25 July 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

I wish to extend a warm welcome back to school for all our students, staff and parents/caregivers.

We have several staff changes this term. Mrs Melinda Gane has returned from maternity leave and is teaching Monday to Wednesday in Kindergarten. Also returning from maternity leave is Mrs Kellie MacNicol and Mrs Leanne Sneddon. Both teachers will operate in a tandem and are teaching the Year 1/2 class. Miss Alana Barlow has returned to Perth after spending 3 years teaching at Wiluna and is teaching in Year 1.

Term 3 promises to be extremely busy with many activities planned.

Dates to place in your calendar:

Numeracy Open Morning

On Wednesday 1st August all parents and family members are invited to attend school and participate in some hands on mathematic activities. This is a great opportunity to see and experience what your child/ren are currently learning in mathematics.

Classrooms will be open to parents between 8.30 and 9.15.

At 9.30 our Getting it Right Numeracy Specialist, Mrs Jodie Brown will be presenting a 30 minute parent workshop in the library. The workshop will focus on mental strategies in numeracy. We look forward to seeing you on the day.

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to - Ashlee, Sophie, Charlotte, Keanu, Lawzayn and Zaykarliah who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Tracey Renton
Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 2 is:-

SAFETY;

WHOLE SCHOOL

• We walk on paved areas
• We are allergy aware
• We keep hands, feet and objects to ourselves
• We report dangers to a staff member
• We stay in the school grounds within school hours

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 phoning 6206 4200, 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.

Attendance at Somerly Primary School

Responsibilities of Parents and Caregivers

Somerly Primary School recognises that students should attend school on a regular basis to gain the maximum benefit from schooling in order to optimise their life opportunities. Research shows that for a maximum transfer of knowledge 95% attendance is necessary. Attendance rates lower than 95% will impact on academic standards. At Somerly Primary School there is an expectation that students will attend on a regular basis. It is our intent to support all families to develop positive attitudes towards school attendance.

Under Western Australian law (School Education Act 1999, School Education Regulations 2000) it is a requirement that students of compulsory school age, 5 years and 6 months to 17 years and 6 months must be enrolled and regularly attend a registered school. Under this legislation, parents and carers must:

• Ensure their child regularly attends school
• Notify the school as to the cause of any absence as soon as practicable and within three school days of non-attendance.

A student may be absent for a reasonable cause such as health, recognised religious or cultural ceremonies or any other reason considered acceptable by the Principal. The Principal may request notification in writing explaining a student’s absence e.g. letter or medical certificate. The School Education Act 1999 does not allow Principals to give permission for families to take holidays during the school term. As students are required to attend school every day, time off for holidays is recorded as an absence.

Where a student’s attendance is below 90% or identified as a concern, strategies will be implemented to restore attendance through a case management approach. A supportive case management approach will be initiated where persistent unexplained absence continues after other attempts to restore attendance has failed. It is an individual approach for each child and family. If there are 3 days of unexplained absences contact will be made by the classroom teacher / administration asking for an explanation of the absences.

What should I do if my child is sick?

A student’s absence must be explained by the parent or caregiver only. This can be done by

1. SMS – Send an SMS to advise of your child’s absence and the reason to 0437 480 486 before 9am
2. Make a phone call to the front office advising staff of the reason for your child’s absence.
   Telephone: 6206 4200
3. Send a note upon your child’s return
4. Verbally discuss the reasons with the teacher
5. Send an email.

If you are having problems getting your child to school for any reason please contact the classroom teacher and school administration as we are happy to help.

Zoe Stenhouse
Deputy Principal

Learning Focus

Block 4 – Reflection of Term 2

Last term, we used our writing topics to inspire and develop our writing skills, through the use of VCOP - Vinny Vocabulary, Ollie Opener, Connie Connective and Penny Punctuation. We then linked drawing into all our Big Write sessions to promote oral language and to also stimulate further interest in the current topic. The children produced amazing work and it was fantastic to see the smiles and the ‘wow’ moments when they reflected on their achievement.

In Guided Reading, we focused on prediction, inference and summarization. This was done using monster books. Each class had a ‘special delivery’ of a monster, in which they had to name it. They then explored a range of fictional texts and had to identify the main idea, how did the text make them feel, look for evidence within the text to answer questions, identify other similar stories as well as the children being able to identify the different strategies that they used when reading; for example, rereading the text, using the images as clues or activating prior knowledge.

In Mathematics, we continued to develop our mental math skills and understanding of Mathematical language. The children especially enjoyed multiplication and division. In multiplication, the children had to learn about arrays and repeated addition, whilst in division they focused on arrays, repeated subtraction and equal sharing.

We also had an exciting new area in the curriculum and that was Design. The children had to create a marble maze using a range of different equipment such as blocks, dominoes and MAB blocks. The aim was for the marble to successfully turn around a corner. To do this we linked it in with Science, where we learnt about push and pull forces and gravity. The children had to firstly design their mazes and then test out these designs. The children were then given the opportunity to perfect these designs and make any required changes. Wow – we have lots of potential engineers in this cohort! Everyone did a splendid job. Therefore, we decided to do another design topic, linked to our guided reading theme, where the children had to create monster sock puppets.

This term in English, we will continue to focus on our writing and using the VCOP strategies. We will be learning about persuasive writing, where the children will have to focus on careful word choices, the development of logical arguments and a cohesive summary. In Guided Reading, the comprehension strategies that we will be focusing on are inference, summarising, skimming and scanning. In Mathematics our main focus will be on measurement, fractions and number and place value. In technology the children will be creating and presenting a PowerPoint on jungle animals.

