Week 7, Term 4 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

Each year I look forward to attending the Year 6 camp. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with our student leaders before they depart our school and start new adventures in high school. At our school, we value the opportunity for our students to experience outdoor programs. During their school years 3 – 6, our students are able to attend four camp experiences with a range of outdoor activities on offer.  At this camp, our Year 6 students were able to learn to surf, tackle the hills on mountain bikes, build and race billy carts, work together to design & build a raft that could float and to develop their kayaking skills on a lake. This is just a small sample of what our students can experience, however the development of many other skills contribute to their own personal growth and enable them to interact effectively and harmoniously. School camps are a liberating way for students to interact with the natural world while learning a range of life skills.

The benefits of a good outdoor program include: opportunities for peer bonding, being physically active, the freedom to be responsible, screen-free time, being exposed to new experiences and simply spending time in nature. Our school camps provide these experiences beyond the classroom to give our students the opportunity to interact with their teachers and peers in new environments and, most importantly, to have fun.

Class Structures

I would like to take this opportunity to share with the school community our class structures for 2025.

We will start the year with 10 classes which will include:

2025

2 Classes of Reception

2 Classes of Year 1

2 Classes of Year 2

2 Classes of Year 3/4

1 Class of Year 5

1 Class of Year 6

You will notice this is the same structure as 2024 and we will include a new Mid-Year Reception class starting at the beginning of term 3. Classes for next year will also be situated in the same current locations as 2024, now that we have completed the current stage of our capital works.

Class Placements

We are currently working on class placements for next year. Placing all our students each year is a process that takes leadership and teachers many hours, many discussions as well as a great deal of thought and consideration. Many factors contribute to the placement. These include; gender balance, learning abilities, peer friendships, student combinations, class size, social and academic strengths and challenges. When making class placements we always consider the individual child while recognising that each child is also part of a complex process.

With each child at the centre of our process, our goal is to create an optimal learning environment for all students that meets their needs. In a small school, this can create additional complexities and challenges.

We respectfully ask that parents do not ask or request particular teachers for their child, as there are far too many factors to be considered when constructing a class for teachers to accommodate such requests. As this takes most of the term to deliberate, we ask that families trust and respect the process as changes are rare, knowing that teachers and leaders are collaborating and discussing each student and looking at what is the best fit for them. 

A common question that parents ask is - How can you help my child during this process? Families can help by supporting the informed decisions of the staff and ensuring all conversations with children are positive and encouraging.

Class placements will be communicated to families on the final Tuesday of Term 4, as the students will meet their new teacher(s) and classmates at a transition session on this day. Students will receive a letter that afternoon informing them of their class teacher(s), the name of their class and the room number. We trust this will be a very exciting and positive experience for all students as they prepare for another exciting year of learning in 2025. Thank you for your continued positive support in this matter.

Staffing News – staff retirements

At the end of this year we say a fond farewell to three of our valued staff who have decided to retire.

Glenda Barone, our School Secretary, has worked in the front office for 17 years. She has seen many changes in her admin role during this time and has been a first point of contact for our families, caring & supporting many students through their injuries and illnesses. Glenda is looking forward to spending more time with her family, especially with her grandchildren.

Marie Syrette, one of our specialist Education Support Officers, has also worked at Tranmere for 17 years.  Marie has helped and supported numerous students with their learning throughout that time and also ran our successful Joeys Playgroup for a number of years.

Kathryn Beilby, our Librarian, has also decided to retire. Her love of reading has exuded through all her interactions with our students, staff and families and we are grateful to her for transforming our library into the marvellous space that we see now.

Our grateful thanks to Glenda, Marie and Kathryn for your loyal service to our school and we say farewell with our blessings for the future and hope you keep in touch.

New Early Years Nature Play Space

I am excited to share that we will starting our new Early Years Nature Play Space over the Christmas break and hope to have the space completed by the middle of Term 1 in 2025. We look forward to working with Elton Landscapes in this play space, to be constructed in front of our new Reception classes in the courtyard. The works include sand and water play, together with more natural play elements.

Christmas Gathering

The Christmas Gathering is not far away and we look forward to celebrating our preparation for this special time of the year. We are hopeful of some nice weather on Tuesday night as the students prepare for their class performances. Please note:  gates will open at 5:30pm with the concert due to start at 6:30pm.

Kind regards

Adrian Grbin  

The following two articles are written by three Year 6 students reflecting on their recent Camp Experience in two very different perspectives.  Enjoy the read:

Camp Day One

We arrived at school at about 8:30, said bye to our parents and carers and packed up our bags onto the bus at 9:00. When we arrived at Middleton we were greeted by Surf and Sun school employees and stared to learn how to surf on the sand. Then we got in the water and tried to catch a wave big enough to surf on. We all got one in the end and everyone had a great time. After surfing we had lunch, and went back to the beach for ‘Beach Olympics’. We were given different activities to do in teams which were all really fun, and some of us got wet. Then we hopped on the bus and drove to Willow Creek which is the property we were staying at. We had some Anzac biscuits for afternoon tea, had a shower and then we had some free time. we were called for dinner which was delicious spaghetti. It was Luke’s birthday so we sung him happy birthday and had birthday cake for dessert. We had a bonfire which we toasted marshmallows on. We had some time outside playing before coming inside to do a quiz and then went to bed.

