31 July 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

I would like to extend a warm welcome back to students, families and friends of Somerly Primary School. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break. I was recently informed that I will remain as Principal of Somerly Primary School until the end of Term 3. I will continue to communicate developments as soon as I know.

Mrs Davies commenced maternity leave at the start of Term 3. Room 23 will now have Mrs Louise-De Carvalho (Monday to Wednesday) and Mrs Gane (Thursday and Friday). A thorough hand over was completed prior to Mrs Davies commencing leave.

Inaugural P&C Day WA – 26th July 2019

Parents and Citizens Associations are an integral part of public education across Australia. The Somerly P&C is comprised of volunteers who actively work to help improve facilities, resources and student outcomes. In recognition of the invaluable role that our P&C plays in our school, we celebrated their achievements and recognised their immense efforts on the first official P&C Day in WA (26th July 2019).

We will also provide a morning tea for our P&C members during our next meeting on Monday 5th August 2019.

Book Week

This year, Book Week and Science Week overlap in August. Due to Swimming Lessons, we will be celebrating both Book Week and Science Week during the week beginning 12th August 2019. We will blend the two themes together – ‘Reading is my Secret Power’ and ‘Destination Moon’. The following key dates have been scheduled:

• Book Fair – Held in the Library from Tuesday 13th August to Friday 16th August
• Grandparents’ Morning Tea – Grandparents are invited to join their grandchildren for morning tea on Tuesday 13th August at 10:00am – Please note the change in day
• Free Dress Day – Friday 16th August, linked to the themes of ‘Reading is my Secret Power’ and ‘Destination Moon’. We will host a parade from 2pm
• Stargazing Night – Friday 16th August, 5:30pm to 7:30pm

Please note, Kindy 5a and 6a will host a mini-parade for their students.

Locking of School Entrance Gate Near the Basketball Court (Connolly Drive)

For road safety reasons, the entrance gate near the basketball courts will remain locked before and after school. This is to encourage students who cross Connolly Drive to use the Crossing Wardens.

Fathering Project

We are currently planning our next Fathering Project event. More details will be advertised in our Week 4 Newsletter.

Key Dates for Term 3

P&C Meeting – Monday 5th August at 9:00am
Assembly hosted by Rooms 11 and 14 – Friday 9th August at 8:50am
Book Week – Monday 12th to Friday 16th August
School Board Meeting – Wednesday 14th August at 9:00am
Swimming Lessons – Monday 19th to Friday 30th August
School Disco – Tuesday 27th August
Jumps and Throws – Wednesday 4th September
Athletics Carnival – Friday 6th September
School Board Meeting – Wednesday 11th September at 9:00am
Friday 13th September – Interschool Athletics Carnival
Arts Assembly – Friday 20th September at 8:50am
Year 6 Camp – Wednesday 25th to Friday 27th September

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Naro, Curtis-James, Evelyn, Timothy, Henley, Isabel, Ivy and Alliyah who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Andrew Britton
Principal

Merit Certificates

Room 1: Tyler and Tara; Room 2: Kody and Charlee; Room 3: Allii and Ellira; Room 7: Ashlee; Room 8: Rashaun and Laken; Room 9: Phillip and Barclay; Room 10: Hailey and Kyiah; Room 11: Sam and Jasper; Room 12: Annabelle and Kuol; Room 13: Margaux, Tyson, Ainara, Kale, Brock and Moksh; Room 14: Kaylem and Kai; Room 13: Poppy and Herbert; Room 16: Kevin and Teleah; Room 17: Lamar and Justus; Room 18: Jordyn and Summer; Room 23: Braxton and Meyer; Art: Oscar and Shaylee; LOTE: Milly, Nathan and Emily; Music: Shad.

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 2 is:-

SAFETY;

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL

• We leave school grounds and look out for others
• We are road-wise
• We use the crosswalk attendant to cross Connolly Drive
• We look out for cars when exiting the school

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

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.
3. Telephone: 6206 4200.
4. Send a note upon your child’s return.
5. Verbally discuss the reasons with the teacher.
6. Send an email to somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au.

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.

A REMINDER - CLASSROOMS OPEN AT 8:30am

The learning session begins at 8:40am. By arriving at 8:30am students are welcome into the classroom to prepare for the day. During this time, students can organise their materials and speak with the teacher about the expectations of the day. We encourage your child/ren to arrive at school by 8:30am to give them time to get organised.

It’s Time to Enrol

We are now taking applications for enrolment. You need to enrol for:

• Kindergarten - four years old by 30 June 2020
• Pre-primary (first year of compulsory school) – 5 years old by 30 June 2020
• changing schools

Visit the school office now to enrol your children for 2020.

Year 6 Students - Enrol in Secondary School

Now is the time for Year 6 students to enrol for Year 7 at their local secondary school. Visit Clarkson Community High School’s website for more information.

All children from Pre-primary to Year 12 are guaranteed a place at their local public school.

Woolworths Earn and Learn

A huge thank you to the Somerly community who supported the school and collected the Woolworths Earn and Learn stickers. Your support resulted in the school earning over 25380 points! We have used these points to purchase resources to support our Mathematics programs and some sensory equipment. I look forward to showing you what this contribution allowed us to purchase in a future newsletter.

