TATURA CUBBY NEWS

We wish all our Cubby families and the Tatura Community a Happy New Year.

And what an exciting new year it will be! After a year of preparation, our childcare centre will extend its hours to respond to the growing need for childcare in our town.

Our new opening hours are:

Tuesday 8:30am to 4:00pm

Wednesday 8:30am to 4:00pm

Thursday 8:30am to 4:00pm

Friday 8:30am to 4:00pm

Fees are $105 per day. Parents can and should apply for Childcare Subsidy (CCS) with Centrelink to reduce the amount of money they pay out of pocket.

Our license to operate covers childcare for 15 children per day which gives us the opportunity and the joy to care for our families in a very individual and personal way – you become part of the bigger Cubby family. We are here to support our parents above the regular services of childcare centres. We can help you with your CCS application, connect you to support services or just have an open ear for the days where it all seems a bit much.

We have only a few spots left but created a waiting list for this term’s applications for enrolment. Give us a call to inquire about vacancies, have a chat and book a time to get to know The Cubby and our staff.

At the end of last year, we said goodbye to our beautiful childcare workers Karen and Janenne who have been with us for many years. Thank you for your commitment and for caring for so many children over the years. We will miss you! Karen and Janenne might step in as relievers from time to time, we’re looking forward to catching up with them then.

Our Cubby will be staffed with three educators. Tarja, our childcare coordinator, will continue to do a fantastic job with her caring attitude and her sense of humour. She will be supported by Lucy who has worked in childcare for over 13 years. Heather, who just completed her Diploma successfully, will join them on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and our new staff member Katy will join them on Thursdays and Fridays. Our second new staff member Emma will complete the team and be there as a lunchtime reliever every day from Tuesday to Friday. Thank you to all our staff members, old and new, for making more childcare possible!

The Cubby Occasional Care is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 8:30am – 4:00pm in the orange building on Kerferd Street. The Cubby is a Child Care Subsidy provider, making it an affordable choice for families. Give us a call on 5824 1315 or 0490 117 030 to have a chat with one of our friendly staff.

- Tom Boocock and Nadine Pichler

Dhurringile Primary School

This year has started fantastically for us.

We have had a 50% increase in our student population and have a new staff member. We warmly welcome all of our new members of the Dhurringile family. Ms Cook is our new Mental Health and Wellbeing leader as well as sharing the teaching with Mrs N. Each morning before school, our students get to choose several different play items that they would like in our play stations in the undercover area. Students are able to use the stations in their break times. Mindful colouring, kinetic sand and domino track building have been the favourites in the past two weeks.

Our Italian teacher is not available this year to offer virtual lessons, so we have decided to change to Auslan and have joined with Harston school to share their new teacher. We are going to have a fortnight rotation of face to face and virtual lessons. Our students have already had one lesson at Harston which they loved. Getting to renew friendships with the Harston students over recess, was ‘the icing on the cake’. Our teachers are also learning Auslan alongside the students, so it will be interesting to see who is able to incorporate Auslan into classroom discussions quicker.

During the holidays, further progress has been made to our outdoor learning area and kitchen garden. The shade sail is now installed for the learning area. The ground through the learning area and garden has been scraped and levelled, then mulched to incorporate the 2 areas. The raised garden beds have been put into place, ready to be filled and then planted. Our old hot house has been moved into the kitchen garden area and will look fantastic when it gets new shade cloth.

At the end of 2022, we found out that we had received an Active Schools grant to install a bike path and sensory play area. Throughout 2023, we will construct the path and a new sensory area. The students have been discussing with Ms Cook some of the things that they would like to have in the sensory area. Once available, the bike path and sensory play area will be open for the community as well as for the Dhurringile students.

Enrolments for 2024 will open in term 2 2023, as per a new Department of Education state-wide Foundation (prep) enrolment timeline. If you have a Foundation student for 2024 or 2025, I would love to show you around Dhurringile Primary School. Our school is open for all primary students, not just those who live in our designated zone. Give me a call on 58266222 or 0418 383 064 to find out further information or to arrange a visit.

Lisa Wilson Principal @ Dhurringile Primary School

The year is off to a flying start at Sacred Heart with everyone returning back to school full of energy and enthusiasm. Staff spent lots of time ensuring the learning spaces were inviting and everyone felt safe and welcomed, ready for the exciting year ahead.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our many new students and families. I know they will quickly feel part of our beautiful school community. We also welcome new staff, Brooke Cimera, Kathryn Reid, Sonia Lagozzinno and Lily Vincitorio who are very much looking forward to being part of the Sacred Heart community.

Year 6 were commissioned as 2023 School Leaders and presented with their Leadership shirts. These leaders have already begun this very important role in the true spirit of Sacred Heart, leading Assemblies, working with their Leadership teams and of course the important task of being buddies to our new Foundation students.

