Larapinta Primary School eNewsletter

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Families,

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS

Elections were held as part of the AGM last week and many members nominated for a second term of office – a great sign of their commitment and dedication to our school. We welcome Audry Mayol as the preschool parent member this year and Melissa Ilko as our second-teacher member. Members elected at the meeting are Haroma Matthews, Jessica Bonanni, Matthew Cann, Cassie Dunbar, Michael Axten. Continuing members this year are Steffanie Granato-Bussey, Tilman Lowe, Shae Griffiths and Emma Anderson.

All parents are welcome to attend our school council meetings. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 22 April at 5.15pm in our meeting room.

HARMONY DAY

Our Harmony Day Assembly on Friday was the most wonderful celebration of diversity. The performances opened with a traditional dance by five of our new students; Esther Anoop, Agnus Bobin, Stephania Punnoose, Lora Lujo, Levana Lujo; a favourite with the audience. Room Two sang a song in Chinese and another in Arrernte, Room 5 danced, Room 7 and 11 sang a Ruby Hunter song with Mrs Thorpe, and Room 8 played ukelele to accompany a rendition of ‘We are Australian’. Finally, Everleigh and her mother Sonja shared information about Everleigh’s rich heritage encompassing South Africa and New Zealand; the beauty and quality of these places, and what living in harmony means for them. Thank you to all our performers. Many students came dressed in traditional clothing or wore orange, the colour of Harmony Day; our school was awash with colour!

At assembly I shared some statistics about the languages spoken by students/families at our school. There are ten Aboriginal languages spoken at Larapinta with 64 speakers. Five Indian languages are spoken with 40 speakers. Seven African languages are spoken with 19 speakers. Eight Asian languages are spoken with 17 speakers.

As well as Australia, our staff hail from China, India, Brazil, Ireland, Pakistan, Indonesia, Africa, New Zealand, New Guinea and America. What a joy it is to work in such a multicultural school and workplace!

STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES - RESCHEDULED

It was a big and successful term of learning here at Larapinta and our students were all ready to share their learning with families on Tuesday evening. Due to the wet weather early this week we have rescheduled these for Tuesday 29^th April (Week 3 next term). We will keep with the same times. If for some reason the time you were given doesn’t work for you that week, please let us know and we will make another one.

UNIFORMS – BACK TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS- LAST CHANCE!

Back-to-school vouchers expire this Friday (tomorrow). If you still haven’t made use of this, be sure to call in this week for uniform (jumpers/jackets), camp payment etc.

CLASS CHANGES

Due to very high enrolment across our school and to best cater for our students, there will be some changes to classes next term, including a new class group that Mrs Bramley will teach in Room 10. We will be in contact if your child is moving to a new space.

THANKS

Finally, my thanks to our amazing staff who always go above and beyond in their work to support your children and our school. Mrs Mullins and Miss Kim have devoted many weekends across the term to reinvigorating the library. Mrs Finlay, Mrs Bramley and Miss Nertney also dedicated some of their own time to assist. It was a huge and daunting task but one they undertook with vigour to create a more usable library for students. Watch this space for further enhancements across the year.

Wishing all staff and families a happy and restful break. The first day of Term Two is a professional learning day for staff, so we will see our students back for their first day on Tuesday 15 April.

Kind regards,
Brenda

SPOTLIGHT ON HOLIDAY LEARNING - MRS.MULLINS

During this short holiday break, there are plenty of fun and simple ways to support your child's learning while still letting them enjoy their time away from school.

One way to keep their curious minds engaged is with educational games or puzzles. Board games, word searches, or crossword puzzles can be a fun way to practise skills like maths, spelling, or problem-solving. It can also support cooperative learning and negotiation skills.

A visit to the town library is a great way to spend a couple of hours. You can encourage reading by letting them pick out books they’re interested in, whether it’s a fun story or a non-fiction book about something they love, like animals or space. Reading together as a family makes it fun and meaningful, helping to build strong connections between books and people they love.

