Students are supervised between 8:30am and 2:50pm each day, Monday - Friday.

Dear Families

Students have been eager to start the term, to get back into learning and to be at school with friends.  With many learning opportunities throughout Term 3 we are gearing up to be very busy.  Over the next eight weeks there will be many occasions where parents can come in and celebrate learning with their child.  Coming along to school and participating alongside your child helps build their connection to learning.  We look forward to seeing you at school soon.

Welcome to new staff

Our school welcomes Ms Kallia Gonianaki who will be teaching Prep – Year 2 Physical Education and Year 3-4 Health.  Ms Gonianaki will be familiar to many families, having taught 1C and PC for some time last term.  

We also welcome our School Chaplain Allie.  Allie spent some time with us towards the end of last term to get to know her way around school and is now with us regularly for two days a week.  As our School Chaplain, Allie provides social and emotional support to students and fosters a positive school environment.  She is a listening ear for students and works to foster  wellbeing.  She can provide support for students in times of grief or crisis and assist them to cope with difficult situations.  She will also support through running small group sessions and wellbeing programs.

Assemblies

On Wednesday, our Year 1-2 students held our first assembly for the term and it certainly celebrated learning in a unique way, including 1M’s very creative zipline presentation.  Our assemblies support students to share and build on their classroom learning while continuing to recognise and celebrate students living out our school values and recognising student achievement.

Assemblies are held in our School Hall and begin at 9:10am.  Assemblies for the rest of this term will be:

Wednesday 6 August - 3-4 classes

Wednesday 3  September – 4-5 and 6 classes

Wednesday 17  September - Kinder and Prep classes

Celebrating reading through Book Week

Developing students’ foundational reading skills is a key priority for our school. We develop this daily through explicit classroom teaching of reading.  We also seek opportunities to promote and support student participation and engagement in reading across all learning areas and through school events.

Our annual Book Week Parade is a much-anticipated event and gives students an opportunity to dress up as their favourite book character, celebrate reading, share stories and let their imagination run wild while developing their reading skills.  This year’s theme is Book an Adventure and we are looking forward to seeing how our school library will become a whole world of adventure for Book Week.  Our Book Week Parade will be held on Wednesday 20 August and more details about what this event will look like will be sent home soon.    

Sports News

Over the next week or so some of our senior students will attend sports selection trials for teams that will be part of the Southern Primary School Sports Association’s 2025 Winter Carnival.  It’s great to see our students attending these trials and working in alongside students from other schools.

Senior students will also have the opportunity to participate in the Winter Sports Roster that we share with East Derwent Primary, New Norfolk Primary and Fairview Primary.  The roster will involve home and away games and occur every Friday from 8 August to 12 September.  Mr Daft will be co-ordinating sports roster teams.

Reminders

As we start the term, it’s a good time to remind again about some safety measures:

• Students are asked to take their mobile phone to the School Office on arrival so that it can be safely stored for the day. Phones are stored in individual bags for collection at the end of the day.
• Students are discouraged from bringing valuable items to school. Valuables can be lost or broken and school is not responsible for replacing/repairing personal items.
• Please observe disability parking and no parking areas at pick up and drop off.
• School supervision begins at 8.30am and ends at 2.50pm. Please ensure students arrive after 8.30am to ensure they are supervised.

NAIDOC Week

Huge thanks to Kristie, our Aboriginal Education Worker, for the experiences she organised for our students for NAIDOC Week.  Our students were so keen to participate and to learn more about First Nations culture and history.  The theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week was ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy' and was great to see some of our students really step up and take on leadership roles with confidence, helping Kristie out when activities were being offered. Look out for the NAIDOC Week article in today’s newsletter for more details.

School Association Meeting

The next General Meeting of our School Association will be held on Monday 11 August at 4pm in our Admin building. 

Sonya Plunkett-Smith

Principal

In Kinder Bailey we have been learning about sounds. One of our favourite things to do is our Heggertys’ Phonemic Awareness Program of a morning!!

We get to play lots of games which help us learn our sounds! Here we are playing guess my name!!

To begin term 3, we have continued to look at informative texts. We are learning to organise texts by using text structures such as headings, sub-headings, and paragraphs. After learning these skills, we have put them into practice by researching a chosen topic and then creating a poster to share our interests with the rest of the class. We are continuing to learn how we can also use pictures and diagrams to help share information with the reader.

Hello!

I’m Chaplain Allie and I’m very excited to be working alongside the wonderful staff and students at Brighton. I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little about myself and my role as the school chaplain.

Who is our school chaplain and what do they do?

Chaplain Allie is part of our school’s support team. Chaplains are trained professionals who provide emotional, social and pastoral care within the school community. A chaplain is a safe and supportive person for students to connect with—someone who offers a listening ear and a caring presence.

Why did I choose to become a chaplain, and what do I hope to achieve in this role?

I became a chaplain because I believe every person has intrinsic value, worth and purpose. I have a deep passion for people, especially children and young people. I love what they can teach us about life!

I’m passionate about supporting children and families, building friendships, fostering community, and nurturing personal growth and wellbeing.    
I hope to be someone students, staff and families feel comfortable talking to—whether they’re going through something hard or just want to share something great.

What do I do at school?

No two days are the same! I spend time in classrooms and our sensory room, join in on excursions, and you’ll often see me in the playground at recess and lunch. And I’m always available for anyone who might need a chat.

I’m always up for a game, but I also enjoy quiet activities. Some of my favourite things include computer games, art, dogs and animals, outdoor play, board games, music, puzzles, listening to stories, and learning about people.

Want to know more or get in touch?

If you have questions about the Chaplaincy Service or would just like someone to chat to, feel free to contact:

Natasha Bannerman: natasha.bannerman@decyp.tas.gov.au
Chaplain Allie: allie.de.lacey@decyp.tas.gov.au
Or visit suchaplaincy.org.au to learn more about the program.

NAIDOC week was officially in the school holidays (6^th – 13^th July), and so we spent the last week of Term 2 acknowledging and celebrating our NAIDOC week at school before the holidays.

Kristie, our fabulous Aboriginal Education Worker, managed (during a very busy end of Term) to give every class in the school a wonderful experience to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Every student was able to learn about and respect Indigenous cultures, and for our many Indigenous children it was a special opportunity to feel proud of their heritage.

The students all really enjoyed their NAIDOC session with Kristie and there was a range of activities on offer. Students learnt about the importance of aboriginal symbols and used them for ochre painting or making bookmarks or symbol bracelets. Some students learnt how to make traditional shell necklaces and all students had a chance to learn from the great displays which Kristie had created.

Each session began with our very own Brighton Primary ‘Welcome to Country’ and finished with Kristie offering every student a piece of delicious Lemon Myrtle slice featuring bush tucker (crushed and dried lemon myrtle leaves).

A massive thank you to Kristie for making all those slices and for putting together a wonderful and memorable NAIDOC week for our students.

Dorothy Raymond 

Assistant Principal 

What a fantastic term it’s been in Health and Physical Education! Our students have shown incredible enthusiasm, teamwork, and resilience across all activities. From learning about healthy habits to participating in fun fitness challenges and team sports, it’s been a joy to see everyone growing stronger both physically and socially. 

A special highlight this term was our Kindness Poster Challenge for the Year 3/4 students. The creativity and thoughtfulness on display were truly heartwarming. Congratulations to our wonderful winners: Max, Sam, Kailee, Hayden, Haylee, Josh, Lily, Peyton, and Hudson! Your posters were not only beautifully designed but also carried powerful messages about the importance of kindness in our school community.