29 July 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Congratulations to all staff for their preparation in getting classrooms and lessons planned over the holidays. Because of their hard work we have had a really smooth start to Term 3 and the students have settled well into class. Given the situation in Victoria, where students are returning to remote learning, we are lucky to be in Western Australia where things are close to normal.

I have been appointed Principal at Somerly Primary School for Semester Two 2020. I am a proud Public School educational leader and passionately believe every child and their family must feel welcome at school and know they have something to contribute; every child and their family should know they are entitled to, and receive, the best of teaching and learning; and every child should believe they can gain success and achieve to a standard that ensures them success in their future.

For the last 20 years I have lived and worked in country schools in Nannup, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury and Esperance. Nannup DHS has given me a thorough understanding of the curriculum expectations for primary and secondary students. Last year I was asked by the Regional Director, Jim Webb, to take up a year position at Boyare PS in Mirrabooka. Here I led the process of preparing Boyare PS for their Public School Review. I was congratulated on the trust staff had in the process I organised. All staff had input and ownership in that process. I used this process for staff to reflect, celebrate and plan for improvement. This year I acted as Principal at Dalkeith PS for Term One and was then asked to take on the role of Principal Consultant in Central Office to assist new Principals in managing their schools during COVID-19 in rural and remote schools.

For 10 years I was Principal at Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School where we also taught in Noongar Language. In 2009 I was awarded an Order of Australia for my work in Literacy Improvement, Aboriginal Education and Languages.

I am an experienced Principal who loves my job and is passionate about making sure each child makes progress in all areas of the curriculum. Students at school need to learn life skills such as keeping fit and healthy, how to communicate well and get along with others. School is a place where children learn team work and independence. The creative areas such as Art and Music are very important parts of the curriculum. The skills taught through these learning areas enable students to express themselves, help brain development thus improving academic performance and enhancing children’s collaboration skills.

I have worked successfully with varied school communities to develop innovative programs with a strong community flavour. Strong, effective and healthy relationships are at the heart of all successful organisations.

This last year and a half I have really enjoyed living in the city again. The traffic here compared to Nannup did take some getting used to. Living in Perth enabled me to be close to family as my parents were ill. Both passed away this year. Outside of school I love playing drums and watching live music and attending art exhibitions. I also enjoy walking my dog in bush and beach areas around Perth.

I felt very welcomed by the Administration team and staff and would like to thank them for their support. I have really enjoyed meeting the students and look forward to getting to know them better over the year. I am firmly committed to leading Somerly Primary School with the current leadership team over Semester Two 2020 to ensure all children are successful students, all teachers are effective educators and Somerly Primary School remains an excellent school.

Latest Update on COVID – 19

Based on the latest health advice, Phase 5 of the WA COVID-19 roadmap, due to be implemented on Saturday, 1 August, has been delayed. The new tentative date for Phase 5 will now be Saturday, 15 August. A final decision on whether Phase 5 can proceed on this date will be decided in the coming weeks.

Department of Education guidelines for Term 3, Phase 4, remain the same as they were for Term 2. This means that parents are allowed on school grounds but must maintain a two square metre distance from each other. For this reason, we ask that you do not enter classrooms unless you have a prior appointment or arrangement with the classroom teacher. At present there is no parent help in classrooms.

To maintain safe practices and hygiene, the 'no playground after school' rule will continue until the operating guidelines change. We would appreciate your help in maintaining a safe environment by leaving the school grounds as quickly as possible after collecting your child(ren); and also by continuing to observe the 8.15 to 8:30am drop off time.

To help maintain community connections and parent-teacher relationships, we will be holding P&C meetings, School Board meetings, Athletics Carnivals, NAIDOC parent breakfast and an individual parent interview afternoon. The dates and details will be updated and communicated to you in newsletters and via Schoolzine and Seesaw. As our school student and staff population is close to 500, only one parent representative of Room 12 and 20 students can attend assembly this Friday.

P&C

Next Monday 3 August at 6.30pm we will be holding a P&C training session followed by a meeting in the staffroom. More information will be sent home this week. I look forward to meeting all members of the P&C. Their volunteer work helps all our students by providing extra resources and funding. I have had the pleasure of meeting Cheryl Deville who runs the Breakfast Club and Wednesday Sausage Sizzle.

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Curtis, Zachary, Issy, Amir, Zain, Tyrese and Leo who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Felicity Dear AM
Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 2 is:-

WHOLE SCHOOL

RESPONSIBILITY

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

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.

School Photo Days

Our school photo days have been rescheduled and will now take place on 4th and 7th August 2020. Payment envelopes can be brought into school on the day of your child/ren’s photo session and handed to the class teacher. Online ordering is available. The access key is A9RNHTT3.

Please see below the Photo Schedule, for your information.

Kindergarten Enrolments 2021

We are now taking Kindergarten applications for 2021. If you have a child that was born between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017 please come into the front office for an application form or visit our website.

As Kindergarten 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 History Statement (Refer to paragraph below) and proof of address.

Kindergarten children must be up to date with all scheduled immunisations for their age to be able to enrol.

