Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Week 6. The term is moving by very quickly with lots to celebrate here in our community. We look forward to your attendance at your child/ren's learning conference in Week 9. This conversation will replace written comments in End of Semester Report, so everyone is strongly recommended to come.

Last week we celebrated National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Reminder Safe Parking is the responsibility of everyone in the community to drive and park safely, especially around schools. School environments can become congested during drop-off and pick-up times, please be sure to follow the road rules and pay extra care when dropping off or collecting students. Please make sure you are parking where it is legal and safe, which could be a little further away from school if this will avoid safety and traffic problems

More information is available on the Transport Canberra website. 

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend. We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning for WOW at 9am. 

Regards,

Katie, Arilia, Sarah and Fiona

HOW TO MAKE A BOOKING WITH YOUR CHILD/REN'S TEACHER

1. Sign up to Parent Portal

2. Bookings will be made via Parent Portal 

3. Log into 'Parent Portal' - Click on to the 'Parent Teacher Interview ' tab

4. Select date/ time for Learning Conference 

5. Booking will then be confirmed. 

Access to bookings are available from June 3rd to Friday 14th June. Please call or email the Front Office if you have any issues with the booking process. 

Have you paid for your child’s book pack resources for 2024?

We ask for $50 per child per year to cover the costs of exercise books, art resources, portfolios as well as headphones in our senior primary years. We also supplement this contribution to purchase

Pens, pencils, markers, scissors, glue sticks, rulers and other consumable items that are used in the classroom.

This contribution means that families do not have to source their own materials. This process in other schools can cost anywhere from $90-$100 per child.

Our process ensures that the students have the required equipment that matches the educational needs of the classroom. It also means that resourcing is equitable and consistent across year levels.

Thank you to families who have paid their 2024 Voluntary Contribution. As they are voluntary, any amount contributed is gratefully received by the school and will be used to purchase resources to support our Priority 1 goal of improved reading skill across all year groups.

Please remember to indicate if they are to be receipted to BTF (Building Trust Fund) which is tax deductable or CRF (Classroom Resources Fund) which is not tax deductable.

Alice Lollback – Business Manager

E: alice.lollback@ed.act.edu.au

Parent Portal reminders

Parent Portal is now available. It is a secure online platform used to share student information between you and your child’s teachers.

Some reminders about Parent Portal:

• If you already have a Parent Portal account, use this Parent Portal access link to start using the great features.

• You can’t access Parent Portal directly through the ACT Digital Account website, you need to use the link above.

• When you are logged into Parent Portal, we recommend saving the browser as a favourite or to the homepage on your mobile phone for quick access in the future.

• The website can only be viewed using a web browser on your computer, mobile phone or tablet. An app is not available at this time.

• If you still need to register, you will need an access key and a Parent Portal registration link via email to link your existing account to your child’s records. If you haven’t received this, please contact the school’s front office team for assistance.

Head to our website for all the details: Parent Portal - Duffy Primary School (duffyps.act.edu.au) 

Mobile Phones

A new ACT Public Schools policy comes into effect this year. Our practice regarding phones already aligns with this policy. All students who bring a phone to school need to hand it in to the front office. Phones are collected from the same spot at the end of each day. This routine has worked well for our students and phones are stored securely during the day.  Please ask that any student who wears a smart watch that these are set to ‘school mode/ school time’ during the day.

ACT Public Schools policy 

Early Intervention Team – Parent Workshop Series

School Psychology Service (SPS) Early Intervention team is offering a series of 2 hour workshops in 2024. Please see links below for more information.

Workshop 1- here

Workshop 2- here

Workshop 3- here

Every year, students in years 3 to 6 from across the ACT, prepare a speech for the Rostrum public speaking competition. This competition has been running for over 50 years, with over 80 schools participating. 

At the end of Week 4, we held the Duffy Primary School Rostrum finals, where two representatives from each year level presented their speeches. All speakers did an outstanding job, delivering well written and rehearsed speeches and engaging the audience through their use of expression, eye contact and gesture. Well done to our finalists; River I, Alice M, Eva J, Amelia C, Eleanor R and Nina H for their efforts.

