20 October 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.

Welcome Back to Term 4. We hope you had a fantastic holiday. It has already been a busy start to the term with the Pre-primary to Year 4 students participating in swimming lessons.

We are looking forward to a number of events this term, with many opportunities to celebrate, these include

School Board

The next School Board meeting is on Monday 25th October. The Agenda is to review the new Business Plan for 2022. Just a final reminder that the School Board is calling for nominations for parent and community representatives. 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

P&C Meeting

Just a reminder that the next P&C meeting will take place on Wednesday 20th October at 6pm in the Staff Room. All are welcome to attend.

Student Placement

If your child(ren) will not be attending Somerly Primary School next year, please let the office know as soon as possible. It is important that detailed and accurate planning is completed so that we have enough staff for the commencement of the new school year.

As always, in Term 4 we commence class organisation for 2022. A number of considerations are taken into account including, staffing, class structures, needs of students including academic, social, emotional and behavioural. If you wish to communicate your child’s special needs or considerations, please contact me in writing before Friday 13th November 2021. All information will be considered when placing

VacSwim

VacSwim offers swimming lessons for children aged five to 17 years during the October and summer school holidays. Lessons are conducted at pools and open water venues across Western Australia.

Please see information below.

Vacswim your child, however all parent preferences may not be facilitated. The make-up of classes and placement of children is made in consultation with the teachers and their extensive knowledge of all students.

Harmony Day 2022

As part of our new plan to improve cultural awareness and celebrate the community diversity of our school we are looking to make plans for our 2022 Harmony Day. We are looking for assistance with this event from members of the community to support sourcing engaging activities for the students. This could include support with storytelling, food tasting, dance, music or any other cultural performances. We will be holding a meeting on Monday 29th November at 3pm to commence planning for this event and all are welcome to attend. If you are interested in supporting in any way, please contact me via email or pop in to have a chat.

Reminders

• 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 8.15am 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
• SunSmart – As the warm weather begins it is essential that all students have a SunSmart hat for playtime. School hats are available from the front office for $5
• Crunch and Sip – Please remember to bring a water bottle and a piece of fruit or vegetables for Crunch and Sip
• Reading Club – Thursday mornings in the school Library
• Breakfast Club – Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings in the undercover area

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Zelma, Dante, Thomas and Saige who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Zoe Hadley
Principal

Merit Certificates

Stars

Aussie of the Month

Our September focus for Aussie of the Month was Sportsmanship. The winners were Shanique and Crystal.

Shanique - Shanique was proactive, encouraging and supportive to her peers during all aspects of the Carnival. She displayed a positive attitude and great sportsmanship throughout the whole day.

Crystal - Crystal displayed amazing Sportsmanship during the Interschool Carnival. She cheered for all teams even if not Somerly and supported all the way until the end even if alone.

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 2 is:-

WHOLE SCHOOL

RESPECT

• We are aware of other people’s differences

FACTION TOKENS

• Goal 2000 next class reward
• Winning Faction for Term 3 – Popcorn

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.

Pre-Primary for 2022

All existing Kindergarten students are required to enrol for Pre Primary in 2022. To complete the enrolment process, it is necessary for you to come to the school office as soon as possible to sign your child’s enrolment card and update your child’s information, if you have not already done so.

This process will ensure your child’s placement in our Pre-Primary program for 2022.

If your child will not be returning to Somerly Primary School in 2022, please advise the school office as soon as possible.

‘Workshed Mosaic’ Workshop Term 3 Art Class

Towards the end of Term 3, the Year 3 students participated in a Mosaic Workshop which was run by ‘Workshed Mosaics’. The students worked collaboratively to create a floral themed mosaic plinth and this week, the artwork has been placed on a plinth at Ridgewood Oval. The mosaic looks spectacular and the students involved should feel extremely proud of their hard work and effort. We encourage you all to check out this awesome artwork next time you travel past Ridgewood Oval.

Miss Defty
Arts Specialist

Perth Royal Show 2021 Scarecrow Competition

During Term 3 2021, 18 students across years 2-5 participated in a weekly Art Club with Miss Defty, Mrs Avery and Mrs Kincart. During Art Club, the students designed and created collaboratively a life size scarecrow (1.5metres tall) using recyclable materials to enter the Perth Royal Show Scarecrow Competition 2021. Students had strict guidelines to follow the competition rules and designed a scarecrow that fit the theme of a ‘Regeneration’ themed artwork. The students worked as a team to bring their ideas to life; from painting overalls to constructing vegetable origami and papier-mâché Australian animals to fixing wooden and plastic structures together for the scarecrow body.

During week 10 of Term 3 at the morning communications assembly, students had the opportunity to unveil ‘Steve the Somerly Scarecrow’ to the entire school and explain to everyone the design concept, ideas and processes that they undertook to make this project. We are all so proud of this incredible artwork and the students are to be commended on their dedication to the project.

