Good afternoon families,

This week we have had the expertise of Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble conducting drama lessons with all classes. The Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble is a respected youth theatre company committed to nurturing the creativity of young Tasmanians, and to inspiring the artists and theatre audiences of the future. Our students have been enjoying showing their creative side.

Next Wednesday 21^st March is the Cross Country carnival.  Students will have an early recess on this day with the carnival starting around 11:00 am.  Students will assemble on the netball court to prepare for their event. A spectator area will be located near the GaGa pit.   This area will be clearly marked to ensure we adhere to the Departments safeguarding guidelines, please help us with this. 

Students will run at the following times, distances and tracks:

11:00 – Grade 2            500m                     1 small lap

11:10 – Grade 1            500m                     1 small lap

11:20 - Prep                  400m                     1 smaller lap (mainly around oval)

11:30 – Grade 3            1000m                   1 smaller lap (mainly around oval)

11.45 – Grade 4            1000m                   1 big lap

12.00 – Grade 5            1600m                   1 big lap + 1 small lap

12.15 – Grade 6            1600m                   1 big lap + 1 small lap

12:30 - Kinder                400m                    1 smaller lap (mainly around oval)

Students have been building their running stamina as part of Physical Education lessons this term with Mr Lynch and we look forward to a great community event.  The NMPSSA interschool carnival is on Thursday the 5^th of June. The Community Champions will be providing a sausage in bread and zooper dooper icy pole for every student at lunch time. 

This week is Nurse Appreciation Week and we would like to thank our School Nurse Kylie for her work supporting our students, families and staff. It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Nurse Kylie and we wish her all the best for the future. I look forward to introducing you to our new School Nurse in the coming weeks.

On Monday, Kings Meadows High School students visited and talked to our 5-6 students about transitioning to Kings Meadows High School and all the wonderful opportunities on offer for Year 7 to 10.

Tomorrow is a busy day with Walk to School Day and our first 5-6's winter sport practice – don’t forget to bring your sports gear.

A big congratulations to our athletes who competed at the State Athletics as part of the NMPSSA team on Friday. Both Oliver and Casey received a placing with all our other athletes doing a great job in their events. The NMPSSA team placed second in the Ken Neville Country Shield competition which was excellent. 

Kind regards,

Mrs Maree Duggan

Refurbished iPads for sale 

We are currently updating our fleet of devices for student use and have a number of refurbished Generation 6 iPads for sale with a keyboard case. They have been completely wiped, IT checked and sold in “as is” condition for $180.00 each. Please note that they will not come with a charger but these are easy to come by if you don’t have some apple chargers at home already. We also have 4 available with a hard case for $150.00 each

We are unable to hold devices and would prefer you come in person to the office to pay for and collect the iPads rather than sending them home with students. Payments can be made by eftpos or cash. At this time it looks like we have around 10 devices to sell.

Our new navy and yellow Evandale Beanies are now for sale in the office for $20!

Limited beanies are available and can be worn by anyone: students, family members, sporting clubs of Evandale.

This is an SLC fundraiser and all proceeds will go towards refurbishing our school library.

Mrs Duggan is enjoying wearing her beanie and capturing selfies with students wearing their beanies!

Meet Rivah and Eli outside the office for a sticker if you walk to school.

This day is a great opportunity for families to walk to school together and have conversations about being a safe road user.

Here are some tips to help make walking to school a regular part of your routine:

Plan your route:

• Take some time to plan the safest and most convenient route to walk to school. Consider pedestrian crossings, footpaths, and traffic lights.

Set a schedule:

• Decide on the days and times you'll walk to school each week. Consistency is key to forming a new habit. Try to stick to your schedule as much as possible.

Safety first:

• ALWAYS hold your child’s hand until they are at least 8 years old. Closely supervise them until they are at least 10 years old.
• ALWAYS hold your child's hand:
• when on the footpath
• when crossing the road or
• when in a car park

Teach your child about being a safe pedestrian:

• This includes watching out for driveways, walking facing traffic when there are no footpaths and always Stop, Look, Listen, Think, everytime you cross the road.

Avoid distractions:

• Set a good example by putting your phone away. Focus on your surroundings. If you need to use your phone, stop in a safe place.

Make it fun:

• Keep the walks enjoyable by talking about what you see and about your day. This can help make the time go quickly and make walking to school something your child looks forward to.

Join forces:

• Coordinate with other families in your neighbourhood to walk to school together. Not only does this make it more fun for the kids, but it also provides additional safety in numbers.

Celebrate achievements:

• Celebrate achievements along the way to keep motivation high. Whether it's reaching a certain number of walks or noticing improvements in fitness, acknowledging progress can help reinforce the habit.

Practise, Practise, Practise:

• The more supervised pedestrian experiences your child can get the better, so they will be ready to safely travel by themselves when they are older.

Walk Safely to School Day can be the start of a new routine.

A friendly reminder to families who are yet to pay their school levies. Please contact the office to organise payment. Payment plans are available.

School levies help support your child with resources for their learning.

A reminder our school association meeting will be held next Wednesday the 21st of May in the Library at 3:20pm