27 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Waste Wise Accreditation

I am pleased to announce that we have just been acknowledged for 5 years of Waste Wise accreditation. Our aim is to model sustainable behaviours, to instil positive environmental values and attitudes throughout our school community and, by doing so, contributing to a more sustainable future.

I would like to thank our passionate Waste Wise Committee for the initiatives that have been put in place throughout the last 5 years. Our commitment to Waste Wise also includes a student leadership position in the form of Environmental Councillor. The Environmental Councillor, Hussna Hussnain, leads a group of committed students, whilst collaborating with staff on initiatives.

School Board Open Meeting

Please note that the School Board Meeting has been changed to Wednesday 10th April, commencing at 8:30am.

Pre-Primary, Year One and Year Two On-Entry Assessment Programs

The On-Entry assessments have been completed and teachers are using the data to plan future learning experiences for students. Parents’ reports were sent home at the start of this week. If you have any questions about your child’s results, please contact their classroom Teacher to arrange a meeting.

Paint Australia REaD Book Relay 2019 - 29th March 2019

We are excited to take part in the Paint Australia REaD Book Relay on Friday 29th March. This will take place during our whole school assembly, hosted by Room 12. Please join us as the Paint The Town REaD team read and sing with our students. The book Relay travels from WA’s Parliament House across to the Pacific shores of Wollongong. This is the launch of an initiative that will spread throughout our community. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Numeracy Open Morning – 28th March 2019

A reminder that our Parent Open Morning will be held on 28th March from 8:45am. This is an opportunity for you to engage with your children in the classroom and view the learning that has occurred this year.

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ariki and Harper who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Andrew Britton
A/Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 8 is:-

RESPONSIBILITY

WHOLE SCHOOL

• We follow staff instructions
• We place our rubbish in the bin

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.

Voluntary Contributions

Voluntary Contributions play a significant role in providing resources for students in the classroom. The continuing partnership between the school and parents is vital to ensuring that all students receive a level of education sufficient to carry them forward in today’s society. Voluntary Contributions are utilized to purchase books, resources and equipment for classroom use and to support our school in the delivery of quality educational programmes. To enable the school to continue to deliver our excellent educational programmes, we urge you to consider paying your Voluntary Contribution at your earliest convenience.

Voluntary Contributions for 2019 is set at $60. However, if you pay before the end of Term 1, you will receive a discount of $10.

Would you like a night at the Joondalup Resort?

Thanks to the generosity of Mark Folkard MLA, Member for Burns Beach you could be checking in soon!

We have a voucher for a one night stay for two people with breakfast included on a date of your choice.

To be in the draw to win this fantastic prize, simply pay your Voluntary Contribution before the end of Term 1. If you have already paid, you are automatically in the draw.

Draw will take place week 1 of Term 2.

You can pay by cheque, cash or EFTPOS in the front office any day between 8:30am and 3:30pm. Alternatively, you can also pay by direct deposit to Commonwealth Bank – BSB 066 040 - Account No. 19902052. Please enter surname and room number in description field as a reference.

Harmony Day

On Thursday 21st March all the students participated in Harmony Day. It is a celebration of all the nationalities that we have here at Somerly. Students came dressed in either orange clothes or their traditional clothing from their families’ heritage. Students came together at lunchtime to play games from around the world. After lunch all students came together to celebrate each of the countries by standing at their national flags and singing songs. It was a beautiful and harmonious day spent by all.

Toddler Reading

Reading with 0 to 4-year-old children makes a huge impact on their ability to learn to read and write when they start school. We would like to help provide parents with resources to start their children on the path to success. We have lots of lovely books you may like to borrow and share with your children, to encourage talking, singing, rhyming and reading.

Our Toddler Reading group meets on Wednesday mornings at 9am in the Library and we’d love you to come along and share a story and a simple activity with us. Don’t be discouraged if you think your toddler won’t sit still to listen to a story at first. By the end of the year all the children seem to look forward to the story and enjoy listening. As a start you may like to do some puzzles together and just become familiar with the library. All the children are welcome to borrow a library book to take home, and you can come in to swap the book as often as you like.

If you can’t make our Toddler Reading session, please feel free to call in before or after school Tuesday to Friday to borrow a book. Bringing a library bag is good practice for Kindy (but not essential).

I look forward to meeting you.

Natalie Hughes
Librarian

School Photographs

Our school photos are scheduled for Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th April 2019. All families should have received their photo envelopes and each student will need to bring their completed personalised photo order envelope on photo day, even if no photos are being purchased. Sibling photo order envelopes must be returned to the school office prior to photo day.

Please see below proposed timetable for photo days. (N.B. these times are approximate)

The Fathering Project

Dads / Father Figures and Child Event
Term 2 - Creative Art

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 Term 1 event is only a week away and we’re really looking forward to Taiko Drumming.

Our Term 2 event will be led by our Visual Art Specialist Teacher, Rhiannon Bartley. Dads and kids will engage in a variety of Art activities, followed by a sausage sizzle.

The Fathering Project is brilliant and inspires me as a dad.
Justin Langer AM, Father of 4 Girls, Australian Cricketer, WA
The Dads’ group has been a wonderful initiative for our school to be involved in. These Dad’s form a very important part of their children’s experiences, and we celebrate that with a wide range of enjoyable and meaningful school and family-based events.”
Greg, School Principal, WA

For all women who want their husbands to be more involved in their children’s lives, I encourage you to get involved with The Fathering Project. It will make such a massive difference to your children’s lives; your relationship, your husband’s life, and you will all be better off as a family unit.”
Georgie, Mother to 3 children,

Learning Focus

Have Sum Fun Online

This term Alisha, Drysha, Tori and Angus, dedicated Mathematicians from Year 5, have been in competition with schools across the state in “Have Sum Fun Online”. The students participated in three rounds to answer ten questions within a very tight time limit of one hour. They showed great collaboration skills and high level thinking about the mathematics concepts, which led them to receiving an overall placing of 6th out of 40 schools on the league table. A huge congratulations to “The Somerly Superstars” on such a spectacular achievement.

Better Health Program

P&C

Easter Raffle

Just a reminder that East Raffle tickets are to be returned by Wednesday 10th April and placed in the P&C post box located in the Front Office. Tickets are $1 each. If you require extra tickets, these can be collected from the Front Office.

We are looking for donations of Easter items for the Raffle. Any donations (nut free) can be left at the Front Office before Thursday 4th April.