2 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

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.

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of Term 3. As the term comes to an end, I would like to wish all our families a safe, relaxing and enjoyable break. Term 4 commences on Tuesday 12th October 2021.

It has been a busy but productive term with all students working hard in their classrooms. I hope that all the parents that attended our Parent/Teacher Meetings on Friday 10th September had informative sessions with their child/children’s teacher. Parent/Teacher interviews were endorsed by our School Board and approved by the North Metro Regional Education Office. Reporting to parents in this way makes up part of our strategy to improve parent communication regarding students’ progress and achievement. Our 2022 dates for parent closure have now been approved for the 25th March 2022 and 9th September 2022.

We will finish the term with some special activities on Friday afternoon organised by the Health Committee. All students in each block will move throughout a variety of activities prepared by the teachers to engage them in extracurricular activities. This is linked to the Wellbeing and Engagement Census completed by students last year.

Interschool Athletics Carnival

I would like to extend my congratulations to all our students that recently competed in the Interschool Athletics Carnival on Friday 17th September. The Interschool Carnival was held at Mindarie Primary School with five participating schools and overall Somerly Primary School finished 4th.

The sportsmanship of our students is to be commended and I am proud of their efforts. A big thank you to Mrs Ochieng for her organisation and the staff that attended on the day to ensure our students had a successful experience.

School Board

On Tuesday the 14th September members of our School Board, staff and our P&C President were treated to a special dinner at Parliament House courtesy of Mark Folkard MLA, who is a member of our School Board. I would like to thank Mr Folkard for his personal generosity so we were able to recognise the hard work of members of our school community.

I am also pleased to announce the newest member of our School Board, Nikunj Chauhan. Please see the profile below.

Profile – Nikunj Chauhan

1. Why join the School Board

The primary reason to join the School Board is out of personal interest in getting to know the running of the school system and hopefully to contribute constructive ideas/suggestions to improve the same. I feel to have gained good life experience professionally/academically studying/working in several cities/countries which would potentially benefit our school and community. I strongly believe primary school years to be most important years for kids as these years help create a solid base through which they can grow up to be good citizens and strong contributors to society; and thus would give me immense pleasure to help build it.

2. Background

I am from India and Australia is my home since 2017. I have a Master of Technology degree and am a Senior Software Developer by profession. I am a sponge for new information and thus reading/travelling are my passion. I am an awesome cook and love dishing out finger licking good food.

As a result of our membership review the School Board is calling for nominations for parent and community representatives. Nominations will close on Friday 15th October 2021. Please contact me if you would like more information on how to nominate. Click the link below if you would like more information.

School councils/boards - Department of Education

National School Opinion Survey

Thank you to all the parents, students and staff who completed our biennial National School Opinion Survey. We have analysed the data and would like to share with you our identified strengths and opportunities for development. The surveys consist of three elements - Parents, Staff and Students in years 5 and 6.

Parents

Strengths

1. Teachers at this school expect my child to do their best 4.5 /5
2. I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns 4.5 / 5
3. Teachers at this school care about my child 4.4 /5

Opportunities for Development

1. This school has a strong relationship with the local community 3.7 / 5
2. Student behaviour is well managed at this school 3.9 / 5

Students

Strengths

1. My teachers expect me to do my best 4.2/5
2. My school looks for ways to improve 3.8/5
3. My teachers are good teachers 3.8/5

Opportunities for Development

1. I can talk to my teachers about my concerns 3.3/4
2. Student behaviour is well managed at my school 3.4/5

Theses focus areas have been considered when creating our new Business Plan for 2022 – 2024.

Planning 2022

The complex process of planning for 2022 class structures and assigning staff has begun. It is important that detailed and accurate planning is completed so that we have enough staff for the commencement of the school year. If you are leaving Somerly Primary School and have not yet advised the front office, please do so as soon as possible.

NAPLAN 2021

The 2021 NAPLAN school results have only recently been published but early information indicates some promising results. The School Leadership Team and staff will take time to analyse the data in detail. Staff will analyse the data on the School Development Day in Term 4 and teachers in Year 3 and 5 will be provided time outside their class to prepare Case Management Plans to target student improvement.

I would like to thank all the staff of Somerly Primary School for their hard work, dedication, and undivided commitment to improving student learning outcomes.

