Dear families,

As you no doubt know from our social media post I have been appointed in a permanent capacity as Principal of our fabulous school. Stepping into the role at the start of this school year was an incredible experience for me as we met the many challenges head on, but also revelled in the immediate connection that I felt with all our students, our families, our staff and the broader community. I feel honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity to continue to grow and improve the Glenorchy Primary legacy today and into the future.

I take this opportunity again to thank Wendy Potter for her faith in me to continue to build on her leadership legacy and the amazing work Wendy and Team Glenorchy have done to make our school great.

We are mid-way through the year, and I look at how far we have come and where we are headed next. We celebrate progress, renew our commitment to excellence in all aspects of school life – from the smallest act of kindness to great academic achievements. Together we can build a culture of respect, growth, connection and learning.

Stay tuned for many upcoming connection opportunities including:

• Night School
• Book Week Assembly
• Family Information Session on how to support your children with mobile devices.
• Coffee and Chat with the Principal afternoon.

Please come and say hello, we love connecting with our families.

Our class had a fun and very messy morning learning about procedures by following a recipe to make puffy paint!

We practised following step-by-step instructions, measuring ingredients, and working together as we mixed shaving foam, corn flour and a little food colouring to make colourful puffy paint. The classroom was full of excited voices, giggles and hands-on learning as we worked together measuring, stirring and testing textures before playing with the final result!

Next week Glenorchy Primary will be celebrating Book Week!

Book an Adventure with us!! Each class will be choosing a book to celebrate (and recreate!). Each class will be sharing their work in our special Book Week assembly on Wednesday 20 August at 2:00pm.

All our families are warmly invited to come along and share the magic that can be found in a book!

This week in art we learnt about the artist Pablo Picasso. We read a book 'Picasso's Trousers' and we were inspired to make our own abstract portraits. We had a lot of fun drawing one eye looking off to the side and the other looking straight forward. We had a lot of fun adding lots of details and patterns!

High School transitions have begun for some of our grade 6 students. These visits are a great introduction into high school, hopefully making the move to grade 7 next year a little smoother.

As part of Dental Health Week 2025, our school came together for a fun and engaging whole-school teeth brushing event in the gym, led by our school nurse Hayley. This health education activity was not only entertaining but also a great way to promote good oral hygiene habits and support student wellbeing.

The event aligns with the Australian Dental Association’s campaign and DECYP’s focus on engagement, belonging, and preventative health. It was a simple yet powerful way to reinforce healthy daily routines in a fun, community-focused setting.

Students were buzzing with excitement during and after the activity:

• “I can’t believe we get to take the toothbrush home!”

• “It smells so minty in the gym.”

• “When I brush my teeth my whole body wiggles!”

• “I usually brush my teeth by myself, today I brushed them with my whole class!”

A special shoutout to the teachers who were ‘volunteered’ to join in, students were absolutely thrilled to see their teachers brushing along with them!

A huge thank you to Oral Health Services Tasmania for generously donating all the toothbrushes and toothpaste. Thanks to their support every student was able to take home a toothbrush!

You may have noticed some changes in the way we’re teaching reading in our school. These changes are part of a statewide commitment to ensure every student develops strong reading skills that will support them throughout school and beyond.

Learning to read is a skill that must be taught—it's not something we’re born knowing how to do. That’s why our teachers are using high-quality, evidence-based strategies to help every child become a confident reader.

Our students are learning to read through structured and explicit literacy teaching. This means they are building foundational literacy skills step by step, with each new skill reinforcing the last. This approach helps students grow into capable and independent readers.

We’re proud to be part of this statewide effort to provide structured literacy lessons that are proven to work. Thank you for your ongoing support as we help every student succeed.

Welcome 2026 Kinder Students!

We are excited to welcome our 2026 Kindergarten students to join us every Thursday 9:30 - 11:00am for fun, learning and activities with Mrs Robins. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends, explore our school, and start the journey into big school life!

Ticket To Play

Ticket to Play applications are now open!

Ticket to Play provides vouchers to eligible children aged 5-18 to help with the cost of sporting club registration.

Voucher applications are open until 29 May 2026.

For more information, visit: tickettoplay.tas.gov.au/

Free Dance Workshop

DRILL are offering a FREE WORKSHOP for young people ages 9 - 12 at our New Town studio with Sammie Lester who is a DRILL alum and professional creative

When: Wednesday, 20 August

Time: 4:00 – 5:30pm

Where: DRILL Studio, Kickstart Arts 12 St. Johns Ave. New Town

Find out more at FREE Workshop With Sammie Lester!

Metro Soccer

Hobart Futsal