Jodie Brown – Maths Specialist

Year 4 Primary Extension and Challenge (PEAC) Testing 2019

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 Wednesday 14th August.

The scores from the test will be used in the selection of students for PEAC courses and extension programs during 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 9th August 2019.

If you have any further questions, please contact me.

Zoe Stenhouse - Deputy Principal

Book Fair

We are very excited to announce that we will be holding a Book Fair in the library from Tuesday 13th to Friday 16th August to celebrate Book Week. Children will be able to come to the library to look at some lovely new books and fill out a “wish list” with the title and cost of their favourite book. You may like to buy a book for your child and a percentage of the sales during the week will go towards new books for the library. There will be stationery items and posters for sale, with prices starting from $1, which are always hugely popular. Parents and friends are welcome to call in to the library any time to browse. Your children can look at the books before school, after school, at lunch time or at their regular library session time. If you can’t make it in to the library, keep an eye out for the Book Fair catalogue which shows you some of our favourite titles.

Swimming Lessons – 19th August to 30th August 2019

In-term swimming is a component of our Health and Physical Education program. We strongly encourage all children to participate. Swimming is great fun and an integral part of life in Western Australia, so it is important our children can enjoy their aquatic recreational activities with confidence, whether it be in pools, in the river or at the beach.

Our Pre-Primary to Year 6 students will participate in the Department of Education swimming lessons at HBF Arena Joondalup.

Swimming lessons will take place from Monday 19th August to Friday 30th August 2019 (10 Lessons). Please refer to table below for details.

The cost of swimming lessons will be $50 per student. This includes pool entry and bus costs.

Stargazing Event

Learning Focus

Literacy

Book Week 2019

Each year, schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week celebrating books, and Australian authors and illustrators. Teachers and librarians conduct activities relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.

At Somerly Primary School we will celebrate Book Week, alongside Science Week, from Monday 12th August to Friday 16th August 2018 with the following activities:

Book Fair – Tuesday – Friday

Head in to the library and have a look at the books on display that are available for purchase. The Book Fair will be open before and after school as well as at recess and lunch times. For every book purchased, a percentage from Scholastic is donated back to the school. This will go towards purchasing more books for our library.

Every class will have the opportunity to walk through the Book Fair and create a wish list to take home. EFTPOS facilities will be available for parents.

Grandparents’ Morning Tea

We would like to invite all Grandparents along to school at 10am on Tuesday 13th August for the Grandparents’ Morning Tea. Grandparents will be able to collect their grandchild/grandchildren from class, take them to the Book Fair and then enjoy some special time together reading and enjoying some provided morning tea.

Classroom Activities

Students will participate in a variety of Science themed activities. They will also listen to and read books with a Space theme.

Dress Up Day – ‘Reading is my Secret Power-Destination Moon’

On Friday 16th August come dressed as a character related to our Science and Book Week theme, ready to parade at 2pm in the undercover area.

Book Week will culminate in our Stargazing Evening at 5.30pm on Friday 16th August.

Year 2 Maths

In year two Maths this term we have been learning about addition and subtraction strategies, volume, mass and 2D shapes.

For addition and subtraction, we learnt how to add two-digit numbers and we enjoyed completing an investigation where we had to investigate how many pairs of two-digit numbers add to a total of 100. Addition and subtraction strategies that we learnt to use were fact families, near doubles, the jump strategy and the bridge strategy.

We had fun playing with water and blocks to compare the volumes of objects. We also enjoyed the volume related challenges that we had to complete in our Origo Stepping Stones books. It was very exciting when we used scales to measure and compare the mass of items.

When learning about 2D shapes, we enjoyed using concrete materials such as geoboards with rubber bands and pattern blocks. We had to combine 2D shapes to create a new shape using pattern blocks and then draw it into our Origo Stepping Stones books.

We cannot wait to learn all about working with, comparing and ordering three-digit numbers, time and capacity in term 3.

ICT

This semester, Coding Club students from Year 2 will be working on learning the Scratch 3 program in coding algorithms and creating programs. The program Scratch is a great program that supports students in learning how to connect blocks together to instruct a sprite (character) to move. The program can be used from Kindy to Year 2 on the iPads through the Scratch Jr Application, and on computers through the internet using the Scratch 3 Program. Check it out!

Teachers over the past Semester have been working on supporting students to use the Microsoft Programs in classrooms. Parents can support our students by exploring Word, Power Point, Excel and Publisher at home. Learning how to change the size and font and aligning it in the middle to write a title is a tricky skill to learn.

Kurlangas Aboriginal Playgroup

Welcome to term 3!

This term at playgroup we are learning about shapes and the colours YELLOW, RED, GREEN and BLUE. We will be reinforcing these colours through sensory play, various types of painting, craft activities, cooking and stories.

We will also have activities and experiences that promote physical skills, socialisation skills and language skills.

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, finger rhymes 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.

City of Wanneroo – All Washed Up Event

P & C