This year’s theme for NAIDOC Week: Always Was, Always Will Be recognises that First Nations peoples have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. NAIDOC Week is an invitation for all Australians to embrace that the history of this country dates back thousands of generations.

We had a wonderful time at school last week for NAIDOC Week with a range of activities skillfully collated and hosted by Mrs. Deb Hampton (our Aboriginal Education Teacher) and Mrs. Erin Douglas (our Aboriginal Community Education Officer). These activities and the launch of our own Pimpala Primary School Acknowledgement of Country were developed by the school's Reconciliation Action Plan team.  

Our Acknowledgement of Country is below and has been beautifully illustrated by one of our students - Wyatt M.

Kind Regards

Penny Wilde

Principal

Caroline Ellen is a parenting coach and educator and has created website dedicated to raising safer, stronger kids.  She says, sometimes, we need a bit of extra guidance to help us through the harder times, another person to bounce off. Someone who we can trust to hear us out, and to respond with care and with empathy. Someone who can guide us back to ourselves, and our children.

Caroline is accutely aware of the need to support parents and caregivers with the complexities of children learning and interracting online and has made available a free resource for parents and caregivers to download called "Understanding our Children's Lives Online'.

In the introduction to the download she says: I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m not going to hold back or apologise for the discomfort it creates. If we’re not willing to talk about the hard stuff, we certainly won’t be able to start fixing it. The truth is that our children are up against it at the moment. There’s serious stuff going on behind closed doors…

You can find access this document through the link below:

http://theparentswebsite.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/virtual-childhood-ebook-final_forweb.pdf

For more information on raising safer, stronger kids or on Caroline Ellen, you can access this through her website below: 

https://www.saferstrongerkids.com/

Student reports for 2020 are currently being processed.  These will be sent home with the students on Wednesday, 9th December.    

If you are part of a separated family and would like a second copy, please let the Front Office staff know by Thursday, 3rd December.

 Class structures and placements are being finalised and we plan to inform you of your child’s class placement when notes are sent home on Thursday, 10th December. 

 A range of factors are taken into consideration as part of the class placement process including academic and social needs, friendships, working relationships, teacher input and parent requests.  We are unable to guarantee any requests.  However, we are confident that after careful consideration we have made the best class placement for your child for 2020.

 As always please keep in mind that unforeseen circumstances between now and the commencement of next year may result in some changes.  If you have any concerns, please contact us.

If your child is not at school on the days the notes go home, the notes will be available for collection from the Front Office.  Any uncollected reports or class placement notes will be posted at the end of school on Friday, 11^th December, the last day of school. Please ensure your address details are correct.

This Wednesday, 18th November will be the final  Transition Visit for our 2021 Reception students. It has been great to see the students enjoying their first school experience as students.

Parents/Caregivers are invited to an Information Session at 11:00am which will provide an opportunity to ask any questions about preparing your child for school. 

The Uniform Shop is open every Wednesday before school from 8:30am – 9:15am.  It will also be open after the last Transition Visit from 11:30am to 12 noon.  

The Uniform Shop will also be available on Tuesday, 19th January, 2021 from 10:00am - 12:00 noon.

Please note: This event, like all school events, is subject to change/cancellation due to COVID-19 restrictions.  We may need to limit attendance numbers to make sure we follow the guidelines provided.

All library books need to be returned to the Library by the end of Week 6 - 20th November, 2020.  Please start looking for any Library books you may have borrowed during the year but haven’t yet returned.  Stocktake will commence on Monday, 23rd November, 2020 so please return any books you have at home as soon as possible.

Please note: If any books are not returned by the end of Week 8, Friday, 7^th December or returned in a poor state, families will be invoiced for the cost of the book.

Hello!  We would like to tell you that Pimpala's Got Talent is going ahead this term.  Yay!  It started in week 5, so get your groove on!  In case you don't know what Pimpala's Got Talent is, it is  a fun competitive way to show Pimpala students have talent and skills in a talent show concept.  It will take place in the COLA on Tuesday and Thursdays at lunch play time.  

Please come and see these amazing acts.  Week 5 was used as tryouts.  In Weeks 6 & 7 it will be competitive acts, which will be judged.  Week 8 will be finals.  The judging will separate participants into three groups:  R-2, 3-5, 6-7. 

So all this is good information, but the most important of all is to HAVE FUN!!

from The Student Mentors 

Pimpala students are welcome to come and have brekky at Breakfast Club!

Come along and join Quyen and Pei, our Social Work students, in the kitchen for breakfast. The kitchen is open from 8:30am to 8:45am, Monday to Friday on regular school days.

There are a number of food options including weetbix, canned fruit, fresh fruit, toast and yoghurt. It's great way to start the day!

