13 December 2023
Principal’s Report
Kaya Families,
This is our final newsletter for 2023 as school finishes on Thursday 14th December. We will celebrate the last day with some festive songs presented by each year level. Families are most welcome to attend the event which will be held in the undercover area at 8.45am
There has been a tremendous amount of lost property collected over this semester. We have sorted the items with names and will return those to the students. The remainder of clothes that are not identifiable school uniforms will be placed in the Community Pantry. These clothes are now available to families to take if they need, I encourage you to check these items to ensure if an item belongs to you it is collected.
If you have good condition uniforms you would like to donate to the school, we are happy to accept these for students in need.
Whole School Transition
This Wednesday 13th December at 1:45pm, our school will participate in a transition afternoon, where all students and teachers will go to the class they will be in next year to meet and greet each other. As well as spend time in their new learning environment, for some this may also mean a change in play areas. Students who are new to the school in 2024 will also have the opportunity to attend and we look forward to welcoming them to Somerly Primary School next year.
School Reports
Reports will be emailed out to all families on Wednesday, please ensure you check all email folders. Please check that your contact details are correct as they will be sent to the email on our records.
School Survey
Thank you to all families who completed the online survey which is now closed. I appreciate you taking the time to complete the questions and provide direction for our school improvement.
Please remember to come into the office to let us know if you completed the survey to go into the draw for a $50 Bunnings voucher.
School Board
Our School Board has been chaired by Mr Arthur Ventham, for a number of years and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all that he has achieved and done to support Somerly Primary School since it opened. We all have wonderful memories of various events and occasions where Arthur has played a significant part. Arthur has stepped down from the role of Somerly School Board Chair but will remain a significant member of our school community. Mrs Dee Bell, was nominated and voted as the Board Chair for 2024, with a 3 year tenure. Our Board is a group of individuals who provide sound governance and considered leadership to review school policy, planning and budgeting. I thank all the Board members for their time and their commitment.
2023 School Board Chair - Christmas Message
Well, another year has sped by, it is almost Christmas again and it is time to get ready for the long hot summer and the never ending battle on what to do with the kids during the school holidays.
2023 has been somewhat of a mixed year with another change in Principal and Deputies but I am happy to say that I firmly believe that the school is in a very good position right now, with a dedicated Executive Team leading and working with our high-quality cohort of Teachers who are providing quality education to your children and will continue to do so into 2024.
On a personal note, after 14 years involvement with the school, the last three years as Chairman of the School Board, I have decided that at 73 years of age it is time to hand over the reins to someone who is much younger than me and who has young children at the school meaning that they will be involved for many years to come.
I remember my first contact with the school in February 2009 when I met the then Principal Tracy Renton and offered the services of the Quinns Rocks RSL Sub-Branch to provide a guest speaker at the 2009 ANZAC Day Assembly to which she accepted. As I was the closest Sub-Branch Member to the school I was nominated to attend and in 2023 I am still associated with the school, not only as a guest speaker at Commemorative Assemblies but also as a Board Member and more recently the Board Chairman.
One of the main reasons for me “hanging around” for such a long time is because I honestly believe that children are our future and that the quality of education being taught at Somerly will lead many of our students to gain executive positions within industry and government thereby creating a positive and stable country in which to bring up our future students, be that in 5 – 10 – 20 years.
To the parents of the current cohort of students I urge you to become more involved with the education of your child, be that through just reading to them every night, becoming involved with the school as a volunteer such as Breakfast Club, P&C Association, Board Member or just by volunteering in your child’s class or the library to help other students become better readers and learners.
To the students, you have a wonderful opportunity in this day and age to achieve whatever you want to achieve, in any occupation or enterprise. The sky is your limit so go for it, aim high and achieve.
I would like to thank Louise Carroll and the many staff that I have come to know over the past 14 years for being a very dedicated bunch of teachers who have always had the best interests of the students, your children, at heart and who have worked hard to make Somerly Primary School a pleasant and safe place for children to learn, you have all done a great job.
