For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

"Highlights from Week 3: Positivity, Professional Learning, and building Resilient Students"

Week 3 has quickly come and gone, and it's been a whirlwind of activity at our school. As we navigate through what is always a busy term 4, I am excited to share some of the highlights and updates from our vibrant learning community.

Pharrell Williams' "Happy" - Smiles really are Infectious:One thing we value at our school is the power of positivity. The infectious joy that a simple smile or greeting at the start of the day is something that can’t be undervalued.. It's a reminder that positivity is indeed infectious. When our students and staff radiate happiness, it creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone at PDS.

Staff Professional Learning Day: Today our dedicated staff came together for a Professional Learning Day. We spent the day collaboratively working in teams, using a range of data sets to plan our students' next steps in their learning journey whilst celebrating just how far our students have come. We'd like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to you as parents for the trust and confidence that you place in us to support your young learners.  Ensuring your child's safety remains our number one priority. During our Professional Learning Day, we also dedicated time to review and update our Risk Assessment processes and protocols. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students.

Operation Resilience at PCYC in Burnie: Over the past two weeks, students from the 3/4 classes participated in the "Operation Resilience" project at PCYC in Burnie. This program challenged students to work collaboratively in teams to solve physically demanding challenges. It was inspiring to witness our students communicate respectfully, kindly, and assertively as they tackled these demanding tasks. Their resilience and teamwork continue to amaze us.  Thanks to the 3/4 teaching team for supporting this learning opportunity.

Term's Focus on Respect: This term, our focus value has continued to focus on "respect." We've challenged our students to acknowledge and speak to at least five other people at the start of the day. We know that when students feel valued and connected to both adults and peers in their school, their attendance is more likely to be higher.

Upcoming Assemblies: We're excited to announce that our upcoming primary assembly will celebrate the work of 1/2D (Taylor) and both Kinder A and B. Please note that both the primary and secondary assemblies (Week 4) will be held in the Basketball Stadium at the southern end of the carpark. We look forward to celebrating these achievements with you.

Thank you for being a part of our school community, and we look forward to another exciting week ahead. Your continued support and involvement in our school is something we value highly.

Have an awesome long weekend.

Adrian Beard

Assistant Principal 

As part of the new business and economics unit in HASS, the year 8 and 9 classes will be holding a market. Year 8 students have made their own products which they will sell. These products include: lip balm, fidget toys, keyrings, bag tags, pet rocks, t-shirts and much more. Cost of products will vary, starting at $1

The year 9 students will be replicating a sideshow alley. There will be a variety of games for students to experience including: Ring Toss, Big Boot Battles, Bean Bag Toss, and Marble Drop. Participants will win tokens that they can swap for a prize. The entry fee for the games will be between 20c-$1.

The market will be held on the outdoor basketball court at the secondary campus from 1pm until 2:50. All classes are invited to attend, community members and families are also welcome to come.

Thank you to the school association for supporting this event.

In 1/2A we have been learning how to write our own narratives. Our current focus has been on making them more engaging by using adjectives. We’re also exploring different aspects of storytelling like the writing process, problems and solutions, characterisation, target audience and speech. Our ultimate goal is to turn our stories into books and maybe we will get them published in the future!

Team French have had a very busy start to Term 4 and are very proud of the work on display in our classroom.  We have started Writer’s Workshop sessions and have been focusing on unpacking individual seeds and writing our first drafts. We are looking forward to sharing our published writing later in the term.

In 1/2 C D and E we have been exploring different text types in our literacy groups. We have learnt how to structure a persuasive text, a narrative, and we are currently working on information texts. As part of our writing process we are also practising editing our own writing. Here are some samples of our writing.

The Boys Choir, Girls’ Choir and Vivace will all be performing at the Penguin District School Arts Festival on Wednesday 8 November.

Entry will be by the external doors to the school café.

A visual arts exhibition featuring artwork by early childhood, primary and secondary students will be held in the café from 6.30 pm.

Musical performances will start at 7.00 pm in the drama room. The choirs will be sharing some of the pieces they performed at the Devonport Eisteddfod.

The choirs will be performing some combined items with Segway. Segway is an adult vocal ensemble who rehearse in Penguin under the leadership of Ms Murphy. We would like to have a short rehearsal together before the performance. Vivace please arrive by 6.30 pm and Boys and Girls’ Choirs by 6.45 pm. Parents are welcome to watch the rehearsal or can take the opportunity to view the art exhibition.

Choir members please wear uniform as follows:

Girls – PDS polo shirt, PDS winter skirt or navy blue trousers/shorts, black shoes

Boys – PDS polo shirt, navy blue or grey trousers/shorts, black shoes

Thank you to everyone who has returned their attendance slips, If you haven’t done so yet, please return them to the office or Mrs Lusted on Tuesday or email christine.lusted@decyp.tas.gov.au as to your child’s availability to attend.

Christine Lusted

This week, the 9/10 Outdoor Education class went surfing at Preservation Bay and Midway Point. On day one, students learnt surfing basics and then headed out to catch some tubes. There were many wipeouts and funny moments – some were even caught on camera! On day two, the sun was out and students further developed their skills. The determination shown by all students was exceptional. In the coming weeks, the class will do a day trip to Archers Knob, kayaking and mountain biking at Wild Mersey. We look forward to making more fun memories together.

Congratulations to the 11 students who represented Penguin District School at the Burnie 10 on Sunday. A great test of strength, resilience, and determination. Thank you to Kristie Whitely and Miss Goninon for organising.

The Year 11 TASC students have handed in their final pieces of work for English, Maths, CLP, and Road Safety. Well done to all four students who demonstrated great effort throughout the year and were very deserving of their celebratory lunch.