Welcome to Term Three – Principal’s Message

Welcome to our first newsletter for Term Three.

I’m pleased to share with our community that I was the successful applicant for the permanent Principal position at Sheffield School. I feel incredibly privileged to continue leading this wonderful school, working alongside dedicated staff, engaged students, and supportive families. It’s hard to believe I’ve already been part of the Sheffield School community for nearly twelve months, and I’m excited to keep building on the journey we’ve started together.

Attendance Matters

As we settle into Term Three, we continue to focus on the importance of regular attendance and living our school values. Consistent attendance is one of the most significant contributors to student success. When students are at school regularly, they build strong relationships, stay connected to their learning, and develop routines that support long-term achievement.

Currently, our school-wide attendance rate sits at 83.1%, and we are working closely with families to improve this. Missing just one day a fortnight adds up to four full weeks of learning lost over a year. We understand that illness and other circumstances can sometimes prevent attendance, and we encourage families to reach out if there are any challenges we can support you with. Our School Association representatives are also available if you’d like to connect with someone.

Living Our Values

At Sheffield School, our values—Respect, Responsibility, Connection, Growth, and Courage—guide everything we do. Over recent terms, we’ve placed a strong emphasis on Connection, recognising that when students feel a sense of belonging and genuine relationships within the school community, outcomes in attendance, behaviour, and learning improve.

This term, we’re turning our focus to Respect—what it means, how it looks, and why it matters. Staff are exploring this value with students, and we encourage families to continue these conversations at home. Values are most powerful when they’re taught and practised across different environments.

To support this, we’ve reintroduced our postcards in the senior school. These will be mailed home to recognise students who demonstrate behaviours aligned with our values. In the primary school, students continue to receive golden stickers and participate in the Principal’s Afternoon Tea as part of our positive behaviour recognition.

NAPLAN Success

Individual NAPLAN results will be sent home shortly. NAPLAN provides a snapshot of how students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 are progressing in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and numeracy. It helps schools, teachers, and families identify strengths and areas for support.

We have much to celebrate this year! Tasmania’s Year 5 students showed the highest reading growth in the nation, and second-highest numeracy growth, just behind Victoria.  These results reflect the hard work of our students and staff, and we’re proud to share more of Sheffield School’s highlights in this newsletter.

 Term Three Highlights

This term is packed with exciting opportunities for our students, including:

• Book Week & Dress-Up Day
• Cattle Handling Preparation Program
• Year 10 Apprenticeship Talk
• Girls’ Footy Gala Day
• Sports Exchange with Mountain Heights
• Badminton Gala Day
• Year 5/6 Sports Expo
• Year 9/10 Excursion to RHS to hear from Tasmanian of the Year recipients
• ADF Careers Session
• Work Exposure at Freer Farm
• Year 5/6 Camp to Hobart

We’re fortunate to offer such a rich variety of experiences that support our students’ growth both inside and outside the classroom.

In the Classroom

One of the joys of my role is visiting classrooms and seeing learning in action. Just yesterday, I popped into a Year 1/2 class and was delighted to see students engaged in a reading lesson, tracking text with their fingers and participating in echo reading with enthusiasm. In another class, students were exploring suffixes and confidently sharing their ideas. These moments remind me of the joy and curiosity that fill our school every day.

Staffing Update

We wish Miss Olivia Stolp all the best as she begins her maternity leave. We look forward to hearing about her new chapter and send warm wishes to her and her partner.

Big Thanks

Thank you to The Hub for their generous donation towards our Year 5-6 camp.  We truly appreciate their support.

As Term Three is often a time when winter illnesses circulate, please take care, stay warm, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support.

Wendy Leonard
Principal – Sheffield School

Golden Tickets

Early Childhood - Bucket Fillers

Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey

StoryBox Hub

We are delighted to announce that Australia's most celebrated education resource is now available to your child at home as part of our school subscription - StoryBox.

A digital library designed to help inspire reading in kids of all ages, your child can now watch their favourite stories, read aloud by fun storytellers at home as well as in the classroom.  

Happy story sharing!

NAPLAN Highlights - Celebrating Student Success

We’re proud to share some fantastic results from our NAPLAN data:

• Year 3 students performed above the average of similar schools in Tasmania in both numeracy and reading.
• A big highlight for 2025 is our Year 5 students, who achieved results above similar schools across all areas: Numeracy, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Grammar and Punctuation.
• Year 7 students achieved above-average results in writing compared to similar schools.
• Year 9 students performed above similar schools in numeracy, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

These results reflect the hard work of our students and the dedication of our teachers. Well done to all.

Secondary Postcards

Attention Secondary Parents/Carers! 

Please keep an eye on your mailbox for Postcards for students who go above and beyond at demonstrating our values of Connection, Courage, Growth, Respect and Responsibility.  Each student who is recognised for this, will go into the draw for a prize at the end of each term.

9-10 and 11-12 Food and Fibre

As the signs of spring start to appear it has been action aplenty at the farm.

Mr Barber's Certificate 2 Ag students have been working towards completing their Operate Quad Bikes and Tractors Certification, whilst assisting with breaking in of the hoof and hook cattle. 

Year 9/10 Food and Fibre students have been exploring innovative technology in agriculture using drones and an introduction to artificial intelligence and global positioning systems. 

The merinos are starting to shape up in readiness for the merino challenge and students have enjoyed the experience of breaking them in.  

