Good Afternoon Families,

Special Message

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Mrs. Naomi Shelton, a cherished member of our school community. While we are sad to see her go, we are also thrilled for her as she embarks on an exciting overseas trip to begin her well-deserved retirement.

Mrs. Shelton has been an integral part of our school for an incredible 28 years as a dedicated employee and even more years as a supportive parent and grandparent. Her unwavering commitment, passion and kindness have touched the lives of countless students, parents, and staff members.

The good news is that Mrs. Shelton will continue to be a part of our school community as a valued member of our School Association. We look forward to her continued involvement and support.

To honor Mrs. Shelton's remarkable service, we will be celebrating her contributions at Monday's assembly. We invite everyone to join us in expressing our gratitude and best wishes. Additionally, a special box will be placed in the office for parents, carers and families who would like to leave a personal farewell message or card for Mrs. Shelton. The box will be in the school foyer over the next two weeks.

NM School Sports Association Athletics Carnival

An Evandale representative team was selected from our carnival last week to compete at the Northern Midlands School Sports Association Athletic Carnival TOMORROW at St Leonards. Mr. Moore is Team Manager and will accompany the team. We are excited for our students to represent Evandale and wish them the best of luck. Parents are invited to spectate and cheer for Evandale but must follow the safeguarding rules sent home as part of the carnival information. Go Evandale!

Gumnuts

Our Launching into Learning Gumnuts is every Monday morning. We are excited to see our littlest learners and their families join us in the Kinder classroom from 9:30-11am. Please help us spread the word – everyone is welcome!

Brixhibition

Our overall school winner was Ruby in 5-6. Ruby’s design will be on display at Brixhibition at the Launceston Conference Centre on Saturday the 26^th to Sunday the 27th of April 2025. Put the date in your diary as it would be a great holiday activity.

Student Opportunities

Our Year 6 Readers Cup Team have begun their reading and preparation for the Readers Cup Challenge.

The following students participated in the MAT Problem Solving Competition today.

I will be having leave starting next Wednesday and Mrs Bella Mitchell will be Acting Principal until the end of term.

Please see the Parent Friendly calendar attached.

Good Afternoon. My name is Halimah Partridge and I am lucky enough to be the art teacher here at Evandale Primary School.

On our Tuesdays together we have been working on some great projects. Our younger children have been looking at primary and secondary colours and how to mix them, and we are doing some work related to colour mixing. The older children have been doing some work with lines and patterns and combining the two elements of art to create some colourful pieces of work.

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Excursion To the Cataract Gorge

On Friday, March 21^st, Gr 3-4-5 & Gr 5-6, went on an excursion to the Cataract Gorge in West Launceston. We learnt about Aboriginal culture, history and connections to the Gorge.

When we arrived, we were eager to start the day. We put our bags under the barbeque hut and sat over on the tiered rocks, where we learnt about the early history of the Gorge. Then we stopped for morning tea and a quick play.

After morning tea, we discussed the activities we were going to do before our lunch break. The activities included art, a bush walk and a treasure hunt. The first group started with art, whilst the other two groups started with the treasure hunt and the bush walk.

In one group we had to paint something in the Gorge using ochre paint. We painted on paper bark, watercolour paper and made our own mural. It was very strange painting with ochre because it is thicker than normal paint. Some of us tried making our own huts and making fire.

Next, we went on the treasure hunt, looking for different plants, bits of information and structures. We even answered some questions about the chairlift to get a bonus prize.

Later, we went on a bush walk and tried some wallaby jerky and learnt about the volcanic rock made from magma. We looked at some small magma rocks (also known as obsidian).

We had lunch and then made some Aboriginal wreaths and threw them into the South Esk river. We then went on a big scenic walk where we saw baby peacocks with their mothers.

After the walk back from the Fairy Dell, we grabbed our bags and got on the bus. Overall, it was an fun and interesting day. A big thank you to Geoff our host from Walkabout Tours, teachers and parents for helping us on the day.

By Brooke and Matilda

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Harmony Week is celebrated to promote inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone in Australia. It highlights the country's cultural diversity and the benefits it brings to the community. Our students had an opportunity in their classes and in Global Connections lessons to celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures that make up Australia. Matilda and Roberta have written the following paragraph about Harmony Day learnings in the 5-6 class.

5/6 Glachan Celebrates Harmony Day with The Truck Cat

On Harmony Day, 5/6 Glachan explored the theme "Everyone Belongs" through a lesson centered around the book The Truck Cat. After reading the story we had discussions about inclusivity, diversity, and the importance of making everyone feel welcome in our community.

Through this activity, 5/6 Glachan gained a deeper understanding of diversity. Harmony Day reminded us that no matter our differences, everyone belongs!

We reflected on what belonging means to them and shared the things that made us unique. We then created our own diversity hands.

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Athletics Carnival

On the 19^th of March, Evandale Primary School held its annual athletics carnival on our school oval in warm, sunny conditions.

Mrs Duggan opened the carnival, recognising the students, families and teachers. A special mention was also made to our wonderful School Association who sold food and drinks on the day.

The first event of the day was the 400m for the grade 6 boys and girls at 9:15. The first race for the early childhood was the sack race, the other class did the parachute. There were lots of other fun events during the day, including chook throw, relay, shot put, vortex, 200m, 100m and the bear race for the kinders.

A highlight of the day was the staff versus students tug of war. Staff and students tied in each round. It was so much fun.

The day was a great success, and students demonstrated resilience, collaboration and sportsmanship. A huge thank you to Mr Lynch, staff and parents for a great day.

By Isaac and Tyrrian

Easter Raffle

Our Community Champions are organising our prizes for the Easter Raffle. There will be 5 major prize baskets and 5 second prizes. Your child will have brought home a raffle book that you may wish to sell or return. Raffle ticket butts and monies need to be returned to the school office by Monday April 7^th. Tickets are $1.00each. The raffle will be draw on April Thursday April 10^th. Additional raffle books are available at the school office.

Mother’s Day Stall

The Community Champions are organising a Mother’s Day Stall next term. Can you help them by donating or making some items? There will be a box in the entrance foyer next term where items can be placed.

Colour Run

Just the heads up for a fun event that our Community Champions will be organising for the last Thursday of term the 10^th of April – a Colour Run. Students will be invited to wear a white of light-coloured t-shirt on the day.

School Association - AGM

Yesterday afternoon our School Association held their Annual General Meeting in our school library. Being a Committee Member is a commitment that is highly valued and recognised by the school.

We warmly welcome our new community members: Mr. Richard Morgan, Ms Chelsea Briggs and Mrs. Naomi Shelton, along with our new staff representative, Mrs. Anita Stephens. We look forward to working together to achieve shared outcomes for our students and benefit to the whole school community.

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the outgoing members: Jarrad Ripp, Jan Foote, Shannon Towns, and Ms. Andrea Harlow. We appreciate your active involvement and engagement over the past few years in supporting our school.