18th March 2015
National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2015
NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy) commenced in Australian schools in 2008.
Each year, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in
common national tests which assess:




Reading
Writing
Language Conventions
(spelling, grammar and punctuation)
Numeracy.
The scheduled dates for the tests in 2015 are Tuesday 12
May, Wednesday 13 May and Thursday 14 May.
The benefits of participating in NAPLAN testing:





NAPLAN tests the skills that are essential for every
child to progress through school and life such as
reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy.
NAPLAN results provide valuable information on
how your child is progressing against national
minimum standards of literacy and numeracy skills
expected for each year level.
The NAPLAN tests provide you as parents with an
individual report that shows your child’s results and
a comparison of your child’s performance against all
other Australian students in their year level.
Teachers use the NAPLAN results to determine
your child’s areas of strength and where future
focus is required and how best to provide support
or extension activities.
School teachers use the online NAPLAN Toolkit to
analyse your child’s results. The Toolkit provides
detailed information right down to the individual
question with links to teaching strategies.
Principals, senior staff and others use NAPLAN
results to inform school planning and to allocate
resources and support including informing decisions
around targeted programs and initiatives for
individuals and groups.
Upcoming events
March
Wednesday 18th
Thursday 19th
Friday 20th
Friday 20th
Tuesday 24th
Wednesday 25th
Friday 27th
Newsletter Day
Subway Day
Sausage Sizzle Day $2.00
Progressive Reports to be distributed
Champions Athletics Carnival
Student Leaders Conference
Assembly 2.00pm Sharing classes—P/1A,
2/3MM, 3/4MT, 5/6SW
* Please note not all classes may present if we feel there will be
time pressure.
April
Wednesday 1st
Free Dress Day—Gold Coin Donation
Fundraiser for James Wilson
Wednesday 1st
Egg Drop Day 11.30-12.30
Wednesday 1st Last day term 1
Thursday 2nd
Student Free Day
Friday 3rd
Good Friday
Monday 20th
First day term 2
Wednesday 22nd Combined Choir
Wednesday 29th
KK school photos day
_______________________________________________
Office Notes

Could all sports tops be returned to the office

Please provide correct change in envelopes when
ordering Subway. Change cannot be given out at
the office.
____________________________________________________
Wanted
Tutor one hour per week for primary English.
Prefer Richmond area. Please call Leesa 0408 856 537
__________________________________________
Like playing soccer?? Come and join us at Richmond
United Junior Soccer Club !!
We are currently taking registrations for the 2015 winter
season from under 6s through to under 11s (boys and girls). If
you are keen (and we hope you are), you can register online.
Simply log on to www.myfootballclub.com.au and search
for “Richmond (ER) (TAS)” then follow the instructions. Signing
up means registering and paying (online) for a “junior
The best way you can assist your child is by helping them package”. Does your Mum or Dad want to coach? They can
to feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the sign up as well under a “Coaches Package”.
tests, and assure them that the tests will give them an
The club also has a facebook page: „
opportunity to show what they have learned in class.
For more information about the national tests, please visit Richmond United Junior Soccer Club‟ if you want to contact us
We hope to see you in 2015!
the national NAPLAN website at:
Christopher Gwynne, President RUJSC
http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html

Dear families,
Supervision Times
8:30am—2.45pm
Primary Progress Reports
On Friday you will receive your child’s Progress
Report. The reports provide you with an early
snapshot of how your children have settled into
school in the new year. A range of ‘tick-boxes’
outlines students attitude to school, the effort
they are making and the types of behaviours they
are exhibiting. The report concludes with a
comment indicating how well they have settled
into class routines, the social connections they
are making and the work habits they are
beginning to exhibit. Please take the time to
explore the contents of this report with your
child. In doing so this indicates to them that you
value highly what takes place at school and that
their ongoing achievement is important. Perhaps
include in your discussion with your child a focus
on their strengths, weaknesses and perhaps some
goals for improvement. If you have any questions
regarding the content of the report, please do
not hesitate to speak with your child’s teacher.
The next report is the major mid-year report. It
is sent home late in term two and will be
accompanied with an opportunity to formally
discuss your child’s progress in a parent-teacher
conference.
Principal forum
On Thursday last week I had the pleasure of
spending the day with approximately 90 Principal
colleagues and senior members of the
Department of Education at the term one
Principal’s forum. A day like this, whilst taking me
away from the school, is an opportunity to
network with other Principals, and as a group,
further the work that we do as a Department in
the ongoing journey of school improvement. I
very much appreciated this opportunity with the
following things being the highlights of the day:



Experiencing excellent models of pedagogy
Interacting with a wide range of Principal
colleagues
Being exposed to a range of events and
activities as Principal’s showcased their
schools


