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Find out what's happening in the life of the school! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Culture connects us all(Harmony Week and Celebrating Neurodiversity) During Harmony Week, we like to celebrate the rich diversity within our school community and give thanks for the way God has uniquely created each child. As a Christian primary school, we affirm that every student is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), with individual gifts, strengths and ways of learning, thinking and relating. This week also provides an opportunity to recognise and celebrate neurodiversity — acknowledging that minds work in wonderfully different ways. Some students may think, process information, focus or communicate differently. These differences are not deficits; they reflect the creativity of our Creator. When we intentionally seek to understand and value one another, our whole community flourishes. Harmony Week reflects our commitment to the Child and Youth Safe Standards, particularly our responsibility to cultivate culturally safe, inclusive and responsive environments for all children. We are dedicated to ensuring every child feels seen, heard, respected and safe — regardless of culture, ability, background or learning profile. This includes ongoing awareness and improving our processes. Why do we take time to raise this? Because it beautifully aligns with our school values. We grow through partnership as we listen and learn together. We build courageous learners who are confident in their identity and brave in including others. We practise faithful stewardship through shaping a culture grounded in dignity, belonging and Christ-centred love. Australia is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. Nearly half of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas, and our nation is home to the world’s oldest continuous cultures alongside people from more than 300 heritages. At Channel, we have families from a range of different cultures. After a quick check of our families I came up with this list: Aboriginal, Indian, Chinese, South African, English, Korean, Taiwanese, Jordanian. If I have missed one can you let us know, we would love to celebrate your heritage as well. Together, we will celebrate that everyone belongs. The official day is Saturday 21 March, but as a community we would love to celebrate from Monday 23 to Friday 28 March. ‘Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.’ – Romans 15:7 Margaret Louw – Principal |
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Why, When, What of Athletics Carnival Tuesday 17 MarchUsing our gifts wholeheartedly can be an act of worship to God. This understanding shapes the way we approach events such as our upcoming Athletics Carnival. Families often ask why we do not award individual ribbons. Since 1988, Channel has chosen to celebrate sport, participation and teamwork without singling out individual winners. Grounded in 1 Corinthians 12, we affirm that we are one body with many members, each gifted by God. No person is more important than another, and every ability is a gift from Him. Rather than encouraging comparison, pride or discouragement, we seek to nurture intrinsic motivation and a secure identity as God’s image bearers. Teachers will guide conversations about team spirit, resilience and celebrating the success of others—encouraging every child to have a go. At the Carnival, students will earn points for their teams – Adventure (Blue) and Discovery (Red) through wholehearted participation. These points are tallied at the end of the day with a big ‘reveal of the winning team’. If this is your first Channel carnival (or if you just need a refresher)
the general program is as follows: 9.30am - 12.00pm: The whole school gathers on the front oval in their two-house teams under gazebos. Running events (75m, 200m, 400m and relays). Races start with Year 6 and go down the year levels to Kindergarten. 12.00pm - 12.30pm (12.00pm-12.45pm for lower primary): LUNCH 12.30pm - 2.30pm : Field events rotations. Each year group rotates around various field events.
Years 3 - 6 will participate in long jump, vortex throw, 800 meter race.
Kindergarten - Year 2 students are on the Village green participating in more team activities such as sack races, egg and spoon races, splat (long jump onto mats) and other games or relays. 2.40pm - Gather back together in the lineup area for the announcement of results and an icypole.
Parents, you are most welcome to join us for some or all of the day. We will have a coffee van on site for parents – no cost. This is not available to our students or younger children. There will be seating if needed, but not a lot of shade. Praying for a sunny day. 😊 May this event be another opportunity to honour God through joyful effort, unity and faithful stewardship of the gifts He has given.
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Our class has been spending time this term learning about the Zones of Regulation and how we can better understand our emotions and responses throughout the school day. A key focus has been exploring the Green Zone—that calm, focused and ready-to-learn state where we feel balanced and able to do our best learning. Students worked together to create a special Green Zone corner in our classroom, where they can pause, reflect and think about what helps them feel calm and ready. Each student created their own poster illustrating the people, places and activities that help them return to their Green Zone. It has been wonderful to see the creativity and honesty students brought to this activity, with many sharing things such as time with family, sport, nature, prayer and quiet hobbies. Alongside this, students explored how colour can communicate emotions through art. Inspired by the work of Mark Rothko, students experimented with colour blending and soft transitions to represent different feelings. Their beautiful colour artworks are now displayed in our classroom windows, creating a vibrant backdrop that brightens the room while reminding us of the connection between colour, emotion and wellbeing.
