Community and Playford College
Dear parents and care-givers,
Welcome to Term 2. The staff was delighted to welcome many children last week (average of 100 during the 4 days) and this week we offer face to face teaching for all the students who are at school. By Tuesday 327 students were present. The coronavirus has caused so much tragedy, loss of life, hardship and heartache throughout Australia, your home countries and the wider world. No-one has been immune from its awful affects and our lives will be different forever!
Although we understand why a few families are still reluctant to send their children to school the advice from the health, education and government agencies is school is a very safe place for youngsters. We continue to practise regular hand washing, the use of hand sanitizers, cleaning of desks and playground equipment and deeper classroom cleaning. Parents are asked not to enter classrooms and social distance if on the school property for the time being.
Within this negative situation there are still positives:
• Parents throughout the world have been reminded of how difficult it is to educate their own children, let alone a whole class of unique and different individuals. There is new admiration for the wonderful roles of teachers and I am sure new respect and gratitude will happen.
• Our students were so pleased to return to school to re-connect with friends and staff and have some routine back in their lives. I lost count of the number of students who mentioned how much they had missed school.
• Our staff members have been incredible. Mrs Makki and I are very proud of the way our Front Office team members contacted nearly all families, our SSOs have prepared MiniLit, MacqLit and other lessons/projects, our teachers have investigated online learning and were using ClassDojo, SeeSaw, Google Classrooms, new websites and Zoom to teach, connect and assess learning well before most schools, Bryan Dearman for coordinating the new electronics for our Safer School grant and start of the Junior Primary playground and all others for their contribution. It is such an honour for us to be part of a team that regularly ‘goes above and beyond’ for the children and community.
• Most of our families are now connected with School Stream, Class Dojo etc.
• Many of our familes have a greater understanding of what happens in the classroom each day.
• The leadership of Mrs Makki with planning, communicating with families, counselling students and supporting staff.
• The Board has been very supportive of all the school, staff and student needs.
Playford College is an amazing community which has coped admirably during challenging times. We recognise we are blessed to live in South Australia at times like this and we are grateful that our school has remained COVID-19 free.
Blessings,
Chris Riemann,
Principal
The Foundation students in Mrs. Burton’s (Foundation) class worked together to explore shapes, practise their digraphs and investigate their literacy activites.
“Welcome parents to FB. At the end of term 1 the students have been learning about their sounds and digraphs, the sounds sh, ch, th, ai, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, and ar. We have been discussing how two letters come together to make a sound. We have nearly finished all of the phonics sounds and diagraphs. I am very impressed with all of the very hard work the students have been doing in regards to their letter formation, despite the obstacles we are facing right now. We are ensuring the children are washing their hands and following hygiene practices, in regards to our school values and the ongoing virus.
In Maths the students have been learning about numbers and basic addition and subtraction as well as shapes and patterns.” – Mrs Niki Burton.
Playford College Playgroup
Recommences on Monday the 11th!
When?: from 9am-11am, Monday, Tuesday and Friday.
Who?: Every pre-schooler is welcome with his/her mum/or dad.
Pre-schoolers can be siblings of our school or members of the wider community.
Where?: Closest classroom to entrance gate.
What?: Playgroup is free and Farhat will help organize activities that will assist with sharing, socialization, craft, games and fun to ready children for school.
Invite your friends. Bring a snack.
We are pleased with the progress of many projects including:
– Painting, renovations, new cupboards and new technology in various classrooms.
– Preparing the site for the new Junior Primary playground.
– Cleaning of sheds ready to move sports equipment.
– Final decisions on fencing around the College.
– Installing a new sound system, security system, safety cameras, smoke detectors, whole school messaging system and more.
THANK YOU PLAYFORD COLLEGE MOTHERS
Mothers Day
Playford College celebrates our mums as a gift from God for our students. During these challenging times with COVID-19, and at all other times, we thank our MOTHERS for:
Loving their children unconditionally.
Treating each child as a precious unique individuals creations with particular needs.
Supporting learning at home.
Raising well behaved, well mannered, confident and respectful children.
Sending children to school who are happy, well fed, properly clothed, and have all they need to be successful.
On the occasion of Mothers Day our Lady Fatima (a.s.) represents a MOTHER with the most beautiful qualities.
She was very charitable and set an example for her children by giving away her wedding dress to someone who needed it more.
She was kind to the poor and deprived.
She carried water to neighbours who were too weak to get water themselves.
She led a simple and modest life not attracted by material satisfactions.
She represented the highest example of chastity and honour.
She spent much of her days in worship and she was well known for her knowledge of the Quran.
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Mothers Day Poetry by 6Q
“Roses are red, violets are blue. You’re the best mum ever. I love you.” – Ahmed, 6Q
“I LOVE YOU MUM – Intelligent, Loving, Overcaring, Violets, Exhausted, Unmistakable, Magical, Unbeatable, Merciful” – Ameer, 6Q.
Technology in The Classroom
We are grateful
When some members of the South Australian community learned that not all our children could access appropriate technology at home they donated some devices to the College.
We are very grateful for this kindness.
Pictured (top) is one donator giving a device to Kazim, our IT Manager.
Picture (below) is another couple who drove for about an hour to donate their devices to us.
Mr. Al-Zubeidi’s Wisdom:
Our value for the fortnight is “Growth Mindset”. Cultivating a growth mindset is one of the factors that would aid in development on a physical, mental and spiritual level. When it comes to any challenge we face whether physically, mentally or spiritually, having a growth mindset would aid us in being able to overcome these perceived challenges and use them as opportunities to refine ourselves in all aspects of our existence. This requires our own effort as well as the blessings from God. God Almighty has promised to aid us in our growth as long as we put in the effort. He mentions in the Holy Qur’an that if you strive towards Him, He will surely guide you. Let us use this Holy Month as an opportunity to grow and overcome our challenges in all aspects of our lives.
With prayers and blessings,
Mr Abrahim Al-Zubeidi.
Playford College Calendar:
May:
15th: Parent Teacher Interviews for Primary School AND Middle School students.
15th: Student Free Day (Night of Destiny)
25th: Student Free Day (Eid-Al-Fitr)
June:
1St: GUS Dental starts
8th: Public holiday
3rd: Biggest Morning Tea
10th of June: GUS Dental finishes
July:
3rd of July: Year 5/6 Camp
*Translation*
Did you know? You can go to the settings tab on your school stream app and click on language translation to turn it ‘on’ and receive updates in your preferred language.
How to download: Go to the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Play Store (Android), search for the School Stream and download the app and find our school on it.
Website: www.playfordcollege.sa.edu.au Contact: 82523044 Email: [email protected]