It has been lovely seeing the children well rested after their break and we look forward to another busy term full of learning.

Mrs Fawcett, Miss Hamand and Ms Mundy

LOTE Term 2 2018

Bon lavoro ragazzi! Good work was completed by all the year levels in Term 2. The Year 5/6’s worked industriously on the I.T. Italian city research projects. The co-operation with peers, overall effort and quality of work was of a high standard. The Year 4’s participated co-operatively in pairs and small groups using games, IT, and a variety of Speaking /Listening and Reading tasks on the topic of the Body. The Year 3’s have worked enthusiastically on the topic of The Family and commenced writing descriptions about their family members! Fantastico Year 3.

Memorable Student quotes:

• “I can count to 50 in Italian!” Yr 3.
• “Venice is so beautiful. I’d rather go there than Bali. Yr. 6
• “When can I go to Italy to use my Italian? Will you take me Signora?” Yr. 5
• “The drawing of my Lamborgini is awesome. I finally did it! Yr.6
• “I now remember most of my body parts in Italian.” Yr.4.

Telstra Digital Futures – Vote Now!

The Fathering Project

Inaugural Dads / Father Figures and Child Event;
Bunnings DIY

The Fathering Project is an opportunity to have fun with your kids and become part of a strong and supportive network of dads and father figures connected to Somerly Primary School. Our inaugural event is in partnership with Bunnings Mindarie.

WHEN: Wednesday 15th August 2018
TIME: 4:45pm – Afternoon Tea
5:00pm – Fathering Project Guest Speaker
5:15pm – Bunnings DIY Session (approx. 1 hour)
WHERE: Somerly Primary School – Please meet at the Front Office
WHAT: A fun, social, DIY session with your child / children. An opportunity to ‘get on the tools’ together.
RSVP: The number of students attending (accompanied by their dad / father figure) is capped to 25 (First in first serve). Please RSVP by calling Somerly Primary School on 6206 4200.

Year 6 Camp 2018

The 2018 Year 6 Camp will be held at Ern Halliday from Wednesday 12th September to Friday 14th September. Parent Information and Consent Forms have been sent to families and are due back to Somerly PS by Friday 24th August. If you require any further information, please contact Andrew Britton or Classroom Teachers on 6206 4200.

Parent Parking

Somerly Primary School is very fortunate to have ample parking spaces provided for parent parking around the perimeter of the school. Unfortunately, a minority of parents are parking illegally within car parks and on grass verges. Please utilise the allocated parking spaces only and be extra vigilant when entering and exiting car parks, keeping an eye out for pedestrians at all times.

A big thank you to the families who are parking in the correct areas.

GIFTED AND TALENTED: Primary Extension and Challenge (PEAC)

ASSESSMENT OF YEAR 4 STUDENTS FOR THE PEAC PROGRAM

The PEAC Program provides part time extension and enrichment for exceptionally able students in Years 5 and 6.

PEAC offers a range of courses that provide identified students with work that is intellectually challenging.

All students in Year 4 will have the opportunity to be assessed for suitability for the PEAC Program.

Testing at Somerly Primary School will occur on Monday, 30th July.

The scores from the test will be used in the selection of students for PEAC courses and extension programs during 2019 to 2020 and also to inform educational provision in schools.

If you do not wish your child to be included in the PEAC assessment, please notify the school in writing by Friday 27th July 2018.

Library News

We will be celebrating Book Week later this term and this year's theme is "Find Your Treasure!" As part of our celebration we will be holding our annual Book Fair in the library starting on Tuesday 21 August. Books will be available to purchase throughout Book Week and all sales will help to fund new books for the library. We hope that all our students will find a treasure in the hunt for a great new book. We expect to see some swashbuckling pirates, scurvy dogs and enchanting mermaids joining in the fun. Stay tuned for details of our library competition where students can win a book voucher to spend at the book fair and more exciting Book Week activities.

On Wednesday mornings we have our Toddler Reading session at 9am. If you have children aged 0 - 4 you are most welcome to join us. Families can read some beautiful picture books together, listen to our weekly story, join in with a fun craft activity, and borrow a book to take home.

Feel free to call in to the library before or after school with your children if they would like to swap their library book. Some of our avid readers can't wait for their next library day to get their hands on a new book. I look forward to seeing you then.

Natalie Hughes - Library Officer

Message from Our School Council Chairperson

Hi

My name is Kristy. I’m a parent at Somerly Primary School and this year I’ve been elected Chairperson of the School Council. The School Council runs separately to the P&C and is made up of staff, parents and community members.

Role of the School Council

Parents and the community can be involved in school decision making and giving advice through their Council. All council members are obliged to act in the best interest of the school and its students and to promote our school in the community. During meetings the Council receives updates on school progress and performance, gives advice and makes decision.

If you would like to be involved in the School Council please feel free to contact me.

Thank you
Kristy McDonnell
0402008525
kristtyloumcdonnell@gmail.com

Kurlangas Aboriginal Playgroup

Welcome to term 3! This term in playgroup, we are learning to recognise the colours yellow, red, green and blue, and also triangle, square, circle and rectangle shapes.

Our activities will include colour collages, cellophane windows, easel painting, shape stencilling, colour sorting, shape painting and sticker pictures.

For our babies, there will be tummy time (to strengthen their back and neck muscles), push and pull toys, some wonderful books to look at and songs to sing.

Playgroup is FREE and held every Wednesday at Somerly Primary School during term times between 9.30-11.30am, 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.

P & C