16 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

Dear Parents

End of Year Events

There are a lot of events coming up at the school, please check the calendar in the newsletter for dates, so you can organise your schedule.

Stranger Danger

With the weather warming up, students are more likely to walk or ride bikes and scooters as a means of getting to and from school. Please take the time to talk to your children about being safe, what being safe means and what to do if they find themselves in a situation where they do not feel safe.

Lost Property

There is an overwhelming amount of lost property that has accumulated over the last two terms. Please make the time to come and look for any items your child may have misplaced, as all lost property not claimed by Friday 2nd December will be donated accordingly. The lost property is placed outside of the medical room at the rear of the Admin building.

We have some lost property items which have been handed in to the school office. If you have lost glasses, keys, jewellery, mobile phones or an ipad, please call into the office and provide a detailed description of your lost item/s to see if we have it here.

Social Media and the School Community

The internet and social media provide great opportunities for students to network and stay in touch online. While these technologies can offer a positive space for sharing information and ideas, they also have the potential to cause harm to individuals, groups or even whole communities.

Parents should always be the main source of advice when children are experiencing issues with cyber bullying.

Parents please remember:

• Talk to your child/ren about staying safe in the online world
• Monitor how much time your child spends online
• Monitor your child's accounts
• Consider utilising technological tools to limit what your child can access.

Tracey Renton
Principal

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for weeks 6 and 7 is the oval:-

• Wear shoes;
• Wear a hat;
• Use equipment safely;
• Agree on game rules before starting a game and follow them;
• Exit the oval immediately when the siren goes;
• Report problems to the duty teacher or peer mediator;
• Return all equipment back to its appropriate place;
• Wait for the duty teacher to arrive before going onto the oval.

Somerly Stars!

The Schoolzine App update is now available

The update will automatically install on your Phone.

All app features and settings will remain the same.

Once you have updated the app, the following icon will appear on your Phone.

Depending on your devices settings you may need to visit the App Store/Play Store and search for Schoolzine to manually update.

If you are downloading the app for the first time, you will automatically receive the updated version.

The update features a new design and layout, with improved functionality and features. For more information about SZapp or for help installing SZapp, please see the instructions below.

If you have any questions regarding the release or experience any issues, contact us at szapp@schoolzine.com.au. Please include as much information as you can, including what device you are using, so we can assist you as quickly as possible.

2017 Enrolments

To assist our planning for 2017 please let the school office know if your children will not be attending Somerly Primary School next year. As you can appreciate with the opening of Catalina, the school will be under pressure to accommodate the growing population and we need as much advanced notification of enrolments as we can to plan for additional classrooms and staff. If you know anyone in the community with school aged children please encourage them to come to the school and enrol early.

Uniform Stock

We have a small amount of new uniform to be disposed of. The items include:

Girls – skirts: Size 8, 10, 12 and 14
Girls – skorts: Size 14 and 16
Leggings: Assorted sizes
Boys – shorts: 12, 14 and 16

Polo shirts – size 12: Yellow (Centaur)
Polo shirts – size 14: Yellow (Centaur) and orange (Villalta)
Polo shirts - size 16: Orange (Villalta) and school uniform

Adult sizes S – L: Red, orange and school uniform

The above can be purchased from the school office for a gold coin donation from 2pm – 3pm Monday to Friday.

Athletics

On Friday the 11th November the medal winners from the Somerly Athletics Carnival in years 3-6 were invited to attend a competition hosted by Quinns Baptist College. There were six schools at the competition and were a mix of both public and private schools. Our students competed in the individual events of long jump, shot put, 800 metres and 100 metres as well as the team event of the shuttle relay. The Somerly students held their own against some very talented athletes from other schools. It was great to see our students represent Somerly so well!

Friday of week 7 we have had a girls and a boys team selected to play at the State NRL tackle competition where we will be playing against the best schools from around the metropolitan area. Our teams have been training during their lunchtimes to prepare for the day and are looking good! With only 2 weeks to go our students are eagerly anticipating the day.

