The current climate across Australia in relation to COVID 19 has many people concerned about where we are headed.  While this is still a very difficult time for us all, I want to assure our community that staff are aware of the expectations and all preparations that can be made in relation to any future need, have been put into place. Thank you to parents, caregivers and students for your participation in Three Way Interviews and your adherence to our modified system and provision for physical distancing.

We are obliged to continue to observe physical distancing requirements in regard to adults on site and are following advice in relation to school activities. This affects events such as assemblies, volunteer help, Swimming and Water Safety, fundraising, Aquatics, Sports Day and Science and Book Weeks where no adults are allowed to attend.  There are some exceptions to these guidelines in relation to student need and these are made on a case by case basis. I appreciate the disappointment this creates for families in not being able to attend these special events so we are focussing to capture photographs of moments of importance, which we can share with families upon request.  We truly appreciate the support we continue to receive from our community and will keep you informed with any updates as they appear through our platforms of the Schoolzine app and newsletter and our school’s Facebook page – depending upon the urgency of any correspondence.  If you do not have access to our Schoolzine app or are unsure on how to do this, please speak to staff in our Administration Office. It is crucial that any information sent out by the school is received in a timely manner to ensure clear communication.

Many of our parents and caregivers work in areas and industry which require them to wear a mask all day.  Long running superheroes like Batman wear masks as do newer characters such as Catboy, Gecko and Owlet from PJ Masks.

If you had to wear a mask all day, or you do already, and you could design your own mask - what would it look like? Would it be a famous face, or a particular pattern or colour?

We have a ‘Batman Begins’ retro wooden book box (valued at $30) to give away to the first answer selected at random.  From the store Ishka, it is lined in felt and is a clever storage unit perfect for disguising knick knacks, mementos and valuables in plain sight.

Entries must be submitted by 9.30am this Friday August 14, 2020 to be considered for our lucky draw from the hat.  You can email them to  dl.1059.info@schools.sa.edu.au or drop them into the Administration Office.

Kind Regards

Penny Wilde

Principal

Swimming lessons for our year 3-5 students will commence on Monday, 17 August - Friday, 21 August.

Students will need to come with their bathers on under their school uniforms. 

Don't forget to bring a towel, underwear and a plastic bag to put your wet clothes in.

Students can also bring a dressing gown/track suit to wear over their bathers both going to, and after drying off, returning from the pool.  This can help keep them dry and cosy while they are travelling.

A note will be sent home for each class later this week.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions parents are not allowed to attend the pool unless special circumstances apply.

Like everything else, swimming lessons are subject to change or cancellation due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Can you please make sure that we have your current phone numbers and address as a matter of urgency.

We have already had a few cases this term where we have been unable contact parents as their details have been changed. The need to contact parents/emergency contacts in an emergency, when a student is unwell or injured is extremely important.

Even more importantly, we need everyone's updated and current information in the case of a school closure due to COVID-19.

Can you please advise the Administration Office of any changes to phone numbers or addresses as soon as possible.

A change of address needs to be accompanied by documentation to verify proof of residence.

An important update for SZapp has been released to accomodate iPhones which have been intermittently receiving push notifications.

SZapp version 3.6.0 is available from the App Store now and we advise all iPhone users to install this version to ensure notifications are received correctly.

Users with automatic updates enabled on their device will receive this update automatically.

Sports Day will be held on Thursday, 10th September as planned but due to the latest COVID-19 restrictions we are unable to have parents on site for the day's events.  We are keen for the students to have a fun day and the program of events will be planned to encompass the whole day.  Students are encouraged to wear their team's colours and we all look forward to a fun and exciting day.

A special lunch will also be held on Sports Day.  More information will follow as soon as it is available.

We will move the Colour Fun Run to Term 4 or to 2021 - COVID-19 restrictions permitting.

We thank you for your understanding.

There will be a School Closure Day on Friday, 11th September, 2020, the day after the Sports Day.  POSHC will not be available for care on that day.

NOW OVERDUE 

If you have not paid your school fees by now, they are overdue.  

Thank you to all the families who have paid their Material & Services fees for 2020 or have setup payment plans. 

Monthly statements were sent out on Tuesday, 4 August. 

Please contact Helen in the Finance Office if you have difficulty paying or need to apply for School Card. 

Any outstanding amounts that have not been paid by Friday, 25 September will be sent to Central Debt Collection.

We have planned Principal Tours on the following dates:

Due to COVID-19 restrictions our Fathers Day Stall will be an online event.

Items for sale will be available on Qkr! 

Further details of when the items will be available to purchase will be given via email.  Thank you for your support.

Auslan Teacher - Ms Rose Knight

How long have you been at Pimpala and what is your role at the school?

8 months as an Auslan teacher. 

Did you always want to be a teacher/work with children? If not, what did you want to be?

Always wanted to be a teacher.

If you could change or fix anything on the earth, what would it be and why?

World peace. I believe everyone deserves to live in a safe environment.

What is your speciality in the kitchen?

Banana bread.

Where is your dream holiday destination & what would you like to do there?

Too many to list. I love travel and exploring new places and learning about different cultures. I travel at any opportunity I get.  

If you hosted a dinner party, what 3 famous people would you invite & why?

Barack Obama - ask him about his life and experiences.

Dylan Moran – provide the laughs.

Prince Harry – learn about his life and plans for the future.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be & why?

To heal people.

What do you enjoy about living in Adelaide?

Not too big, not too small. A good mix of things to do.

Student Representative Council NEWS

In our last newsletter item, we asked for our school community to help us in collecting bread tags to support the South African foundation, Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. During our SRC meeting this week we collected and counted all of the bread tags from each class.  As a school we collected a total of 3,794 which weighed 1.339kg. This means that we only have another 198.661kgs to go in order to reach our goal of 200kg. We are aiming to collect 200kg worth of bread tags which will help fund one wheelchair.

Here is a list of classes and their achievements.

Congratulations to our winning class this fortnight - Ms Howlett’s Class with a whopping 1500 bread tags.

Mrs. Howlett came in first with a grand total of 1500.

Mrs. Rigney came in second with 767.

Ms. MacLean came in third with 503.

Mrs. Idzikowsiki had a total of 207.

Ms. Birss had a total of 163.

Ms. Yates had a total of 153.

Mrs. Stanley had a total of 152.

Ms. Currer had a total of 98.

Mr. Branson had a total of 75.

Mrs. Lewis had a total of 49.

Miss. Pullman had a total of 41.

Mrs. Thomas had a total of 25.

Ms. Power had a total of 20.

Mrs. Lang had a total of 18.

Mrs. Wickham had a total of 14.

And lucky last Mr. Burns had a total of 2.

As a whole school we did such an amazing job this fortnight and we can’t wait to see how many we get next meeting.

Each fortnight the Executives will be awarding the class that collects the most bread tags with a certificate and trophy. If you would like your class to win this, please make sure to let all of your family and friends know about the bread tags and hopefully they will support your child’s class.

Thank you for all of your donations, hopefully we can get even more next fortnight.

Regards

SRC (Student Representative Council)

YOUR VOICE MATTERS is a questionnaire campaign, designed to hear from young people, their families and community that live, work, play and learn in the City of Onkaparinga. Your say will contribute to future planning for the City of Onkaparinga.

Onkaparinga Youth provide programs and activities for young people aged 8-30 years with a focus on recreation, arts, music and leadership/capacity building. Questionnaires and a box to lodge it once completed is located in the Administration Office.

More information can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions and on the Onkaparinga Youth website.

onkaparingacity/yoursay