So once again I wish all the staff, students, parents, carers and all the other personnel at the school a very merry Christmas and good fortune in 2024.
Arthur Ventham RFD MBA
Chairman
Somerly Primary School IPS School Board
From the 2024 School Board Chair
Hi Everyone,
I am Dee Bell and I have two children currently attending Somerly Primary School. We are also a FIFO Family with my husband working away. We have been at Somerly for two years now and I have seen the growth in the short amount of time we have been here, thanks to the School Board and P&C. I am passionate about volunteering and was President of the P&C for 2022. I currently work in Project Management. I joined the School Board last year as a Parent Representative to gain a better understanding of the school's teaching and the education system. I have found the School Board to be very informative. I look forward to the position of School Chair next year and I hope that you all feel welcome to talk to myself or any of the School Board members, about any queries you may have. I would like to thank Arthur for his time on the School Board and supporting Somerly PS. The short time I have known Arthur, it has been a privilege and he will be missed. We will, see him at future events like ANZAC Day, as he continues to work with Veterans.
Dee Bell
Staffing
The staff of Somerly Primary School set high expectations and standards for themselves and their students. They are caring, dedicated and engage in continuous learning for the best interests of their students.
As at the end of every year, unfortunately we have a number of staff members who leave us. I consider it a privilege to offer my thanks to these staff members on behalf of the Somerly Primary School community. In different ways, each of them has contributed so much, impacting the lives of many students. I thank them for their valuable contributions and wish them the very best in 2024 and beyond.
The following teaching staff will be leaving us; Miss Heather Barnwall, Mrs Amber Brown, Zoe Hamand, Ms Ros McLevie and Mr Cameron Robinson. Our school Psych, Mr Chris Moody, is retiring at the end of this year and our chaplain, Mrs Mereana Epiha will also be ending her contract at the end of the year.
I would like to make special mention to our school administration team. Mrs Sue Rose (MSC) and Mrs Pam Lok in the office for their enduring work for our school community. Mrs Lok, will not be returning for Term 1 2024, as she is contracted in an MSC role at another school. Thank you to Mrs Vanessa Summers, Mrs Helen Proctor, Mrs Janet Metcalf and Mrs Naomi Facey who assist in the office part time, continuing to offer a warm and friendly welcome.
to our school. Our Deputy Principals Miss Heather Barnwall and Mrs Shylie Elliot who work tirelessly to drive school improvement, support families and staff and ensure the school runs smoothly.
2024 Term 1 Events
I wish all our families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing you all back for the amazing things Somerly Primary School has in store for 2024.
Please save these dates in your diary;
- Wednesday 31st January - Students start back at school
- 26th Feb - 8th March - Swimming for year 5 & 6 students @Yanchep Lagoon
- March 4th Labour Day – Students do not attend
- March 13th – 22nd NAPLAN for Year 3 & 5 students
- March 22nd Early School Closure - 11:45am for Parent -Teacher Interviews 12 – 5:00pm
- March 25th – 28th Harmony Week
- March 28th End of Term One
- March 29th Good Friday - School holidays commence
2024 Term 2 Events
- April 15th Monday Students return for Term 2
- April 25th ANZAC Day – public Holiday
- April 26th School Development Day – Students do not attend
- Jun 3rd WA Day – public Holiday
- June 20th NAIDOC Incursion
- June 26th Wednesday – last day of Term 2
- June 27th and 28th School Development Days – students do not attend
Book Award Assembly
On the 8th December, our school community came together to recognise and acknowledge students who have displayed our school values consistently throughout the year and excelled in various subject areas. Congratulations to all these students. We also enjoyed the talents of our choir and announced our 2024 student leadership team. Thank you to the families who stayed and joined us for a morning tea to celebrate with their children.