Day Two

On Thursday we got up in the morning to go for a ride on mountain bikes. We had to ride over a bridge made of a tree log and up a steep hill to the bike track. It was a very nice view at the top of the hill and we all enjoyed riding around the track. We rode back down to have morning tea. Secondly, we walked back up the hill to the dam for raft building. The instructors taught us how to tie different knows using the ropes which we needed to know about to build our rafts. We worked in teams to build our rafts using ropes, PVC pipes and blow up rings. Once they were built, each team had to take their raft into the dam and were timed to see how long it took them to go out to the buoy and back. It was fun but cold. Some of the rafts broke and some stayed together. We walked back down the hill to our next activity, billy carting. We were in groups of five and we had to follow the instructions to put together the billy carts. We had lots of fun racing the carts. Lots of people crashed and went off the course. After the billy carts, we had some free time before dinner, which was sausages and salad. Then we all got ready for the movie night, watching Cars. Everyone was so tired and some of us even fell asleep while watching the movie.

Day Three

On Friday, everyone was sad that it was our last day. We had to pack up our dorms in the morning and put everything on the bus. We took the bus to Victor Harbor where we did our last activity, kayaking. We were in double kayaks and learnt how to paddle correctly and practised making a raft. We kayaked along the river and stopped to play a few games in our kayaks. Everyone had lots of fun, got a bit wet and lots of people crashed into each other or the rocks. On our way back in the kayaks, we stopped to make a raft. Two people were chosen to stand up in their kayaks and run along the front and back of the kayaks in a race. It was tricky for some people but others made it look really easy. Miss Cotter had to race against Oliver H and they both fell in twice. We all thought that was hilarious. After the races, we paddled back to shore and had lunch before getting back on the bus and heading back to school. The bus on the way home was very quiet, everyone was so tired but so happy to have had such a wonderful camp.

Written By April and Elizabeth

Diary Of A Convict Girl On Camp

Day one 13^th of November.

Dear mother,

I miss you soc much since I haven’t seen you for the last three year or so. I was sent to this far away place called Willow Creek for three hard, long days. We were force into the large, cold water. I drowned multiple times but still managed to keep in pushing for my survival. They then made us jog around the whole beach making us participate in difficult activities. When we got to the camp site, I had to unpack the little items we had. To stay clean, I had to bathe in freezing cold water. The food was plain and nasty and nearly inedible. Once I was changed into my pyjamas, they made me, and my fellow convicts do a quiz for survival. If you failed to answer the correct answer you would be sent to jail... and jail is not very good. Once the quiz was finished, we were sent back to our old, damp cells where I will have to sleep in. I must regain energy with the strong power of rest and will write to you tomorrow.

-The best of wishes, Teegan.

Day two 14^th of November.

Dear mother,

It is the second day of camp, and I had to endure another, day of awful activities. I first awoke to the sound of screaming children in my dorms. My dormmates and I got dressed into prison outfits and left to get our morning meal. The meal was burned toast and tasteless butter and jam. After we ate, we were forced to ride tall and daunting bicycles. If you couldn’t ride a bicycle... YOU WOULD GET RUN OVER BY ONE. Thankfully I could ride a bike but not up the tall hill. After I rode for 7 hours, I was forced to consume more terrible food, which contained expired meat with deceased bread and vegetables. I was then forced to walk up a gruelling mountain, which was 500 kilometres high. The mountain was covered in poisonous biting flies and sharp rocks. When my peers and I reached the top of the mountain, we had to build titanic boats out of natural recourses, to travel along a river.  We rode them but sank into the freezing cold water. When the group and I walked back down the mountain, which caused us to fall multiple times, we finally arrived at the campsite. To try and escape the camp, we had to build automobiles. I did not manage to escape the camp, but instead, had to race with the other prisoners. They let us have some time to regain our health in our cells and clean up for dinner. The dinner foo was awful, I had to gobble uncooked meat and overdue vegetables. Before the prisoners and I were allowed to sleep, we had to watch a 5-hour movie about paint drying. Once I finally managed to get into bed, I was confronted with bug and roaches. I must sleep in this uncomfortable bed one more time, but then after that, I will finally see you again!

-see you soon, Teegan.

Day three 15^th of November.

Dear mother, I cannot even comprehend my excitement to finally be able to see you again. But before I can see you again, I must go through yet another devastating day. My dormmates and I were forced to wake up at five AM to the sound of more screaming children. When I arrived at the dinner hall, I had to eat more expired bread and disgusting jams. We had to pack our things and remove our things from the campsite within 7.843927358195338429843853486 minutes. Because some hostages did not pack their things in time, they had to leave without them. I then entered a cramped bus with no air conditioning. Driving to the river was a long and hard journey, with many ups and downs. When I arrived at the river, I had no experience but was still forced to mount the kayak. I rode on the kayak for 1000 kilometres and rode back to the shore. Once my jail mates and I arrived at the shore we had to make food out of sticks, dirt, grass and leaves. They threatened to leave us behind while we were changing out of our wet clothes, so we had to change very quickly. When I got onto the bus with the rest of the group, I had to go through a long and gruelling bus ride. We had to watch a boring movie a bout tree growing and leaves falling on the way to see you. I am very excited to see you and cannot wait.

-lots of love Teegan.

(DISCLAIMER- This is all extremely exaggerated, camp was really fun and the food was also amazing  -  TEEGAN)