The Reception – Year 2 Swimming Program will take place during Week 7, Monday, 23rd  November to Friday, 27th November at the Noarlunga Swimming Centre.  Please note: only teachers may take photographs/videos at the swimming centre. This is to respect and protect the privacy rights of the children and the instructors.

 Full payment of $41.00 is required by Wednesday, 18th  November. 

 Swimming is part of the school curriculum, however, if your child will not be attending, can you please let the class teacher or the Front Office staff know as soon as possible.

 Students will be attending lessons at various times and notes will be sent home indicating what the students should wear to school. Students will travel to and from the pool in their bathers wrapped in their towels and will get changed back into their uniforms at school. Please ensure ALL items are labelled with your child’s name.  Any unclaimed items will be put in the lost property bins in the courtyard.

 Please ensure you have an up to date Health Care Plan for your child.  

 Any school based medication will be taken to the pool.  If you have ticked the box on the Swimming Consent Form for asthma and have not provided an Asthma Care Plan or any medication or spacer, you will need to provide it before swimming lessons commence. If you require any further information about Health Care Plans, please ask the Administration Office staff.

Please note: This event, like all school events, is subject to change/cancellation due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Principal Tours will be held subject to COVID-19 restrictions on:

Monday, 23 November, 2020

Please contact the Administration Office on 8326 0900 to book in for a tour. 

We look forward to meeting you.

There will be an End of Year Special Lunch on Friday, 4th December, 2020. 

Given the information regarding the lastest COVID-19 cluster the details below are highly likely to change.  Until Pimpala Primary School receives clarification from the Department for Education - no decision will be made in regard to the End of Celebration.  

Practise. Practise. Practise. All classes are busily preparing for our annual End of Year Celebration Concert on Thursday, 3rd December at 5:00pm and expected to finish around 7:00pm.  This time will enable more families to attend.  Each class will be involved in a short item, which will be performed on the night.   

Students will be expected to be at school from 4:45pm in order to meet their teachers and make sure they are organised and ready to perform.

Entrance to the Concert will be by ticket only and MUST be presented on the night for entry. No ticket - No Entry - No Exceptions!

Tickets will be available through the Qkr! app at no cost.  However, there will a limit to the number of tickets per family - more information about this will be sent home soon.

COVID-19 forms must be completed and produced at the time of entry to the concert. (These forms will be sent home the day before so you can complete them before your come to the concert and ease congestion at the entry point).

We encourage families to bring along a picnic dinner, however, there will be a sausage sizzle and drinks available to purchase on the night.  We also request families to bring along their rugs and chairs, as seating will not be provided. 

 Please note: this is strictly a no alcohol event.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s performance, please contact the classroom teacher.

Although it will look vastly different this year from an organisation point of view, please book your tickets and come along and enjoy this wonderful display of talent. We are looking forward to our students showcasing their talents and skills with a variety of performances.  Please come to see your child and their classmates’ performance and celebrate the end of a fantastic year.

Please note:  the performance will not be recorded or streamed due to the number of students who do not have permission to have their photo/image used.

Year 6 and 7 students going to high school (including private schools) in 2021 will  celebrate their graduation at the Graduation Ceremony and dinner on Thursday, 10th December.

The ceremony will be held at the Wirreanda Secondary School gymnasium.  Staff and students will attend a dinner after the ceremony at the Southern District Working Men's Club. (Students will walk a short distance with staff, from the school to the venue for dinner).

We are looking closely at a COVID-19 safe plan for the gymnasium and will need to limit the number of guests.  The gymnasium is very large so we are hoping for minimal issues.  More information about this will be sent home once the Department for Education has provided clarity on any limitations necessary to support the response to the current COVID-19 cluster.

Please note: This event, like all school events, is subject to change/cancellation due to COVID-19 restrictions.

We have commenced preliminary planning for classes for next year and have started to allocate students.  We ask that if you will not be returning to Pimpala in 2021 that you advise the class teacher or the Administration Office as soon as possible. 

 We appreciate that some students may be on a waiting list for another school or there may be a job in the pipeline that would mean a move to a new suburb or interstate, however, we would appreciate this information so we can work on Plan A, Plan B etc.  We are looking at class configurations and need accurate numbers for each year level to plan for the best possible scenarios.

The canteen will be closed during the last week of this term, 7th - 11th December, 2020.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

A number of students have  nut allergies so we ask that the Allergy and Nut Awareness  Policy be followed by everyone. Please help to keep everyone safe by not sending any food containing nuts includiing Nutella and Peanut Paste.

As in past years, Pimpala is co-ordinating donations of canned and non-perishable food and presents for the Vines Uniting Church to distribute to needy families. These items are used to make hampers for the less fortunate in our community.  We are very grateful to The Vines for organising this.

Let’s make it a great time for everyone this Christmas by bringing something to help struggling families. Please bring items including canned food, packet food or unwrapped new presents and toys to the Front Office.