17 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

OUR SCHOOL VISION IS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN BECOMING STRONG, THOUGHTFUL AND INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS WHO ASPIRE TO BE THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE. OUR ETHOS OFFERS STUDENT CENTERED EDUCATION THAT IS FOCUSSED ON BOTH THE PRESENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS.

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Welcome Back

We would like to welcome everyone back for the 2021 school year, a special welcome goes to all the new families of Somerly Primary School. Thank you to the students, staff and families for their efforts over the last week which has enabled a smooth start to the term despite the delayed start and the challenges presented to us as a result of the COVID lockdown. Students have been working hard in class, learning their new routines, and demonstrating our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Safety. In the coming week you will receive a class information letter from your class teacher. It will have lots of important information regarding class routines, specialist subjects and a term curriculum overview. This will help to ensure you are all prepared for the school year and can support your child’s learning from home.

As the new school year commences I would also like to draw your attention to our School Parent Code of Conduct which was approved by the School Board. Parents who share our school vision and beliefs play an important role in helping us to build and maintain an effective school. They also act as one of the most influential role models within a child's life, and appropriate conduct on school grounds by everyone is central to helping us achieve our vision.

2021 Staffing

We are very lucky to have such dedicated, caring and talented staff at Somerly Primary School. We would like to welcome the following new staff

• Miss Charlotte Hatton – Kindy, Room 5
• Miss Lauren Collie – Year 3, Room 11
• Mrs Kelsey Parker – Year 4, Room 13
• Mrs Jo Avery – Art

We also welcome back Mrs Jo Hill from Maternity Leave who is working in Year 1, Room 3.

As I am Acting Principal for Term 1, we have various teaching staff members who are acting in the Deputy Principal role for the term

• Miss Elle Walker – Monday
• Miss Katia Bue – Tuesday and Wednesday
• Mrs Jodie Brown – Thursday
• Ms Louise Lipman and Miss Dyan Mundy - Friday

COVID-19

It is with great pleasure that we welcome back Phase 4 Operating Guidelines for Public Schools. From 12.01am on Sunday 14 February 2021, staff and parents are no longer required to wear a mask. Physical distancing measures still apply and we encourage parents to maintain 1.5 metres between adults, where possible. We ask you to ensure that good hygiene practices are maintained and to keep students home if they are unwell. Parents/carers and visitors may access school sites and we encourage you to sign in on the SafeWA app. All school activities are able to return including assemblies, excursions and interschool sport.

Third Party

A significant change this year is the requirement for schools to implement the appropriate notification and gain consent for all third-party services. These services are external to the department of education and assist with student learning and communication. As a school we have had to undertake a risk assessment for each of these third-party services and require bundled or specific consent to be able to use them. The list of third party services utilised by the school will continually be added to throughout the year. In addition to the note that went home we would like to notify you of another that is utilised in the school. This service supports our reading program in the school.

Thank you to all families that have returned their third party permission forms either online or by paper. Please ensure these permission forms are returned to Somerly.PS.Permissions@education.wa.edu.au as soon as possible.

Swimming Lessons

For the first time, the Year 5 and 6 students will be undertaking their swimming lessons at Mullaloo Beach in Week 4 and 5 this term. In term swimming is provided by the Department of Education and helps to ensure children develop vital swimming and water safety skills. Permission notes have been sent home. Please return them and make payment as soon as possible. Swimming for the rest of the school is scheduled for later in the year.

School Board

The School Board are still seeking another parent representative. School board members take part in: establishing and reviewing the school’s objectives, priorities and general policy directions and evaluating the school’s performance. Last year the school board developed and approved the addition of a Parent Code of Conduct to ensure the values and expectations of the school are upheld at all times. Please take your time to read this information.

If you are interested in supporting your school through the school board please email me. For more information, please see

P & C Meeting

The first P&C meeting will take place on 22nd February 2021 at 6.30pm. Please see the P&C newsletter section below for further details.

School Uniform

It has been very pleasing to see all our students in uniform over this week. A new and particularly exciting addition to our uniform is the school dress. These dresses were designed by the School Board and look fantastic. All uniform is available from Uniform Concepts in Clarkson. Please do not forget we are a Sunsmart school, so all students are required to wear a sun safe hat or play in the shade. Black bucket hats are available from the school office for $5.

Zoe Stenhouse
Principal

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 3 is:-

T R A N S I T I O N

• We always walk quickly, quietly and respectfully around our school
• We walk next to our partner and close to the person in front

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.

Year 5 and 6 Swimming lessons

We are very excited to announce that, starting next week, the Year 5 and 6 students will be having their swimming lessons at Mullaloo Beach.

This wonderful opportunity will enable these students to have their lessons, with accredited trained swimming teachers, in the safe waters at Mullaloo Beach.

The children will be in their levelled groups, watched by lifeguards and staff, as well as their instructors (ocean swimming lessons have a smaller teacher to student ratio).

The 2-week course begins for our Year 5 and 6 students next Monday.

The lessons run from Monday 22 February - Friday 5 March.

Parents and Guardians - Please return your permission slips, levels and health forms and money as soon as possible!!

As swimming can make the children hungry, can you please provide a little extra food!

2021 School Photo Day

Triple P Positive Parenting Term 1

MAWA Mathematics Expo for Families

Sunday 14 March 2021

Astral 2 & 3, Crown Convention Centre Perth

AM Session: 9:30am – 11:30am
PM Session: 12:30pm – 2:30pm

The expo is a free event and is targeted at families in the aim to provide support to parents and students with mathematics learning at home.

The expo will showcase interactive resources that can be used to support learning at home.