Cooking with Ms Julie

Today we were cooking with Ms Julie. We cooked with veggies from the school garden. We helped chop up veggies. A lot of students came to eat our food. At the end there were no noodles or beans left – only a bit of cabbage. We had so much fun. The helpers were Melissa, Bea, Tyler, Fred, Zoe and I.

Written by Taylor Snell

Indigenous Breakfast

An indigenous breakfast was held on Thursday, 10th November. It was well represented with over 20 of our indigenous community at Somerly Primary present. This was almost half of the community, which is tremendous support! There were sausages, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Thank you to all of the families who came on the day and to staff who continually give up their time to attend these events.

Learning Focus

Kindergarten

Amazing writing from the Kindergarten students in Room 5 and 6 on their favourite character from the story 'The Rainbow Fish' by Marcus Pfister.

Literacy

Literacy is most commonly understood as reading and writing. But before children can read and write, they need to learn about sounds, words, language, books and stories. You have a vital role to play in helping your child with early literacy development.

If you need help or advice, you could start by talking to your local child and family health nurse, your GP, pediatrician, speech pathologist or your child's teacher. These professionals should be able to direct you to other services and support.

Signs of early literacy difficulties

Children develop at different rates. Some children with early literacy difficulties will catch up to their peers. But some children who make slow early progress often need extra help. If they struggle early on, they can experience delays in literacy development over the long term.

There are some early signs that your child might be having trouble with early literacy skills. These signs involve both oral language (vocabulary and listening skills) and knowledge of word structure (knowing letters, rhyming, sounding out and blending sounds in simple words).

Literacy difficulties at 3-4 years

Seek help or advice if most of the time your child has trouble with three or more of the following activities.

Your child has trouble:

• telling you what action is going on in a picture book – for example, running, barking, eating
• using all of the necessary words to make a complete sentence – for example, 'I going zoo' rather than 'I'm going to the zoo'
• listening to an adult read to her on a regular basis
• remembering a previously read book when shown its cover
• showing that she can tell the difference between the front and back of the book, and that she can hold it the right way up
• naming simple objects represented in books
• concentrating on and responding to print, such as the letters in names, signs and so on
• scribbling to make shapes that look like letters
• stringing similar-sounding words together – for example, 'cat, bat, hat'
• repeating at least parts of nursery rhymes.

Literacy difficulties at five years

Seek help or advice if most of the time your child can't do the things listed above, and struggles with three or more of the following.

In spoken language, your child has trouble:

• understanding everyday spoken directions
• incorporating new words when he speaks, and noticeably using longer sentences (often more than five words)
• recognising the beginning of words and sounds that rhyme, and producing examples
• breaking simple words into their parts (syllables or single sounds), and putting sounds together to make words
• using the proper endings of words – for example, 'He played football with me' rather than 'He play football with me'
• using comparison words, such as 'heavier', 'stronger' or 'shorter'. For example, if you said, 'A car is big, but a bus is ______?', your child should reply, 'Bigger'.

In reading, your child has trouble:

• showing interest in books and reading
• trying to read – for example, your child might say, 'This word says cat. See, I can read!'
• following the sequence of events in stories
• relating what happens in books to her own life events
• listening attentively when books are read aloud and doesn't get meaning and pleasure from this activity.

In understanding print concepts, your child has trouble:

• knowing that words in print are different from pictures, and are there to be read
• observing and commenting on print in different settings, such as on TV, food packets, tablets and so on
• appreciating the different purposes of print – for example, locations, prices, assembly instructions
• knowing that each letter in the alphabet has a name and a sound
• naming at least eight letters
• understanding that writing is a tool for communication
• scribbling his name, messages and so on, regardless of whether you can read what he scribbles.

P & C NEWS

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Kurlangas Aboriginal Playgroup

Our Playgroup is FREE, and held every Wednesday at Somerly Primary School during term times between 10.00-12.00pm, for Aboriginal children up to 5yrs of age and their carers.

A morning tea of fresh fruit is provided for the children, and tea, coffee and biscuits for the adults. You do not need to have a child attending this school to attend.

Hope to see you there!

Aboriginal Early Years Team