It is hard to believe that we are almost at the midpoint of the school year. I hope everyone is keeping well and avoiding the winter cold and flu viruses that are alive and well in a school environment.

Staffing Update

Thank you to Alex Elliot for his excellent work over the last 12 weeks, replacing Hiro Yamamoto while on leave. We welcome Hiro back next week and will continue to see Alex here at Coro as a regular TRT over the next couple of terms.

Congratulations to Eve Hooper, who is expecting the birth of her second child later this year. Hallie Stewardson will move to a full-time teaching role within the class while Eve is on leave from the end of this term for the remainder of 2024.

Student and Staff Illness – COVID-19 – TRTs

We are now well into winter, which has brought with it many of the typical season ailments including COVID-19. The requirements for students and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 have been updated to align with current SA Health advice. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should not attend school until their acute symptoms have cleared, which is usually 5 to 7 days.

Parents and carers can access COVID safe measures and requirements on the Education website.

This time of year often sees staff and their family members falling ill, necessitating sick or carer’s leave. Teachers might also be away for professional development or extracurricular activities, requiring relief teachers to cover their classes. We endeavour to employ temporary relief teachers (TRTs) who are familiar to us, however, this is often challenging due to the chronic shortage of TRTs in the Adelaide region.

Finance Update – $200 discount on M and S Discount for 2025

As part of the 2024-25 State Budget, eligible families with school-aged children will receive a $200 discount per child on their public school’s materials and services charge for 2025. This is double the discount provided for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Please refer to the attached letter

Student Free Day - Literacy

Our second Student Free Day was held on Friday 7^th June and focused on Morphology. This training day supported our Literacy focus, touching base with our phonology work and delving deeper into morphology.

Morphology is the study of words and their parts. Morphemes, like prefixes, suffixes, and base words, are defined as the smallest meaningful units of meaning. Morphemes are important for phonics in both reading and spelling, as well as in vocabulary and comprehension

Linda Clune led staff through:

• A Q & A about Phonicsand how staff were tracking with the Phonology program
• What is Morphology?
  • The Three Layers of Language
  • Prefixes
  • Suffixing Rules
• Contents of a Playberry Morphology Lesson
• Demonstrated an Interactive Morphology Lesson
• Extension activities – beyond the PL Lesson

Staff had a great day, learned a lot, and gained many ‘take ways’ to use with their students.

eSafety – How to stay safe online

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) educates Australians about online safety risks and help is available to remove harmful content such as cyberbullying of children and young people, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse and illegal and restricted content. Learn more about how eSafety helps Australians be safer online at eSafety.gov.au.

Support for families

Parents and carers, technology can impact your child’s wellbeing and safety. eSafety is here to help your family thrive online.

At eSafety you can find:

• Guidance on parental controls for your family. Learn how to block, filter, monitor and limit your child’s online activity
• Advice on keeping kids and young people safe online 
• Free webinars for expert tips on supporting your family’s online safety
• Assistance in investigating reports of serious online harm and removal of this content.