Congratulations to the winner of our school final, Racquel S from Year 6, who will go on to represent Duffy Primary at the Quarter Finals early next term, and our Runner up Jessie T from Year 5.

For our CONNECTED WORLD Unit of Inquiry, “Material Culture Shapes Our Understanding of History”, Year 5 students have been exploring the multifaceted impacts of European colonisation.

They have examined the various reasons behind colonisation and its lasting effects. Through this study, students have learned about the concept of causation by exploring the individual and societal motivations for colonisation. They are also discovering how the arts play a crucial role in telling stories of what happened in the past. Additionally, the students will delve into the importance of preserving and sharing historical narratives in various forms to maintain a connection with the past.

Images: We examined Aboriginal Australian artefacts loaned from the National Museum of Australia. 

In Mathematics, Year 5 students have been investigating the concepts of area and perimeter by engaging in hands-on activities that involve drawing shapes with a specific target area. They have been experimenting with altering the shapes while keeping the area constant, observing how these changes affect the perimeter. Through this process, students have developed a deeper understanding of the relationship between area and perimeter, learning that different shapes with the same area can have varying perimeters. This exploration has enhanced their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills, making abstract concepts more concrete and accessible. 

Term 2, Week 4 - Merit Awards

Term 2, Week 6  - Merit Awards

Requirements for daily sign-in/out and wearing of identification

Volunteers and visitors must sign-in/out for each visit, recording the date, start and finish times and the tasks undertaken.  

All Volunteers and Visitors at Duffy Primary School must enter and exit the school via the front office sign in on arrival prior to proceeding to their destination or activity (including accompanying students on excursions), identify themselves (present WWVP registration card or other identification if relevant) and report to front office staff to be signed out before leaving the school. You will be given a Visitors sticker each time you visit which must be displayed for the entirety or your visit.

This allows the school the opportunity to monitor compliance with the WWVP Act and Emergency Evacuation Procedures.

Duffy Preschool has a Visitors and Volunteers sign-in and sign-out register and you must report to preschool staff before proceeding to work with students. 

 School Gates 

There will be some changes to which gates students will be entering at 8:30am and exiting at 3pm from the school grounds.

The internal  gate near the year 5 classrooms, will not be opened for students to enter/exit the school. Due to no supervision in that area of the school and for the safety of our students we require that students that would ride their bike through that gate will now enter/exit the school through our Kindergarten/junior gate.

Could you please remind your child/children that they need to walk their bikes once on the school grounds.

Dogs on School Grounds

Just a  reminder that under the Domestic Animals Act, dogs are not permitted on school grounds.

Section 42 of the Act defines places where dogs are prohibited. These include the grounds of a child care centre, preschool, primary school, high school or secondary college during school hours or when school sport including training is being conducted or a dog is taken into the grounds with the approval of the principal (e.g. service support dogs). Dogs are prohibited within 10 metres of anything designed for play by children in a public place if children are playing on it; a fireplace designed for cooking food; or a swimming area defined by a sign erected.

We understand that dogs are an important part of people's families, and for some the walk to school is a good opportunity to take the dog for a walk. However, as well as the legislation mentioned above, there are children and adults in every school that for whatever reason find it difficult to be around dogs. We ask that you keep this in mind when walking your dog, and please do not bring them onto the school grounds.  Thank you!

Chief Minister's Reading Challenge 2024

The Chief Minister’s Reading challenge is well under way at Duffy Primary! 

The Challenge, which runs in ACT schools each year, encourages students to read 30 books over a 5 month period, from February to July. 

So far, our school has read a total of 11, 432 books, which is an average of 27 books each!

All books read and listened to count, and students can record their read books on an individual reading record (which went home with students in Term 1) or on their class chart (Years 3-6).

So far, Year 3 have read the most books as a cohort, with a whopping 2833 books read so far! With one month to go, there is still plenty of time to get the numbers up! Winter is here, let’s all snuggle up with a book!

