SBIS Newsletter 2 July
Emily's Message
What a busy and exciting term it has been at Sandy Bay Infant School. I hope the Evidence of Learning portfolios that came home last week sparked some rich conversations with your child about the incredible learning that has taken place in our classrooms this term.
Looking ahead, in Week 2 of Term 3, you will have the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher during our Parent–Teacher Conversations. These meetings are a valuable chance to discuss your child’s progress and learning goals. Please keep an eye on Schoolzine later this week for the booking link.
Playground Improvements
Over the school holidays, we’re excited to be making some improvements to our playground. The pavers near the Beach Access fence will be removed and replaced with grass. A recent audit identified that the pavers had become loose due to ground movement, posing a potential safety risk. By replacing them with grass, we aim to create a more natural and engaging space that encourages imaginative and collaborative play.
Our School Day
In recent weeks, we’ve been trialling a modified eating and play schedule. Under this new arrangement, students go straight to play from the classroom and then come together to eat afterwards. We’ve observed that this change has helped students enjoy their meals more calmly, without the rush to get back to play. This week, teachers will be surveying students to gather their feedback on the new routine. We’d also love to hear your thoughts. Please take a moment to complete a short feedback survey. The results will be shared at our next School Association meeting, where a decision will be made about whether to adopt this schedule permanently.
Feedback Survey - Changes to our recess and lunch times
Staffing Updates
We extend our warm congratulations to Kristy Bird, who has been appointed as the permanent School Business Manager at Campbell Street Primary School. We wish Kristy all the best in her new role. We’re fortunate to have Alison Tegg continuing as Acting School Business Manager at Sandy Bay Infant School for Term 3.
Amanda Jackson will be on leave throughout Term 3 to travel and spend time with her family. During her absence, Greg Warman and Kate Newton will be teaching the Year 1 class. Greg joins us from Molesworth Primary School, where he is part of the leadership team. He will continue in that role on Mondays and Tuesdays and will be at Sandy Bay from Wednesday to Friday. We’re delighted to welcome Greg back and appreciate the experience and insight he brings to our team.
Georgia Fountain will take on the role of School Safeguarding Lead in Term 3, alongside her existing responsibilities as Instructional Specialist.
At the last School Association meeting I shared an update on our progress against our 2025 School Improvement Prioirties, please see a summary of this report below:
Priority One - Improved literacy outcomes
Work this term focussed on embedding the UFLI program and the development of a Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). DIBELS (Diagnostic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills) benchmark assessment data is being used by our Prep – Year 2 teachers to identify students who are at risk and develop targeted programs to improve reading outcomes. All students (Prep-Year 2) are tested three times a year (beginning-of-year, mid-year and end-of-year), as per DIBELS requirements. From 2026, all DECYP schools will be mandated to use DIBELS.
Following each DIBELS assessment, teaching staff and leadership analyse individual scores for each sub-test and overall composite scores for each student identify the supports needed for whole-class teaching, and for individual students. Teachers work with the leadership team to identify students who require an individualised or small group program (Tier 2 and Tier 3 Intervention).
Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions occurring in class with students supported by class teachers, ESS Anna and Teacher Assistants. Tier 3 interventions are supported by our Instructional Specialist, Support Teacher, Teacher Assistants and ESS.
DIBELS testing and intervention is dynamic and targeted. As students complete mid-year and end of year testing, data is reviewed to determine the impact of the intervention program and to determine who requires Tier 2 or Tier 3 support moving forwards. For example, a child receiving Tier 2 following beginning of year benchmarking, may not require this support following subsequent tests. Alternatively, a child may not need Tier 2 at the beginning of the year but could be identified following other testing sessions.
Priority 2 - Wellbeing for learning
We continue to work in our staff Professional Learning Community (PLC) to update our school social and emotional learning scope and sequence and behaviour support documentation. Our Inclusive Practices Coach, Sarah Quigley, has joined us as we develop our ‘Way at the Bay’. Documents will be shared with the School Association in Term 3 for feedback.
