21 February 2024

Principal’s Report

Our vision is to foster every individual’s academic and social development driven by high expectations for success and aspirations for them to become resilient, respectful individuals.

Kaya Families

We have experienced some very extreme weather conditions for the start of our year.  I would like to thank everyone for their considerations with the weather and supporting us in keeping everyone safe during the hotter days.

We are excited to be sending our Student Councillors to the Perth Dream and Lead Conference, this opportunity will help develop their leadership potential. Inspiring them to become better leaders for the future.

During weeks 5 and 6, our year 5 and 6 students will be attending swimming lessons at Yanchep Lagoon. We are very fortunate to be given a booking for a beach location.  Please ensure you have completed their swimming enrolments and made payment. Please telephone the school if you require a payment plan.  Please note that all monies will need to be paid prior to start of swimming lessons.

Our first class assembly will be held this Friday, 23^rd February and will be hosted by Room 10, a year 6 class. We hope you can attend the assembly.

Communication

It is very important that we have your correct details for the purpose of communication, particularly if we need to contact you regarding the welfare of your child. If you have changed address, telephone number or email address, please notify the front office.

We use the Seesaw app to keep communication open between parents and teachers, this keeps you informed about your child’s learning.

We use Consent2Go as the app for excursions and incursions. When events are planned you are notified through the app and are required to give your consent and process payment if required through the app. There is also an option to pay in person at the school’s front office.

Schoolzine is our school newsletter and is emailed out every fortnight, providing you with an overview of the events within the school community.

Attendance

It is crucial to your child’s achievement that they attend school every day. If there is a reason your child does not attend, please contact the school by text 0437 480 486 to inform them of the reason so this can be recorded on the department system. Daily attendance is recorded each morning, a text message is automatically sent to you if your child is not at school. Please reply to the text, so that we remain informed of your child’s situation.

The Department of Education conduct a census data check which is scheduled for the 16^th February. It is important you have notified the school if your child has been absent so they can be included in the census. 

Communication

It is very important that we have your correct details for the purpose of communication, particularly if we need to contact you regarding the welfare of your child. If you have changed address, phone or email please notify the front office.

We use the Seesaw app to keep communication open between parents and teachers, this keeps you informed about your child’s learning.

We use Consent2Go to inform parents of upcoming excursions and incursions. When events are planned you are notified via email and you are required to give your consent for your child to attend.  There is also a link for you to securely process payment. You are also able to make payment by EFTPOS in the front office or directly into the school bank account.

Our Schoolzine newsletter is emailed out every fortnight, providing you with an overview of the events within the school community.

Community

As the year begins, this is an optimum time to reach out to the school community for anyone interested in becoming a member of the School Board or P&C. If you are interested in finding out more information about these roles, please send an email to somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au

Our P&C are holding their AGM on the 7^th February in the school staffroom at 5:30pm. We would love to see as many interested people there as possible. This meeting is to vote on positions for the P&C team, and welcome in new members.

We are seeking volunteers to run our Breakfast Club, if you are able to spare some time to assist in serving breakfast to our students in the morning, please contact the school. Unfortunately, without volunteers this program cannot continue. We have established a connection with Foodbank to assist in supplying food, however, we need hands in the canteen to make this possible. PLEASE contact the school if you or someone you know would like to assist with Breakfast Club.

The School Board will meet in a few weeks time, if you are interested in becoming a member of the School Board, please email somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au . We are looking for new family representatives as well as community members. If you know someone who is not a family member of the school community who would like to get involved in our School Board, please ask them to send an email, expressing their interest. Our School Board is made up of a group of individuals who provide sound governance and considered leadership to review school policy, planning and budgeting.

On behalf of all staff at Somerly Primary School we look forward to the year ahead, fostering every child's academic and social development.

Community

Breakfast Club will open this Friday, and each Friday that follows. We are seeking volunteers to help with our Breakfast Club, if you can spare some time to assist in serving breakfast to our students in the morning, please contact the school. Unfortunately, without volunteers this program cannot continue. We have established a connection with Foodbank to assist in supplying food, however we need hands in the canteen to make this possible. PLEASE contact the school if you or someone you know would like to assist with Breakfast Club.