The preservation of the wind breaks is near complete with a huge amount of blackwood trees being planted by students. 

With calving time upon us students have been involved in the lead feeding process and introducing the heifers to the dairy.   With breaking in week commencing soon the farm will be a hive of activity for Food and Fibre students.

Oh, What Fun We Had – The Colour Run!

Our recent Colour Run was bursting with fun, laughter, and school spirit! Students had a blast racing through clouds of colour while working hard to fundraise for our school.

There were plenty of exciting challenges in the lead-up to the big day — from setting fundraising goals (including one to slime the teachers!) to class competitions. The highest fundraising class won an icy pole party, and canteen vouchers were up for grabs. One lucky student even won $500 worth of prizes!

On the day, the energy was high as students eagerly lined up, ready to get covered in colour and make memories with friends. Even some of our teachers joined in on the colourful fun!

The Colour Run marked a fantastic end to our K–6 major fundraiser, and it was a huge success. In total, we raised an incredible $17,350.85!

Students have now received their prizes, which arrived last week and went home on Friday. These amazing results wouldn’t have been possible without:

• Our dedicated students and families who raised funds,
• The staff and high school helpers who set up the course and cheered everyone on, and
• The enthusiasm and teamwork that made the day so special.

The money raised will go toward extra classroom resources and help support excursion costs — all of which directly benefit our students.

Thank you to everyone who made this event such a colourful and successful day.

Cattle Handlers Preparation Program

The Cattle Handling team spent their first day at the school farm beginning their preparation for the upcoming show season.  The main focus of this two day program is on preparing and showing stud cattle and judging.  Following this initial program, weekly after-school training sessions will commence.

Railton's canteen day is Wednesday.

Please make sure your orders are in by 9:30am.  You can either order on the QKR app or at the office.

Order (and pay) for school lunches for up to two weeks in advance from your Smart device.      QKR Set Up Instructions

When logging on to QKR for the 1st time each year you will be asked to enter your child's year level and home group.  It is important that you add both of these details and not just home group.

Spotlight on Sheffield School Association members

Carl Morley is Chairperson of the Sheffield School Association. Born in New Zealand and a graduate of the Australian Maritime College, Carl works as a Naval Architect and Engineer in Tasmania and beyond. He grew up sailing dinghies and loves boats  although even after countless coastal yacht races he still gets horribly seasick. If you have a suggestion, concern, or just need help figuring out who to contact at school, Carl is always happy to help. Leave your details at the school office and he will be in touch.

John Kelly began his career as an environmental scientist, focusing on soil and groundwater contamination. In 2007, he bought a farm in Sheffield, which he and his family have since grown into a successful Certified Organic Dairy farm.

As a parent and local employer, John is committed to the success of the school and its students. He values a holistic approach to education—balancing academic, social, practical and cultural learning.

John hopes to support the Principal and School Association in creating opportunities for students to engage in extracurricular and meaningful activities, helping them grow into active, engaged community members.

Seen Parenting Documentary hosted by Spreyton Primary School Association

19 August from 6.00pm at Reading Cinemas Devonport - Free Supper

Special Guest - Allison Davies

Spreyton Primary School Association are hosting a parenting documentary called ‘Seen’.  Join them for a night of transformation, connection and community. 

The film features Maggie Dent, Dr Billy Garvey plus a whole host of psychologists and parenting experts, with a focus on self-reflection and understanding your parenting techniques to encourage forming stronger bonds with our children.  Parents from all walks of life share their personal experiences of putting these practices into place and changing the dynamics of their home life. 

Free supper will be supplied on the night from 6pm and the bar will be open at the cinema, we’d love to see you for a chat and socialise before the film.  We hope to spread some hope and positivity through our wonderful community, into our homes and classrooms. 

We’re also super excited to announce that Allison Davies will be a special guest on the night to speak before the film followed by a short Q and A at the conclusion.  Allison has worked with Maggie Dent and other professionals featured in the film.  She is a professional in her own right, touring nationally and internationally conducting workshops and sharing her knowledge of understanding neuro divergence and trauma informed approaches.  We are really lucky to have her join us. 

More information can be found at www.seenthefilm.com

Click here for the trailer https://youtu.be/bZPQXpw6kT0

Click here for tickets $10 +BF  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/seen-the-film-devonport-tas-hosted-by-spreyton-primary-school-tickets-1429762661609?aff=oddtdtcreator

Free Film Maker Workshop

Platinum Pro Construction - Home Hangout and Careers in Construction - Sunday 10 August

We’re proud to open the doors to one of our newest homes for a relaxed, Sunday Home Hangout + Careers in Construction session, and we’d love  students, families to be part of it.

Home Hangout + Careers in Construction
121 Mersey Main Road, Spreyton
Sunday 10 August, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Toolbox Talk (Careers Discussion) at 12:30 PM

What to expect:
✔️ Walk through a brand-new home built by the Platinum Pro team
✔️ Chat with real apprentices, tradespeople, and leaders
✔️ Hear first-hand stories from those working in the industry
✔️ Learn about work experience, school-based apprenticeships & full-time pathways
✔️ Ask questions in a casual, down-to-earth setting
✔️ Enjoy free coffee and light snacks throughout the day

This is an ideal opportunity for students considering a career in the building and construction industry — whether on the tools, in design, or behind the scenes in client support and project management.

Check out our social media channels for the latest info!

If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out — we’re always happy to chat.

Michael Paske (Sales and Marketing Manager) Platinum Pro Construction