Priority 3 - All learners engaged, challenged and learning successfully
Thank you to everyone who has already responded to our Communicating Learning survey. Your feedback is incredibly valuable. We’re hoping to gather a broader range of perspectives, so if you haven’t yet had a chance to complete the survey, we’d love to hear from you. A larger response group will help us better understand how we can continue to improve our communication about student learning.
Communicating Learning with Families Survey
We’re thrilled to announce that Term 3 is musical term! Planning is already underway for our 2025 school musical, There’s a Sunflower in My Supper. All classes will be engaging in inquiry-based learning inspired by the themes of the musical. This integrated approach will enrich classroom learning and build excitement for the performances, which will take place in Week 10 of Term 3, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We wish all our families a safe and restful holiday break and look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday 21 July.
Warm Regards,
Emily
Preps
Last week Prep students were excited to share their exhibition of models of the special places and features of Hobart with their families. This exhibition forms part of our inquiry into connection to place. Students had worked in groups to create models of the Wrest Point Casino, the Tasman Bridge, Salamanca Place, kunanyi/Mt Wellington along with the Nuyina Antarctic research vessel. At our exhibition they proudly shared with families their knowledge about these places that make our place Hobart special to us.
Prep Excursion
Prep students were super excited to go on a bus tour of all the places they’d been learning about at school and we drove past the landmarks we made models of for our exhibition. We toured past Wrest Point Casino, along Salamanca Place, past the waterfront, past the Nuyina, over the Tasman Bridge (where one student exclaimed “this is the best day of my life!”) before beginning our ascent up the mountain! The top of kunanyi was wildly windy and cold! It was such an experience! We staggered our way into the lookout and some students braved the wind to experience the lookout. “Everything looks so small! It’s like everything is tiny and we’re the big giants!”
Our afternoon was spent at the Sustainability Centre in Mt Nelson with our teacher Chris who taught us a lot about aboriginal people and their connection to country. We made charcoal in a fire, learned about the significance of fires for warmth, cooking, light and as a place to gather for storytelling and ceremonies. We also talked about the things the aboriginal people got from country, medicines, tucker, furs for blankets and clothes and even musical instruments. It was a brilliant day truly connected to our inquiry learning around our place.
Year 1
Year 1 have been learning about a different approach to starting the school day, and it’s called a ‘Soft Start’. This starts as soon as the children enter the classroom in the mornings and runs until the children are ready to start learning. There are a variety of learning invitations that children can choose as well as initiating their own investigations and ideas. These experiences can be done individually as well as with others.
The ‘Soft Starts’ help children in many ways, starting with being a calm transition from Before School Care and home to school. Educators in the Year 1 classroom are also helping children to find ways to develop self-regulating strategies so they can start the day with a positive mindset as well remind children of our classroom expectations. Another aspect of ‘Soft Starts’ is that children have choice over their learning as they are following their own ideas and interests, making them more agentic over their learning. They are encouraged to be independent when educators ask, “What materials will you need? What’s the plan?” The time also makes space for more collaborative learning in pairs, triads and small groups.
So what’s been happening in Year 1 as we start the day? Here is a small peek!
Many children have been lured to numerous scientific learning invitations about colour mixing using dyes on absorbent paper, in water, on wet paper even on ice cubes. We’ve also conducted experiments using household materials such as water, salt, sugar, oil and bicarbonate soda. We observed the effects of some materials on ice cubes.
Billy: The powders are sticking to the ice.
Arlo: The salt dissolved first.
Rory: The sugar is melting the fastest on the ice cube.
John: Hot water melts ice fast.
Inspired, Billy and Arlo devised their own experiment which they have had freezing for several weeks in the freezer, observing if salt will prevent the water from freezing. Tess, Stella and Ella have created a castle while Mason, Romain, Finn and Freddie have designed and made a Bug Hotel on wheels. And it actually moves! Ethan built a greenhouse out of bottles while Jim has designed a balance scales. Others have used the sessions to quietly draw on their own and together as well as construct and read.
Ultimately, we are learning to work as a community of learners and realise that we can inspire and support each other’s learning in a safe and respectful way.
