As we approach the end of term, the pace of life on the Primary Campus has not relented.  In recent weeks we have participated in the Border District Eisteddfod which afforded the students the opportunity to demonstrate their speech and drama skills as well as, for some, their talents in speaking Italian or singing in the choir.  It is always such a delight to see the students perform in this arena with such confidence.  Watching our youngest students take the stage in front of a large audience of adults all poised with their mobile phones to capture the moment, I felt nervous for them but they did such an amazing job. I’m not sure I could have recited a poem with such expression and enthusiasm when I was 5 years old.  Congratulations to all those who participated in the event.  They were a credit to our school in the way they performed and we are very proud of them all.  As expected at such events, prizes were awarded to some students and to some classes for the group recitations, and those results can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.  There would obviously have been some disappointed children, having put so much effort into their performances but they coped with the disappointment well. The ability to deal with such feelings and be able to ‘bounce back’ is part of our work this term on resilience. The Border District Eisteddfod is a wonderful event to be involved in and we look forward to many more years of participation. I would like to extend my thanks to the teachers who assisted in preparing the students and also to Mrs McLucas, who as well as helping to organise the event itself, also played a major role in ensuring our students were as prepared as they could be.

Also last week, a number of students attended the Granite Belt Athletics Trials held at Stanthorpe State High School.  Again, this group of individuals represented our school well in their performance and behaviour.  As a result of their efforts, a number of students have qualified for the Darling Downs Athletics Championships to be held in Toowoomba on 18 June. These students are;

• Ted Bonner 
• Lily Tuvukica
• Aryanna Davie
• Akasha Stevens 
• Harry Wren
• Jayden Green
• Alex Waterworth
• Jaiden Morello
• Addison McCosker
• Eliza Bonner
• Clair Danzey
• Darcy Daddow
• Lillian Kendall
• Darius Jansink
• Lily Savakov
• Katie-Lee Jansink 

We wish them well for the next stage of the competition and also thank Mr Fleming and Mrs O’Dea for accompanying the students to the Granite Belt Trials.

We also received a visit from Sgt Dan O’Dea to our assembly in his role as our ‘Adopt-a-cop’.  He talked about his role in the community and the need for us all to look after one another to keep us all safe. Sgt Dan will visit Primary classrooms in Term 3 and 4.

At this time of the term in the classrooms, the teachers are finalising assessment and completing report comments ready for the distribution of Semester 1 reports.  The judgements and the comments the teachers make are based on much evidence collected over the semester and designed to assist parents by suggesting areas where further consolidation of skills may be required for instance. It is important to remember however, that this report is a ‘tracking report’ for the end of the year as our standards for each subject in each year level are standards for the end of the year.  It is typical to see many students make significant progress in Semester 2 rather than Semester 1.

As always, we as Primary Campus staff are open to having conversations with parents about any aspect of their child’s development. Please contact us if you have any concerns – or if you want to celebrate some positive news! Research shows that positive relationships are key to a child’s success at school and we want to ensure we are doing everything we can to foster them between us, students and parents.

Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary