Liz O'Donahue - Principal

From the Kings Meadows Rivulet to the Kanamaluka Tamar Estuary 

Our class spent the day following the waterways through our local environment with the guidance of experts from Tamar NRM and beyond. 

We explored the macro-invertebrates present in the rivulet at Kate Reed by hunting through buckets of water with spoons and identifying them using charts. 

We discussed the riparian vegetation present and the introduced species of gorse and Spanish heath that are a threat to our native flora and fauna. 

We learnt about how the Tasmanian Aboriginal people used and looked after the land through firestick farming, hunting and weaving and we were decorated with ochre. 

We followed the rivulet past Bunnings until it ‘disappeared’ under Kings Meadows Highschool and then ‘reappeared’ at the Kings Meadows Pub. 

A leisurely stroll along the rivulet, past lots of ducks, to the Punchbowl and then across to Queechy Lake where we saw Black Cormorants, their huge nests and their chicks.  

Our last adventure was on the bus to QVMAG where we saw a huge map of the Kanamaluka Tamar Estuary and amazing photos taken underneath the Tamar River of kelp, corals, crabs, seahorses and many other incredibly colourful things.  

It was a busy day full of new learning, not enough photos and enjoying the calming effects of nature and we are now considered Waste Warriors.

We are thankful for Trish, Allison, Caroline, David, Geoff and Charlie who guided us for the day and for Caroline, Rachel and Nat who helped us with our excursion. 

3/4 Dykman-Crawford 

Source to Sea Kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary Excursion

We began at the Kate Reed Reserve and followed the water past Bunnings, under the Kings Meadows high school oval, through to Punchbowl reserve and on to Queechy Lake then out to the Kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary. We searched for water bugs in the healthy water, spotted litter and discussed it's impact. We also visited the QVMAG to see the beautiful Kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary under water photographs taken by David Maynard.

Comments from our students about the excursion

Ayla - I didn’t know we had different water bugs like dragonfly ones.

Charli K- I like it when we made snotty vine bralettes, I couldn’t twist it around at first.

Charli A- I liked how Geoff gave us ochre to out on our hands. Ocher is used by aboriginal people. They use rocks to smash it up to make a face paint.

Xavier – My favourite part was at the museum was seeing all the photos of the creatures from Kanamluka/ Tamar Estuary.

Chelsea -   I didn’t know aboriginals used to wear a relatives bones after they had died.

Chloe – I didn’t know you could have one part of a rivulets really yucky, and another really clear.

Hayley– I liked how we walked around Kate Reed Reserve and we saw all the different trees. Trish showed us the Spiky bush that is a problem.

Jorja – I like it when David told us creatures live in the mud and birds come to eat the creatures.

Kayra – I didn’t know that plastic doesn’t dissolve. It breaks up into little pieces and fish eat it.

Poppy – I didn’t know there was a seal that came down the river to the water at Punchbowl.

Ruby – I didn’t know there was a North Esk river until I went to the museum and David told us.

Shelby - I liked the part when we got to feel the bumpy rock and they made my fingers coloured.  

Alex - I liked making the twisted loop out of snotty vine. Geoff told us they used a burn stick to burn the grass. They did this so when the new grass grew, animals would come to eat the shoots and they could catch them to eat.

Amir– My favourite part was at the museum when we looked at the big map on the wall to see the mouth of Tamar Estuary

Hamish – I like the sewer drains at Kings Meadows High School oval. They echoed back to you really loudly.

Henry - My favourite part was chasing the birds on Kings Meadows High School oval and the bus had really comfortable seats.

Jaxon – It was kind of weird because there was lots of rubbish at Kings Meadows. Down at Punchbowl reserve there was no rubbish.

Jordan – If you see rubbish, pick it up and put it in the bin so animals don’t die.

Lachie – I liked seeing the underwater film on the screen at the museum. It had fish and coral.

Louis – In the museum, on the satellite map, the river was so big and I didn’t know it was so big with the big silt.

Lucas - I like when Caroline let us try to collect water bugs.

Oliver T – I liked at the museum -seeing the video of inside the water of Kanamaluka /Tamar Estuary.

Oliver Q– My favourite thing was at the Bunnings Rivulet and its dam.

Are you ready to get out and about to enjoy the best things in life? Buy an Entertainment Membership to support our fundraising and your next adventure could be around the corner. Buy a Membership and Punchbowl Primary receives 20% of the purchase.

To order: https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/2406h04

Thank you to our entire school community for your cooperation this term by practising COVID-safe behaviours.

As you know, an important COVID-safe behaviour is to stay at home if you’re unwell and get tested for COVID-19 using a rapid antigen test.