Student in Year 3 and 5 who participated in NAPLAN received their reports last week. If you have any questions and queries, please do not hesitate to make an appointment with your class teacher.

Arrivals at School

Just a reminder to parents that students should not be arriving at school prior to 8.15am. Prior to this time, students are not directly supervised on school site. Arrivals should be between 8.15 and 8.30am. Classroom doors open at 8.30am to provide students time to prepare for the day and commence some reflective morning activities prior to the commencement of the school day at 8.40am.

Zoe Hadley
Principal

Merit Certificates

Room 1: Kavya and Milah; Room 2: Alba-Grace and Maitland; Room 3: Abel and Carter; Room 9: Billie and Gwen; Room 11: Abdul and Mason; 15: Isaac and Titus; Room 16: Charlie and Pihu; Room 17: Ivy and Yusuf; Room 18: Daniel, Lewis and Noah; Room 20: Rashaad and Hussaini; Art: Kale and Stevie J; Music: Bree.

Aussie of the Month

August’s focus for Aussie of the Month was Literacy Skills to link with Book Week.

The winners were Oliver and Teleah.

Oliver displays keen interest in reading; choosing to read a novel from his personal library in his tray for early finishing work. He encourages peers to read by sharing books, peer reading, making book recommendations and expressing his love for reading.

Teleah is showing great leadership in encouraging and providing her peers with constructive and positive feedback during Fluency pairs. Her reading has also improved which has been fantastic to see.

Stars

Principal’s Lunch

On Tuesday 14th September, selected students were invited to attend our Term 3 Principal’s Lunch. Congratulations to all our selected students.

Students are invited in recognition of their outstanding contribution to our school and were treated to a lunch of lasagne, garlic bread and salad with juice, followed by icy poles.

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 10 is:-

TOILETS RESPONSIBILITY

• We play away from the toilet area
• We give people privacy
• We keep the toilets clean

RESPECT

• We wait patiently
• We go into the toilets to use the toilets
• We report problems or any mess to the teacher

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.

Interschool Athletics Carnival

On Friday 17th September, 80 students represented Somerly Primary School at the Interschool Athletics Carnival hosted by Mindarie Primary School. 20 of these students entered the individual events of the 400m, Long Jump and T-ball Throw. The Sprints and Team Games followed, with some great results. We were so impressed with the way our students competed with honesty and integrity, upholding the Somerly Primary School values of Respect, Responsibility and Safety. Somerly Primary School placed 4th overall, with an individual standout from Kaiya Puki who received Runner-Up Champion Girl for year 5. A very big thank you to the students for all your hard work and dedication leading up to the Carnival and also to our staff who assisted in the lead up and organisation on the day.

Mrs Ochieng
Sports Specialist

Learning Focus

Art

‘Workshed Mosaic’ Company – Year 3 Visual Art incursion.

During week 9 this term, the Year 3 Somerly Primary School students were invited to participate in an amazing opportunity to create a custom Mosaic with the company 'Workshed Mosaics'. During students’ Art classes, they created an intricate floral mosaic piece to complete a series of 7 public artwork plinths. ‘Workshed Mosaics’ has been creating a series of Mosaic Plinths along the Hester Avenue side of Ridgewood Park, Merriwa over the last 2 years. This project has been commissioned by the City of Wanneroo.

Students participated in small group workshops which involved choosing, placing and gluing individual ceramic tiles onto a plastic backing board that will be 3 metres in length when attached together. The theme of the plinth is based on the ‘Caladenia Lobata’; more commonly known as the butterfly orchid, which is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The students showed great determination when placing the tiles in their specific patterns and locations and worked positively as a team in doing so.

I am extremely proud of the year 3 students in their eagerness to participate and the support that they demonstrated in helping their peers when the tile gluing got a little tricky. The students represented the Somerly Primary School values throughout their workshop and ‘Workshed Mosaics’ commented on how the students were a pleasure to work with and such great listeners during the demonstrations.

Watch this space for the 7th and final plinth grand reveal date coming to you very soon!

Miss Defty
Arts Specialist

Waste Wise Schools

Gardening Club

Jessica has been helping in the Gardening Club and made her very own self watering pot. Thank you for your enthusiasm Jessica.

During Gardening Club, we have been using water from our watering tank to water our seeds.

Toddler Activity Group

P & C