Another great way to consolidate learning is to explore the fabulous environment around Alice - maybe go for a long walk or camping. These real-world experiences can help them learn about science, history, and the world around them in a hands-on way.

Finally, try to create a small daily routine that includes a little learning time, like practising writing shopping lists or letters to family, drawing, or going shopping and comparing prices, amounts etc. Make it light and enjoyable, so it feels like fun rather than a chore!

Enjoy your break and I will see you all next term!

Jackie

SCHOOL SNAPSHOT

DATE & TIME	ACTIVITY
Fri 4^th April	Last day of Term 1
Mon 14^th April	Staff Professional Learning Day
Tues 15^th April	Students return – Term 2

PRESCHOOL NEWS

Werte from Preschool

Our learning focus across both rooms has continued to be based around sustainable practices and our worm farm. The children have been doing a great job at sorting their food scraps and containers and we have been recycling their yoghurt lids/pots etc for craft in our room. We have linked this learning to Rocky the recycling pup from Paw Patrol as they are often talking about the different pups from their favourite show. Miss Shireen made a great craft activity using Rocky and recycled carboards pieces and the children came up with some excellent creations. Unit 2 have created a vertical recycled wall which has been fun to try and attach various recycled materials to.

The children in Unit 1 have been exploring Aboriginal symbols through their play as a way of learning about other forms of literacy. The playdough table has been a great place to start, using our new symbol stampers, with the children matching them to the symbol cards. They have also been exploring bush tucker, how it is found, cooked and eaten. It has been great to hear some of our children share their knowledge about these processes and link their learning to their home experiences.

U2 have been enjoying role playing the Gingerbread man – making lots of different sized Gingerbreads out of playdough. We have followed this up by reading the story, watching the story, watching a puppet show and finally, making real Gingerbread cookies! This was an activity that spanned across the whole morning, from making the dough, setting it in the fridge, cutting out the cookies, cooking them, decorating them and finally…eating them! We did have a mishap where our cookies ran away just like in the story! Luckily, they didn’t go too far and were in the office. 😊

Rainy days have kept us busy inside, however, to keep the children engaged in play and learning we have had a couple of room swaps – Unit 1 has come over to visit and play in the Unit 2 space with that class and then vice versa. It has been a great opportunity for the children to connect with new peers and explore different activities and learning spaces. We have then been able to note their play interests to help prepare our rooms for next term.

We hope you all have a safe holiday and we will see you in Term 2!

CHILD AND FAMILY (CFC)

Our vision is that every child has the best possible start to life.

Children and families are at the centre of all we do.

We live and work on Arrernte Country.

Werte!

Harmony Day

On Friday, 21st of March, we came together to celebrate Harmony Day, a special occasion that highlights inclusivity and the elimination of racial discrimination. Families and children enjoyed a wonderful day filled with activities that encouraged sharing and learning about different cultures and heritages. From vibrant cultural displays to interactive storytelling and delicious food, the event was a beautiful reflection of our diverse community. It was heartwarming to see everyone embracing and celebrating the unique traditions that make our Centre such a welcoming and inclusive space for all!

Cassie in Melbourne

Last week, Cassie travelled to Melbourne to attend her final ASQ STEPS Indigenous Reference Group meeting with the University of Melbourne. ASQ STEPS is an important developmental outcome measure tool that helps assess how children are growing by looking at how they talk, play, learn, and think. Cassie has been a dedicated leader in this space, serving as the Chair of the group for the past year and a half. Her commitment to supporting early childhood development has been invaluable, and we are proud to have her representing our Centre in such important work!

Self-Care and Sisterhood

Over the past 7 weeks we have been holding Self-care and Sisterhood sessions at the CFC for mums of all ages. In conjunction with Tangentyere and CAAFLU, we have learnt about healthy relationships, dealing with problem in relationships, staying safe and looking after ourselves and each other. Below is some of the results from the survey that was completed by participants: