We wish our families moving on from Duffy Primary School all the best with their new schools. We especially acknowledge those of you who have been a part of our school community from preschool and now have children transitioning to high school settings. We hope all of you have a restful break and look forward to reconnecting with everyone returning to DPS next year.

Year 6 Farewell

On Wednesday 14 December we celebrated our Year 6 Graduating class of 2022. We thank each of our students for their leadership this year. They are a talented and compassionate group of young people with a bright future ahead. I have been proud of the way they have led our school, their resilience and enjoyed watching them grow and challenge themselves.

PBL Hero Morning Tea

I had the pleasure of hosting our second ever PBL Hero morning tea with our outstanding students who achieved our highest PBL reward level. Congratulations to all the students whose exceptional positive behaviours have contributed to making our great school even greater.

New Families in 1-6 2023

We will be offering new families in Years 1 to 6 an opportunity to view the school and meet teachers on Monday 30 January at 10am. Please rsvp to info@duffyps.act.edu.au.

Thank You Volunteers!

It has been a difficult year for volunteers to be involved in the school and we look forward to opening the doors in the future. A big thank you to Kate, Shannon, Jessica, Megan, Steve, Melita, Nadia, Sinead, Cath, Dan, Rebecca Thompson, Tim, who have represented our community in positions on our P and C and School Board in 2023. You all do an amazing job and are brilliant to work with.

Return Dates 2023

Beginning of Week Preschool - Monday 30 January

Kindergarten - Monday 30 January

Year 1 to 6 - Tuesday 31 January

End of Week Preschool - Thursday 2 February

Front Office Infrastructure Works

Duffy PS has received funding for school upgrades to the front office for admin refurbishment.

The infrastructure work is due to start on Saturday 17 December throughout the Christmas break and into term 1.

This does mean a change to our front office location, starting from Monday week 10. The doors of our current front office will be locked from Monday of week 10 and inaccessible. We ask you please follow the signs and the map below to direct you to the new location of the front office and sick bay.

You will also find the locations of each year level outlined on the map ready for 2023.

Kind regards,

Arilia Abell

Principal

Duffy Primary School

SPOTLIGHT ON LEARNING - PRESCHOOL

Here at Preschool, we’ve continued to enjoy learning and building a growth mindset throughout the year. This year has been challenging on different levels, but the children have demonstrated their ability to adapt to changes and continued their journey with a positive attitude. The term has been busy with different activities and the children have enjoyed every aspect of the preschool program.

Our new learning spaces such as the deck and the yarning circle have been a great addition for the children to imagine and explore and bring their ideas to fruition. We‘ve had a great term filled with enriching experiences such as the Aviary excursion, responsible pet ownership incursion, grand friends day and we also had some parents contributing to the program sharing their skills with our preschool children. Thank you to Mel and Lara for their enthusiasm, support and engagement.

Play-based learning at preschool has shaped each individual and played a vital role in your child’s development. Play-based early childhood education lays down foundations that give children the best chance of educational success. Play is children’s natural way of learning. It’s what builds the positive dispositions we all need in our adult lives– curiosity, flexibility, problem solving, confidence and resilience. Play provides children with the space to explore, discover and build relationships. It helps them develop their motor skills, language, emotional regulation and social skills. The following images sums up how play has nurtured our preschoolers using play to investigate, explore and grow.

AWARDS

End of Year PBL Awards

Kindergarten

Pearl B

Emerson H

Josie D

Mason E

Year 1

Zoe K

Florence M

Year 2

Lachlan A

Ivy S

Amelia C

Year 3

Catrin F

Elsa B

Year 4

Horatio V

Elliot B

Chester D

Year 5

Adele M

Edward D

Year 6

Vienna W

Alana R

Presented at the Friday morning WOW on the last day of school (Dec 16th).

PBL Hero Awards

Presented at the Friday morning WOW on the last day of school (16th Dec).

Rose B - 3LH

Cooper C - 3GK

Jacob R - 3LH

Maxwell H - 3LH

Gold Spirit Awards

Maeva C - KCR

Hayden O - KCR

Alex S - KCR

Henry W - KCR

Eevi Y - KCR

Elizabeth D - KKW

Isobel A - KRW

Alexander H - KRW

Marcus C - KRW

Hayden T - KRW

Maya R - KRW

Billie W - KRW

Jessica B -1RP

Scarlett W - 1RP

Dylan E - 1RP

Frankie C - 1RP

Damien C - 1RP

Finn W - 1RP

Isaac G - 1RP

Avie L - 1RP

Patricia M - 1RP

Poppy F - 1SF

Hashir K - 1SF

Lily Aung - 2KR

MacKenzie W - 2KR

Taylah R - 2KR

Bronte B - 4TS

Ash H - 4TS

Bryan A - 5CM

Hannah A - 5CM

Henry B - 5CM

Nevaeh M - 5CM

Bell H - 5CM

Eve J - 5CM

Morgan K - 5CM

Selma N - 5CM

Nikita S - 5CM

Marcellous S - 5CM

Eboney B - 5CM

Annie B - 5CM

Silver Spirit Awards

Audrey B - 2SB

Keira B - 4RP

Sophia B - 4RP

Chloe B - 4RP

Lucian J - 4RP

Gold Awards presented at the Friday morning WOW on the last day of school (Dec 16th). Silver and Bronze Awards will be handed out by classroom teachers.

SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

This year we have seen the return of many of the sporting opportunities that we have been missing since the start of the pandemic.

We have had a number of our students put in some great performances in in various sporting events. We would like to recognise and celebrate the efforts of all students who had a go and gave their best and school sporting events this year, and in particular those featured in the summary below.

Swimming

Cross Country

Track & Field

School Sport ACT Representatives

Amelie Griffiths – Track and Field

Amelie competed in the School Sport Australia 10-12 Years Track and Field Championships in Brisbane in November. Amelie had a great meet with 3 new personal best performances.

Amelie’s results were:

· High Jump - 13th

· Long Jump - 15th

· 100m - 19th

· 200m - 16th

· 4x100m relay - 4th

Chester Daly – Cross Country

Chester competed in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Adelaide in August. He recovered from a concussion (MTB accident) only 5 weeks before the event, which was an amazing achievement in itself.

Chester enjoyed the weekly training sessions leading up to the event which taught running technique and allowed Chester to make some great mates in the ACT team before the trip to South Australia.

Georgia Wilson – Australian Football & Cricket

Georgia competed as part of the ACT team in the School Sport Australia Australian Football Championships in August in Adelaide. She also was selected in the ACT 12 years and under cricket team and travelled to Ballarat for the Australian Championships in November.

In the Australian Football, the ACT team didn’t manage to score any points, but they had a great time playing in some muddy conditions. The team’s best result was keeping Victoria to only 1 goal in the second quarter and Georgia contributed to this with lots of possession and lots of tackles in midfield.

In the cricket, Georgia’s played 6 games in 6 days (against 5 states and final). She took 2 catches and a run-out, and was the 2nd highest run scorer for her team in the game vs NSW. Georgia did a great job as joint 2nd wicket keeper and fielded well in covers the whole week.

SCHOOL LEADERS

Prime Minister

Deputy

Speaker

P & C NEWS

From the P&C

Thanks to all volunteers and contributors to the successful fundraising events the P&C ran this year. It has been fantastic to have so much community involvement this year, especially after Covid disruptions limited our ability to run events since 2020.

This year the P&C raised over $5,000 in 2022, funds that will go directly back to supporting the school.

Looking ahead to next year we would love to hear from anyone interested in joining the P&C. Volunteering doesn’t need to be time intensive, you can assist in a capacity and level that works for you.

The P&C meets twice each term, in Weeks 3 and 8.

Year Level Facebook Groups

Don’t forget to connect with your Year level parent community on Facebook – this is a great way to stay connected, get year/school specific information and even organise gatherings – perfect in the lead up to the long summer break. Just search “DPS Year” on google and the groups will pop up, or head to the Duffy Primary Parents and Citizens Facebook page for more info.

*NEW GROUP* A group for parents of pre-schoolers starting in 2023 has also been created, please share with any families you know who have a pre-schooler starting next year. This group is called DPS Preschool 2023.

Find the Duffy Primary Parents and Citizens Association on

Facebook!

@duffypandc

SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Stranger Awareness Safety Message

This is a reminder to ensure your children and young people understand the importance of stranger awareness safety and information has been included on how to report an incident.

Please support us to keep our children safe by having conversations about moving safely around the community. You may wish to visit the Australian Federal Police website section on Child Safety for tips. In addition, the Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links. The Constable Kenny website also has a number of tips for parents for younger children.

If you become aware of an incident or notice anyone acting suspiciously around a school or student, contact police immediately on 131 444 or in the case of an emergency call 000. If you witness an incident or if you have any information that could assist police, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously. We would also ask that you notify the school so we can also support the wider school community to be aware of incidents.

Help with the Cost of Schooling and Everyday Essentials

All ACT public schools can help families meet the costs of schooling or everyday essentials – such as personal hygiene products including sanitary hygiene items, school uniform items, book packs and stationery, school excursions, camps, transport and enrichment activities.

Part of public education’s important objective is making access to education more equitable for all students, regardless of personal circumstances. If you are experiencing a situation that affects your ability to meet the costs of schooling or everyday essentials for your child, we encourage you to talk to us.

Families who are looking for help with the costs of schooling can:

talk to the school principal or other staff member about their situation
have a relative, caseworker, friend or advocate make contact on your behalf
contact the Education Directorate ETDStudentWellbeing@act.gov.au.

A Message from the ACT Education Directorate

Have your say!

The Education Directorate is working to strengthen inclusive education and is reviewing the way ACT public schools deliver disability education to inform a draft Inclusive Education Strategy. The Strategy will provide longer term direction and system reform to embed inclusive cultures and educational practice in ACT Public Schools.

A discussion paper presents a draft position statement on Inclusive Education and 7 proposed themes for the Strategy, informed by the Community Conversation and a review of contemporary evidence.

Further information is available on the Education Website - Strengthening Inclusive Education including a link to the Discussion Paper, an online survey and the Community Conversation Report.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important work.

For further information please contact the Inclusive Education Strategy team via email - EDUInclusiveEducationStrategy@act.gov.au