Public Health tells us that the number of cases of COVID-19 in children is low, and they’re likely to have milder symptoms.

It’s a good reminder to be mindful of the symptoms of COVID-19 in children. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in children are cough, fever, runny nose and gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

For more information, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

This year ANZAC Day falls in the school holidays on Monday, 25^th April.  Mrs Frerk and Mrs Jones will accompany a group of students to show their respects by participating in the ANZAC Day march and our Student Leadership Board will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. Those students who have indicated they will be participating will receive more information next week.  

Students  have the opportunity to purchase books via Scholastic Bookclub. Catalogues are sent home throughout the year.

Orders can be placed either via the school office or via the Scholastic website.  If you wish to place an order via the office, please enclose named order and money in an envelope and hand to either the class teacher or to the office.   

Closing dates for Bookclub orders will be stated in the newsletter. 

From 12.01am Saturday, 26 February 2022, people with COVID-19 are only required to quarantine for a single 7 day period – the 7 days will not be extended if subsequent people in the household test positive (as long as they are symptom free and return the required negative test result).

This advice applies to all COVID-19 cases i.e. anyone currently in quarantine and anyone who needs to quarantine from this point onwards. If a person is already part way through their quarantine period, then they will complete their 7 days from the time of the first positive diagnosis of COVID-19 in their household.

As long as the person completed the correct testing requirements, has returned negative results and does not have any symptoms they are free to leave quarantine at the same time as the primary case.

As an example: If a child is home because their parent/carer was positive, then their sibling tests positive after 5 days, does the quarantine still end after 7 days, not reset?

The quarantine period will still end 7 days after the diagnosis of the parent/carer – as long as the child is symptom free and returns a negative test on Day 6. Quarantine length does not reset due to the sibling’s positive test. If someone in a household has already tested positive and is isolating in the household, and subsequent household members test positive, close contacts in the household do not need to restart their quarantine period. Close contacts only need to complete 7 days from the date the first case in the household tests positive.

For more information, visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website and refer to Public Health’s factsheet.

Vaccination clinics in school holidays

A number of state-run COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be held during the school holidays.

This is a great opportunity for families to get their kids vaccinated, if they haven’t already, before colder months hit.

State-run clinics, selected GPs and pharmacies are offering free COVID-19 vaccination for all age groups. This means children aged 5–11 years can get the paediatric dose, 12+ years can get the adult dose, and 16+ years can get their booster shots.

Get your free Pfizer vaccine over the school holidays at the following state-run clinics:

All ages – 5+ years

• Clarence High School – 29–30 April
• Glenorchy Main Road – 17–18 April
• Montrose Bay High School – 21–24, 26–30 April, 1 May
• Hobart Collins Street – 16 April
• Hobart PW1 – 17, 19, 21–24, 26–30 April
• Kingston Kingborough Community Hub – 18–21 April
• Launceston Transit Centre – 16-17, 19, 21–22, 28–30 April.

5–11 years only

• Burnie Arts & Function Centre – 10, 19, 24, 29 April
• Devonport Don Centre – 18, 23, 28 April
• Glenorchy Main Road– 20 April
• Hobart Collins Street – 20 April
• Huonville Baden Powell Scout 7 Guide Hall – 30 April
• Launceston Transit Centre – 24 April
• Scottsdale Squash Centre – 30 April
• Sorell School – 1 May.

Walk-ins are accepted at all state-run clinics, or to book go to www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au or call the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.

If you prefer to get vaccinated with a participating family doctor or pharmacy, you can book directly with them too.

Make sure the whole family is protected, ready for Term 2.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

In Autumn the City of Launceston are planning a fuel reduction burn in the Punchbowl Reserve.

Notifications of tthe scheduled burns will be updated on the Council's website - www.launceston.tas.gov.au/works and the Tasmania Fire Service website - https://fire.tas.gov.au

Peopke with medical conditions are advised to have a personal plan for avoiding smokefrom the burn. Advice is available from theDepartment ofHealth and Human Services website www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/peh/alerts/air/precautions

For more information please contact the Cityof Launceston on 6323 3000 or via email contactus@launceston.tas.gov.au

Next term, our school will again be particiapting in the Premier's Reading Challenge. More information regarding this will be sent home in the near future.

The Australian Government will start its program in Tasmania to vaccinate residential aged care and disability care staff and residents at the same time as the Tasmania Government’s roll-out program commences.

I recognise that you may have questions about the vaccination program. I encourage you to visit www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/vaccine for the latest information on the vaccination roll-out. Additionally, you can visit the Australian Government Health website for further information at www.health.gov.au.