Assemblies

Wednesday assemblies now commence from 2:30pm-3pm. Please check our website for an Assembly Roster for the year. 

Library Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers to cover books in the library! Please email the front office at duffyps@ed.act.edu.au if this is something you would be interested in.

Help fight the spread of illness

With Winter around the corner, one of the best ways to help protect you and your family is to get the flu vaccine. It’s important to vaccinate your child as they’re at a higher risk of serious complications if they get sick and are more likely to spread it to others.

Help fight the spread of illness by staying home if you’re sick and wash your hands regularly. Please read the Winter Wellness flyer (465 kb PDF) from ACT Health or visit ACT Health Influenza (Flu) page for more information.

Woden Library temporary closure

The Woden Library will be closed to the public from Wednesday 8 May 2024 until mid-August 2024 for upgrade works. A temporary pop-up library will be operating from 26 Corinna Street, Phillip, between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm Monday to Friday.

Libraries ACT apologises for any inconvenience this may cause and they look forward to welcoming you back when they reopen mid-August 2024. For more information on the services available during the closure, visit www.library.act.gov.au.

REMINDER – Death cap mushrooms

Do not touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms.

The ACT Health Directorate is reminding all school communities that death cap mushrooms are growing in the ACT. They are a deadly poisonous fungus. There have been multiple poisonings and deaths associated with death caps in Canberra.

Death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) are one of the world’s deadliest mushrooms. They often grow near established oak trees, although they have also been found in other places. Death caps grow in the ACT at different times of the year, and autumn is usually the peak growing period.

All parts of the death cap mushroom are poisonous and eating just part of a mushroom can be fatal. Death caps cannot be made safe by cooking, soaking, peeling, freezing or drying.

If you suspect someone might have eaten a death cap mushroom, they must seek urgent medical attention at a hospital emergency department. Do not wait for symptoms to occur. The chances of survival increase when treatment is started early. If possible, take any remaining mushroom sample to hospital with the patient.

The key message is not to touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms.

If you see death cap mushrooms growing on your property:

• keep children and animals away

• remove the whole mushroom using gloves or a tool, including any part under the ground

• secure it in a plastic bag

• place it into a rubbish bin that cannot be accessed by children, to go to landfill, and

• wash your hands

Also, monitor the site frequently for further growth, remove mushrooms before mowing to prevent spreading and do not compost them. Death cap mushrooms in public places can be reported at Fix My Street, or by calling Access Canberra on 13 22 81. 

More information is available at www.act.gov.au by searching death cap mushrooms, including some translated resources.

Upcoming online eSafety opportunities for schools

The Online Safety (eSafety) Education team is committed to working with school communities to create safer online environments for everyone and have curated resources that can be shared with parents and carers through your existing school networks. These include:

Upcoming Webinars from the eSafety Commissioner

• • These live webinars give parents and carers the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe online experiences. The include eSafety 101, Wellbeing and digital technologies, consent and online boundaries, and setting your child up for success online.

Online Safety for every family

• • These short videos and easy-to-read advice sheets will give you the confidence to talk with your children about online safety. They include tips to help them stay safe, and important information about what to do if something bad does happen online.

The eSafety Guide

• • Find out how to protect your personal information and report harmful content on common social media, games, apps and sites. Entries are for information only and are not reviews or endorsements by eSafety.

Learning For Life

The flyer below shares information about an opportunity that has been made available to families at our school called the Learning for Life Scholarship Program. It’s run by the Smith Family organisation. They provide financial support to families who are eligible to help with costs related to education, such as book packs, uniforms and excursions. They also provide access to education programs that can further support your child.

To be eligible, you must;

• Have a child/children in Kindergarten to Year 8

• Have a current Health Care or Pension Concession Card

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to education through regular school attendance.

Please contact the front office if you are interested in receiving a referral form or would like to discuss your eligibility.

Home Learning Hub

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

Mindfulness Podcast Series - ACT Education Directorate

Image: Maths bookwork samples from Auni, Rose, and Keith.