Here are some of our creations: |
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‘My colour art shows that green shows happy, blue shows sad, yellow shows my intelligence, purple shows amazing’ – Xavier |
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‘I chose these specific colours for my art because they represented my feelings. I chose blue for my tiredness, green for my joys along the way, the red and yellow-orange are for my little bits of anger and silliness. But, one of my favourite colours is the reddish-pink which means love’ – Bethany |
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‘My colour art represents calmness. I thought that blue-green and sapphire mean calmness because they blend into each other and make me feel calm and peaceful.’ – Maple |
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‘My colour art is all about feelings because I feel lots of them!! I can feel angry, happy, sad, excited, nervous and calm’ – Ellarose |
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Here is some handy information about using the Library and borrowing books. All classes visit the Library in their class groups. We share stories and learn about different authors, book genres or styles of writing, then there is time to borrow books and practise quiet reading. Loan Limits and Expectations
All loans are automatically checked out to borrowers for a two week loan period. Students can re-borrow a book/s for longer, as long as no other student has placed a reservation on the title (books need to be present in the library in order for loans to be extended). Our collections include:
Picture Books (fiction and non-fiction, including Board Books)
Fiction Sections (Friendly, Large Format, Junior, and Senior Fiction*)
Non-Fiction
Graphic Novels Limits for home borrowing:
Kinder and Prep - two books
Year 1 and 2 - three books
Year 3 and 4 - four books (plus in-class reading books and class novels)
Year 5 and 6 - five books (plus in-class reading books and class novels) Students are encouraged to choose a variety of reading material across different genres. For example, Kindergarten and Prep students may borrow either two storybooks or one storybook and one non-fiction (information) book. Older students are discouraged from borrowing only graphic novels or from taking all five titles in the same series. This helps broaden their reading experience and ensures there are books available for other students to enjoy. Other Library Rules:
Students should bring a library bag for borrowing. Any bag (except a paper one) will do. Most students use a school library bag (available to purchase through the QKR app). Library bags help keep our books clean in our school bags, and from being dropped or bent. *Our Senior Fiction section is reserved for students from Year 5 and 6 only. Books in this collection may contain more serious themes, or have older main characters. Should younger voracious readers wish to borrow from this section, parental permission via email is required. Finally, books do get broken, lost or spilled on! If a book gets lost or badly damaged, there may be a replacement cost. A note in damaged books, when returned, can assist in getting books repaired and back on the shelf faster. Please, if you have any questions or concerns about library
procedures or books on our shelves, get in touch with Mrs Bil Heit on bheit@channel.tas.edu.au or contact the office. Bil Heit – Library Technician
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Year 3 and 5 students will be sitting NAPLAN between 11 and 23 March 2026The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so. Students will complete tests in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy. Parent information brochures and other resources
For more information about NAPLAN and what it means for your child, please visit the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website. Student Withdrawals
Parents may choose to withdraw their students from NAPLAN or, in certain circumstances, they may receive an exemption. If you wish to withdraw your child, please contact Grainne Brocklesby to advise us and complete the required document prior to 10 March. Please contact the school if you have any further queries.
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A friendly reminder that the school’s duty of care (supervision in the playground) starts at 8.30am every morning. Teachers are at school from 8.10am but are meeting together for prayer and updates till 8.30am. From 8.30am you can expect teachers to be in and around their classrooms, and other staff also wandering around to check in with you all if needed. We ask that you please honour this timeline.
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Please pray for our Year 3 and 5 students (and their parent/carers) as they participate in NAPLAN over the next week. May we encourage them all to do their best on the day, and have the courage and skills to have a go. Pray for our Athletics Carnival – that it would be a healthy balance of competition and fun. Pray for our world leaders.
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MARCH
9 | Eight Hours Day - Public Holiday
11 - 23 | Naplan Year 3 and 5 Students
17 | Athletics Carnival Kinder - Year 6
19 | World Down Syndrome Day Celebration - wear crazy socks
23 | Huon and Channel Athletics (selected students)
23 - 27 | Harmony Week at Channel
24 | School Photos
26 - 31 | Swimming Lessons Prep - Year 2 APRIL
3 | Good Friday
6 | Easter Monday
7 | Non Student Day
8 | NO Little Learners
8 - 14 | Swimming Lessons Years 3 - 6
15 | CST All School Cross Country
17 | Last Day of Term
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Updated HandbooksWe have updated our Handbooks. You can download and read a copy via the Parents page on our website. Facebook PageTo see all the latest photos and updates in the life of the school please visit and like our Facebook page. Your Feedback is WelcomeIf you have any suggestions on how to improve our newsletter, we would love to hear from you! You can contact us or fill out our feedback form.
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