Welcome to Term 3, Semester 2. To quote Bon Jovi "Whoaaaaaa, we're half way there..." The halfway mark of the year is a good time to reflect on what we have achieved, what we need to still work on and what our goals are. 

We have has a number of staffing changes since the end of Term 2.  Trish Mart and Faye Yeomans have said farewell to over 20 years combined time running our school canteen. While this has been a big occasion, we are very fortunate to be keeping them on our staff in new roles as SSOs.  Welcome to Kylie Nicholas to the school as our new Canteen Manager. 

Welcome to Nathan Adams, Ben Renfrey and Tina Spencer to our school as new SSOs.  We are also very fortunate to be able to keep some of our contract teachers for the remainder of the year; Carol Thomas, Alena Birss, Nicole Currer and Rachel Wickham.

Congratulations to Richard Kemp on his successful secondment as our Deputy Principal for the remainder of the year.  Welcome back to Trudi Cole who is taking Richard's class for the remainder of the year.

Our calendar this term is busy - Science Day is coming up on August 15th and Book Week follows with our Book Week Parade on August 22nd.  Optional Three Way Conferences will be available from Monday August 26th until Wednesday August 28th or at other time negotiated.  This is an opportunity to clarify details in student reports which were sent home at the end of Term 2.  Student reports contain goals to work on and items as a future focus. Having a growth mind set is important when interpreting and planning for achieving these goals as set backs and challenges are a normal part of every course. The writer Carl Bard once said “Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.”  Some very good advice at this point in the year.

Kind regards

Penny Wilde

Principal

It’s Scholastic Book Club time again! A great way to encourage reading is to allow children to choose the books they want to read. Scholastic offers a wide range of books suited to many children’s reading levels and interests.

Payment

Once you have looked over the catalogue and selected books you wish to purchase there are 3 ways to pay.

1. Complete the order form and return it to the Finance Window and pay on the Qkr! App. Go to “School Payments” and scroll across the top to the Scholastic Book Payments tab, tap the Scholastic Book Orders Section and enter the total amount of your order.
2. Order and pay online by logging into www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and following the instructions.
3. Mark them on the order form on the back of the catalogue and return the order form to the Finance Window with payment.

Last day to order is Friday 9^th August, 2019. 

No late orders can be accepted.

We welcome Kylie Nicholas as our new Canteen Manager.  The canteen will continue to open on Wednesday and Fridays as usual.

Please note: it is preferred that all lunches are ordered through the Qkr! app.  We intend to make the lunch order process cashless by Term 4. If you must pay by cash can you please pay at the Finance Window. 

Lunch time counter-sales are cash only.

Instructions_to_download_the_Qkr_app.pdf

We need your support! Father’s Day is on Sunday, 1st September and this is coming around very quickly.  We are seeking donations of new items for our Father’s Day Stall.  Please bring any donations of new items to the Front Office so we can prepare them for sale at the Father's Day Stall.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

The school Fathers’ Day Stall will be held on Wednesday, 28^th August where students will have the opportunity to purchase gifts on a class by class basis during the day.  The stall will also be open after school and both before and after school on Thursday, 29^th August.

Students will have the opportunity to experience Science Week from 12th - 16th August.  We will be celebrating Science Day on Thursday, 15th August when classes are able to participate in a whole day of Science experiments and activities in recognition of the event. 

"Reading Is My Secret Power"

Book Week is the longest running children's festival in Australia.  It is an annual event celebrated by schools and local community libraries to promote books and reading.  Each year the Children's Book Council of Australia selects books written or illustrated by Australian authors to be sortlisted in a book competition. These books can be recognised by the bronze circle on them.  All classes have been exposed to some of these books.

On Thursday,  22nd August, a highlight of our Book Week celebrations will include a Book Week Parade at 9:30am.  Parent, grandparents and special friends are invited to our special "Reading is My Secret Power" Book Week Parade. 

Skye Keller, the Pastoral Support Worker will be in the Stephanie Alexander Dining Room prior to the parade so please come and say hello.  Tea and coffee coffee will be available.

The parade will be held under the COLA and will showcase the children, and maybe some teachers, dressed up in costumes / masks based on the characters or storyline from the shortlisted book chosen by each class.  The costumes will be made in class and will just add a bit of fun to the morning.  

We look forward to seeing everyone at the parade.

Deb Hampton

Nature Play:

Our school will be beginning the consultation process for our Nature Play Space soon. We will be asking for ideas from our whole school community so keep an eye out for opportunities to have your say about this exciting project for our school. As part of developing our Nature Play focus at Pimpala, we will be sharing ideas for families about getting outside, whatever the weather. Time in nature is affordable, healthy and close by to everyone. Our local National Park at Hallett Cove is a great option to get out and about this weekend. Here are some ideas for exploring the park:

• Explore the beach for washed up shells, sponges and different types of seaweed.
• Walk from Boatshed Café to Marino Rocks Beach where you will travel along boardwalks and staircases with views of rugged cliffs and other ancient geological marvels.
• On a calm day count the steps of the staircase that leads down to the beach from the boardwalk along Glacier Hike where you can observe life in the rock pools (always keep an eye on the waves).
• Walk the Geological Hike and follow the signs to admire the layered beauty of the Sugarloaf (it is important not to climb the fragile Sugarloaf).
• Hallett Cove is one of the most geologically unique places in South Australia – see how many different coloured and shaped rocks you can find along the shoreline.

Don't forget to put Thursday, 29th August after school in your diary for our Amazing Magic Mike Disco! It will be great fun!

More information will be sent out soon.

Zones:

At our school our staff and many classes are learning about the ‘Zones of Regulation’. Your child may have mentioned this to you. The ‘Zones of Regulation’ is a program that helps children to learn about self-regulation, sometimes called ‘self-control’, ‘emotional-management’ or ‘impulse-control’.

Self-regulation is something everyone continually works on; even if we don’t realise it. We all encounter tricky circumstances that test our limits from time to time.  If we can learn to recognise when we are becoming less regulated, we are able to do something about it to manage our feelings and get ourselves back on track.

This comes naturally for some, but for most it is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced. This is the goal of The Zones of Regulation program (or the ‘Zones’ for short).

Can you please check the name in the jumper your child is wearing.  It is easy to accidentally pick up the wrong jumper as they all look the same.  However, if you notice you have the wrong jumper can you please bring it to the Front Office so it can be returned to it's rightful owner.  Thank you.

Ms Idzikowski's hot read is a book called "Are We There Yet"?  written by Alison Lester.

Ms Idzikowski's favourite part is the way they travel in their campervan.

She chose this book because her daugthers love it.  They like to travel around Australia, choosing a different destination each time.

This book is suitable for all ages.  It is a Premier's Reading Challenge book.

By Grace H and Jasmine W