain at the first eating break. 

New procedure for late arrivals and visitors on site

We are trialling a new procedure for parents/carers on site, late students, and parent early pick-ups. This new procedure will reduce the amount of unknown people wandering around the school/entering classrooms and ensures that there is a front office staff present.

Late slips and roll marking

• Gates will be closed by around 9am

• Students can enter the school via the front office and head straight to class without a late slip between 9-9:10am. (This allows a bit of a leeway for students/parents arriving after 9am and to reduce congestion in the front office).

• Teachers will mark the roll at 9:10am

• Late slips will be given to students arriving after 9:10am.

• Parents arriving late with their child and would like to escort them to class, will be issued with a visitor sticker (This should be easily seen on the parent/carer). 

Parents/carers collecting students early

• Parent/carer will sign student out at the front office.

• Front office will send a message for the student to be sent up.

• If no response, announcement will be made for the student to come up to the front office with their bag.

• If for some reason a parent/carer need to collect their child from the classroom, they will be issued a visitor sticker. (This should be easily seen on the parent/carer)

Indigenous Literacy Day - Duffy Primary Book Swap

This year we are celebrating Indigenous Literacy Day at Duffy on Thursday the 7th of September by organising a Duffy Primary School Book Swap. 

The Great Book Swap is a way to celebrate and learn more about Indigenous Languages and culture, while raising funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The idea is to swap a favourite book in exchange for a gold coin donation. On the 7th of September, your child will get an opportunity to take home a different book to keep. 

An email has been sent out to parents/carers with some more information and the book donation form attached if you would like to participate! 

Market Day

Market Day is a very exciting day at our school where Year 6 students design and create engaging market stalls for us all to visit. There are always a wide variety of games, experiences and market wares to purchase. Please see a message from Year 6 below!

South Weston Athletics Carnival

In a display of remarkable athleticism and determination, the recent South Weston Regional Athletics Carnival proved to be a resounding success for Duffy Primary School.  The atmosphere was charged with excitement as participants competed in various track and field events, vying for victory and a chance to move on to the A.C.T carnival.

Throughout the carnival, the students displayed not only exceptional athletic prowess but also a commendable spirit of sportsmanship. Congratulations to the following students who performed exceptionally in their events.

Naveen C - #1 in Boys 13 years Long Jump

Naveen C - #1 in Boys 13 years 100 Metre Sprint

Chester D - #1 in Boys 11 years 800 Metre Run

Sammi C - #2 in Girls 12 years Long Jump

Callum M - #2 in Boys 8 Years 70 Metre Sprint

Ciaran W - #3 in Boys 10 years 800 Metre Run

With every best wish for a wonderful weekend with your beautiful families.

Regards,

Katie, Arilia, Sarah and Katie

For Science Week, the students at Duffy Primary School investigated science topics and were involved in science experiments and activities to go with this year's theme Innovation: Powering Future Industries. 

On Monday, the students looked at agriculture and the junior classes made scales from coat hangers and cups, to help farmers weigh animals and medicine, while the senior classes made insect traps to catch pesky insects, such as the fruit fly. On Tuesday, the focus was on space and the junior classes were challenged to make neutrally buoyant objects, and the senior classes made objects that could help them survive in the wilderness. 

On Wednesday, both junior and senior classes discussed the topic of advanced manufacturing, and the students were challenged to make balloon powered cars. On Thursday, the focus was on nanotechnology and the junior classes looked at sugar and salt under microscopes, while the senior classes made DNA out of a wheat germ mix.

Throughout the week, we were lucky enough to invite a few parents/carers to come in as guest speakers and share some knowledge about their occupation and the world of science to students. On Friday, we wrapped up science week with the students and staff dressing up as scientists and the topic for the day was biotechnology. The students in the junior classes were involved in an experiment where yeast, sugar and water was put into plastic bottles and used to blow up balloons, while the students in the senior classes made cone shaped parachutes that could deliver medicine to developing countries.

Word inquiry 

These will be presented at Monday Morning WOW (August 28th - 9am)

Merit Awards

PBL Hero Awards

Gold Spirit Awards

Silver and Bronze Awards will be handed out by Exec staff during the week.

Silver Spirit Awards

Bronze Spirit Awards

2023 School Satisfaction & Climate Survey

Each year, the Directorate surveys all parents and carers, school staff and students in Years 4 to 12 about their experience of public education. The 2023 School Satisfaction & Climate Survey will be available online from 18 August to 8 September. The survey results will help us to continue to make quality informed decisions about how to improve our school. No personal identifying information will be provided to any school or college.

For each child in their family who attends an ACT public school, parents and carers will receive:

• A letter about the student survey outlining the reasons for collection and privacy provision for the data; and

• An email about the parent survey, including a unique link to access the survey. Genuine survey invitation emails will have the title "The 2023 School Satisfaction & Climate Survey is now open!" and will be sent from EDU Surveys & Evaluation with 'from' address EDU@qualtrics-survey.com

If you do not receive the survey invitation, please check your Junk email folder; if it is not there, please contact your school. If you do not have an email listed with the school, please email Front Office DuffyPS@ed.act.edu.au

The Parents and Carers Survey will be available online in other languages: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Urdu, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Spanish, Telugu, French and Italian. Respondents can select their preferred language when they start the survey. A shortened paper-version of the Parents and Carers Survey is also available in the following 5 languages: Dari, Dinka, Farsi, Karen and Mon. These surveys are available at the Front Office.

For the results to reflect the opinions of our whole school community, we need as many parents and carers, staff and students as possible to complete the survey. Your feedback is important, and we hope you will take part. 

For more information, visit: https://www.education.act.gov.au/public-school-life/school-satisfaction-and-climate-survey

Additional Koori Preschool sessions from 2024

Additional Koori Preschool sessions will be available at the start of the 2024 school year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the ACT. Extra sessions of 15 hours a week will be offered at three of the ACT’s five Koori Preschools: Narrabundah Early Childhood School, Ngunnawal Primary School and Wanniassa School.

Koori Preschool provides children aged 3 to 5 years with a play-based, culturally safe learning program. Families attending  Koori Preschool can also attend universal preschool. Children attending Koori Preschool do not need to live in the Priority Enrolment Area. Enrol now at education.act.gov.au

Find out more about Koori Preschool by contacting the Early Childhood Education Officer by email EDUKooriPre@act.gov.au or calling 620 71106.

Big skills for small bikes – Register for the July and September course now!

Families can now register for the big skills for small bikes course run by Pedal Power ACT. Big skills for small bikes is a learn to ride course for younger children aged 3-8, which focuses on teaching parents and carers how to get their kids riding confidently and safely. This is a beginner course best suited to kids who are not yet riding on their own unaided.

The course includes 5 separate 45-minute sessions delivered each morning from Monday to Friday. Courses in the July and September school holidays are currently open for registration. More information on the course including dates, registration and pricing is available on the Pedal Power Website.

Learning for Life

The Learning for Life program helps children by supporting their education from primary through to post-school studies, like TAFE or University.

Learning for Life provides:

To be eligible for Learning for Life, you need to:

• Have a child or children in Primary School, at one of the schools The Smith Family work with

• Have a Health Care or Pension Concession Card

• Have a strong commitment to your child/ren’s education and make sure they attend school regularly

To register your interest in Learning for Life, you need to:

1. Click this link https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/campaigns/learning-for-life-expression-of-interest

2. Fill out the relevant details (your name, phone number, child/ren’s details and School Information)

3. You will then receive an email from The Smith Family with information about next steps

If you have any questions about Learning for Life, or need help to apply, you can call The Smith Family on 0481 464 065 or 1800 280 223.

Home Learning Hub

Home Learning - School Wide Subscriptions

Literacy People's Literacy Learning Modules - A guide for engaging parents and carers

Mindfulness Podcast Series - ACT Education Directorate