It was lovely to see so many of our families come along and enjoy our Welcome Evening. It was a great opportunity for old and new families to get together. We also gathered at our Opening School Mass, asking for God’s blessings for the year ahead.

Our new building is close to completion and we are very much looking forward to moving into the exciting new environment in the coming weeks.

We look forward to all the new adventures that will unfold at Sacred Heart throughout the coming year as we work and learn together.

Pauline Hindson Sacred Heart Primary Principal

Mad Girls

We are MAD – Making a Difference for others affected by breast cancer and proud of it!

The Murchison Pink Morning Tea is now back in 2023! This is a fundraising event that raises money for the GV Breast Cancer Support group.

Organiser, Sharon Reilly, explained that COVID has taken its toll on organizing and running the event like so many other events. But with new energy and positivity, we are now back in 2023.

The date to mark down now is Saturday October 7. Tickets are limited and available as a table or individually. Tickets go on sale from August, but don’t be scared to flag your interest now by contacting Sharon on 0438 262 172.

The morning tea includes games, raffles, a guest speaker, and lots of great food. So, mark the date now – Saturday October 7. Come along and be part of local women supporting others to be MAD - Making A Difference.

- Jenny Lister

Countries Of The World Word Search

Find and circle all of the hidden words about countries The left over letters reveal a secret message.

HUNGARY PAPUA NEW GUINEA ARGENTINA INDIA PERU BAHRAIN IRAN PHILIPPINES BELGIUM IRELAND POLAND

BENIN ITALY PORTUGAL

BHUTAN KAZAKHSTAN QATAR

CAMEROON KENYA RUSSIA

CANADA LAOS RWANDA

CHAD LATVIA SAN MARINO

CHINA LIECHTENSTEIN SURINAME

CROATIA LITHUANIA SPAIN

CUBA MALI SWEDEN

FIJI MONTENEGRO TAIWAN

FINLAND NEPAL TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

GABON NEW ZEALAND TURKEY

GHANA NORWAY UKRAINE

GUYANA OMAN URUGUAY

HAITI PALAU YEMEN

SUDOKU No. 79

Idw Thanks

To all the 200 plus volunteers who assisted with 2023 International Dairy Week, the Tatura Football Netball Club and the IDW subcommittee would like to thank you all very much.

Numbers of exhibitors and stock were up significantly from last year when Covid was at its peak. The introduction of the Food Truck night on the Saturday was received very well by the town and surrounding area with many families venturing to the main oval for the festivities even though the temperature at the commencement was around 40 degrees. Congratulations must go to IDW and COGS for setting up the evening as it provided a night of fun and gave an insight to what IDW is all about.

Several new volunteers came into the fold, and all indicated they had a great (if not busy) time and are all keen to go again next year.

I would like to give special mention to all the team leaders who arranged rosters and coordinated the various section. They include Mignon Campbell (sandwiches/rolls), Catherine Brooks (bars), John Maher/Daryl Wilson (gates), John Maher (dishwashers), Jack Lowe/Bill Ballantyne (breakfasts), Gaye Eaton (overall catering) and Carol Coulston (bookkeeping).

The future of the event looks bright as the new owners Declan and Brad, and the Event Coordinator Stacey, are keen to keep trying new things such as the food trucks and the Trade show. So, let’s all have a rest and get ready for 2024.

Once again, thank you all very much.

Tatura Lions Club

Zone chairman Keith Bryant recently presented awards to Alana Bryant for 16 years of service and to President Helen Hoskin, representing the Tatura Lions Club, for the services the club provided to residents during the recent floods.

Daryl Eaton

TFNC IDW Coordinator

Harston Primary School

Harston PS has hit the ground running.

We would like to welcome Carli Bugler & Bethany Mckinnell to the team at Harston. Everyone has settled in beautifully. We have already made zucchini muffins using ingredients from our school garden. We were meeting with Merrigum to meet ‘Healthy Harold’ next week, but this has been postponed. The students have already participated in MAAC & MARC enjoying Art & Library. Our Auslan has kicked off with bang and the students are loving it. Dhurringile Primary School will be joining us on this adventure. The students are learning to play the ukulele and had a very exciting first lesson this week.

Our first school council meeting is the 20th of February. Please consider coming along and being part of the Harston team. 2 meetings a term during the day on a Monday or a Tuesday around 1 pm at the school. Specialists at Harston

• Art odd weeks on Friday -with Ms Cowan.

• Library even weeks on Tuesday -with Ms Smith.

• Music/Creative Arts & EQ - Every Tuesday morning with Mrs Sibio.

• Science with the Discovery Centre – Thursdays.

• PE -TBA

• Auslan – Fridays with Ms Mckinnell