We have had a terrific start to Term 3! Our children have returned to school refreshed and eager to learn.

Our week has included our students starting to learn about the Paris Olympics, the commencement of the Growing Up Program, a Japanese teacher, from Ikeda, visiting and taking back to Japan letters from our students, the continuation of Chess Club, a wonderful Kinder excursion to Hagley Farm School and our Grades 5 and 6 students learning about Tournament of the Minds and being invited to submit applications for this competition. Our teachers have also been involved in two very informative workshops this week focusing on PDA (pathological demand avoidance) and Fluency in Reading.

Staffing Update

At the end of last term unfortunately, we said goodbye to Mr Pat Symes, our acting School Business Manager, as he moved to Legana Primary School to become their new SBM. Following our recruitment process we are very pleased to inform you that Ms Nataasha Jamieson will be joining us as our new acting SBM for Term 3. Nataasha will be starting her new role at the beginning of Week 3. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Taleah and Mary, our administrative clerks, who are assisting with the SBM responsibilities during weeks 1 & 2.

We also welcome back to our school this term, Ms Zoe Stagoll, who will be providing literacy support  in the Grade 1/2 area. It is lovely to have Zoe back and we wish her all the best for an enjoyable term.

Chess Club

Following a very successful pilot project last term, we have decided to continue and also expand Chess Club. On Wednesday afternoons we will be having Chess Club for interested students in the Grade 3/4 area and our Grade 5/6 students will have the opportunity to participate in a new group, commencing on Thursdays. We are also very excited as we have been invited to host an interschool competition later this term.

Tournament of Minds

Tournament of Minds, more commonly known as T.O.M. is an extension and enrichment problem-solving challenge for primary and secondary students. The tournament’s aim is to enhance the potential of our students by developing skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.

This week any interested Grades 5 and 6 students were invited to submit an application to join a Punchbowl Primary School T.O.M. team to participate in the state competition. Our students will find out today who has been successful!

Congratulations to our Futsal Team

Our special congratulations are extended to our Futsal Team who have been invited to play in Hobart at the Champions of Champions in September of this year. Well done to Liam, Jasper, Cooper, Isaac, Angus and Bray. We wish you all the best for this event.

Student Achievements

It is very important that we acknowledge our students’ achievements at school but also their successes in other activities that they are involved in when out of school. We would like to invite parents to please send to the office, details of any special events that your child has been involved in so these details can be included in our newsletters.

Finally, this term there will be many opportunities for families to join us at a range of different events, including our Grades 3-6 assembly in Week 3, our Prep-2 assembly being hosted in Week 4, our Book Week celebrations, the School Association’s Trivia Night and our Open Classrooms. We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful term ahead.