Year 2
Conducting a Fair Test in Year 2
In Year 2, our young scientists are learning about the importance of conducting fair tests. This exciting part of the curriculum helps children understand how to investigate questions and make discoveries in a fair and accurate way.
What is a Fair Test?
A fair test is an experiment where we change only one thing at a time while keeping everything else the same. This way, we can see how the change affects the results. For example, if we want to find out if lemon juice will prevent apple from going brown we need to use the same apples, same amount of lemon etc.
Why is it Important?
Conducting fair tests teaches children to think critically and scientifically. It helps them learn how to make observations, ask questions, and draw conclusions based on evidence. These skills are not only important in science but also in everyday life.
We are excited to see our Year 2 students develop their scientific skills and curiosity!
School Association
Thank you everyone who participated in our fundraising survey this term! You gave us lots of ideas for possible fundraising events and activities. And we were so pleased to hear that the school community think we’re doing a pretty good job :) we are planning to go out again to the school community next term with some possible fundraising initiatives that we’re keen to get your feedback on, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, grab your chef’s hat and get baking because we’re hosting yet another Election Day Cake Stall on Saturday 19 July! The office will be open on Thursday 17 July and Friday 18 July to receive donations - check the latest flyer for more details on drop off times. We appreciate all your donations and the cake stall is always a huge hit with the community so thank you!
The Committee is also busy starting to plan for our annual Quiz Night, which will be held on Friday 22 August. Save the date and book the babysitter! More details to come next term.
We hope you have a fabulous winter term break - stay warm, stay well and we look forward to seeing you at the cake stall on Saturday 19 July :)
Thank you,
Alice
Please see our School Association minutes from our last meeting.
School Social Worker
Hi everyone! My name is Laura and I am the new school social worker at SBIS. I can support children and families with all kinds of things such as attendance, anxiety and mental health, emotions and regulation, safe relationships, friendships and bullying, sexual health, sexuality, grief and loss, drugs and alcohol, safety and wellbeing, parenting support, homelessness and emergency supports. Sessions with children often involve games, arts and crafts and/or worksheets to help engage students and guide discussions. If your child or family need support, please reach out to Emily for a referral to see me.
School Health Nurse
Nurse Lilli has added some items to the Health and Wellbeing Padlet that families may find useful. Please click on the link below to access.
Kindergarten 2026
Is your child turning 5 in 2026? Do you know someone who has a child in our local area who hasn't enrolled yet? if so, enrolments are open for Kindergarten 2026. We have started our planning for class placements and would appreciate your in area/sibling enrolment as soon as possible. Please contact the office for further information sandy.bay.infant@decyp.tas.gov.au or 61656423.
Mandatory Reporting Training for Volunteers
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, it is mandatory for all volunteers to have their RWVP (Registration for Working with Vulnerable People) and to have completed the Our Obligations - Safeguarding Training 15-minute video before engaging with children and young people in a volunteer capacity at our school. Certificates for the training video are valid for 12 months from the date of completion and must be presented at the school office, along with your RWVP card, when checking in for any volunteer activities within the school. These steps are essential in helping us maintain a safe and supportive environment for our children.
- To apply for a Registration for Working with Vulnerable people, please visit: Apply for registration to work with vulnerable people | Service Tasmania
- To complete the Our Obligations – Safeguarding Training 15-minute video please visit: Compulsory Safeguarding Training for Workers - Department for Education, Children and Young People
- Once completed you will receive a certificate, which you can save but will also need to be emailed to Sandy Bay Infant - sandy.bay.infant@decyp.tas.gov.au
Socks and Underwear Donations
We are kindly seeking donations of socks and underwear to restock our spare clothes supply. Please drop any donations to the office.
Additionally, if your child has borrowed any clothing items from the school, we kindly ask that you return the washed items as soon as possible.
Your support is greatly appreciated—thank you for helping us care for our students!
Story Box Hub
Community News
French Program
Due to popular demand French will be returning to SBIS in Term 3. Classes will run every Thursday from 8.05am in the library. Past and new students of all levels welcome. Please click on the link to find more information and to enrol - www.funlearning.com.au/book.
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