20th June 2025

Welcome to our Newsletter

Principal's Report

Welcome to almost week 9!

Can you believe that we have covered so much of term 2 already? It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming everyone back, and now we’re well into the swing of things – with classrooms full of curious minds, playgrounds full of games and fun and so many exciting events that our students have been engaging in.

MAKING A SPLASH!

Year 3 - 5 Swimming

Our year 3 – 5 students have just wrapped up two fantastic weeks of Swim and Water Safety at the Aquatic Centre!  Each day, they hopped on the bus ready for action – diving into sessions focused on stroke development, water safety and teamwork. It was wonderful to see them stepping out of their comfort zones, working with new instructors, and supporting each other through new challenges.

A big shout out to all our students for showing great ‘Responsibility’ – remembering their swimming gear each day, bringing it back to school and (mostly!) keeping track of their belongings. With around 150 students involved, we’re thrilled to report that only a few items went missing. That’s a huge achievement.

On Monday 26^th of May, students in Grades 3-5 and some Grade 6s, started their Water Safety Program at the Hobart Aquatic Centre.  It was an amazing opportunity to improve your swimming knowledge and know what to do if you fall in. The survival swim was a big hit as well as the boat safety, treading water, and laps of different stokes. The Water Safety Program isn’t about knowing how to swim fast, it’s about being safe in all situations around water, trying your hardest and building your knowledge. In the end, everyone was tired, but proud of what they achieved. - Johanna, year five student

Early Childhood Swimming

Some of our early years' classes have also been making waves at the Kingston Pool as part of their water orientation program. I was lucky enough to attend a few sessions with both our younger and older students – and what stood out most was their incredible resilience.

For some of our little learners, this was their very first experience in a swimming program. Watching their determination as they faced new challenges was truly inspiring. Whether it was blowing bubbles underwater for the first time, mastering a new stroke, or swimming the length of the pool, the focus, commitment and sheer joy on their faces made every moment special.

It’s a real privilege to witness these milestones – and a reminder of just how much our students can achieve when they feel supported and encouraged. Thank you to families for ensuring that they were well prepared for their sessions.

Well done everyone – you truly made a splash!

DANCE FLOOR FEVER – SILENT DISCO

On June 13th (Friday night) Margate Primary had a marvellous disco. It wasn’t just any disco though, it was a Silent Disco. I know – it sounds amazing. And it was! The early childhood boogied away from 5pm – 6pm. The silent disco started at 6:15 for the middle and upper primary students. They explained how the headphones worked, and this gave us adrenaline to get started! There were three different channels – red, green and blue. Each channel had different styles of music including hip hop, rock and pop! (we think!!) As the night went on, we got hotter and hotter, and the music got louder. Our voices were loud as we tried to talk to each other. When the night came to an end we were all out of breath, had no voices left and were tired! All up it was a marvellous disco. We were also able to buy yummy food! We would like to thank the P&F, staff and the Silent Disco crew.

We hope we have another one soon. - Kelsey and Lacey Year 6 Students

THINK YOU KNOW – PARENT SESSION 2nd JULY 6:00PM – 7:30PM

(ROOM TBA)

As parents / carers and educators, we know that many of our students engage in online activities, games with friends, social media interactions through a variety of channels and online educational games etc.

We also know that these have age limits to restrict the possibility of students engaging in activities that they are not quite ready for, nor how to respond to situations, such as online bullying.

Facebook –16 – New legislation has passed that the minimum age 16 for social media platforms

Instagram – 16

TikTok – 16

The ongoing debates regarding the age at which children should have access to social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat highlights the importance of educating our students about online safety. The risks exist and ensuring that young students are aware of these and have strategies to mitigate them is critical.

The issues around social media use by children under 16 are complex, and whilst they are growing up in an evolving digital world, the reality is that they may have very little knowledge about who is actually behind the username, tag etc of whom they are interacting with online.

Over 10 years ago, the Australian Federal Police developed the cyber safety program, “ThinkUKNow.” This program highlights the dangers that exist in the online space and teaches children the signs to look out for so that they can keep safe online. It would be fabulous to see as many parents / carers as possible join us for a session to find out more about being safe online. This is open to families of students of any age.

SYMMONS PLAINS CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations to our students who represented Margate Primary at Symmons Plains yesterday. It was a long day for our participants, leaving school at 7am and not returning until after 5pm. Once again, the values that they displayed are a credit to them. The enthusiasm, enjoyment and sense of achievement was evident in talking to them about it on their return.