To enrol in Kindergarten, a child must have one of the following documents:

• an Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) Immunisation History Statement, no more than two months old with a status of 'up to date’
• an AIR Immunisation History Form, no more than six months old, if the child is on a catch up schedule
• a valid immunisation certificate issued or declared by the Chief Health Officer

If a child does not have an up to date Immunisation History Statement, exemptions because of particular family circumstances may apply. These exemptions are determined by the Principal.

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 2021.

Health

Allergy Awareness at Somerly Primary School

At Somerly Primary School we have staff and students with various allergies and staff and students who are severely allergic to all nuts, shellfish, fish, eggs and soy products.

This could result in the staff member or student experiencing anaphylaxis which is a sudden, severe allergic reaction that requires immediate medical treatment and is potentially fatal. We are seeking the support and cooperation of all families to minimise the risk of these staff members and students coming into contact with specific foods.

Therefore, we request you follow these simple steps:

• Please don’t give your children foods containing any nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish and soy products to bring to school
• Be aware of foods that may contain nuts, such as muesli bars, baked goods, cereals and pre-packaged snack bags

Thank you for recognising the need for ongoing vigilance to minimise the potential life threatening risk to our staff and students. If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please contact your child’s teacher or the school office.

Aneka Rosielle - Health and Wellbeing Leader

Crazy Hair and Socks Day

Our Crazy Hair and Socks Day on 3rd July 2020, which was organised by our Year 6 Student Counsellors was a huge success. A grand total of $471.15 was raised on the day and will go towards Year 6 Camp in Week 9.

Year 6 Camp

I would like to confirm that the Year 6 Camp will go ahead in Week 9, Wednesday 16th to Friday 18th September 2020.

The Department of Local Government, Sport & Cultural Industries (DLGSC) operates five recreation camps throughout Western Australia of which Ern Halliday is one. DLGSC Recreation Camps have developed plans to accommodate the changes required to align with Phase 4 and 5 restrictions. Some of these considerations include changes to:-

• Accommodation and sleeping arrangements
• Hygiene facilities
• Cleaning practices and procedures
• Catering practices and procedures
• Meal time procedures
• Activity or learning times
• Dormitory procedures
• Control of entry to and exit from the camp site

Camp documentation and information will be given out in the near future once we update our Excursion Management Policy and Risk Management procedures to reflect these changes. We would like to confirm that due to the generosity of the school community and P&C and as a result of our successful Crazy Hair and Socks Day fundraiser, that the cost for camp has been reduced to $225. If you would like to arrange a payment plan, please come to the front office as soon as possible to start organising this.

Camp is a great opportunity for students to experience outdoor education activities in a natural environment, to foster teamwork, to improve communication skills and to meet new and varied challenges.

Regards

Zoe Stenhouse
Deputy Principal

Learning Focus

Science and Waste Wise

Inventor’s Club

The Inventor’s Club has been regularly attended by 20 -25 students from years 1-6. Recent projects have been chosen with Covid-19 restrictions in mind; students have been working independently on their challenges and have enjoyed being able to take their creations home. At the end of last term, students created a foil boat to carry as many marbles as possible without it sinking, they designed and created Lego models using only one cup of Lego, built catapults from pop sticks and then had a competition; launching a pompom the furthest, and made fidget spinners. This term, in preparation for Science Week, the first challenge was to create the longest paper chain ‘seaweed’ using only 1 piece of A4 paper.

Any donations of recyclable materials or old electrical appliances would be greatly received and put to good use by our inventors.

Waste Wise

The Vegetable garden’s current produce - cabbage, cauliflowers, celery, carrots, tomatoes and herbs are being grown by year 2 students for their Design Technologies unit; Food and Fibre production. To protect their crops from the pesky crows they have now added two adorable scarecrows

Exciting plans are in progress to further develop the garden area – Indigenous Bush Tucker and Sensory Gardens are on the way. Watch this space!

The worm farm is healthy and discussion has taken place as to selling the worm whizz as garden fertilizer or developing smaller worm farms for community use. If you have any thoughts on this or would be interested in either, please let us know.

National Science Week

National Science Week will be from the 15th to the 23rd of August. This year the theme is ‘Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans’. The theme embraces the innovative technologies, capabilities and skills needed to achieve economic, environmental and social sustainability of our oceans. During National Science Week we will encourage younger people to become fascinated by our planet’s oceans, which cover two-thirds of its surface, help control its weather systems and the make-up of the atmosphere. During the week students will be able to attend a Scitech Show and participate in competitions and activities.

Charlynne Reyneke & Julie Ixer

Year 5

Last term the Year 5 students integrated their health and technology lessons; learning about food hygiene and safety, and how to design and create an effective fridge magnet to get their health message across to an intended audience. The standard was high and each class voted for their favourite 5 magnets in a secret ballot. The top five magnets from each class were chosen as prize winners to be featured in our school newsletter.

Step into School Toddler Reading Program

We are Fundraising with Entertainment!

Please see below details of the latest offers from Entertainment.

Remember 20% of every membership sold goes to support our school.

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*All member offers are subject to terms and conditions. Check individual offers on the Entertainment Membership App or visit the link below for more information.

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P & C

Meet Safiyyah

Saf is the Vice President of Somerly Primary School P&C. When she isn't helping plan our next event, you can find her in the kitchen! She is Queen of baked goods and makes a MEAN mac & cheese!

She is a beautiful soul always up for a chat. You can find her in the Pre-primary area after school for any P&C queries.