9 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

NAPLAN ONLINE

Just a reminder to that all our Year 3 and 5 students will participate in NAPLAN online commencing Tuesday 15th May. Please see the test schedule below for specific dates.

Schools and teachers use NAPLAN data to improve teaching and learning programs in the classroom. Skills that will be tested include reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. All students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to participate in NAPLAN testing.

The best way to assist your child in preparation for NAPLAN is to reassure your child that the tests are just one part of the school program and urge them to do the best they can on the day. It is important for you and your child to know that NAPLAN is not a pass/fail test.

You can help your child become familiar with NAPLAN Online by accessing the public demonstration site on the NAPLAN website. The demonstration site includes useful resources for schools to help students become familiar with the online test experience. The Public demonstration site provides mini-tests that provide an example of what types of questions students will encounter.

Later in the year we will send parents an individual student NAPLAN report that you can use to view and monitor how your child is progressing.

More information is available on the NAPLAN website and if you have any concerns, please contact Mrs Zoe Stenhouse on 6206 4200.

National School Opinion Survey (NSOS)

In 2014 Australian Education Ministers determined that all Australian schools would participate in parent, student and staff surveys and consequently we administer the surveys every 2 years.

The survey is anonymous and should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. The survey opens on Wednesday 8 May and closes on Friday 18 May.

To complete the survey please click on the link below

ANZAC Assembly

On Friday 13 April the Somerly Primary School community held a commemorative service to remember those who had fought for freedom. The Student Councillors read several passages that reflected on the happenings of World War 1 and the beginning of the Anzac traditions. Wreaths were laid to honour the memories of those who died and several books were donated to the school as a reminder of this special and significant day. All students’ respectful behaviour and deep reverence during the service is to be commended.

Uniforms

With the mornings now being very chilly, we are encouraging all students to wear their school jacket or jumper to school as only Somerly Primary School jackets or plain black jumpers/jackets are acceptable. The school jacket can be purchased from Uniform Concepts Nell Gray, 5/7 Delage Street, Joondalup, WA 6027.

Please ensure your child’s name is written in them to avoid being placed in lost property.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for School Students with Disability

Our school is part of a national project about students with disability and/or learning difficulties. We have been asked to provide data about the number and learning needs of children at our school. The name of the school and the name of the students will not be reported. Information about the different types of needs and the programs and resources the school uses to overcome barriers and support children with special educational needs will be collected. We believe it is important to contribute to this because it will help Governments and the Department of Education develop better policies that acknowledge the level of resources needed in schools to meet the needs of all students in Western Australia.

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Michael, Daniel, Shiloh, Sam, Daniel, Jaego and Lydia who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Tracey Renton
Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 2 is:-

RESPONSIBILITY;

LIBRARY

• Use shelf markers;
• Return your books on time;
• Keep your book in a library bag;
• We put our books back on the shelf.

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 or sending an SMS to 0437 480 486.

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.

Kindy Enrolment for 2019

We are now taking Kindergarten applications for 2019, if you have a child that was born between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015 please come into the front office for an application form.

As Kindy is non-compulsory, enrolments will be on a first in basis.

When applying we need a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport, visa if applicable, current Medicare immunisation details and proof of address.

If you know someone who has a child due to start Kindergarten next year, please let them know that enrolments are open.

Please click on the link below to access the Application for Enrolment for Kindergarten in 2019.

Voluntary Contributions Prize Draw

The prize draw to win a night at the Joondalup Resort including breakfast will take place at our assembly on Friday 11th May 2018.