From the perspective of one of our athletes who attended the Tasmanian State Primary Schools Cross Country Championships

On Tuesday the 17^th of June, students from Margate Primary attended the Symmons Plains state cross country. Students going by bus had to leave school at 7:00 in the morning to arrive in time for the first event. Despite having a long day, everyone tried their best and had a great time! Grade 3s and 4s ran 2km and the 5s and 6s ran 3km. All the students who ran crossed the finish line with a smile on their face! In all the races there was over 200 students competing from all over Tasmania, and Margate is proud of everyone’s efforts and encouraging spirits.

Neve Year 5

PILOT MATHS PROGRAM IN OUR YEAR 4 CLASSES

This term, our year 4 classes are trialling a new, dynamic approach to teaching mathematics. Twice a week, students move into targeted learning ‘zones’ based on their individual progress and understanding. These smaller group settings allow for focused instruction tailored to each student’s strengths and areas for growth. The work centres around deepening understanding of the six ‘big ideas’ in number. (number sense, place value, operations, fractions, measurement, patterns and relationships) As students advance through the school, the emphasis shifts from additive to multiplicative thinking, with a strong focus on developing robust number sense. All classes incorporate these concepts into their maths instruction, building student capacity through a curriculum that supports meaningful and connected learning.

“I find it fun and enjoyable because you get to work in groups not just your class. You are learning with other students who are working at the same level as you which makes it fun. The first session was about making a maths test for Mrs Oates to show what we know. We are now learning about fractions. I can see with other people that it makes it easier and easier to understand.” (Harry)

“I find it easier because there are less people and it is easier to concentrate. It is so much fun because you may be in different locations, different classrooms and with different people.” (Connie)

UFLI AND WORD ORIGINS

Keep an eye on Seesaw this afternoon – exciting news is coming your way! We’re thrilled to share details about our implementation of UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute).

As part of our school improvement journey, one of our top priorities is establishing a consistent and structured approach to reading across our wonderful school. To support student growth, each class in our early years now enjoys 30 minutes of explicit reading / phonics instruction every day. This dedicated time helps build strong foundational skills and ensures every child is set up for success in their literacy journey. Our middle and primary years are implementing Word Origins.

Suzanne Oates

Acting Principal

Courtyard Connections

Golden Tickets

Kinder 2026

Gumnuts Early Learning

DECYP Volunteers - Safeguarding

Safeguarding Children and Young People

All DECYP employees and volunteers must complete Safeguarding training every year, before working with any children or young people. This is compulsory under new laws determined to better safeguard children in Tasmania from sexual abuse.

The volunteer training is a 14-minute video, you do need to register and will receive a certificate on completion. Please download certificate and provide a copy to the school (in person or via email).

Compulsory Safeguarding Training for Workers - Department for Education, Children and Young People

Certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of completion.

MPSA News

Kiss and Drop off Zone Mornings Only - Top Carpark

Please remember this is a drop-off zone only in the mornings and is not to be utilised in the afternoons due to many buses entering and exiting this space and to ensure safety.  Please be mindful that the carpark is for staff members only.  There are alternate parks at the bottom of Area 4, the hall and the cricket club.  

Duty of Care

We have had a number of students at school well prior to 8.25am.

We would like to remind families that the school does not have duty of care for children before 8.25am and encourages families to drop student/s off from then onwards.

The school office is open during each term from 8.25am - 3.30pm Monday to Friday.  

Safety on Van Morey Road

Van Morey Road is very busy around school times with buses and cars going everywhere.  This is why we had a school crossing installed.  For the safety of yourself and your children please only use the school crossing to cross Van Morey Road.

Booking of the Gym

Just a friendly reminder if you wish to use the gym after hours for training, please make sure you ring and speak to the office first to check that there are no other bookings.  Thank you.

Collecting your child from school within the school day

If you are collecting your child from school within the school day for an appointment or other early departure reason, please come by the office first.  The office will then assist in calling your child up to the office and you can sign your child out.

Attendance Notifications

Please contact the Office with attendance notifications no later than 9.30am to avoid receiving a phone call from our office staff.

Phone 62 672 238

Text Attendance's Only: 0437 294 856

Email: margate.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au 

Facebook

Please follow us on our School Facebook page for infomation about upcoming school events and celebrations.

Lost Property

Please help us by coming along and looking through the lost property items. Named lost items will be returned to the student (where possible) and all un-named items will be passed on to the uniform shop at the end of term.

Community Notices