It will be a fun, interactive day with lots of opportunity to see a variety of resources that make learning fun, to speak to training providers about your future and there are prizes to be won on the day!

MAWA would appreciate your help in sharing this valuable event with your students and families. Although this is a free event registration is required.

Register here

If the link above does not work, try copying the link into the address bar of your browser.

Toddler Reading 2021

Sensory Garden

In 2019 we commenced a sensory program at Somerly Primary School to assist our special needs students to identify and enhance their skills with fine motor, gross motor, cooking, social skills and music activities. This program was extended to main stream students who would benefit from the program.

Last year we extended this program to include a sensory garden. Our special needs students have been working hard painting, decorating and planting various seedlings. This garden is an ongoing project which currently includes sensory hanging activities, a green zone sitting area, a walk through sensory garden for smell and touch. We have a sitting area and some visual aids such as our wishing well and minions. There is also a seasonal vegie garden, Indigenous bush tucker plants, grape vines, fig, pomegranate, mulberry and apple trees. All students are welcome to visit and walk through our garden to enhance all their sensory needs, we just ask that our 3 school values of respect, responsibility and safety are maintained.

We kindly request that students do not pick the fruit themselves. Once ripe, these will be collected and distributed across the school so all students can enjoy the fresh food.

Our little gardeners would welcome donations of plants, potting mix, mulch etc that our Somerly community may have at home.

Teresa and Gail – SN Education Assistants

Learning Focus

Kindergarten Term 1 Topics

English:

• Letters and Sounds Program
  Listening and responding to:
  - Environmental sounds
  - Instrumental sounds
  - Body percussion sounds

• Language Express Oral Language Program
  -Vocabulary practice
  -Listening to instructions
  -Turn taking in conversations

Maths:

• Which amount has more?
• Counting skills
• Positional language

Shared Reading:

• Sequencing the story

HASS:

• All about me and my family

Science:

• Chemical Sciences-What is it made of?
• Exploring our five senses

Health:

• Recognising and communicating what my body needs

Chaplain’s Corner

Hello Everyone!

Firstly, I would like to wish each and every one of you a happy and prosperous New Year! May 2021 be everything that you wish for and more!

It has been an unusual start to the year, but everything seems to be back on track - even though our new normal looks a bit different!

During these uncertain times of COVID, bush fires and even day to day worries that your child may be facing, we notice that kids’ anxiety is shooting through the roof! The ‘Magic Coat’ creators are hosting their first ever Parent webinar focussing on Anxiety on 19th March, 10am – 12pm. This online webinar is free of charge.

To book your free ticket, please click this link :

I am really looking forward to this new school year and all the possibilities it might hold.

This year is already moving along very fast and to keep up with this fast pace, from the Chaplain’s side, we will be focussing on different issues or focus points each term.

During the first term, we will be focussing on Bullying seeing that it is the National Day Against Bullying and Violence on the 19th March. We will focus mainly on helping students to understand which various behaviours constitute physical, verbal or social bullying as well as helping students to understand and apply each of the strategies they can use if bullying happens.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing information on the effects of bullying on our kids and what we as parents can do to help them if they are a victim of bullying or maybe even if they are the bully.

The Community Pantry is up and running again and will be open every day. Even though the door might be closed, it will be unlocked. Please, feel free to go in and help yourself to any items you may need.

With all the current restrictions that are in place, can I please ask you to mindful of social distancing? Seeing that it is such a small room, we would like to ask that only one family enter at a time. There will be a bottle of hand sanitizer in the room as well. Please use the hand sanitizer before packing your food in the bags.

As always stay safe, stay connected, and remember that I am always ready to help in any way I can. I will be at the school every Tuesday and Friday. If there’s any way I can support your child/children, or yourself – please feel free to give me a call on (08) 6206 4200.

Have a great week!

Kind regards,
Marilize Basson (Chaplain)

P & C

We can’t do it without you!

Join us and Join in!

The Somerly P&C are needing some fresh faces to continue its work through 2021. Our next meeting will be held in the staffroom at 6:30pm on 22nd February 2021, where positions for the year will be discussed. Please note, kids are welcome! We understand the trouble finding a babysitter, FIFO families, single parents etc.

If you think you would like to get involved, please come along and be a voice for the community.

Executive Roles

President: The Face of the P&C, you will share communications between parents, the P&C and School administration, run and represent our meetings keeping them in tow with agenda and Constitution. The President is a fair and friendly member who ensures all levels are running smoothly within the organisation and its events.

Vice President: supports the President by chairing meetings in his/her absence, sharing duties and responsibilities as agreed and being supportive and attending meetings as an executive member.

Secretary: This role is essential to the effective and efficient operation of the P&C by supporting the President and being responsible for communication and correspondence while also maintaining effective records.

Treasurer: The Treasurer is accountable for, and reports on, the finances of the P&C by keeping accurate financial records of all receipts and expenditures, paying accounts as authorised, banking all money regularly, presenting a financial report at each General Meeting and reconciling deposits and cheque books with monthly bank statements

The Fundraising Coordinator: Assists the P&C Committee in coordinating fundraising activities at Somerly Primary School.

P&C membership is open to all parents of pupils who attend the school, and to any citizens within the school community. The P&C maintains a register of members (i.e. any person who has paid the annual $1 subscription is automatically a member of the Association). Parents are able to attend meetings without having to become a member, however if they choose not to become a member they do not have an entitlement to vote. In the spirit of building community and remembering that the children’s needs are front and centre of all P&C initiatives, parents are reminded that the P&C is run in the best interests of our students and not for individual benefit.