have started preschool in
2012. They will start school
after four terms of pre-
school as is now the case.
Please talk to your local
Preschool Director or my-
self to determine how this
will work for your child.
2013 is the tenth year of the
Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC). 2012 (the National
Year of Reading) was an
outstanding year for the
PRC, when 124,244 students
across SA completed the
Challenge. We encourage
you to keep up the momen-
tum to read 12 books by 6th
September. For more infor-
mation visit
http://
www.premiersreadingchallen
ge.sa.edu.au/prc/
I wish you all a safe and
happy Easter break and trust
you get to spend quality time
with your families. Deb O’Neill
Pupil Free and School
Closure Days 2013
At Monday night‟s council
meeting the pupil free days
and closure days for 2013
were decided. All sites are
entitled to 2 pupil free days
for training and development
and one closure day for a
day of local significance, traditional our Show day.
For the past 2 years the
Minister for Education has
granted an additional 2 pupil
free days to support staff in
the implementation of the
Australian Curriculum.
School Council are sympa-
thetic to the needs of fami-
lies in determining these
dates and we attempt to give
you as much prior notice as
possible. Out of School
Hours Care will be available
for these dates. See below
for the dates.
On the training days staff
will work with our cluster
schools to develop and im-
plement the areas of the
Australian Curriculum.
Same First Day Start
As of 2014 there will only be
one reception intake per
year. From 2014 there will
be a new start date for pre-
school and school children.
This will be the first day of
Term 1.
If your child turns four be-
fore May 1, they will start
preschool on the first day of
Term One in that year. If
your child turns four on or
after May 1, they will start
preschool on the first day of
Term One the following
year. If your child turns five
before May 1, they will start
school on the first day of
Term One in that year. If
your child turns five on or
after May 1, they will start
school on the first day of Term One the following
year. The new start date will
mean that all children
will have four terms of pre-
school and four terms of
Reception. There will be no
change for children who
From the Principal March 28th , 2013
Gilles Street Primary School
Coming Events
Fri 29 March
Good Friday Public
Holiday (school closed)
Mon April 1
Easter Monday Public
Holiday (school closed)
Fri April 12
End of Term Assembly
2:15 pm in the Hall
Mon April 29
PUPIL FREE DAY
School Closed
OSHC Open
Tue April 30
Term 2 Begins
Inside this issue:
Harmony Day 2013 2
Cultural Festivals 2
OSHC Pupil Free Day
Pre-School 2014 3
Community Notices 4
Principal: Deb O‟Neill
Deputy Principal: Carol West
Assistant Principal: Ginny Pryor
Ph: 8223 5184 Fax: 8223 7114
www.gillesstps.sa.edu.au
At the last School Council meeting the council ratified the following dates for 2013 Pupil Free and
School closure days.
MONDAY APRIL 29th 2013 (first day of Term 2 - OSHC available) - PUPIL FREE DAY
FRIDAY JUNE 7th 2013 (Fri before June long weekend - OSHC available) - PUPIL FREE DAY
FRIDAY 2nd AUGUST 2013 (OSHC available) - PUPIL FREE DAY
FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2013 (OSHC available) - SCHOOL CLOSURE (Royal Adelaide
Show)
MONDAY 14th OCTOBER 2013 (first day of Term 4 - OSHC available) - PUPIL FREE DAY
Once again we have celebrat-
ed Harmony Day despite the
inclement weather patterns.
Students and staff wore
orange and participated in
activities and discussions
around the notions of
harmony.
Amongst the activities we had
Helen, the mother of Esther
from Room 8, come to do
some Harmony Day story
telling today, firstly in Room 8
and then in Room 7. The chil-
dren were captivated with the
story of the colours of the
rainbow. Later we received
this from one of our
families—
“I just wanted to share this
picture that Jasmine did after
Harmony Day. I think that she
really enjoyed the celebrations
and when we talked about
what harmony was about
Jasmine showed a real
understanding of the concepts
of tolerance and accepting
people from other back-
grounds. Kudos to you and
the school for helping her to
develop this understanding”.
the story of Ester but in the
cowboy way like the wild
west. The bad guy was Haman
who wanted to kill all the
Jewish people. Ester and her
cousin Mordechai told the
king about Haman‟s evil plot.
It wasn‟t long before the king
ordered his guards to kill
Haman.
From that day on Ester and
the king ordered Mordechai
to be his prime minister and
all the people (including the
Jewish) lived happily ever
after.
Purim
By Yamina
The Purim Festival is on
Sunday the 24th of
February.
On the Purim Festival all
the Jewish people cele-
brate the day of Ester.
The day of Ester is about
a Jewish girl who became
the queen and saved all
of the Jewish people.
I went to the Purim festival
and I watched a play. It told
St Patrick’s Day in Ade-
laide
By Tara and Patrick
St. Patrick‟s Day on the 17th
of March is celebrated around
the whole world and
especially in Ireland.
St. Patrick was the person
who got rid of all the snakes
in Ireland so he is the Patron
Saint of Ireland.
He is represented by green
the colour of the Republic of
Ireland so on St. Patrick‟s Day
people wear green clothing.
Other symbols are: sham-
rocks (a three leaf clover),
Irish dancing, even green food
and drinks!
This celebration is the
highlight of our year.
Harmony Day
Cultural Festivals
singing. This
circle is called „Haravod‟ in
Russian.
If there is still snow on
Monday, people of all ages
play snow games. All week
they eat lots of „blini‟ pancakes
with jam, sour cream, sugar or
condensed milk or savoury
with cabbage. They spend lots
of time with friends and
family.
It is a very fun, exciting
celebration and we love it!
A Big Russian Tradition
MASLINICA!
By Daria and Sofya
Maslinica is an old Russian
tradition that is about saying
goodbye to winter and saying
hello to spring.
Maslinica lasts for a week.
Each day has a special celebra-
tion. Russian people go to find
a special flower that will make
all their wishes come true.
They play games and go in a
circle holding hands and
Page 2
Gilles Street Primary School
OHSC - PUPIL FREE DAY
Hula Hoop Showdown
A Message From your local Preschool
Director
Dear Families as you may already be aware
there is only one intake for preschool in
2014.
If your child turns 4 before May 1st 2010
they can begin kindergarten in Term 1
2014.
Please enrol your child at your local pre-
school as soon as possible to ensure their
position
OSHC
PUPIL FREE DAY
Monday 29th April 2013
Bookings open from Tuesday 2nd April, 2013
Operating Times: Open - 7.45am Closed - 6.00pm
($20.00 late pickup fee applies after 6.00pm)
Cost - $45.00 per child per day (excursion included)
CCB available to eligible Parent/Caregivers
After School Care will be available. Please pick up booking and excursion consent form from OSHC
office.
PLEASE NOTE:
Bookings will be final at the time the booking form is returned to the Service.
No cancellation will be accepted after the booking form is received and Parents/
Caregivers will be charged regardless of attendance.
Last day to book: FRIDAY 12th April 2013 WITHOUT EXCEPTION
JUMPING CASTLE & FASTA PASTA LUNCH
The SRC organised a fabulous Hula Hoop Showdown on
Monday at recess this week. As we watched the 60 „hula
hoopers‟ we discovered the incredible hidden talents of our
students, who were rewarded with prizes for amazing feats!
Keep practising- you never know when the next pop-up
hula contest will happen!
The SRC
2014 Pre-School Information
Community Notices
Page 4