Thank you for your support with our sustainability programs, in particular our Containers for Change program. We are teaching the children how to reduce waste and make the right choice when throwing away rubbish. Don’t feed the Fill is the message we are promoting, thank you for your support.

On behalf of all staff at Somerly Primary School, we look forward to the year ahead, fostering every child's academic and social development.

Save The Date – Term 1

Please save these dates;

• 23^rd February – Student Councillors to attend the Dream & Lead Conference
• 26^th February to 8^th March swimming lessons for our year 5 and 6 students at Yanchep Lagoon. Parents will receive notification on Consent2Go this week please ensure your details are up to date. Cost will be $50
• March 4^th Labour Day Public Holiday
• March 13^th – 22^nd NAPLAN for Year 3 & 5 students
• March 22^nd Early School Closure- 11:45am for Parent -Teacher Interviews 12pm– 5:00pm
• March 25^th – 28^th Harmony Week
• March 28^th Term ends

Term Planner

Louise Carroll
A/Principal

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 3/4 is:- Classroom Responsibility

• we immediately follow all staff instructions.

In term Swimming for Year 5 and 6's

In Weeks 5 and 6 students in Years 5 and 6 will be taking part in swimming lessons. These compulsory lessons are part of the Physical Education curriculum. Swimming lessons ensure children develop vital swimming and water safety skills. Students will travel on a bus from school to Yanchep Lagoon for daily lessons over a two-week period. These lessons take place during the school day. Permission and information regarding cost have been made available to families on Consent2Go.

NAPLAN 2024

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.

In 2024 NAPLAN testing will take place between 13-25 March for students in Years 3 and 5, and further information will be forwarded to families soon.  

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that it is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. Some explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests; however, it is not necessary for parents/carers to do this. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.

If you have any questions or queries about NAPLAN, please do not hesitate to speak to your child's classroom teacher.

Waste Wise Schools

Gardening Club

Kaya Somerly community, due to the extreme hot weather unfortunately we have not been able to get into our garden just yet but watch this space.

Containers for Change

Be the Change! Don’t feed the fill!

Thank you to all our staff, students, and community for continuing to support our Containers for Change challenges!

Congratulations!

2023 Total 51526 containers

2024 Goal 60000 containers!

Welcome back everyone, our staff started off our container’s collections with a holiday challenge raising 2416 containers, what a fantastic start! Thank you!

Helping Hands Challenge

During weeks two and three we had our Helping Hands Challenge with the winning family receiving a $50 Coles voucher!

Congratulations as a community we collected 3093 containers, and 42 tickets were entered into the draw.

The draw took place at our Monday morning assembly, and we are proud to announce that Asher from Kindy and her family were our winners!

Thank you everyone for entering.

Our classroom totals were:

Room 1 – 78            Room 2 – 172          Room 3 – 420          Room 4 – 621

Room 5 – Nil            Room 6 – 198          Room 7 – 111          Room 8 – 141

Room 9 – 116          Room 10 – 31          Room 11 – 100       Room 12 – 40

Room 13 – 59          Room 14 – 66          Room 15 – 246       Room 16 – 51

Room 17 – 267       Room 18 – 179       Room 20 – 130       Room 21 – 67

Our next challenge for weeks 4 & 5

So please help us to Save our Planet Save our Future!
We are the Change!

Lunar New Year

Our Room 11 students have been learning how different countries celebrate their cultural holidays. They created these Chinese New Year Fortune Folding Dragons and learned about the Lunar New Year.

Somerly Out of School Stars

Congratulations to Abel who plays baseball for Wanneroo and was selected to play in the under 10 States Championships!

Please let us know of any personal achievements that we can put in our newsletter!

Students Late to School

If your child arrives late to school, they are missing critical morning routines and learning activities. The school day begins at 8:40am and students will be considered late if they do not arrive by this time. If your child arrives after 9:00am you are required to enter through the front office and provide us with a reason for the lateness. A late slip will be printed for you to give to the class teacher.

Not Feeling Well?

If your child is not feeling well before school, please keep them home and notify the office by sending an SMS to 0437 480 486 or emailing somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au.

Late Collection of Students

Somerly Primary School has a student finish time of 2.45pm each day. If your child has not been picked up before 3pm, you will be required to come to the front office to sign them out.

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