For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

As we hit the finish line of another incredible year, it is with immense pride and gratitude that I extend my appreciation to each member of our Penguin District School Community. The collective efforts of students, parents, teachers, and staff have made this year truly remarkable.

I would like to update you with some changes to staffing that have happened (as recently as yesterday morning!) I would like to welcome the following people who will join us at Penguin next year

Alex Baldock PE
Alison O’Donnell – Foods

Jarrod Minton Connell – Music

Hayley Marshall Year 6

Sandra Warwick – Year ¾ 1 day a week (3/4 Beard) and support

Hannah Robertson (Prep Atkins)

Amanda O’Shea ¾

Jasmine Arnott – sharing with A. O’Shea

Lyn Brown Year 5

Deb – French – sharing with Lyn Brown

Congratulations to Joel Reeves who will continue in his AST role in 2024.

I would like to farewell the following staff and wish them all the best in their future endeavours:

Abby Goninon

Nanette Singline

Rebeka MacLachlan

Emily Rieper

Tahnee Schultz

Rhys Clarke

Tim King

Maddison McCormack

Sharine Johnstone

James King

Emma Singleton

May the holiday season bring joy, warmth, and moments of peace to you and your loved ones. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and may the New Year bring you success and good fortune. Thank you for another incredible year. Enjoy a well-deserved break, and I look forward to our continued learning journey in the upcoming year.

Wishing you all a restful holiday season and Happy New Year!

Certificates of Achievement Year 7 & 8

Year 7 - Conor, Jacob, Nell, Simon, Oliver 

Year 8 - Chelsea, Walter, Grace, Taya, Asha, Evie, Skylah 

Certificates of Achievement Year 9 & 10 

Year 9 - Lachlan, Kaitlee, Tahlia, Heidi, Haylee 

Year 10 - Estelle, Taylah, Will, Zac 

Year 9 History Award

Ella 

Minister for Education and Training Respectful Student Award

Samantha 

Year 10 Arts Acquisition Award

Ruby ‘Ruben’ 

