26 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Pre-Primary, Year 1 and Year 2 On-Entry Assessment Program

Our students are currently engaging in the The On-entry Assessment Program. This assessment is conducted one-on-one with teachers and provides valuable information to support the classroom learning programs.

P & C Meeting

The P & C Annual General Meeting is to be held in the staffroom at 9.00am on Tuesday 3rd March 2020.

The AGM is the same as a general meeting with three special functions:

• The election of the P & C Office Bearers and Executive Members
• The presentation of the Audited Financial Report
• The President presents an Annual Report for activities from the previous year

If you wish to nominate as an Office Bearer within the P & C, please complete a Nomination Form before 3.00 p.m. on Thursday 27th February.

Office Bearers consist of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Additional information on the roles and responsibilities of the Office Bearers can be collected from the front office.

The cost of financial membership for the P & C is $1.00 which needs to be paid at the AGM. Financial membership provides members with the opportunity to vote for Office Bearers.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM)Survey

As part of our continued focus on school effectiveness, Somerly Primary School will be participating in an online survey for students and parents – Tell Them From Me (TTFM). The surveys are an important part of our school evaluation and planning process. The survey also provides us valuable feedback on what our students think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. As a result of last year’s survey we used the information we received to start the Parent Meetings which was a huge success.

The survey takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete and measures such topics as emotional and social wellbeing, physical health and behaviours and attitudes linked to student success. The survey also allows students and parents to give their thoughts and feedback in open-ended question responses.

Students from Year 4-6 will complete the survey in the coming weeks during class time. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:

The survey will be accessible until Tuesday 3rd March 2020.

Parents can complete the survey at home or they can utilise our iPads in the library from 8.00 a.m. – 8.45 a.m. during Weeks 3 and 4 of this term.

Parent/Teacher Meetings

As previously communicated, on Friday 27th March 2020, the school day will conclude at 11:45am to enable the Parent/Teacher Meetings to occur. Parents are requested to collect their children at 11:45am. The timing of the meetings will enable you to discuss your child’s progress with their classroom teacher. You can also book meetings with Music, Physical Education, Art and Italian Specialist Teachers.

Meetings will be held between 12:00pm and 5:00pm. Please open the link below on your web browser to book in a meeting time. Please note the link will open at 5.30pm on Wednesday 11th March 2020 and will close at 5.30pm on Wednesday 25th March 2020.

As this is a meeting to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher, it is important that siblings are not in attendance to minimise disruptions.

Paul Eaglestone
Principal

Merit Certificates

Room 1: Aminah and Felix; Room 2: Scarlett and Josie; Room 3: Keanu and Kody; Room 4: Chase and Ieasha; Room 7: Ameer and Charlotte; Room 8: Harlow and Laken; Room 9: Daniel and Hailey; Room 10: Coby and Joshua; Room 12: Ella and Lawzayn; Room 14: Shad, Crystal and Beau; Room 16: Korinne and Ethan; Room 17: Mason and Keeley; Room 18: Maverick and Amarni; Room 20: Miah and Evelyn; Room 23: Aizayr and Cormack; Music: Noelia and Jayden.

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 4 is:-

WHOLE SCHOOL SAFETY

• We walk on paved areas
• We keep hands, feet and objects to ourselves
• We report dangers to a staff member

SOCIAL SKILL

• We keep our hands and feet to ourselves
• Sharing materials and/or equipment

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, recognized 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.

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 2020 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 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.

Step into School - Toddler Reading

Our Toddler Reading group meets in the library on Wednesday mornings from 8:45am. Parents and their young children are invited to come in and read some lovely picture books. We read a story together as a group at 9:00am and then have a small craft activity for those children who would like to join in. Your child may also like to borrow a book to take home for the week. Bringing along a library bag is good practice for kindy.

We look forward to meeting you.

Inventor’s Club

This term saw the launch of a new lunchtime club at Somerly Primary School. The Inventor's Club encompasses both a Lego and Makerspace focus, allowing students the opportunity to create, engineer, discover and problem solve, using mediums such as Lego, robotics, sustainable materials and electronics. Students can freely create projects, take items apart to discover how they work or follow structured activities, depending on their interests and abilities.

Held in Room 23 on Tuesday lunchtimes for years 1-2 and Thursday lunchtimes for years 3-6, all students are welcome to attend. We are looking forward to sharing our budding inventors’ creations throughout the year!

(If you have any Lego, building blocks, or small appliances that are no longer required or working, that you would like to donate for students’ use, please leave them at the front office.)

Ms Ixer and Mrs Reyneke

Learning Focus

Physical Education

Beginning in week 7 (Wednesday 18th March) we will be starting our Running Club. This will serve as lead up training to the Interschool Cross Country Competition held in week 4 of term 2. The Running Club is open to Years 4-6 students only. Come along, run at your own pace and set individual goals for each week. We will run from 8am to 8.30am. See you there!

Mrs Ochieng and Mr Stanton

Chaplain’s Corner

Good day everyone!

On Friday the 20th of March, it is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

In the lead up to this day, I thought it might be good to focus on online safety for our children, seeing that the amount of cyberbullying is increasing by the second. I have found a few wonderful posters online that will help us as parents, understand some of the Apps our children use, as well as giving us some tips as to what to look out for. Over the course of this Term, I will put a poster of a different App in every Newsletter. Our first App that we will be focussing on will be the ever popular Tik Tok.

Have a great week!
Kind regards,
Marilize

P & C