Year 6 Graduation
Friday 8th December our Year 6 students enjoyed their graduation ceremony. We congratulate all the 2022 graduating Year Six students and wish them all the best for the future. We hope they take with them some fond memories of their time in primary school and we await hearing of their future success of which we are sure will be many. During the Graduation Ceremony, some students were recognised for their excellent contributions to their primary schooling years. We would like to congratulate these students for their outstanding success.
In addition, the Year 6 students will attend an excursion to Outback Splash, to celebrate their final primary school years.
Thank You
As the year draws to an end, we have an opportunity to publicly thank all those who have made our school year as wonderful as it can be. Quite often there are people we just don’t get a chance to stop and say thank you to. Please take a moment to thank anyone who has given you support, time or just been there and made things better. People like the crosswalk attendants, before and after school carers, cleaners, gardeners, chaplain, Clarkson canteen, relief teachers, mentors, educational assistants, Teachers, Librarian, P&C members, Breakfast Club, School Board and front office staff - Thank you!
Louise Carroll
A/Principal
Stars
Behaviour Focus
Our behaviour focus for Week 10 is: - Safety
Gardening Club
We have been working very hard in our garden this term, we have been mulching our community garden and our senior area garden!
We have also again completed the loop with our Garden, we have planted, harvested and ate our fresh produce. Our students harvested some lettuce mix, tomatoes and capsicum and made lettuce cups! They were delicious! Well done, Somerly!
Congratulations everyone for your hard work and participation!
Thank you to all our staff, students, and community for continuing to support our Containers for Change challenges!
Our final challenge for this year was our “We Are all In This Together!” challenge and as a community we collected 4443 containers!
Our winning classroom was Miss Colleran’s room 4.
Thank you to all our staff, students, and community for continuing to support our Containers for Change challenges!
Our final challenge for this year was our “We Are all In This Together!” challenge and as a community we collected 4443 containers!
Our winning classroom was Miss Colleran’s room 4 for collecting 1006 containers.
Other classroom totals were:
Room 1 – 323 Room 2 – 175 Room 3 – 167 Room 4 – 1006 Room 5 – 579
Room 6 – 17 Room 7 – 90 Room 8 – 20 Room 9 – 64 Room 10 – 40
Room 11 – 11 Room 12 – 812 Room 13 – 135 Room 14 – 128 Room 15 – 217
Room 16 – 195 Room 17 – 193 Room 18 – 270 Room 20 – 101
We have lots to celebrate as we are so excited to share with our whole community that we did it! We smashed our goal of 50000 in 2023! The current total is 51526
We are having a Zooper Thursday this week so keep bringing in your containers!
So please help us to Save our Planet! Save our Future! We are the Change!
We Did It Award - Celebration
Room 14 – End Of Year Christmas Activity
These was the final Christmas activity using the skills of cooperation, team work, research and planning.
P & C
Thank you to our enthusiastic and diligent P&C members. Thank you to all the members of the P&C for your support with Breakfast Club, Sausage Sizzles, Mother’s and Father's Day stalls, Easter raffles, Fathering Project, Discos, Year 6 camp and graduation, Fun Run and much more behind the scenes. Your contributions to the school this year have been excellent, and we are truly grateful. We look forward to the wonderful things being planned for next year, please feel welcome to join this amazing team next year.
Somerly Playgroup End Of Year Celebration
Thursday, 7th December was Somerly Playgroup’s last session for the year! To celebrate, families enjoyed a small Christmas party, followed by an awards ceremony, where each child received a certificate for their achievement in 2023. We have been so lucky to host such a wonderful playgroup here at Somerly and are looking forward to the year ahead in 2024.
Sadly, we will be farewelling Sharni Coster, the person responsible for getting Somerly Playgroup up and off the ground in 2022, as her daughter Zoe moves on to Kindy in 2024.
Thank you so much Sharni for all your hard work and dedication to bringing our fantastic playgroup to life - your continual effort and contributions have been invaluable; We don’t know where we would be without you!