Year 10 Australian Olympic Change Maker Award 

Year 10 -  Hannah  and Chad 

Year 10 Braddon Student Achievement Award

Lara 

The Russell Family Lodge of Peace Award

Jacob 

The Central Coast Council Social Responsibility Award 

Greagan 

University of Tasmania Springboard to Higher Education Bursary

Zac 

University of Tasmania Encouragement Award

Estelle  and Will 

Australian Defence Force Long Tan Award

Hannah 

Australian Defence Force Future Innovators Award

Lara 

Hellyer College Bursary

Tahlia 

Ricoh Award

Phoebe 

Penguin Community Op Shop Bursary

Jacob 

Top Certificate 2 Sport Coaching Student Award

Brady 

Together Awards

Year 7 -  Daniel       

Year 8 -  Mia 

Year 9 -  Romulus     

Year 10 -  Hannah 

Aspire Awards

Year 7 -  Leo         

Year 8 -  Dominic 

Year 9 -  Addison     

Year 10 - Taylee 

Strive Awards

Year 7 -  Lawson   

Year 8 -  Rose 

Year 9 -  Logan     

Year 10 -  Lara 

Achieve Awards

Year 7 -  Alexander 

Year 8 -  Paige and Wynnona 

Year 9 -  Ella  and Gracelyn 

Year 10 Dux of School - Jacob 

Presentation of Awards

Aussie of the Month - Davis  3-4B

Certificates of Achievement Years 3-6  

Year 3 Angus, Davis, Amira-Grace, Liffey, Marley 

Year 4 Eva, Rory, Romaya, Maggie, Clementine 

Year 5 Toree, Scarlet, Ruby, Caleesi 

Year 6 Logan, Arahni, Erin, Rhys

Year 6 Arts Achievement Award & Emusicians Recognition 

 Jayla 

Year 6 Sports Achievement Award 

Harper 

Year 6 Braddon Community Leadership Award

Noah 

Year 6 Digital Technologies Award

Pippin  

Together: We Aspire - We Strive - We Achieve

Together Awards

Years 5 and 6 
Estella  & Gabriella 

Aspire Awards

Years 5 and 6 
Franky   & Mikayla

Strive Awards

Years 5 and 6 
Georgia  & Ruby 

Achieve Awards

Years 5 and 6 
Macie  &  Maddy 

Penguin District School Community

wishes to thank

Devonport Nursery Plants Plus

for kindly providing the decorative plants

Presentation of Awards

Recognition

Kinder A - Davis

Kinder B - Koa

Prep A - Max

Prep B - Aydah

Prep C - Van

Year 1/2 A - Maddie

Year 1/2 B - Emily

Year 1/2 C - Isla

Year 1/2 D - Jaye

Year 1/2 E - Saxon

Inquiry

Kinder A - Samuel

Kinder B - Darcy

Prep A - Kohl

Prep B - Maggie

Prep C - Reuben

Year 1/2 A - Georgie

Year 1/2 B - Marli

Year 1/2 C - Evie

Year 1/2 D - River

Year 1/2 E - Heidi

Prep A
In Prep A we have been having so much fun doing some Christmas Craft. Some of our projects have been fairly tricky and we have needed to use lots of fine motor skills and imagination. Our class team wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable Christmas. We are all looking forward to another great year in 2024!

Some highlights from Term 4 for Prep C were:

“Doing directed drawings was fun! It helps us learning to draw.”

“I liked being a VIP and getting to be line leader.”

“I liked doing maths groups and doing lots of plussing.”

“Spelling words because I love doing it – it makes my brain hyped up ready for my learning.”

“Building cars in inquiry.”

“Doing explosions at school.”

Our main inquiry focus this term has been looking at factors that influence movement. We explored ways that we could move, tested our theories on how we could make a wooden block move and designed cars to make moving the blocks easier. Students discovered that the most exciting ideas (coke and mentos) weren’t always the best for achieving our goals and that sometimes the simplest designs are actually the most effective.

In 1/2A, we participated in a Christmas Exchange and it turned out to be a tremendous success! Collaborating with 25 other schools across Australia, we exchanged crafts and letters, providing a glimpse into each other's schools and communities. Students were assigned a school to send and receive letters and crafts, creating a delightful exchange of information.

The joy of opening letters and discovering details about diverse schools nationwide was a highlight of the year for us. Engaging in crafts from the exchange added an extra layer of excitement. One particularly intriguing letter was from our friends at Nymboida Public School, where the entire school comprises only 13 students—all in the same class! On the flip side, Narangba Valley State School amazed us with having 1050 students. Trinity Beach State School students enjoy exploring the Great Barrier Reef on weekends, while Everton Park State School has its own pool.

Out of the 25 schools, 19 were in Queensland, 2 in Tasmania, and 1 each in Western Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. The Christmas Exchange turned out to be not only fun but also rich in learning experiences, including letter and procedure writing, crafting, problem-solving, geography, relationship building, math, reading, following instructions and much more!

The exchange was so exciting that even our class elf, Elfie wanted to take part.

Team French have had a wonderful term. Some of the highlights have been:

• Daily PE (Lachie)
• Exploring maths using card games (Hudson)
• Self-Regulated Learning (Emily)
• Maths! Maths! Maths! (Otis)
• Working on the iPads (Lawson)
• Writer’s Workshop (Emily)
• Learning about lots of interesting things (Hunter)
• Sharing Time (Sammie)
• Working with a friend to create a holiday poster (Layla)
• Listening to the class novel (Joshua)
• Mahtletics (Saxon)
• Working on our Team French poster with Emily (Lacey)
• Being respectful (Jayda)
• Working with my friends in the classroom (Flynn)
• Designing a zoo (Iylah)
• Creating the longest snake in the world (Ethan)
• Playing Spot It (Ember)
• Reading ‘Family Tree’ to the class and drawing (Thomas)
• Bringing Blue and Nova to school (Quinn and Otis)
• Boxwork Creations (Marli, Maison and Flynn)
• Fun learning activities (Lacey)
• Making a Christmas Calendar (Saxon)
• Being Mathematicians (Maison)
• Drawing and sketching (Quinn)
• Going to the beach (Macey)
• Listening to stories (Ember)
• Being in Team French (Everyone)