During the last week of term our Scarecrow ‘Steve’ began his adventure travelling to the Royal Perth Show for the Agricultural Artwork Competition. The competition was held on the first day of the Royal Perth Show. There were over 60 scarecrow entries and it was amazing to see our Somerly Scarecrow among them all. Many Royal Show organisers, Department generals and spectators were present for the unveiling of the competition.

I had the opportunity to speak with Lola Wilson and Gavin Chadwick who were organisers and judges of the event. Somerly Primary School was given a special mention regarding how fantastic our scarecrow was and how well we stuck to the competition guidelines. The Art Club students were each awarded with a ticket to the Perth Royal Show to witness the unveiling of the scarecrows and to support the school.

I would like to personally thank Mrs Avery, Mrs Kincart, Ms Hadley and all of the staff that were involved in helping our amazing project become a reality. I would also like to thank Bunnings Mindarie for their support and donations towards our school project.

Miss Defty
Arts Specialist

Italian Assembly Term 3 2021

This year a group of Year six Italian students from Room 7 were selected to perform in an Italian play titled Quattro Amici a Pranzo – Four Friends at Lunch. It was fantastico to see their dedication and collaboration in rehearsals to ensure that they performed well in front of the whole school.

The Year 3-6 students learnt the community song You Are My Sunshine (from the movie Luca) in their Italian lessons during the term. Thank you Mrs Ritchie for helping all the students to sing the community song in the music lessons.

Mental Health Week

During Week 3 at Somerly Primary School we are focusing on student and staff mental health. Good mental health and wellbeing is important to enable children to thrive across the early years and into adolescence and young adulthood. Investing in prevention and early intervention gives children the best opportunity for achieving this. Mental Health week is an opportunity to recognise the importance of physical and emotional wellbeing. Over the week we are offering a few extra things such as special recess/lunch and class activities. All students across the school will have the opportunity to participate in a dance and movement session. Every day Somerly Primary School addresses these needs by teaching social skills, recognising and rewarding positive behaviours, supporting students in their learning and when they have issues and differentiating the curriculum. The emphasis is on behavioural and emotional strengths and the ability to adapt and deal with daily challenges (resilience and coping skills).

Mental Health Week will begin at the mini assembly on Monday 25th October (8:45am) where the focus will be creating an environment of kindness, mindfulness and a growth mindset.

Events for you to participate in

Thursday 28th October 9:00 – 10:00am: 'Mornings for Women' morning tea assisted by True North Church providing the food and lovely decor to create a relaxing space for all the Mums, Grandmas, Aunties and Carers of the Somerly community to come to be encouraged in their mothering role.

Friday 29th October 4:00pm – 5:00pm: Fathering Project

An important part of being a parent is looking after yourself too

Parenting is a demanding job and takes a lot of physical and emotional energy. It can be easy to lose sight of the importance of looking after yourself. If you’re tired, stressed or exhausted, it’s difficult to be the parent that you’re striving to be. But when you feel happy and well you’re better able to cope with stress, maintain relationships and enjoy parenthood. The website below offers lots of tips and information for parents.

Learning Focus

Literacy in Focus: Text Types We Teach

During school, your child will be taught a range of ‘text types’ to both read and write. As teachers, we throw the words around as if everyone understands them, but I know that this is sometimes not the case. With this in mind, I wanted to take a moment to familiarise you with some of the ‘jargon’ you might hear in your child’s report this year when it comes to the types of texts they have been working with!

1. RECOUNT

A recount is an account of an event or experience after it has happened. It will often answer the questions ‘who’, ‘what’, where’ and ‘when’, and include a personal comment of some kind.

2. NARRATIVE

A narrative is simply another word for a story. In primary school, teachers expect a full narrative to have an orientation (a beginning that includes who, where and when), a complication (a problem to be solved) and a resolution (an ending to the story where the problem is solved one way or another).

3. PERSUASIVE

A persuasive texts primary aim is to put forward a point of view and to persuade a reader to believe one thing or another, based on the topic at hand. This is generally written as an essay, but also includes advertising and debates.

4. INFORMATION REPORT

An information report presents factual information on a topic. It often requires research, note taking and paraphrasing.

5. PROCEDURE

A procedure explains the steps to complete a task. This may include instructions for craft activities, games, cooking or experiments.

6. POETRY

In primary school, specific poems are taught in specific year groups. Your child may just be learning how to rhyme words, might be using spoonerisms or may even be exploring free-verse poetry!

As you can see, teachers work across a variety of text types to expose their students to the world of literacy. While this is not a comprehensive list, it does cover some of the common text types you may hear mentioned in parent interviews or reports (or hopefully from the mouths of your own children from time to time!).

Daniel Gane
English Lead Teacher

Toddler Activity Group

Chaplain Chat

P & C

P&C School Disco