Dear Families,

As we reach the end of Term 2, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering support and dedication to our school community. Your commitment to improving attendance has made a significant difference - every day truly matters, and together, we are making everyday count.

A special thank you goes out to our families for embracing our new home reading program and the Premier's Reading Challenge. The winter holidays provide a wonderful opportunity to continue recording books for our reading rewards. Let's keep the momentum going and foster a love for reading in our children. Glenorchy Linc is a great place to read too.

At GPS, we are proud to celebrate our classes showing they are meeting our high expectations. Congratulations to Year 5/6 Alexander/Abel for their outstanding achievement in wearing their uniforms consistently for two full weeks and responsibly handing in their mobile phones to the office each day. The pride in these students is real—they are a true team, feeling a sense of belonging and safety that allows them to focus on learning without the distractions of social pressures. Today, they received a special award at assembly and a class reward. This accomplishment is a testament to the amazing learning that can happen when students feel like they belong and are safe to learn.

We will continue to reward classes who are working hard together to help each other learn. I wonder what goals the class teachers will set in Term 3 for their teams.

Next week, our community celebrates NAIDOC Week 2025, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision, and Legacy. As this falls in the holidays, this week our students have been actively engaged in learning about the rich history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the diverse cultures that make up our community. Thank you to our parents who have shared their stories.

Thank you to Miss Morrisby and Mrs Gahan for organising our community helpers, the Glenorchy Police to come and hang out with our children in the playground, community connection like this is so important to help our children feel safe when they see the police in the community.

Thank you to our families for emphasising the importance of education and how it paves the way for bright futures and positive lives. Your support is invaluable, and together, we are creating a nurturing and inspiring environment for our children.

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable winter break. We will post on Facebook the places and things you can do in the holidays.

Many of our children are bringing mobile phones to school, not handing them in to the office and using them inappropriately during school time. This is not OK.

Did you know that to support student wellbeing and learning outcomes the Department for Education, Children and Young People have implemented a comprehensive policy reinforcing the principle 'OFF AND AWAY ALL DAY' for all students from kindergarten to year 12.

Glenorchy Primary follows this principle to encourage our children to be more engaged and participating in class as well as developing friendships and connections during break times. Off and away all day also helps learning.

Mobile phones must be turned off and brought to the office at the start of the school day. Phones are placed in a secure location and are not accessed until returned to your child at the end of the school day.

Thank you to those families who are respecting our efforts to ensure that all our children are safe and learning.

Free Access to StoryBox Library for Tasmanian Families!

Tasmanian primary school students now have free access to StoryBox Library - a fun and educational digital library you can enjoy at home!

StoryBox Library is a subscription-based website and app featuring Australian storytellers reading hundreds of much-loved children’s books. It’s a fantastic way to nurture your child’s love of reading and support their literacy development.

With features like Read-Along, Closed Captions, Auslan stories, and engaging audio-visual content, StoryBox Library is designed to be inclusive and accessible for all children.

How to Access:

1. Visit www.storyboxhub.com or search 'Story Box Library' on your device’s app store.
2. Click LOG IN at the top right of the homepage.
3. Enter the school username and password 

   School Login Details

   Username: glenorchy

   Password: welovebooks

4. Start exploring hundreds of stories – Anytime, anywhere!

Prep-1 Morrisby celebrated NAIDOC week with the help of a parent who came in and taught us some words of palawa kani. We learnt to say hello 'ya' and goodbye 'wulika' and discovered the meaning of some aboriginal symbols.

We crushed rocks to make ochre and used it in the way of the first nations people.

You couldn’t PLAN it better! A little kitchen mishap set off the fire alarms early last week (there wasn’t any danger) but it did mean the fire brigade came to the school!

Our Prep-1 students have been doing an inquiry unit about the helpers in our community and there before our eyes were firemen and their fire truck. How lucky were we when we asked the firefighter for a tour of the fire truck and he said YES! An up close and very personal look at our community helpers at work.

Our inquiry into our community helpers continued when we walked along Main Road Glenorchy for a 'behind the scene' tour of Woolworths supermarket.

The staff explained how fresh food is handled and stored, the journey from delivery to shelf and recycling and sustainability initiatives (e.g. soft plastics, food donations).

We got to see the bakery in action, the produce section being stocked and felt how cold the walk-in fridge and freezer was! These areas are not usually seen by customers, so we were super lucky! A Woolworths team member even let us scan some items like a real community helper! We were treated to a fruit platter and doughnuts in the break room when our tour ended.

Our next stop was the Glenorchy Police Station, where we met two of our local policemen who explained their role in our community. They let us know that they love helping everybody, especially children. We had a tour of the key areas of the station including, the front desk, the meeting room, holding cells, police boat and a police car.

The police officers discussed with us the importance of safety and community rules, how police help during emergencies and the protective gear and vehicles used in their work. The highlights included trying on police vests and sitting in a police vehicle.

After a well earned rest and lunch break on the Council Chamber lawns we headed to the Glenorchy Library to meet some more community helpers and enjoy some quiet time reading among the books.

Our Prep-1 students made a great impression on the police officers they met on their recent excursion. Yesterday they popped in to visit. They chatted with our students, passed off a few handballs (and maybe a few drop kicks!) and got down amongst it in the sandpit. It was great to see all our children making connections with members of the police they may meet in our local community.

Winter School Holiday Activities

There are lots of free and fun activities on during the school holidays at your from 5 to 20 July 2025. Everyone is welcome.

The Libraries Tasmania winter school holiday program offers lots of fun ways for children and young people of all ages to learn and connect with their community, check out the link below:

Winter school holiday activities - Libraries Tasmania

Cosmic Dance Open Week

Raising Healthy Minds

Embers Holiday Program

Hook In 2 Hockey