As we come to the final weeks of school, we have been enjoying Christmas activities during our group jobs. Some of these tasks have included creating Christmas Trees, soft pastel Santa drawings, decorating coasters and making slick stick paintings. We have also been discussing Christmas traditions and sharing the things that make Christmas special to us.

What is special about Christmas?

Being happy and getting presents.
Hanging out with my family.
When you wake up and find presents.
You can get a medal for being nice.
Spending time with family.
Getting lots of presents.
Taking care of each other.
Sharing and giving presents.
Having Christmas dinner with family.
Spreading love.

Year 3-4B have been very busy completing their Writer’s Gift portfolios. They have put so much effort into their writing tasks and the level of enthusiasm, dedication and pride that they have shown in their work has been outstanding. They can’t wait to share them. Well done, students!

Click on the link to view the Beeteam. 

https://youtu.be/dSuPy_3021o

Year 8 students have focused on improving their knife skills and methods of cooking this year.  Items they have created include a variety of dishes from different countries; students also selected a recipe from a specified country and produced a dish that was shared with the class at our end-of-term banquet.

Year 9 and 10 students in Cooking 101 have been working towards improving basic cooking methods and principles. Students created various dishes, including a Banoffee Pie and Christmas Houses.

Primary Students Cooking

A selected group of primary students had their first experience of cooking in the kitchen this year. Students could sample their creations, take them home, and share them with their families.

We’ve installed a new display cabinet recently to display and promote projects. There are a couple of pictures of it – along with other jobs that have recently been completed.

Year 7s have been creating a time capsule filled with letters to their future selves. They will receive this letter back in their final week of Year 10. 

Recently, the Year 9 students completed a ‘Transition’ session. Transition is a term used in schools when students are potentially moving from one setting to another. For example, at the end of Year 10 to a college, or workplace. Students were encouraged to consider what their own interests, strengths, and current experiences are that might link to a future career pathway. There is no doubt that the Year 10 year is an important stepping zone to explore opportunities and set goals for what’s next. These goals could be linked to excellent work habits that look great on an apprenticeship application, or above grade standard assessment in core subjects which allows for more subject choice in college.

We encourage all families to keep having conversations with their children about career possibilities, and we also acknowledge that this is a very big decision and one that not everyone is clear on just yet – which is perfectly fine. For those who are unsure, their commitment and effort to doing their personal best at school will guide them in the right direction eventually.

As we look forward to seeing our Year 9 cohort again in 2024, we wish to congratulate those students who achieved an attendance rate of above 90% this year. 90% is our school wide goal and for those who were under (see your school report to find the percentage), we understand that there are sometimes fair and valid reasons for a student being absent, but we must also value that everyday matters and positive pressure from home is vital. Well done to Jayden A, Jack B, Emma B, Addison D, Kade F, Charli H, Bailey, Roy H, Heidi K, Jaxx Mc, Romi R, Logan R, Lachlan R, Haylee R, Ella R, Manni S, Belle T, Tahlia VE, Rhys W, and Ben W.

Last week we had the opportunity to formally recognise our Year 10 students during the Celebration Assembly and Celebration Dinner. This was a great day and students enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with other and take many photos, which will form memories for many years to come no doubt. Some photos are attached.

We wish all students the best for the future. Many will continue to further education at Hellyer College and Don College, some have been lucky enough to secure apprenticeships, and others will be staying on with us for Year 11. There is no right or wrong direction, simply just what is best for each individual in the next phase of their education and training.