Keeping yourself and others safe

We must all continue to play our part in being COVID safe. While the vaccine is an important measure in our response to COVID-19, it is part of a suite of things we need to do – including maintaining our COVID-safe behaviours:

• Stay at least 1.5 metres away from others;
• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water;
• Stay at home if you are unwell;
• Get tested for COVID-19 if you have any cold or flu-like symptoms; and
• Be aware of, and follow, current gathering, business and travel restrictions.
• Practise good hygiene, such as covering coughs and sneezes and washing hands
• If you or your child do get sick, stay at home until symptoms have passed, even if a COVID test is negative

Remember, symptoms include fever, tiredness, cough, headache, sore throat, sniffling and sneezing.

To keep our school safe, we are still:

• continuing with increased cleaning
• making sure there is plenty of soap, sanitiser and tissues available
• applying restrictions to large gatherings of adults and encouraging physical distancing

For the latest updates on the COVID-19 restrictions in Tasmania and across Australia, visit  http://www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au.

• Mobile Phones are to be handed into the office at the beginning of each school day.
• Please name your childs clothing as a lot of our lost property is not named.   
• Please remember to bring your water bottle to school each day.                                        
• If your residential address has changed or have a new telephone number, please contact the office to request a change of details form.

• Please notify the office if your child test positive to COVID-19 or is a close contact to someone that has tested positive.

Everyone is welcome to attend our School Association meetings as it's a good way to learn about what is going on in the school. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, 4th May. This will be our AGM followed by our General Meeting.

We are hoping to hold a Mother's Day stall on Thursday, May 5th and are looking for donations of small plants (succulents or house plants), handmade items such as soaps and earrings etc that we can sell for $2-3. Items can be passed on to us at the office. We would love some assistance in selling these items if you can spare the time.  

Grade 5/6 Camp is making a return this year. To assist with the cost we are looking for volunteers to assist with a Bunnings BBQ on Sunday, April 10th. If you can not be there on the day but would still like to help we'd also be grateful for donations to assist with the cost of purchasing sausages and soft drinks. 

Hot food lunches will be on offer in Term 2 and 3 but to do this we need volunteers. If you can help with this or any of the other events please let the office know and they will pass on the details. 

Public Health has reviewed their advice about hay fever in the current COVID-19 environment.

Hay fever symptoms are similar to COVID-19 symptoms, so it’s important families know what they need to do if their child experiences hay fever symptoms.

If your child has hay fever symptoms, please keep them at home and test for COVID-19 using a rapid antigen test (RAT).

If your child tests negative on a RAT and symptoms continue, Public Health advises that you must do a second RAT 24 hours later, or seek a PCR test. 

If the second RAT or PCR remains negative, this is sufficient evidence for your child to return to school if they feel well.

If symptoms change or increase in severity, please see your treating medical practitioner for review.

Please know that Public Health advice can change at short notice and we appreciate your patience as we respond to these changes as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact the school office. For more information, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you wish to purchase any uniform items for your child, to limit the number of adults we have on site and congestion in the main corridor, we would greatly appreciate orders and payment via telephone.  Clothing purchased and a copy of receipt will be sent home with your child.  Office staff are happy to assist your child try on clothing if you are uncertain as to what size is required.

The Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) is now open for 2022.  Applications for 2021 are now closed. Families who were approved for STAS last year will receive written notification regarding their eligibilty (approved or not approved) for 2022. Application forms for 2022 are available from the school office.

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR A PERSON TO WORK OR VOLUNTEER AT PUNCHBOWL UNLESS REGISTERED!

If you currently hold Volunteer Working with Vulnerable People Registration,  please bring your card to the school office so we can record your registration.  Teachers will also ask to see your registration prior to initially doing Parent Help, as it is a requirement to carry your card with you at all times. 

If you nominated another organisation in which you volunteer when you registered, unfortunately at present we are unable to check you are registered. Please update your registration status via the below link to update and advise all organisations in which you volunteer.

If you wish to register, please complete the online application via the below link:

http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/working_with_children/application

2022 Term Dates

• Term 1: Wednesday, 9^th February to Wednesday, 13^th April  

     (Tuesday, 8^th February & Thursday, 14^th April) – Student Free Days

• Easter: Friday, 15^th April to Tuesday, 19^th April

• Term 2: Monday, 2^nd May to Friday, 8^th July

• Term 3: Tuesday, 26^th July to Friday, 30^th September

                       (Monday, 25^th July - Student Free Day)

• Term 4: Monday, 17^th October to Wednesday, 21^st December

                      (Friday, 4^th November – Student Free Day)