11 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

NAPLAN 2019 Summary Results

Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 state NAPLAN summary results have been released on the ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) website, the link can be found below. The results indicate a positive trend for the education system in WA as we remained the “most improved jurisdiction” in Australia. WA also had the highest number of improved mean scores of any State.

Individual student reports should arrive at Somerly Primary School mid-September. These will be distributed to families immediately upon receipt. Staff will then engage in in-depth planning sessions to identify trends and future educational needs of our students.

Athletics Faction Carnival

Our 2019 Athletics Faction Carnival was a huge success. Students competed extremely well in both the individual and team events. I would like to thank all staff for the role they played on the day, making it a smooth and enjoyable experience for our students. Please see below for results and photos.

An Interschool Athletics Team has been selected based on student’s individual results. The carnival will be held at Mindarie Primary School this coming Friday 15th September. Families are welcome to attend to support our students.

It was close all day between all four factions, but at the end of the day the results were as follows:

The Champion and Runner-up for boys and girls from each year are as follows:

Principal’s Lunch

On Tuesday 10th September the Administration Team had the pleasure of hosting the 3rd Principal’s Lunch for the year. The luncheon recognises the outstanding behaviour of students. All in attendance displayed beautiful manners as they enjoyed a lunch of Tacos, followed by an icy-pole for dessert. Congratulations to all of the students who were nominated.

Dogs on School Grounds

Dogs are wonderful pets; however, they require care, education and restraint. Some of our students have an aversion to dogs while others have an allergy associated with dogs. Please support these students and refrain from bringing your dog onto school grounds.

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. We only have a few places remaining for 2020 Kindergarten. Once these places are filled, a waiting list will be created.
• 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.

Lost Property

We have a large amount of lost property located in the green buckets outside the medical room. We also have a box of lost property from swimming lessons. If you have misplaced an item at school or during swimming lessons, please check the buckets/box as soon as possible.

Andrew Britton
A/Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 8 is:-
RESPONSIBILITY;

PLAY AREAS

• We leave the play areas to get a drink and go to the toilet when the first siren goes
• We are back at our class when the second siren goes
• We seek help when we need to solve problems

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.

One Big Voice

On the 30th of August, 35 students from Somerly Primary School travelled to the RAC Arena to participate in Western Australia’s biggest choir – the One Big Voice. One Big Voice includes schools from all over Western Australia with over 7000 students participating in the event over a matinee and evening performance. Students had to learn eleven songs which had separate parts as well as movements, which all came together on the day during the rehearsal. Somerly Primary School students had been practising since Term 1 before and during school and really enjoyed the experience.

All students were extremely well behaved and represented Somerly Primary School beautifully - Miss Olsen was so proud of the group being so confident.

Thank you also to Ms Stenhouse and Mrs Fawcett for helping the day go smoothly!

Learning Focus

Literacy
Reading to our children

The importance of reading cannot be emphasised enough in young children, and we as parents need to make every day reading a high priority.

Many studies show that toddlers and pre-schoolers who are read to every day have a larger vocabulary than those who aren’t read to at all. It turns out that there are many advantages and benefits of reading.

Not only does reading enhance a child’s vocabulary, and help them understand how to read and write, but reading aloud to children also helps them to understand different topics about the world and everyday life.

Reading a book to your child is a wonderful bonding experience for you both, and it is very educational.

In the Early Years

Reading to your child does not always have to involve a book. In fact, if you make the most of the writing you see on signs, posters and food packets, you will find opportunities to read to your child every day.

You are your child’s very first teacher and through your voice your child learns different words and sounds, which will help them with speech and reading.

Listening to you read helps them with their memory, concentration and comprehension.

Here are our tips on how best to read a book to your child:

1. Pick a time to read that suits your routine. Reading a book does not have to occur at bedtime, although reading with your child is a great way to help them settle down for bed.
2. Choose a book to enjoy with your child. Young children appreciate vibrant coloured illustrations with lots of characterisation. If they are old enough, let them choose the book they would like you to read.
3. Read the book to your child, and make sure to put plenty of variations in your voice for different characters and events. The sillier you can be with voices, the better.
4. Change the pace of your voice depending on what is happening in the book. For example, if the character is sleepy, speak in a slower voice. If the character is in a hurry, talk faster.
5. Use book reading to really interact with your child. Ask open-ended questions like, ‘Who is the biggest, the cat or the mouse?’; ‘Why do you think the cat is frowning?’ and ‘What do you think is going to happen next?’.
   Enjoy your special reading time together!

In the Primary Years

Reading books out loud with your child is great for their learning and wellbeing, no matter what their age or reading level. Here are some benefits to reading aloud with your child – even after they can read for themselves!

Learning by listening

As your child begins to read, they learn much more about what words mean by hearing books read out loud and discussing new words with you than from reading on their own. Reading aloud together can help build vocabulary, improve reading skills, and increase attention and listening skills.

Even after they can read for themselves, reading out loud to your child can show them what proficient reading sounds like, with pacing, intonation and expression. It also helps them experience the pleasure of sharing stories and develop a lifelong love of books.

Books are great teachers

Reading books together can teach your child about different emotions and situations and lead to great discussions. Talk to your child about the stories you read together – what do they think and feel about the characters and what happened in the story? This can help your child express their thoughts, feelings and imagination.

Books don’t just have to be ‘fiction’ to be a great read – books with facts and true stories can be fantastic too. Reading your child history books, science books or biographies out loud can be just as entertaining, and give your child insight into different people, things, places and historical events.

Time to connect

Sharing a good book is a great way to spend one-on-one time with your child – you are giving them your undivided attention, being close and sharing experiences and ideas with them. As your child gets older and your schedules get busier, reading together can be a way for you to connect on a regular basis.

Reading your child a bedtime story is a great way to get them relaxed and ready for sleep – but if night-time reading doesn’t work for your family, there are plenty of other times to read together. For example, you could have a regular snuggle on the couch with a book on the weekends, read out news stories over breakfast, read out recipes or the TV guide – or listen to audio books together in the car or on public transport.

Extend and challenge

As your child becomes a more confident reader, you can read books that your child could read alone (so they can re-read them independently later) as well as books that are above your child’s reading level. Listening to you read more challenging books exposes your child to more complicated stories and advanced vocabulary.

When deciding what to read to your child, let them choose – or look for books on topics your child is interested in, ones written by their favourite author, or your favourite stories from childhood.

(From Australian Government ‘Learning Potential’)

Block 2

The Year 5/6 cohorts have been working extremely hard on some very difficult Maths concepts this year. At the moment the Year 5 students are learning about Place Value of 7 digit numbers and they are doing a fabulous job of reading, writing and ordering these numbers. The Year 6 students have been working hard on their fractions, specifically adding fractions with similar and different denominators. They have been converting improper fractions to mixed numerals, and mixed numerals to improper fractions. Both year groups recently worked hard on their division strategies, a topic that many students found particularly challenging. We have included a couple of our more challenging questions below with examples of how to solve them!

Free Parent Seminar

FREE SEMINARS – for EVERY PARENT

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

TERM 4, 2019

Most parents have times when they find their children’s behaviour challenging.

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is one of the world’s most effective parenting programs. Developed by clinical psychologist Professor Matt Sanders and his colleagues at the University of Queensland, Triple P has been tested with thousands of families through ongoing research over more than 30 years.

Triple P is designed to give parents the skills they need to raise confident, healthy children and to build stronger family relationships. Research has shown it works across cultures, socio-economic groups and in many different family structures.

Triple P doesn’t tell people how to parent. Rather, it offers simple and practical strategies that parents can adapt to suit their own values, beliefs and needs. The benefits can be dramatic and long-lasting.

All parents of children aged 3-12 years are invited to attend free Triple P seminars on offer at Somerly Primary School next term which will be facilitated by school psychologist Chris Moody

For more information or to book please pick up a registration flyer from the office or register online via the link below (click FIND A SESSION to search for this location)

P & C