23 October 2024

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

I acknowledge, with deep respect, the traditional custodians of this land, the mumirimina people and pay my respects to Elders past and present, to the Aboriginal people with us today and to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community who continue to care for Country.  I stand for a future that profoundly respects and acknowledges Aboriginal perspectives, culture, language and history.

Our School Values

Our Commitment:  In partnership with community, we provide a welcoming school of choice that inspires and supports all learners to succeed as connected, creative and curious thinkers.

Our Commitment:  In partnership with community, we provide a welcoming school of choice that inspires and supports all learners to succeed as connected, creative and curious thinkers. 

Dear Families,

Welcome to the start of another exciting term at Sorell School! As we embark on the last ten weeks of the academic year, we are eager to continue building on the wonderful learning experiences from last term and introduce even more opportunities for growth, discovery, and connection.

Term 4 is a term filled with excitement, celebration, and consolidation of learning. This is a special time of year, as we prepare for many special events, including Transition Day, Heritage Day, Athletics Carnivals, Presentation Evenings, and Celebration Assemblies.

It’s a time for students and staff to reflect on learning progress, strengthen understanding, and prepare for the next steps. Alongside this, we will celebrate their hard work and achievements with various events that honour student dedication and growth.

Focus on Reading Fluency

Our commitment to improving student reading outcomes continues this term. We’ll be reinforcing the fluency strategies—echo, choral, cloze, and repeated reading—across all classrooms, helping students solidify their reading skills.

What is most exciting is the improved reading outcomes that we are starting to see across the school. The Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Accuracy data has seen a 48% decrease in the number of students in the ‘at risk’ category and a 20 % increase in the number of students achieving grade benchmark in years 1 – 8. This improvement in our student data has been a direct result of the reading inquiry operating school wide. We look forward to sharing more exciting improvement data as the inquiry continues.

Heritage Day

Sorell School’s Heritage Day was a wonderful celebration of community, history, and tradition. The event centred around our Pioneer Village, offering students, families, and staff the chance to take a walk back in time. The activities helped bring the past to life, with students participating enthusiastically.

We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the families, staff, and volunteers who helped make this day so special. Heritage Day continues to be a highlight of our school calendar, showcasing the strength and unity of the Sorell community.

Kelly Dyer
Principal

https://www.facebook.com/SorellSchool
Email: sorell.school@decyp.tas.gov.au
Phone: (03) 6269 1100

ECE CAMPUS

Welcome back to Term 4! We are off to a sunny start, and the children have been making the most of their time outdoors, with the playground bustling with energy. Skipping continues to be a highlight with many of the children honing their jumping skills.

Just a quick reminder that hats are required for all students as part of our sun safety efforts. These can be purchased form the school office for $15.

This term, students will be participating in several assessments for both maths and reading. These assessments are essential in helping teachers plan and implement lessons that are appropriately targeted to the developmental needs of each child.

One of the recent highlights for students from Prep to Year 2 was the cricket clinic, where they enjoyed learning new skills from Hurricanes cricketers. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to be active and try out something new.

Please take note that assemblies have now been moved to Wednesday afternoons, to enable our Kindergarten students to participate. The first assembly for this term is scheduled for Wednesday 30 October at 2:20pm.

Our Community lesson focus this term continues with the Zones of Regulation. This framework helps students describe and label their emotions, which in turn allows them to understand that it’s okay to feel certain ways and learn how to manage those emotions positively. Parent tips and additional information are shared regularly through Seesaw, so be sure to check out the app.

WE are also excited to announce that our Early Years Athletics Fun Day will take place on Wednesday 20 November from 12:30 to 2:30pm, on the primary oval. We encourage families to come along and support their children for this fun-filled afternoon. Please be on the look out for further information via Seesaw and the Newsletter.

Teresa Spinks
K-2 Assistant Principal

YEARS 3 – 6 CAMPUS

It has been fantastic to see students return happily from their holidays and engaging with their learning in a positive way at the start of Term 4. We welcome Mrs Wendy Wing to our specialist teaching team this term. Wendy has a wealth of teaching experience and will be running STEM classes, which involves students getting hands on with many different experiences, including robotics, construction, and science investigations.

Already we have had lots of excitement in the 3 to 6 spaces, with the school swimming carnival running on Thursday the 18^th of October. It was fantastic to see many 3 to 6 students participating and having fun at the Clarence Pool. A school team will be selected from this event to represent the school at the interschool swimming carnival to be held on the 6^th of November. Students are also excited to participate in Heritage Day and a colour run in the coming weeks.

Trent Sproule and Jamie Harwood
3-6 Assistant Principals

YEARS 7 – 9 CAMPUS

It has been a jam-packed start to Term 4! Students have been busily starting their new units of learning for the term. As well as this, they are in the process of completing PAT tests. It is fantastic to see students getting the job done – in all classes! Grade 7 and 8 identified students are starting to receive intervention or extension support in the areas of literacy and critical thinking. We have enjoyed seeing students show progress in their learning, particularly in reading fluency. We’re excited!

Grade 9s are eagerly preparing to order their leaver’s jumpers – a source of great excitement. At this stage, we hope that they will be ordered in time to be available for the start of 2025. Fingers crossed. Stay tuned for updates in this space.

Also, a big congratulations to Harper in Grade 8 who won the Grade 7-12 Homelands Sorell Gift Voucher for attending above 90% for Term 3. We really value Homelands’ continued support of Sorell School. Our students really work hard to achieve the 90%+ attendance benchmark each term so their name can go into the draw for this wonderful incentive. Remember, every day counts!

Lauren Clements
7-9 Assistant

YEARS 10 – 12 CAMPUS

Students in year 11 and 12 have made a strong start to Term 4 and are busily completing all their final assessment tasks for the year. The last opportunity for students to submit work will be on Thursday 7^th of November. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss any outstanding requirements with their subject teachers this week. The year 11 and 12 end of year celebration lunch will be on Thursday 31^st of October, we will be heading to the Tasman Golf Club, students must RSVP via the front office this week, so we can confirm numbers.

Our year 10 cohort have an equally busy period ahead. Many classes are currently revising content for the year 10 exams which will be held during week 5. The exams give students a excellent opportunity to boost their existing ratings across English, Maths and HaSS. As we continue planning for 2025, students who have selected classes at Rosny College for next year should anticipate a email shortly confirming their current subject selections. If this includes a VET course, students should have already been invited to Rosny to attend a suitability meeting.  Any changes to your 2025 subjects should be made ASAP to ensure student timetables are correct for the jumpstart program held in week 8.

Luke Hamilton
10-12 Assistant Principal

School Calendar of Events