Constable Care Safety School Excursion

In weeks 10 and 11 of Term 1 the years 3, 4, 5, and 6 students went to the Constable Care Safety School. It has a purpose-built classroom complex and a realistic layout of Perth’s streets that provides students with a hands-on opportunity to learn vital pedestrian, bike and public transport travel safety skills. Students were both cyclists and pedestrians, where they learnt on real roads, footpaths and bike paths, with scale buildings, a bus stop and a train station! In the classroom, the students learnt how to Stop, Look, Listen and Think. They then applied this as cyclists by giving way on a roundabout, stopping at cross walks for pedestrians, traffic lights, stop signs and the railway crossing. When students were pedestrians they used mini iPads to experience augmented reality in a simulated risk environment, such as what to do if a phone is dropped on the train lines, how far to stand away from fallen power lines, the safest way to walk around a bus and how to safely use a railway crossing. The students were extremely engaged and participated in all of the activities with excitement.

Miss Aneka Rosielle

Literacy Open Morning

Thank you to all those Parents that attended our Literacy Open Morning on Wednesday 28th March. It was fantastic to see so many parents engaging in reading with their children. We hope all that attended our Parent Information Session on ‘How to help your child understand what they read’ found it informative.

A few important messages from the morning:-

At Somerly Primary School we are committed to developing students into confident and proficient readers. An essential part of this is a close partnership with parents and caregivers.

How can you help?

• Help to develop a passion for books
• Join and visit the local library
• Read to your child regularly
• Read with your child regularly
• Talk about what you read and ask questions.

Remember -

It is natural to want to compare your child’s reading abilities with those of other children the same age, but not all children develop reading skills at the same pace. It is important that you are aware of your child’s reading abilities so you can help them to choose appropriate books and activities that will help them improve.

Protection from Life-threatening Meningococcal Infection

On 23rd January 2018, WA Health introduced a program to provide free meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) catch-up vaccine for all children aged 12 months to less than 5 years.

This MenACWY vaccination program was initiated because of the rising number of meningococcal infections in WA and last year children in this age group had more than twice the number of meningococcal infections compared to any other age group.

Parents of age-eligible children should not delay because the WA catch-up vaccination program is time limited and will end on 31 December 2018.

MenACWY vaccines are safe to administer at the same time as other scheduled childhood vaccines and are available through your child’s regular immunisation provider.

Walk Safely to School Day

WE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY 18 MAY 2018

In follow up to our Year 3 – 6 Bike Safety Excursions we are going to participate in ‘Walk Safely to School Day’.

Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine.

You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by walking with them the whole way to school. Until they’re ten children must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road.

Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.

Once you walk to school, come to the undercover area to receive your sticker. Cereal and toast will be available through Breakfast Club.

Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 18 May 2018!

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.

Health and Wellbeing

Just a few reminders from the Health and Wellbeing committee after the holiday break.

As we are a SunSmart school, we ask that all students wear a bucket style hat when playing outside at recess and lunch time, and while participating in outdoor activities such as sport and gardening. We also encourage community members and parent helpers to role model this sun safety when appropriate at our school and when going on excursions.

As a whole school, we have Crunch and Sip daily as a planned break from classroom work. Students are allowed to have fruit, vegetables and plain water in this time. Suitable food items could be an apple, banana, orange, mandarin, strawberries, carrot, snow peas, celery, capsicum and cucumber.

Thank you for your assistance in our whole school approaches.

Aneka Rosielle - Health and Wellbeing Leader

ANZAC Article

A QUICK NOTE FROM YOUR CHAPLAIN

Good day Parents

I am delighted to inform you that Somerly Primary school will be joining forces with the Fathering Project to make a positive impact in our School and our Community.

WHAT IS THE FATHERING PROJECT?

The Fathering Project is a not for profit, inclusive charity that seeks to help children by working with schools and assisting fathers and father-figures to realise their importance in children’s lives and to improve their effectiveness as fathers and role-models for children. The Fathering Project utilises researched evidence to develop programs and initiatives to encourage fathers to realise how important they are in a child's life, inspire them to get involved with their children and give them advice and opportunities on how to do this.

We would like to invite all our fathers and father-figures to attend a more in-depth information session on 23 May 2018. A formal invitation will be send out on Thursday.

Hope you have a great week and please remember to drop in at any time for a chat and a cup of coffee.

Warm regards
Marilize

P & C