Dear Duffy Primary School Community,

Welcome to Week 6.

At Wednesday’s Assembly we commemorated Remembrance Day. Our Year 4 students did an outstanding job in respectfully acknowledging this important day. There singing of ‘I Am You Are We Are Australian’ with accompanying Auslan was a moving moment.

Preschool and Kindergarten Transitions

This week we held our Preschool and Kindergarten Information sessions for families starting these journeys at Duffy in 2024. It was wonderful to have so many people present to learn about Preschool and Kindergarten and how they can best support our littlest people as they commence these exciting milestones next year.  Preschool ‘Stay and Play’ and our Kindergarten Transition visits are scheduled for the coming weeks.  Please click here to view these dates on our school calendar. We look forward to welcoming all our new Kindergarten and Preschool students and their families.

Turning 50 with a Smile and P&C Colour Run

To celebrate our 50th Anniversary as a school community, we are holding a special day in Week 9 on Wednesday 6th December.

We will be turning 50 with a smile and celebrating with a sausage sizzle lunch, and the P&C will be participating in a Colour Fun Run around the perimeter of the school grounds. The purpose of this event is to celebrate our 50th Anniversary within the school.

Please see the P&C Update for more information.

Volunteers Thank You Afternoon Tea

We'd love to thank all of our community members who have volunteered their time throughout the year with our students. Please join us at our Thank You Afternoon Tea on the 30th of November. 

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

Regards,

Katie, Arilia, Sarah and Katie

Learning through play is foundational in early years and the children have continued to explore their environment through various experiences offered throughout the day, developing physical, social and emotional skills.  EPL activities were introduced at the beginning of the year and the Galahs have spent considerable time engaging in these experiences such as cooking, juicing, washing, etc.  Cooking is a versatile sensory experience that not only promotes Literacy and Numeracy benefits but also encourages Healthy lifestyles. The children enjoyed making cream cheese and vegetable crisps, pancakes, bread, pesto and chocolate date balls for Father's Day. 

At Preschool the first half of the  semester comprised of many exciting whole school events such as Science week, Book Week, Learning Journeys and Indigenous Literacy Day. The children dressed up in their favourite pattern  for Pattern Day as we continue to learn about patterns in Math. Physical and emotional wellbeing is an everyday focus where educators support children by explicitly teaching  self regulating strategies and provide opportunities to practise mindfulness through the Little Yarn podcasts. 

During Term 4 the Possums have been looking at traditional tales, as we are practicing our oral retelling skills. As the weather becomes warmer, we have started to look at insects, plants and how these are connected to the world around us, the importance these have for our environment and how we can actively help our environment. 

The Botanic Gardens excursion during week 6 was enjoyed by everyone, where the children had an opportunity to investigate the local gardens, flowers, insects, native wildlife and play games about pollination. A big thank you to all the families that were able to help us on the day.

As we approach the end of the year, we have reinforced some social skills to help us get along with others. For example creating a Bucket to visually support others in doing 'random acts of kindness'.  The books we have used are 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' and 'Kookoo Kukaburra' by Gregg Dreise.  The message this second book focuses on is that 'Kindness is like a boomerang - if you throw it often, it comes back often."

These will be presented at the next Monday Morning WOW (20th November - 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

50th Birthday Party CONTINUES

Its Colour Fun Run Time!!

Yup the P&C are running a colour run on Wednesday 6 December as a continuation to the Schools Birthday celebrations.

Pledge forms have been sent home which can be paid in cash or online at https://duffypandc.square.site/s/shop.

Make sure to return your sponsor form and any cash pledges to the school office by Friday 1 December (end of week 8). These pledges will give your child a ticket into the Raffle for every $5 raised.

Let’s encourage our students to get active, get engaged and raise some funds too!

The funds raised will enable our P&C to continue supporting our school community with playground equipment, additional classroom supplies, barbeques, cuppa and yarns, year 6 jerseys, graduation cake, preschool end of year celebrations, murals and birthday cakes!

Uniform Shop

Don’t forget to get your 2024 orders in prior to Thursday 7 December and avoid the back to school last minute rush.

A rack of uniform items has been taken to pre-school for families to decide what items you might like to purchase for next year. 

The uniform shop is next open on Friday 24th November.

Tea Towels

We still have some SENIOR tea towels available for purchase however we are sold out of Junior. So…

• If you missed out and REALLY want some or just feel the need for more – please email secretary@duffypandc.org.au  to let us know:

o   how many tea towels

o   a child’s name and class (to get the order to)

When we receive your email, we will provide you with the P&C bank details for payment.

SENIOR Tea Towel includes Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and Griffin. 

Prices are $16 each or 3 for $45.

A Village for Every Child – Resources

A Village for Every Child has created two resources to support Canberra families as they navigate through their child’s development and health needs. The resources provide information on how to use the health ‘Blue Book’, attend health checks, and identify where to go if they have a health, development or disability concern. 

The resources, such as the Child Development Poster and Family Pathways Map are available on the Village for Every Child’s 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