Extending my own thinking and provoking
thought about a range of actions in my school
Being reminded of the extensive suite of
supports, frameworks, documents and online
tools that guide our work as Principals.
Staff movement
It is with a heavy heart that we will soon farewell
Mrs Maree Donnelly from Richmond Primary.
Maree has been successful in winning a position on
the Respectful Schools Support Team where her
skills as an outstanding Support Teacher will be
utilised across a variety of schools. A replacement
for Maree is currently being sought and when this
has been finalised a suitable transition will take
place. Miss Rebecca Kaiser will take maternity
leave from the beginning of term two. A process is
currently underway to find a replacement for the
Kinder/Prep class and again we will inform you as
soon as we are able as to who the replacement for
this class will be.
Behaviour spotlight
In re-igniting a focus on behaviour through the reintroduction of Dojos we have also taken the
opportunity to remind students of our simple
framework of questions surrounding what is
appropriate behaviour. In situations where negative
behaviour is a focus all staff will ask students:
Is it safe?
Is it fair?
Does it show how much we care?
By using these common questions our students
experience a consistent framework of both
language and expectations. In addition it gives
students the opportunity to think about how their
behaviours impact on others.
Recent discussions have also focused on what is
means to be good winner or loser. Being gracious
in defeat and also thoughtful and considerate after a
win has been highlighted after a number of
playground incidents over the last few weeks.
Ensuring that everyone has a positive experience
regardless of the outcome in the game of
soccer or cricket or a game of chasings on the
playground has helped to make our playground
a much safer, more secure and enjoyable place.
Inter-school Athletics carnival
41 students from Richmond Primary attended the Div D
SPSSA inter-school athletics carnival last Friday. In
wonderful conditions on the Domain our students
participated with wonderful grace and school spirit to
come third. Each and every Richmond student were
impressive both in terms of their behaviour and friendly,
competitive spirit. The students involved are listed
below:
Boys
Girls
Grade 3
Oliver B
Lachlan
Oliver S
Jack
Mason
Jake
Sophie
Maizie
Kaylee
Charlotte
Masey
Olivia
Grade 4
Zyhe
Harry
Falcon
Nathan
Ilan
Paige
Elizabeth
Josie
Indi
Genevieve
Charlotte
Grade 5
Hayden
Milad
Ella
Storm
Siobhan
Alana
Grade 6
Andrew
Sage
Sean
Jakem
James
Lushana
Matilda
Bethany
Chloe
Shenay
Zoe
Ruby
Sausage sizzles – supporting the 2015 ANZAC
trip
Our Friday sausage sizzles continue until the end of
term. $2 cost, no need to order. Thanks to Pam
Devereaux, Graeme Barber and Karyn Johnston for
organising and staging these sausage sizzles. All monies
raised goes to support the 2015 ANZAC trip.
Fundraiser for James W
James has been successful in being selected to participate
in the National Bocce championships. In order to assist
James and his family with the associated costs our school
will host a ‘Free Dress Fundraiser.’ Students will be
permitted to wear free dress on Wednesday 1st of
April and bring along a Gold Coin donation.
Drive in movie night
Sadly, due to sluggish ticket sales and the impending
cold, wet and blustery weather, a difficult decision was
made to cancel the drive-in movie night scheduled for
last Saturday evening. Significant effort had been
undertaken to stage the event and significant costs had
been outlaid. To proceed with only a minimal number
of ticket sales would have resulted in significant
financial losses. Whilst we appreciate that there was
some disappointment as a result of the cancellation,
unfortunately this could not be avoided. Thanks to the
School Association committee, and Leigh Jabs in
particular, who had undertaken a significant workload
to even have this event as a possibility on our calendar.
Please be aware that the School Association committee
are working hard on planning future events, one which
may be a different version of the movie night.
Ugly bugs and minibeasts
Wild-man Phil delighted our students last week with his
upbeat and energetic presentation about the bugs and
mini-beasts that we encounter in our everyday
environments. Children were treated to an informative
and interactive session. It was also our pleasure to host
two classes from Dunalley Primary who came along to
the early childhood presentation to support their
learning in the Science curriculum area.
………………………………………………………
WELCOME TO THE RICHMOND VILLAGE
COLONIAL FAIR
This year’s Richmond Village Colonial Fair will feature a
new KIDZ FUN ZONE to offer a special range of
activities for children. THE KIDZ FUN ZONE will
entertain youngsters throughout the day with
volunteers helping with games and novelty events.
The annual Richmond Village Fair is one of the oldest
traditional fairs in Australia and attracts locals and
visitors to enjoy the varied program on the Village
Green.
The Richmond Village Fair offers the opportunity to
step back in time and enjoy the atmosphere of this
historic community where there is so much to see and
enjoy.
There will be many stalls offering great food and wine,
local craft and continuous musical entertainment
throughout the day.
Anyone interested in combining a double decker return
bus ride from Hobart on the popular Red Decker Bus
can book by phoning 03 62369116.
This year’s fair will be opened by Tasmanian
Community Services Minister the Honourable Jacquie
Petrusma.
As always there is plenty to do on the day of the
Richmond Village Colonial Fair so volunteers are
invited to call Margaret on 0418 181 843 if they can
spare a few hours on Sunday 29th March between 9a.m.
and 4p.m.
It has been a dream start to the
year for 5/6 Dalliston. Everyone
has settled in well and are
enjoying the year so far.
We have already done so much
including a large focus on adaptation.
This has included looking at how
animals adapt to survive in their
environment. We have also looked at
how humans adapt to survive in their
environment too.
In doing so we have learnt the major
bones of the skeletal
system and cool facts. Did you know
that a new born baby has around 300
bones when it is born. As you get
older some of these bones fuse
together with an adult having 206
bones!!!
Hockey Season 2015 is just around the corner!
Are you someone who is a team player, ready to have some fun, and learn some new skills?
If yes, then we need you!!
Games are held on a Saturday mornings and all players will need to have a mouth guard, shin pads and a hockey
stick.
We do have a range of sticks and shin pads available if you need them.
Please phone or txt if interested: Lawrence Piggott - Coach 0419 377 468